Sites for Sore Eyes

Part of Linefeed’s remit is to try and present stuff you may not have seen elsewhere, stuff on the fringe, stuff that may not get loads of attention but are interesting none-the-less and stuff that hasn’t been ‘re-blogged’ a gabillion times already. In short, original content. Part of this involves reading a lotta lotta stuff off of loads other sites. Currently, there are 140 blogs in our Google Reader and that doesn’t count links from fellow Reader users or links sent via twitter etc etc. That’s enough bragging about the size of our Reader count though. We wanted to take a moment to highlight a few sites that are Linefeed faves and deserve a bit more attention. Dont Read This, Read This…

The Internetwork
[theinternetwork.com.au]
Australia may be home to the incredible shrinking interweb but there is a bit of a groundswell as far as people wanting to write and read about creative culture online at the mo. Enter the new blog from Right Angle [rightanglestudio.com.au], including posts from top and very current creative talent such as Jeremy Wortsman [jackywinter.com], Jonathan Zawada [zawada.com.au] and Perks & Mini [perksandmini.com].
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Australian Infront
[australianinfront.com.au]
Australia Infront has been around for an age and stood as the true bastion of Australian Graphic Design online for, pretty much, all of that time. The forums have always been pretty lively though the site languished n redesign hell for quite a few years until recently cause…. it’s back! And featuring a whole new crew of enthusiastic creatives including Jim Antonopoulos [tankstudio.com.au], Rebecca Wolkenstein [rebeccawolkenstein.com], Adam Gibson [southsouthwest.com.au] fellow podcaster Aaron Moodie [peoplecollective.com.au] and your humble author. Go join the conversation.
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Re-Collection
[recollection.com.au]
Last Aussie Design site for now. Re-Collection is an heroic attempt to reconnect the dots from Australia’s shady graphic past with the present day. Having attempted to unearth a few graphic treasures from Australia’s seemingly disposable recent history ourselves, we know what a task this is so much respect to Dominic Hofstede [hofstede.com.au] for taking on the challenge.
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Johnson Banks’
Thought for the Week
[johnsonbanks.co.uk/thoughtfortheweek]
Much more than just a thought for the week is the blogsite for the London-based design and branding practise of Michael Johnson and co. Responsible for some of the most widely recognised identities and campaigns in the U.K., their blog offers an insight into their day to day practise and a whole lot more.
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Things magazine
[thingsmagazine.net]
Things is always chock full of… er.. things. And all manner of things from the little known fact that Australians have the largest homes in the world to a short history of amateur amusement parks to fighting in zero gravity and far far beyond. The site even includes a Pelican books archive. Exhaustive barely touches it.
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idsgn
[idsgn.org]
Some sites don’t offer anything overly unusual or unique but manage to hit the nail on the head as far as the way they write and present the info there. idsgn is such a site. An instinctual gift for sniffing out design news and trends makes this site a must read for anyone with even a passing interest in visual culture.
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Grafik Cache
[grafikcache.com]
A similar thing could be said about Grafik Cache. In fact, they’ve made it even easier for themselves by not including any text at all, yet still manage to surprise and inspire with the selection of graphic work they scour the interwebs for on a regular basis. So many times, I’ve seen work on there and thought, ‘Oh, yeah, I forgot about them. They’re doing really nice work!’.
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Hi+Low
[hi-and-low.typepad.com]
Hi+Low shows how curation makes all the difference when it comes to blogsites you want to hang out at. Graphic design and product design, from distinctly different eras, intermingle in a way that makes for a cohesive archive of ace stuff.
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Site Inspire
[siteinspire.net]
Site Inspire should be the visual bible for web designers everywhere. Curator Daniel Howells’ [kulor.net] taste in online design is pitch perfect. If the only sites on the interwebs were the one’s featured on Site Inspire, the world would be a much more aesthetically pleasing place. The site goes beyond merely showcasing other people’s work too by offering loads of handy tools for designers to bookmark and categorise the vast bank of references on the site.
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Friends of Type
[friendsoftype.com]
The typographic sketchbook blog is not a new idea, but again it’s all in the execution. In this case Aaron Carambula [objectivesubject.com], Erik Marinovich [thebiganimals.com/erik], Jason Wong [enormouschampion.com] and Dennis Payongayong have developed an energetic and inventive playground for their typographic experiments and sketches and update on a regular basis.
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10 magazine
[10magazine.com/blog]
Fashion magazines – there’s not many you’d buy for the writing, are there? 10 is an exception though and their blog carries with it their special blend of affection and irreverence that is their unique selling point.
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Dear Me, Scott King
[dearme.spex.de]
Ex Art Director for i-D and Sleazenation, Scott King [scottking.co.uk] has been writing a blog for German music and youth culture, Spex [spex.de] for a few months now. Many of Mr King’s personal projects beat design and politics together to create new forms, and you get a taste of the thinking behind much a what he does from here. It’s worth noting that it’s often quite funny too. Sample quote: “Mum! is this what will happen if I carry on smoking?” “Yes son, you’ll grow a gigantic moustache and everyone will think you’re a hermaphrodite from 1973.”

Vvork [vvork.com]
MagCulture [magculture.com/blog]
Brand New [underconsideration.com/brandnew]
Manystuff [manystuff.org]
It’s Nice That [itsnicethat.com]