I’ve been a long time fan of Booq Bags, so it’s no surprise to see how solid the new Exo bag looks. The 4 inch thick, Bond-esque bag is made of semi-rigid ballistic nylon with a densely padded interior and molded laptop compartment with non-scratch fabrics to keep your pride and joy safe. The bag opens up 180 degrees with a place for your power adaptor, extra cables, phone, iPod, keys, pens and so forth– it’s a bag that will help keep your everyday mess organized. Also, each bag carries a unique identification number (like StuffBak Protection), so if you loose it (how could you, it looks like it should be handcuffed to your wrist) and some good samaritan finds it, a possibility exists that you’ll get it back. Different sizes fit 13″, 15″ and 17″ laptops.

Freelance illustrator Kevin Tong, 23 years young and hailing from the ‘LBC,’ has my curiosity peaked with his graphic novel called The Silent Years. Kevin will be the first to admit that it’s a work in progress, as it remains text-less and colorless, but on second thought… maybe it’s better off retaining this form. Because from the looks of the first 5 pages, the illustrations are spot on, and I think the colorless graphics fit the snowy backdrop quite well. From what we can see so far, a man is driving through one hell of a snow storm with what seems to be an important letter on his passenger seat when he goes head on with another driver. The crash is huge! The letter lays still, amongst the wreckage in the snow. Finally, a snow-less scene with a couple waving to a small boy to “come hither.” What happens next Kevin? I would be glad to see you continue the story without words or color– I think that style adds a certain “silent” tone to the tale (fitting right?). At any rate, great work on this so far. So you readers can fully enjoy the detailed illustration, I’ve included the full first 5 pages of The Silent Years, in some greater detail, after the jump…
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The Episodic Nature of Thought is described as a multimedia exploration of the nature of human thought and memory. Max Kaplan, the creator, actually built the site, videos and entire project in a graphic design portfolio class at the School of Visual Arts. He’s working to build an anthology that focuses on obscure thoughts and examines the processes that go into them. The videos are very interesting– for example, in Process you can follow the arc of process throughout a brand design group getting their first big break. The episodes track the progress from start to finish.

After sifting through a ton of design sites today, I was feeling a little irked about the similarities that are always popping up within the portfolios of studios, large and small. I understand that design movements spread through imitation (just like all art movements), and this is how evolution occurs; however, I can’t stress how much I love and respect firms that efficiently move on to the next thing. That, among other things, is why I’m so stoked about BURNEVERYTHING (a.k.a. Burn), a Liverpool based creative studio that is pleasantly experimental and highly refreshing. I couldn’t find a trace of the curly, rainbow/leaf/flower/etc.-spewing trend on their site, and not a touch of the old west type treatments that have taken over every ski/snowboard magazine around. What I did find was some amazing work for a wide range of clients, with each project approached in a unique way that authentically expressed individual identity. With their comprehensive approach to design (and a few awards under their belt) it doesn’t look like their non-conformist approach is killing any business, but it certainly brought me back to life after so much of the same old same old.

Man o man I wish I could be in SF for this show. On March 22nd at 8 P.M., Blue Oyster Cult will be returning to one of the birth places of modern Rock & Roll: Slim’s in San Francisco. What’s even more special, they’ll be accompanied by our good friends Elephant Hunter (bio here). That’s quite the 1-2 punch if you ask me. EH just released their “hard hitting and cerebral” new album, entitled These Arms in February, and the they’re firing on all cylinders these days. I encourage those of you in the Bay Area to resist every impulse you may have to ‘fear the reaper,’ and go to this show. The combination of a classic like BOC and the new blood of EH is going to make for a energetic and dynamic show.

One of my favorite talks last week was by Jonathan Harris, an artist, designer, and borderline genius living in Brooklyn, NY. We saw the potential of his work a while back with project We Feel Fine and I guess it was only a matter of time before he really took it up a notch. His latest project just launched is called Universe. In his TED talk he spoke about how he loved spotting the constellations as a kid but always wondered why we don’t have modern versions? “As humans, we have a long history of projecting our great stories into the night sky. This leads us to wonder: if we were to make new constellations today, what would they be?” Explaining Universe isn’t easy, it’s divided into nine stages: Stars, Shapes, Secrets, Stories, Statements, Snapshots, Superstars, Settings, and Time. I implore you to visit and play with Universe– it’s a new way to view how connected we are in people, news and events around the world. This project is a true push forward into the realm of information discovery and I applaud Jonathan on his work– just breath taking.

Some of you may have read William Gibson’s novel Pattern Recognition (it was released in 03), but did you know that it is slated to be turned into a film, to be released in 2008? Directing honors went to Peter Weir, who is best known for directing The Truman Show, and writer D.B. Weiss adapted the story to be put up on the big screen. I am really excited to see what this team does with the film. The novel was lumped into the science fiction genre, although temporally it’s set in the present, and Cayce Pollard (the main character) is far from the Lawnmower Man. The story deals with the wake of 9/11, viral marketing, and ‘coolhunting,’ so I’m sure the film will garner some interest (at least in our circle).