ROBIN, ROBIN, ROBIN.....

I really like this album cover because of the contrast between black and white. Its very classy, it reflects his music and his essence. The evolution concept has been done before however it doesn't include the tacky primitive steps leading up to Robin in his full splendor. The concept is understood without the monkey versions of him. I think the face in the background is not necessary, it doesn't add or take away from the design.

This is Robin Thicke's latest album cover and the album that I'm most currently obsessed with. You'll notice the Parental Advisory sticker stamped on the front cover. Caution, this album is not for the weak. All jokes aside, I like that his album covers always have a distinct theme. This time, its James Bond, if you haven't noticed. Once again, he goes for the classy, suave look because its very fitting. The bold colours reflect his passion and his subject matter. He is an artist that has a lot of control over his image and his music being a grammy winning songwriter and producer. Its a very good album that has a variety of songs with different subject matters, ranges and beats.

BIGBANG REMEMBER ALBUM COVER

This is BIGBANG's second album cover. The reason why I like it is because its strictly type and vector images. For a band that is very visual and fashion savy its surprising that they only release type only album covers. An image is a moment in time. Type is timeless. Looking back on this album that was released a year ago, looking back on it five years, ten years maybe even twenty years it will still have a sharp visual impact. It uniquely displays the various songs on the album. The only problem I have with this album is that if you didn't know what it was called, there might be a little bit of confusion as to what the album is called because of all the other type. This band promotes themselves as a unique brand as well as promoting themselves as a part of the "YG family" (YG ent their record company). The YG building is vectored and featured on the album cover. These are their previous album covers that follow the same concept which only strengthens their brand essence.

EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

This is a south korean hip hop duo's first mainstream (formerly underground) album cover. This is a great improvement from the original, where their concepts rendition came from. The colours are brighter, bolder and better. The type had an AMAZING upgrade. The feeling of an excellent adventure/fantasy is still encompassed (as well as their poses). I really like the fact that the illustrations still look like photos. Its very realistic.

And might I add that the album is banannas.

LEGO

Futura shows off his latest weapon of choice, the almighty LEGO block. Some of the latest creations include an assault rifle, slices of watermelon, futuristic buildings, a growing red pyramid and to top it all off, a “District 9 Handheld”, built from some of the more technical parts from the LEGO inventory.

I admit to being a big kid and I still play with toys. I like this because I appreciate retro anything. For all those who have ever tried making things out of lego should know that this would be way harder than it looks. I don't have much patience in general so I think this is pretty cool.

If there was a way to turn the smiley face into a pin, I would wear it on a jacket. Maybe some crazy glue would do.

POW WOW

POW WOW took place in Hong Kong. Its an art gallery showing that showcased Britain’s Will Barras, Canadian illustrator Pat Lee and Singpore’s Jahan Lohh. The show was capped off by a live performance with the roster of aforementioned artists as well as YUE Wu and The Pink Amigo who had opened their show the night before.


For me its usually all about bright bold colour and unique design. I amire these artists for their amazing drawing skills. Its one thing to be able to produce amazing art behind closed doors but creating for a crow of watching people, that is amazing.

Not to mention an after party thrown by Verbal Jint and Yoon of Ambush Design. What more could you ask for?

ALEXANDER MC QUEEN WALLET

I like this wallet because its simple yet well designed. The Alexander Mc Queen font/logo is professional and unique. The subtle touches of colour is enough to make it stand out from the average white wallet. The chain is practical and fashionable. This would be great since I always loose my wallet, however, it retails at £275.00.

AMBUSH DESIGN

The Tokyo-based design collective was started in 2002 by VERBAL and YOON. Inspired by the phrase "ANYTHING GOES", they draw ideas from the many creative outlets in Tokyo to produce original designs.

In 2004 they launch the jewelry brand, Antonio Murphy & Astro®. Using 18K gold, platinum, diamonds and other precious stones, they designed their own comical renditions of the mainstream Hip Hop jewelry popular at the time. Their diverse range of fans include celebrities and discriminating buyers alike, in and out of Japan.

I love everything they do because it's very bold, unique and well designed. Their jewelery is designed for "shock value". Their colours are non-conventional. It's very experimental because they use different types of metals, stones and plastics. It's not all about glamourous "bling" they design for shock value, not price.
Even their graphic design is done personally. The comicbook style is very appealing to not only their culture but to all individuals that follow the artistic side of hip-hop culture.
This is one of the many things that I am interested in getting from ambush design.