collage prints by tiny fawn

Collage strikes me as one of the most difficult art forms. I think about how challenging it is to convey form with the stroke of a paintbrush or pen, and then I consider trying to do it with a ripped piece of paper . . . yikes. When these fauna collage prints by Darrah Gooden of Tiny Fawn landed in my inbox, I had to stop and stare in admiration for a bit. They feel so effortlessly composed, and I love how Darrah manages to convey movement and personality in each animal so economically — just a few artful slivers of colored tissue. You can see the full collection of Darrah's collage works by clicking here. Thanks for sharing, Darrah! — Kate

diy project: autumn leaf bouquet

I don't know what it's like in your neighborhood, but when I step outside here in Oakland, I sense it right away: Fall is in the air! I'm lucky enough to have a few turning trees on my street, so I don't miss out entirely on the brilliant autumn colors I remember from growing up in NH. Speaking of brilliant autumn colors, I'm thrilled to share this stunning maple leaf rose bouquet DIY from a fellow Kate — clay, fiber and paper artist Kate Hust.

Kate first learned how to make these a few years ago from a retired art teacher in her community, and now they've become an annual tradition when fall rolls around. Her instructor taught her to wrap the leaves really tight, so they looked like rose buds,  but Kate has modified the technique a bit to suit her own tastes: She likes to find the really big leaves and make them with large open "petals." She's clearly perfected the craft, and I'm so happy that she's decided to pass the tradition on to us. Thanks for sharing, Kate! — Kate

Kill Math makes math more meaningful

After a certain point in math education, like some time during high school, the relevance of the concepts to the everyday and the real world seem to fade. However, in many ways, math lets you describe real life better than you can with just words. Designer Bret Victor hopes to make the abstract and conceptual to real and concrete with Kill Math.

Kill Math is my umbrella project for techniques that enable people to model and solve meaningful problems of quantity using concrete representations and intuition-guided exploration. In the long term, I hope to develop a widely-usable, insight-generating alternative to symbolic math.

As part of the early project, Victor developed a prototype interface on the iPad to help you understand dynamical systems. It probably sounds boring to you, but the video and explanation will change your mind:

Statistics has the same problem with concepts, and is one of the main reasons why people hate it so much. They learn about curves, hypothesis tests, and distribution tables, and the takeaway is that there are some equations that you plug numbers into. Sad. Of course there are plenty of people working on that, but there's still a ways to go.

Social Media Brandsphere

The Social Media Brandsphere is a new collaboration between Brian Solis andJESS3.  The Brandsphere explores how brand storytelling can cross different communication mediums. 

Over on the JESS3 blog, they've posted 10 of the different early versions and concepts of the Brandsphere so you can see some of the behind-the-scenes design process at work. 

Social networks and channels present brands with a broad array of media opportunities to engage customers and those who influence them. Each channel offers a unique formula for engagement where brands become stories and people become storytellers. Using a transmedia approach, the brand story can connect with customers differently across each medium, creating a deeper, more enriching experience. Transmedia storytelling doesn't follow the traditional rules of publishing; it caters to customers where they connect and folds them into the narrative. In any given network, brands can invest in digital assets that span five media landscapes:

1. Paid: Digital advertising, banners, adwords, overlays

2. Owned: Created assets, custom content

3. Earned: Brand-related conversations and user-generated content

4: Promoted: in-stream or social paid promotions vehicles (e.g. Twitter's Promoted products and Facebook's Sponsored Stories)

5. Shared: Open platforms or communities where customers co-create and collaborate with brands. (e.g. Dell's IdeaStorm and Starbuck'sMyStarbucksIdea.)

Any combination of the five media strategies defines a new Brandsphere where or

ganizations can capture attention, steer online experiences, spark conversations and word of mouth can help customers address challenges or create new opportunities. Each media channel connects differently with people and thus requires a dedicated approach integrating tangible and intangible value. Doing so ensures a critical path for social media content: relevance, reach and resonance.

 

Available as a poster on the Conversation Prism site

Tree House in Sanctuaire Mont Cathédrale by Pauline Tremblay and Pierre Léveillé

I love this home called the "Tree House" by Pauline Tremblay and Pierre Léveillé. Located in Quebec's Eastern Townships, it's the first house atSanctuaire Mont Cathédrale, a housing project designed to blend into its surroundings by using sustainable materials and technologies.

"The Sanctuaire is the result of more than ten years of reflection on one simple question: Do we have to be outside to experience nature?" says project manager Pierre Léveillé. The idea was to create a home in which one could experience nature as closely as possible. Inspired by a tree, the house's first floor is covered in wood to represent a tree trunk. I love the second floor, which is covered in copper tiles, or "leaves," which will, over time, develop a green patina just like its surrounding vegetation.

The home is also warm and natural inside, but also modern. The harmonious use of wood, marble, quartz, steel, glass, and porcelain as well as the wood beams bring the outside in. I'd totally live here.

Studio MPLS: Crown Maple

The branding and packaging design for high-end maple syrup brand Crown Maple, is yet another example of the excellent work coming out of Studio MPLS. The design and production details are absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to pick up a bottle for myself. I also love that they've given us a glimpse into their process, including sketches and abandoned directions, in this post on their blog.

A Friend Of Mine: VCE Season Of Excellence

Check out this beautiful identity program, which features stunning paper cut work, for VCE Season of Excellence by A Friend of Mine.

The VCE Season of Excellence, by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), is a series of events and exhibitions celebrating a selection of A+ grade work produced by VCE students in an array of creative fields.

via Hip Street

A Huge Loss

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly sat­is­fied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep look­ing. Don't set­tle. As with all mat­ters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great rela­tion­ship, it just gets bet­ter and bet­ter as the years roll on." — Steve Jobs

Well said, Steve. Thank-you for chang­ing the world — you will be greatly missed.