One of the top designers working today, Peter Reid always delivers great visuals to peruse, whether it be his graphic design or photography. I’ve been following him since I worked along side on a project for AOL a few years back and have been keen on checking in from time to time to get some inspiration.

He’s been offline for quite awhile, but has returned with some fresh new eye candy to absorb. Head on over to his portfolio, Our Common, and be transfixed.

If you’re lucky enough, you’ve had a mentor or guru or role model worthy of being a source of inspiration for life. I’m lucky enough and that person is my older sister, Deborah, who with her husband Rudy, have had respective flourishing careers as a graphic designer and architect since the 1970’s.

Having met at WED (later WDI), the “Imagineering” design division of Disney, they helped craft the vision at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT Center and then pulled three multi-year stints as an executive design team overseeing the day-to-day creative operations at Tokyo Disneyland, helping to craft that park and the expansion companion DisneySea effort. Post-Disney, they are now continuing to thrive in their own practice, reshaping the global brand for clients like the Tokyo-based restaurant chain Yoshinoya.

If you’ve ever been curious about the origins of a particular car logo, or many, this post from Neatorama should sum it up squarely for you.

Taking us on a historical fact mission of visual evolution from Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen, it showcases clandestine facts and revelations, like that the original Volkswagen symbol echoed the Swastika. Sure, everyone knows it was born of out the Nazi machine (a reason to this day many people of Jewish heritage won’t drive them), but to see that original logo makes it unmistakable.

Also interesting, according to the post, is a point that the Audi rings emerged Phoenix-like from the ashes of four auto makers. Head on over if this piques your curiosity.