POP CHART LAB, REVISITED

A couple of years ago I wrote about a poster compendium of historical camera models, designed by Pop Chart Lab, that I was pining after. Recently I stumbled across an article on Design Milk chronicling the epic talents of the design duo behind Pop Chart Lab—Patrick Mulligan and Ben Gibson—and I immediately went back to check out the latest goodies they have in their shop. I immediately fell into a pit of infographic inspiration and, commensurately, now have a lot more Pop Chart items on my to do list. Below are a couple of my favorites.

Which one would you pick? There are so many more to choose from over at their shop here.

WARBY PARKER ANNUAL REPORT

I got a really nice email from A.C. at Warby Parker this week giving me a little tip: WP just came out with this year's Annual Report. You may remember my excitement last year about this yearly report because Warby Parker has a way of making utilitarian things incredibly cool and fun (as I recount in this post!). 

Well this year's may be a new high. Instead of a static document recounting facts about the company the 2014 Annual Report is all about you! Yes, you!

When you head to view the report (here), you are (brilliantly!) prompted to created a retelling of your year.

Just answer some fun questions and before you know it you are presented with . . . 

  

 . . . . a chart that records your chuckling percentage for the last twelve months . . .   

. . . . your 2014 spirit animal and an accounting of the dance moves you learned . . . 

. . .  and, of course, a take on what you have to look forward to for 2015. :) 

This is King's Random signing off . . . 

Try out your own report here and check out all the other cool stuff Warby Parker is doing here.

SERIAL EXPLAINED IN INFOGRAPHICS

I realize 8 million other people have already sung the praises of Serial, but I can't help it. Have you caught on to this podcast? IT'S AWESOME. I have always been a mystery buff and obsessed with This American Life and Serial is basically the ridiculously good-looking love child of both.

In case you are not (yet!) as obsessed with me, let me give you a quick breakdown. Basically Serial is a new podcast hosted by the amazing Sarah Koenig (daughter of Julian Koenig who helped develop these famous ads) which follows one (true) story over a season instead of the normal radio podcast which follows multiple related stories per week. The whole thing is full of twists, turns and epic real life suspense that has me eagerly awaiting the arrival of new episodes on Thursdays. Curious about this mysterious story? Here's a tidy summary, pulled from the Serial website:

"On January 13, 1999, a girl named Hae Min Lee, a senior at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, disappeared. A month later, her body turned up in a city park. She'd been strangled. Her 17-year-old ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested for the crime, and within a year, he was convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison. The case against him was largely based on the story of one witness, Adnan’s friend Jay, who testified that he helped Adnan bury Hae's body. But Adnan has always maintained he had nothing to do with Hae’s death. Some people believe he’s telling the truth. Many others don’t."

Anywho, since this is a blog about graphic design design and all things arty, I wanted to share a group of infographics designed by Michelle Rial inspired by her love of Serial. These won't make any sense if you haven't been following along with the podcast, but if you have they are on point! And, on a simply graphic level, I am impressed with their minimalist combination of bright colors and sharp typography—very well done Michelle!

Start catching up with past episodes of Serial here and see more of Michelle's work here.

JOHN PHILIPPS EMSLIE

You know I love a good map or infographic. Though usually I fall for super modern, minimalist versions I have to say I love these beautiful images from the mid to late 1800s by the British artist John Philips Emslie. I love the rich detail and beautiful coloration, particularly in the 'Telescopic View of the Moon' poster. Gorgeous, right?

See more here and here.

KELLI IS COOL

Have you ever opened up a website and felt your jaw drop? Well I just spent a very long time looking through the glorious online portfolio of graphic designer and illustrator Kelli Anderson. I am telling you, this woman is my design hero; she rocks color, pattern, maps and bold infographics like nobody's business. Every single image on her site is going straight to my inspiration file.

Do yourself a favor and check out all the Kelli Anderson goodness here.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Are you guys celebrating the Fourth of July? This evening my husband and I are headed to Vermont with his family for the week. I am looking forward to cookouts, lazy afternoon naps, diving into good books, and cold swims in the pond. I hope you have something equally fun, summery and relaxing planned!

To get you in the spirit, I wanted to share this cool infographic designed by Ghergich & Co. for Quicken Loans. My favorite part about infographics is how they manage to teach us in a dynamic and visually-engaging way; there are lots of cool facts in this one that I didn't know (the Fourth of July didn't become an official holiday until 1870!). Maybe you will learn something new too!

Have a great holiday! I will see you back here next Monday!