ReubenMiller

Reuben Miller Weekly Roundup

 

[image via designboom]

Now that it's spring, there have been lots of around-the-house projects begging for attention. I've also been looking at a lot of fresh inspiration. Here's a collection of things I've been working on and cool things I thought you might enjoy seeing.

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I saw these awesome wine bottle illustrations by Lydia Nichols over at The Dieline. Speaking of The Dieline, the Package Design Conference in Boston is around the corner. I plan to be there with Yael (she's speaking on Sunday).

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I decided I needed a second pair of glasses. I do a lot of work outdoors and in the workshop, so I need a second pair so I don't screw up the one I have. I was looking at a bunch of styles over at Warby Parker.

They must be pretty popular because I'm still waiting for a bunch of styles to become available for Home Try-On. Which style do you think I should get?

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Our studio, Miller Creative, just completed the redesign for Cybele Pascal's blog. I think it looks pretty awesome.

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I finally got brave and started my trial of Basecamp, which is a project management tool. Unlike Yael, I am very slow to embrace something new. Basecamp seriously rocks. It's perfect for managing our projects. All I need now is something useful to manage clients and potential clients.

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I thought this video was funny.

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My favorite wine right now is The Coalition. It's made by Shirah Wine Company of California.The packaging was designed by Miller.

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I recently spotted these over at DesignWorkLife. There are lots more of them at Lomography.

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We recently had the opportunity to recommend Keef for video production for one of our clients. They're the creative genius behind the video for Breukelen Distilling. As a suprise gesture of thanks they sent us a bottle of Breuklelen's Glorious Gin (seen above). The video kinda makes you want to get up and create something. [Branding and packaging by I Love Dust]

 

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Volkswagen used crowdsourcing to supply ideas for a futuristic concept car. They then turned the top ideas into these amazing concept videos. You can see the video here.

 

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Now it's time to wrap things up for the week, pull out some glasses and open the umbrella. The weekend is finally here. This is the song in my head for this time of day/week/year. It's by John Prine and Mac Wiseman. (The original song was first performed by Patti Page)

Have a great weekend.

split happens

Split Happens, by David Schwen. Buy the art print and have a happy, yellow day.

gocco feature: 13 artists / 13 giveaways

i just finish compiling a mammoth feature on gocco for sharesomecandy click the image below to check it out. (lots of goodies being given away too)

what i wore today

Artist: Gemma Correll

A quick google of 'what i wore today' and you'll find pages of sites wanting to share their fashion savvy with their readers. Well, what if you're camera shy or what if you're not wearing anything 'branded' but still feel good about what you put together?  What if you were also an artist?

Letterhead Fonts Gets a Serious Makeover

After

Before

Letterhead Fonts is one of my favorite font foundries. I've discovered gems ranging from old-style reproduction sign lettering to energized, modern brush scripts perfect for food packaging design. Their fonts are unique in their generous inclusion of alternates and bonus swashes and embellishments. The quality is always excellent and they're so much fun to work with.

A couple days ago when I was looking for fonts for my latest packaging design project, I checked out Letterhead's website. When the website came up on my screen I was totally taken aback by the astonishingly lavish new look (see before and after above). I had to compliment Chuck Davis (the man behind Letterhead Fonts) on the new look and he was kind enough to share some great behind-the-scenes info.

Firstly, the credit for the design goes to supertalent, Dave Smith. Dave completely hand-illustrated and rendered the header and footer for the web pages.

Continue for behind-the-scenes sketches and hand work, and more of the story behind this extraordinary website design.

ReubenMiller's Got a Brand-Spanking New Look!

I'm sure you've noticed by now that we've got a fresh new look for the blog. After a lot of coding, tweaking and generally making a mess of CSS, I've managed to get it to look half-decent (let me know what you think of it!) It still remains a work-in-progress. The goal of this redesign was to make it easier to get around and add some more color. After all, you know we're suckers for color!

Last but not least, our large header incorporates the work of a featured artist. We'll be featuring different artists in that space and rotating them over time to keep things interesting. This isn't a sponsored spot, but rather a testament to our support of great artists. Our first feature is of the brilliant and witty Simon Oxley, one of our all-time favorites.

Enjoy!

Exclusive Interview: Yellena James

We've been long-time fans of the talented Yellena James. Her richly textured works feature intricate details that take their cue from nature. She's already been featured on RM more than once. We knew an interview with one of our favorite artists was way overdue. Many thanks to Yellena for sharing her time with us!

REUBENMILLER: Please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Yellena James: I was born in Sarajevo. I went to art school there for a couple of years during the civil war. When I was 18, I moved to the States and went to UCF for my graphic design/painting degree. Besides exhibits and taking care of my Etsy shop, I also do a lot of freelance illustration work. I recently moved to Portland, OR and I love it here. When I'm not in my studio working or checking out my favorite design blogs, I'm usually tooling around town visiting galleries, eating good food, hanging out with new friends. I love to travel too, whenever I can.  Having shows around the country is a great excuse to visit new places.

(Continue reading for complete interview.)

Illustrator Jericho Santander

Another gem via Behance.net - this illustration by Spanish artist Jericho Santander is called Mas Pelas. His work is surreal, imaginative and well crafted. Be sure to check out his other equally amazing illustrations.

Alexa's Top 90 Design Weblogs

Want to know the top design blogs according to Alexa? Well, we've compiled all 90 of them. I have no clue how they come up with these rankings, but hey, these are great sites to check out and bookmark! (ReubenMiller ranks 24 - not bad.)

Cock Fight

   

This is a music video created by Roel Wouters. The idea behind the artwork and a series of posters was to  "capture rage in a systematic way". The video shows two cocks, covered in ink/paint fighting on a sheet of paper. Their steps, falls and brushes on the paper create a very intriguing result.

Beautiful? Yes. Ethical? You decide.

(via Thinking for a Living)