Northcoast Zeitgeist

A closer look at my titles for the WMC Fest 2012 recap video.

What you see above is the official recap video from Weapons of Mass Creation Fest 2012, released just today. While there will be a longer documentary (and speaker videos) in the near future, Aaron Freeder's short film perfectly encapsulates the scope and spirit of this year's fest. Using interviews, performances, lectures, and other footage shot both at the festival and around Cleveland, Freeder puts a rather elegant bow on what's become the go-to creative event in the Midwest every summer.

Beyond my work as an organizing partner with the fest, I was honored to be one of five people providing custom typography for the video. Joining me in the title-creation process were WMC Fest founder Jeff Finley, Brandon Rike, Carolyn Sewell, and Nate Utesch. As you'll see, the titles appear both throughout the film and in one amazing mosaic toward the end (captured in the image at the bottom of this post by Tim Lampe, who I was excited to meet at the fest).

The assignment came with no art direction, other than the five phrases Jeff gave us. With those in hand, and last year's wonderful recap video in mind, I got to work. I sought to push myself in new directions with the titles, with the big emphasis on hand-done type. Nearly everything you see below — with the exception of the "the" in "The Northcoast" and the "has a story" in "Everyone Has a Story" — came from me producing letterforms and bringing them together in Illustrator.

With rare exception, I wanted the type to tell the story. I didn't want to overdesign these, knowing they'd either be on-screen for mere seconds or be seen at a real small size as part of a mosaic. And they had to work in one color, too, given how they'd be used in the film. So what you see below and in the film is the natural outcome of this thinking.

What I love is seeing them in the final product when placed side-by-side with their peers. The others who contributed titles are a supremely talented bunch, this goes without saying. And though we worked on these separate from each other, I really dig how well the titles work together when rubbing elbows. Which, if you think about it, really speaks to the vibe we're trying to cultivate with WMC Fest itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allison Krumwiede is doing work.

I first encountered Allison Krumwiede's wonderful style when her illustrations of magazine contributors came at the front of a recent issue of HOW. I had written a story for them about Busy Beaver Button Co., and was amazed by Krumwiede's depictions, which you can see at the bottom of this post (Allison herself is there, too, to my left in the top middle position). Anyway, the California native has worked for, among others, BUST, Bloomberg View, The Village Voice, and The New York Times. Her work has a very distinctive style to it, and both her illustrations and her paintings share a real dynamic attitude and attention to detail. I've included some of my favorites below, but be sure to check out Allison's work for yourself. And, while you're at it, be sure to visit her shop. You won't be disappointed!

 

 

 

 

 

Introducing Quigley's official logo!

 

It's about time: What you see above is the official logo for our best little buddy Quigley, whom we rescued nearly two years ago. There isn't enough room in this space — or any space — to adequately describe how much Casey and I love our friend and how important he's become to our lives. He's our constant companion, our daily source of good times, and the proud third member of our little team. In short, he's the Quig. And he needed a logo.

As in any logo project, I wanted to distill Quigley's essence into as simple a package as possible, yet still deliver a mark that truly did him justice. There's so much visual inspiration out there, but, without a doubt, my two biggest sources were Aaron Draplin's identity work for his proud companion, Gary (we miss you, Garold), and Always With Honor's many dog-related projects, including Dogs of Dignity. Elsa and Tyler from AWH have their own long-dog friend, too, Zoe.

I started by simplifying Quigley's shape. I wanted to use thick lines and depict his head in-profile, since despite being a little guy (he only weighs 17 lbs.), Quigley cuts an heroic profile. Distilling his ear color gradient was the next task, which I did by introducing the two zig-zag sections. I felt Quig needed an enclosure, which I handled by placing him within a Q-shaped box, further reinforcing his name. For good measure, I set him against a sky blue background, also setting his abbreviated name — what we call him most often — in the same color. And there you have it.

To be sure, this wasn't a paying project. We talked with the client, and he agreed to work a barter arrangement by which he joined us for longer walks, more frequent belly scratches, and reduced barking at the mailman. Deal. We love you, Quig.

 

Northcoast Zeitgeist and Ferocious Quarterly.

This was fun. I had the pleasure of getting to know the very talented Nate Utesch at last year's WMC Fest. It was there that I both snapped up copies of the first two issues of his Ferocious Quarterly and hatched plans with Nate to participate in the forthcoming issue, which just came out and is on sale now! If you're new to Ferocious Quarterly, the handsome publication is best described as "a curated publication that collects illustrators, graphic artists, short fiction authors and written text."

Each issue has a theme, and those participating work within that theme and within a select color scheme. The theme of the third issue was "Be Prepared." Participants, myself included, were sent a brief PDF breaking down how the issue would be produced and arming us with the fact that "survival" was to be our main inspirational guideline. From there, what we did was up to us. The results, across the board, were nothing short of spectacular.

While I initially thought about pursuing some sort of Scout-related theme for my spread, I anticipated others going down that path. So, Casey and I put our heads together and assembled the greatest fictional survivor showdown to ever take place. Being 2012 and all, the site of the fight card — The Mayan Temple — and the date (the winter solstice) were no-brainers. From there, I drew inspiration from the classic, letterpress fight posters of years past. I wanted the spread to have a wit and edge to it, so I set about adding as much of our personalities as possible. Besides, Charles Darwin always seemed like he'd make for a good fight promoter in his spare time, right? 

The main event — Rambo vs. Commando vs. Die Hard — came to me quickly. Pure awesome coincidence that all three heroes were named John. As for who would win this fight, that's a really tough question. Are we involving weapons of any sort? Will anyone be using kidnapped offspring as a motivation? Is Reginald VelJohnson allowed to be McClane's cornerman? These are all important questions! My money's on Matrix, personally.

Now the card gets crazy. It's a She-Vivor Showdown! No survivor-themed battle is complete, of course, without the two stone-cold bad-asses most responsible for putting survival-themed songs in the world. Note that the special guest referee for that match is Mr. Soul Survivor himself, Rev. Al Green. Up next: A modern-day battle of two made-for-TV survivalists. Sure, Bear Grylls has the military pedigree and will, with no hesitation, drop into a set of naked pushups to keep his body warm in extremely wet and cold conditions. But there's just something about Les "Survivorman" Stroud that screams "I would turn you into a Tauntaun sleeping bag if I could, Grylls."

What fight is complete without passive aggression? It's the stock-and-trade of mean, old people and mean, little cats everywhere. The role of Sheba, coincidentally, was played by our one-time cat Johnny Cash, who I'm sure would pee all over the upholstery if he caught wind of this, to say nothing of us depicting him as a female cat. He was troubled. Wrapping things up is the fight between two food staples best known for their likely ability to outlive humanity should the end times come about. Full disclosure: I've never had Spam, so my money's on the humble Twinkie.

All in all, I'd have to say that this project was perhaps the most fun I've ever had working on a design. I knew the roster of creatives involved in each issue of Ferocious is always strong, and my hunch was proven yet again when I saw who contributed to the third issue. Major league talent, all the way around, and some friends on there. I'm looking at you, Dan, Jon, Dan, Erik, and Tuesday. To say nothing of Nate himself. I owe you big, Nate. Thank you so much for the honor of being able to participate. It was a real pleasure. With this in mind, you really need to get your hands on a copy of the third Ferocious Quarterly. Operators are standing by!

New rig, same Quig.

Casey's much-deserved and long-awaited new camera and lens arrived today, and what better way to break them in than some backyard shots of our little superhero?

Atoms for Peace.

Over at the brilliant A Continuous Lean, noted Ohioan (and fellow Bobcat) Michael Williams has posted a few wonderful photos from the recently digitized Department of Energy Oak Ridge's Office archive. The photos capture the day-to-day goings on a town of 70,000+ created from whole cloth by the government to assist in uranium production for the Manhattan Project. While the entire archive is impressive, I'd like to call attention to some really nice type and illustration. Take a look at these wonderful security billboards (these photos date to either 1960 or 1970, depending on the image):

As a bonus, how great is this traveling exhibit, shot in 1957?

Test driving Dan Cassaro's Highway.

I really love Highway, the new typeface by '70s historian, expressive typographer, and all-around young jerk Dan Cassaro. In Dan's own words, Highway "is an attempt to capture the charm of hand-done early to mid-century type, the kind of beautiful lettering that happens when a human hand tries to recreate something mechanical. Created during (and inspired by) a cross-country roadtrip, Highway may very well be the first typeface created in the back of a camper. Tons of alternate characters, ligatures, and OpenType sorcery make for endless custom lettering for logos, signage, and seminal prog-rock double albums. Roll on, Babes."

Right on, Dan. So far, I've found Highway the perfect swashy partner for a word or phrase that needs some real attitude. It's grounded, but has got moxie. When you begin working the many ligatures into your design, it becomes what Levon Helm called in The Last Waltz "an adult dose." But don't take Dan's word for it. Or mine. Or Levon's. Go purchase your own copy of Highway. You won't regret it. Here are some of my early experimentations:

The billboards of Sunset Boulevard, 1974-75.

When I saw this amazing Flickr set of the billboards of Sunset Boulevard, 1974-75, I immedately thought of a bunch of folks - my father, chiefly - who would appreciate its gems. There's really so much to see in this set. It's a welcome trip back in time, when the music was better and the marketing -  at least as seen through the lens of these billboards - took a few more chances. Enjoy. Via Los Angeles, I'm Yours.

Timothy Goodman's Valentine Tweet Marathon.

Cleveland-native-gone-big-time Timothy Goodman wanted to do something special this Valentine's Day. So the illustrator/designer got a stack of index cards, a bunch of markers, and set out to send a Valentine to each and every one of his 1,100-plus Twitter followers. The result? A Valentine Tweet Marathon! In Goodman's own words:

On February 14, 2012, I attempted to draw a unique valentine for every single one of my Twitter followers between the hours of 7 AM and 7 PM. By doing this, I responded to each follower’s handle/picture/bio as seen up top. The plan was to draw each one on a 4 1/2” x 5 1/2” pre-cut card, take a picture with my phone, and tweet it directly to each follower, real-time. ...

... everyday I have many conversations with designers and illustrators on Twitter that never go beyond the monitor in front of me. In spite of this, I wonder how I can honor these virtual relationships? Can it be done outside of technology? And besides the typical gifts we give each other on Twitter — like a mention or a retweet — what would it mean to make an analog gift for someone who is following me?

The results of Goodman's marathon were impressive (hopefully he won't suffer any long-term wrist damage). Here are a few:

Introducing Taegan Goddard's Political Trivia.

 

On the heels of Taegan Goddard's Wonk Wire logo design - my sixth collaboration with the political authority - we teamed up again on a new site, Political Trivia. The mandate was simple: Incorporate Goddard's standard red and blue color scheme as well as his familiar U.S. Capitol dome icon. What you see above is the final outcome. While the dome is familiar, I sought to include Filmotype Fashion and Homestead, two typefaces that work rather well together. Futher, I felt the banner gave more heft to Goddard's name, which it needed. While this was the final logo, I was proud of the work that led to it. So without any further ado, here are some of those explorations:

 

 

For the above option, I wanted a look reminiscent of the game we all think of - Trivial Pursuit - when we hear the word "trivia." In this case, I made the "o" in "Political" the well-known piece from the board game. It worked for me, but I thought it owed too much to the game. So I went in a different direction.

 

 

This one was an early cousin to the final look. One key difference is the treatment of the "r" in "Trivia." With this logo, I used a question mark and ghosted back letterform to turn the "r" into more of a trivia-themed visual pun.

 

 

A more conservative - and Homestead-only - logo, the only visual pun (of sorts) being the insertion of a question mark into the "o" in "Political."

 

 

Another conservative look, this one more rooted in WPA-era typefaces. All in all, this was another fun project and collaboration with Goddard - one of my favorite (and longest-running) clients. Obviously, it's a great year to be doing political-themed work, and I look forward to the next project where I can meld my passions for politics and design. Until then, play some trivia!

Vote for NCZ to win a Golden Button People's Choice Award!

Last week was full of good news! First, our talented Melamed Riley team won two silver and six bronze Cleveland ADDY awards. And second, on the heels of that, I found out that one of my button designs was a finalist to win a Busy Beaver Golden Button People's Choice Award! The Busy Beaver team thought long and hard and came up with their 12 favorite button designs from 2011 - and now you can vote for the winner. So vote early, vote often, vote now until midnight Chicago time this Thursday, February 23. The winner gets a Golden Button Award, a Busy Beaver tote bag, and a $50 Busy Beaver gift certificate. I promise that, if I win, I'll do something awesome with that gift certificate. You can trust me on that.

So what are you waiting for? Cast your vote(s) for my design, #4! And thanks for the nomination, Busy Beaver crew!

Rescued Wonk Wire logos.

Recently, I had worked with frequent collaborator and political heavy-hitter Taegan Goddard on the logo for a site he was thinking of starting, Wonk Wire. The site, which never made it off of the drawing board, was to be a more policy-oriented version of Goddard's must-read Political Wire. Still, even though the site didn't become a reality, I'm really proud of the logo exploration. To that end, here are some of my favorites:

 

 

 

 

If that final logo looks familiar, it's because I used the same pocket protector as part of my submission to the To Resolve Project. That's actually one of my favorite things about being a designer - the ability to adapt and reuse bits of work that ended up on the cutting-room floor for new projects. And speaking of new projects, I'll share my latest collaboration with Goddard tomorrow!

Beards of distinction.

Everybody needs a good winter project, right? And for most of the creative folks I know, that winter project - among many side gigs - is crafting a healthy cold-weather beard. A few weeks ago, I put out the call to some friends to send updates of their winter beard progress, and I'd like to report back with the findings. Without any further ado:

You know what, Mikey Burton? If you didn't look so much like a mustachioed Morrissey in this picture, I'd take points off of your score for not only failing to follow directions, but also shaving what had been a rather impressive beard. But it's all good, Mikey, because I know you can't keep a good beard down.

Here's that Young Jerk Dan Cassaro kicking things off, Team Zissou style. Well grown, Dan.

Two things you should know about my man Shawn Colley: One, he's always going to come correct on the fashion front. Two, the man clearly knows how to grow a beard.

Here's hard-working local hero Jamal Collins absolutely killing it with his winter beard.

I've always been impressed with everything Kris Henry's been doing from his chilly New Hampshire homestead. Design. Bikes. And now beards.

I like to practice what I preach, so what you see above is the very latest update from my winter beard project. It's the fullest it's ever been, so I'm proud of where it's at. No stopping, though. Who knows, I may invest in some of this handy beard conditioner for the rest of the journey.

I like your style, Kyle Kastranec. That's a hopeful gaze if I've ever seen one. And who wouldn't be optimistic with a beard like that, right?

Here's my talented colleage Stephanie Landes giving it her all and showing some real support for facial hair.

Why so serious, Nicole Melville? Melville, another super talented colleague of mine, should really rock this bandana everywhere. Especially client meetings. I'll bring this up in our next conversation.

You knew the worldly wise and mega-talented Stewart Scott-Curran was going to deliver when it came to his winter beard. Was there even any doubt? No, there wasn't.

Another local hero, Jayson Shenk, representing for northeast Ohio. We know how to beard in these parts, trust me.

A musical entry! Columbus' own The Tin Hearts: Brothers-in-tune and brothers-in-beard. Impressive.

Saving the first submission for last, here's Kyle Van Horn, printer extraordinaire and, clearly, beard-grower extraordinaire. Wonderful work, Kyle.

Clearly, judging by the above, some creative folks are doing some real beard crafting this winter. What about you? Are you keeping your chin warm? If you are, let's see it. Show us what you've got in the comments!

Darren Booth and Kathleen Edwards' Voyageur.

I recently posted some process pictures from Darren Booth's work on the Kathleen Edwards single Wapusk. Earlier this month, Edwards released her fourth album, Voyageur, a truly remarkable and honest collection of songs. As with Wapusk, Booth illustrated the artwork. He's posted some of the process behind his Voyageur work at his blog. Check it out and, if you haven't already, scoop up Voyageur. You'll be glad you did. Here's some of Darren's work:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Lead Screw, the pride of Canton, Ohio.

In digging through Kris Henry's amazing Vintage Tools and Toolery gallery, I found this gem:

There's a great deal to love here - the color scheme, the type, that script face, the images. But look closer! It's Mr. Lead Screw:

Isn't that great? I love discoveries like this, little things that make a huge difference. Above all else, though, I'll never not love seeing reminders of this state's proud industrial heritage. We used to make so many things in Ohio. And we can again.