The Pixellogo Blog: Graphic Design, Logo Reviews, Tips & Tutorials

Cool findings: Data Visualization of Bike Commuting in Hungary

pixellogo — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:47:10 +0000

Overpopulation, overbearing traffic and not so good public transportation have contributed to the expansion of bike commuting in a large number of cities around the world. Such is the case of Hungary’s capital Budapest, a growing city that is quickly rising in popularity. Following the requisites of what a cool city should be, Budapest locals have embraced biking as their go to transportation and KitchenBudapest’s media research lab SubMap got to work on an animated data visualization of the bikers around the city.

This time-lapse animated map shows all the data collected of the most transited routes at different times of the day in the city. The result is an ever-transforming map that adjusts (in the form of blobs) to the most crowded areas at that certain hour, making it possible to see where the Budapestis are moving to. A total of 100,000 kms of bike roads travel is the distance that’s being shown- all this information was collected by UrbanCyclr, an app that allows bikers to track their rides.

This project is a follow-up on a previous map created by the research lab: a distorted map that enhances the volume of a certain neighborhood according to how many times it has been mentioned in the news. Pretty interesting project that puts in perspective what parts of the city are more ‘alive’ than the others. Check it out:

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Beautiful Branding: Top Hops Beer Shop

pixellogo — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:33:07 +0000

Beer enthusiasts of the world unite! There’s a new beer shop in NYC that besides of offering 700 of different kinds of beer has a very strong and amazing corporate identity: Top Hops. Design studio Helms Workshop was the one in charge of the branding project, one that aims to reinforce the artisan brewery and gourmet beers that the bar offers. Along the design team, architects, environmental designers and beer connoisseurs worked to create this unique and bold expression of their passion for beer.

The result is a beautiful bar that combines a crafted spirit with a hint of old school style. From the bottles to the interior architecture, everything has been carefully designed to establish a throughout consistent and bold looking shop.The logo design has this western look to it with subtle ornaments resembling the old school tattoos. As for the rest of the elements (decoration, notebooks, coasters) they follow up to this style with bold typefaces and retro ornaments. Beauty is in the details and certainly Top Hops has nailed it, an attractive little bar that relies on its passionate dedication to beer.

Typographic Love: Dafi Kühne’s Letterpress Posters

pixellogo — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:11:29 +0000

Dafi Kühne is a very talented Swiss designer and letterpress printer who started his relationship with graphic design in his years studying architecture. His interests later on went towards letterpress printing, technique that has allowed him to create some brilliant pieces of typographic posters. His work style involves mixing digital resources with hands-on methodology, a combination that he explains as the following:

“I use both tools—digital and analog—through the whole design and production process. If I want to draw a line straight, I use the computer. If I want to draw a line trashy, I might draw it by hand. I choose and develop techniques to fit my clients’ projects.”

Needless to say, the results are quite impressive, a beautiful display of craft mixed up with modern design and typographic work. There’s an obvious sensibility regarding the layout designs and how with such basic resources he can create such different and special pieces every time.

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Cool infographics: Back to the Future’s timeline

pixellogo — Fri, 11 May 2012 19:13:52 +0000

For the people who grew up in the 90′s, the Back to the Future movie franchise was probably a huge milestone in their childhood memories. The fantasy of the possibility of traveling in time has been one of the biggest dreams for many out there and these movies were the platonic realization of said dreams. Mushir Oda, at 16 years old of age has created a beautiful timeline infography presenting the entire plot of the series. The graphic display of data is classified by the characters playing in each space of time and by curved and straight lines showing the time travel throughout the movies. Beautiful and talented work by a (really!) young designer.

Pixellogo Template Review: Logo-2316

pixellogo — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:16:37 +0000

Today’s Pixellogo template review is about Logo-2316, one of our classic style logo templates that’s just right for upscale restaurant or similar businesses. The design resembles the look of a crest but instead of being enclosed it’s composed by round ornaments that make up for the elegant character of the logo.

The ornaments of the design are paired up with a matching classical typeface, one that is just a tad different from the usual serif typefaces- a difference that makes this logo stand out with its elegant style. Keeping it simple, this logo template can be a perfect choice for an upscale catering or hospitality related business, bringing a sophisticated look to its corporate identity. Remember that you can now purchase the business card that comes along with every logo in our catalog- an easier way to start up your company with a consistent visual identity.

Beautiful Findings: Japan’s Designed Manhole Covers

pixellogo — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:10:59 +0000

It’s no surprise that the Japanese culture favors a pleasant aesthetic for their everyday life. This beautiful discovery comes now in the form of manhole covers, an omnipresent element in all the cities that is always overlooked. In this case the situation is overturned, making a statement in the look of the city by decorating the lids with some amazing designs and illustrations. Such a clever and unusual way of spreading art throughout the city.

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Cartography Love: San Francisco’s Literary Map

pixellogo — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:04:44 +0000

Typographic maps might just be the next big thing in cartography trends. The combination of words that are combined to create a representation of geographical surface really adds to the complexity and attractiveness of a beautifully designed map. Under this premise, artist Ian Huebert created an amazing Literary Map of the city of San Francisco. It is entirely constructed from literary quotes related to the city, referring to the artistic spirit this Californian metropolis is known for. The collection of quotes was recollected by book editor John McMurtrie, in the hopes of paying tribute to all the authors that have written about San Francisco.

Huebert arranged the quotes accordingly to each neighborhood, creating a fluent looking display of type that accomodates to each area. The overall composition makes for a complex looking map that you want to discover through references instead of geographical location. The map is actually available as a wooden jigsaw puzzle, how much fun is that!

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FontXS Free Fonts: Distressed style

pixellogo — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:43:33 +0000

Today’s fonts from FontXS are perfect for your distressed style designs. This punk looking typefaces will add some tension to your typographic work, adding something different that combined with the right textures can look all kinds of awesome. Enjoy!

Typography love: Wired Magazine Typeface

pixellogo — Wed, 09 May 2012 14:48:15 +0000

UK based Studio8 Design has some very beautiful work that ranges from corporate identity to editorial design. Their custom typeface they designed for Wire Magazine is a great example of their work, a very simple and strong type with a lot of character. With an old school look mixed with geometrical-3D shapes, the layouts created using it are quite astonishing. The volumetric letters channel the modern aspect, combining their 3D nature with the use of shades. It was used throughout the magazine and iPad app for chapter headers, also the typeface can be colored in numerous ways in order to suit the page it sits on.

Industry News: Pantone releases new colors!

pixellogo — Wed, 09 May 2012 00:40:28 +0000

Pantone has announced the new release of a total of 336 new colors to their Plus Series catalog for next June- they’ve coined the tagline “Unleash Your Passion” for the occasion. These new additions complete a total of 1,677 solid choices, adding a wide range of metallics, bright neon and cool pastel hues. The trendiest shades are included in this new release, giving designers an even more complete chromatic sphere to pick just the right color for each project from. Regards the color libraries used in design software, they will be automatically updated once they’ve been released with Pantone Color Manager. Interesting new options for printing solutions!

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