Moment of silence please, for Leslie Buck who passed away on Monday at the age of 87. Buck was the man behind that cup of coffee above. He was a Nazi refugee from Europe who came to America and landed a Sales Manager position at a little start up paper cup company in the 60s. Buck figured since all the diners in the city were Greek, why not follow that theme in paper cups? Brilliant. Not only did he get a better title (Director of Marketing) he also created an object that will forever be tied to one of the world’s greatest, most infamous cities. NYC, coffee, paper products – man I love this country. Thanks for your bright idea, Mr. Buck. Just one more bit of proof that design can permeate the souls of everyday people.

And from all of us here at OK Great, “We Are Happy to Serve You.”

Remember AJ Fosik and his ridiculously awesome painted wood masks? Three critical things have happened since we originally posted on him…

1. He’s ditched his myspace page for a flickr gallery. Thank. The. Gods.

2. He’s populating his flickr gallery with lots of fresh new work.

3. He’s been rummaging through moldy basements for old sweaters…

Now don’t get concerned – I don’t think he’s lost his mind. These are not your average ‘dingy backwater’ sweaters ‘ripped from the backs of greasy shitleopards.’ They are vintage beer label sweaters… and they are gloooorious.

In celebration of the upcoming movie season [specifically, the release of Iron Man 2], Screen Rant has released a series of 30 awesome minimalist superhero posters. They even included some of the more unconventional superheroes, like Quail Man and Darkwing Duck. If you love superheroes like I do, you should check out the whole set, it’ll make your day!

Vicente García Morillo is a graphic designer/illustrator from Madrid. His work caught my eye when I first came across it on Behance. His Über clean illustrations and retro color palette are both well executed. His clear attention to detail gives his work a freshness that we all hope for in our own compositions. Also, any design with a “gold toof” in it has my vote. Just saying.

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Oh, hey Simple, meet Bizarre. It doesn’t seem like you two should get along but you totally do! Photography by Daniel Douglas.

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ri•dic•u•lous sculpture created for Nike Sportswear’s global advertising campaign by Moscow graphic artist Aske.

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Hilarious observational drawings from German artist Katrin Hagen aka Mischief Champion. I’ll let these speak for themselves…

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Mark Warren Jacques, Portland, OR based artist, is old school. And by that I mean he paints what we see in a lot of awesome graphic design these days. He makes it happen on canvas and brings to his audience moments of enlightenment. Abstract geometry is paired with organic texture and beautiful color—I can’t help but feel a sense of harmony when browsing through his work.

Also win—his site introduces him via a beautifully ethereal video. Oh and one more thing: He’s also part of the awesome Free Life Center project, along with Seth Neefus.

Check out the work, then enjoy your week. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s one thing to have your work critiqued on a blog by self proclaimed experts, but it’s a whole different ball game to have your work dissected by a professional art critic. The Durham Art Council & The Durham Art Guild are offering local artists that very opportunity next month (May 6th – 8th) when they host art critic Lori Waxman for a 3 day program. The 60 wrds / min format works like this:

“Artists bring in their work and, on a first-come, first-served basis, the critic spends twenty minutes writing them a review of one to two hundred words. She guarantees a thoughtful, critical but not necessarily positive review. The text is then “published” by the receptionist and posted on an adjacent wall for everyone—critic, artist, receptionist, audience—to read.”

It’s a pretty unique idea that will probably get participants and their audience communicating on new levels about the art.

So not too long ago I reminded all of my fellow Durhamites that the third annual DOUGHMAN is coming (and yes, it must always be capitalized – style guide y’all).  A lot of you were probably thinking, well, that’s pretty damn cool, and all the eating stuff sounds awesome, but I could do without all the running and biking and water activity-ing and the what-not.  Well fear not couch crusaders, because the DOUGHMAN is for lazy people too.

On the evening of May 29th, after all the competitive eating has completed, and those participating have had enough time to digest, the DOUGHMAN hEArTS Durham Banquet will take place at the Durham Athletic Park.  Tons of great local restaurants (Piedmont, Toast, Fosters, Tosca, Locopops, etc) will be offering various dishes and local beer (Foothills, CBC, etc) will be flowing as well. Music, good people, good food, and a great cause – the Durham Inner City Garden and SeeSaw Studios will be the benefactors of the event.

Pick up a ticket soon, cus they will most definitely sell out.  See you all there, fat & happy.

(click poster to enlargificate)