In the words of the late great Big Pun, “Fuck All Non-Believers”. If you fall into this category when speaking about Addict, tattoo the quote on ya’ forehead for a constant reminder of the lame you have turned to be. The brand has always believed in the marriage of function and design and the A/W collection keeps those strong vows in mind. The collection has already dropped in Europe and should be in the States sometime this week.
Info.Image: Hypebeast
The Supra Fall ‘07 Footwear Collection looks way beyond just making a great skating shoe and seems to dabble in the look of a more upscale line. It’s good to see design as well as comfort play a major part in the company’s direction and it will definitely help the company grow tremendously. So if you’re in the market for an all around work/play/look fresh sneaker then I think you need not look any further.
Info.Image: High Snobiety
London based design house, Bishbo, is taking the world of graphic design by storm with their happy-go-lucky style. Conquering the pages of national newspapers and taken their craft into cyberspace, with some innovative website designs, Jack and Olli are preparing to stamp their company’s name indelibly on these brand-happy days and times. With plans to branch into exhibiting their work in development, people may soon face an invasion of vector-based cartoon vegetables, the likes of which has never been seen before.
“It’s incredible that someone has paid out £400,000 for this logo, to provide something that already looks out of date and it has been criticized by a lot of people.”
Format: How did the company get started?
Bishbo: Bishbo formed in October 2006 as a fun side-project to showcase some of our work. As things picked up and people became interested, we thought about it becoming a serious design studio that could potentially become a successful business and here we are!
Format: Where did you study design?
Bishbo: We have both, from a very early age, been creative people. Jack, from the age of 14 was beginning to practice in Photoshop and learned vital skills from very early on, pursing freelance and self-teaching rather than going to university. We both learned a lot from running our previous business, Alaska, which was a great way to launch into the world of freelance, dealing with clients, deadlines, and trying to stay creative all the time!
Olli spent a couple of years at university studying graphic design and illustration, but left to pursue freelance. We feel that art is something that cannot really be taught. Of course, you need to learn the tools of the trade, but a degree doesn’t always have to be the way to go about it.
Format: What aspects of the design studio do both of you handle?
Bishbo: Things are pretty even, to be honest. We both love being involved with every aspect of the company, as we raised Bishbo as our child, together! That can be, dealing with emails and calls, to self promotion or art for fun in our spare time. It’s hard to pinpoint where we split things, we like to dabble in everything!
Format: What was your reaction to the logo design for the London 2012 Olympics?
Bishbo: We’ve found it hard to really feel anything looking at the branding for this whole event. We feel that it could have been something really special, but it doesn’t really tickle our fancy. It’s incredible that someone has paid out £400,000 for this logo, to provide something that already looks out of date and it has been criticized by a lot of people. Definitely not a classic!
Format: How would you describe your design style?
Bishbo: Bishbo is essentially a mix of character art, organic hand-drawn elements and Photoshop manipulation. We both have slightly different styles but are influenced by similar things. We are big fans of mess, detail and texture mixed with vector. Having said that, one look through our portfolio will show that it’s hard to pigeonhole some of our work into a certain style or influence as it is pretty varied! Of course, if a client is looking for a certain style, that’s something we try to adapt, but given total freedom, we like to dabble with lots of different styles and stick them all together!
Format: How did you come up with the mixed media motif that runs through some of your work?
Bishbo: We just do what feels right and that usually means experimenting with anything. We enjoy photography and drawing, so we always try to incorporate those elements. We’ve been doing this for a while, so it’s all very easy to produce artwork that is within your comfort zone – you know you can make something that looks ok in a short space of time, so we try to push ourselves to do something new, and that can lead to all sorts of ideas, good and bad.
Format: There seems to be a genuine enthusiasm and a dash of humor behind your work. How important was it to you to stamp an identity and personality on Bishbo’s work?
Bishbo: A lot of people have mentioned that and it’s so nice to hear that something we’ve worked hard on, but not taken too seriously, can be appreciated in the exact same way. It is subjective to the viewer, so some of our work has a clear message and point, but if we are working on personal projects, it’s easy to get away with almost anything, which is super fun! We try not to over-analyze things or worry about being individual all the time, that can prevent you from truly doing what you want to do.
Format: If you could make a Bishbo style caricature of anyone in the world right now, who would it be?
Bishbo: Oh – good question. Maybe whoever invented the pizza? I think we’d have to create some sort of idol, actually.
Format: You’ve done work for quite a range of publications. Were there any that you knew straight away that you could really stamp the Bishbo style on?
Bishbo: We try to put our stamp on everything we do, however big or small. It’s important to make every piece your own and as personal as you can make it – there will always be a Bishbo twist!
Format: Any plans for a Bishbo exhibition?
Bishbo: Definitely! In the future, for sure – we’d like to build our portfolio a little more yet. Some of our work was recently shown in the fantastic Synth Eastwood exhibition in Dublin, Ireland.
Format: So far, what’s been your favorite project?
Bishbo: The book cover for Carlton Publishing was great fun. Having both worked a lot in the music industry on CD packaging, there is an entirely different buzz when working on a book.
Format: All art looks to provoke some sort of reaction from its audience. What reaction are you looking for to your work?
Bishbo: We think people can see the humorous side to things which is great, because it’s definitely intended. On the more serious projects, hopefully people can feel inspired. But really, most people probably feel hungry with all the food we feature in our work.
Format: Are there any design jobs, magazine layouts and advertising campaigns that have been in the public eye that made you think, we could have done a really good job of that?
Bishbo: Being creative, we are constantly looking at ads and scrutinizing them! We basically feel that there are some extraordinary designers out there, so there is really no excuse for any bad art and design to be plastered across billboards. Particularly, with bigger brands. Not to sound too snobbish, but there are some advertising campaigns out there that are truly mind blowing, and all companies should aspire to that. And no we’re not naming names!
Format: What would you be doing if you weren’t running a respected design studio?
Bishbo: We both have pretty strong interests in music and have been co-producing from our home studio for over four years now. It’s always fun, but would be difficult to build up a career from something that you’ve only dabbled in. It could happen though, maybe!
Format: What artists inspired you to do what you do?
Bishbo: Bruce Chizen – just kidding! We are inspired by a lot of artists, as well as everyday things. Growing up, we appreciated an eclectic mix of things; from Sanrio to Mucha, so, maybe, that explains our mixed style! These days, it’s so easy to browse around for 30 minutes on the Internet, and get over inspired!
Format: What’s next for Bishbo?
Bishbo: Well, we just launched our store which is a learning curve, for sure, but we are happy with things, so far. It’s entirely new to us, but we’d love to expand things as soon as we can. We have lots of ideas for this, and it would, hopefully, bring an entire new audience to the site. We have a few interesting collaborations coming up soon, which could lead to other things, but more on this soon. We’re both keen to produce a children’s book, but that will be a while away yet, we’ll see!
Format: Finish the following statement: Bishbo is…
Bishbo: Hungry! Always, hungry!
More Info: http://www.bishbo.com/
Now when I was growing up and I got mad at my crayons or just wanted new ones, I simply broke them in half and threw them across the room. This dude, however is on a whole new level though! As you can see, the “Crayon Assassin” likes to line his up like a routine hostage situation and straight execute ‘em!! Visually though, this photo and all the others he has on display in the online album are crazy. I don’t really know how he managed to do it, but if you wanna try all you will need is a .22 caliber pistol, some inanimate objects, and a DOPE camera. Good luck sharp-shooters.
Info.Image: Picsyard
Medicom Toys in Japan recently unveiled a sneak preview of their top secret Series 15 of Bearbricks. This time around expect to see, among others, Bearbricks inspired by Juventus Football Club, Appleseed Ex Machina, Fumiya Fuji, and Transformers. There will also be a seasonal release of Christmas Bearbricks and a glow-in-the-dark Nort Bearbrick designed by Stash. Release dates are to be announced soon.
London’s Stolen Space gallery is currently hosting Charles Krafft’s latest exhibit “Disasterware.” Krafft is known for his innovative porcelain work, particularly Delftware – a traditional form of blue and white painted pottery. For his latest work, Krafft has created a variety of guns, grenades, and other weapons and adorned them with images of war, peace, and pop culture; making a deft social statement with a medium usually reserved for mere decoration.
Info.Image: Slam X Hype
This holiday season, Boost Mobile is set to launch Boosted – a new line of mobile accessories created in partnership with a number of influential pop culture artists including Livity Outernational, Claw Monkey, and SSUR. The Madsteez Collection features three mobile device carrying cases, a hip bag, a nap sack, and an oversized messenger bag. Future Boosted products are to include more carrying cases and even a set of desktop speakers.
Info.Image: High Snobiety
You too can pretend you are 007 and steal confidential content with this… THE WORLDS SMALLEST CAMCORDER! At about the size of a small pack of gum, this micro camcorder is THE smallest high resolution camcorder ever produced and is packed full of features. When using a 1GB micro SD card you can record and store 33 hours of video (in 2 hour intervals) and videos can be easily uploaded and viewed on any 3GP compatible cell phone. “Wowzers! But how much is this gonna cost me?”, you ask… All of this, and more, can be yours for the low-tech price of $295.00 USD. Happy spying!
Info.Image: Spygadgets
Parisian boutique, Colette has managed to do something great… yet again. By bringing together the super powers of 10 of the worlds greatest artists and graphic designers and letting them design a special collection of vinyls exclusively for the Colette store. Such artistic notables include KAWS, Jeremy Scott, Nagi Noda and +41, so you better act quickly because only 500 copies of each piece will be created. Check ‘em out at Colette and Sold Out while supplies last.
Info.Image: We Sold Out via Hypebeast
Fresh in the streets are the latest offerings by San Francisco label, Red Clay. The idea behind their fall line was to fuse the Art Deco style of the 1930’s with premium materials and crazy patterns. Take the lime green “Butters Zip Hoodie” pictured above… it’s constructed of Italian lamb skin, which just shows their innovative yet loud approach to the new season. Red Clay’s fall line can be found at Bodega, Huf and other fine retailers, which are all listed on their website.
Info.Image: Red Clay via Hypebeast
