Posted on

Kill The White Devil

white_devil

I have always wanted to do a hand rendered, type-cented piece, but never had the confidence. Type is so easy to manipulate in Illustrator I always felt safe there. Last week I said fuck it and gave it a go with some paint pens I had from street art looking piece I did this summer. I suck at using a brush and enjoy using these paint pens quite a bit. Is it still considered painting if you are using a paint pen? I used an old chair back with sepia ink washes as the “canvas.” My dad was cleaning house last summer and was going to throw out some old chairs that had fallen appart. I dismanteled them and kept the backs knowing that they would come in handy. It has been over a year since I have looked at them and decided it is about time that I make use out of them. I feel that the shape of the wood really brings out the vintage feel that my type hints at. I was originally going to put “Kill Whitey” but decided this phrase filled up the space better. Yes I am white. No I am not racist or self-hating. I am just taking it back. Deal with it.

Posted on

Brandlessbrand Barcodes

This guy Ben commented on my barcode design post a while back. It seems that he has been experimenting with barcode design for a while now and has an interesting proposal for us all. Read below, check out his site and start participating.

brandless_home

Brandlessbrand is telling you that – contrary to popular belief – all water IS the same. It’s water. That said let’s do something interesting with it…make it our national canvas. We’re letting designers test their chops by redesigning the barcode and creating a community brand around it. Nothing more. A barcode. A bottle of water. Your brand.

I started this project for a variety of reasons:

  1. I love the idea of using the barcode as a creative medium and re-defining the iconic symbol of consumption
  2. I think the limit has been pushed on how exaggerated a product’s claims can be and I wanted to push the limit in the opposite direction
  3. I’m completely taken with the power of the crowd/community and wanted to test crowd sourcing’s merits in the consumer products world and
  4. to send a small personal message to the beverage industry…which I have been working in the past couple of years (see logo:)

brandless_products

Mostly though I’m just a designer at heart who has a passion for good, simple, honest design. In essence, this brand is all about the designers behind it, where the store shelves will become your gallery.  once we take over water…there’s no telling how many more shelves we can conquer! Overly ambitious? Probably. Corny? Kinda. Possible? That’s what I’m dying to find out!

Come join the brand and shout our praises to the world!

If you have any questions, or you want to get in touch with me personally, you can: ben[at]brandlessbrand.com – talk to me.

Posted on

Artist Survey #12: Hanah Hicks

Hannah is basically my other sister. I have known her my whole conscious life and our families remain close friends. She is currently finishing up a degree in fashion and apparel design in San Francisco and hopes to start designing/manufacturing bold clothing and outerwear to fit today’s board culture.

fullzip

jacket

hoodie

Name: Hannah Hicks

Location: San Francisco, CA

Medium(s): Clothing.

What do you consider yourself (artist/designer/other)? Designer.

Where can we see your work (place/publications/url)? On people, in magazines. The ski and snowboard community. MySpace.

When did you start gaining interest in artistic forms of expression? I’ve always liked making things, but my fashion designing focus started about 3 years ago.

Who/What inspired your interest? I was inspired by a woman I lived with when I was in New Zealand. She taught me how to create my own clothes instead of using a pattern.

Where do you first remember being exposed to art? From an infant when my dad would play his guitar and sing.

What is your day job? In the winter I work in the Sports Shop at a ski resort.

Why do you create? To inspire others.

Is there any recurring theme in your work? I like to collaborate with my friends and family.

What do you want from your work? I want to make people feel better about themselves and happier with life in general.

What do you want viewers to take from your work? I want them to find innovation.

How often do you work on personal projects? Once a month or so. But these projects stem into lines that are for others.

How often do you work on commissions or commercial work? Never.

Does your art support you financially? Not yet.

Do you feel preoccupied with your art, do you think about it often during the day and night and do you anticipate your next session? I think about it all the time. I check out pretty much every person I pass. Haha. I am always looking for a source of inspiration. I should execute my ideas more though.

What do you do in your spare time besides your art? I travel and enjoy the snow and go to school.

Which musicians are you currently interested in? I will always be a fan of the Beastie Boys and Sublime. I am getting more into the Brazilian Girls, although I haven’t heard much of them. And I love to dance to BLVD!

Are there any events you are looking forward to attending? Yea. Sea of Dreams. Everyone should go. Its gonna be an amazing new years eve party in SF.

How long do you generally take on a piece? It depends on what it is. I can make a shirt in about a week. Or it can take me a few months to plan out an outerwear jacket.

Have you jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of your art? I think that art has only been beneficial in my life. Who needs money?

Do you work on multiple projects at once? Not usually. I usually work on multiple pieces at the same time but they are all part of the same line.

Do you have trouble parting with your finished work? Most of the time. Sometimes I make a few of each piece just so I can have one around. But I usually just take lots of pictures. I wish I had a website to show you all. Coming soon, hopefully. Most of my pictures from my first two collections are on myspace.com/hanneyhi. Just take a look in my pictures in my Palindome:We’re Gonna make it Album. Thanks!!!

palindrometat

Posted on

Typophile: Dan X. Solo

I love typography. It is hands down, my favorite aspect of design. I can study letter forms for hours ignoring all else in the world (just ask my girl friend, Kim). In one of my recent library adventures I found two books of typography collections; one of Victorian Display Alphabets and one of Modern Display Alphabets, both from the mid 1970s. I took them home and copied my favorite fonts which was nearly half of the 100 Victorian alphabets and only three of the Modern.

The Victorian book was put together by Dan X. Solo for Dover Books. It is only one of several books that he has compiled for Dover. Mr. Solo has been collecting vintage type for most of his life, a hobby I unfortunately keep largely web based. I could only imagine the drawers and stacks of type specimens that must fill his house! I imagine his house is like a typographers porn shop. His collection well worn and dogeared by repeated viewings.  After viewing this nearly ancient book I found that only a small portion of his collection have been officially digitized. I am sure that many designers and typographers have digitized some of his alphabet books for their personal use (after all, I did). From the fonts I copied I frankensteined my favorite traits for a logo concept I am working on for Palindrome Apparel. This concept isn’t finished quite yet, it is still a little masculine for a dual-sex line. I am adding flourishes and stylized plant forms to illustrate the outwear aspect of the company while maintaining the strong, classic letter forms to keep it bold and timeless.

palindrome

(I will post the final version that is decided upon when the time comes)

Dan X. Solo Biography from MyFonts.com

The Solotype Archive was begun in 1942 when I was 14. I was a kid printer for several years before that. At 16, after a quick three months of training, I dropped out of school and went to work full time as a radio actor and announcer in San Francisco. (Easy to get jobs in those days, due to the war-induced manpower shortage.) In 1949 and 1950, I created a magic show which played West Coast theatres with some success. After that, back to broadcasting.

By 1962, I was completely burned out on radio, so I decided to see if I could make a living with my collection of antique types, which numbered about a thousand fonts at that time. In 1962, I sent out 4,000 catalogs showing the type to ad agencies all over the U.S. The timing was perfect (no thanks to me) because there was developing at that time a renewed interest in the old types. Business took off immediately.

The Solotype collection was one of four commercial collections at the time, but I seemed to have been more aggressive in marketing than the other chaps. (Well, Morgan Press certainly knew how to market.)

Two years into the business, I began to collect alphabets on paper for conversion to photo lettering, which was just becoming mainstream in the type business. We closed the shop for a month every year and went on a type hunt, mostly in Europe where there didn’t seem to be much competition among collectors. Other typographers couldn’t understand how we could do this, but I believe it made people appreciate the resource we offered even more. Over the years, the collection became quite large. When I closed Solotype a couple of years ago, I got rid of about half the archive (because the fonts were dull, or already digitized, or for a variety of other reasons) leaving me with about 6,000 fonts on paper or film.

In 1974, I began to supply Dover Publications with mechanicals for books of 100 alphabets on a particular theme. I did 30 of these books over the years, and 30 more of printers’ ornaments, borders, and so forth. Sometime in the 1990s, Dover asked me to digitize books of 24 fonts each, to be sold with a disk in the back. I did 12 of these. The Dover relationship came to an end when Haywood Cirker, the owner and my special friend, died and the company was sold to another publisher. Dover felt that they had covered the type field thoroughly.

Now in my old age, my wife and I have a mindreading act that is great fun and good for the ego. Even so, when not traveling, I digitize type for relaxation and enjoyment, but have made no effort to sell it. Until now.

Posted on

Ski Resort Security VS. UTL

No one likes you when you work for Ski Resort Security or “Mountain Security.” Trust me I know. This is a design my co-workers and I agreed upon at the end of our season working security for a resort in Colorado. We were going to make shirts and sell them to all the kids who hated us.

ski_security

Posted on

Metal Stamped Type

These were at a view point in Mammoth, CA. I used to set type into horse shoes with a hammer at a historic blacksmith shop leaving a mark similar to these. I used metal dies with reversed letters and I would pound them onto the shoes with a 4 pound sledge hammer. It took a while to get used to it, but eventually I could get through several class lists without anyone getting hurt (sometimes the die shot out of my hand).

mammoth_type3

mammoth_type2

mammoth_type1

Posted on

What’s Your Destiny?

Here are some photographs of the finished CD packaging for David Shapireau & West of Next. It is a great album and I am glad I was a part of it. I designed the outside, inside and disc image with a strong western influence to match the name of the band, but don’t let the look fool you. The album has “American and Celtic roots influences with twin guitars and arrangements with a different spin due to Shapireau’s background as a jazz composer and arranger. Humor and history are emphasized in the songs and presentation. Boundaries are pushed while the past is honored.” The band on this recording includes:

  • Drums – Tony Dey of Van Morrison, Mike Bloomfield, Linda Ronstadt.
  • Telecaster – Steve Randall of Richard March, Antoine Barbeaux, Kate Gaffney. Awarded best guitarist in Sacramento according to the 2007 Sacramento News & Review fan voting poll.
  • Bass – Gabe Nelson of Cake (After this recording and a short tour Nelson disembarked to continued his work with Cake. They now have a new bassist, Paul Knutsen).
  • Composer, Stratocaster, mandolin, acoustic guitar – David Shapireau of Taj Mahal, Maria Muldaur, Dan Hicks, Tower of Power, Don Reno, Tony Rice, Byron Berline, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Bela Fleck, Norton Buffalo, Steve Miller, Peter Rowan and more.

dswon_1

dswon_2

(I photographed them on a cow hide with my dad’s old Bowie knife to reflect the cover illustration)