The net is buzzing about the release of the Tron Legacy trailer that came out during last week’s Comic-Con. The trailer looks amazing and the excitement focused around the rebirth of one of Hollywood’s beloved movies is understood, but for me seeing the trailer spawned a different reaction. I have been patiently waiting to see visuals, a trailer, anything about this movie solely because Joseph Kosinski is at the helm, someone whose work has had a massive influence on me as a designer.

I first heard of Joseph Kosinski back when he was part of the 2-man team known as KDLAB. I was working in the design department of a large corporation doing everything from print work, to Flash and 3D animations. I was running OS 9, enjoying broadband only at work, marveling at site experiences such as the BMW film series The Hire, and trying to soak up as much design work as I could. I don’t recall how I came across KDLAB and their work, but it was one of those moments as a designer where you see someone else’s work and it immediately resonates within you, instantly becoming a favorite.

This video was probably the first I saw from KDLAB. What impressed me the most first off was just how polished everything was. The attention to detail was phenomenal. The camera moves/angles, pace, and audio worked harmoniously together. The way these visuals were being spliced together and presented reminded me of Stanley Kubrick, especially the camera moves and tempo.

I know I know, I have a “thing” for Kubrick.

But seriously that was a comparison I made at the time and I still hold to it today. It wasn’t apparent to me at the time, but the work coming from Kosinski was evidence of a director in the making.

Kosinski’s background is in design and architecture. He has a Masters in Architecture, so it’s no surprise that his work is impeccable and that he’s able to create environments that look photo-realistic. One of his earlier pieces was a promo for a fictitious Apple product call the iSpec. The short film, which you really should take the time to watch, shows a portable viewing device that places the user in an environment of their choosing. The example presented is the “Colorado Room” interior of the Overlook Hotel from The Shining (the Kubrick references keep on coming!). The rendering of that environment is unreal and even after several years of CG advancements it still holds up.

The rest of Kosinski’s work showcases his eye for design. One of his projects that I really enjoyed because of it’s art direction, but unfortunately is no longer available for viewing, was a piece he did for Nike called the “Tronathalon”. The image above is an example from that film. The video shows American triathlete Lokelani McMichael competing in a triathalon in a “Tron-esque” environment. It makes me wonder, now knowing that Kosinski is working on the next Tron film, if this project sparked his involvement. Maybe it’s coincidental, but seeing how Kosinski’s work translates well for the world of Tron, it’s obvious why he’s the perfect fit for the film.

In recent years Kosinski has directed several well-known commercials, his biggest possibly being the one he did for Gears of War. Looking at the credits to these newer projects it looks like he’s doing less direct design work and focusing more on directing, but it’s clear that his aesthetic has remained in tact.

It’s a little hard to narrow down the biggest reason for why I’m so inspired by his work because I could talk on and on about multiple reasons, but I’d have to say it comes down to his attention to detail. His presentation is so impeccable that it’s caused me to strive for a similar level of excellence. Each framed shot of his is worthy of printing out and hanging on your wall. While I don’t make films I do push for every designed element I create to be perfect. I want every pixel in it’s place and for all elements to live harmoniously together. It’s painstakingly hard, but it’s a worthy goal and thrilling when I pull it off.

In addition to Tron Legacy Kosinski is working on a remake of Logan’s Run. Those are the only 2 movies listed in his profile on IMDB, but judging by Kosinski’s career and the buzz surrounding the Tron trailer, I would imagine more work will be headed his way.

Check out these amazing images released this week at Comic-Con for the new Tron movie. This just elevated my excitement level to ludicrously excited. The movie is slated for a 2011 release and is directed by Joseph Kosinski, who is someone I seriously need to do a post about at some point because he has been very inspirational to me as a designer.

A sample of the amazing work by Swiss designer Emil Ruder. I just love the look of this elephant. Such simplicity! 80Magazine has a great collection of his work that’s worth checking out.

Motion graphics mavin Joost Korngold recently posted his work for the menu system of the PS3 game Killzone 2. The concept design and animation that Joost built for Guerilla Games is brimming with his style, complete with abstract movements and industrial sound. I love that Joost posts his videos as quicktimes because it gives me the ability to go frame by frame and breakdown the transitions.

He also posts the implemented menu result, which is a close recreation of his concept (Joost mentions that he consulted during the implementation process), but misses out on some of the unique complexities that make Joost’s work stand out. The biggest change is the sound, which I’m assuming fits more in line with the score for the game as a whole. Had I not heard the audiotrack in Joost’s concept I might not have cared much, but since I had the final track comes across as sounding too slick. It’s the kind of track I’d expect to hear from something like a Spiderman trailer. Grand, sweeping notes that evoke feelings of heroism. I found myself wanting the more mechanical, ominous, “I may not make it out of this” notes.

The other parts I miss are the jerky animations of the nav elements. Granted we’ve made a transition from a motion graphics application to a game engine at this point, but the animated elements felt more scripted rather than organic. The “re-orient the camera” move seemed a little overused and didn’t tie-in with the interactions of the user as much as in the concept video. Again, that kind of control is much easier to sync up when you’re building a fully-controlled motion graphics piece, but those subtleties stood out to me and are worth noting because they’re part of what makes Joost’s concept video so compelling.

In the end the menu looks great and Guerilla Games did a fantastic job of translating the concept into their game. One thing they added that I really enjoyed was the distortion line that slides down the screen from time to time, mimicking the distortion of an old CRT display.

In a related note, Joost also did the opening credits for Killzone 2 which I wrote about back in February. He’s definitely a designer to keep an eye out for.

Arresting photography by Guy Sargent. This shot of St. Mark’s Square jumped out at me immediately. I love the contrast, symmetry, and muted tones.

Many thanks to The Longbrake for bringing these to my attention.

These ads for Lego, designed by Blattner Brunner, came out in 2006 and some of you have probably seen them before, but I came across them again this morning and got caught back up in just how awesome they are. I absolutely love the concept. They truly capture the whole point of Legos and make me remember back to when I was a kid and how I played with Legos all the time. I loved opening up my big box of Legos and getting lost in building whatever my mind wanted to create. I remember when my family set up our Super-8 camera and made a short, stop-motion movie with Legos. The story was complete with action, drama, romance, and betrayal. The film is in a box somewhere and really should be digitized, but I digress.

While the concept for these ads is brilliant, their execution is to be admired as well. Simplicity rings loud and the use of color is perfect. Notice how the background colors tie into the objects. The airplane and boat are set against blue which signifies water and the dinosaur and tank are against green to signify land. The airplane’s shadow is offset to give the appearance of flight while the other shadows anchor the objects to the ground or immersed in water like in the boat example.

This ad above was done by agency FCB from Johannesburg and won the top price at the 2006 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. It follows the same formula as the other ads (I’m not sure which ones came first) and is much more impactful when viewed at a larger size. I love the tagline “imagine…”. Also the angle of this photograph is incredibly vital in illustrating the vastness of the open sea as well as the inclusion of the Lego pegs on the blue surface which contribute to the overall scale and perspective of the scene. If the camera had been more close-up on the periscope or had the periscope been in the foreground I don’t think this ad would have been as successful. That just goes to show how important those little details are when sketching out your concepts.

Very nice motion graphics piece for Hellmann’s discussing buying locally produced food from Canada. The concept of a dinner table mixed with infographics is strong and something the average consumer will be able to relate to in a much more emotional way.

The spot was created by CRUSH.