Foot Traffik

Was asked to do some t-shirt concepts for an upcoming exclusive Nike footwear store in Boston called Foot Traffik. This is one of the concepts, there might be more in the future. I'll be sure to blog a link if these go into production.

Barcelona Pavilion

A prime example of modernist architecture, Barcelona Pavilion by German architect Mies van der Rohe, to me clearly shows how architects think in lines, something I very much personally relate to. It is lines that create a sense of purpose in the positioning of elements in any design.

van der Rohe is known as one of the founding fathers of modern day architecture, as opposed to the architecture that was dominant up to the first and second decade of the 20th century.

Barcelona Pavilion was constructed for the 1929 World Fair in Barcelona, to me it is the simplicity in the design that gives it it's intricate complexity. Sometimes it takes something that looks insanely simple but is in fact unimaginably ingenious.

Here are some of my favorite shots and angles taken from danda.be and here











He achieved this magic floating like look to the building by very smart positioning of walls that carry the structure to make it appear as if they are not, while at the same time making it look like very thin beams are carrying instead.

Also take note of the awesome Barcelona Chair (I know, he's an architect, names appear to not be his strongest point)

Eat the Moon - Will Ferrell

This is so brilliant, Will Ferrell impersonating Harry Caray, a legendary sports commentator.

I know there's another sketch of Ferrell doing Caray which was just as funny, but I can't find it now. I'll upload it when I run into it.

Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man

I can't resist, must... have... desire... to own... this machine!!



Manufactured by a wonderfully retro company called Derringer Cycles and designed by an industrial designer that goes by the name of Adrian van Anz. It's modeled after racing motorcycles from the 1920's and can do 35 mph, that is 50 km/h. Pretty friggin sweet for getting around the big cities here where a car is no good and public transport is just not as much fun.

On the road again

Just setting the mood with good ol' Canned Heat since I'll be moving again. Last time I went from the Caribbean back to the Netherlands, this time I won't be going quite THAT far. I'll be moving from Amsterdam to the city where the Dutch government resides called The Hague (Den Haag for the purists or Dutchies).

We'll be moving into a nice attic appartment in a historical building in the center of the city. Beautiful I must say, but a pain in the a** to move into!

For my new address please check the contact page on my website.

"Sounds like a plan, Stan"

I've been using it to be lame for as long as I can remember, but I can't for the life of me figure out where it's from. I know a hell of a lot of people know the quote "Sounds like a plan, Stan" too, but no-one really seems to know where it's from. Does anyone know?

Apparently you should reply by saying "I'm down like a clown, Charlie Brown"...

Clique

If you find yourself in the San Jose / San Francisco area Saturday 18th of October go and check out Clique. It's a bit too far out of the way for me, but would dig to hear how it was!

1970 modernist architecture

Ran across an example of some sweet modernist architecture yesterday, Villa Spies built on a small island off the coast of Stockholm, Sweden. "Googie" as the style is named after the first coffeeshop that used this style featured many buildings representing the fast paces car-age times with a desire for the galaxy.



At the time many people expected to be living in space colonies by 2001. "Googie" was prominent in the 40's, 50's and 60's and I suspect Villa Spies to be built in a related futurist style on the haydays of this stream. Although this might have been built in the dying days of this awesome architectural style, I still think this is one of the most beautiful examples of Jetson-esque architecture. The round shapes are made in the phylosophy of creating a house around a person rather than placing a person in the more regular square box homes. I just wish there were more homes designed like this so I could actually look forward to living in a futurist Jetson-esque home one day.

If you want to read more, you might want to check out this awesome book, it's not cheap but I think I'll order it for inspiration sake.

Hugocreate

A few months ago I took part in the Hugocreate competition from Hugo Boss. Back then I was lucky enough to be one of the 10 winners of that round. It seems like they're running the last round of this year right now and it's themed after the holidays. Here is my entry:



If you still want to participate you have to hurry up because the deadline is on the 6th of October!

The Bank Job

I can't say I saw the movie. We walked out of the sneak preview showing about 2 weeks ago because my girl told me the movie wasn't that great (she saw it overseas already). I'll probably end up seeing it sometime anyways.

But damn, that poster is perfect. It might appear a bit boring to the average public who is used to screamy colorful posters full of explosions, but it is a really good representation of this style of movie posters from the 1970s the time in which this movie plays.



I dig how they placed the photo in the design in such a strong way not being bugged by any text. At the same time they weren't affraid of leaving empty space in the text area where most would have filled up the whole width of the design with the title.

If anyone knows who created this design, please let me know!

Kings of Leon

One of my consistantly favorite bands over the last 5 years or so is Kings of Leon. Their new album "Only by the Night" was released on the 19th of September and I've seen and heard their first single "Sex on Fire" come by loads of times in recent days.

Totally deserved I'd say because it is an amazing song again. I am really in awe of how they evolve and can adapt new styles and influences and make it their own. Something I always consider a vital trait in any form of art.

There was just one disappointing thing about this release though...



I have to say the record cover borders on trendwhoring, but trendwhoring as it was done a few years ago. Maybe it's just a designer talking and I'm sure it's great to 95% of the world population that doesn't consider him or herself a designer.

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It comes as an alternative cover which in my eyes is pretty damn good and smart. Especially when compared to the actual cover.



I really enjoy how they toyed with a thing that has been done before (portraits of the band members) and experimented with how they relate together.

How to create a logo

Somebody mailed this to me today. A logo study of the Beijing 2008 Olympics

R.E.M.

Never been a big fan of R.E.M. I didn't even like the overly popular "Losing my religion" too much. But then I heard "Hollow Man" from their latest album on the radio. Man, that's one hell of a song! It sounds so honest and sincere. I don't know why it comes across so overwhelming to me, but it does. Check it out, it has a pretty interesting video too.

Sabotage US Edition

If you're around San Jose this Friday, go check out Sabotage at the Fahrenheit Ultralounge. Dammit why do I live in the wrong part of the world (though nothing but good words about the Amsterdam party scene....)



And enjoy the Beastie Boys - Sabotage remix by DJ Kue!

YUMMM Killing on the Dancefloor

I know, it's been a while since I posted something. And I never really post anything interesting. Guess I'm just not a born blogger.... oh well. This is YUMMMMM, MSTRKRFT - Street Justice



New album soon, should be interesting!

Fahrenheit E-flyers

Been having the privilege to design a few e-flyers and print flyers for parties held at Fahrenheit Ultralounge in San Jose, CA lately, check the designs out below and have a look at their website. More to come in the future!

Don Diablo ft. Bizzey - This Way

Tasty song from Don Diablo (Dutch) & Bizzey (Dutch)

Hugo Create Winner!

Joy and happiness! Today I was told I am one of the 10 winners from the Hugo Create contest. Apparently my design "The Skyline Is The Limit" (Above) was liked by representatives from Hugo Boss and other parties that were in the panel to be one of the 10 best among over 4800 entries!!

Not sure what's gonna happen now, but I'm sure I'll find out. Anyways, to sum it up... neato!

MGMT

MGMT from New York, to speak with someone else's words: "Fucking amazing". Check out here for Time To Pretend or below for the song Kids:

Kubus & BangBang - Stop The Problems

Just an awesome tune by the boys BangBang on MC from the UK and Kubus on the beats from Holland. Nice, dirty and hard... and not to mainstream, dig it!

Justice - DVNO

Another great video from Justice, after the award winning We Are Your Friends and D.A.N.C.E. I honestly have no idea what DVNO stands for, and I'm not sure if this is my favorite Justice tune, but man that video is so awesomely retro! Seems like they are always spot-on on the cool trends (not the shitty mainstream trends that is haha). I can't help but feeling the inspiration rubbed off from RA909's stuff in the video though, but that's not a bad thing at all.

Just Enjoy 3

I know most of you won't be... but if you do happen to take a wrong turn and end up in the area of Hoorn in The Netherlands check out the 3rd edition of Just Enjoy! No themes, no bullshit just dance till you drop to a hugely eclectic mix of popular styles. I'll be there!

Back In Action

With some kind help from the patriarch I got a 21" CRT screen. It's not new, but it's a beauty... 21" on a regular (non wide-screen) tube is pretty big! Especially with a classic CRT with those giant boxes behind it, it looks like it's eating my desk, but I'm more than happy with it. So... I'm back to work and readily available for any projects again.

Monitor broken

Yesterday night I found out my computer screen died. It had been coming for a long time seeing how often I use my pc and that it was already aging. Anyways, it couldn't come at a worse time than now since I spent my backup funds on the new appartment and am flat broke.

I can't do any design work without a screen either... just got my laptop here which can just about handle digital designs. So if you or anyone you know is looking to have some web flyers made or other digital graphics, I'm all yours for a reasonable price, just send me a note. Figure if I do a lot of smaller jobs it could add me up to a new screen faster haha.

Anyways, I'm not gonna go for a high-prize screen, just a mid-range of a reasonable size... feel free to leave me any tips if you know any good ones around 20" of about 250-350 euros ($325-500).

Thanks!!

Vampire Weekend

I love this song, and along with it comes an awesome video too. Doesn't get any better than that! The song is called "A Punk" by Vampire Weekend. As the youtube link says "The video was directed by the Hammer & Tongs guys (Blur, Pulp, R.E.M. and Hitchikers Guide To The Galaxy)." Apparently they are from New York and their music is inspired by South African music, reminds me a bit of Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al" which is a damn fine song too... check it out!

HUGO Create Contest

I entered a contest for Hugo Boss called HUGO Create. Thought I'd have a go at these contests for once. I had only entered a contest once before a few years ago. Maybe a nice fresh change to my usual style, just to show I don't "only do retro stuff" haha

Featured on Phase02

Much thanks to the guys at phase02.org who were kind enough to feature me on their blog. Have a look at their cool site for posts on music and design!

The Skyline Is The Limit

Hugo Boss has a competition at hugocreate.com which is open to entry. Every period the theme changes and currently the theme is The Skyline Is The Limit. For my entry I created a slightly retro-comic oriented design. If you're creative, go to the website and take part ;) They even have a shop section where you can select elements and create your contribution online, so you don't need any of the fancy programs that I've used to participate!

Online again!

Alright, quick update after yesterday. My internet is working on my work pc so you can reach me again on edwin@edwinservaas.com

Above a little quicky done on my laptop with the touchpad (gahhh!!!) announcing my alter-ego The Trash Sheik ;) So if you see any weird work from my front in the future... it wasn't me, it was the Sheik!

Moving again

Been a good month since I last posted, but it was for good reasons. I've moved to a great new apartment just around the corner of where I already enjoyed living. I currently don't have access to my workmail (edwin@edwinservaas.com) so you know why if I don't reply. You can always try me on edwinservaas@gmail.com if you want to contact me, and I'll let you know when my work pc is up and running again.

If you need to send me mail in the meantime and you happen to check this blog then this is my new address:

Superstylin'
Prins Bernhardlaan 103
1111 ES Diemen

I'll update my website info too when I get my work pc hooked up to the net.

Work is also slow at the moment due to the moving houses, but that doesn't mean all the fun is gone. I met up with Steve Savage of Beggars Fortune from the US a few days ago here in Amsterdam and had a blast. You can see the designs of the poster I did for his tour in the post below (I'll also upload his promo shirt and tour EP design soon). Also went to see one of his gigs here, which was just amazing. I was there with some of my friends who all were more than impressed so If you have some time check Mr. Savage out on his european tour (see few posts below for the dates/locations).