Recent Posts

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

Geodesic Dome House, Ojai, California

http://www.designrelated.com/inspiration/view/mattmatt/entry/2786

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

Dome House (Florida, United States)

http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

The Ufo House (Sanjhih, Taiwan)

http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

Stone House (Guimarães, Portugal)

http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

http://villageofjoy.com/50-strange-buildings-of-the-world/

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

Photographs By Filip Dujardin

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bldgblog/3003507918/

Topic: Book Cover Design / Cliché Covers

A large portion of my business comes from small presses or self-publishing authors. I’m often approached with their ideas and while I am able to suggest better options in some cases, quite often it’s their way or the highway. Fair enough. I have no ego in these things, and they’re the bosses.

But, save me from another typewriter on a book about writing; another sunset silhouette on a spiritual book or another puzzle piece or key on a book about “Finding the Key to…”.

Does everyone deal with this?

I’m concerned it’s eventually going to come back and bite me because people often believe designers have far more control than we often do.

Topic: Job Tips & Resources / Freelance or Full-time?

I am back to freelancing again at the moment, but looking for a full-time gig; interviewing all over the country in search of that job I can see myself finally settling down at for years to come.

Working on film sites always keeps things interesting on the freelance front, and as someone else said, you get to turn things down which is always kind of nice. Passion leads to the best creativity around; especially for a stubborn Irish kid from Boston.

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

Isabelle de Beaufort and Bernard Ramus created a maze in Cordes-sur-Ciel, France with a house hiding inside.

http://www.designrelated.com/inspiration/view/mattmatt/entry/2707

Topic: Architecture / Who is your favorite architect?

Just did an inspiration on the Zaha Hadid + Patrick Schumacher TOTAL FLUIDITY exhibit:

http://www.designrelated.com/inspiration/view/mattmatt/page/1/entry/2689

Topic: Job Tips & Resources / Freelance or Full-time?

I’m just getting started, really, and freelance work seems to be the best way to establish myself as a designer. I’ve been doing a lot of “friend” and academic work, but the professional relationships are starting to develop now, too. I work a part time office job at the university I attended to cover health insurance (and retirement! and a bunch of other stuff! thank you, state job!), but my design work will (hopefully) be paying the rent from here on out.

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

"The World Stands on its Head" ("Die Welt Steht Kopf") House on the Baltic Sea Island of Usedom in Trassenheide, Germany.

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

Prefab dome homes on inhabitat – http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/09/12/sustainable-homes-from-easy-domes/

Topic: Job Tips & Resources / Freelance or Full-time?

I’m currently freelance, working from home, but I used to work inhouse as an Art Director. Although I miss human interaction (“Hello, wall.”), I do get to work when I want and with whatever music I like playing in the background. Plus, and this was a biggie, if I take on a project that I don’t like, I know that I was the one responsible for taking it on. When I worked inhouse, there was no way of saying ‘no’ to a project. I hated that.

Topic: Book Cover Design / What's your favorite 1980's book cover?

It wasn’t a fabulous era for book design, but there are some standouts: I’d have to say the Faber and Faber covers done by Pentagram, particularly William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, and Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day, can still hold their weight in a bookstore today.

Topic: Job Tips & Resources / Best or New Stock Photography sites

I’ve been getting a little bored these days with my current bookmarks for stock photography sites. Has anyone discovered anything new and great?

Topic: Web Design / Web coding resources

Wow Matt! These are great. I knew a few of these but had never heard of most of them. Thanks for the links.

Topic: Book Cover Design / What's your favorite 1980's book cover?

You’re right Karen. Carin Goldberg is an outstanding designer and anything from her is thoughtful and gorgeous. I’ve had the pleasure of working with both Carin and Louise and they are superb designers. In Louise’s case I merely paid her to pick up a jacket design for a paperback edition when I was in-house art director at Mariner Books, so technically I didn’t “work” with her. But she was gracious and professional all the same.

I did get to actually “work” with Carin while at Mariner Books when I commissioned her for a couple of covers. By coincidence, one of my early book covers and hers appeared opposite each other in an edition of Print’s Best Covers from the early ‘90s way before I was in a position to hire her.

Topic: Graphic Design / Motion Graphics Playlists

I shall call this, A Collection of Animation TV Spot Goodness #1
(even if there is an issey miyake loop in there somewhere)

Read more here: http://www.designrelated.com/inspiration/view/mattmatt/entry/2580

Topic: Graphic Design / Motion Graphics Playlists

embed your design-related videos and put them up for discussion here

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

This one is not as bizarre as most of the others, but I think it should still make the list:

The Dunmore Pineapple House was built in Scotland for John Murray (fourth Earl of Dunmore) in 1761 by an unknown architect.




http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/airth/thepineapple/index.html

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

http://www.hothomesofutah.com/blog/54/strange-homes-buildings/#more-54

Topic: Architecture / Strange, Weird, and Unusual Houses and Homes from Around the World

http://tinyurl.com/5qcbqu

Topic: Book Cover Design / What's your favorite 1980's book cover?

I agree. There aren’t many covers that stand out in my mind from the 80s (maybe I was too young to take notice). But looking back, the work of both Louise Fili and Carin Goldberg comes to mind.

Specifically, Fili’s cover design for The Lover by Marguerite Duras, Goldberg’s repackaging of the Kurt Vonnegut paperbacks, and Ulysses by James Joyce.

Jacket design by Louise Fili (Pantheon Books, 1985)




Cover design by Carin Golderg (Dell, 1989)




Cover design by Carin Goldberg (Random House, 1986)

Topic: Book Cover Design / What's your favorite 1980's book cover?

I can’t think of one single cover from the 80s that stands out but I would have to say anything by Louise Fili would have been noticed.