Irish Blog Awards–Shortlisted?! 10:28 PM

In a very strange and unexpected twist I have been (not so) shortlisted for the Irish Blog Awards. Very nice to get nominated, though a little disappointed that SSTN didn't get the nod. Just wondering is it too late to start putting up a raft of amazing posts in order to sway the judges...

Designers' blogs 11:51 PM

While there is a lot of interesting and useful information on sites such as Smashing Magazine and Noupe, lately I've come to the conclusion that you can't beat the personal blogs of professional designers who, aswell as being adept at their profession, are also able to write articulately on the subject with insight and passion. The single voice of these blogs provides a distinctive tone that lends itself to a more personal relationship with the readership and consequently, for me, makes them much more enjoyable to read.

Here's a couple that I currently have loaded into my RSS Reader.

acejet170.typepad.com/
www.aisleone.net/
andyrutledge.com/
davidairey.com & logodesignlove.com
designnotes.info/
noisydecentgraphics.typepad.com/design/
www.swiss-miss.com/

Some of these I've been following for awhile and others I recently found in the list of design resources at the end of the excellent Logo Design Love book.

Retrographs 2:03 PM

These images are so full of pathos, beauty and poignancy, the ghosts of the tragic past wandering around the modern city. Loads more here.

These incredible Retrographs were created by Segei Larenkov. They juxtapose images from the Siege of Leningrad against the modern day city.

The site that posted these images How to be a Retronaut is fast becoming one of my favourite places at the moment, check out Beautiful colour shots of the streets of Dublin 50 years ago... and Rare 1903 film of London's streets... for example. I'd advise not visiting the site unless you're prepared to be there awhile, many, many interesting things to see.

Ed Devane 'Molten Membrane' 6:27 PM

I recently designed the album cover artwork for Ed Devane's 'Molten Membrane'. Got some copies in the house today, pretty happy with how it came out. Album launch gig is this Saturday in Kennedy's. Free copy of the album included in the cover charge of €10. Ed's set promises to be huge & I am also really looking forward to checking out Kachanski's first live venture in awhile. With further support from quality DJs Eomac, Noid the Droid and Thatboytim it should be a good one. More details here.

The original creepy-ass drawings are by Kev Largey. Loads more deadly stuff at his website.

Acstc 10: Alchemy 6:39 PM

 Acstc 10: Alchemy  by  Dusk Grotesk
Number ten, feels like a bit of a milestone, check out the rest of them here.

Some typography sites 10:48 AM

Just wanted to point out a couple of typography sites that I think are well worth visiting. Good for keeping up-to-date on the industry and for finding quality free fonts & useful examples of work.

Acstc 9: Suggestion 3:51 PM

  Acstc 9: Suggestion  by  Dusk Grotesk

This one is about eight or nine years old. I quite like it still. Reminds me of sitting on my bed in Res in first year of college.