It's definitely one of the biggest branding successes (or shams) of the last 25 years that we've been led to believe we should spend $15 billion a year on something that, for most of us, shoots out of a faucet in the kitchen for free.

Enter the green crusaders at Tappening. Their site is jammed with alarming facts about the damage done to the environment and the economy by the bottled water industry — like how 40% of bottled water comes from a tap! They've even got some totally display-worth water bottles complete with core messages like “Think Global. Drink Local.” You can spread the word while still looking sharp… and since image is much of what the bottled water industry is about (other than you know, staying hydrated), what better way to undermine how ludicrous it all is than right at the source?

As a writer, I'm always drawn to different mediums that can convey the essence of words and language in an unexpected way.

That's why I'm such a sucker for this powerfully subtle earthenware “Love Is Blind” vase by Canadian artist Jessica Lertvilai. A love message is transcribed into braille on the side of the vase, giving it not only a delicate texture but also a (mostly) hidden meaning and the wonderful secret of knowing that the words are right there, just waiting to be touched.

Such a beautiful concept, plus you can put flowers in it. The romantically challenged should take note. Next time you're in the doghouse, nab this baby, put an orchid in it, and you've got guaranteed forgiveness.

HumanFlows is the first of a series of projects conceived during the Visualizar workshop organized by the Medialab Prado in Madrid. Led by graphic designer Miguel Cabanzo, the ongoing project takes the growing trend of visualization into the study of globalization. HumanFlows maps trends of migration in the hopes of getting insight into their causes. Rather than focus exclusively on present trends, HumanFlows gathers data from the last 15 years to create a more comprehensive picture.

Given a clear visual idea of the directions people have moved their lives (realistically and figuratively), you can't help but wonder why. What impetus encouraged huge groups of people from point A to point B, rather than point C? It's simple to rattle off answers like “war” and “poverty” without thought, but to look at these maps and think of how actual humans have been impacted brings issues into a more powerful and personal focus.

Though still in its nascent stages, the project kicks off with map filters such as Gross Domestic Product and Unemployment. The goal is to build on this framework with more data and to shed light on the inter-connections between the different causes for people to migrate and the impact on the nations who receive them.

Even though 2007 just came to an end, for some it seems like a distant memory. Heck most of us can barely remember what we were doing on New Year's Eve, though we're sure it involved illegal fireworks and champagne. On the other hand, there are some people, though not many, like Nicholas Felton (professionally known as graphic designer Megafone) who have turned keeping tabs on the not so distant past into an art form. The Feltron 2007 Annual Report is a statistical analysis of just how Mr. Felton spent this past year. The astonishing document not only breaks down an average day in the life of it's subject by categories including, digital photos shot, cups of coffee consumed, and miles run; it also charts Felton's travel habits and musical tastes amongst other things via the use of truly captivating typography rich info-graphic that transform each page into what is truly a site to behold.

Via 2Modern

We try not to get political around here (except when Josh pulls rank and doesn’t let me cut and paste our AIM transcripts instead of actually writing posts), but we do love the Steve Jobs for President tee our buddies at Insanely Great Tees are making. It gets us wondering about the press conferences we’d become accustomed to, the positive aesthetic updates to our country and how many drinking games you could invent around the number of times he’d say “oh, one more thing…” during a presidential debate. Get it while it’s relevant; wear it after it’s not. You know, ironically or something.

As children our mothers always told us, “an artist a day keeps the doctor away.” Or maybe it was an apple that kept the doctors away; listening was never our strong point. Our potential bout of ADD aside, we think the folks at Artist A Day would agree with mom's would be sentiment. The site exposes visitors (not aliens) to the work of a different artist everyday, whether they be illustrators, photographers, jewelry designers, or performance artists, in an effort to expand horizons and keep readers apprised of all of the great work that's out their in the artisphere. So head on over to Artist A Day and expand your artistic awareness — it's good for you! Your doctor and your mother would probably agree.

A few months ago we introduced Part of It to you — a fun, smart project started by a duo inviting artists that show up in our everyday lexicon to make designs for tees and tote bags for charity’s sake. While similar, Early Griffin instead focuses primarily on hand-made screen prints that come in a batch of only 50, with 10% of the selling price going to a charity the artist has chosen. The current, second series is fantastic, done in three colors each by Robert Hanson, Neasden Control Centre and Holly Wales. Jump on over to take a look and put in an order, if you’re so inclined.