An inspiring motion graphic conceived by Hardy Seiler and executed with the help of his talented peers (yeah thats right, this is student work) for a fictional education tv-series. I am not Hardy’s professor but give this an A… for ace.

Inspiring motion graphic montage by New Zealand Designer + Animator Lucas Redfern Brooking.

Artist Hiroshi Sato teamed up with video talent Daihei Shibata to create this freaky yet interesting music video for Yaporigami.

Two things about this video:  1)Amazing Cinema 4D creation.  2)I am definitely going to have nightmares tonight.

I love this animated promo for Dan Bellos’ new book about language & it’s effects on the human experience. I think it’s so smart to run a promo like this, which packages the core messages the book into beautifully animated typography. Self referential in a very good way. Animation by Matt Young.

This sunday will mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11. On Wednesday, NYC mayor Bloomberg and almost everyone else working on the new World Trade Center site held a press conference to give yet another thin update on building progress. I feel like the process has been long and empty – but I was thrilled to see Silverstein properties come out with a moving video to re-stimulate my interest and connection to the site.

The video (more like a short film, really) mixes live action, tilt shift and impressive CGI effects to tell the story of a new World Trade Center. Surprisingly, (though it’s been a big piece of the winners and losers bidding to build) there are green spaces and water features. It’s calm and thriving and new and somehow, even with it’s soaring heights, modest. After all NYC and the rest of the country have been through, it seems like a high point. Finally, after all this time.

Also, here is a link to an incredible article that my good friend sent me on grief and western culture’s abandonment of grieving rituals. It just makes me think about all those times when I felt a splinter of anger rise up in me when someone very, very far removed from the tragedy of 9/11 somehow makes a distant connection to the death and destruction via the friend of a 3rd cousing or something. I used to think that they had no right to feel the same way I felt about 9/11 – I was there, they were in Wisconsin or something. I’m rethinking that now. In a situation this big and sad, I guess we all need to grieve.

This Sunday, I’ll take a moment to remember that day back in 2001 and thank all the men and women involved in responding, recovering and rebuilding. I hope you do too.

Thanks to my borderline scary obsession with all things LFC, I stumbled on the agency Uniform, based in Liverpool, by way of a creative tech at the firm. I was really impressed by their work, but more importantly by how they communicated their philosophy and how they work. Often designers or agencies can, ironically, come across fairly convoluted and excessive when trying to communicate their process. I find it especially annoying if they do it only with words. Uniform’s execution, on the other hand, comes across really approachable & succinct. It’s not overwhelmingly detailed (the point is to explain your process to clients, not to your competition), but it also has enough meat that their audience won’t feel short-changed or patronized.

What I really appreciate about the videos, though, is the example they set in how important it is to spend time polishing your own messaging. Spend some time on your own brand, and people will trust you to spend time on theirs. You don’t really want your personal physician to be a 300lb, rock-climbing smoker, do you? You probably do.

Have 2 minutes for something inspiring and cool? Of course you do.

This animated short is directed and created by four obviously talented students at the Utrecht School of Arts in the Netherlands. I truly appreciate the cinematic techniques used and the way they edited it. The speed, style and imagination of this is inspiring and really fun to watch. There is a nice balance of traditional looking and computer assisted 3D animation.

Get all more details about this short film by hitting up their site.

Year Zero – OFFF Barcelona 2011 Main Titles from PostPanic on Vimeo.

I cannot believe the amazing titles PostPanic created for this year’s OFFF conference in Barcelona (which just happened in June).

The darkness, the craft, the post-apocalyptic shivers, the beautiful yet unsettling scenery—overall an incredible piece, not really just opening titles but more of a story within a story. Mischa Rozena and Si Scott partnered up to write this, their reflection of what the future may look like.

It’s stunning, and although i keep making you guys watch these longer videos, I hope it’s been worth it.

happy monday friends.

Digital designers Tim Jockel and Florian Sigl created this stunning visual experience that showcases the work of Stefan Eckert.

Jen Stark – Believer from Show & Tell Gallery on Vimeo.

In light of Maya Hayuk & Jen Stark’s recent group show at Show and Tell Gallery in Toronto (GO THERE IF YOU CAN!), “Double Double Rainbow,” Jen Stark created this ridiculously rad stop motion piece.

For all us sad people who cannot make it to the gallery, below are some hints at the excellence on display. Read the rest of this entry »