Sebas van den Brink - grafisch ontwerp, vormgeving, video/animatie, illustratie

November’s ending.

One more week. One more week at Amsterdam. Then my dad (for the first time in my life) is picking me up with the car to take me back home to Groningen. I’m going home baby! I cannot express enough thanks to the guys at Crabsalad. I still have a way to go, but hell it’s been good! I’ve learned a lot and seen the way business can be done in a way I actually like. Just by being yourself! There’s a lot of training in store for me. Making sure I keep hold of a kind of buzz. Making bad news good news and setting the right conditions to be able to do the things you love. To make a long story short; having a good time no matter what.

One more week.

You know I decided that i’m sick and tired of being single. It’s taken long enough. I can’t fucking withold myself any longer. I’ve actively stayed away from flirtation and such so I could focus on work and school, but it’s been too long now. And i’m nearly done with school anyway! Maybe it’s the winter, maybe i’m just bored with myself. Where are you? I know you’re out there!

And starting in december i’ve got a zillion and one things to do! Write my internship report, rebrand my little company, start a couple of websites, start drawing the storyboard of a short animation film, buy a stand for my drumming practicepad, play with my roommate and a friend in a fucking band and generally kick ass!

Goddammit i’m so psyched! 2009 is going to fucking rock! Who wants to fall in love?

“Let’s Crash The Exchange And Save Money!”

Maybe i’m being paranoid, but something strikes me. I’m not normally someone who goes out looking for conspiracies or conspiracy theories, but it seems only too convenient if big businesses are going to cut budgets on “green” projects because of the credit crunch…

I think it’s a poor excuse. What use is money if the world suffers trillions in damages from the greenhouse effect? Of course the same executives would still sit on a sack of money. Even if the moon crashes into the earth they’ll still be rich. Why would they care? Really. They don’t have to.

Either that or i’m being paranoid.

The reason to live: Compost.

It’s so simple. It came to me yesterday night when I was trying to fall asleep. Like some eureka moment or “divine inspiration”. It’s the text to an imaginary speech. Not that I regulary speak infront of large crowds, I do enjoy giving presentations though. Maybe I have a little bit of a showman in me. Basically it’s how I would sum up why we should live peacefully and take care of each other. Yeah I know, I too get tired of hearing how we have to save the planet all the damn time - but we know Earth knows very well how to save herself.

Anyway, I reasoned about the reason why us hoo-mans are alive. And it is simple. Compost. Yep. Now don’t scurry away pointing at me telling your friends “He’s probably one of them hippies, he is,” because i’m not. Let’s just compare ourselves to that other living material; flora. When a plant dies it falls to the ground where it serves a new purpose. That of food for other living things, other plants mostly. Humans are the same. Not only do we leave chemicals behind when our bodies decompose, but we have something else. Something only our superior brains can leave behind.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pearl Jam vs. Ames Bros.

By far the most precious book in my collection is the Pearl Jam vs. Ames Brothers book. Yes, I am a big fan of PJ. But let’s just leave that at that. This book - for any poster-maniac - is nothing short of a bible. There are a lot of these posterbibles out there. Though this one is probably its Genesis or that part about doom and destruction and all that. I haven’t read the real Bible in years… Anyway, this beautifully bound book is stuffed with posters from Pearl Jam made by the notorious Ames Brothers in the past 13 years. They’ve also made posters for artists like Muse, The Black Keys, Radiohead and the Lollapalooza festival. What strikes me is the total variation in style between posters. From handdrawn to collage, from typographical to modern design.

Click on the image to see more photos.

What’s clear from the book is Pearl Jam’s political views, their refusal to stick to a ‘design’ and thereby their grunge roots. But other than that; this book is just a piece of art in itself. So full of examples and so beautifully bound it looks good in any bookcase. It even has a pageribbon. There are 2 editions, the regular 264 page edition and a special 308 page edition. I own the regular (green) one which cost me $50,- excluding shipping (US to Europe). But it was worth every penny - in fact I think it’s cheap for such a beautiful piece of print. Just look at these hawt pictures;

Talking about posters. For some reason i’m very much taken with the style of designer/musician Scott Hansen a.k.a. ISO50. Under his musical alias Tycho he also produces some sweet sounds, quite relaxing music. His graphical work really does breathe that 70’s, 80’s atmosphere. A bit worn, yellowish but very comfortable to look at and - it being 2008 - with a modern twist. He has a couple i’d love to hang om my still quite empty bedroom walls.