the mehallo blog. beta.

New logo system and identity for the city of Gent in Belgium. What do you think? Article, critique and discussion at Brand New.

Tags: cool finds, design by steve
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My client, Normandie, is currently touring the known United States.

The band is a side project thunk up by 3 members of theSTART; as a result, the shows become a twofer (two bands in one).

In tow they have a bunch of my tour posters (seen above) as well as some special handmade START cds doodled by the band itself (see below).

Follow their advance across the continent by jumping over to vocalist Aimee Echo’s Twitter page. As of this writing, they seem to be somewhere in the original 13 colonies  . . .  And may have been replaced by pirates.

Tour dates for both bands can be found on their MySpace pages here and here.

Tags: cool finds, illustration, mehallo merchandise, music by steve
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If you’ve been following Eddie Izzard on Twitter, you’ll find he’s been really having fun with an iPhone, Google Maps and Twitpics.

And today, it looks like he’s in Cardiff.

Last week, amongst the pigs.

Ohhh, them ‘Crazy names of England’

Connectivity baby!

Tags: cool finds, thoughts by steve
2 comments  . . .   

‘Cities have distinct soundtracks and we wanted a nice way of showing that.’

Visit CitySounds.fm and click one one of the major cities to hear its soundtrack.

Created by David Kjelkerud and Henrik Berggren, music tracks arrive via SoundCloud. City images are grabbed via a search for city name tags on Flickr.

Found via Twitter.com/emilychang

Tags: cool finds, music by steve
3 comments  . . .   

Before

After

I love good information graphics. And bad information graphics make my eyes bleed.

Check out this redesign by Robert Palmer (and strong letter to Rep. John Boehner) of a recent visual attack on the Democratic Health Plan.

This is an excellent example as to why graphic designers (well trained graphic designers) can do a lot more than just push buttons on a computer. Or make a logo look nice. Good graphic design is about good communication – and can be world changing.

(That’s my soapbox for the day. Thank you for reading.)

Found via Twitter.com/angelaglenn

Tags: cool finds, design, education, illustration, thoughts by steve
7 comments  . . .   

‘Sacramento needs the Horse Cow!’ Vanoni exclaimed. ‘Urban artist communities are needed globally. They are happening centers of culture—thriving and alive. They represent talent, energy and culture; they make a place live—or not.’

Despite a fire, Allen Denault and Steve Vanoni’s underground Horse Cow collective is still kicking. Read the detailed cover story in this week’s News and Review.

And here’s a link to the Horse Cow website.

Tags: art, cool finds by steve
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Emergence by Justin Lovato

It’s been awhile since The Toyroom Gallery shut its doors on Sacramento’s K-Street Mall. But that hasn’t stopped Craig Maclaine.

Still showcasing (and selling) incredible work, the Toyroom Gallery online has prints from Shepard Fairey, Dave Kinsey, Justin Lovato, Bask, Jeff Boyes, David Choe  . . .  Just click over for new arrivals.

Regeneration by Dave Kinsey

Tags: art, cool finds by steve
3 comments  . . .   

‘Sarah’ by Annie Purpura, silver gelatin print

The brain child of Vincent de Sarthe, CollegeArtOnline is a one stop source for starting a reasonably-priced art collection.

Featuring work by recent college grads or professors (only these two groups can sell at the site) – CollegeArtOnline can be a career launching pad or cultured resource for a lonely wall. Drop by, see what catches your fancy/matches your credenza.

‘No, I Don’t Even Know Your Name’ by Josh Bernstein, india ink & digital print

‘29’ by Becca Ahlf, digital photography

Found via Nylon, August 2009

Tags: art, cool finds, education, photography by steve
2 comments  . . .   

Photographic Quaker Oats advertisement, 1897

I always thought the Quaker Oats guy was Benjamin Franklin.

He actually started as a printer’s cut – clip art, in today’s terms – that was selected to go on the Oats packaging to show ‘purity.’ Quakers always looked pure, let’s sell some oats with that in mind.

Benjamin Franklin was really smart, not quite pure though.

Tags: art, cool finds, culinary, design history, education, photography, thoughts by steve
3 comments  . . .   

Click the image to read Maira Kalman’s ode to Franklin  . . . .

Benjamin Franklin was fun. So much fun, the International Printing Museum has on staff the incredible Phil Soinski.

Soinski portrays Franklin as part of their educational services; and does such a fantastic job, I learned more about Hot Type in one hour with ‘Ben’ than reading thru whatever pile of type books are currently stacked on my desk. Drop by the museum, set up a tour, take a class – their programs, their dedication to the craft of printing can be contagious.

And illustrator Maira Kalman gives us a bunch of really cool things to know about ultramegasuperinventor Ben Franklin in yesterday’s New York Times  . . . .

Tags: art, cool finds, design history, education, illustration by steve
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Organon Sans Family

Organon Serif Family

Robust and playful, Organon is Nick Cook’s new superset type family – now available thru Fontworks UK. Click on the links above to order. Detailed release notes can be also be found in this post at Typophile.

As for the moniker, Nick says, ‘I got the name from the first line of ‘Cloudbusting’ by Kate Bush.’

Found via Twitter.com/typegirl

Tags: cool finds, design, fonts, music, typography by steve
3 comments  . . .