Wenlock & Mandeville parodies

I think I've been quite clear on my opinion of the 2012 Olympic Mascots Wenlock and Mandeville, but I must admit these parodies raised a smile. There's a ton more of this kind of stuff over at b3ta; all user generated. Not the most politically correct, but the Adolph one is my favourite!

Crocodile Jock

http://crocodilejock.posterous.com/

twitter: @CrocodileJock

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It's started… 2012 merchandising

More than two years before the 2012 Olympics is due to start, they're already flogging merchandising… Official shop here.

Don't mind the duvet cover…

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Next generation iPhone in MANY colours?

With nothing more to back it up than vague rumours of something exciting at this June's World Wide Developers Conference (including a keynote from Steve Jobs), and rumours of a white panelled version of the iPhone, it was only a matter of time before there was talk of iPhones becoming available in more colours (or colors, if you are a colonial). 

I thought I'd hate that, but this render has changed my mind. I still think the Black and White versions are the most 'masculine', but I could see my wife going a bomb on any of the other three colours!

Via Redmond Pie

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Cool, animated Lego's

I don't know much about Patrick Lindsay, other than he is French, (or lives in Marseilles, France), and he makes these wonderful animated gifs based on Lego bricks. (Note to any American readers, the plural of Lego is Lego, or Lego bricks… it's not Legos! IMHO it is anyway!).

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Paper Music Posters

Brandon Knowlen has a simple philosophy on life, he does "everything he can to be a good person, and stay fed". Under the guise of Paper Music Posters he also designs and prints some rather cool concert posters.

Living in the wonderfully named Sugarhouse area of Salt Lake City, Utah, US of A… he's the kind of guy who likes to role his sleeves up and get his hands dirty. I've noticed a bit of a trend for people moving away from purely computer generated work, and harnessing tried and trusted traditional technologies. Or at least integrating the two - which is what Brandon does. He uses sketchbooks, sharpies, pencils, scanners, printers – and his work can either be screenprinted, or produced digitally. What he ends up with is simple, clean and striking.

I first came across Brandon's work when I saw the "I love minimalism" print online, But at the heart of what Brandon does is the Band poster. At the moment, Brandon is in the happy place of only producing work for bands he likes, bands such as The Ting Tings and Modest Mouse. And in a cunning plan to hang out with the bands, and get his work signed. he presents the bands and thier undercards with copies of their posters.

The best news though, is for $20 or so (plus a little bit more for international shipping), is that you can own one of his creations. So it's up to you, a generic Kandinsky print from Ikea, or something a little more original…

Visit his website here.

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Wenlock and Mandeville – my thoughts

Right. I wanted to have a little breathing space before I spouted my opinions on Wenlock and Mandeville. I think first impressions are really useful, and as the band the Impressions memorably said, they are often lasting impressions. But sometimes a little time for reflection is helpful too.

So, first impressions; I'm impressed. They look good. They're very now. They're cool. The names are fantastic (and actually mean something – Wenlock / Mandeville). They've got a great back story. Kid's will love them.

And, after sleeping on it, I don't like them anymore. I LOVE them. OK, they may look a bit like Mike from Monsters Inc, but there's a reason for the one eye thing. Oops, sorry it's not an eye, it's a camera. Kinda appropriate seeing as the UK has the most CCTV in the world. Actually, there's a reason for pretty much everything about Wenlock and Mandeville… every aspect of their appearance has been carefully thought through, and they have even been born with fully formed personalities. As the character charts below explain perfectly, I won't retell their stories, but suffice it to say they are there, and they are compelling. Nice work Iris.

These are characters designed for the digital age, and if they do look a bit like Pixar characters, that's not a bad thing. I'm sure there will be lots of Little Englanders wondering why we haven't got a Lion (like 1966's World Cup Willie I suppose – although he's still fairly cool), a Bulldog or a Beefeater, but these guys have been developed for the world. Actually, if you want patriotism, it is there… you can't get much more patriotic that the characters wrapped in the Union flag. I can see Wenlock and Mandeville getting up to all sorts of sporting related endeavours, and really appealing to kids, and big kids like me. And you can bet your bottom dollar the merchandising is going to be mad. T-shirts and mini-figres will lead the way, but they're already talking about things like video cameras (think Flip) created in the shape of these guys. 

But the best thing about them? The names. As English as Wallace and Gromit. Or as Danny Baker (quoting Vivian Stanshall of course) is wont to put it "English as tuppence, changing yet changeless as canal water, nestling in green nowhere, armoured and effete, bold flag-bearer, lotus-fed Miss Havishambling opsimath and eremite…" Inspired.

And they've got their own website, Twitter feed, and Facebook page too. Obviously.

Enough about what I think. What do you think? If you've never left a comment on my blog before, please do now. It's time.

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Taking Stickers out of the Playground, and into the Art Gallery!

Love these hand painted canvases by Elliot Quince of the stars of this years World Cup. Based on the ubiquitous sticker collections – each canvas measuring approximately 16×12″ is a handpainted enlargement of an original thumbnail sketch. There are 32 ultra limited edition one-offs, featuring players such as Kaká, Samuel Eto'o, Tranquillo Barnetta, Alexis Sánchez, Diego Forlan as well as our very own Wayne Rooney.

And they're for a good cause too… All proceeds from the sale of these wonderful pictures go to Luton and Dunstable Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Why dat? There's a rather touching back story here.

You can see the paintings at the Offside Gallery, Islington, There's a private View on Thursday 10th June 2010 starting at 8pm (Get in touch with Elliott if you want to attend at elliott.quince@ntlworld.com), adn they're on display throughout the duration of the World Cup.

I've only got one problem with the paintings. No Scotland players. But then again we didn't qualify for the tournament, so that's not really Elliott's fault. 

Find out all about the project here at Got, got, need! 

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What do you get if you cross a Lamborgini and an out there chopper?

The Lamborbiker of course. Osmos hubless wheels, sci-fi styling… looks incredible… 

But, if I had to choose I'd go for a Falcon Kestrel :)

More at Tuvie

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Wenlock and Mandeville on the One Show

Missed this, luckily I grabbed it off the IRIS website.

<p>iris unveils Olympic and Paralympic mascot on The BBC One Show from irisworldwide on Vimeo.</p>

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Wenlock & Mandeville

The official 2012 Olympic mascots… launched today. Gotta say I love 'em already. Nice work IRIS.
Full post and lots more images coming soon.

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Yakuza toy

You know those funky little toys your graphic designer mates collect? (They probably call them mini-figures!) Well, here's a great one, complete with authentic Yakuza style Japanese tattoos. It was created by Yosa Tattoo, a nice blog about traditional and 'new style' Japanese tattoos. Unfortunately, it's a one off, and not for sale.

Think you can do better, or just inspired to create your own designer toy? You can buy 'blanks' from fugitive toys.

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Falcon Kestrel

Wow.

You may have seen my previous post on Falcon motorcycles, here.

I was pretty impressed with their ethos, and their bike "The Bullet." Well, Here's their latest creation… The Kestrel.

Unveiled at the Quail motorcycle gathering inn Carmel, California on May 8th, where it won the award for best custom motorcycle. 

It is, quite simply one of the most amazing machines I have seen.

Over 2,000 hours of design, machining and engineering have gone into creating this magificent beast. Read more about the making of the Kestrel on the Falcon blog.

You've only got one problem now guys… building a bike that tops The Falcon! I'm looking forward to seeing the fruition of projects still in production with names as evocative as "The Black", "The White", "The Merlin", "The Peregrine", "The saker" and perhaps the most exciting of all… "The Vespertine"; "The ultimate. Based around a Brough Superior engine, the Vespertine will respect the hand of George Brough, one of the most gifted motorcycle designers ever. The mighty British v-twin engine provides a unique opportunity to explore new directions, while remaining true to the past." Can't wait.

via Bike EXIF

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