Wednesday Wallpaper: Achilles

Fancy cat logos, Palm Springs envy, analytical shapes and more

When I started designing custom wallpapers (this is like, years ago, mind you) I loved the idea of pulling from my own discoveries. Kyle and I used to travel quite frequently, and during those adventures, I would take many photos along the way. Today’s wallpaper is a perfect example.

I came across this golden foot in a high-class art meets antique store and was so intrigued by it. Why would anyone make a giant, gold foot? Why would someone spend thousands of dollars to buy it? I wanted to immortalize it in my own way, and here we are, a wallpaper I’ve titled Achilles.

Maybe people will think you have a very fancy, very expensive foot fetish by using this wallpaper? That’s ok! After the last year of bullshit you do what makes you happy. Revel in the absurdity, and enjoy the wallpaper.

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A new (cat)titude

One of my favorite forms of design are the logos you see on shipping trucks. You’re speeding down the highway and you pass a massive semi-truck (or lorry or whatever you may call them) and you see one of those sweet logos on the side and you think to yourself, “that is such a great logo!” A personal favorite of mine is the Matson logo. One of those kinds of logos just got a new redesign, more a nip and tuck than a full blown refresh.

Yamato Transport, one of Japan’s largest door-to-door delivery services, was founded in 1919 and the logo was designed by the founder Yasuomi Ogura. The logo features a cat carrying a kitten in its mouth which symbolizes the care and diligence of the service. It’s super adorable and now it’s quite interesting to see what elements they felt could be improved. There’s something kinda awkward and charming with the outlines around the head and the derpy legs, the ears and tail breaking the outline. These elements have been refined in the new logo though, everything has been simplified, and the logo is easier to quickly identify with less complicated shapes.

This is one of those instances where I’m not sure there was anything wrong with the old logo. I’m not certain how well it works in small print and in digital, maybe that was part of the reason for updating? That said, has the new logo lost valuable charm for the sake of clarity though? Leave your thoughts below, I’m curious to see what other’s think. And try to be thoughtful, please!

If you’d like more info on the rebrand they put together a handy little site, you should check it out.

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All the Feelings

The newest members of the Ghostly records gang is a duo called Brijean, made up of Brijean Murphy and Doug Stuart, who are making some super smooth pop that will hopefully be the soundtrack of a summer return to normalcy. Their latest video is for the song “Wifi Beach” and man, I can’t stop listening to this. It’s that drum beat that just keeps going, Brijean’s vocals floating over the top, it’s infectious. And the video! It’s literally a Palm Springs dream, filled with the campiest, over the top 70’s interiors and the most delicious array of cocktails. How I wish that were me right now!

You can snag a copy of the record for yourself by clicking here.

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The shapes of things to come

Last week I came across the work of Louis Reith, an artist who makes dazzling collages that combines dynamic shapes with found images from books or photos. What I like about the work is that it’s simple in concept but extremely well-crafted. If someone handed us some old magazines and construction paper I think we’d be hard pressed to come up with a composition that someone would deem as a work of art.

When I look at his work I feel like I’m drawn in to analyze them further. It’s this juxtaposition between the shapes in the image and the shapes he adds and imposes to create a new dialogue between the two. I would guess that he’s a very analytical, deep thinking person, and that these assemblages come together after a long time sitting and staring, determining the possibilities.

In doing some research I found this interview Louis did with Mini Galerie and they have a walkthrough of his studio which I found quite fascinating. He and his wife live in a little bungalow in the Dutch countryside which features a wonderful work space that I think we all would love to have as our own.

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• I'm so proud of the 26% of you who clicked the link to see Juergen Teller's butthole in Monday's post. It was the second most clicked link!

• Growing up in Sacramento I used to visit BEST, sort of a Target store in the 70's and 80's, and was always amazed by it. What made a BEST store stand out though was their facades, each of which seemed to defy reality. A must read if you’re unfamiliar with these incredible buildings.

• Have you ever seen an octopus be born? Nope, me either, so you should probably click this. Octopi have got to be aliens, right? I mean, it’s not that weird, but they’re definitely on another level.

• For the most part stamps in America are middling and slightly boring (except for these Ruth Asawa ones) while the Netherlands have stamps that look straight-up like an acid trip. Great job on the design Hansje van Halem.

• Volvo has finally decided to only make electric cars by 2030, the latest manufacturer to start taking climate change seriously. Interestingly, they’re also going direct-to-consumers with their offer, only selling their vehicles online. Not sure how you test-drive a car in that sales model, time will tell.

• I’ve been thinking this for a while and Wallpaper* has confirmed it: pearls are having a moment. Now my big question is, where are the pearl options for men? Not to be annoyingly binary with gender here but I have trouble seeing myself in a pearl necklace. Is there a slightly more masculine option?

• Le Creuset has a new white marble version, and honestly, it’s kinda hot.

• I came across the note below on General Office and thought it was quite fitting for what I’m trying to do with TFIB again. I’m unsure of the source but it feels like a good reminder for us all.