Liquid Treat

While we’re still waiting for Zagat to add graphic design to its restaurant rating rubric, nonprofit culinary society the James Beard Foundation has long appreciated the power of a delicious brand identity: Its 2009 award for outstanding restaurant graphics went to Korn Design for the sassy visuals it created for Denver's Corner Office restaurant and martini bar. Designers Denise Korn, Javier Cortés, and Bryant Ross played with contrasts—work and play, retro and contemporary, black-and-white photography and boldly colored illustrations—to imbue the restaurant and martini bar with a slick, but playful, vibe (think Mad Men, with a touch of The Office). In addition to the restaurant's menus, signage, and Web site, Korn masterminded the interiors, which feature signature supergraphics and a rubber band wall by local artists Joseph Sipe and William Hodges. Lastly, to allay any guilt that may come with sampling full slate of saucily-named cocktails (whether a “hole punch” martini or a vodka drink rimmed in grape Kool-Aid dubbed “the secretary”), the clock on the wall reads five o’clock at all times.

Package design can be like nuclear power or a pet chimpanzee: easy to take for granted until it goes terribly, terribly wrong. As Amazon.com strives to minimize both its environmental footprint and customer complaints, the online retailer has created “The Gallery of Wrap Rage,” a user-submitted collection of photos and videos that shine a light on aggravating packaging. Scroll through to see a baby in tears after a first run-in with twist ties, a couple of Spanish-speaking gentlemen struggling with cheese marked “abre facil” (easy open), and the meta-frustrating “Open-X,” a device designed to cut through plastic clamshell packaging that comes wrapped inside one.

Make room on your summer reading list for more Seymour—Chwast, that is. The famed illustrator, designer, and co-founder of Push Pin Studios is the subject of a new book that collects some of his greatest pop culture hits commissioned for publications and advertisements, alongside examples of personal work, paintings, and sculpture. With chapters ranging from “Used Cars” and “Mexican Wrestlers,” to “Unreadable Diagrams & Charts” and “Monkeys All Over,” Seymour: The Obsessive Images of Seymour Chwast (Chronicle) is sure to become an inspirational touchstone of any design library. “No one can argue with [Chwast's] influence on illustration or his breakthroughs in design,” notes Steven Heller, who penned the book’s introduction. “His palette and design forms were new wave when most new wavers were still fingerpainting.”

What do marshmallows smell like? “Joyfulness,” according to Hong Kong design collective Silly Thing, which has collaborated with retailer Colette on a marshmallow-scented candle now available for purchase at the expertly curated Parisian lifestyle boutique. Even design fans without a taste for s’mores are advised to have a look, as each limited-edition candle comes tucked inside a box designed by graphic artist Eric Elms. A longtime Silly Thing collaborator, Elms evoked the fluffy sweetness of marshmallows with hues of cotton-candy pink and a cartoony drip pattern, all of which make for a candle that smells -- and looks -- good enough to eat.

Set aside this summer's mass-marketed pop offerings and broaden your playlist with a zine that sounds as good as it looks: The Journal of Popular Noise, founded by graphic designer Byron Kalet, is an “audio magazine inspired by the traditions of pop music, printed periodicals, and the delight of a finely crafted artifact.” Translation: a twice-yearly, limited-edition trio of 7” vinyl records tucked inside a letterpress printed holder that folds out to reveal a poster containing information about the journal, the musicians, and the compositional process. The new spring/summer 2009 edition, featuring spoken-word works by Andrew W.K., Ian Svenonius, and Walker & Cantrell, ships next week, just in time to bring some old-school sparkle to your Fourth of July celebration.

Want to spend a day at the beach with Ed Ruscha, Raymond Pettibon, Karen Kilimnik, or Julian Schnabel? (We do!) Now you can, thanks to a new series of beach towels from the Art Production Fund’s Works on Whatever (WOW), a collection of artist-designed everyday items. In a towel that reproduces his signature broad strokes of color over a vintage map of Martinique, Schnabel’s love of maps translates well to terry cloth, while Kilimnik gets into the swim of things with a beneath-the-sea tableau of starfish, shells, and seahorses. Pettibon’s towel references one of his favorite themes—surfing—and adds a meta twist: a line of text hovering over a surfer astride a giant wave that reads, “Later he could be seen in the beach parking lot, behind his van, a towel wrapped around his middle, changing out of his wet summer suit.”