Matt Stevens has taken on a self initiated poster series inspired by the latest album from The Black Keys, Brothers. Since I consider myself a fan of said record, it only seems right that I'd enjoy the poster series as well, right? Yep, absolutely. He's setup a good aesthetic and has a solid start on, hopefully, a large series of new posters. Check them out.

Great rundown article of The Best Subtle Things about New Twitter - meaning, the new twitter.com redesign that launched this week. I, for one, am certainly a fan of the changes but I use the site so seldom that it really has very little impact on me one way or the other.

Or does it? I noticed last night that the user profiles no longer have RSS feeds associated with them. This may be a move to push people towards using the API exclusively but I was pretty erked to see that accessing a users feed (and feed of favorites) seems to be hidden behind some curtain now. So, one complaint and numerous other kudos. Now if they'd just fix that one little thing!

The NY Times has a great slideshow up on Capturing the Atom Bomb on Film - complete with a load of photos from the original tests and some audio to go along with it. Seeing an atom bomb test doesn't seem like anything new but the images within are mind-boggling at times. The above fireball image is almost incomprehensible to me.. it looks like an image out of a science fiction film of a sun descending on a planet. It's hard to believe that is something that actually happened here. Further along in the slideshow there are images from a high speed special camera that I still can't wrap my brain around. You really should view it all; particularly when you have some time to really digest it.

Via Kate & Catbird.

Kate Bingaman Burt does a curious thing. She draws something she buys everyday as part of her Obsessive Consumption project. There's already a book of the results. The subject can be anything but she manages to keep it compelling even when it's a tube of toothpaste. You can keep up with her, her obsessive consumption and all her other enjoyable artistic undertakings on Flickr and/or Tumblr.

The Lost World's Fair showcase made some heavy rounds yesterday and for good reason. Jason Santa Maria, Frank Chimero, Naz Hamid and more joined forces to create layouts that explored the "typographic possibilities on the web." The layouts are amazingly fluid, the type is impressive (and selectable) and, in general, it's just a great way to show what the web is becoming capable of. If you're a designer, developer or just a heavy Internet user - you have to check it out.

Check out this great little gallery of high end agencies mobile sites. It's safe to say that the majority of them did not design their sites for use on a mobile device like the iPhone (or, at the very least, did not anticipate someone not having Flash). I'm happy that our site seems to work just fine but I do love seeing the little behind the scenes unkempt alt content floating around out there.

Everything is a Remix is a forthcoming four part series from Kirby Ferguson that investigates the history of remixing, sampling, stealing, transforming and how that mentality spills out of the context of music and into a wider mindset.. where everything is a remix of something prior. To hear it described you may not be intrigued but after you watch Part One I'd be willing to bet you're anxious to see the remaining three parts. I know I am.

Via Kate.

Enjoying a browse through the works of Pashandy; a Russian illustrator and designer making some fun pieces. You can view a more selective portfolio of goods here but then you'd likely miss out on quite a few high quality gems. Browse them both just to be safe.

Finding out about good new music via individual music blogs (ala Mondo Salvo) is a great way to be lead down a particular path but I've always been slightly more partial to the music mix. A lot of songs get lost in the shuffle but when a track stands out amongst the crowd, you can feel pretty confident it's going to take you to something quite enjoyable. Such is the case here:

• Flux-Rad Mix: Heavy Clouds - "an eclectic mix of somewhat dancefloor-ready beats and more rockin’ tunes." I feel like there's a pretty dark tone to this overall.. and I like it!
• Jeremy Okai Davis Mix - Come and Gone - Jeremy was all hating on himself saying he was losing his mix game but then he busts out another quality eclectic mix such as this one. Very few other people I know are able to put a Deer Tick song in the same context as Lykke Li, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Kanye West but it works here.

Go forth and download.

Jen Adrion and Omar Noory should be commended for their undertaking at These Are Things. Check out this mission statement:

All we wanted was a simple, modern world map. When our search turned up nothing but glossy posters and cheap antique reproductions, we knew it was time to design our own.

Embracing the Keep It Simple, Stupid of design is always harder than it seems but they're doing it well. Stop by their shop and check out the great map prints, calendar and the perfectly incredible Haters Gonna Hate print.

Looks like the Boxee Box is available for preorder. While I'm personally all set with my Mac Mini to TV setup I am very curious to see this little guy in action. The software is good, the form factor is great and the people making it certainly seem to understand watching video online more than a lot of the bigger players. Anyone ordering one?

More evidence that the simplest ideas are often the best. Switcheroo is exactly what it looks like - take a portrait of a couple, have them switch clothes / style and take the same photo again. Simple, effective, entertaining. The rest of the photography portfolio from Sincerly Hana is worth a browse as well but the there's no denying the amusement of the Switcheroo.

Kevin gave me the heads up on the works of Duncan Malashock. Much of the portfolio consists of simple Flash based interactive sites that allow you to drag things around and interact with each other - quite simplistic but there's an interesting appeal to the art style. What I am drawn to the most are pieces such as Godseye 1 and 2 or Canyon Caverns that deal with a lot of light manipulation and subdued but chaotic noise. There's a somewhat nostalgic 80's vibe to the look of it but I think that gives it a familiarity that I enjoy right off the bat.

I've attended a handful of Flatstock conventions and always been completely blown away by the overwhelming volume of talent that is present at each gathering. With each showcase comes a specifically designed poster to promote and commemorate it. Rock Paper Show is a new book that compiles those Flatstock specific posters into one place for proper browsing. Works from Aesthetic Apparatus, Small Stakes, Bird Machine and more are within. Consider it earmarked for future purchase.

I've yet to try it out personally but the FLUD app for iPad looks pretty promising as a way to browse your news content and share it in various ways. Actually, it looks conceptually quite a bit like Flipboard but details are everything so it's entirely possible that it does a few things better... I'm going to check it out tonight.

It's rare that you encounter a site where the footer is the most engaging aspect of the design but such is the case with No Favorite. The rest of the design is quite nice as well but I certainly spent plenty of time clicking around the "Places We Hang Out" and having a general feeling of awe as the footer updated to show just exactly where they spend their time. Great work.

Via Jamie.

After the overwhelming onslaught of music from the Summer Mix Series I haven't felt entirely compelled to do much in the new music procurement department. Quantity vs quality is a losing battle. Fortunately, I've emerged from this mindset and put together a bundle of songs that reflect what I've been listening to quite a bit lately. The Been Too Long mix is now available for your digital procurement.

There's no over arching grand theme to this one, just some of the music that I've been enjoying lately. Please investigate further if you hear an artist you enjoy.. all of these songs are just the tip of their proverbial icebergs.

[ Single MP3 | Single M4A | Individual MP3 ZIP ]

1. Department of Eagles - While We're Young
2. We Are Trees - Sunrise Sunset
3. Ghost of a Sabre Tooth Tiger - Jardin du Luxembourg
4. Tame Impala - Solitude Is Bliss
5. Electronic Anthology Project - I Dim Our Angst In Agony (Goin' Against Your Mind)
6. Working for a Nuclear Free City - Do A Stunt
7. Action! - Sandpiper
8. Karen Elson - The Ghost Who Walks
9. TV Torso - Slanderers' Stew
10. Dent May - Eastover Wives
11. No Age - Glitter
12. Tetsuo - Banshee Mansion
13. Candy Claws - The Breathing Fire
14. Admiral Radley - G N D N
15. Jogger - Falling
16. Dean and Britta - Knives from Bavaria
17. Matt Berry - Farewell, Summer Sun
18. Lux Perpetua - Fuck Around

Recently Sky1 aired a preview show of the Ricky Gervais / Stephen Merchant documentary with Karl Pilkington, An Idiot Abroad. Unfortunately, it's not available to view in the US. Fortunately, someone nabbed it and uploaded it to YouTube. So, note to yourself, watch it soon.

One great thing about a questionable design decision by a big company (i.e. the new iTunes 10 logo) is that it typically inspires people to put their money where their mouth is and create some great alternatives. Not me per se but some rather talented designers. Two such examples: iTunes Icon by Chris Carlozzi and the iTunes Icon by Pedja Rusic - both quite viable for different reasons. I'm not sure why but I sort of love the Pedja Rusic icon and I'm going to try it out today because.. why not?!

Great use of the Facebook Connect in the How Many Friends Do You Know? app - which basically asks you just to simply type the name of the person randomly drawn from your friends list. Granted, when someone uses some cartoon-y avatar (I'm looking at your Mad Men / Scott Pilgrim people) it becomes quite a bit more difficult but it's still an amusing experiment. I'm willing to bet that anyone that plays this will likely end in failure after less than 15 moves.. it's just inevitable.

Via Daniel / Demetre