CBrajkovich Ramblings

Wow, now this is a travel video. Made by Kyoto Studios and showing on Vimeo, this is a fun travel video showing a couple traveling to Cappadocia, Turkey with an awesomely catchy French song (S Tone Inc.’s Limbe). It’s quite different from most travel videos, because it’s captured the essence of the people there. Traveling doesn’t have to be a constant fun, roller coaster ride. Sometimes, it’s about getting to know the place that you’re visiting through a local’s eyes. Go check out Kyoto Studio’s Vimeo page to see where else they’ve traveled to. So much fun! Seriously, the travel industry could learn a thing or two from this video!

This is a pretty interesting video pitch for an app called TypeIS, developed by Travis Kirton. With a specialty in interactive media, it’s clear that Travis has used his experiences to come up with this new app that merges type into art with amazing ease. Instead of dealing with kerning or outlines, the user simply varies pressure and angle of the stylus to change the look and feel of the type that is flowing out through the line stroke.

It’s amazing that creators are developing applications that make art accessible to anyone. It will also be amazing to see what the new creators will do once they get this app in their devices. Check out how you can support TypeIS, and Travis, through Sokap (another fundraising platform similar to Kickstarter). It seems like an interesting project, don’t you think?

-thanks DesignTaxi

Ok, seriously, I cannot get over the stuff that comes from the talented mind of Alex Ruiz. He just released another image that he did which seems to be aimed for a book that he’s going to be releasing. Needless to say, I’m in line for it! Of course, I’m also hoping that he releases the other project that he was talking about soon. If I ever get the chance to meet him, well, I’ll probably just stare in awe. His mind is just so beautiful. It reminds me of that moment in 2010: The Year We Make Contact, when Dave Bowman exclaims, “My god, it’s full of stars!” Yeah, that’s what his artwork does to me.

Go checkout his Facebook page to get a clearer view of Alex’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  And then go check out his site to see some more of his amazing work. He’s got a lot of it!

Dean Putney had an interesting idea to make a few hundred blank business cards. Well, sort of blank, except that a simple smiley face : ) was printed on one side.  He’s used them over time to break the ice with strangers by asking them to complete a drawing from that starting point, and has collected the results. We get to be the recipients of this treasure trove as he decided to share them on Boing Boing, where he is the lead engineer.

I’ve got to say that this is a stroke of genius, because he’s found a way to get through the awkward first meeting stage through such a unique and inspiring way. It helps to know that like a lot of us, he’s not always comfortable in an unknown environment meeting new people. So, without further ado, take a look at one that captured my attention and then go check out the Boing Boing post to see more awesome creations by strangers who helped Dean break the ice. Totally brilliant idea!!! And the smile grows…

Colossal has a really inspiring post on creating art with people placed as individual pixels. This pixel people art is something that we all love to do, and have probably participated in at some point in our lives. Think of the wave at a sporting event. Or a message on the ground that can only be seen in the air. Much like this piece depicting Audrey Hepburn by Craig Alan and his volunteer pixels. Ha ha, we’re you fooled like I was? It’s a painting. To be able to focus on so many focal points while building the larger piece is pretty extraordinary in my book.

Head on over to Colossal to see the rest of the post and view some other artists who like this form of art. A lot of the others do use actual human volunteers to make their works. Either way, it’s incredible!

http://vimeo.com/1872289

This magical video was done by the crew at The Made Shop for Katie Chastain‘s song, Snowshow. I stumbled onto it by a sweet picture that they made that was being shared on this isn’t happiness, and fell in love with the song. Katie’s managed to make a song that makes you feel like you’re actually inside of a snow globe. How amazing is that? So, naturally, The Made Shop, had to make a fitting music video and I think that they did an incredible job to get just the right feel. You can go to their site to see the “making of” video, but I think I’m going to leave this one alone. The video is perfect, and I don’t want to know what’s behind the magic. After all, that’s what makes magic magical, don’t you think?

Definitely go check out Katie’s blog to see what she’s been up to lately. She’s put out a new record on Valentines Day through her and Nathan Johnson’s studio Faux Fix called My Antagonist. I’m going to have to check it out.

And don’t forget to browse The Made Shop’s blog (and here) because this foursome is doing some gorgeous (and prolific) work! How can you not love minds that come up with inspiration like this:

When I suggested that inspiring beauty was yours to find, I had no idea that this was happening in London. Fabergé is putting on The Big Egg Hunt, and has maps of 12 hot zones throughout London where you can bring back the magic of your childhood. There are 209 eggs in total made by some of incredible artists, and they really are treasures that fit into the palm of your hand (though some are larger than you might think).

The hunt is on from February 21st to April 3rd, and all you need to do is tweet the unique keyword relating to the egg you found to 80001 to be entered into a random drawing for the grand prize, the Diamond Jubilee Egg. Fabergé even added QR codes so that you can collect the eggs to Facebook. So, if you’re in London and want to join The Big Egg Hunt, now’s your time. Don’t forget your phone. And your sense of wonder. Sometimes, a day just needs to be about the wonder and the beauty, you know? Get inspired to look because that’s where the fun lies.

– Thanks DesignTaxi

I stumbled into YouTube to look for the original Frankenweenie, and somehow landed in the land of magic. Clicking on video after video, it’s like entering an enchanted land full of treasures made by all of you. This is what happens when genius is inspired to come to life. Enjoy a few that I found, and then go search for more yourself. Magic really is all around you. If you’re really looking, then you just might catch a glimpse.

Andrey Shuskov – Invention of Love

(keep going for more treasures to enthrall)

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