magazine junkie

Moodboards love!

Whenever I can, I like to prepare for my photo shoots by creating some good old-fashioned moodboards. These ones here are the ones I put together for some of the stories I'm art directing this week. Can you tell Summer is just around the corner?

I love doing moodboards because it's a good way to express a certain, um, mood you may have only in your head, and sometimes that idea may get lost in translation. For example, the first one started because I wanted to do something super summery and fun. So the first thing that came to mind were the rows of colorful beach huts in Brighton Beach, Australia. I found a photo and the rest evolved from there. We shot that story today and it turned out so awesome--exactly what I had in mind. It was literally summer in Australia inside a cold San Francisco photo studio. I'll share the pictures as soon as the issue comes out.

The last 2 boards are for a feature story about Summer recipes I'm shooting tomorrow. I call the inspiration Venice Beach Bohemian and I'm so excited about this shoot. I hope we can pull it off.

Anyway, whether doing them for fun or work moodboards are a very helpful reference tool to give to photographers and stylists to keep the direction of the shoot on the right track. Or simply to have as inspiration as you decorate your house.

My friend Ali over at designalicious puts together some super cute inspiration boards. Check them out

Also check out these great moodboards done by Monika Fecht, head of design management at Renolit (one of the leading European manufacturers of plastic foils), to create the colors for 2008-2009.

Coolness Personified - design director Edward Leida

Cool. Smart. Sophisticated. Simple. Chic. Beautiful. Modern. Just a few of the adjectives I'd use to describe the work of W's design director, Edward Leida. Though admittedly W is no longer one of my "must-buy" magazines, every time I pick it up I'm always so pleased with the gorgeous photography and the innovative and fresh use of typography.

In 20 years as design director for W, Edward has become one of this country's most respected magazine designers. His design for W was nominated by the National Magazine Awards for Excellence in Design in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005, and was nominated for Magazine of the Year in 2007 by the Society of Publication Designers.

Besides W, Edward also designed and established the formats for Details Magazine, Women's Wear Daily, and the now defunct Jane Magazine.

Recently, Edward shared some of the ideas behind some of his favorite layouts, and reveals how the photography and the story drive the design. I found it very inspiring. Check out the video here.

You can also learn more about Edward and his career in this great interview on mediabistro. 

Lastly, Edward's minimalist designed apartment as featured on The Selby recently, is an extension of his love for clean and sophisticated design. This guy is truly the epitome of coolness. Check it out

Design & Life

Design & Life is an online magazine created by PH design consultant in Taipei, Taiwan. PH design consultant specializes in Corporate Identity, Brand Development, Package Design, Editorial, Advertising & Creative Direction for a variety of international clients.

Design & Life is what they like to call an "online minizine" and was originally started as a newspaper for their clients but has quickly grown into an exciting and fresh publication. They cover anything from design, art, lifestyle, fashion, interior design, architecture, and creative news from all over the world. Each issue features an interesting artist, and they even have a recipe photographed and designed in a super fun way.

To browse the issues of Design & Life, click here.

Dogs & Dice - A book by Martin O'Neill

 

One of the perks of my job is the many wonderful promo pieces I receive. This one in particular, is one of those super special ones that I will treasure forever. Created by commercial illustrator, Martin O'Neill, Dogs & Dice is a beautiful collection of interesting and nostalgic collage pieces and photographs unveiling his studio and vast archive of found collage material.

In Dogs & Dice, Martin explores the chance relationships and hidden meanings created by his amazing filing system developed over thirteen years of work as an illustrator and collage artist. Using this rich inventory of images, O’Neill documented thoughts, memories, stories, and observations as a response to the collection. The dust jacket is a poster made out of cut-out pictures and type. Underneath, the cover reveals a list of O’Neill’s studio contents. One of the photos shows one of his many metal cabinets with drawers labelled ‘Women & Boobies,’ ‘Digital Bollocks’ and ‘Dogs and Gambling.’ One spread is made from Rolodex-shaped ‘samples’ of O’Neill’s collection of bits: tickets, labels, maps, graph paper, and old checks.

I find this to be totally fascinating and completely OCD, but at the same time I'm thinking to myself that I needed to start a filing system just like this. 

Martin O’Neill's work can be seen in a variety of magazines, advertisements, and books. He also regularly exhibits his personal collages, prints and sketchbooks, and collections.

To see more of Martin's wonderful collages, or to purchase Dogs & Dice, check out his website. It's totally inspiring.

Photographer of the week - Sarah Maingot

I've had Sarah's website bookmarked for quite sometime now, but it wasn't until I re-discovered the Toast catalog that it dawn on me that she has photographed most of their stuff. It's no wonder I like it so much.

Sarah has a way of capturing a mood and telling a story that is so simple, natural and captivating. Her use of color can go from a very saturated and rich palette to a very soft and pretty, almost dreamy quality. Her beauty shots are so, um, beautiful. Of course the models are gorgeous too but it's all the elements combined that make her pictures so gorgeous and inspiring. I could spend hours looking at her pictures and being transported to these wonderful locations.

To see more of Sarah's lovely work, go here. While there, be sure to check out the link to her personal work, it's so nicely put together.