i just find this figure hilariously charming out of all the Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo.
not listed anywhere on the packaging, proceeds from these series go to various non-profit organizations. more on Patrick Ma and Rocket World
saw these guys on Will Ferrell’s Elf dvd
see any resemblance?
yes, i do.
from veer.com
It’s word association. You say “I’m a designer,” and they hear “I draw pictures all day.” It would take too long to explain what you really do, so take the words right out of their mouth and wear them proudly.
also came with these in the mail:
i normally try not to get blindboxed items unless they were given away for free, but i figured i try this series since i like most of the 12 random choices anyway. Mini Rolitoboy French Kiss Serie (got 5 of them for now)
2 of the items ended up being the same, not so bad since the heads have separate “faces” front and back (and the one that didnt have a duplicate actually has the same face front and back)
2 by Stan and Vince, 2 by Rolito and 1 by La Chienne
i might get more of these, but i’d probably buy some of the unboxed ones first so at least i’ll get at least 1 of each version
go to rolitoland
recently picked up these books on character art/iconography in advertising/culture/daily life. although one focuses on Japanese and the other on American character icons, both books kind of go hand in hand. also interesting to note that the ad character has become less prevalent in american advertising/culture, while the opposite is true in japan.
Meet Mr. Product, The Art of The Advertising Character by Warren Dotz and Masud Husain
Offering up a bustling gallery of over 500 spokescharacters, this chunky compendium charts the origins and development of the advertising character and gives brief glimpses into some of their most intimate secrets. (Did you know that the Michelin Man has been spotted with glamorous ladies on his arm? Or that Borden s Elsie the Cow was married to Elmer of household glue fame?) Famous faces and a host of recently rediscovered characters fill Meet Mr. Product s pages to bursting
some of the characters would be considered quite offensive these days. Just like the Adidas/Ray Fong character controversy from a few years back. click here for the controversy.
.
Hello, Please! Very Helpful Super Kawaii Characters from Japan by Matt Alt and Hiroko Yada
A menagerie of mascots and characters inhabit the islands of Japan, cheerfully guiding citizens through all sorts of daily activities and situations. Hello, Please! collects photographs of hundreds of the these cute (or kawaii) creatures in their native habitats, which are virtually everywhere: from public street signs to supermarket shelves, in doctor’s offices and instruction manuals even emblazoned on the sides of Tokyo’s emergency vehicles.
Here’s an article i read back in 1999 on the Culture of Kawaii (Cute), from Wired magazine.
it would have been nice if the actual designers/illustrators were credited in both books, but then that’s the nature of being in design/advertising.
there are other books in these series (1000 something else), but these were the ones i liked the best. they’re actually quite similar since the designs shown are all typographic in nature. can’t have good design without good typography.
can’t tell from these photos, but they are yellowing in spots. installed them more than a year ago. they still look cool though from the distance.
wish i could find an old Swatch watch from the late 80’s that had typographic design on it.
the abominable “bumble” snowman was purchased in 2002. i didnt take him out of the packaging til last year 
You are currently browsing the archives for the materialism category.
