Posted by Sam van Straaten on 5:19 pm in Blog, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Scrumptious Saturdays | Superette
We have been wanting to experience this local hotspot called Superette in Woodstock, Cape Town.
This Saturday was finally our chance to indulge in the much-talked about neighbourhood café where you can find an assortment of your favourite market produce and specialty foods.
It once again proved something my mother, who is a wonderfully talented chef, always says when asked about creativity in our family: preparing a perfect plate of food is a greater art than painting a perfect apple on a perfect canvass.
Our date was a breakfast date, so it was only natural that we have breakfast. And what a breakfast it was! Everything was prepared with exceptional attention and the flavors that emerged after the first bite were exquisite.
The place itself is decorated with simple, earthy and arty handiworks and the simplicity wonderfully compliments Superette’s approach to food.
The menu is decided on everyday, but there are obvious favorites that always make the cut, such as the All Day Breakfast sandwich, which is exactly what we had. And can I just say: “Delicious!”
If you ever find yourself in the area, be sure to check them out. You won’t be disappointed.
Address: 218 Albert Road, Woodstock, Cape Town
Posted by Sam van Straaten on 10:52 am in Blog | Comments Off on Something pretty for the weekend
What a marvelous find! I came across these while strolling around the Behance Network. They are aptly named Winter Bugs. Have a look at these interesting creations and then follow the artist on Twitter or check out her portfolio. I love these simply for their fragile and delicate complexity. They are pretty and eerie at the same time. I hope you like!
Posted by Sam van Straaten on 5:40 pm in Blog, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Displaying Data | Infographics are fun
Even if you have never heard of infographics and you have no idea what exactly the term means, you most probably have encountered quite a few in your life time. An infographic is, simply put, a visual representation of data. Sometimes complex, sometimes simple. Maps are a very good example.
But from a purely design perspective, it can be a nightmare, depending on the amount of sense you actually want to make of all the information displayed. Here are a few of my personal favorites:
Posted by Sam van Straaten on 5:38 pm in Blog, Uncategorized | Comments Off on UXUS: you times us
I would like to share a design company I love.
UXUS was founded in 2003 as an international multi-disciplinary creative company with offices in Amsterdam and California specializing in the fields of Identity, Architecture, Retail, Interiors, Hospitality, Graphics and Packaging.
They provide elegant and professional design services across a very wide spectrum.
Their multi-disciplinary structure, with teams from different disciplines working together, promotes a culture of interchange and adds tremendous value to the creative process and ultimately the client’s final result.
I adore their work simply for its elegance and stark simplicity.
Check out their web site here and their portfolio on the Behance Network here. You can also follow them on Twitter, which is exactly what I’m doing!
Posted by Sam van Straaten on 7:47 am in Blog | Comments Off on Trends and such?
During the last few days of the previous week, I was given the immense pleasure of doing some internet research on trends for 2010. And guess what? Nobody really seems to know what is going on. Everyone has an opinion, of course, but they are all very much different. Some say it’s back to the drawing board with organic, hand created material (hand lettering, pencil illustration) and others say the 80’s revival is still going strong. See the pictures of the Never Hide Ray-Ban campaign.
What I got from this, is to combine the two, creating psychedelically coloured hand drawn elements and collaging and juxtaposing all of this together. What I did agree with, was the come back of the grid system, especially in web design. Web designers are becoming increasingly more aware of the need to hierarchically organise elements on web pages, avoiding the cluttered nature of many web site designs out there.
This is why Adobe Flash is going to boom in the coming years and browsers such as Internet Explorer will have to incorporate that adventurous element, which they have been ignoring forever. This might be the case with the rise of html 5, which will be released sometime this year and will aim to reduce the need for proprietary plug-in-based rich internet application technologies such as Adobe Flash. I don’t think this is going to happen. Competition is always good, and Adobe will only aim higher with their next version of Flash.
Anyway, to come back to the trends, let’s talk about personalization. This is an interesting topic and one that many people have mentioned. People are becoming aware of the way we are loosing contact and touch with one another. This can already be seen in the sudden rise of markets such as good food markets and especially the super trendy Saturday hangout spot at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock. Only the coolest of cool people go there and it’s probably the most dense concentration of snobs at any particular time ( I have been there, too).
It’s weird to mention personalization, because the company I just started working at is all about this, hence the name Personera (era of the person). People are all for getting back things they can touch, see and feel and products that are close to their heart, family and friends. We want to make the digital tangible again, and this trend will see the rise of many similar companies incorporating online media with offline, printable sensibilities.
Furthermore, the only other thing I could find, was the resurgence of the white space (it actually has a Wiki article). This is also referred to as negative space and is very important in especially graphic design and general information design. Your elements need breathing space mmmkay?
That’s that then for today. Do any of you agree with these trends? And do you even follow trends or do you think it is impossible not to follow trends?