I’m sure I’m not alone when I say we have many names for our pet. From empowering titles like Major Fluff to repugnant names like Mister Rat Legs (during Tofu’s bunny butt bath time), here are a few designs I whipped up for our furry CEO. Background image: Tofu’s fur. Note: “Cash” was actually given to him by our neighbour. I’m unsure if he was named after Johnny Cash or actual currency. Either way fits. Click here to see more editions of Tofu Tuesday.
Today marks the deadline for design submissions for New Zealand’s national flag. No one has decided that we will be changing our flag yet. It might not happen at all, but submissions have been accepted for consideration. As a designer and a tax payer, I agree that redesigning the flag is inevitable and something to think about for our future. Our flag is outdated and doesn’t reflect our nation. Still, changing the flag is an expensive, unpopular exercise we don’t need right now. Design by committee is never a good idea and generally speaking, crowd sourced design is terrible. The panel of judges was appointed by the government from nominations and represent a broad range of New Zealanders. There are no designers in the panel, though the panel have expressed that they will be consulting with advisors including design and cultural experts. Design by designers and selection by an experienced panel could work. But submissions accepted from anyone with an internet connection and selection by a cross section of people will be far more unpredictable. The sheer number of entries has been …
A collection of vintage crate labels from Pinterest. I can’t imagine that Tofu the bunny would be any good at farming carrots or apples, though he is very good at working the land.
August was a foodie month of epic proportions. Auckland Restaurant Month inspired me into a frenzy of dining out. While this blog isn’t really a restaurant review website, I wanted to celebrate some of the great local food we have here in Auckland, New Zealand. I posted a review a day while all regular features went on hiatus. I know some of you missed my regular features, but I hope you enjoyed the special month…I know I did!
Schipper’s beer is a tiny brewery based in my neck of the woods. The brewer is a local photographer with a passion for food and beer. Schippers have delightful branding including this armed and dapper magician for Schipper’s Herr X Vienna Lager. A complex but elegant lager with subtle cherry and raisin aromas. 80’s music nerds will be interested to note that Herr X is the B-side of Ultravox’s Vienna. Illustrations by Paul Densem at Teaspoon Films and design by Gunroom. You can see more work by Gunroom and Paul Densem here and here. Find out more about Schipper’s Beer on their Facebook page. All images property of Schipper’s Beer.
A very lovely packaging design by South African design student Minette Wasserman for a very lovely white hot chocolate. See her other student work over on her Behance page here.
The Forgotten Rabbit logo re-design by Jorgen Grotdal via Behance. Jorgen is a 17 year old logo designer based in Norway. Retro, vintage, hipster logos galore, he is a bit of a one trick pony, but he does the one trick very well. See this and more of his works on his website jorgengrotdal.com
Poster for Town Cutler by designer/illustrator Craig Frazier. See more of his work over here at http://www.craigfrazier.com. Town Cutler is a top of the line artisan knife and cutlery shop in San Francisco. I’m not sure what this poster represents, but I couldn’t help but think of these death rabbits. Equal parts badass and adorbs.
Melissa Pierce’s Behance portfolio caught my eye recently, particularly this project for Ground in Queensland, Australia. You can see this project and more of Melissa’s work on her Behance portfolio here: www.behance.net/melissaleepierce Ground Organics is a cafe serving organic food and coffee. I love this sweet watercolour rabbit and the photography is lovely too. Their Facebook cover photo is pretty cute too…
The Rarebit is a cool spot for the people of Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Designed by Jay Fletcher who has a huge portfolio of very slick, drool-worthy logos. See this work and more at Jay’s website: http://www.jfletcherdesign.com So much whimsy in a very cool, not at all girly design. Quite often restraint is more powerful in design than showing everything you’ve got. And because this is still a food blog, here are some yummy photos by Jonathan Boncek for The Rarebit.
My search for bunny logos and branding never ends. But if it did, it might end at Hello Tomato’s identity design for Run Rabbit. Hello Tomato is Sasha Heath, an illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia. Hello Tomato has also done work for last week’s Monday Bunday The Woodsfolk. You can view more Hello Tomato goodies here: http://www.hellotomato.com.au Love bunny things? Check out more editions of Monday Bunday here. P.S Please check out her doodle/tatto style rabbit lamp and rabbit light. They are really, very cool. Looks like a fun project to get my own mitts on.
As a graphic designer I have designed a few restaurant logos and I am always hoping to design more. I am still looking for that elusive bunny foodie client. Until then, here are some of my favourite bunny restaurant logos from around the world. Clicking on images will lead to the source. In no particular order…
I’ll be honest. I buy food and wine that has beautiful packaging. My pulse quickens, I may gasp aloud and I’ve been known to squeal with delight. I am an absolute sucker for pretty bottles, labels, quirky illustrations and unique materials. As a print designer who also happens to be obsessed with food, I would love nothing more than to design just for the food. All day, every day. Heaven. Yesterday at The Food Show was like food design geek OVERLOAD. So many lovely designs. So little time. It was a lovely surprise to see The Good Tempered Chocolate Company at The Food Show. The ornate, hand drawn logo I designed for Hayley was on display for everyone to see. Excite! Hayley’s hand made chocolates are to die for and she sweetens me up by bringing me her wonderful treats to sample. I had the pleasure of trying her new Peanut Butter Deluxe Chocolate a few weeks ago and she launched it at The Food Show. Hayley shared a stall with Pic’s Really Good Peanut Butter. The …
Tom Whalen has a distinctive illustration style that lends itself nicely to screenprinting. I’m loving this poster Tom designed for a one off screening of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, although the sexy Jessica Rabbit could have been a larger part of the design. You can view more of Tom’s stunning illustrations over at his website www.strongstuff.net
This week, 7 years ago, I had just completed an illustrated children’s book and had set up for the AUT Grad show for the Bachelor of Art and Design. It happened to be the same week as my 21st birthday and I was so busy with the exhibition that I flagged a formal 21st party. Instead, I opted for a spontaneous knees up at Rising Sun bar on K Road where The Koala worked. We lived on K Road back then so it was an easy choice. It was a good party, not that I remember, but for the next week, random strangers told me that they had met me my birthday and that I was really happy. Good to know. Well, this year’s AUT grads are on show and I’m going to visit tonight for the preview evening of RAW. I love going to grad shows. Something about the naive enthusiasm, the relief that it’s all over and the general buzz, is great to be around. It’s always inspiring and a little daunting to see …
So simple. A nice guestpost/interview can be found over at It’s Nice That.
For the past 8 years, Semi-Permanent has been THE design conference to go to if you live in Auckland. Originating from Australia, it’s been going strong since I was a first year design student all those years ago and I’ve been to so many I’ve lost count. I know I’ve missed at least one but it was with a very reluctant, heavy heart. SP began as a one day event of creative industry speakers from around the world, but now it’s ballooned into a two day event with a myriad of side events (art exhibitions, after parties, subtle mobs) running alongside the conference. It’s a super inspiring event and one that no creative should miss. I swear I come home super charged and ready to explode with things to explore/make/research. This year, the New Zealand organisers of SP, The Church have branched off from SP to do their own conference called We Can Create. The two design conferences are 2 weeks apart. SP is 12-13 August and WCC is 26-27 August. With limited WCC earlybird …
For those that like their sushi and their logos to be served together, here are some yummy logos to feast your eyes on. The best sushi logos from over at logopond.com. sushimasters by tvaric. Simple, sexy. Tsunami Sushi by CityOnFire. logo for Tsunami Sushi Wasabi by paxilixap. Isn’t this typography hot? Kamon Sushi by GreenInkStudio Bento by toytea nimoe sushi bar by brandclay I’m not convinced that Nemo is a good character to sell sushi, but who knows? Denshu Sushi by rsek http://www.tomhuveners.net Sushi Box by rkfinnegan Osaka by rkfinnegan. Elegant and refined. Sushi Heaven by AdamTheNumberOneMan
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