Brian Cook Presents

Truly classic design elements transcend specific media. Casting an eye over old books can inspire imaginative solutions for web design. And why shouldn’t those books be French? The Frogs are renowned for their appreciation for the finer things: food, wine, art, deodorant… So without further ado, here are 11 terrific elements of design from old […]

It’s 2008 and things are going well. I’ve got a good year to look forward to, what with Borgamo growing, a trip to Europe on the horizon and plenty of web design projects with which to further my education. Already I’ve been harnessing some power searches on the major engines, Google, Yahoo and Live Search, […]

After seeing numerous end-of-year lists around the web, I thought it fitting to sum up my Top 5 in each category of The Cookblog. And so, without further ado, here they are:

Art
These are the best web sites and artists that I discovered during the past year.

Edward Gorey - I’ve posted about him before, but the […]

Since Radiohead released their most recent album, In Rainbows, over the internet a few days ago, most of the talk has been about the fact people can name their own price for it. Less publicized but just as interesting is the bonanza of cover art that fans have been coming up with until the official […]

Happy Birthday John, you magnificent bastard.

John Mayer - Kid A (Radiohead cover)
John Hartford - Indian War Whoop
Paul McCartney - Dance Tonight

My friends know that I enjoy a White Russian as much as the next man, and they also know I enjoy The Big Lebowski. This past weekend’s union of Christy and Tyler Driscoll gave me a chance to combine both enjoyments into a single cathartic moment: “Another Caucasian, Gary.” Props to Dan for thinking up […]

1. Wes Anderson hasn’t made a bad film yet. Bottlerocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic are four of the best movies I’ve ever seen. Why? His musical, visual and dramatic sensibilities exactly match my own. His characters are more subtly flawed than anyone else’s. The actors he uses and reuses are perfectly-cast. […]

I spent a goodly part of my summer vacation perusing wine bottles and admiring the artwork thereupon. Naturally, my thoughts turned to what kind of label I’d design. I’m not big on modern art, and a picturesque villa scene is a bit trite, so I started to think of more unusual symbols. Of course, my […]

Edward Gorey came to my attention through the Stumble button, which is a little web browser extension that works something like a TV remote for the internet. You choose your favorite topics, click the button, and are whisked to random web sites that the system believes you will like. Fortunately, it’s right almost all the […]

The Big Lebowski is currently my favorite movie. A story about a middle-aged slacker, the film paints a picture of Jeffrey Lebowski, aka “The Dude”, a man who wants nothing more than to bowl and drink White Russians.

His peaceful existence is shattered when his house is broken into and his rug urinated upon. This leads […]