January 1, 2012

Design Feast Highlights of 2011

2011 was another year charged with creativity. Here are the people, places and things that I enjoyed discovering and kept in mind, year-long:

Everyone
To echo my first highlight of 2010, I commend everyone who commits to making ideas happen and crushing it!


Source: Nate Burgos

CreativeMornings
Founded by swissmiss, a.k.a. Tina Roth Eisenberg, CreativeMornings is my kind of design conference. Previously, I had felt triple-dissed with my experiences of design conferences: disillusioned, disenchanted and dissatisfied. CreativeMornings brought me back to the social fold of creatively engaged people. It provides a spirited and succinct experience, grounded in the celebration of local practitioners. I’m thankful that it arrived in Chicago (along with other cities), where I’ve been easily inspired to blog about each meet-up.


Source: Alonzo Felix

Sweat the Small Stuff
A pithy phrase respected by graphic designer, letterer, illustrator, and Studiomate, Alonzo Felix, and brought to life in his poster. Custom typeface, smooth-and-connected in character. Bold color combination. The result fully embodies the phrase.


Source: Dwell

Villa Welpeloo
In Enschede, Netherlands, 2012 Architects made a house mostly composed of locally found materials. Old billboards were used for the kitchen’s cabinetry, and a retired textile mill provided metal, which was harvested for the house’s infrastructure. It is an exercise of sheer resourcefulness: taking things once rendered useless and making them useful again—prompting the impression of seeing something that’s beautifully restored.


Source: Noah Beil

Photo Books by Noah Beil
Handmade photo books that blend photography, letterpress and inkjet printing. Photographer Noah Beil has taken creative matters into his own hands to make things—things he cherishes. It’s a noble act worth repeating.


Wilco’s Tiny Desk Concert
With curated editorial sites like Designers.MX and Lost in Concert, creativity’s twin is music. NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts are kindred to CreativeMornings in their compact serving size. It’s a live format that rock band Wilco turned into a blissful set.

Of course, my list is never a complete one. What are your Design Highlights of 2011?

As you recall your highlights: Thank you for visiting and reading, and here’s to an excellent new year of thinking and making!

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