This is a great resource in ephemera type and design from 1920-1950’s found on Flickr. Variations in design of the less popular side of postcards, found in an old shoe-box in the attic by Smoothfluid.

Anne has an interesting show at the Grover Thurston on May 1st in Seattle titled “Lace”.

Johann has been whipping out some interesting poster designs lately for the bands The Cops, Heavy Hearts and the Saturday Knights. Nice textured backgrounds mix with hand drawn type and eye catching illustrations.

The cover art for Death Cab for Cutie’s new album “Narrow Stairs” has been revealed. It looks to be a collage styled cover that reminds me of some of Paul Klee’s early work. It also seems like each strip might be from some of the bands other artwork. Will the cover designer please stand up? The Album is available on May 13th.

If you can tell your serifs from your sans, give The Rather Difficult Font Game a try.

The June issue of HOW magazine has an article covering the 20th anniversary of Seattle design firm Modern Dog. Their work has been seen in the Northwest on posters for Bumbershoot, the Gorge Amphitheatre and the Seattle Repertory. Click on the photo below to read the article.

Grant Barnhart has new work up on his site. I really like his use of silhouettes and brightly colored textures in the new series of paintings. Grant’s artwork artwork has been featured in publications such as Arkitip, Wax Poetic and L.A. Weekly.

Superfad did a nice job capturing some local Seattle flavor in their new ads for NWsource. The animated spots have a hand-drawn feel and cover the Rat City Roller Girls, Neumos Owner and Cupcake Royale.

If you’re a designer and are working on a new site design, join the May 1st Reboot. This project is a group relaunch of websites by creatives working within the field of web design. This concept is a great way for individuals to join a creative community and get their work viewed by a larger audience at the same time.

The Seattle Sounders FC presented their inaugural logo that was designed by DNA Brand Mechanics in Seattle. Here’s an excerpt from their press release about the new soccer logo:

“The badge represents the organization’s personality, image, core competencies and characteristics. This design is loosely based on a heraldic shield, which helped identify combatants who were otherwise hidden by their armor.

The overall design is an updated, contemporary treatment of traditional shapes. The effect is clean, bold, aggressive and uniquely Northwest.”

I actually like the layered shield concept, it feels strong. The bonus to this logo is that there isn’t a wild animal attached as the team icon like most teams these days. The part that I’m having a problem with is the “FC” in the name. It is really awkward to say and to read. Also, the letter “N” seems too thick and the “D” seems too narrow. A little vector clean up is in order and this logo will be golden.