I love this buckle, which you can personalize with up to 7 letters (dsignr? xacto? cre8ive?). I also love to support a site with nav links to “Grillz” and “Pimp Cups”. $14.99

Buy it, or call 1.866.44.BLING (I’m not kidding)

Journal contains 18 pages and measures 4.25″ x 5.25″. Each is a one-of-a-kind chaotic collage featuring all sorts of images and colors used in the letterpresses at Hammerpress. $8 each.

Hopefully what you put in this will be as cool as the covers…

Buy this!

Critique was a premium-quality quarterly that explored the thinking behind graphic design. Articles ranged from panel reviews of current designs to analyses of historical designs, from essays on the principles of communication to insider tips on designing high-performance websites. Contributors included leading graphic designers and experts in related fields such as marketing, writing, and psychology. FREE.

I loved, loved, loved this magazine when it was being published. Sadly, it went defunct in 2002, but Wowio is offering FREE downloads of issues 1-4. Amazing.

Buy it!

Check out Billboard’s The 25 Best Rock Posters of All Time for a nice overview of what’s been going down in rock posters in the past 50 years. This Thelonious Monk poster from 1959 is my personal fave. Clean, minimal use of color and old school typography. The posters for James Brown (1962), Elvis Costello (2005), The Decemberists (2005), and Pearl Jam (also 2005, apparently a good design year) spoke to me as well.


But what’s up with this? This poster is…OK. The uninspired typography and “clever” type treatment (Fire! On “Red Hot Chili Peppers”! It’s a genius visual pun!) are kind of first year in art school.

But then I read the article intro again. Billboard promises “the 25 coolest posters in rock history.” Nowhere in there does it say the 25 best designed posters in rock history or the 25 most awe inspiring graphics in rock history. Looking over the choices again, there are selections that have to do with rarity (Stones merchandise without the tongue logo) or historical importance (the first psychedelic poster). Once again I fell into “How does it look? It is cool? Is it beautiful? Does anything else matter?” Of course it does (although I don’t care what the rationale was for the Radiohead poster. It’s overrated.)

What do you think? Fantastic collection or ho-hum grouping?

BONUS: If you’re into poster design, check out posterwhore.com. Inspiring site, embarrassing name.

Looking for a fast, easy and free gift to give this holiday season? One that is personal and good for an entire year? Make a calendar.

I’m posting the 2008 calendar template for free download that I made for my daughter. I print them out on 8.5 x 11″ paper (regular letter size), cut them in half (you get two calendars with each printing) and she draws on the tops of the pages (and usually everywhere else, too). They’re a huge hit. Click here to download a PDF (24kb).

ETA: The entire year is included in the PDF, not just January.

Ho Ho Ho, etc.