Packaging

And then neatly following on from the last post is ideem.it which has vector (ie scalable) PDFs of various kinds of packaging - including the milk carton in the picture. If you need a template for making a box of almost any description, head here.

Bottle

Via The Dieline comes a paper bottle developed by BrandImage called 360. Despite looking as though it takes up more space than a Tetrapak - the now ubiquitous plasticised card box used for milk and fruit juice cartons - it uses less plastic and is totally recyclable.

Cards

Just in time for (next) Christmas, this creative approach to card sending - a universal card for all occasions. The card consists of microdots which can be removed to form a dotmatrix message appropriate to the great day. Nice to see a card design that makes you want to send it in preference to something easier. Like an email.

Nolli

The Nolli Plan of Rome was produced in 1748, and its author revolutionised the way cities were represented by showing buildings in plan form (rather than bird's eye view), and with unprecedented surveying accuracy. Indeed public buildings had their interiors recorded too, helpfully emphasising the continuity of the city into its most prominent structures. The University of Oregon has digitally mastered the map, and added interpretative overlays, including satellite images, which can be viewed via a map engine.

Reykjavik

Is there anyone who doesn't think about just cutting all ties and heading off for a while? Paul Carr - a 'technomad' in the newly-minted term - has written an interesting article (series?) which describes his step into the unknown, prompted by the sky-high cost of living in contemporary cities. Find the first article here.

(Pictured is the wonderful Reykjavik Town Hall, by the largely-unsung Studio Granda)

Big Knitting

So, my wife Sally likes knitting - chunky knitting. How about some knitted furniture then, love? (via Bauke Knotterus)

Edible Mies

Via Materialicious comes the gingerbread Farnsworth House. Only $4,320. Enjoy!

Rotoscoping

There are some examples of rotoscoping, so perhaps this will be my first of many that I post. I like the concept of rotoscoping - taking something which looks real (film) and interpreting it, which is similar to what happens when we refer to an experience and pass it on to someone else. It therefore seems a useful metaphor for blogging, and perhaps for life in general.

Poland

Follow this to a startling piece of research, demonstrating the persistence of prejudice and national characteristics.

Welcome to Greendale

Not quite sure yet of the significance of this, but Neil Young's Greendale has a website of its own. Roll over the map, and on the coast just east of the harbour 'John Lee's Bar' can be found. And is there any connection with the Fairport Convention album 'John Babbacombe Lee'? Both albums featuring my namesake seem to be folk-rock concept albums - a rare breed indeed. I think I'm honoured.

Renny Tait

See the work of one of my school friends Renny Tait at the website of FlowersEast in London. He was at the British School in Rome, and the influence of the primary forms of Palladio are obvious, though filtered through a smooth ray-traced 20th century industrial aesthetic.

Teatro Olimpico

And a short video of the magnificent Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza by Palladio and Scamozzi, and completed in 1585. The bleached wood of the backdrop contrasts with the rich dark wood of the street tableau behind, using false perspective to exaggerate the depth of the scenes. Despite 8-hour performances of Greek theatre continuing well into the night, children were deployed at the far ends of the set to further reinforce the illusion of distance, if necessary being woken for their small walk-on parts.

Palladian tubs

After watching for the date so carefully, I then forgot all about this man on the occasion of his 500th birthday on 30 November. Spotted at the exhibition transferring to the Royal Academy in London from Vicenza are bins of Palladian components - so that the kids can create great architecture effortlessly, and in jaunty primary colours. Fortunately the work of the master elsewhere in the show is treated with an appropriate gravitas and intellectual insight. Fantastic models - look out for it in 2009.

Great Modern Buildings

Great Modern Buildings is a feature on the Guardian website, and though it has a pretty limited number of buildings, its combination of slideshow, video and graphics is quite effective. The graphics reminded me of the still brilliant website of the 2004 MOMA exhibition on 'Tall Buildings'. Have another look at it here.

Complexity, drawn

Visual Complexity is a collection of maps and graphical representations of complex statistical data and systems. Look out for the transportation section, which includes a map of the US composed of every single road represented by a line. Utterly brilliant.