Earlier this week we lost another great legend. Maurice Sendak was a man that created stories that inspired all of us to stay young and creative inside. I will defiantly pass his stories on to my children. There’s a great write-up about his work and life over at the New York Times. You will be missed Maurice Sendak.

I’ve been really into collage lately, and these mixed-media collages by Virginia Echeverria Whipple are just phenomenal. They’re bright, whimsical, organic, and are all kinds of fun. More below the fold.

I recently came across this charming little video by Part & Parcel for the Ford Foundation’s, Time to Succeed Initiative. The video visualizes ways to modernize our education system in a fun and engaging way. I’m loving the little characters, the awesome color palate, and the subtle patterns and textures that is carried throughout the video. Learn more here.

New York based photographer Douglas Lyle Thompson has quite the eye for landscape photography. His desolate scenes seem to capture a sense of mystery that immediately jumps out at you and draws you in. This photo (above) of the Ace Hotel is my favorite, it perfectly connects the hotel with it’s desert surroundings. More photos below.

Today my heart aches over the loss of a music legend. Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch and the Beastie Boys were a big deal to me growing up. Their tracks are what we call ‘party anthems’, the jams that cause immediate head bobbing regardless of the present surroundings or situation. It’s hard to imagine what the world would be like without the awesomeness, which is why my sadness runs so deep over this tragic loss.

Rest in peace, MCA. You will be missed.

Today’s Keith Haring Google Doodle made me smile. Happy birthday Keith, your art and your words still inspires our human culture.

Anton Weflö is an awesome image maker based in Amsterdam. I was really drawn to his fun and quirky illustrations. I love his use of random shapes and objects, mixed with intense and playful colors. More below the fold.

Last week I watched Simon Sinek’s Creative Mornings talk, which I found profoundly inspiring. Sinek imagines a world where we all are inspired by going to work every day. By doing good for others and having self confidence in our own abilities we can make the work place, even society, a better place.

I sometimes wish my office was in a hub all its own out in my backyard in some little nook. The Tetra Shed would be a perfect solution to having my own little private space. I like that you can choose to open it all up for a nice airy feel, or go all Batman with it and keep things secluded. More photos below.

VIA DESIGN MILK

Michael Bierut and his team recently redesigned an exquisite new identity for Mohawk . The new M monogram was inspired by the papermaking process and the printing process, which both involve paper going around large cylinders. What I love the most is that the new vibrate colors inject so much life into the brand and look great on the new ream wraps, posters and business cards. Michael Bierut goes into even more detail about his design process in this recent interview with Felt & Wire.

Check out this really cool music video for I Will Never Change for Dubstep producer, Benga. London-based studio US created the stop-motion effect by using 960 records to depict the waveform of the track, just brilliant!

Graphic designer Tilman Zitzmann has been creating some fantastic geometry inspired shapes and designs. Follow his tumblr to get your daily dose.

I’m loving these early ads from Paul Rand when he was art director of the William Weintraub Agency in New York. His playful collage and illustration style are definitely apparent in these, it’s just a reminder for me just how much of a master he really was.

VIA IMPRINT

I haven’t been much of an avid user of Helvetica, but last year Christian Schwartz released Neue Haas Grotesk, a restored version of the original pre-digital design from 1957. It’s definitely what the Helvetica of today ought to be. Nick Sherman from Font Bureau recently put together this fantastic micro site that really showcases all the wonderful details that were lost along the years.

Check out Field Notes co-founder Aaron Draplin’s amazing collection of vintage memo books. In this video Draplin talks about how they inspired the Filed Notes brand and the launch of the new National Crop Edition.

When were are kids our imagination is limitless, nothing seems impossible. To some, a cardboard box is just a cardboard box. For 9-year-old Caine Monroy it’s spare parts for his next mini arcade game. Taking up a small nook at his dad’s used auto-parts store, Caine’s cardboard arcade is complete with tickets, fun passes, and prizes. Caine’s first customer, filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, decided to spread the word about Caine’s Arcade by organizing a surprise flash mob to come out and play. To Caine’s surprise, business is booming one Sunday afternoon, his smile says it all.

Photographer Peter Belanger recently collaborated with Dwell to produce these fantastic photos of some awesome bike gear. What I love so much about them is not only the composition of all the items, but how well the background colors work with the colors of all the different foreground objects. More images below.

Before he was Dr. Seuss, he was Theodore Seuss Geisel the advertising illustrator. Here are a few ads Seuss created in his early years, it’s amazing to see he stayed true to his humor and style all those years. More below the fold.

VIA QUIPSOLOGIES

Aaron Draplin has been one of my favorite designers for awhile. His recent talk on Portland’s Creative Mornings was pretty bold and hilarious, giving us 50 points that will make or break your career. Point No. 22 “Get Cosmic”, my favorite.

Yesterday I picked up the recent issue of GOOD magazine, and I was really impressed by these WPA posters by Dan Cassaro. I thought they were incredibly clever and fun, I’d defiantly by a screen print of these.