Category: Popular Culture
Pro Cycling + design – a first look at 2010 teams, kits & bikes
As a cycling enthusiast I’m always excited to see the pro team introductions each winter. Even more exciting is seeing what each team kit will look like, and what bikes they’ll be riding. 2010 looks to be a big year with quite a few new teams as well as big players changing squads—most notably Lance Armstrong moving to the new Radio Shack Cycling Team. But while Lance is undeniably the big story in American cycling there are many other names and teams making news. Here are a few teams that I’ve been watching as a sportsman and a designer:
Team Sky
This brand new British cycling team has snapped-up real contenders, including Brad Wiggins (4th in the 2009 Tour de France) and – along with help from sponsors Adidas and Pinarello – are looking like poster children for classic minimalist design.
(Photo by Scott Sunderland/via)
Astana
Led by reigning Tour winner Alberto Contador and completely made-over since 2009, Astana will be looking to repeat the success it’s had over the last couple years. They’ve moved away from the navy blue in their kits… a little too pastel for me, now.
BMC
Swiss team BMC looks to be a real force in 2010. This fall the team signed current US Pro, George Hincapie, Cadel Evans and former World Champion Alessandro Ballan. I’m pulling for Hincapie to finally win Parix Roubaix (the Hell of the North), this April. BMC is from Switzerland… what else do you need to say in terms of design?
Rock Racing
Created by 
Michael Ball of Rock and Republic, Rock Racing is considered a “black sheep” due to their roster including past doping offenders. While these past troubles continue to follow the team, their accolades on the road have begun to stack up— achieving great success from former Grand Tour riders Francisco Mancebo and Oscar Sevilla. As far as design goes, the team has recently launched their own bike line, and, although a fan of their past aesthetic, I’m not completely on board with new new look.
(Photo by Ken Conley/via)
Touch the sound.
There are many arguments, pro and con, about music downloads these days. Sound quality and legal arguments aside, the reason I prefer to own hard copies of music (be it vinyl or CD) is for the tactile experience. There’s something special about picking up a well-designed package and appreciating it as much as the music playing through your stereo or headphones. That sensory pleasure is something that just doesn’t translate with the click of a “download” button—even if there is digital booklet available. Ink on paper, people! Nothing like it.
I also like the idea that an artist has thought just as much about the visual as the aural storytelling.
Here are a few great packages that come to mind:
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Sigur Ros: ( ) El Dorado dvdrip
Radiohead: Amnesiac
The Beatles: Magical Mystery Tour
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Zwan: Mary Star of the Sea
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Editor’s note: If you love CD/vinyl cover art, be sure to check out the Hardformat
blog. It’s great. – bb
Grizzly Bear: Ready, Able.
Our LaptopWear design featured on ABC’s “Castle”
We admit it. It’s hard not to be excited about seeing our design on a hit national TV show.
Yesterday, our client – Jan McCallum at Chartwell Studio, Inc. – let us know that our purple paisley design was front and center in the very beginning of Castle: When The Bough Breaks (Season 2, Episode 5).
This design is carried exclusively by RoomMates Peel & Stick
New music: Crystal Method – Drown In The Now (ESPN Version)
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Just press play on the first track.
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Parkour – a new active obsession?
I recently learned of Parkour (sometimes called “Freerunning”) – a growing popular phenomenon where people move through their environment by jumping, rolling, vaulting, running up walls and numerous other manuveurs. Research on americanparkour.com explained the sport as this:
Parkour is the art of moving through your environment using only your body and the surroundings to propel yourself. It can include running, jumping, climbing, even crawling, if that is the most suitable movement for the situation. Parkour could be grasped by imagining a race through an obstacle course, the goal is to overcome obstacles quickly and efficiently, without using extraneous movement. Apply this line of thought to an urban environment, or even a run through the woods, and you’re on the right path. Because individual movements could vary so greatly by the situation, it is better to consider Parkour as defined by the intention instead of the movements themselves. If the intention is to get somewhere using the most effective movements with the least loss of momentum, then it could probably be considered Parkour
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From the reading I’ve done it seems to be a highly disciplined activity requiring much strength and dedication to maintain safety and to continuously improve. Turn down your speakers a bit and watch this video:
Two Mindsets: Outdoor Enthusiasts vs Fitness Enthusiasts
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10 songs about photographs.
I’m posting the link below for no reason other than that it made me smile. And, for you Wilco fans out there (there are plenty here in the studio), it includes the following Wilco song from a Polaroid commercial that never aired. Enjoy.
buy Speed Photoshelter: Ten Songs About Photographs
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(photo via NubbyTwiglet)
What was that – a Puma? He’s so fast…
I’m a big fan of cool shoes. (I define “cool” as my taste.) Here’s something that caught my eye on The Cool Hunter. I really like the idea of taking something old and making it new again. All of these shoes are pretty cool… But my favorites have to be low tops inspired by 1960’s comic book drawings. Who doesn’t want Lichtenstein feet? The language may be tricky for you to read, but the photos are just right. Check out all the shoes photos here at Kenlu.net.
A New Way To Connect To Your Favorite Band
The web is changing the way musicians are marketed, and the way artists and fans connect. If you are in a band or into music merchandise, you need to check out Tunipop
. Currently in beta, Tunipop bills itself as “the online source for discovering all forms of music-related fan gear and interacting with other members.”
Tunipop is not a retail outlet or a source for CDs, DVDs or digital downloads. Rather, Tunipop strives to help fans easily find official sources of available music merchandise like T-shirts and posters. It also helps artists market their fan gear more effectively.
The Merchandise Resources section directly links artists to apparel printing, on-tour merchandise and fan club management services, just to name a few.
The site will soon have about 5,000 pages of content which will mainly consist of artist listings within Tunipop’s Go2Merch directory. Coldplay, Elvis Costello, Alicia Keys and the Beastie Boys are some of the artists represented. Tunipop will eventually grow this directory through user-generated artist listings.
Future site enhancements include a syndicated blog, news, links and feature sections. A mobile version of the site is also in the works.
Tunipop wants to be a player in a $6 billion global market. They appear to have some traction, having beaten MySpace to the punch thanks to MySpace’s decision to delay their music merchandise push until later this year.
Tunipop has an interesting angle worth exploring, so check out the site
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