Tired of the same kitschy gift-wrap for the holidays? Here is an alternative and a clever and poignant gift for anyone who appreciates bikes, cities, design, humor, wit, and graphic brilliance. It’s that type of gift-wrap that you may want to use, fold carefully and re-use, adding an element of sustainability to an already brilliant design. And it reminds us that it’s the idea – not the gift itself – that matters. You could wrap up a bottle of wine or a dog bone with this design and make someone very happy, and the color and pattern work well for whatever holidays you celebrate. Get a closer look here.
Visual designer Jeremy Mende came up with this pattern for our PUBLIC Works project, and we adapted it for the holidays. You have to look very closely at this piece to appreciate it. He has depicted five typical local urban scenarios, a romantic park scene, a bicyclist avoiding a car door, a mom riding with her child, a woman pedaling past a car accident, and a locked bike missing its wheels. Although the urban imagery is realistic – and even violent – Mende has disguised this in a decorative sweet blue and white toile pattern, like something you might find on Victorian china or wallpaper at the Ritz. Good designers can be cleverly subversive and Mende excels in this genre. His work often involves such ironies and plays on traditional and “public” conceptions of design. More details here.
There are 25 other posters and some t-shirts from world reknowned graphic designers that are part of our PUBLIC Works project, and these make sweet gifts also. See all of our PUBLIC Works designs here.
 | Rob is the Chief PUBLIC Servant. He founded PUBLIC because of his belief that well-designed PUBLIC spaces are the bedrock of civilization. |