PA Guild of Crafts

I was so excited and proud to receive an email about the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen website feature on ArtChain as Site of the Week! The design process was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had and to hear it’s being received so well by the public has been like the cherry on top of the sundae. Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen is a non-profit organization that encourages the practice of and nurture excellence in heritage and contemporary crafts. From fine art fairs and a full retail space to workshops and classes, the guild has a mission that the making of craft enriches all. The site is cleanly designed and easy to navigate.  It’s got…

Compfight

Are you one of those designers who loathes looking for stock photography? Join the club. A new search engine called Compfight has been developed that uses the Flickr API to discover photos/photographers. Created by Ryan Teuscher. And it’s the seekers responsibility to make sure that they have the rights to use the selected image, be responsible. via @dirka

WWF in Paper

No, not the World Wresting Federation, they’re now the WWE. The WWF is the World Wildlife Fund and Simon Cook created a website using paper boats, planes, and more for the WWF who were campaigning to get the UK government to tighten up on Carbon emissions in the Climate Change Bill going through parliament. I must say, the WWF are smart for not only letting creative folks stretch their muscles in helping them, but it also attracts folks who are unaware of their efforts.

NYPL.org Redesign

The New York Public Library has given a sneak peak to the public for their new site set to launch January 6th. What do you think? Left: The home page before the redesign, Right: The home page after the redesign. Left: An interior page before the redesign, Right: An interior page after the redesign. While it is obvious the site needed some updating, I’m not so sure that the design for the home page was the absolute best solution for such a resource in New York. There is an FAQ section on the redesign which gives people like me an insight into the process, but something about the home page just isn’t as engaging as…

The Society of Design

Just found this gem and it’s in my area, hooray! The Society of Design is a non-profit dedicated to design education and community service. They are located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and have a great line-up for upcoming events including Pennsylvania-native Chip Kidd, Seattle’s Modern Dog, and this Friday, November 19 visiting will be Design Army founders from Washington DC. The event is being held at the Penn State Harrisburg Campus, for more details visit The Society of Design website. It’s probably best to become a member and they also have a Travel event coming up in April to visit Falling Water and the Warhol Museum. Loving it already.

Typedia

Typedia, is an online community revolving around typefaces where you can search by typeface, designer or foundry. “In a nutshell, Typedia is a community website to classify typefaces and educate people about them.” Typedia isn’t just a one sided conversation or a lecture, it’s a community where you too can add what you know.

Decks of Inspiration

Sometimes I am amazed at the things that are available online. I recently found a site filled with tarot cards and some of the graphics, lettering and patterns are just stunning. TrionFi, History and Origin of Tarot is now a permanent bookmarked site and will continue to look – if you have LOTS of time on your hand – you too can browse through. Below I’ve put up some enticing images from their extensive library of images. I really love the variety of illustrations, lettering and most of all the differences depicted from each country. There are several regions including Austria, Italy, France, Switzerland and much more. I am just amazed and inspired by these…

Steal Our Ideas

I don’t even know how I came upon this one (more than likely from Quipsologies) and just had to post about it. Steal Our Ideas is exactly as they write above. They post ideas for the advertising industry and put some humor into it, and I won’t forget to mention that each post is illustrated giving the site a completely unique appeal.

Signs

I couldn’t resist posting this sweet video from Publicis Mojo called Signs about a lonely man who finds a new friend.

They’ve Got Wood – Type

Wooden Type Fonts is a mecca for wooden fonts of the 19th century. The site has a long list of historically accurate reporductions of wood type in a variety of styles. But dont’ take my word for it, see for yourself. The site is run by Jordan Davies and if you are looking for wooden type fonts or just inspiration for your projects, this is good place to start.