[uhp-steyt fan-see] - adjective

1. not exorbitant or extravagent by city standards, however in a rural setting (like upstate new york) it is in fact, quite fancy.

2. a wonderful blog dedicated to art, design and other things that are indeed upstate fancy.

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Feb
24
design
WE’RE BRINGING oranges back

I didn’t hate the new Tropicana packaging, but I also didn’t think it needed to be changed. There was something so iconic about the previous packaging, with that big juicy orange with the red and white straw poking out f it, it just said FRESH & Natural without having to actually say anything. The new packaging was just a little plain jane to me, it is modern, but it doesn’t have any added value, there was nothing special about this orange juice vs any other. I did however have very a very strong opinion about their new ad campaign, I hated it. It is boring, contrived and the copy writing is subpar (what little there is of it). “Squeeze it’s a natural.” Really? who says “It’s a natural?” I think there is a word missing in that sentence.. or maybe there is one word to many. Either way it just doesn’t make sense. 

Well for anyone who has felt even a tad bit leery of the new packaging, or maybe you just down right hated it, there is good news on the horizon ( thanks to the NYT ). Tropicana ( run by Pepsico ) is returning to the old packaging. Apparently the public is up in arms about the rebranding, so the company is listening to the people.  Now if only we can get more people to express their opinions about things that really matter. 

oj

Feb
19
design
CUT IT out

I am so digging the new home collection from Megan Auman. I really love the simplicity of her  patterns, they are simple and feminine without being overly floral. Created from powder coated steel these laser cut steel pieces are oh so very unique.  It’s refreshing to see such a manly material crafted into something soft and lovely.

megan

Feb
17
design
FANCY wood coasters

I have been working on this idea for a while and thanks to the good folks over at ponoko, I have some great new products in the shop. These wood coasters are laser cut form Color Rimu wood, with an engraved frame, and a cut out silhouette. I hand drew the silhouettes, scanned them in to illustrator, laid  them out with a fanciful frame and sent them over to New Zealand to be cut. They look so great I am designing a few different ones to add to the series. 

A set of 4 casters are available over at my etsy shop, you can be sure these will add a little bit of fancy under that refreshing drink. And maybe even spruce up your table and home.

coasters

Feb
13
design
BASELINE, X-HEIGHT, AND KERNING oh my

Phew it’s been a busy week around the office, complete with freelancers, computer problems, and a quick trip to the New York Times. With that being said I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about inherent knowledge that I take for granted. 

I’m teaching a introduction to Adobe illustrator class in March and have been trying to unlearn things and break down the program into simple basics. One of the things I use illustrator for  is manipulating fonts, so I’ve been looking for some font basics so that the class will know what I’m talking bout with words like counter, kerning, descender and baseline. Well, thanks to the lovely people over at typeworkshop.com I have a great place to send everyone. Their blueprint-style drawings of  typographic characters explain basic terminology, letter spacing (kerning is correct word), and almost anything else you want to know about typography in a simple visual format. Check them out and learn something new today, you could be on your way to designing your own typeface. 

typebasics-02

Feb
11
design
GREENER gadgets

Core77 has once again partnered with Greener Gadgets to produce a design competition aimed at generating outstanding design innovations for greener electronics. they engaged Designers to develop gadgets that would minimize the environmental impact of consumer electronic devices. They have narrowed it down to a handful and are asking the public to cast their vote for  top 10 that will be judged at the Greener Gadget Conference In NYC on February 27th. The design below is the bug plug, designed by Kamil Jerzykowski (Poland), which saves energy and prevents unnecessary (and often accidental) energy consumption. The device has a built-in motion sensor, turning off all connected devices (through powerstrips) when it detects no motion or body heat. So that 15 minute you took with your dog and left the tv and the lights on, don’t worry the bug plug will take care of that. Cast your vote for your favorite Greener Gadget at Core77.

bug

Feb
06
design
EMPTY VESSELS transformed

Simply beautiful and beautifully simplistic. Designed by Ron Gilad the Vase Maker is a functional work of art that transforms any containment vessel into a avant garde vase. The beauty of the vase maker is that the look feel and design is changed each time it’s place on a new vessel. From the modern and hip to the elegent and classical, this functional art object is open to your own style and interpretation. The vase maker is available at designfenzider.com

vase

Jan
09
design
YOU CAN DO what??

I am very dangerous in a fabric store. If I like something, I will buy it , and quite possibly never use it. Last year I took a class in textile design and have been wanting to print my own fabrics. I came across this lovely bird fabric designed by Laurie of The Scarlet Fig that was printed using service from Spoonflower. Spoonflower allows anyone to upload their own designs and have them outputted on cotton MODA fabric. AMAZING! I have a few designs I am working on and will be sure to share them when they are done. In the meantime, start designing your own fabric, at $18 a yard, it’s a steal!

spoonflower

Dec
19
design
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS is my two front teeth

Why has no one thought of this before? I love, love, love the official tooth fairy kit by Notion Farm. A beautiful way to record a precious childhood memory. The kit contains a beautiful letter-pressed certificate of Record to file with your local tooth fairy and a screen-printed cloth bag for your past and future tooth deposits. You can now keep track of the age the tooth was lost, method of extraction and compensation for said tooth. Can’t wait to see who is going to stock these amazing memory collectors. 

Dec
18
design
SAVE MONEY on printing

Creative firm SPRANQ has designed a new font to save some ink, and in turn save you some money on printing ink. This eco font is based on the sans-serif font veranda, and uses 20% less ink due to the empty circles in the font. They tested a variety of designs using lines, and squares and other techniques but decided the circle worked best. When the font is printed ( especially at a small size ) the dots are hardly visible, but definitely there. What a wonderful small simple way to make your life a little greener. And best of all, the font is free to download

Dec
15
design
A ROUGH TIME for printers

I work full time as a graphic designer, mostly doing print pieces. We all know the economy isn’t great right now and it affects quite a bit of things. I love that Because Studio has managed to find the humor in a situation i see on a daily basis. A lot of clients don’t have the money right now to spend on a 5 color pantone job with letter-pressed envelopes and die-cuts. These little prints say everything that I have been feeling. Pieces can still be beautiful even when you don’t have a lot of money to throw at a job. 

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