Friday Finds 03.02.12

Aaron: SPIN

So OK, SPIN isn't exactly new, and I can't claim to have found it, but the new and rather clean design of spin.com (by Area 17) also means that the redesign of SPIN Magazine is on newsstands now. And that means that two of Dwell's most illustrious alums—senior designer Geoff Halber and former Creative Director Kyle Blue—can take the credit. Their young graphic design firm Everything Type Company landed the SPIN redesign last year and the pair has been hustling ever since. So feast your eyes on the clean lines, hot type, and that sweet matte paper. Excellent, excellent, excellent work, guys!

Jaime: Cabin Porn

If you, like me, foster a fantasy of building a little place in the woods (or on a river, or by the beach...), what you want is Free Cabin Porn. This encompassing blog proffers photos of all manner of cabins, yurts, lean-tos, bungalows, earthen huts, and lookouts for your inspiration and delectation. But be forewarned: once you start looking, it's hard to stop.

Leah: Yumalum Prints

Searching through Etsy can always be a costly adventure to the pocketbook. And today, I want to buy all four of these prints! But wait. There is more than this! Have a gander.

Kelsey: R Mag

Tumblr is much like Etsy: lots of good pickings out there, as long as you've got time to separate the wheat from the chaff. A recent Tumblr rabbithole expedition yielded this find: the heavy-on-visuals R Mag. It's more than a Pinterest-type internet corkboard though; it's a weekly online magazine that also spreads its thematic content via Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Diaspora, Flickr, YouTube, and Vimeo—and not, curiously, the P-word. This week's installment presents graphic design by Didier Lerebours, design by Inga Sempe, and contemporary installation work by Stephane Thidet. At any rate, it's smartly curated visual overload that's just the thing for a ten-minute spaceout towards the end of a work week. Ahem.

Diana: Should You Send that Email?

Don't get me wrong—I love hearing from people, getting to see the newest designs, and hearing the scoop on the latest stories. But are all those emails piling up in my inbox necessary? Methinks not. Fast Co. Design ran this flowchart a few days ago that should be mandatory reading for everyone who can hit "send."

Julia: Switcheroo

I came across this clever photo series "Switcheroo" by Vancouver based photographer Hana Pesut. I am impressed with how the poses, outfit changes, and composition stay so true to the first image. Take a look and contact Hana if you want to do your own Switcheroo!

Sonia: Artworks that Look like Interiors that Look like Artworks

Designer Lauren Stern has compiled an inspiring collection of two of my favorite things: artworks and interiors! Experiential artworks are brought into multi-dimensionality through modern and vintage interior finds that focus on mimicking the elemental design and structure of the artworks: contours, colors, textures, shapes and lines.

Megan: Coffee Joulies

Coffee Joulies from Coffee Joulies on Vimeo.

Every morning I pour a piping hot cup of coffee and take it back to my desk with the intention of leaving it for about two or three minutes to cool off so that I don't burn my tongue. Once you burn your tongue, nothing goes right the rest of the day (and everything else you eat or drink tastes funny). Inevitably I get busy and distracted and leave it too long so that by the time I take a sip it's lukewarm and disappointing. Solution? Coffee Joulies! These things are little shiny miracles. They absorb heat so that your coffee is cooler and ready to drink instantly and then slowly release the heat back out to keep the temperature regulated much longer. Brilliant! Better still: Coffee Joulies are a successful Kickstarter project and made in the USA.

Tammy: StickyGram

In search of a quick and easy yet mailable gift for friends without pulling out any of my DIY skills or shelling out a lot of money, I came across Sticky9. Started by Kejia Zhu and Mint Digital, Sticky9 is a personalized printing service that takes your Instagram photos and transforms them into square magnets. Having just ordered a pack of nine, the process was both quick and easy as well as a little walk down memory lane.