Straw Dog Design

Of Inside-out Giraffes and Such

Josiah DePaoli — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 02:51:36 +0000

Dr. Gunther von Hagens is at it again! The man behind the Body Worlds exhibition has done it again, only this time it’s over 100 animals instead of humans. Pretty amazing outcomes. Apparently the giraffe took 3 years, and the exhibition even contains a 3.2 ton elephant. Check out a ton more pictures over at Telegraph.

For the Love of the Grid

Josiah DePaoli — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:10:20 +0000

Gridness: this is quickly going to become my favorite new site. It’s kinda like all those inspiration sites, but tastily mathematical. So tasty. So mathematical.

Disney Preps Eyeball-Searing

Josiah DePaoli — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 16:20:16 +0000

If you’ve been to Disney’s California Adventure you know that is pales in comparison to the park across the way. That seems set to change as Disney has recently poured 1 Billion (BILLION) dollars into changing and renovating the park. One of these changes is the World of Color show which consists of a football field-sized array of LED-enhanced fountains, mist screens, projectors, and all sorts of other fun toys. World of Color was rumored to visually hold its own against the fireworks next door, and from the test footage it looks like it might just do it.

Hit the jump for another recent video with a look at some very cool paper cutout animation and a couple seconds of new World of Color footage.

The Human Subway Map

Josiah DePaoli — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:10:52 +0000

Pretty awesome idea from Sam of Just Sam. Great concept; this would make a great poster.

Does Disney…Got a Light?

Josiah DePaoli — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:44:27 +0000

Oddly interesting article at AllEars that takes a look at a rather unique facet of the Disney World parks: the lampposts. Lighting has always been a strong thematic element of the Disney Parks, but I’ve never paid much attention to the lampposts themselves. Jack Spence took the time to document lampposts from all over the four parks, and it’s pretty amazing to see just how varied these lighting elements are and how they reflect the theme and visual style of the different areas they’re placed in. The link above is to part four of the article series (Animal Kingdom) but be sure to check out the other parts featuring the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Cover Art: Jules Verne

Josiah DePaoli — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:30:55 +0000

Faceout Books is a blog created to showcase the latest in book design. Their latest post details a thesis project from artist Jim Tierney: a really stunning set of Jules Verne book covers. Definintel worth checking out the post at Faceout has done a great job of using the Cargo CMS to cleanly showcase the design as well as a lot of the process behind it.

The Creative World of….BANANAS

Josiah DePaoli — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:23:57 +0000

Pretty neat look/interview up over at Brand New focusing on DJ Neff’s new campaign for Chiquita Bananas. Simple, yet very solidly tied to the original brand.

Friday Awesomeness: LIGHT

Josiah DePaoli — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:10:08 +0000

Friday Awesomeness is back. Thanks to the sun finally showing its face in Oregon, this weeks theme will be: LIGHT. As always, hit the jump for the rest of the awesomeness.
Lumitectura by Barno

flight patterns by Charlie McCarthy

Mountain Light by Timescapes

Tokyo Sundown by Patrick Gosling

Light Painting: Table by Tak Kuroha

Back in Action+Expedition Everest

Josiah DePaoli — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 20:14:56 +0000

So things on Straw Dog have been a little…slow lately. The reason being: I was in Disney World. A good time was had by all. We tried a little web2.0/social media experiment while we were there linking Twitter with the new (to us) frontiers of Tumblr and Ustream. Anyhow, great trip, super inspiring; the trip will probably affect/inspire posts on here for a while.

And since I feel it would be a wasteful post to bore you the rambling above, hit the jump for some initial impressions of Disney’s Expedition Everest ride (and a video or two).

One reason Disney is especially great because of the way they create a story and immerse guests in the middle of it (more on that to come). One ride we ended up enjoying was Expedition Everest @ Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This video does a pretty good (albeit truncated) job of showing off the progression of the queue line. Essentially the story of Everest begins the moment you see it in the park. The entire journey across the park (more-so in the Asia section where the ride resides) is punctuated with different “story” elements: shrines that mirror the mountain, “supply shops” for backpackers. The queue line itself takes riders through a Tibetan temple/shrine, a yeti museum, etc., all leading up to their arrival at “base camp” where they board the ride vehicle. And that’s just the queue line. In most other parks this would simply be long rows of people fenced in by chain or rope.

And for what it’s worth: a video of the ride itself

Matthew Albanese’ Strange Worlds

Josiah DePaoli — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:22:26 +0000

Matthew Albanese photographs landscapes. The twist is, all his landscapes are of his own creation. That image to the left? Faux fur, cotton, and tile grout. The landscapes encompass everything from vast mountains to icy tundras and utilize everything from paprika to sugar and Jell-O to pull it off. Albanese expounds on his work:

My work involves the construction of small-scale meticulously detailed models using various materials and objects to create emotive landscapes. Every aspect from the construction to the lighting of the final model is painstakingly pre-planned using methods which force the viewers perspective when photographed from a specific angle. Using a mixture of photographic techniques such as scale, depth of field, white balance and lighting I am able to drastically alter the appearance of my materials.

Be sure to check out the rest of his work, really impressive stuff.