WANKEN - The blog of Shelby White » Design

Antalis Letterpress Calendar Clock

Shelby White — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:38:11 +0000

This calendar clock was designed for Antalis by Blow. This calendar merges the the relationships of date and time into one unit—the calenclock.

Container Color Systems Poster

Shelby White — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:42:55 +0000

The sides of shipping containers and trains have longtime been carriers of great design—the CN logo is a great example. So when coming across these shipping container posters by Antrepo, I was immediately drawn by the vibrant colors and simplicity.

Retro Spacesuit History

Shelby White — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:53:52 +0000

Spacesuits are intriguing. These spacesuits were photographed by Mark Avino for the book Spacesuits: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Collection.

Spacesuits are surprisingly fragile; they are made for a short lifespan in the most extreme of conditions, and long-term survival is not part of their design process. The final chapter touches briefly on the current conditions of historic suits, how they have held up over time, the reasons for their deterioration, and the rewards and difficulties associated with caring for and preserving these very complex and iconic artifacts. From the first spacesuit designs of the 1930s through those worn on the landmark Apollo-Soyuz program of 1975,Spacesuits provides a behind-the-scenes look at the history of these remarkable creations, including some that have never before been publicly displayed.

Images via Retronaut

Daft Life Typography Posters

Shelby White — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:35:56 +0000

Listen harder. Learn faster. Love better. Live stronger. These are all things that I’m sure we all could use more practice on from time to time. The typography in these posters is something else; they were created by Canadian designer, Joey Camacho.

Silicon Valley Tea Houses

Shelby White — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:41:09 +0000

Swatt Miers Architects designed these three very simple houses in Silicon Valley, California. Each house has a unique purpose. The first 270 square foot space is the meditation tea house used for individual contemplation. The next space at 372 square feet is the sleeping tea house used for overnight stays. The third tea house at 492 square feet is the visioning tea house used for intimate gatherings and creative thinking. Each space is about quiet simplicity. No phones or televisions are found in the home.

Swissted: Where Punk Rock meets Swiss Modernism

Shelby White — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:14:03 +0000

Swissted is the next greatest thing to hit the web besides Designspiration. It is an ongoing project by graphic designer Mike Joyce and also the owner of Stereotype design in New York City. Mikes love for punk rock music and Swiss design is what allows these two near polar opposites to meet. Each poster reflects the traditional international typographic style posters, each sized to the standard swiss kiosk dimensions of 35.5″ by 50″. The typeface used of course is Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk Medium.

Canon EOS 500D Hand Bag

Shelby White — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 08:14:34 +0000

Quite a cool collateral concept to go along with a Canon EOS 500D brochure. As grocery stores across the world require you to bring in your own grocery bags, these would be great for photographers. I’d use one.

Retirement Facility Hottingen Signage

Shelby White — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:25:30 +0000

Designers Aline Dallo, Julia Kind, Kathrin Urban and Tina Stäheli worked together to create this signage project for a retirement home in Hottingen, Zurich. The signage system consists of a series of frames that can be ordered in various ways. The combination of color and large type really sells this as a welcoming solution for this project.

The 2011 Designers Wishlist

Shelby White — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 08:39:33 +0000

It’s that time of year again to put on your best thinking cap and compile giftlists before Christmas. Having done just that for you, this wishlist contains an assortment of reasonably priced gifts that are great ideas to give to your designer, photographer or creative friends. Or if you’re sneaky, you can slip them into your own stocking!

Continue reading for the full designers wishlist and to share your gift ideas!

1. Wacom Inkling Digital Sketch Pad from $199

This is cool, really cool. The Wacom Inkling allows you to sketch on paper and your idea is transferred digitally. Each stroke is captured allowing you to essentially create layers in your file before you’ve even pulled it into Photoshop.

2. iPad Dry Erase Board from $26.95

This iPad Dry Erase board is just plain cool. It’s a quick and easy way to sketch up wireframes or quick ideas within the frame of an iPad. This could be a great tool to use in a conference room or even while on the phone.

3. Steve Jobs Book by Walter Isaacson from $17-30

This is the book that everyone is talking about. Author Walter Isaacson thoroughly interviewed the great Steve Jobs about his life as well as business. In the book Jobs speaks very openly about his life. Very highly recommended.

4. G-TECH 2TB Hard Drive for $249

If you know your friend isn’t doing their routine backups or always complains of hard drive issues, you might consider treating them with this G-Tech drive. It’s a guarantee that you won’t have to listen to them complain any longer. The drive has all the necessary inputs and most importantly it is fast and reliable.

5. Pantone Chair from $66

These Pantone chairs come in an assortment of colors and are surprisingly comfortable to sit in. They have a padded seat cushion and padded backrest. They make great corner-of-the-room or conference room chairs.

6. Tycho ‘Dive’ Album from $10-28

The newest Tycho album establishes a different musical position that is entirely refreshing. While some of the tracks are more upbeat, listening to the album is the ultimate way to tune out and get shit done. Highly recommended for that first gift so that you can listen to it while opening others.

7. Supergraphics Book from $10-28

Supergraphics is an absolutely beautiful book showcasing some of the simplest forms of geometric design. Jean Philippe Lenclos, a French symbolist and color theorist, talks about the appreciation of color and the use. This is an inexpensive book with high value.

8. Leica M9 Camera from $5999

Leica cameras have to be one of the most sought after products of all time. If you’re feeling in an ultra giving mood, gift a loved one or friend this silver Leica M9. The M9 is a small, 18-megapixel rangefinder with a 24 x 36mm sensor (35mm format).

9. Saul Bass A life in Film & Design Book from $75

Freshly published in November 2011, this hardback book is one of the first to be published about Saul Bass, one of the greatest corporate identity designers of the 20th century. The book includes 1484 illustrations and is 440 pages long.

10. Monarch Playing Cards from $6.95

Like playing cards? If so, these are for you. If not, that’s ok because this packaging is undeniably beautiful and that alone may sell you on gifting these. Inexpensive stocking stuffer.

11. Field Notes Memo Book from $9.95 (3-pack)

Simple and useful at its core. These memo books are perfect for jotting down notes or working on your sketches. Each book measures 3-1/2″ wide by 5-1/2″ tall and is bound with a rugged three-staple saddle-stitch process. Hint: gift these to your family if you know they like writing down things.

12. Tattly “Hustle” Tats & Field Notes Memo books from $15 set

Tattly + Field Notes have teamed up to bring the ultimate “get stuff done” set. In this set you get three Field Notes Memo notebooks and three Tattly Tat’s to get you ready to rock and roll.

Wallpaper Magazine Cover Illustration

Shelby White — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:19:54 +0000

Andrew Townsend created this cover illustration for Wallpaper* Magazine. The vibrant colors immediately drew my attention and made me realize that I kind of miss reading physical magazines every month.

The Evolution of the Herman Miller Logo

Shelby White — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 09:39:54 +0000

Current: The Herman Miller logo maintains an elegant shape contained within a circle. The circle was introduced in 1999.

Herman Miller, one of the greatest companies in interior design, has been around for over 100 years. Originally starting as the Michigan Star Furniture Company in 1905, the company evolved to claim the name Herman Miller in 1923.

Since then the company has completely shaped us and our backs by providing some of the ergonomic chairs and office equipment around today.

Shared via Graham Smith

1905 – The logo of the Michigan Star Furniture Company. The design was a generic banner similar to other logos of that time.

1923 – D.J. De Pree buys the company and names it after his Father-in-law, Herman Miller. While the logo is updated it maintains the strong linear quality of it’s 1905 predecessor.

1946 – Irving Harper, working for George Nelson, redesigns the logo and creates the iconic “M”, which was featured prominently in advertising at the time.

1948 – The logo designed in 1946 used in promotional advertising. We see a slight variance in the weight of the type used. Could be a custom version not used as the main logo.

1952 – We see a different look at a similar version of the 1946 logo in more promotional advertising for the Eames plywood chairs.

1960 – John Massey, in keeping with the times, sets Herman Miller in Helvetica—all lowercase—and locks it to the “M”, creating a logo design that lasted for almost 40 years.

1960 – The Herman Miller logo mark used in chair promotional ad.

1999 – Through a quick design exercise with a small group of designers, Steve Frykholm and Brian Edlefson came forth with the updated Typeface, Meta, and the placement of the “M” in a circle, which continued to be locked with “HermanMiller”—now one word.

Vintage Inspired Ogami Notebooks

Shelby White — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:18:41 +0000

These vintage/international style inspired notebooks are beautiful. I’d love to get my hands on a set. Here are a few words from the creator:

Officemilano with Paul Frello Quotes Online has created a collection of notebooks REPAP feature a vintage-inspired graphics to the international style associated with a citation.

Lufthansa Airlines Cabin Label

Shelby White — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 07:47:40 +0000

Great design has function and this Lufthansa Airlines label, meets that mark. To this day I can’t recall a more elegant, simple label. The use of Helvetica is absolutely beautiful. The design of this label is credited to Otl Aicher. Thanks to Wallace Henning for finding it.

Mekkanika Experimental Typeface

Shelby White — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:31:29 +0000

Mekkanika is a typeface inspired by old mechanics technical drawings and modern machinery, mixed and merged together to form letters. The typeface is originally based on the letterform shapes of DIN Alternate Black. Riccardo Sabatini, the creator Mekkanika, also provides a soundtrack that gives this typeface more mechanical life.

Also found on This is Collosal

Misc Design Ephemera

Shelby White — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:36:50 +0000

These four images via Flickr have been on my desktop for a while as inspiration. More similar design work coming in a follow up post.