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Scent Stories packages

Packaging design has been for decades in charge of the challenging task of expressing the personality of a wide range of fragrances through perfume bottles. This time, Magda Katek and Kamil Jerzykowski, founders of the polish studio Ah&Oh, searched for inspiration in literature to conceive the Scent Stories, a line of scents named after famous writers.

The flasks, accordind to their creators, “resemble both old glass perfume bottles and the classic shape of the inkwell”. White, with black strong lettering, the pieces are adorned with the heads of characters which recall celebrated novels by great authors, like George Orwell, Edgar Allen Poe, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and Marquis de Sade. (mais…)

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“The first ‘poster’ I remember (I was 4) was not a real poster, but a painted wall by Loupot”, said the french graphic designer, Alain Le Quernec. Born in Brittany, region in north-western France, his first poster was printed in 1962, fourteen years after he had first glanced his eye at the art of his compatriot, Charles Loupot, as Le Quernec himself described above. Professor of art since 1965, he parallelly practiced poster design as an autodidact. Atypical, non-enthusiast of the mainstream views and with a good pinch of antipathy for definitions, he focuses his production on political, social and cultural issues, putting aside the more traditional advertising work. Admirer of the polish poster tradition, Le Quernec stopped teaching for one year to study at (mais…)

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Philippe Apeloig posters

Notable for his posters of distinctive style and celebrated for his typography originally abstract, the 47-year-old french graphic designer, Philippe Apeloig, initially intended a career as a theatre director or a contemporary dance choreographer. Educated at the École Supérieure des Arts Appliqués and the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, his interest for graphic design only arised after a trial basis experience at Total Design – well known design studio in the Netherlands.

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The METRO ART AROUND THE WORLD in 150 images

Modernism, Surrealism, Art Nouveau, Pop Art, Realism, Post Modernism… In the major cities around the world it’s possible to travel through all these periods and movements of art by METRO. The sophisticated architecture and the thrilling design of metro stations impress even the less trained eyes, those whose sensibility and perception have already been damaged by the quotidian in a metropolis. “Surely this is how contemporary art can really connect with society and also brighten up a daily mundane trudge”, says David Bennett, author of Metro: The Story of the Underground Railway. Works of art, unique ornamentation and distinctive signalling schemes instigate contemplation and can be thought-provoking for the everyday commuters as well as an attraction for visitors and turists. The station can often be a neglected part of the railway scene, but they usually are the first point of contact the passenger has with the subway system and they ought to be well designed, comfortable, covenient and pleasing to be and to look at. From London to Moscow architecture and design play a fundamental role in defining the environment of the stations.

Hop on board and discover hidden surprises of great cities’ undergrounds (mais…)

The MICHAL BATORY’s amazing posters.

Follower of the great Polish Poster School, MICHAL BATORY is one of the most remarkable exponents among contemporary graphic designers. Born in socialist Poland, in 1959, he has radicated himself in France since 1987. Batory was highly influenced by important figures that recuperated and renewed the polish poster tradition, its aesthetics and richness of details, in opposition to the shadowy “socialist realism”, enforced in postwar Poland to serve strictly political and pro-Soviet propaganda purposes. Polish graphic design developed a way out during the 1950’s, an intelligent and inventive language capable of leading the public view and judgment beyond the limits imposed to personal freedoms. Artists like Henryk Tomaszewski inspired this metaphorical language that Batory makes use, which requires attention and provokes contemplation and abstraction, setting up a dialogue between the graphic designer and his public. Famous for his works for theatre companies, especially le theâtre CHAILLOT, he is also celebrated for the instigating use of the human body in his posters. With a good pinch of Surrealism à la Magritte and making a clever use of an innovative typography, Michal Batory has developed his own style, which can be elucidated as an irrecusable invitation to reflection. (mais…)

Fulvio Bonavia’s Food-Art

Over the years food has served as this unlikely and unique source of inspiration for many designers. Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 16^th century italian painter, made use of fruits and vegetables to compose human figures. Nowadays, the chinese artist, Ju Duoqi (works), skillfully recreates famous paints using the different colours and forms of ingredients like potatoes, cucumbers and leeks

A Matter of Taste, book conceived by the italian photographer, Fulvio Bonavia (site), displays fashion accessories turned upside down in a gourmet way. From blackberry purse, artichoke hat, tagliatelle belt to broccoli bag - a new version of the most fashionable bags sought in the market, the Stam Bag by Marc Jacobs -it’s a fusion between haute couture and haute cuisine. All inventive ways to evoke and to stimulate the flavours of art. (mais…)