The Desktop Wallpaper Project featuring Tim Lahan

Back in July I posted about Tim Lahan, a New York based artist/designer who has this beautiful, colorful style that looks like it’s been created with a box of digital markers. When I look at his work it just feels really positive and beautiful, I mean, how can you not enjoy it? He can even make a bunch of bags of garbage look beautiful. He also just updated his portfolio site which looks great, I love the the simple grid and the random feeling of it.

So I was really excited when he told me he’d do a desktop wallpaper, and I think he’s done an awesome job. It’s so simple but it’s so clever! There’s a dude chilling in your computer! I’m going to say (though I don’t know for sure) that the guy is actually Tim, and now he lives inside your computer. I’ve had this on my computer since the weekend and I love it, it’s simple and it makes people laugh. I should also point out that the iPad and iPhone versions are custom and different from the wallpapers, so be sure to check them out as well. Thanks for the rad wallpapers Tim!

Bobby

The Desktop Wallpaper Project featuring Kyle Poff

Last November I shared some emails with Kyle Poff after I wrote a bit about his work. He’s a brilliant designer who does such amazing work in branding, packaging, and logos, but did you know he’s also an accomplished illustrator? As you can see from the wallpaper above he’s picked an awesome subject and given it a rad looking treatment. Sure, it’s a simple design, but it’s great for those of you who hate busy designs. Be sure to check out more of Kyle’s work over on Flickr as well, he’s got some really cool looking experiments going on.

Bobby

Sights & Sounds: Animal Collective / ‘Merriweather Post Pavillion’ by Anthony Mattox

After 7 albums and lots of amazing artwork we’ve finally reached the end of our Animal Collective Sights & Sounds series. We’re finishing things up with their last album Merriweather Post Pavillion which came out back in 2009. Unbeknownst to me, the album was made without Deacon, who normally plays guitar on the tracks. So they made an entire album without guitars, relying only on samplers to fill the void. It’s weird that I never noticed that the guitars were missing at all, but I guess that shows just how talented these guys are.

To handle the artistic duties on this wallpaper is Anthony Mattox, a digital artist and interaction designer from Baltimore. I love Anthony’s work because it’s pushing that weird boundary between art and technology, where the abstract data becomes beautiful looking designs. Here’s what he had so say about his wallpapers.

Merriweather Post Pavilion has the most frenetic and persistent energy throughout all of their albums. Animal Collective mashes together so many strange little sounds to create a droning, rhythmic, and optimistic sound. Inspired by this, I wanted to create an image with the same explosive energy and complexity.
I made a script using Processing which generates images by repetitively branching circles. As it grows, the branching algorithm itself evolves to create a variety of different patterns and textures and forms a complex knot of twisting tendrils and clustered circles.

A big thanks to Anthony for the beautiful wallpaper and the biggest thanks goes out to Andy Mangold. Andy did such a great job of choosing an eclectic, talented bunch of artists and I appreciate all of his work. Check back next week as we get back into a more regular groove of things with more wallpapers from amazing designers and artists.

Bobby

Sights & Sounds: Animal Collective / ‘Strawberry Jam’ by Jen Mussari

Creating desktop wallpapers around an artists catalog of music might not interest everyone, but for me it’s partly like cultural anthropology. Every time a new wallpaper comes out I do my bit of research on the album, learning more about a collection of songs than I ever had before. For example, this week’s Animal Collective influenced wallpaper is based on Strawberry Jam, which in fact was inspired by the desert. The band recorded the album in Tucson, Arizona because they liked the idea of recording in the desert, something they had never done before.

I also thought it was interesting how the name of the album came about, a chance encounter with a travel sized pack of strawberry jam.

The name Strawberry Jam came from singer and drummer Panda Bear as he and the band were on a plane headed to Greece for a show. Upon receiving his complimentary tray of food, he opened up the packet of strawberry jam that had been provided for the bread. As he removed the cover of the packet, he was drawn to the look of the glistening jam, and he expressed his desire for the production of their new album to sound like the jam looked, “that is to say, something that’s really synthetic and sharp and futuristic looking,” but also “tangy and sweet, almost in a kind of aggressive way in terms of the way it tastes”.

Handling the job of interpreting the album is a lady named Jen Mussari, an illustrator with an amazing eye for color and composition. I remember when I first saw Jen’s wallpaper and I started laughing out loud because it’s such a random image, but that’s exactly why I think it’s so great. The colors are great as well, and I love the handmade feeling of the piece. As it turns out, the image is based on kind of a sad premise from the last track, which I’ve posted above for you to listen to.

“This is a narrative image based on the last song from Strawberry Jam, Derek. Up until this point the album wavers back and forth between carnal, physical ideas (like eating, cooking, etc.) and super-trippy transcendental ideas that Animal Collective is known for. Derek is a regretful memory about a family dog that passed away from neglect. The boys who own him witness a moment when Derek speaks English, and then passes away in the night.”

I owe a big thanks to Jen for making such a rad wallpaper and for all the support she’s given throughout the project. And again, a big thanks to the curator of this series Andy Mangold for picking such a talented group of individuals. Check back next Wednesday for our last wallpaper of the series, Merriweather Post Pavillion.

Bobby

Sights & Sounds: Animal Collective / ‘Feels’ by Christopher Muccioli

It’s Wednesday and we’re continuing our visual journey into the albums of Baltimore based band Animal Collective, today’s album being Feels. At this point in Animal Collective’s career, they were putting out an album a year, which is a feat for any band. Feels feels to me like what an Animal Collective album is supposed to be, it has all of those necessary ingredients like frantic drum beats, complex vocal layering and and a piano that’s become naturally out of tune. It’s one of my favorites because of it’s diverse range of songs, which honestly go all over the place. My favorite song off of the album is Banshee Beat because it shows that range really nicely. It starts out quietly, with a strumming guitar and a faint piano, until the drums start to slow filter in and the song bursts.

Handling the artwork for the album is Christopher Muccioli, a Baltimore designer/illustrator who’s work I totally admire. His site is a joy to explore, he plays with some really interesting ways of presenting his work. The work itself is annoyingly good, with lots of love in the area of screen printing, both t-shirts and posters. I feel like his love of screen printing is blended into the vibe of his wallpaper as well, with this big smears of paint dripping down over the cymbal and drum, which play such a pivotal role in this album. Here’s what Chris had to say about his wallpaper.

Listening to the album “Feels” I focused in on the various sound characteristics that come out through the dynamics of the album. Some of the most energetic parts of the album happen through the use of a cadencing floor tom which has influenced a number of bands and musicians around today and being a drummer myself I felt it appropriate to focus on. The splashy crash on tracks like Did You See The Words? and The Purple Bottle add a lot of color and dynamics that really drive the songs and pull you in.

I think the simplicity of this wallpaper is a big plus, I know how a lot of you readers are! A huge thanks to Chris for participating and yet again, another huge thanks to Andy Mangold for being an awesome curator. Check back next Wednesday when we tackle Strawberry Jam, the wallpaper is fantastic, I promise you’ll love it.

Bobby