EPIC Music Video of the [Insert Time Period]

The "of the week" theme is now kind of misleading. But on the plus side, it's like playing safe Russian Roulette with guessing when there will actually be new updated content on this blog. Just keep pressing F5 guys! Speaking of which, if you have been playing, congratulations, you've struck gold (or possibly just shot yourself, if we're making a direct analogy).

This week, we're taking a look at Nosaj Thing's new music vidoe for "Eclipse/Blue", a pleasantly calming track with accompanying choreography and uniquely designed visuals. Take motion tracking out of the games/entertainment industry bubble for a second, and you might turn some heads. The performers here are moving in real-time as the shapes and lines track and react to their dance. The result is a mesmerizing technological and artistic feat: a combination of performance and new media.

Get with the times folks, this is becoming standard practice. Painting and shit better move aside.

[via. Motionographer]

EPIC Timelapse Photography of the Week

Very Little Stars from Timelapse, Inc. on Vimeo.

Ben Wiggins pieces together some mesmerizing landscapes and turns eye candy into a whole other level. These look so amazing I feel like it's wrong for me to be looking at them.
Gawk at it and enjoy! 

Inspiration Collection #12

Logo: The Media Factory



I really love the use of colour and shape here; it's really clever and very representative of an identity. Using shape to create something both recognizable and filled with depth (through association) is very smart. The viewer seeing the words 'factory' instantly thinks of the above design as such, and for me that's when the brain power started working and there were layers to peel back between what the logo tells about the company rather than just giving a singular lasting impression.

The colours are the second element in telling the viewer about the company--there's a juxtaposition with the 'factory' feeling the logo gives off with the connotations of giving your logo bright, vivid and fun colours--it's a sense of creativity that's contained, both visually and conceptually, and filter out through the top and into fruition (the circles). There's a very nice flow to the whole look of it, and your eye can wander around, or start from the bottom or top, and move towards different sections. I like how they used a simple, non-assuming typeface that's clean and thick to not take attention away to the already heavily-graphic based design above. The border is another nice touch, it has a subtle roundness and uneven-ness to the shape of it, forming around the colored squares. Deceptively, there's a lot to take in despite the actual visuals being very simple and easily looked upon, which I think is a sign of a great design.

Inspiration Collection #11

Logo: Fixcom - by Sergey



This logo is a good study in depth. Like the last logo I talked about, Teletoon's branding emphasized shape to create boldness. This one, is much more subtle, and uses the technique of creating dimension for a subdued textural feel rather than to make a visual statement. Subtle shadows and thick type dominate this logo, and allow for a clever play, albeit a bit cliched in terms of how it's used, in using the 'O' as a power button. I find it particularly interesting that the 'M' is skewed in a way that directs the eye upon first glance, it's clever how it orients the interest to the power button more-so. The achievement is a proper indication to this brand--it's definitely a technology-oriented company

Again, lighting plays a good part into establishing the visual depth--the slight gradient gives off that feeling that it has a three-dimensional shape. It almost has a paper quality. Personally, I enjoy logos that go out of the comfort zone of purely flat and two-dimensional design and into something with more texture and depth. Just because our eyes are used to three-dimensions, using techniques that offer that illusion are instantly a pleasurable visual image.

Website: Scribd

 I like what Scribd has done to handle their content, it's a really enjoyable experience for the user. The thing is, if you were going to go Scribd, it's usually for the purpose of sharing, uploading, and finding specific documents. It's another case where a site's structure has to appeal to the content and have the user situated first in the planning stages. Scribd acts like a library, handling vast amounts of user-generated content in a categorical way that's rigid for ease of access, but provides heavy use of thumbnails and visual elements so as to not make a dull and static user experience, which is great.

The header is enormously simple, with the logo, an upload link, a search bar, and a prompt to explore that brings the user to a vast drop-down of all the possible content. The site knows that the user's here to do either uploading or searching, so there's really no additional parts necessary. Everything you need is then below, and you can browse at your own pace. I talk about sites being inviting, and that's because the ones that appeal to me are the ones I want to stay inside, and come to knowing that I'll get a assured experience. That's a result of knowing how to structure sites to your purpose and piece it together concisely and intuitively. Scribd's a functional site, with tons of functionality and searchability.