Based in London, Make Ink specializes in art based branding projects. Both with and without brand sponsorship, Make Ink devises projects that engage passers by with a great depth of wit and creativity. Their current work Project Origins is aimed at online audiences and spoofs the Adidas Originals campaign, shifting it to heritage of an entirely different sort.

A full look at Project Origins after the jump.

Most regularly celebrated as an Old Master with a taste for the grand, Peter Paul Rubens career as graphic designer is often overlooked. Mark Lamster, however, notes the artists work in service of the publishing industry. His essay on Design Observer provides a smart introduction to this portion of Rubens career. Well worth taking the time to read.

Famed graffiti writer Eric Haze has relaunched his interhaze.com. The site includes a blog, video (example above), and will soon feature a shop. Born in New York, Haze has been producing graphic arts for over 30 years. In 1986, he opened his design studio and was responsible for forming the graphic identities of such hip-hop greats as EPMD and LL COOL J. Last year he returned to the fine art world with a one man show at The Museum of Contemporary Art Hong Kong.

Selected works by Eric Haze after the jump.

Designed by Someone, the London Olympic Pictograms will be used on merchandise, way-finding signs, tickets, and other official print material for the 2012 games. Pictograms have been an integral part of the Olympic graphic identity since they first appeared 1948 (also in London) and have been regularly included since the 1964 games in Tokyo. Someone has provide two versions, a simple black and white and a more colorful option inspired by the London Underground map. (via DB).

View the black and white pictograms after the jump.

A fascinating look at celebrated graphic designer Milton Glaser in action. Complemented by some sharp thinking on his part about process. (via Wooster Collective).

On October 20, 2009, House Industries opens Type as Object at New York’s Type Directors Club. The exhibition, and related pop-up shop, includes three dimensional objects born from sixteen years of experiences bringing tangible experience to the House Industries digital type. Previously House Industries has exhibited in Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and the New York show will feature both an opening and closing lecture (each contextualizing type as object and thinking critically about the letter as image).

The exhibition runs until November 19, 2009. The Type Directors Club is located at 347 W. 36th Street, New York, NY.

Creating a new form of graphic art in the process, Alex Steinweiss invented the modern album cover. Over three decades his art featured on releases covering all genres from Columbia, Decca, and London. Additionally, he produced logos, advertisements, and even his own typeface.

Forthcoming from Taschen, Alex Steinweiss, The Inventor of the Modern Album Cover, traces the artists career in a richly illustrated volume. Limited to a print run of 1500 (the first hundred forming the art edition), the book includes much unpublished material.

Page views follow.

Type titans House Industries have released a new set of posters featuring are range of excellent graphic. Highlights include the logo for “The Hand Press,” and “nibs” modeled from the tips of vintage speedball pens. Lots more as well. Be sure to check it all out at House Industries.

A few favorites after the jump.

Ever wondered what MFA design students get up to during their course work? Tyler Mintz, a first year at New York’s School of Visual Arts MFA in design program, gives us a view into that life. His work incorporates typography, graphic portraiture, and (as you’ll find) some creative problem solving. Worth following for anyone fascinated by the inner workings of the graphic design world.

More of Mintz after the jump.

Outbreak 1939 opened on August 20, 2009 at London’s Imperial War Museum (a magnificent place). The exhibition examines how the announcement of war shaped the lives of everyday citizens. Posters detailing the war effort, spurring service, and educating the populous are among the most striking objects included. These run from the now familiar “Keep Calm Carry On” to highly instructive pieces designed to help people cope with an air raid.

Check out Outbreak through September 6, 2010. The above link will also take you to a page from which you can explore further both posters and images.

More selected posters after the jump.