Autorama!

Copyright © 2007-2009 Jim Cherry.

Fun Futuristic Dream Cars @ cartopia.us.

Lollywood Swinging!

Poster scans copyright © thehotspotonline.com.

1940's to 1980's Lollywood Posters for sale @ thehotspotonline.com.
Lollywood refers to the Pakistani film industry based in the city of Lahore. The name is a portmanteau of the city's initial with Hollywood.

The Manchurian Candidates!

A collection of Hong Kong Posters created for promotion and publicity functions and policies between the 50's and 80's @ www.grs.gov.hk.

Shrink Wrapped!

Here's a bit of the Bizarr-O @ The Japanese Gallery of Psychiatric Art.
I'd have to be nuts to truly understand what's going on here but some of the images are interesting, doctor.

TV Relics!

Scans copyright © 2009 Early Television Museum.

Some of the earliest mechanical and electronic Television sets @ earlytelevision.org. Not the best designed website but some of these sets are quite unique in their design.

Pass and Review! Ad Boy

Reprinted from Ad Boy: Vintage Advertising with Character
by Warren Dotz and Masud Husain.
Copyright © 2009. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA.
www.tenspeed.com.

Ad Boy: Vintage Advertising with Character is the collective efforts of Warren Dotz and Masud Husain, two ardent graphic designers who collect and enjoy the world of advertising. They have teamed together to produce this comprehensive book of playful advertising characters and mascots from the 50's, 60's, and 70's.

I was surprised to see that this book didn't fit the usual suspects of those Trademark / Advertising Designer Books that go on your coffee table for no one to look at. I was also surprised that this book didn't have the typical same-o, lame-o icons that we are so use to seeing and are readily available by any Google Search. It's more fun than those books and full of images of a slightly distant era, mostly from the decades I grew up in and that definitely appeals to me.

In the book we are given a brief history of the humble beginnings of the character/mascot icons and it is divided into general categories in brightly colorful sections with small descriptions. At first I wasn't to keen on all those color backgrounds but as I continued to read on I noticed a rhythmic bounce that guided me from one page to another.

The design applications of these mascots are pretty evident by the many items collected here as placards, stickers, masks, and even hand puppets. The authors must have rummaged through lots of flea markets and and rifled many vintage magazines to have found these iconic treasures.

After viewing pages full of incredible icons I focused more on the mascots that were less known but well designed. For instance, The Big Boy Fertilizer Man with its big belly showing the map of Oklahoma and the neighboring states was one that struck me as different and away from a Madison Avenue approach. Even the clever tag line "Let's Grow America" puts pride into your heart and mind with its double meaning. I love his polka-dot shirt too.

The Frosty Boy is really COOL, if you pardon my pun. I have always liked snow capped typefaces and this charming kid character with the Benday Dots is as sweet as can be. It captures the idea that what you are getting is as tasty as it looks and feels.

Who of us graphic designers can forget The X-Acto Knife Boy holding his two knife handles with those distinct blades? We worked with those knives cutting Amberlith, Zip-A-Tone, and me, thousands of yards of Frisket Paper to mask off areas for airbrushing my illustrations. I remember seeing this ad character in the art supply stores that I went to. A relic from the past that to me still stands for quality of that product.

The Pontiac Indian Chief (though not PC anymore) was one of the first American icons I came to remember as a boy in the 60's. Back then there were lots of car dealerships in Dallas, Texas and the Chief with its speeding feathers stuck out like an Indian head/buffalo nickel in your pocket.

These are but a handful of the kinds of illustrated ad characters that make Ad Boy an interesting and fun book to have. As a professional illustrator I recommend this book for any up and coming graphic designer who wishes to take a look into the past for the inspiration of today and the products of tomorrow.

Check out the buzz on Ad Boy: Vintage Advertizing with Character @ adboyworld.com and sample some of its pages @ Amazon.com.

RUR! Patent Leather

Artwork copyright © 2009 Stephane Helleux

Photos copyright © 2009 Muriel Thies.

Check out the meticulous mechanical marvels of Belgian artist, Stephane Halleux @ stephanehalleux.com.
She does wonders with spare parts and leather!

Crime Does Pay!

Scans copyright © 2009 Will Straw.

Dames and Private Dicks in this arsenal full of Canadian Crime Pulp Fiction Covers @ strawresearch.mcgill.ca.
Illustrated or photographed, they are still quite sensational.

!Cuba Libre!

Images copyright © 2009 Ospaaal.com.
Great assortment of Cuban Movie Posters for sale @ ospaaal.com.
Lots to see! No prices but you can inquire by email to ospaaal @ comcast.net.

Joisey Boy!

Copyright © 2009 Gregg Kulick / Kulick Design.

Never judge a book by it's cover unless it's designed by Gregg Kulick @ kulickdesign.com.

Photo Finish!

Copyright © 2009 Kevin Balluf.

Digitized processed images by street photographer, Kevin Balluf @ eyetwist's Flickr set. Enhanced photos by way of the computer trix can usually make me look the other way but these don't.

Krush Groove!

Direct from the Hip-Hop Nation to the Streets of New Jack City and it's boroughs, Funky Fresh Flyers by Buddy Esquire and Phase 2 @ toledohiphop.org.
Lots of Raw Energy here!
Flyers may have looked cheap but it's what got us to go to the clubs in the 80's.

Always dug Candy Girl by the New Edition back in 1983. I would always carry my AIWA Boombox with me to Ad Agencies around Dallas. I took off the handle and added a long wide camera strap to carry on my back when I rode my moped. I would get chased away by the cops and security guards for playing Candy Girl too loud on the premises.

Hebrew Type!

Scans copyright © 2009 Yaronimus Maximus.

Beautiful Typography from the book, Artistic Hebrew Type by I. P. Toby @ Yaronimus Maximus' Flickr Set. Yaronimus is a design student in Israel.

Good find and thanx for posting them.