Category Archives: Design

For less than one Stella, you can feed this hungry child

Posted on July 11, 2011 by afiler

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee is a terribly awkward phrase. Consider substituting “Stella“, the name of an extremely rare $4 coin minted in 1879 and 1880. Sure, only 425 of them were made, but isn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Design | Leave a comment

Five-bytecoin note

Posted on June 16, 2011 by afiler

Ever wake up one morning and say “today, I’m going to design my own banknote”? Of course, we all have. But earlier this week, I decided to act on that impulse. And just last night, I printed and laser cut … Continue reading →

Posted in Design | 8 Comments

Hello, m’am, I’m from the Phone Company

Posted on May 26, 2010 by afiler

_DSC2454.JPG, originally uploaded by metrixcreate. Duncan and I made tshirts with the “phone company” logo on them (no actual phone company has this logo, but it looks a lot like the logo of some random independent phone company in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Nerdery | Leave a comment

Cola, Pylons

Posted on January 20, 2008 by afiler

Soda Signs. I just about crashed my car when I saw this last night. I’ve been photographing out-of-the-way places for seven years now this month, but this is the first time I’ve seen such amazingly preserved signage. At first I … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Urban Planning | Leave a comment

Goodridge Grade A Butter

Posted on October 18, 2007 by afiler

I had the pleasure of visiting the Goodridge (Minnesota) Historical Society yesterday, and I came across this beautiful butter box. Daisies are quite popular imagery with dairy products, especially butter. My favorite is a packaging company’s sample imagery for “Best … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Packaging | Leave a comment

Secret Crush

Posted on April 15, 2007 by afiler

Orange Crush. On a walk down Bellevue Ave this sunny afternoon, I saw this Orange Crush bottle caked with mud and sitting in a flower box outside an apartment building. It feels a bit weird picking up something that seems … Continue reading →

Posted in Design | 2 Comments

Sovietskiy Design? (Советский дизайн?)

Posted on January 21, 2007 by afiler

Balkan Foods. At a Balkan market in Fargo, I found a few pieces of Extant Design that have a definite Soviet air to them. The Zlatni Puder evokes memories of lots of late East German graphic design (which I mentioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Packaging | Leave a comment

past packaging

Posted on February 16, 2006 by afiler

Shinola, Postum, Pizzaroma. Last summer I spent some time in the Hamre House at the Pennington County Historical Society’s Pioneer Village, photographing the packaging in the kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. Products range from the fairly recent Pizzaroma to Malted Milk … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Packaging | Leave a comment

delayed design

Posted on February 5, 2006 by afiler

Faded Signs on Glass. From Gilby, ND, the ghost of the Red Owl. I think the Owl was gobbled up around 1990 by Supervalu (which just recently swallowed up Albertson’s as well). Long-gone Supervalu logos can be found in Karlstad … Continue reading →

Posted in Design | Leave a comment

mehr ostdeutsches design

Posted on November 19, 2005 by afiler

Ostpaket. After a long and grueling trip through Deutsche Post and DHL (which are not yet, unfortunately, a completely merged organization), my Ostpaket has arrived. The Westpaket was a care package sent from the West to East, before the fall … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Packaging | Leave a comment