I made a trip over to Black Blue, a great boutique in St. Paul, with Nikki this weekend. The shop has been open for a couple months now, and has already made a name for itself. Its combination of top notch products, rotating exhibits and clever presentation methods, makes it a place I will shop as much as possible. If those aren’t selling points enough for you, Steve, one of the shopkeeps, is a very inviting, creative and knowledgeable chap.

I ran across some great uses of type this weekend. I love the typeface that Urban Outfitters is using for the numerical elements, as well as the combination of type and abnormal materials used by AZIA and Club Monaco. I gotta say…seeing type on fabric, being used as signage, was quite nice.

I’ve been enjoying the seasonal coffee packaging from Starbucks this year. I like the illustrated silhouettes combined with the seasonal patterns.

This other packaging [pictured below] is not really a design marvel, but it does do a good job at grabbing your attention.

I’ll be working on a title sequence in the next couple weeks, and wanted to share a few photos from the shoot. The final product is going to be vintage items, juxtaposed with a very technological type and graphic treatment. Stay tuned for clips along the way.

Some great soda packaging seen on a recent grocery run. I really like the effective use of photography used on the first two, and throw back style of the third. Not sure how it tastes, but I’m sure I’ll be giving Goose Island Sodas a try sometime in the near future.

Here’s a collection of some of the great moments of signage I’ve come across in the last couple of weeks. I really appreciate the different forms of application, material, scale and texture.

Enjoyed a great night of drinking wine and bowling last night at Bryant Lake Bowl. I haven’t been there in so long, and it was so great showing up and remembering that they haven’t changed a thing…in a long time. For about two hours, it felt as though I was on the set of Mad Men.

Just a few of the great uses of type I’ve run across in the past week. I can warn you now…I will be posting more type made from tiles…I Love It!

My wife and I just stayed at the Ace Hotel NYC for a few night last week. I had been looking forward to the stay for quite some time, and I was more than rewarded for the wait.

The place is pure brilliance.

If you’re a designer, photographer, artist, writer or anyone else yearning for a boost of inspiration….and great coffee and croissants, then book a few nights here.

The design of the place is remarkable. They didn’t miss a detail…all the way down to the giant bolt that holds the toilet paper on the roll. I can’t say enough about it.

Above are a few of the pictures I took. My apologies on the quality…taken from iPhone. If you’re hungry for more, there are more photos on my Flickr page.

Being that I’m a huge fan of identity systems, a good storefront sign is sometimes the highlight of my visit. I took in some great signage on my walk to coffee this morning. Some of it very old school, and some relatively contemporary.

The first encounter was outside of 112 eatery, which is a great place for late night eats in Minneapolis. I love how the simple signage juxtaposes with the older, yet just as great, sign behind it.

The second sign sighting was at Moose & Sadie’s. This the best place in Minneapolis for coffee, pastries, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Trust me on this…they really don’t do anything wrong here, including the playful identity system.

Next stop was outside of Charles S. Anderson’s outpost in the North Loop of Minneapolis. It isn’t so much signage as it is his way of brightening up the neighborhood.

Last, but most certainly not least, was the esteemed Murray’s Steak House. I love how they haven’t changed a thing to the exterior of the place. I love the old lettering and the green tiles placed amongst it’s brick-lain neighbors.