Cawampler

The Getty Trust has released over 4,600 public domain images, and there are some stunning works in there.

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"Every Day is Play: A Celebration of the Video Game" is an homage by graphic designers and other artists to video games and their culture. Edited by Matthew Kenyon. Currently on Kickstarter.

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Max Roberts re-imagines subway maps as a series of concentric circle-based stations. Shown: New York (obviously). More maps here and more info at the link.

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They say good cameras don’t necessarily always get you good results, but in this case I think we can definitely say they do. Using only a very good macro lens and some vibrant ink, artist Ruslan Khasanov has created this terrifyingly hypnotic short film. With the magic combination of what looks like hundreds-and-thousands among jelly-ish blobs of rainbow liquid, he beckons your eyeballs in to his world, which is cleverly soundtracked by someone called Boris Blank. Boris’ rather tense, ominous music combined with Ruslan’s candy colours makes for a very strange couple of minutes indeed. Enjoy!

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“It’s the only tool that will stop time,” quips one of the photographers in this trailer, and I don’t think anything has made me want to pick up a camera more than that. The trailer itself is for documentary Everybody Street, which is made up of stills and interviews revealing the darkness and the joy seen through the lens of some of the world’s most famous street photographers.

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A nice reminder that the medium doesn't matter, even if it's MS Paint. How Hal Lasko, 97-year-old, uses Windows '95 to create pointillism and 8-Bit art.

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The internet cognoscenti's response to Google Reader's shut-down announcement has been incredible. Yet the fact remains: as of July 1st, the longstanding browser-based RSS compiler with a social streak will be shuttered. Luckily, a host of opportunistic companies and long-standing competitors to Reader have scrambled to make viable alternatives. So which life boat should you swim to? Gather, ye huddled masses of Internet refugees. We’ve come up with the best alternatives to Google Reader ready to take you in.

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A dossier of Metal Gear Solid characters by Alex Griendling. Arranged so that "the portraits [of the] 'good guys' begin at the upper left, and the antagonists begin at the bottom right; this way, characters with less clear motivations and allegiances sit in the middle, between the opposing forces." Awesome style. Available as a 18x24", 2 color, silkscreened print.

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Sketches are an important step of any project, and this is why we are gathering some inspiring examples of UI and wireframe sketches to show you. This will give you an idea of how other designers approach projects in the early stages of the design process. Transferring your ideas to paper first helps you visualize different layout options, and even though it’s an extra step, it saves you time in the long run.

User Profile Sketches by Connie C.

Wire Sketch by Leah Wan

Energy and Navigation by Mike Warner

Website UI Wireframes by Ryan Colgin

Pocket Card: Early Sketch by Susan Lin

User Profile Sketches by Leonardo Avesani

Wireframes sketch by Florian Verrijk

Defind Wireframe Sketches by Melissa Wong

Website Wireframes 05/06 by George Bartz

3 Up Sketches by Isaac Weinhausen

close web by Eddie Lobanovskiy

Mmm… Pie! by Kurt Madsen

Wireframe Stuff by Mike Warner

Wireframing by Wes Manley

Process Sketches by Clifton Lin

Wireframes by Mark Reeves

Launched! Creative Market PS Extension by Brian Reavis

Tide Moleskin Sketches by Martin Spurway

Wireframe Responsive Site by Mohiuddin Parekh

Wireframe Sketches for Website by Ryan Colgin

New Sketch by Etch

If a great idea and clever name is all you need to achieve design brilliance then we imagine Peter Chadwick of Popular is basking in the warm glow of creative success right now. Assisted by Jonny Holmes and aided by the photographic skills of David Ryle, Popular have created a fully-functioning printing table that acts as a simple, elegant manual press.

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Making a change from the drain-diving that we picked him up for last summer, this cheeky little masked man has now been spotted somersaulting, bolt-cutting, spray-painting, karate-kicking and mock surrendering across the wall of this windowless façade in Villarreal, Spain. Valencia-based street artist Escif’s latest mural, The Enlightened Vandalism, has the inky, uniformed figures we know and love up to all kinds of mischief. Don’t dismiss the illustrations though; charming though the little criminals are, Escif’s continuing Wall Terrorism project speaks volumes about the necessity of social commentary in the current political climate.

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Choosing the right type for a project is always an important step in the design process. This is why you need to have as many fonts as you can. And here at WDL, we love to gather free fonts to keep your library filled with great options so you can keep your designs fresh and unique. Today we will show you eight new free fonts, so take a look and download your favorites.

Attentica

Brassie Regular

XXII Centar Regular

Valk Display

Chomp! Typeface

Franks Font

Tomahawk

Uralita Bold

There is a new filesharing player in town: Minbox. I send and receive A LOT of files and this is one of the nicest and easiest systems I've used. YouSendIt is fine but ugly as hell, WeTransfer is fine and pretty but requires going on a browser to use it, Dropbox (for file sharing) is confusing as hell, and Google Drive is mostly useless. Minbox is free but you'll need to request an access code that should take about two days to arrive. This is NOT a paid post. I just like products that make my life easier.

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Welcome to my life, Ollie Schrauwen. Make yourself comfortable, you’ll be staying here for a while. It’s funny how you think you know your favourite illustrators and then BAM! Someone comes out of the blue with a bunch of work that makes your mouth fill up with spit (in a good way). Ollie is a little but of a mystery, we know he’s matey with Brecht Vandenbroucke (which is a personal life goal I hope to mirror) and we also know that he’s from Belgium and currently resides in Germany.

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Friday Funny: Free Graphic Design

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Silliness: A Cup Is at the Heart of a Trademark Dispute

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Artisanal bottle opener anyone? The Stout Bottle Opener by Joe Starmer and Lance Atkins is a deceivingly elegant and sophisticated take on bottle openers. What got me was the magnet in it that will hold on to the cap. Currently on Kickstarter.

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Odd yet obviously appealing mash-up of superheroes and Post-Punk / New Wave artists by Butcher Billy.

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1. The Shoulder Into Wall Trick

What it does: Prevents someone from buying a suit jacket or blazer that’s too big

How to do it: Put on the suit jacket, blazer, or sportcoat. With the outside of your shoulder facing a wall, sloooowly lean into the wall. If the shoulder pad strikes first then scrunches up before your shoulder gets there, it’s too big. You risk looking like the jacket is wearing you instead of vice versa. Try a size down. You want a jacket where your shoulder, and the pad (hopefully a slim, minimal pad), strike the wall at almost the exact same time. The less pad overhang the better. Shoulders are key.

Holding up the wall?  Nope.  Finding shoulders that fit.

2. The Hug Test

What it does: Keeps your torso comfortable and your seams from bursting

How to do it: For shirts, suit jackets, blazers, etc… put the garment on and take a look in the mirror. Fits great, right? Right. Now pretend you’re going to hug someone. If it feels like you’re going to burst a seam and go all hulk-smash, then it’s not a good fit. Try a size up, or, a different brand. Some shirts come with back pleats that help ease movement. Look for those. This is especially useful when you’re getting a jacket pinned up tailoring.  Have your tailor pin up the jacket where they’d like to take in the fabric. Do the hug test.  If those pins feel like they’re going to rip the fabric, then ease up. And no, don’t try and hug your tailor. That might make things awkward. The air is fine.

3. Curled Fingers for jacket length

What it does: Helps you figure out what jacket length is best for you.

How to do it: With the suit jacket, blazer, or sportcoat on, let your arms hang relaxed at your sides. Curl your fingers as if you were about to grab the handles of a wheel barrow. Your jacket tail should come to rest right in that crevice your fingers have made. If it’s all bunched up, the jacket’s too long. If it’s dangling an inch or so short, it’s too short. Some guys go by the “it should cover your entire rear” rule. But if you have a long torso, you might end up swimming in your jacket. Yet if you have super long arms, the curled fingers method might result in a jacket that’s too long as well. Try both methods and pick whichever works best for you.

The Curled finger method.

4. The fingers for collar size trick

What it does: Prevents strangulation and/or looking like Tony Romo.

How to do it: Button the shirt all the way up and stick a finger or two between your neck and the collar. There’s some debate on this. Some sources claim if you can comfortably fit more than one finger in-between the collar and your neck, it’s too big. Others say two fingers but no more. The goal is to have no noticeable gaps when buttoned, all while not suffocating.

5. Armhole / Handshake test.

What it does: Helps you find a jacket that won’t fight you while you’re wearing it.

How to do it:  Plenty of affordable blazers and suit jackets come with absurdly large armholes. Like, flying squirrel large. The lower the armhole dips down on the jacket, the more likely it is to shift and move, as your arms pulls at the body of the jacket. Stand in front of a mirror with the jacket on. Pretend like you’re about to shake someone’s hand. If the jacket raises up and bucks like a marionette with its strings being pulled, then you might want to find a brand with higher arm holes.

Final Tips:

• Wear what you’re going to wear an item with when shopping or getting it tailored.
  Looking for a topcoat or trench? Wear a blazer and collared shirt to the store. Getting dress pants hemmed up? Wear a pair of dress shoes, not sneakers, when you head to the tailor. Layers add bulk. Different shoes have different sole heights. Wear dress socks when shopping for dress shoes. Also, it never hurts to wear something that already fits great when you’re out looking for a similar addition.

• Don’t forget about your pants.
  A lot of these tricks have to do with the upper body. And maybe we can blame the fact that as men, most of us don’t have a full length mirror in our place. But many a guy has purchased a great suit, got the waist brought in and the arms narrowed, only to leave the pants as they were, and the risk is it could look unbalanced. Most wouldn’t notice, but it is sort of like not combing the hair on the back of your head.

 What else? Got any other parlor tricks for finding a great fit? Leave them all below.

There’s nothing like a barn find to get the motorcycling juices flowing, and this Ducati 750 Super Sport is one of the best. The bike was discovered in Belgium in 2009, after sitting in a shed for 15 years. It’s now been resurrected by Harné Heuvelman of the Dutch specialist Back To Classics, and it’s as close to vintage perfection as you can get.

Even better, it’s one of the first 750 Super Sports built in 1976. Production started with frame number 912, and this is 918. Fixed to the frame was a small copper plate with the emblem of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. “This suggests the bike was delivered to a southern European catholic nation,” says Heuvelman. “Maybe Italy, where it was probably blessed by the local priest.”

On getting the Ducati into the workshop, Heuvelman discovered that the engine timing was awry. “A good reason why it’d failed to start for all those years.” The bike was in original but bad condition. So the Dutch workshop dismantled it down to the last nut and bolt, and set to work on the engine and transmission. The gearbox was in a bad way, and was replaced. The motor was treated to new first-oversize pistons, new valves, and a fresh set of seals, gaskets and bearings.

Heuvelman’s goal was to return this 750 Super Sport to original showroom condition—to make it look like a New Old Stock bike. “We took a lot of care, down to the finest details. All the nuts and bolts have been restored and re-used. The crankcase has been sandblasted at low pressure, so it resembles an original unused crankcase. And we found and used original decals over the clear coat for the bodywork.”

This particular machine was sold with a “sport-pack” offered for the 1976/77 model year: a Conti exhaust, 40mm Dell’Ortos, and minus any indicators. It’s full of top-shelf original componentry: Borrani 4777 rims, ‘shaved’ early Brembo callipers, and Smiths instruments. The dashboard, switches and Marzocchi forks are all original. Even minor items like the KLG spark plug caps and Alpina spokes are true to type.

There are some discreet upgrades, however. The Ducati is now fitted with Australian-made Ikon shocks, although the original Marzocchi shocks have been refurbished and retained. The bike had a non-standard Lucas ignition system fitted when it was found, and Heuvelman has replaced it with a modern electronic system for improved performance.

Head over to the Back To Classics website for a photo gallery of the restoration. For more wonderful images of the finished bike, check out the website of photographer Ernst Klip.

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.

This raw and brutal BMW K100 was built, very aptly, by a master blacksmith and metalworker. Faced with a long German winter, Marc Robrock decided to enliven his evenings and weekends and build himself a bike. “After 25 years of riding bikes, I felt I was missing something,” he says. “And life is too short to have un-customized stuff.”

Robrock started to look for a ‘nice’ bike but soon switched direction. “Why take a nice bike and rebuild it? Why not take an ugly one? So I chose the ugliest bike I know: The BMW K100.”

Marc found a 1984 model and stripped it down, removing everything that was not necessary and cleaning what was left. But not too much—he was keen to retain the patina of three decades.

After weeks of grinding, cutting and welding, the BMW K100 took shape. Everything was done with an eye to TÜV approval: no sharp or open-ended parts, small aluminum fenders were added, and the original exhaust pipe retained.

Marc added a new aluminum subframe to support a custom-made seat unit, and mounted the Bosch ignition and tiny gel battery underneath. The rims, forks and a multitude of smaller pieces were sandblasted and powdercoated black. Then the bars were replaced with an aftermarket item, again resized to fit.

Marc calls the machine the BMW K-fé, and it took him five weeks to complete. TÜV certification took longer—six weeks. But the BMW is road-legal.

Now that Marc has all the paperwork sorted, he has just one job left to do—replace the exhaust system.

Images courtesy of Thomas Riese. Marc is at Robrock.de [German language only].

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.

See what it takes to make Apple's product photography look so simple. A conversation with photographer Peter Belanger.

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Say goodbye to your afternoon: Anton Wallén has created GeoGuessr--an addicting game based on Google images and maps.

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You know you’re doing something right when you’re based in London and get a commission from a German enthusiast to build a BMW. The compliment was paid to Untitled Motorcycles and this is the result: a very classy 1975 BMW R90/6 custom.

Untitled built the machine for Antonius from Essen. And it was no easy task: the R90 would have to pass the strict German TÜV test to make it road-legal.

After years of riding modern Triumphs, Moto Guzzis and BMWs, Antonius, 51, hankered after an old two-valve boxer BMW. “While searching the internet I discovered Untitled Motorcycles by chance,” he says. “I was inspired by the look of the UM bikes: clearly classic BMWs, but with a modern soul.”

Within two weeks Antonius had found the right donor bike. “He trailered over an R90/6, along with an R75 tank,” recalls Untitled’s Adam Kay. Co-builders Rex Martin and Anita Chatelan started work straight away, with an engine overhaul and a thorough vapor blasting of the heads, barrels and engine cases.

Untitled also installed new stainless steel pushrods, big end shells and valves. The carbs were stripped and overhauled too, and the battery relocated closer to the engine. The bike was completely rewired and new cables were hand-cut and routed to the brakes, clutch and throttle.

The subframe is now 15cm shorter than stock, and houses the ignition switch and starter button. It also has a subtle kick-up in the rear loop, to clear the custom rear fender. The R75 tank—smaller than the original R90/6 item—was butted up to a newly-fabricated seat. A custom headlight now sits ahead of the new bars, and includes extra warning lights to accommodate the TÜV requirements. The blinkers and the rear number plate were also installed according to TÜV specifications.

The silver paint is a color from the current BMW catalog, and the frame and many ancillary parts were powdercoated. The rims have been fitted with new stainless spokes and nipples, and are shod with Dunlop K70 tires.

“I think I now have the bike I will never sell,” says Antonius. “It was a lot of fun to develop the R90/6 with Untitled, even if they were a little obstinate sometimes. A silver headlight! I am still thinking of painting it black.”

The next build from Untitled will debut at The Bike Shed Event on 18-19 May at Shoreditch Studios in London. If you’re lucky enough to make it to the show, keep an eye out for it. If not, stay tuned—we’ll reveal it online here at the same time.

Check out the Untitled Motorcycles website here and follow their news via the Untitled Facebook page. Images courtesy of Damian McFadden.

© Bike EXIF 2013. The world authority on custom motorcycles, brought to you by Icon 1000.

Occam’s razor: A philosophical principle suggesting that simpler explanations tend to be better than complex ones. It has broad application, from medicine to ethics to proofs of the existence of God. Now if we apply the razor to our morning coffee, as the thinking men of Gear Patrol are wont to do, we can scrap our fancy drip machines and super-automatic espresso makers and still get a world-class cup of coffee without doing much more than pouring hot water over coffee grounds. We’ve assembled a pour over kit with all the basics to get you started -- at a very affordable price.

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Amazing! IBM made a stop-motion animated film using molecules.

Link takes you to a news article about it.

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Oooh we all love a good collab don’t we and even better when it comes in the form of dreamy band Wild Nothing and psychedelic artist Eric Shaw. In this trippy, block colour animation taking you into a strange world that is some kind of cross between 1980s abstract paintings and the what it would look like to teleport, Eric Shaw’s work totally comes to life, soundtracked by Wild Nothing’s beautiful new track A Dancing Shell. To accompany this absolute corker of a music video is some album artwork that’s totally flying the flag for diehard vinyl and CD buyers everywhere, which is at once comforting and genuinely exciting.

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Interactive chart showing the drastic changes in median household income based on the stops of all subway lines in New York. That big spike shown? Wall Street.

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With design graduate shows popping up left and right (and yours truly being inundated with requests to post all of them) it takes something clever to catch my attention: Here is a nice parallax scrolling, animated GIF-like web announcement for the Tyler School of Art's Design MFA Thesis Exhibition titled "Good Measure".

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