Life’s Little Quirks

Ikiiki Skulls

Posted On: Monday, October 5, 2015

Ikiiki

These mesmerising skull designs are by Ali Gulec of Ikiiki Design Studio and they instantly caught my eye when I found them. I particularly like the skulls that seem to either melt into or push through the backgrounds, like the designs above, depending on how you first interpret them, making them appear three dimensional.

I have a soft spot for skulls and with Halloween just around the corner, I thought it would be a perfect time to share them with you. I love how Ali has used various subjects to build up the designs, giving each skull it’s own character and personality.

 

Ikiiki

 

Ikiiki

More of Ali’s work can be found on his website here. All images are copyright and courtesy of Ali Gulec.

My Love of Packaging

Posted On: Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Whilst my borrowed Mac is being set up I’m still without Photoshop for my blog images, limiting me to what I can post, but I’m not going to let that get in the way! So today I’m bringing you some really great packaging designs. As you know I love packing, I’ve written lots of posts about this subject, and I found these wonderful designs across the internet which I couldn’t resist as they’re too good to miss…

Milk Packaging Andrey Plotnikov 

 

Robot Food

 

Water

Work

 

Nora Kaszanyi

 

Coffee

Boheem

 

Bottles

Absolut Vodka   YiRan Carroll

More of my favourite packaging designs can be found on my I Love Design Pinterest page

Sleep Elevations by Maia Flore

Posted On: Monday, September 14, 2015

These delicate, etherial photos entitled Sleep Elevations are by French photographer Maia Flore. I think they’re haunting, yet beautiful and for me personally, perfectly portray how we sleep. Everything is suspended, our bodies relax to almost weightlessness where we need a sturdy support, floating effortlessly into the next day.

There is a lovely vintage feel/style to the photos, with the use of inanimate objects as support. I would love to see these images replicated but using males instead, how would they look and what objects would be used to offer their support?

Elevations

Elevations

Elevations

Elevations

Elevations

Elevations

More photos from the Sleep Elevations project can be found on Maia’s website along with other great work.

Images are copyright and courtesy of Maia Flore

Planets as you’ve never seen them before

Posted On: Monday, September 7, 2015

These are planets as you’ve never seen them before – yes that’s ice cream, or gelato as the designer prefers to call them, and I agree, gelato has an out of this world feel to it. Tom Jueris, a multi disciplined designer now based in Sheffield has created these simple yet stunning and intriguing prints, which focus equally on the not so quite spherical gelato planets and clean, sharp typography.

Each planet seems to take on it’s own personality, with a different gelato chosen to represent said planet. And the colours… oh the colours… pastel brights, which are some of my favourite at the moment, they perfectly balance and compliment the gelato without taking away the focus. These are just a few of the prints from Tom’s Gelato System project and more can be seen on his Bechance page here

Planets & Gelato systems

Planets Gelato Systems

Planets Gelato Systems

Planet Gelato Systems

Planets Gelato Systems

Images are courtesy and copyright to Tom Jueris

 

Enjoying the Bank Holiday

Posted On: Monday, August 31, 2015

Bank Holiday

Today I’m enjoying an extra day to my weekend and the last bank holiday until Christmas, eek! Instead of posting nothing I thought I’d share with you a few images I’m loving over on Pinterest right now. I really like the colours and the simple imagery used, they compliment each other well. I hope you like them too.

Gelato System by Tom Jeuris.
Unfortunately not all of these images are credited as I cannot source the original designers. If you know who they are please let me know so I can credit them accordingly, thank you!

Paint your Illustrations

Posted On: Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Painted-Illustration-Montage

Back in June I posted about my favourite line illustrations and the beautiful simplicity of them. Well I seem to have gone from one extreme to the other, as this month I’m really enjoying illustrations that have been painted and are full of colour. I still love line illustrations, but I’m hooked on the detailing and effects that paint creates, especially watercolours as you build up the layers of colours. You can also achieve this with acrylics too, you just have to be braver as acrylics are bolder in comparison to delicate watercolours. Either way the illustrations which have been created above are mesmerising and draw you in so you want to know the story behind the image.

1. Kristine Brookshire  2. Caitlin McGauley  3. Illustrator Unknown  4. Illustrator Unknown  5. Sorority Sugar  6. Jason Brooks  7. Janelle Burger

A couple of illustrations do not have artists assigned to them, so if you know who the artists or illustrators are please let me know so I can credit them accordingly, thank you.

Moretti Gran Tour Event

Posted On: Monday, August 3, 2015

Sponsored Post.
I was invited to the following event on behalf of Birra Moretti. I wasn’t paid and all opinions and images used within the post are my own.

Last week I attended my first event as a blogger and let’s just say I was a little excited. Not only was I going to experience the taste of Italy, but I was heading there as a blogger and that my blog is finally growing after two years in the blogging game!

The event was hosted by Birra Moretti an Italian Beer company, and along with their beer, it featured an array of street food influenced from across Italy. Housed in Leeds Town Hall, this magnificent building with it’s wonderful decor was a great match for the event. On arrival we were given passports for our journey, which enabled us to collect stamps from each vendor to receive a gift at the end. The designer in me loved this, a great little touch as the finer details had been considered too.

First stop was the bar to try the hosts beer; half a pint if you’re asking. A golden beer that was light to the taste, easy to drink with a slightly malt/wheat taste. It complemented the dishes perfectly, especially the pasta and risotto. The food ranged from pasta, slow cooked meats, pizza, risotto and gelato, with my first dish of the evening being the Arancina balls from the Melbourne natives Arancini Brothers. Risotto filled balls with mozzarella and tomato, ricotta and nutmeg, and porcinin mushrooms, served with relish and chopped basil. The smell of this dish alone was wonderful, with the food gone in minutes! Next up beer and balsamic pulled pork with fuscilli and parmesan from Tigellae a simple Italian dish with the pork melting in your mouth, delicious.

By far one of the most popular vendors of the evening was Leeds based Pizza Fella; authentic Italian pizza served straight from a 1967 Citroen H van. I was more than happy to wait for my pizza, as when it arrived I wasn’t disappointed; the base was both crispy and doughy with a wonderful flavour – it was just as good as the topping itself.

After trying all the dishes I was starting to feel quit full, but I still had room to try the gelato from Brio Gelati. Now I have to confess I don’t like ice cream (what?! I hear you cry!) yes it’s true, but the sweet little van that housed the gelato drew me in and the flavours they offered made me curious. After much deliberation I opted for peanut with salted caramel and for someone that doesn’t like ice cream it was delicious, not too sweet, the flavours blended perfectly and the texture was velvety smooth. This gelato might just be the exception to my ‘I don’t like ice cream’ rule!

The evening had to come to an end eventually (it was a school night for me) and I left the celebrations still in full swing. It was a wonderful event to attend and it was great to try new dishes, a new beer and soak up the vibrant Italian culture for a few hours.

Other vendors at the event included Pasta E Basta, La Bottega Milanese and Ipsum Vinotec