French graphic student René Mambembe has created a series of A to Z posters featuring Superheroes in Helvetica font.

Titled ‘Helvetica, My Hero’, Mambembe has assigned each letter in the alphabet to a superhero or a well-known character.

(via DesignTAXI)

PANTONE has teamed up with beauty company Sephora to create a makeup line that revolves entirely around PANTONE’s 2012 Color of the Year, Tangerine Tango.

The make-up collection will feature the bright reddish-orange hue in various forms, such as luminous eyeliner, creamy lipsticks, nail polish, blush, lip-gloss, faux lashes and eye shadow.

This would include colored tools that bear the tangerine spirit for you to apply the makeup with, such as brushes, eyelash curlers and makeup pouches.

To start looking sunshine-kissed, the entire collection is available for purchase on Sephora.com. Prices range from US$7 to US$68.

(source: Design Taxi)

This series was conceived by aquarium designer Karl-Oskar Ankarbergom (Karl-Oskar Ankarberg). The designer called the aquarium “arhikvariumami.” They resemble modern architecture than the aquarium. They are made of wood and glass, as well as in their manufacture are used minerals.

(source: uaquarium)

Ever wondered what a 12 million dollar home might look like? Well here is your chance to find out. This massive 9,236 square foot family home located in the hills of Los Angeles, California and developed by Dream Project LA(DPLA) was recently up for sale for $14 million, but actually sold with $12 million. The mansion features no less than six bedrooms and ten bathrooms, a three car garage and a stunning infinity edge pool. To top it all, the inhabitants enjoy unobstructed views of the surrounding mountains, making a regular swim a genuine relaxation experience. Here is a more detailed “inventory” from the official project description: “A state-of-the-art open floor-plan with grand open kitchen, family room and breakfast nook seating for 10, extensive private outdoor covered patio, fireplace and closets designed for today’s royalty. Formal dining for 20, home theater, piano room, 23′ grand foyer ceilings and high ceilings throughout, 3 exquisite staircases, 70′ quartz infinity pool spilling into a picture perfect view, remote controlled disappearing walls of glass seamlessly joining the outdoor living rooms and patios with the decadent grand rooms inside”. Be sure to check out the video at the end of the post for a virtual tour.

(source: freshome)

What can one say about Hemeroscopium House in Madrid, by Antón García- Abril? It was built in just seven days, out of seven massive structural elements. And yes, that thing cantilevering out the front on top is a swimming pool.

I suppose one can say that it proves that prefabrication can be used for good or evil ends.

A Hemeroscopium is evidently greek for the place where the sun sets, so they probably don't worry about unprotected floor to ceiling glass in Madrid. But it is crazy wonderful engineering; that pile of rock on top of the beam acts as a counterbalance to the cantilever of the beam. It might be nice if the beams were taken from some dismantled highway like the Big Dig house, but alas, they do not appear to be.

Amazing to watch the construction. Lots more pictures at Archinect

(via TreeHugger)

Red/Pink
In the red family we included cherry reds with both blue and yellow undertones, and deeper cabernet reds with hints of brown. With pink being popular and uplifting, we added a range from a soft Ballerina Pink to a vivacious Deep Rose with blue undertones.

Orange
With the orange family becoming more prominent we expanded our range to include more hot and radiant orange shades with red undertones such as Tangerine Tango as well a variety of some spicy and deeper oranges that display a dollop of brown with names like Cinnamon Stick and Marmalade.

Yellow
To enhance our selection of yellows, we brought in more true yellows in the light to mid-tone range
including Lemon Meringue and Solar Power and also some softer, warmer yellow hues reminiscent of Flan and Pear Sorbet.

Browns
In the brown family we brought in several of the delicious pure chocolate browns like Ganache and Chocolate Torte which are deeper and richer. With the taupe and khaki family ascending in popularity we also added in a variety of warmer and more classic taupes including a Toasted Coconut and Humus which display a golden base.

Greens
The rising importance of the green family led to the addition of a wide array of green hues ranging from the lush and deep true hunter greens like Climbing Ivy, to the gemstone influenced emerald greens such as Jolly Green and on to the more grayed down blue based greens like Belgian Block and Agave Green.

Blues
With a renewed emphasis on blue based shades, we added varying degrees of periwinkle blues including Paler Halogen and Chambray Blue, some more watery based teal and aquamarine blues with names like Mykonos Blue and Aqua Splash and 12 new navies including several red based navies, a true indigo and more classic navy shades like Night Sky and Evening Blue.

Purples
As purple hues continue to soar, we added some more vibrant red based purples such as Cherries Jubilee and Granite, several grayed down purples with blue undertones suggestive of a Mesa Rose and some more mystical smokey violet shades.

Mauves
We increased the variety of our blue based pinks from the palest rose to the deeper azalea tones.

Whites
Whites, the purest of the pure and that most classic of shades, were expanded in both warm and cool tones.

Grays
With grays more in demand, we added a wide range of grays in varying color depths including the more neutral blue based grays with names like Storm Front and Graphite, as well as some red based and green based grays.

Blacks
Black Bean and Tap Shoe are just two examples of the variety of new sleek and sophisticated black shades we added to round out our collection of blacks hues in our palette.

source: pantone

Today we want to show you collection of creative 3D types created by designer from United Kingdom Chris LaBrooy. Some of his works were used for covers of magazines. Chris creates not only high quality 3D types but also tries to find specific style for each type. For example, industrial architectural style with it’s rough cast concrete is a perfect fit for Helvetica. Have fun!

 

Source: Beautiful Life

When these "minimalist brands" started popping up on the A2591 blog a few weeks ago, they seemed like a fun design exercise. The designers simply reduced familiar packaging to its bare essentials, taking colors and graphics away in a dramatic, three-step reveal.

Some of the brands look especially sharp when reduced to a bare-bones execution; others are reduced to an almost unrecognizable state without their cascading milk falls or sides of sliced fruit.

These seem like products stocked in some fantasyland grocery store patronized exclusively by anal-retentive designers, but as I started to look at some recent rebranding stories, I'd argue that the minimal trend is actually infiltrating the market faster than we think.

Remember the outcry over the new Pepsi branding? Compared to a few years ago, heck, even compared to the other brands in its flock, that's about as streamlined of a design as you could get. If you walk down the soda aisle, Pepsi's wall of solid blue and silver definitely sticks out.

Method, the eco- and design-minded soap and cleanser company, has always taken the most minimal route when it comes to branding. Its candy-colored soaps and simple type have inspired more than a few copycats in the market.

And look at the branding of Canadian private label No Name we covered a few weeks back, or this extremely similar but slightly more elegant take for the new U.K. co-op The People's Supermarket. This simple, two-tone identity has been exalted by designers and consumers, who like the no-frills, no-spin packaging. And of course, there's another great example that popped up yesterday:

Compare A2591's minimalist exercise to the move that Starbucks has made with its recently-redesigned logo, and well ... it's almost uncanny.

What do you think: Will we see more of this more-is-less packaging in our slimmed-down future?

Disclaimer: GOOD partners with PepsiCo on the Refresh Project.

Source: Good

Japanese practice emmanuelle moureaux architecture + design has completed 'sugamo shinkin bank', a credit union located in shimura, japan. the design, an offset volume of rainbow-like layers, is the third branch designed by moureaux, with the first two located in tokiwadai and niiza.

Stacked slabs in twelve saturated colors dominate the exterior facade and contrast the stark white panels that enclose the building. looking to create a refreshing atmosphere with a palpable sense of nature, the colors gently transition until they disappear into the sky. softly reflected onto the white surfaces, the hues create a warm and diffused exterior which provide a sense of ease and solitude. At night, the layers are faintly illuminated, varying in accordance to weather and the season.

Upon entering the building, three elliptical skylights bathe the interior in a soft light. penetrating through each of the three levels, the clear, curving tubes carry light through them, introducing natural light into the depths of the structure while integrating interior and exterior environments.

On the main floor where the bank machines and teller windows are located, simple motifs and brightly colored furniture act as a connection to the characteristics evident on the exterior of the structure.

Source: Design Boom

 

We are always happy when design tools found another used. BrandSession used Pantone® chips to identify with a particular grape varietal.

"Design of a label for a multivarietal wine through the use of a meta-message: We use Pantone® chips with colors to identify with a particular grape varietal. Each time a varietal in the blend of this wine changes in the next vintage, the color of the chip changes.

The bottle is elegant with dark glass and square shoulders and slender and with great personality.The label is modern, clean and colorful, it reflects the plurality of grape varieties and anticipates the product features: fruits, intensity, vivacity... It incorporates the historic Osborne Bull while introducing a different -more modern- typography, consistent with the graphic presentation of the brand. Loyal to its concept of plurality, each year the label will reflect the changes of the grapes that will make up the assemblage of that vintage."

 

(via The Dieline)