Orangutan Studio Blog

New website for Capsticks

Neil K — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:33:20 +0000

At the start of this week we were delighted to launch a new website for Healthcare law firm Capsticks. Our brief was to redesign and build the site from the ground up to better reflect their business practice and to integrate their new brand identity created by our good friends at DC&Co.

We’re particularly pleased as this site is one of the first to run a full version of Orangutan’s bespoke ‘Nest’ Content Management System; something we’ll be talking about in more detail in the near future.

In the meantime check out the work here: http://www.capsticks.com

In your @font-face

Michelle B — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:16:06 +0000

I was directed to a very interesting blog post the other day about Web FontFonts. Up until now the only half decent way to get around the limitations of web safe fonts has been to use a javascript replacement solution such as sIFR or Cufón. Which is all well and good but they do have limitations. For example, the actual process of swapping the text takes time and means that javascript replacement should be kept to a minimum. Plus, don’t forget that many users browse the web with Javascript disabled and some users don’t even have Flash which of course means that the replacement doesn’t work at all. Not to mention the legal implications of font licensing. The list goes on…

Cue the new @font-face CSS3 rule. @font-face allows fonts to be automatically retrieved from a server when required. This means that we’re no longer limited to the fonts installed on a users machine.

“This fairly new addition to CSS allows fonts to be linked in web pages and downloaded by browsers so that anyone who visits the page can view the fonts declared by the page’s designer.”

Obviously @font-face requires actual fonts to work and this is where Web FontFonts come into play. Web FontFonts are specifically licensed for use in this way and are available from fontshop.com. So far this new method seems only limited by the current fontshop collection, at 30 families it’s hardly a library, but it’s a start, a long overdue one at that.

As far as implementation is concerned, I might be inclined to hang on for a while and wait until more fonts become available.

Want more exciting CSS stuff? Check this out!

Here be Ghosts…

Michelle B — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 06:00:54 +0000

How to be a Retronaut has to be my favourite blog at the moment. It has some excellent content that gets updated daily. I especially love the juxtaposed shots of old and new in The Ghosts of Amsterdam, The 80-year-old little girl… video with the “spectacular surprise” and 1940s London in stunning hi-res colour… which makes me a little sad that it’s less vibrant, but then there wouldn’t be any of the Ghost Signs that I enjoy spotting around south London.

6 sided loveliness

Michelle B — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:19:35 +0000

I’ve got a bit of a thing for squared paper and all things cube like at the moment, especially these CUBEN designs by Simon C Page:

Cuben Colour Shambles by Simon C Page

See more on the Behance Network.

Nice chromatics!

Michelle B — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:56:54 +0000

www.designfinds.me has a fantastic collection of advertising on their site. I could stare at it in awe for hours!

Nike ID

EVENTBRAND.net

CooCoo Kachoo

Engrave Your Book just got even better!

Michelle B — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:35:20 +0000

That’s right, Moleskine covers now in BLACK! Get one.

It’s not all about digital!

Michelle B — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:33:54 +0000

There’s so much talent on this site it was hard to decide which examples to post. Fighting the temptation to add them all here’s are a couple that really caught my eye:

Jen Stark:

Brian Dettmer:

Yulia Brodskaya:

Classic Design

Esther K — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 18:21:07 +0000

Here is a classic logo from Stefan Kanchev – here is his website . Loads of his logos are recognisable but I have never seen his stamps, posters and books before. The website is a retrospective as he died in 2001 at the ripe old age of 86.

Three cheers for Immo!

Neil K — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:04:59 +0000

Good friend of Orangutan, Immo, is off to Vietnam and Cambodia in February to take part in a somewhat epic 470km cycle in aid of the humanitarian landmine clearance charity MAG.

A great effort for a very worthy cause and worth sponsoring in it’s own right. However Mr Blaese has gone one step further and designed and printed created a bunch of posters, tshirts and postcards which in his own words are:

”A limited edition of original screenprints and other items I have carefully created for this event. If you decide to sponsor me for MAG landmine clearance I would like to give something back to you. 100% of all the money raised will go directly to MAG via JustGiving.”

So if you think you’d like to donate and maybe bag a rather nice print at the same time go here: http://www.vietnam2cambodia.com/

Bravo Immo, an outstanding effort!

Sometimes it’s better to say nothing

Neil K — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:05:03 +0000

Whilst in France recently we decided to take a cable car up a terribly high mountain as demoed below:

It was most exhilarating and somewhat reminiscent of a Bond movie, as we neared the top I was half expecting Jaws to come crashing through the roof of the gondola. Anyway despite being quite taken with the info graphics used I was somewhat alarmed by the signage shown below:

Firstly as if you need to say that; only a fool would do such a thing.

Secondly said fool probably wouldn’t have thought of such an amusing ruse until prompted by such clear visual communication.

Signage as ‘Red Rag to a Bull’ in my opinion.