Design Swap

Twitter Backgrounds: Butterfly Invasion

TrentWalton — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:50:01 +0000

We could say we love the playful, laid-back direction that Phil & Jesse’s swap took, but we know better. While taking each other’s brands & creating new twitter backgrounds is super playful, there is some serious Photoshopping going on here. Jesse’s holding Phil’s logo mark for ransom in front of a speeding train, while Phil has the signature 31Three butterflies conducting a full-fledged invasion complete with Moonraker laser eyeballs. The photo realism, at first glance, seems so natural that it’s easy to overlook the details that went into each piece. When we dissected the PSDs, we were astonished at the amount of layering and detail that went into each element on the page. Simply cutting out images and placing them on a canvas doesn’t always yield realistic-looking results. The actual blending of each element (with its different lighting, shadows, etc.) is what makes the final images look as cohesive and polished as they do. Great job guys!

Be sure to check out the quick (yet epic) video Phil made for his swap. The fellas also wrote blog posts about their Swap. You can find Jesse’s here and Phil’s here.

A Day in the Life

TrentWalton — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:49:48 +0000

Dan & Brian threw caution to the wind not only by jumping on board for this newfangled DesignSwap experiment, but also by getting to know each other really well during the swap process. They chronicled their daily habits, from app usage to number of burps, and then designed infographics that break down the results. These fellas definitely played to their strengths. Dan has built a full-blown website with tons of well-used CSS, Javascript and Flash enhancing the experience, while Brian has meticulously crafted a gorgeous swap, chock-full of typographic and pixel pushed glory. We’re truly honored to have these gentlemen on board. You can read more about Dan and Brian’s experience on their blogs.

Inaugural Swap

TrentWalton — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:32:33 +0000

It’s been great seeing such positive feedback and enthusiasm around this little experiment of ours. It all started with a quick walk to Iron Cactus in Austin, Texas and a mutual respect for each other as designers. We look forward to seeing what future swaps bring, and as always… Viva la Swap!