Esquire U.S April and U.K May covers

Esquire U.S features Sofia Vergara on its newest April issue versus Jon Hamm from Mad men for the U.K. May issue. Now clearly this isn't even a competition, a dark and undertreated cover versus a colorful and out of character Jon Hamm?

Esquire U.K's new look that has been in place since December is a breath of fresh air. The magazine is getting colorful and more youthful than ever and we like it! It is Jon Hamm's crazy side that is depicted in this issue and it looks great. Standing out from it's competitors is exactly what the magazine is and has been doing. Each issue since the redesign has been a success and it's only getting better, kudos to Creative Director David McKendrick.

Now on the U.S side, this month's cover was quite disappointing. For an April Sex issue, this cover lacks excitement. The overall color scheme did not make me want to pick up my copy from the news stand. The photography is still appealing but there is no contest between Esquire U.K and its American sibling this month on the cover front...

Which one is your favorite?

GQ covers match worldwide

Recently owner of an iPad, the first thing to do was to download all the GQ apps available from newsstand. I've been enjoying comparing the different designs of the magazine from one country to another. 

GQ France and GQ U.S are both beautifully designed wether it be print or iPad (Hurry up GQ France we want  more issues uploaded on the app!). On the U.K side things are quite disappointing. The April design was less than appealing to me, the overall childish type treatment for the headlines completely broke off from the GQ style we all love so much. Despite the fact that this march issue in particular is supposed to be a comedy issue, the type treatment was just too off. I also have to admit I don't care for Olivia Wilde's picture on the cover, I barely recognized her..

So for April we have a winner for the U.S Style bible special issue 

which with its alternate covers blows away the competition with a 

very clean and modern design.

France comes in second place 

with great photography though the copy gets a bit overwhelming on the cover, 

nonetheless good overall design.

Last on the finish line is U.K 

with a design fail for march way back there trying to catch up...

LOST TYPE - Free Designer Typefaces

A couple of weeks ago in my search for free typefaces, I came across this amazing website created by Riley Cran and Tyler Galpin. The fonts are original and beautiful at the same time. Users have the opportunity to pay whatever they like for a font, you can even type in '$0' for a free download.
All donations go to the font's designers. 

This website is a great place to discover new fonts and new designers all at the same time.

So congrats to them for providing us with awesomeness for cheap.

Check them out HERE

Alex Barthlen - Birth Announcements

Season's Greetings!

Here is one of the cards I made for this year's holiday season! The quote is from a Christmas episode of the Big Bang Theory, I thought it was so adorable it deserved a card, enjoy!

Happy Holidays~

Hovard Design Fall Promotion

This is a project I worked on during my time at Hovard Design under the art direction
of Bill Hovard.

"Fall is in the air and our Autumn promotion has been posted. Printed by the guys at Kayrock Screenprinting in Williamsburg, this issue is a three color silkscreened poster showcasing the colors of the season. As Albert Camus phrased it, "Autumn is a second Spring where every leaf is a flower". Printed on Cranes Lettra  220 lb. cover in pearl white, this 100% cotton sheet is not only beautiful to touch, it will last for centuries. Done as a series of 75 prints, each poster is hand numbered."

The Sketchbook Project

Walking around in Williamsburg I had the chance to come accross this amazing little store called "The Brooklyn Art Library" and just had to post on this. This place is the origin of a project called the "sketchbook project".

The concept is simple, sign up to receive a free sketchbook, fill it up, customize it and make it all yours before you send it back to them so that it can go on tour with thousands of others. Very inspiring and creative. The store had some amazing items as well; Vintage and design, what a perfect mix!

In addition to the tour, the books can also be checked out like library books at any time with a library card from the store.

you can check them out through those links:

Art House Co-op

The Sketchbook Project

Sketchbook project on Behance

Hu2 Design - Decals

These awesome decals from Hu2 Design are clever and pretty sweet. In retrospect they are pretty useless but so dorky and cute that it makes them worth buying =]

Yet another one of those projects that brings THE thought into my head:
"aaw man, wish I had thought of that!"

more awesomeness on Hu2 Design

Vintage facebook, twitter, skype ads

I stumbled upon these awesome vintage ads for social media applications today and had to repost this!

A Brazilian ad agency called Moma Propaganda created this ad series to see how those might have looked like if they had existed in the 60's.

Everything from aesthetics to copy is perfect and well...this made my day : )

Source on inventor spot

MKT4

So today I was looking for some inspiration on the behance network and found these awesome two people who make the cutest paintings!

Laetitia and mark or MKT4 are based in Clermont-ferrand in France and I spent a good 40 minutes drooling over the cuteness and detail of their work.
The illustrations are adorable and even better, the typography is to die for.
The characters are endearing and the colors stunning, I wouldnt mind one of those paintings in my living room...
their prices are not shown but a quick email should do the trick to find out more.

anyone who likes japanese style kawaii illustrations and typography should check them out!
either on their Behance or on their official website