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There is a Chinese custom to burn paper offerings when someone passes away. This has spawned the business of making paper effigies where scaled-down versions of desirable items are rendered out in colored paper form and then burned at grave sites so that the deceased can receive them in the afterlife. These items have typically always been things such as gold watches, cars, or jewelry. But paper effigy designer, Au Yeung Ping Chi has taken that business one step farther and designs paper versions of trendy items because it “makes death seem less frightening” he said.

Au Yeung works out of a tiny shop in Hong Kong with his father who is also a paper effigy designer. After graduating design school over ten years ago he has been working with his father to make paper effigies. His first creation was a scaled-down version of a Dance Dance Revolution type machine. He has become known for making effigies of trendy items such as stilletto heels, Wiis, digital cameras, and the list goes on. These paper wonders take hours to create and burn in seconds. In his 10+ years of work he has only had one creation he couldn’t produce for a client — a retractable umbrella. He has even taken an actual umbrella apart to try and figure out how to recreate it with paper yet every time he tries to open his paper creation it breaks. He hasn’t given up and still has plans to try and make it work.

Au Yeung is part of a dying art as most paper effigies are now mass produced. There are less than 100 craftsmen left in Hong Kong who produce them by hand. But his unique art serves many people who are mourning the loss of a loved one who died young and want to pass onto them the trendy luxuries they missed out on in their young life. His creations are done on a client by client basis and can never replace the mass produced effigies out there.

[via OK Great]

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This year marked my first trip to “The Con” aka Comic-Con .  In case you hate the internet, don’t watch television or were recently in a coma, Comic-Con is the largest comic book and “popular arts” convention held.  It is based in San Diego and was attended by 125,000+ fans.  For four days crazed fans descend upon the San Diego Convention Center and surrounding Gaslamp District in search of a chance to preview new releases, attend panels with their favorite stars and creators and be totally immersed in the world of comic related and influenced entertainment. In a word it was overwhelming. In a slew of words I’d say; packed, frenzied, loud, exciting, exhausting and inspiring. As a trade show veteran, I thought I had seen it all. What follows are some observations and tips from a Comic-Con newbie…

1. It is not just about comics anymore. This year marked the new promotion “Comic-Con: Celebrating the Popular Arts”. Comic-Con is now a launch pad and forum for theatrical releases, television series, video games and more. Glee, very much original and not based on a comic, had a panel at last year’s event because the producers understood Glee’s crossover appeal and how valuable it would be to win over this audience. It worked, the Glee panel this year was one of the hottest events and the show is a huge success with this audience.
2. Hit the show floor with a partner in crime. You will need someone to take your picture when you encounter a 6 ft. tall Pickachu your favorite Pokemon or a group of fans dressed as Cylon’s (and including sound effects) marching a Battlestar Galactica Viper pilot to their leader.
3. Pick the panels you must see and go early, very early. I thought I might be able to make the True Blood panel, but there were 1000s waiting on standby as the hall was already filled. Glee fans camped out overnight for a shot at being one of the lucky to get into the panel. Bring water and pack a lunch as the lines are hours long.
4. Comic-Con is like a big mall of all your favorite entertainment branded stuff as vendors from all over the word gather to sell their wares. Plan your shopping. The show floor is like a great big store filled with everything Comic including, t-shirts, collectibles, toys, fine art, movie posters and more. Shop at the end of the day and for negotiated great deals. Wait in line earlier for limited Comic-Con edition Mattel, Lego and Hasbro items because they will run out.
5. Charge your camera batteries and bring extras. Actors are stationed at all the booths and fellow attendees in costume want their pictures taken too. Jump in, have fun. Why not? Go old school bring an autograph book too.
6. One of the coolest areas was Artists Alley where many leading artists and designers are creating real time graphics for fans paying for custom work to be produced on the fly. Think super cool street artists. I regret not getting original art this year…
7. For professionals, register early. The earlier you register, the more likely you will get to bring an adult guest. Also, go early. The best days are Wednesday night preview and the opening Thursday before the masses arrive on the weekend and the poor tradeshow workers are exhausted.
8. Where there is chaos there are stars and giveaways and the fans get rowdy. I was roughed up by a security guard when I accidentally wandered into the crowd surging toward the cast of True Blood during their autograph session. I saw people run when they heard Warner Bros was giving away free stuff.
9. Social media has made the event even more important for marketers trying to generate buzz for upcoming movie release and television series. The Scott Pilgrim movie, Glee and the new AMC series Walking Dead were generating a ton of buzz at the event with their street marketing, panel discussions, private screenings and killer parties. Twitter and Facebook buzzed with comments from attendees providing great word of mouth marketing to their target markets. There were tons of special giveaways including a special Superman flashlight from Warner Bros if you checked in on FourSquare and showed the special edition Superman FourSquare badge on your phone at the booth.
10. San Diego is a great host city for this event with excellent transit access and lots of options for hotels, food and beverage. Beware, rumor has it that Comic-Con has outgrown SD and is looking for a new venue for 2012. Book now for next year and be assured you can be there before it potentially moves to Las Vegas or Anaheim and the whole vibe changes. Seriously, book your hotel now! Everything was sold out for miles. While they do have busses that bring in people from outlier towns, it is always best to be in the epicenter.

Back in the PlayStation 1 days, E3 was a totally happening event, full of game demos, elaborate booth designs and tons of freebies.  Each year since then, it has dwindled in size, finally bottoming out a couple years ago to relatively small airplane hangar in Santa Monica.  Fortunately, E3 has returned to its roots as a sensory overload event.  Each platform had something new to brag about.  The XBOX Kinect motion controller was a big hit, with ridiculous lines to try it.  The new Nintendo DS booth was so jammed with people; you had to wait just to get in and then wait again to play anything.   The PlayStation Move controller will also be a fun addition for PS3 owners, and will be instantly familiar to those familiar with the Wii.  Each exhibitor clearly didn’t cheap out on their booth designs, with special effects, costumes and elaborate architecture.  It was a great time and well worth the time and train ride downtown.  See you next year!

simple yet beautiful video piece from tell no one.

[via OK Great]

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Matt W. Moore is the founder of MWM Graphics, a Design and Illustration studio in Portland, Maine. He traveled to Paris earlier this year to prepare for a solo exhibit from scratch. He arrived with no art or supplies and decided to take inspiration from the city itself and the culture. The colors, geometry, architecture and fashion all lead him to create this series of paintings entitled Crystals & Lasers.

The paintings were created entirely with spray paint. The designs were so crisp and clean that I imagine thousands of feet of tape must have been used to block out each shape. He tried to achieve the same depth that he gets with his digital “Vectorfunk” style where the viewer gets lost in the piece and can’t tell which way is up, down, left or right.

The exhibition has past now but Moore has since gone on to do various murals around France. Not all in the same straight line fashion. You can view more of his recent work on his blog.

[via ISO50]

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The typophile in me just loves these. Some favorites:

Comic Sans: I am the hand of God
Arial: I am the devil
Curlz MT: I am the taste of puke in your mouth
Edwardian Script: I am a wanker
Papyrus: I am eating your brains

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I love these prints. LOVE LOVE LOVE. And the best part…. they are all permanent ink and paper. Not photography. No computers. Nothing. Just ink and paper and a steady hand. Artist Hollis Brown Thorton has many other types of work. Not all are ink and pen. He does a lot of acrylics on canvas. But I was most drawn to these pieces. Due to media and subject matter. I love old VHS and cassette tapes. They look awesome!

You can buy the original VHS print at his personal online shop for $1650. I would LOVE to own it! If you can’t afford that, you can buy various sized limited run prints of one of the other VHS pieces over at 20×20.

[via NotCot]

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Designed by Roeland Otten this set of 26 chairs each spelling out one letter of the alphabet are just cool. Named the ABCChairs they can be arranged so you can relax on your favorite word, or send a message to the person sitting across the room.

Select me, I’m live type!
We’re all part of the new Google Font API.
Hello! I’m Reenie Beanie.
Hello! I’m Cantarell.
Hello! I’m Droid Serif.
There are many more of us who can be used as web safe fonts simply by calling our Google API stylesheets.

 
Google has introduced the Google Font Directory and Google Font API, a free web service that allows website owners the ability to utilize other fonts outside of the Web-safe fonts cadre in an easy, convenient, and resource-efficient way.

The Google Font API is a fresh entry to the Font-as-Service niche that includes TypeKit, Typotheque, and others.
Click here to find out more.

However there are limitations to it’s implementation. The Google Font API is compatible with the following browsers:

• Google Chrome: version 4.249.4+
• Mozilla Firefox: version: 3.5+
• Apple Safari: version 3.1+
• Opera: version 10.5+
• Microsoft Internet Explorer: version 6+