The master food carver, Hugh McMahon, has a new batch of carved pumpkin designs this year. His gourd sculptures can be found yearly in Chelsea Market. New to the patch this year is Next Food Network Star's Season 2 winner, Guy Fieri.





The Barack Obama carved jack-o-lantern was sold right before we had the chance to take a photo.



If you want to take a stab at pumpkin art, McMahon offers carving tips in an article "Pumpkin Carving 101."

We've been admirers of Gunter Rambow's 2-color posters, but we previously missed the book posters he designed in the 1970s for Frankfurt-based publishing house, S. Fischer Verlag.  

If you live in New York and haven't made a visit to Chelsea Market or The Highline yet, now is the perfect time. Yee-Haw Industries currently has an exhibition gracing the walls and pipes of Chelsea Market. What was once once the Nabisco factory has since been transformed into the modern Chelsea Market. It is a harmonious juxtaposition to see the  old-fashioned Yee-Haw wood cut prints integrated so well within this industrial space, rich with its own history. The exhibition which opened October 4th, will be on view through January 2nd, 2009. 

We picked up Dave Eggers' The Wild Things, which is "based very loosely on the storybook by Maurice Sendak and the screenplay co-written with Spike Jonze." The new book published by McSweeney's came in shrinkwrap. Rachel Sumpter illustrated the cover for the cloth-bound hardcover edition, and the special Fur-covered edition is designed and illustrated by D.E. (we're expecting that one in the mail shortly since we just signed up for the McSweeney's Book Release Club).

The book Blickfang: Bucheinbände und Schutzumschläge Berliner Verlage 1919 - 1933 is out-of-print, but the blog A Journey Round My Skull shares some highlights in the post Blickfang: The Eye-Catching Covers of Weimar Berlin



credit info for images above

top image: c.1925, book cover designed and illustrated by Anna Lesznai
bottom image: c. 1930, poster designed by Alex Keil

This new animated Sanrio promo in honor of the 35th anniversary of Hello Kitty, shows the evolution of the character design through the years. (the video is a bit of cuteness and color overload)



It would've been nice to see the credit for the artist who initially created Hello Kitty, Yuko Shimizu, but we weren't expecting to see it.



In celebration of Hello Kitty's anniversary, Three Apples: An Exhibition Celebrating 35 Years of Hello Kitty will run from October 23rd through November 15th, 2009 at the Royal/T gallery space in Los Angeles.

Ana Soter designed the candidate city logo for Rio de Janeiro, the eventual winner to host the Summer Olympics in 2016.

"This exhibition will reveal the cutting-edge of Post Office poster design from 1930 to 1960. Drawing on work by some of the 20th century's leading artists and designers, it will explore how the Post Office communicated itself as a modern organization and advertised its expanding network of services." —The British Postal Museum and Archive



Designs on Delivery: GPO posters 1930-1960 runs from October 7th through November 9th, 2009 at the Well Gallery at the London College of Communication.

credit for top image: c. 1947, designed by Leonard Beaumont © The British Postal Museum & Archive

credit for second image: c. 1937, designed by E. McKnight Kauffer © The British Postal Museum & Archive

credit for last image: c. 1945, designed by Hans Schleger © The British Postal Museum & Archive

We would always recommend Good magazine based on their content alone. But it doesn't hurt that the magazine and website consistently provide a platform for showcasing the work of creative art directors, designers, photographers, animators, and illustrators. The new special GOOD 100 issue stands out on the rack, with photography by Will Etling, and model styling by guest art director Brian Rea. And the fun surprise is that the cover is just a tease for more hand-cut paper illustrations inside, and the models are representative of content found in the interior pages. The "first ever GOOD 100" includes a carefully curated list of "100 (or so ways to get inspired)," including "people, businesses, projects, organizations, and ideas that will be improving the planet and the lives of the people on it." Project M, The Yes Men, residents of Portland, Emily Pilloton, IDEO Social Impact, and Harlem Children's Zone are just a few from the selection. (click here for larger image of magazine cover design)

"We've filled the pages of the GOOD 100 issue with a beautiful collection of hand-cut (and glued and taped) construction-paper models.  It wouldn't have been possible without the tireless work of just about everyone at GOOD, as well as these guest paper cutters: Sheli Ben-Ner, Daryl Brook, Colleen Corcoran, Jessica De Jesus, Isis Kraus, Jamie Loos, Jacqui Oakley, Jonathan Park, Sonja Rasula, Keith Scharwath, Jared Schorr, Ana Serrano, and Alissa Walker. Thank you." —a note from GOOD included in opening spread of feature



Though GOOD's online presence overflows with reading material and visual eye candy, the content from the new issue is currently not online. Oh well, guess you'll need to support the printed magazine and purchase the issue. Below are just a few more paper-cut images found in the magazine:

Paris-based motion design studio Mathematic, has animated a minimalistic, but amazing music video for "Sing Sang Sung," a song of off Air's upcoming album Love 2. The video is directed by Mrzyk & Moriceau.