Vintage Archives - Design Work Life

Little Mule Studio

Garth — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 16:00:49 +0000

Watch out: this Little Mule kicks. After sharing her talents and building her chops at Pentagram (Austin, TX) and Yee-Haw Industries (Knoxville, TN), Blair Richardson decided to set off on her own. After three years of freelance in Austin under the name Little Mule Studio, she relocated to Mexico City and maintained plenty of work stateside. Now […]

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Alliteration Inspiration: Aviation & Avocados

Garth — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 14:00:58 +0000

Alliteration Inspiration is a weekly column featuring the top twenty pieces of visual inspiration based on two random alliterative themes. This week’s thematic combo: aviation & avocados. Aviation The new year means new opportunities to dream and create, so it’s time to clear the runway for your next big thing. These ten pieces of aviation […]

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Color Happy 195

Courtney — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 16:00:12 +0000

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Historical NYC Maps

Courtney — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 15:00:15 +0000

Check out this great resource for vintage NYC transit maps. I pulled out a few favorites, but there are quite a few more, so take a look around. via Quipsologies

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Wynn Burton

Jason — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 19:00:40 +0000

For the month of August, a series of guest posters will be filling in on DWL with daily posts. Today’s posts come to you from designer Jason Johnson of Nomadic. For more from Jason, be sure to follow him on Dribbble. Enjoy! Wynn is one of those designers that can figure out how to do almost anything. He’s exceptionally versatile and […]

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Lock Love

Jason Sturgill — Fri, 09 Aug 2013 20:02:15 +0000

For the month of August, a series of guest posters will be filling in on DWL with daily posts. This week’s posts come to you from the talented folks of Studio 254: designer and illustrator Will Bryant, illustrator and educator Kate Bingaman-Burt, designer Clifton Burt, designer Tina Snow Le and artist, designer and educator Jason Sturgill. Enjoy! One of my favorite things here in Portland […]

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Chung Ling Soo Letterhead

Courtney — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:13:12 +0000

This vintage letterhead is amazingly over-the-top. What makes it even more incredible is that it was created for Chung Ling Soo, who was an American magician (Chung Ling Soo was a stage name) who is unfortunately best known for his tragic death in 1918, which was the result of a trick gone wrong. via Letterheady

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David Smith

Jason — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:00:26 +0000

For the month of August, a series of guests will be filling in on DWL with daily posts. Today’s posts come to you from Jason Johnson who fights the good fight as an Art Director/Designer at TunnelBravo. For more from Jason, check out his portfolio or shots on Dribbble. David Smith is a traditional ornamental glass artist who’s work is astounding. […]

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Oregano’s Menus

Jason — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 14:00:25 +0000

For the month of August, a series of guests will be filling in on DWL with daily posts. Today’s posts come to you from Jason Johnson who fights the good fight as an Art Director/Designer at TunnelBravo. For more from Jason, check out his portfolio or shots on Dribbble. Not long ago I ate at Oregano’s for the first time. Having […]

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Ram Trucks by Anderson Design Group

Allan — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:33:19 +0000

For the month of August, a series of guest posters will be filling in on DWL with daily posts. Today’s posts come to you from Allan Peters, who is a Senior Art Director at Target. For more from Allan, be sure to check out his blog and follow him on Twitter. Enjoy! Really nice work by Anderson Design Group (commissioned […]

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Vintage Animal Illustrations by Staffan Wirén

Courtney — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:59 +0000

I can’t get enough of these vintage animal illustrations by Swedish illustrator Staffan Wirén. Each alphabet illustration was found in the children’s book, “Ingen rädder för ABC inte heller för 1-2-3” (“No one is afraid of the ABC, nore of the 1-2-3”), a book produced and distributed from The Savings Bank. Found on Flickr via Present […]

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Color Happy 150

Courtney — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:00:32 +0000

This vintage record jacket was found at the always-awesome Project Thirty Three.

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Something’s Hiding in Here for BHLDN

Courtney — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:00:20 +0000

How amazing are these music boxes by Something’s Hiding in Here?!? Each one-of-a-kind piece was created from vintage wallpaper for BHLDN, but they’ll soon be available in their etsy shop as well.

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Color Happy 136

Courtney — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 12:00:10 +0000

I’m loving this chic summery image from one of my favorite Flickr streams, that of Sandi Vincent.

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Color Happy 132

Courtney — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 12:00:26 +0000

This sorbet-hued piece of vintage artwork was found in the eclectic photostream of Kathleen Amt.

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Vintage Matchbook Labels from the Prague Zoo

Courtney — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:00:14 +0000

These awesome labels, all from the Prague Zoo and printed in 1963, are another find from Oliver Tomas’s massive collection. See the rest of his Czechoslovak label collection on Flickr.

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Color Happy 119

Courtney — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 13:20:56 +0000

This amazing vintage matchbook label is from the vast collection of Oliver Tomas.

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Typography in Rome

Courtney — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:00:06 +0000

This incredible set of photographs by Paul Soulellis is making me want to hop on the next plane to Rome. What an amazing source of inspiration.

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50 — LA Times Magazine

Courtney — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 16:00:26 +0000

In the same vein as A Collection a Day, The LA Times Magazine’s 50 series pulls together a collection of objects on a given category, from snow domes to cigar bands. This particular collection of 50 vintage beer cans, was taken from the book Beer: A Genuine Collection of Cans.

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Color Happy 108

Courtney — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:00:34 +0000

How fun is this quirky vintage Christmas illustration?? Found right here in Heather David’s Flickr stream.

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Color Happy 96

Courtney — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:00:52 +0000

This vintage specimen is from series of pharmaceutical ads found in Sandi Vincent’s photostream.

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Color Happy 94

Courtney — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:00:43 +0000

Why oh why can’t luggage tags still look this cool? Photos one and two from Millie Motts’ flickr stream.

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The Biggert Collection

Courtney — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:30:05 +0000

If you have an interest in vintage ephemera, The Biggert Collection (a collection of architectural vignettes on commercial stationery) is a treasure trove of inspiration. Here are a few of the pieces that caught my eye, but there’s over 1500 individual specimens to examine and be inspired by.

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Color Happy 58

Courtney — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:08 +0000

This lively tourism poster for the city of Jerusalem is from the 1966/1967 Graphis Annual. Just one example of the vintagey goodness in Sandi Vincent’s flickr stream.

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Color Happy 54

Courtney — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:00:21 +0000

There’s amazing stuff to be found in the vast ephemera collection of Sheaff. This trade card rebus was found in the Extreme Typography section. via Quipsologies

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Inspired By: Vintage Labels and Tags

Courtney — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 12:00:15 +0000

A new project had me on a search for some typographic vintage tag and label inspiration. And for that, Flickr is a goldmine. Here are a few of the awesome finds I came across—just click on each image to get to the original source.

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Screenshots

Courtney — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:30:50 +0000

Lots of inspiration can be found in vintage movie stills, especially when it comes to typography. And this new site, organized by Christian Annyas, happens to be a great resource for films and trailers from 1920 til now. I love the look and simple navigation of the site, not to mention the depth of content. […]

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Cover Inspiration

Courtney — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:00:25 +0000

Gorgeous vintage patterned covers from Insel Verlag.

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Color Happy 42

Courtney — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:00:29 +0000

This ad, found here, was most likely designed by Erik Nitsche. According to it’s flickr page, the ad was included in Air News, a magazine he art directed during World War II.

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Golden Gems

Courtney — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:00:31 +0000

Not sure how I’ve failed to mention them before, but Golden Gems is an awesome blog that catalogs all the Little Golden Books we knew and loved as children, and many more obscure titles as well. The images below are from “Doctor Squash, the Doll Doctor.”

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Brimfield Report

Courtney — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:00:35 +0000

Last Friday I took a trip to the Brimfield show while I was in Massachusetts. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and a successful one as well, since I didn’t come home empty-handed. I only wish I had more time to spend. The show is so huge that I was really only able […]

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Checks Never Looked So Good

Courtney — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:00:24 +0000

These 19th century engraved checks were luckily found by Sean Kelly at Deamplified. The details are amazing—even the penmanship is impeccable, as you can see right here. Here’s hoping I find something equally as awesome at Brimfield later this week. via Brooklyn Deamplified

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Flickr Find: Pilllpat

Courtney — Thu, 07 May 2009 13:54:51 +0000

Prepare to waste your day sifting through this amazing inspiration resource—a treasure trove of great French vintage goodies. You can also find her collections on a number of blogs: Le ramoneur de Bourg Agence eureka des chapeaux grenouille plus

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Vintage Wizard of Oz

Courtney — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:00:11 +0000

I need to find one of these for myself. Amazing.

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Etsy Cravings

Courtney — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:00:55 +0000

Some things I’ve had my eye on lately… Truly Stationery Set, $10 3 months Press and Post, $30 Stay Classy Pencil 6 Pack, $6 Popsicle Interactive Postcard, $6 Set of 4 IBC Creme Glasses, $24 Small Vintage Plastic Letter Pins, $5 Blue Bird Notebook, $6 Vintage Tablecloth Magnets, $7

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Decca Records

Courtney — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:00:26 +0000

Lots of inspiration to be found in this flickr set of Decca Records covers designed by Eric Nitsche. via but does it float

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Gray’s Anatomy

Courtney — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 14:00:14 +0000

Some might consider them creepy, but I’m fascinated by these vintage anatomical drawings. The complete set can be found right here.

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Arkiva Tropkica

Courtney — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 14:00:41 +0000

Take a look at this awesome resource of tropical vintage ephemera, including menus, matchbooks and other all kinds of other printed materials. Much much more right here. via No Accounting for Taste

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Color Happy 24

Courtney — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:00:32 +0000

Today I’m taking some inspiration from the past with this op-art inspired record sleeve from Poland. via Record Envelope

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Vintage Goodness

Courtney — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 12:00:09 +0000

Here’s an awesome collection of vintage bottlecaps on Flickr. For such small objects—that many would consider insignificant—most of them are pretty sophisticated in terms of design. Check out the full collection here.

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Renegade Update

Courtney — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:32 +0000

So unfortunately I don’t really have any pictures from Renegade on Sunday. The weather was not so great—glad I remembered an umbrella—but there was some great stuff to be seen. I didn’t buy very much but I did make note of several new-to-me artists whose sites I wanted to check out later. And when I […]

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