Matthijs van Leeuwen

matthijsvanleeuwen

Matthijs van Leeuwen is a Netherlands based designer with a solid and diverse portfolio.

I really love portfolios like this. You can quickly scan the entire body of work and when you make a selection, you’re presented with a high-res photo of the piece. Those two elements are the key to a great online portfolio.        

Photoshoptimize – Optimize Photoshop Performance

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Yesterday I was searching around for tips on how to improve the overall performance of Photoshop. I found a bunch of good ones, but there was no site that included them all, at least not in a clean, simple layout that’s easy to read. So I decided to quickly put together a page since I figured it might be useful to others. I call it Photoshoptimize. Clever huh?

All these tips have improved overall performance, especially with redrawing the image when zooming or panning. Some of these tips might not fit your workflow, but the more you do the better.        

RE—C Type Family

RE—C is a lovely new typeface by the talented Emil Olsson that is based on mix of french elegance and computer aesthetics. I personally love the “R”.

It’s available in 3 weights (Light, Regular, Bold) and only in upper-case characters. You can get the entire family for only $47 or individual weights for $19 each. A bargain if you ask me.

Download the type specimen        

Typographic Conundrums

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Conundrums is a striking new book, designed by Harry Pearce of Pentagram, that presents a collection of typographic puzzles constrained by three simple rules: one box, two colours, a single typeface. The typeface used is AG Old Face designed by Guenter Gerhard Lange in 1984 for the H. Berthold AG type foundry.

Beautiful. You can grab a copy for only $10 at Amazon.        

Dieter Rams

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Image courtesy of September Industry.

Seems like there’s a ton of stuff going on around Dieter Rams and his legendary work.

There’s the “Less and More – The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams” exhibit at the Design Museum in London.

To coincide with the event, a book with the same name will be released by Gestalten this month which features all of Rams’ products as well as selected sketches and models. They also have a video interview with Rams on their website.

The excellent design agency Bibliotheque has created two stunning posters dedicated to Rams’ legacy. The first, which is pictured here, is titled “Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles” and features his ten principles for good design. They were commissioned by Vitsœ to create the poster, which is currently available on their site.

The second lovely poster they designed is titled “Dieter Rams T1000” and features an illustration of the Braun T1000 shortwave receiver. It will be screen printed and should be available this week.

And finally we have the retrospective book “BRAUN – Fifty Years of Design and Innovation” that celebrates 50 years of the Braun brand. The book is slated to be released in 2010 but you can pre-order it now through Amazon.

Wheew! That was a lot! Enjoy.