Want to see a sexy, JS and CSS powered clock? Crank up Chrome, Safari or Firefox 3.5+ and point your browser here.

As mentioned, the clocks are using only JS and CSS rotation to accomplish the animation. No Flash or HTML 5 canvas tags. The way it works is kind of clever, actually… the JS takes images in an { overflow: hidden } <div> and rotates them using the proposed CSS transform property.

The author, Jon Combe, has published some other clever goodies including a function that draws world maps on the fly using HTML 5’s canvas. Pay him a visit, click around and enjoy.

As the 2010 Winter Olympics draw to a close, I can’t help but reminisce about all the lovely, Olympic inspired designs I’ve stumbled across recently. Among my favorites are those in this collection of designs that whimsically parallel the spirit of the games in the form of print assets, television spots and throwback posters.

While poking around designerfix.com, I also found this list of wonderful Google Olympic logos from past to present. The latest are definitely the greatest.

And even though the logo for the 2012 games looks like something the 80’s threw up (sorry London, it’s hideous), I’m still looking forward to seeing what other goodness designers piece together to celebrate the world of Olympic sports.

In giving some guidance to a neighbor on his Stapleton Helpdesk logo, I eagerly recommended Marina for the type face. It’s in the Serif family of fonts (just barely) with tiny points protruding from the edges of each character giving it a subtle elegance that screams “We’re legit. We’re trustworthy. We’re good at what we do.”

One of the things I pay very close attention to (and enjoy the most) when putting together logotype designs is pairing the organization’s personality and brand message with the right font. Some of the stronger dyads that come to mind are Google’s (Catull), Apple’s (Garamond Light Condensed), Twitter’s (Pico Alphabet), and Yahoo!’s every so memorable and brilliant custom font.

Here’s some more “fresh and extremely useful” fonts to help inspire your next logo design endeavor.

More than anything, this drive shaft powered bicycle is a work of art. The sharp angles, solid white, matte finish and hub-less wheels exude industrial design hotness.

And as practical (and beautiful) as the bike may seem, I don’t think drive shaft technology will ever replace the tried and true chain configuration that has carried bicycling through the last 130 years. Besides, where do you expect BMXers to attach pegs for gnarly rail grinds?

Check out more photos from Falling Pixel here.

I just came across this collection of fantastically clever advertisements from around the globe. Take note that most of them are aimed at foreign demographics, likely due to the fact that too many of us in the States might be offended by some of the visuals. It’s sad, really, to think that such a progressive nation as the good ‘ol U.S.A. is still so sheltered from edgy concept art and marketing metaphors.

Or is it something else? It irks me to think we’ve become a culture that’s just not clever enough to “get” these ads and barely have the wit to react to dumbed-down, kid-friendly versions. *sigh*

Nonetheless, hope you enjoy.

One of the best books I read in 2009 was Miggy’s copy (presumably from his MIT days) of Edward R. Tufte’s Envisioning Information. The book is a plethora of infographics — both gorgeous and terrible — spanning the history of modern man. In as little as the 2 months I’ve spent with this treasure, I learned many of the principles that have helped me understand what makes a great representation of data shine and how to avoid the pitfalls of those that leave users confused or misinformed.

So today, when Awesome Jon told me about this one day course with Edward Tufte, I couldn’t help but start planning my trip to the Big Apple for a day of cartography, statistics, art, complexity, symbolism and cognitive science explained by a master Information Designer.

New York, here I come.

This little piece of awesomeness by Ramon Cortez has been shooting up the CSS charts since he published it earlier this week and it has inspired me to get my preech on.

Passion projects such as this (and the paper bird that proceeded it) is what drives front end designers and developers to invent new forms of web interaction. Many of us with day jobs and families don’t often find the time to experiment with CSS or other DOM scripting but I believe it’s uber important that we strive to make that time. Google’s “20-percent time” for their engineers has proven effective — leading the way for big ideas like Orkut and AdSense to come to life — but why are we so reliant on our companies to set up these types of policies? It’s easier, by far, to make this a lifestyle change on our end while at home.

So, I’ve officially committed my Saturday mornings to doing just that. 2 hours of uninterrupted time on whatever shiny new project UI/UX and design related ideas that come to mind. This Saturday: jQuery to make Ramon Cortez’s CSS Coke can 1) zoom into view,  2) auto-scroll and 3) consider similar applications. Next week: Cinema 4D text experiments. Proper.

Here’s another goodie from Ramon Cortez: Pac-Man CSS!. It’s not 100% in terms of the original game play, but it further illustrates the potential of tapping JS to turn CSS powered designs into engaging pieces of multimedia gold.

Miggy recently introduced Jennifer and I to the delightfully elegant Pho on 6th (just west of Marion). Since last Friday, we’ve eaten there three times and on all occasions were treated to mouth watering beef broth (no veggie broth option here) with perfectly cooked noodles and an array of quality meat selections. The grilled chicken is a piquant change from the boiled chicken options at most Pho sit downs and the dim sum offerings are stellar — with the steamed pork bun cooked to salty, chewy perfection.

The weekend offers patrons a hip hangout for drinks and snacks before hitting the town and I couldn’t have been more impressed with the modern, dim lighted decor. Simple, elegant and comfortable.

On the downside, the wait staff seems to be a little laggy in checking up on larger parties and the curry dishes are not their strong suit. Stick to the Pho, don’t be shy about flagging down the friendly waitstaff and enjoy.

Pho 79 on Havana and Mississippi has been my go-to joint for the past 4 years or so but, as you might have guessed, Pho on 6th is new fav. I literally can’t wait to go back there.

One thing I love more than a good beer is a well designed beer website. Yeah, I said it — a website can be better than a beer.

Case in point: Jennings Brewery’s website out of the UK. Slick, transparent PNGs over a massive JPG depicting a refreshing, picturesque mountain setting. Makes me thirsty just looking at it.

Here’s some more CSS powered beer goodness:
beerenberg.com.au (Austrailia)
flyingdogales.com (Denver, USA)
johnboston.com.au (Australia)
odellbrewing.com (Ft. Collins, USA)

It’s safe to assume that Aussies and Coloradans have a large concentration of beer loving front end designers. Cheers to them.

I often find inspiration in the sometimes minimalist, sometimes colorfully-bubbly and always cutting edge style found in UI designs from our Asian counterparts. In fact, some of my favorite work comes from the Eico Design firm out of Beijing which consistently impresses me with their inviting, intuitive and downright slick user interfaces.

Click here for even more beautiful examples from the Pacific rim via Woorkup.com. Domo origato, dudes.