Wonderwall is interior design firm in Japan that not only has a pretty impressive portfolio of work, but their website is something of which I have never seen.  The site bubbles and moves with every roll over on the front utilizing Flash and presents information and interactivity in a very refined yet fun way.  As I’ve said before, I love Flash components that just work, and the Wonderwall site definately does just that.

Double cheers for great design!

(Found via SwissMiss)

Paul Rand, who is probably my most favorite modern designer (well, apart from the Eames), left a legacy of work, theory, and methology that matches no other.  He gracefully and bravely changed the way we think about idenity and design, advertising and convention.  Basically, he’s the boss.  He’s the Charles in Charge.  (what?!)

Paul-Rand.com is a new and excellent site dedicated to the work and philosophy of Rand, with a huge gallery of work, biographies, lots of quotes, and links to stores across these old intenets where you can find first edition children’s book and old IBM packaging.  It has everything.  Everything Rand. Check it out!

(Found via GrainEdit RSS)

PS: You also should watch this amazing short video created by Imaginary Forces as a tribute of his illustrations.  It’s great.

It’s Nice That, an excellent source for design inspiration, is one of my favorite sites.  And look at their new web design. Classy!

This occurred during my “April of Abandonment,” so I’m late on the posting.  But I’m very pleased with what I’m seeing.

The long columns are still used, which is classy, shifting the navigation, etc to the right instead of the left.  And the blue circle logo is gone, which is slightly sad to me.  I like the simplicity of it, and then new, simpler type logo (in a slightly odd semi-sans serif) doesn’t really leave a impression of anything.  Bleh.

But no matter the logo, the content is always awesome!

MagCloud is a great new(er) site where one can publish, print, and sell your very own magazines for very little money, and this looks like a fantastic idea.  The site is free to join, and free for people to buy.

You just upload the PDF of your magazine and these guys print and ship to your subscibers when they order for only 20cents a page.  They are printed on high quality magazine paper and sitched together when they are order, so there’s no lag or heavy fee or minimum orders.

What a fantastic idea!

Frank Chimero, one of my favorite contemporary illustrators and designers, has a great interview over at Grain Edit.  Talking about his inspiration for work, his history as an artist, and working at Missouri State (whoop whoop Springfield!), it’s a great interview.  He also goes through the development steps he used for the newest addition to his 50 states collection.

You should totally read the interview.  It’s awesome!

I’m an obessive collector.  I’ll admit that.  But what I’ve found as I’ve work in the design arena/read design blogs, is that almost everyone in this business is as well.  That almost everyone has a folder filled with brochures or a binder full of magazine ads.  And this is comforting.

So this week’s Web Wednesday will be lots of cool pages that cater to this obessession/need.  Prepare to waste the rest of your morning. You’re welcome:

1. Inspiration Resource.

Great postings each day with an array of subjects for inspiration–everything from quits to tropical islands, to stamp collections.

2. Grain Edit

No post about graphic inspiration would not be complete without Grain Edit. One of my favorite sites, they focus on type and design from 50s-70s and those today who draw inspiration from that time period. Fantastic!

Two more after the jump:

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The Indianapolis Museum of Art, which has had the pleasure of being awesome for over 125 years, has always been one of my favorite places to visit in the grand ole city of Indy.  And after thier massive renovations in 2004-2006, the museum not only holds a great collection of art but also looks just as great.  And opening next week is their new Design Gallery, with a European Design collection from 1985 onward opening the wing up to the public.

Their website is pretty awesome, using a calm and thougful mix of CSS/JavaScript and flash, putting together a site that says “we’re an art museum” without being too modern or too uptight. The interactive is subtle and user-friendly, fun to watch but easy to use.  Great stuff!

If you are ever in the Indy area, definately check out the IMA.  ITS FREE to the public (BONUS) and has a fine array of Modern, New Artist, Mid-Century, Asian/African Art, and Arts & Crafts of the 19th and 20th Centuries.  It is also has a vast gardens and grounds area, with the Oldfields Masion (once owned by the Lilly Family), which is quite the site to be seen and is ALSO FREE!  They also have a really great gift shop and Puck’s restaurant, which serves awesome food.  And with the new Design Wing, I think it will definately put the IMA on the map.

Mitch over at SpaceSick has created a whole series of AWESOME “novelizations” of movies in vintage book cover style, and they are just great.  Everything from Space Jam to Mean Girls to Temple of Doom, these book covers convey the film and a certain quality that you only though you’d find on an old Penguin cover.  Cheers!

Anyone Can Swiss is a genius idea that gives kudos to international style type and design while at the same time ripping it a new one.

Using the technology of “swissification,” the site takes your text and transforms it into something that the Bauhaus would be proud of, and then hangs your poster (mine is above) up on Flickr.  Great fun.  Cheers!

This vintage wooden letter press print can be found over at Hijirik’s Store on Etsy.  Great print–I love the color.  Cheers!