Calendars are perhaps second only to business cards in the *squee!* factor for most designers. There’s just something about an imaginative spin on the passage of time that never fails to enthrall. Here, then, is the first installment of the best calendars we have encountered this year. (Part 2 will be along shortly.) Enjoy!
Creative Manifesto Calendar
Fabien Barral (aka MR CUP) is that rarity among letterpress artists – someone who possesses a style that is instantly recognizable, regardless of the project. At times it is the visual equivalent of someone yelling meth-fueled obscenities into your face after having eaten a particularly spicy meal – an explosion in a paint factory. Take his 2014 letterpress calendar: The Creative Manifesto for all those Who Dream of Change or Just Want to Enjoy Life. Thirteen cards printed on 700g plain white frost paper, each with its own season-inspired color. You won’t forget this year in a hurry.
Past & Future Calendar
This year we’ve seen some novel approaches, but the Graphis-award-winning Past & Future calendar from Portuguese design studio BITRI really intrigued us. Philosophically, of course, there’s something very profound about its setup: a wooden box with two drawers – the left for days past, the right for today and the rest of the month. Moving the day from one drawer to the next is an action that forces you to face what you have (and have not) accomplished each day.
Alcoholidays Calendar
Considering the sheer amount of work that design firms large and small have to plow through these days, we’re amazed when they can even scrape up enough time to design a holiday card for their clients. And over at New Jersey’s One Trick Pony? Well, there’s gotta be something in the water…or the vodka. Their Alcoholidays calendar – a 10 year tradition – this year is clearly a labor of love, or a mad effort to overcome the DTs.
