There is no doubt that the popularity of smart phones has had an impact on the restaurant business. Customers have a way to express their delight in what they see by snapping images of their food and posting it on their own social media sites, or review sites like Yelp.There is no doubt that the popularity of smart phones has had an impact on the restaurant business. Customers have a way to express their delight in what they see by snapping images of their food and posting it on their own social media sites, or review sites like Yelp.
In an interesting move, the fast food giant, McDonalds, has turned to the practice of crowdsourcing to come up with their newest idea. Crowdsourcing is the idea of looking to a large group of people—usually from the internet—for ideas. Partnering with Razorfish, one of the largest interactive agencies in the world, McDonalds created a “burger […]
What a glorious era to live in. Candace Nelson, the creative founder of Los Angeles’s Sprinkles Cupcakes, has invented a cupcake ATM. Wait, whaaaatt? An ATM that gives you their famous Red Velvet cupcakes 24/7, you ask? Yes! In addition, they also have a selection of that day’s fresh baked cupcakes. Since their first ATM […]
When I think of summer time, I think beaches and BBQs. And one of my favorite BBQ items is grilled corn. Corn dripping with butter and a sprinkle of lemon pepper. Yum! This infographic, designed by Chris Rooney, a graphic artist out of San Francisco, dispels the mystery of corn below. Ok, so maybe there’s […]
In addition to serving yummy, salty, lemony corn chips, Chipolte is now serving up short stories too! Meaningful writing,is one of the highest forms of art – fiction, non-fiction essays, poems, etc… This Mexican food outlet is now bridging the gap between art and food in a very interesting way. They have melded the idea […]
I have heard of uniquely interactive books through the years, although they are mostly for children…like the scratch and sniff books of my childhood. But now as an adult, here’s a very cool one just for those of us that enjoy grilling! Brazilian Tramontina has taken the concept of interactive to a whole new level […]
Parents and adults everywhere often lament about getting enough vegetables into their diet. I’d like to take this very public opportunity to give an enormous shout-out to Haagan-Dazs for their incredible brilliance. In a stroke of complete genius, the ice cream makers have paired the deliciousness of ice cream with the health benefits of vegetables. […]
In honor of last week’s Mexican celebration Cinco de Mayo, I thought it would be fun to highlight American’s love affair with tacos. Afterall, Americans ate 4.5 BILLION tacos last year alone, or in other words… enough tacos to fill up 2 Empire State Buildings! Tacos are first recorded historically in the 16th century, however […]
The Webby Awards is an international award honoring excellence on the Internet. It was established nearly 20 years ago, back when the Web was just an infant and is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) — a 1,000+ member judging committee. Of special interest to me was the Food & […]
Amateur photography got its mass appeal start more than 150 years ago in New York. A former banker named George Eastman invented the Kodak #1 camera. Back in the 1880s, this camera was little more than a box that came preloaded with with a 100-exposure roll of film. After the individual finished the roll, the entire camera was shipped back to the factory in Rochester, where it was reloaded and shipped back while the film was being developed. [1]
Kodak #1 Camera
Can you imagine that in today’s desire for instant gratification?
We actually aren’t too far from that in terms of time. In the 1990s when I was in college studying photography, there was no digital camera available to the general public . I loaded my camera with film, sent it out to a lab for processing, and then went into the dark room to print and manipulate my own prints.
Nowadays, the rise in the popularity of mobile phones as cameras has all but obliterated the film industry. But coming with this rise is a new-found love of photography across the board. Also contributing to this level of admiration are social networking sites like Instagram and Facebook—as evidenced by Facebook now being the largest library of online photographs. [2]
Museums are standing up and taking notice of this movement. In fact, the nearby San Francisco Museum of Modern Art announced last week that it is building the largest photography exhibit space in the country.
The John and Lisa Pritzker Center for Photography will have more than 15,500 sq. ft of exhibition space dedicated to the medium. That, in addition to our wonderful Pier 24, SF will become quite the photo mecca
Since my lifelong passion has been all forms of photography, I am quite enjoying this revitalization. It will be interesting to see how photography evolves in the next couple decades.
[1]http://mashable.com/2012/06/14/mobile-photography-infographic/
[2] http://mashable.com/2012/06/14/mobile-photography-infographic/
For my regular readers out there, you will recall I have posted on the genius of Ferran Adriá a couple of times in the past (here and here). As evidenced by the number of exhibitions going up around the world, it’s safe to say that Chef Adriá has made a defining impact in the fusion […]
The tradition of egg dying began eons ago in Mesopotamia. The idea of millions of people coming together in a short span of time on an artistic endeavor is the ultimate in group art projects! With a graphics background, the ways in which everyday people express themselves in this annual endeavor is fascinating to me. There are natural dyes, vinegar-based dyes, kool-aid dyes… Then there are patterns; some like symmetrical lines and dots, or patterns like flowers and hearts. Some use crayons and markers, some use glitter or temporary tattoos.
© GingerBread Snowflakes
As a modern invention, there are even robot-assisted devices to help more complex patterns like the Egg-Bot. As you know well by now, the intersection of science and art is especially exciting to me, as I am passionate about these two mediums joining!
The Egg-Bot is a plotter that prints with pens on curved items. It runs with inkscape, and draws vector graphics on eggs with its “inkscape” software. Look at the intricate patterns one can develop!
Egg-Bot decorated eggs
There’s another direction that I wish I could afford (if for no other reason than my investment portfolio): The Faberge Egg: those bejeweled and precious eggs, created especially for royalty. Peter Carl Fabergé made Easter gifts for Russian Tsars, their wives and mothers--often called the 'Imperial' Fabergé eggs. Of about 50 eggs that were made, only 43 have survived.
Rose Trellis Egg
Whatever the design, April is perfect time to think outside the…umm…egg. 😉
The tradition of egg dying began eons ago in Mesopotamia. The idea of millions of people coming together in a short span of time on an artistic endeavor is the ultimate in group art projects! With a graphics background, the ways in which everyday people express themselves in this annual endeavor is fascinating to me. […]
While chocolate has long held a big piece of my heart, there's proof that I’m not the only one. The flavor of chocolate continues to keep an entire world mesmerized. In fact, we even find researchers trying to scientifically justify our love of the cocoa delight, touting its health benefits. There is even a current […]
Umino Hiroyuki is carrying on the legacy his grandfather started when he founded Umino Seaweed Shop. Under his leadership, Umino Seaweed Shop has come up with a unique way of trying to entice eaters to increase their consumption of seaweed (nori) in Japan—which has been declining in recent years—largely in part due to the fallout from the tsunami of 2011.
Umino Hiroyuki sought out help from the international advertising agency I&S BBDO to develop a series of intricately laser-cut seaweed for rolling sushi.
Each sheet of the “design nori” series has five designs and is based on Japanese history or symbolism, and represents happiness, good fortune, and longevity. The designs are: Sakura (Cherry Blossoms), Mizutama (Water Drops), Asanoha (Hemp), Kikkou (Turtle Seashell), and Kumikkou (Tortoise Shell).
Because the designs require precision cuts, Umino selected a thicker variety of seaweed from the Sanriku region of Miyagi.
The elegance of the sushi sheets were very eye catching to me, especially since I’ve been following the cool things the 3D printers are making out of food. To boot, I pay attention to design details, and this is really a beautiful display of that.
Here are a few close-up images of the designer nori.
‘sakura’ (‘cherry blossoms’)
‘asanoha’ (‘hemp’)
‘kikkou’ (‘turtle shell’)
You can visit their website here: http://uminokaisou.jp/
Or follow them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/uminokaisouten
Here’s an exciting news bit to share with you folks. I am one of the 120 photographers that is represented by Gallery Stock, which is a “boutique” stock photo agency, based in NYC. Recently, image licensing agency Truck Archive, founded in 2005, purchased Gallery Stock, along with Bernstein & Andriulli (a repping agency I’ve known […]
Partstown has culled the craziest dining experiences in the world, and put together this infographic for the daring globetrotter. For instance, if vertigo doesn’t bother you, head on over to the Arab Emirates to partake of haut cuisine at a mere 1350 feet up. Purportedly, it feels as if you are floating in the clouds […]
Aha! Caught your attention, did I? Well, the folks at Bolthouse Farms caught mine too. They put together this food/technology post about the photos we take of our food…or food porn. Bolthouse Farms, with the help of creative shop Tiny Rebellion, is trying to change the balance of food lust on the web in favor […]
Last month, I wrote an article on Ferran Adria’s exhibition: Notes on Creativity at the Drawing Center. Adria, chef of the now closed El Bulli on the Costa Brava near Rosas, Spain, is often associated with “molecular gastronomy” cuisine–although he prefers to call it “deconstructivist” cuisine. Perhaps knowing that Adria’s restaurant was located near the […]
When I think of the Olympics, my mind usually goes to the athletes: the high level of commitment, the location…but I haven’t ever given much thought about how the athletes are fed. A recent article in the New York Times caught my eye that made me see this world-wide event from a different angle. Enough […]
Billions of servings of ramen are eaten each year, and we can all thank Momofuku Ando for his invention of the instant noodle. To say that this food stuff is popular is an understatement, with the leading manufacturer Nissan located in 11 countries with 29 different plants and tens of thousands of employees. Ramen originally […]
