I’m very pleased to give you the first preview of the 4th issue of It’s Nice That. Packed with beautiful content – interviews with Nick Knight, Neville Brody, Miranda July, Trokia, RBG6, Noma Bar and Bompas & Parr, features by Sara De Bondt, Adam Buxton, Adrian Shaughnessy, Jez Burrows, Mike Lemanski, Peter Nencini and Micah Lidberg as well as tons of work from the likes of Michael Landy, Rui Teneiro, Peter Grundy and more – it looks like their best issue so far. And when placing your pre-order before the 30th of September you will receive a free screen print by James Jarvis, commissioned especially for the issue, with your publication. Check their shop for more information >

Every day, for the next 100 days, Vivienne Westwood and Lee Jeans will publish one image of active resistance online. Active Resistance is a project of positive thoughts, active changes, speaking up and being heard. And you can be part of thatli. The images will be selected from your submissions.
As Vivienne Westwood has put it together: “It is not enough to follow world politics, see films and read the prize-winning best seller. This is superficial, you need to go deep in order to understand who you are, what the world is and how things could be better. This involves culture which can only be acquired by self-education: human beings should mirror the world.”
100 days of resistance will start the 8th of september at Lee’s W1 store in London. At the close of 100 days, the 100 chosen images will become a part of a London exhibition, dedicated to the project. Visit www.ar100days.com for more information on how to participate.

I always wanted to have my own wine – and after seeing the book and branding from Vigneron Wine I think it would look something like that: Vigneron Wine by Alt Group. Simply beautiful! More information at Process Journal and more images on the Alt Group flickr page >

Check out this delicious raw photography of Thomas Høedholt from Copenhagen. I think he has a great eye for sculptural compositions and interesting locations. The above image is from a series called Deserted shipyard. Be sure to take a look at the other photographic works on Thomas’ ‘visual notepad’ website.

Jesse Kanda, a 22 year old London based Art Director working for Hi-ReS!, updated his website with some very nice work. Enjoy!

Very much like these series of images of the horse tracks by Copenhagen based graphic designer and photographer Emil Hartvig.

Noele Lusano, the girl behind Quadrantgrove.net has an eye for strange and beautiful shapes, forms and combinations. She is a great collector (check her /44 journal) and a fabulous photographer/graphic artist (check her portfolio at Quadrangrove), and in her own words ‘interested in the things that lie just beyond the frame’.

Print Magazine invited 12 leading visual artists to create a design for a cause to be printed on tote bags. One hundred percent of the profits from these bags will go to the causes chosen by the artists. Now they are inviting you to submit your design as well! Three winning designs and artists will be featured in the magazine. One winner will have his or her creation printed onto a bag… Please head over to Print Mag for more information >

Last week in Paris we met Silas and Kristian, the people behind Soulland, and they shared their beautiful autumn/winter 2010 lookbook with us. The book is designed by Marco Pedrollo and shot by Nikolaj Holm Møller. The cold, desolate snow landscapes of Denmark and Norway form a fantastic decor for the beautiful autumn and winter collection of Soulland. More images after the click > Read the rest of this entry »

Carine Collin, a french graphic designer living and working in Brussels, just updated her website with some very nice work. Definitely worth a visit.

Swedish designer Daniel Carlsten recently launched his own business after five years as an art director, graphic designer and illustrator at the creative collective Acne. He shows us a really nice portfolio. Personal favorites are the ‘Acne Paper Invite’ and his – very well executed – paper crafted food.

Lenancker Romain, a French based graphic designer and Illustrator emailed us to show his beautiful work. Love his colorful view, the playful paper cuts & folds and clear graphics.

Last week we met talented creatives and reviewed their portfolio’s at the Blend New Talent Night. We were very excited to meet such passionate and talented people and so we left Pakhuis de Zwijger with a fresh dose of inspiration.

Our favorite was definitely last years graduate from the HKU Ashkan Honarvar with his dark, horrifying but lovely collages and paintings. His former classmate, Sylvia Stølan, creates more poetic and sparkling collages and illustrations and did some nice projects here in Utrecht.
More illustration; Hedof caught our eyes with his very nice screenprinted posters – a lovely style.
Adriane Galijasevic overwhelmed us with her energy and enormous amount of stories she put in the jeans she creates.
Promising talent Renata Sifrar showed us a mix of graphic, photographic and illustrational works…
And last but not least: Les Ponies Lilas. Three young girls with a shit load of energy and positivity writing, illustrating and photographing all things they like (dutch only). They’ve made some very nice t-shirts (soon online) and made a very nice illustration of Bas en myself as a present for us – How nice! Keep an eye on all these talents!

Friday october 30 Fontanel and Nieuwe Garde organizing a new issue of 60 Minute Magazine during the ‘Internationaal Beeldfestival Rotterdam‘. Participants will get 60 minutes to create a complete magazine issue – if you’re around, want to share your creativity in journalism, graphic design, photography, illustration or anything else, email them to get on the list. I’ll be there to do a short presentation on our work to inspire, and during the process to coach a bit in the art direction. Hope to see you there…

Beautiful work on the quite abstract and minimalistic website of Central Office & Co., the studio of Max Erdenberger.

Finally, after years (!) my good friend Marcel Kampman plugged his universe with ours. It became an inspiring, crazy, beautiful, happy and everything-in-between portfolio/blog/give it a name… Just like Marcel. haha

Rishi Sodha, the founder of Designers Against Human Rights Abuse (DAHRA) just contacted us to tell about their second book ‘3 Minutes‘. In 3 Minutes creatives were each given a 3 minute audio interview with a Tibetan refugee to translate using primarily typography into a 16 printed page booklet. These booklets were then combined with an 11th booklet with the original interviews in to form the book, which comes in an embossed black slip case.

3 Minutes, featuring Bibliotheque, Brighten the Corners, Stefan Gandl (NeubauBerlin), Alex Haigh (Thinkdust / HypeforType), Nick Hard (Research Studios), Jeff Knowles (Research Studios), Abbott Miller (Pentagram), Si Scott, Paul Skerm, Un.titled.

Very, very nice project – and since all the proceeds are going to Tibet Relief Fund we all need to buy one!

Fantastic video work by graphic designer Adam Guzman and Julia Tsao for Nosaj Thing. “As the graphics become more spatial, the performer flattens, becoming a 2-D cutout version of himself.”

Thank you Bas & Nalden for sharing!

As Benji Holroyd says: “I translate ethnic slurs for refugees, write award-winning operas and manage time efficiently. I woo women with my sensuous and god like dancing, I can ride a mountain bike up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and cook thirty-minute brownies in twenty minutes, but my real passion is visual communication.”
He just updated me with some new and fresh work. Pictured above, Naantalin Kaivohoune, the Summer Club, Finland. Check his website for more.

Belgium based graphic designer Geoffrey Brusatto e-mailed me to tell he updated his website. He defiantly is my favorite designer of today!