What does it take to launch a fashion line these days? During New York’s Fashion Week, Nolcha’s Beyond the Runway competition has emerged as a solid platform and a reputable outlet for launching top-tier designers from around the globe.

For over 55 years, the I.D. Annual Design Review has recognized the best in graphic, environmental, product, and furniture design. We are very proud that MSLK’s own Sheri L Koetting has taken her place among a jury of the field’s leading practitioners. Her voice and sensibility played a large role in the winners chosen this year in the graphics category. Viewing everything through a lens of sustainability, Sheri not only examined the purpose and aesthetics of each piece, she questioned its material usage and life expectancy.

You can see all of the winning pieces on view now until September 10^th at the AIGA National Design Center. Read more to view some of the winners and see what Sheri had to say about each of the pieces.

Best of Category – X Exhibition Space
“I appreciate the innovative use of light and type, as well as the way luminosity engages viewers throughout the project—from the exhibit’s interior to posters and lights mounted on outdoor fences.”

Design Distinction – Ballerina Who Loves B-Boyz
“I really love the die cuts that expose the walls and graffiti beneath. It’s a poster that engages with its environment”

Design Distinction – BOOKtiga 2009
“To me, the message and the medium are in perfect harmony. As designers, we’re so compelled to trash what we did last year and start over. Here they’re incorporating last year’s materials into this year’s campaign by literally painting over last year’s poster.”

Design Distinction – Dinamo
“Designers often want to use special effects, but for a company that focuses on harnessing solar energy, glow-in-the-dark ink acts as a communication tool rather than a gimmick.”

Design Distinction – Expansion in all Dimensions
“This tiny set of 5″ x 7″ booklets made me smile—the bright colors, the cover. I was expecting it to be a bunch of zines, so when it turned out to be a corporate report, I loved that juxtaposition.”

Design Distinction – Human Rights Watch 2009 Annual Report
“The handling of the information is incredibly compelling and drew me in. They’re successfully using  information graphic to advocate their cause.

Design Distinction – Ring Roads of the World
“They’ve taken something people might not even think about—urban sprawl—and turned it into a design that’s beautiful and meaningful. Each layer of color here represents the relative size and shape of the ring road around American cities.

Our website, www.mslk.com, is cited in the current issue of How Magazine in an article entitled, “The Marketing-Smart Website” written by Ilise Benun. The article gives examples of what to do — and what not to do — for designers setting out to redesign their site. Our site’s innovative and sorting features were given the following compliment:

“There are 90 examples of work in the portfolio section of MSLK.com, but it’s not overwhelming because visitors can sort by medium or industry category to find what they’re looking for. Mouse over any thumbnail and it automatically enlarges and identifies the image.”

We’re so pleased that we’re being recognized for this feature. After all, it was the main concept that our whole site was built around: giving the user a wide sampling of our work, and the ability to sort and refine.

That feature, combined with our site’s videos, continues to receive compliments from clients, potential clients, designers, and colleagues alike.

Today the posters are still as bright and adventurous as they once were (at least in my opinion). So, if you are a lover of travel, transportation and/or mid twentieth century nostalgia, it is a must see if you are in town. If you can’t, don’t worry, the library allows you to browse their entire poster collection online at Flickr! Read more to view some more of my favorites.

/Ryan Nussbaum

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE4lqYzS2m0

In today’s multi-media extravaganza, it’s hard to get anyone exited about one of the world’s oldest mediums, paper. However we at MSLK don’t think that paper has lost it’s place just yet, in fact, we believe that the true presence and importance of paper as a tactical impression you can touch, engage with and hold onto is even more important in this new world of virtual gratification.

Of course the costs and permanence of something paper based makes it even more of a commitment when putting ink to paper, but that type of thinking isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s a more eco-friendly behavior than the careless printing of years past.

We are encouraging our clients to think twice about printing and print either only essential elements, driving customers online for more info and/or printing wonderful keepsake items that can serve as long term brand advocates for the experience of your brand.

So what creates an experience in print? It’s a gut reaction you have the minute that piece touches your hands. From the feel of the paper, to the messaging you are greeted with, to the experience of unfolding and unfurling the contents. Like holding a child for the first time, it is a beautiful gift and fête accompli.

To get inspired on the wide possibilities and wonderful experience paper has to offer we suggest catching a glimpse at “Between the Folds,” a new documentary chronicling the stories of ten fine artists and theoretical scientists who have carved out for themselves unconventional lives as modern–day paper folders.

Their paths to paper folding converge on the ancient art of origami. The film follows them as they demonstrate both the science and the art of transforming a 2D medium into new and fascinating 3D art forms and experiences. They even ponder, what can the permutations for paper teach us about science at large?

I for one look forward to being inspired by the possibilities.

A new trend in advertising has hit the streets, though it’s tough to say whether it’ll catch. QR codes — a digital barcode common in Japan — are meant to be decoded by smartphones, so an advertiser’s special offers, promotions, or (in the case of Calvin Klein) their NC-17 commercials can be seen.

It’s an interesting technology whose sole purpose is to engage audiences in new ways. Rather than simply being part of the background noise of the urban landscape, you’re required to act.

Barcodes are nothing new, and there are still very innovative uses of them. In NYC, it seems that most people have smartphones, though I’m not sure if that is the same for the rest of the country.

Passing fad, or new reality of advertising? Below I’ve taken a look at some of the recent trends…

QR codes are indeed popping up everywhere: magazines, subways, postcards, and billboards. Usually they act as a value-added bonus to the ad, sort of a special offer at the end that looks like an afterthought. In theory, you see it, shoot it (scan it) and are given access to something you couldn’t see before.

However, the new Calvin Klein billboard on Houston street in NYC reverses this by placing the emphasis on the QR code itself with the headline “GET IT UNCENSORED.” Not exactly subtle, yet not exactly unexpected from that advertiser either— especially at that location, where CK has been holding court as the provocateur for decades. And the payoff for actually seeing the ad? You can see it here and judge for yourself.

The field for QR innovation appears to be wide open, given that the codes leave enough room for design that does not need to be decoded first.

Here’s a quick scan (pun intended) of what’s out there:

Artist Pedro Morales Creates Handmade Art for Interactivity
His “Puras Flores” is artwork made from fabric and floral forms to create large-scale QR codes.

Japanese Company Folli Follie Uses QR Codes as Window Art

Hair Salon Uses QR Codes in Storefront as Art and Promotion for Discounts
DC’s Axis Salon has their codes link to YouTube videos of beauty icons, along with coupons for discount services.

Louis Vuitton and Artist Takashi Murakami Partner for Custom QR Code
Created by Japanese ad firm SET, the project is mostly just to promote other work the two companies have done together, and it’s the first time that the artist’s work has been interactive.

McDonald’s Uses QR Codes to Tag Food With  Nutrition Information
Again, only in Japan… for right now.

These are just some of the innovative ideas that can be done with this new technology. Need some fresh innovative ideas of what can be done for your brand? MSLK has a whole bunch of great ones we’d love to try out!

Brooklyn seems to tbe the epicenter of New York City’s most forward-thinking green initiatives. Whether it’s urban farms, green roofs, farm-to-plate initiatives, or green buildings themselves — it’s got it all.

MSLK is proud to be partnering with Brooklyn Ecopolis, a non-profit 501(c)3, community-based education and resource center aimed at promoting access to sustainable products, services, and innovations for healthy living.

Located on Smith Street, Brooklyn’s newly crowned “restaurant row,” Brooklyn Ecopolis  was founded in 2009 to provide easy access to education and information on products and resources for energy efficient and sustainable living. The building incorporates eco-friendly materials, energy efficient systems, and solar technologies.

It’s really quite impressive — there’s a local café below with a free, community-accessible space for people to learn and explore practical information on how to incorporate cost-effective, energy efficient, affordable products and solutions into everyday living. The food and beverage sold at the café comes from local sources.

We are currently in the process of installing Take-Less in the café area. Our project’s message of reducing the amount of plastic waste fits in perfectly with Ecopolis’s ideals as well, since the Café uses biodegradable and recycled paper supplies and focuses on recycling and composting as a strong aspect of waste management for local sustainability. We especially liked their plastics, which are made from sustainable vegetable sources, rather than petroleum.

We’ll keep you posted with updates as to the installation for an opening date. Until then, please go and visit!

These days many people are visiting websites from their mobile devices. As we become as completely untethered and free to roam the internet at will, customers are checking emails and Googling key phrases as soon as the mood strikes.

Is your website ready for their call?

Apple’s iPhone captures the largest percentage of mobile users, and with the launch of the latest iPhone and iPad, we can only expect those numbers to increase. What does that mean for you? It means that any Flash technology on your website won’t be visible on a mobile device. To read my previous thoughts on why Apple isn’t playing friendly with Flash you can read this article here.

MSLK has been feeling the effects of new challenge for a few years now, and as a result we’ve come to limit our use of Flash on websites. However, when it comes to movement, effects, and a seamless control of the design experience nothing compares to Flash.

It’s ironic that Steve Jobs calls the iPhone the “ultimate web viewing experience yet it cannot handle many of the best online experiences created to date.

There’s new technologies on the rise like HTML5 and JQuery which promise to take some of Flash’s… well, flash, and bring it to the mobile realm. Another option is to develop a mobile-friendly version with content and design specifically tailored to the platform. That’s exactly what we did by developing an alternate site which has the ability to detect which browser you’re on (Safari, Chrome, etc) and it automatically redirects to the mobile.mslk.com address.

This mobile site is not a mere translation of our main site. Rather, it’s optimized for touch screens by having large buttons for easy navigation, and simplified content.

Instead of getting mad, we got even better. Have a look on an Apple — or any — mobile device!

NY1, our favorite TV news source, ran a short feature on MSLK’s latest eco-art installation Take-Less, along with the Figment festival as something to check out this weekend.

Featured in the clip is are shots from our assembly, featuring Sheri Koetting, Ryan Nussbaum, Christel Fearon, and Daniela Morell. All shot by unofficial MSLK documentarian John Meehan.

Check it out!

A great video has been put together about the event we were part of earlier this month.

Please “click” here to see!