Awesome 1970s-Style Illustrations Of Batman And His Villains

Comic book artist Francesco Francavilla, whom we previously featured here, has a new illustration series titled ‘Batman 1972’ that imagines the Dark Knight and other characters in a 1970s style.



Francavilla has given Batman and villains like the Joker and Riddler 70s-style makeovers, decking them out in leather coats and turtlenecks, and in Batman’s case, a cool BatMobile.



Check out his groovy illustrations below.









































[via Laughing Squid and Super Punch, images via Francavillarts]

A Stylish, Multi-Functional Desk That Can Be Transformed Into A Bed

If you happen to live in a small apartment, consider this multi-functional work desk by Berlin-based designer Mira Schröder that can be converted into a bed.



Solving the common problem of having “too little space”, it cleverly combines the functions of work and sleep.



Clean and stylish, the desk-bed also comes with additional storages, with shelves and drawers on its side.



























[via My Modern Met]

In New York City, Antique-Style Electric Cars May Replace Horse-Drawn Carriages

How these electric cars may look like, designed by Jason Wenig of The Creative Workshop.



The New York Mayor Bill de Blasio would like to replace the city’s horse-drawn carriages with antique-looking electric cars, claiming that the inhumane treatment of these animals is inappropriate for the new year.



This move has gained support as well, with 4,500 people signing a petition to promote this cause.



Although De Blasio calls this move “a cleaner, safer, wiser, more humane alternative” for tourists, others, like carriage driver Steven Malone disagree, stating that these horses have “exceedingly great lives” with six months of vacation time.



However, the mayor is determined to rid the city of these horse-drawn carriages, and is working with carriage drivers to set them up with new vehicles.



What do you think—are these carriages a reflection of New York’s identity or should we move forward with the electric cars?



[via The Verge, image via NY Daily News]

Funny Portraits Of Super Strong Babies Raise Awareness Of Healthy Pregnancies

Illinois-based photographer Eric Sahrmann shot a series of funny baby portraits based on Art Director Mike Scalise’s idea of using super strong babies to raise awareness of having a healthy pregnancy.



Developed for the Milwaukee Health Department, the ‘Strong Babies’ ads featured babies in a variety of athletic poses; one posed like the Hulk, another executed a karate chop, while a third performed push ups.



He described the experience, “Some of the positions were easy to capture, but others became quite a problem. We knew that we would have to get a baby to open his mouth to look like he was screaming for the karate chop photo. We could not get anything to look good. Digitally manipulating the mouth to look like it was screaming just did not look right. Then, right when we were out of ideas and about to give up, one of the babies let out this huge yawn that I was able to quickly shoot. It ended up working perfectly for the karate baby. We were also having a hard time getting the furrowed brow for the hulk baby. One of the babies started to break down fussing and that gave us the perfect eye brows and forehead for the hulk baby. Each finished piece consisted of about 15 separate photographs composited together.”



The campaign involved a number of people, including the producer, stylist, ‘baby-wrangler’, digital artist, and the parents of the babies. The ads were well-received and ran on billboards and outdoor displays throughout the Upper Midwest, and even picked up a CLIO award.



Adorable and cheeky at the same time, they get the message across in a fun and humorous way, no doubt helped by the cute babies.













[via My Modern Met, images via Eric Sahrmann]

A Dog-To-English Translator Would Soon Become A Reality

[Click here to view the video in this article]







The Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery has come up with a dog-to-English translator that will enable us to understand our pooches a little bit better.



Named “No More Woof”, this detachable headset translates the sounds your dog makes and processes it through a Raspberry Pi microcomputer.



So far, the makers have managed to map out the thought patterns for “I’m tired”, “I’m excited” and “Who are you?”, with plans for French, Mandarin and Spanish versions in the future.



For this project, the team took to Indiegogo and raised a total of US$15,000, surpassing their initial target of US$10,000. The invention is slated for release in April 2014.



Although it looks like we will be able to understand our dogs better, the creators stress that this invention is “rudimentary” and a “work in progress”.



What do you think—would this really help us communicate better with our canine friends?





A video that demonstrates how the translator works



[via Metro.co.uk]

Spray Cans Marked With The Iconic Logos and Colors Of Famous Brands

Art director and designer Antonio Brasko, known for his work at Nike, has created an intriguing project where he imagined what would happen if some of the world’s most well-known brands were to produce spray cans.



The series is an attempt to bring luxury and streetwear together with street art. The idea has been manifested in these spray cans that have been branded with the easily recognizable logos and colors of some of the most successful companies in the fashion retail industry.



While many of the brands represented in the collection are high fashion brands, such as Chanel, Gucci and Hermes, Brasko has also created spray cans based on the branding of famous sportswear labels like Nike and Adidas.



Featuring the kind of typography and graphic design commonly found on the spray cans used to make street art, the “Spray Can Project” is a tasteful collision of two seemingly diverse worlds.



View more striking spray can designs from the project here.







































[via Trendland]

Infographic: The Best Internet Memes Of 2013

The folks over at Mashable have put together an infographic that takes a look back at some of the most popular internet memes of 2013.



From prancercising to hotdog legs, the infographic does a good job in pointing out the memes that dominated the internet last year.



Do these memes deserve to be on the list? Which was your favorite and most hated meme?



Click to view enlarged version



Click to view enlarged version



[via Mashable]