Heckadude + Design

Illustration by Jago Silver

2012-01-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

My boys have this wonderful book called “The Jesus Storybook Bible.” It was written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and beautifully illustrated by Jago Silver.

Please note: I wanted to show you Jago’s illustration, so not all of these illustration come from that particular book.

Dusty the Sign Painter

2012-01-10T07:32:00.000-08:00

Dusty Signs from Hunter Johnson on Vimeo.
I spotted this on Abduzeedo and thought I’d pass it along as well.

The Death of Marat by Sterling Hundley

2011-12-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

Remember Jacques-Louis David’s painting entitled, “The Death of Marat”?
Sterling Hundley has painted a new viewpoint of the same scene, perhaps with the intruder behind him?

Seeing a new view of a familiar scene is very intriguing to me.

Liam Brazier, illustrator

2011-09-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

Wow. Amazing what simple shapes and color can achieve. Check out more of Liam’s work at www.liambrazier.com.

Straight Line Designs

2011-07-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

Super fun and creative work from Straight Line Designs.

via Chad Frye Illustration Guy. Thanks, Chadwick.

Heckacool by endofgeneric

2011-07-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

Spotted on Logopond. Made me laugh. I wish.

via aumantm.

Just Sayin'

2011-06-10T10:16:00.001-07:00

Deep Thoughts

2011-06-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

As seen on Alexandre Rivaux’s Behance portfolio. There are more goodies on there, too. Check it out.

Joe Morse and Play Ball, Jackie!

2011-06-08T13:02:00.000-07:00

Great illustrations by Joe Morse. Check out this article on 36pages.com:

Ben Heine's Digital Circlism

2011-05-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Check out more of Ben’s work on his Flickr site.

Milltown Pride

2011-03-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Last summer I noticed on Facebook that my collegiate alma mater, Bob Jones University, was producing a new movie based on the textile baseball leagues that were prevalent in the south in the 1920’s thru 1950’s. They posted some still photos taken during production, and I was instantly captivated by the authentic baseball uniforms, rural settings, and small town southern charm that appeared before my eyes. I clicked on “follow” so I wouldn't miss a thing. (You can follow along, too.)

Much to my surprise–about a week later–I received a call from my friend Chris Hartzler who is the creative director at BJU. He asked if I’d be interested in designing the poster, DVD cover, and a few other materials. I was very excited to work with Chris and was thrilled to be a part of this exciting project.

Not long afterward, I submitted several thumbnail sketches with ideas including composition, typography, photography, color, and texture. Here are a few of those concepts:

Chris would give me feedback throughout the process and then submit the concepts to Unusual Films, the movie-producing wing of BJU’s School of Fine Arts. Then I began the process of creating low-resolution comps so we could get a better idea of the finished product. The main elements we decided to go with were Will (the main character), a textile mill (to provide the setting), and a pennant bearing the movie title.

I thought it would be neat to allude to the trees that surrounded some of the fields where the ball teams would play, so I included leaves across the top of the design. Blue sky seems synonymous with baseball in the summertime, so I included that as well. The textured paper in the background was roughened and yellowed, hinting of the time period in which the movie is set.

We decided to zoom in a lot tighter on Will as well as dial back the paper texture a bit. We weren’t happy with the way Will’s bat intersected the pennant, but at this stage the photos and poses we had were still limited. We knew we’d revisit this part of the composition.

Chris called to my attention some other current movie posters he had seen that had a more dramatic approach with lighting. He set up a new shoot with Will, and then sent me the high resolution images. Now the setting was later in the day–dusk–and the composition worked much better with the bat perched on Will’s shoulder, no longer interfering with the pennant.

At this stage, we liked the image of Will, and felt the pennant and sky were working pretty well. The angle of the water tower and mill seemed a little foreboding, however. We decided to revisit the earlier image of the mill, but play up the water tower a bit more.

Close-up of pennant and title.

The completed DVD cover.

It was a blessing to play a small part in a large-scale production such as this one. Thanks, Chris!

Milltown Pride premieres Friday, April 7 in Rodeheaver Auditorium on the campus of Bob Jones University.

David Crowder Band: Shine

2011-03-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Great song. Very creative. And who doesn’t like playing Lite Brite?

Google’s Art Project

2011-02-01T08:46:00.001-08:00

Wow. Now you can see (up close!) fine art from some of the world’s greatest museums. I am impressed how you can zoom in and see the details. Check it out, googleartproject.com.

Tim the Movie

2011-02-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

My good friend Chad Frye just announced that he and Brian Joseph Ochab are putting together a stop motion film called “Tim the Movie” that honors the work of Tim Burton. It will be narrated by the legendary Christopher Lee. I’m very excited that Chad will be handling the art directing duties and love the artwork he has already developed. Way to go, Chad and Brian! And best wishes! I can’t wait to see the finished product.

Follow the movie on Facebook, and find out how you can help bring the movie to fruition at their website: timthemovie.com.

Chicago’s Poster Plus

2011-02-01T06:08:00.000-08:00

I was in Chicago last week and one evening had the opportunity to meander down Michigan Avenue. Just across the street from the Art Institute is a poster shop called Poster Plus--but it was closed--darn. The windows were filled with great vintage posters, so I made a note to check out their website once I got home. Next time I’m in town, I’ve got to get down there during business hours.

Retro Posters: Superheroes’ Home Cities

2011-01-22T16:38:00.001-08:00

As seen on Wired.com.

Nike’s design rationale for those crazy Oregon Ducks uniforms

2011-01-12T06:24:00.000-08:00

This is a great read. For what it’s worth, I love the helmets. Undecided on the wings. Hate the socks and shoes.

As seen on Fastcodesign.com. Thanks Woodie for passing this along.

Web-Based Font Viewer

2011-01-12T06:07:00.000-08:00

As seen on the HOW Magazine Blog. I have to admit wondering if the site is stealing all my fonts. Nahhh.

Sweet Polaroid iPhone Decal

2011-01-11T07:14:00.001-08:00

Buy the The Polaroid iPhone Decal at the Photojojo Store!

Minimalist Poster Design

2011-01-10T08:17:00.001-08:00

I’m working on a poster design for Penn State’s dining halls and am considering doing something very minimalist. In my search for some inspiration, I came across these:

by Olly Moss

by Federico Mancosu

by Olly Moss

by Tiger Pixel

by Olly Moss

by Federico Mancuso

Giant Custom-Painted Hockey Mask

2011-01-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

The mask was hand-painted by artist David Arrigo. See more images on penguins.nhl.com.

Baseball Illustration

2011-01-04T13:35:00.000-08:00

My son came home from his school library yesterday with these two books listed below. The illustration styles are vastly different, but I love them both. Here are some samples.

Home Run: The Story of Babe Ruth
Robert Burleigh (Author), Mike Wimmer (Illustrator)

The Babe & I
David A. Adler (Author), Terry Widener (Illustrator)

Help for the Comic Sans Criminal

2010-12-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for passing this along, skipwalker!

Dots Gloves

2010-08-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Warm hands are good. And now there are gloves you can keep on those hands AND still use your touch devices. Check it out.

A-Rod Reportedly Misses Yankees Team Photo, Will Be Digitally Added - DNAinfo.com

2010-08-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

A-Rod Reportedly Misses Yankees Team Photo, Will Be Digitally Added - DNAinfo.com

Yay for Photoshop.

The Illustration of Jeff Foster

2010-07-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

I just discovered the work of Jeff Foster. (Something tells me I’ve seen it before--maybe in a magazine ad?) I love the boldness of his work: the color, composition, and strong angles and lines. PLEASE go right now and read his very short bio. It will make you laugh.

“Location & Beyond,” Start to Finish

2010-06-30T05:41:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to work on a project that allowed me to combine illustration, design, photography, and Photoshop all into one image. For me, this is very exciting. Illustration is my first love, and having it be the main focus of the final image was very rewarding.

The goal with the image is to promote an upcoming communications conference, and emphasize that a wide array of industries are now able to connect like never before. The various industries are highlighted in red in the rough sketch above.

We had the idea to show how things are connected by alluding to those plastic model car kits that many of us put together as kids. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, see the image below.

These kits would come in cardboard boxes with a full color picture of a cool car on the outside. Once you opened the box, you’d find a plastic grid with all the various pieces of the car connected to it. You would simply twist off each piece and then follow the directions to know which pieces needed to be attached to one another and in what order. You’d typically buy the glue separately, and if you were really into it, you could buy model paint and really take your car to the next level. (As a kid, it was all I could do to get mine together. I don’t think I ever painted one.)

Once we agreed on the concept (see top image), I began sketching out simple illustrations that could be taken into Illustrator and attached to an eventual illustrated “plastic” grid.

Here you can see the initial pencil sketches and then the images refined in Adobe Illustrator.

The image below is my first attempt at the composition within Illustrator.

Once the illustration was finalized, I created a beveled effect in Illustrator that I then took into Photoshop to help with the 3-dimensional effect.

Next came taking some photos to provide an environment in which the illustration could live. I ran out to the local craft store and bought this sweet ‘68 Corvette model as well as some glue and paints and began setting up a shot. Originally I thought having newspaper on top of a wooden table would be good, since that is how I worked as a kid. I quickly decided that this was much too busy and would distract from the illustration once I dropped it in.

I opted for my old art school drawing board. It has a much more subtle wood grain, and is lighter in color allowing the various elements to stand out. Finding an area on the board that didn’t have graffiti from my fellow college art students was somewhat challenging. You people know who you are.

Once I settled on the background image, I dropped in the illustration, copying and pasting it into Photoshop. Once in Photoshop, I worked with the grid’s beveled edges, as well as added fake splotches of paint and took out distracting text and logos from the box and paintbrushes.

Changes came back from the client: the theme of the conference had changed, and the group putting on the conference wanted to be included, so I made those changes/additions for the final image. The client also requested that the grid become blue (good call—I like it better, too) as well as working with the elements so they wouldn’t seem so posed. Below is the final image.

It was fun. I wouldn’t complain if this type of project came along regularly. (Thanks, Liz!)

You Gotta Know When to Fold 'Em

2010-06-28T07:33:00.000-07:00

This morning a friend of mine was asking about different types of printer folds, which prompted me to do a web search for some visual examples. I came across Wyke Printers site, which does a really nice job of showing some basic types, and even animates them. A big help for a visual learner like myself.

Design Ingredients

2010-06-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

Haha. Thanks to Scott for passing this along.

Yulia Brodskaya

2010-06-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

I’ve blogged about Yulia’s work before, but just had to share this piece as well. (via For Print Only)

Sherwin Williams “Bees”

2010-05-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Great concept. Great color.

Paper Dreams

2010-05-27T12:59:00.000-07:00

Very nice. I really like the type and simple drawings.

Paper Dreams from Kenneth Onulak on Vimeo.

Haiti Poster Project

2010-05-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

I came across this today for the first time: thehaitiposterproject.com. There are some good designs there, and I should mention that the website says it is still accepting submissions.

“THE HAITI POSTER PROJECT was launched three days after the January 12th, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The project is a collaborative effort by the design community to help effect change through our work. Signed and numbered, limited edition posters have been donated by designers and artists from around the world. All money raised will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.”

Clients. A presentation by Michael Beirut.

2010-03-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

I came across this presentation (hosted by Creative Mornings) several weeks ago and enjoyed it so much that I had our design team here at Penn State give it a listen as well. Michael maintains both an honest and positive approach with those clients he deals with, and gives some great insights on how to communicate better with people in general.

Michael is a partner at Pentagram in NYC. Click here for his bio on Pentagram’s site.

2010/01 Michael Bierut from CreativeMornings on Vimeo.

Nick Brandt Photography

2010-03-09T12:43:00.000-08:00

Nick’s work will be on display in Brussels at the Young Gallery this August 2010. Here Nick describes his work and subject matter:

“Why the animals of Africa in particular? And more particularly still, East Africa?

There is perhaps something more profoundly iconic, mythical, mythological even, about the animals of East Africa, as opposed to say, the Arctic or South America. There is also something deeply, emotionally stirring and affecting about the plains of Africa – the vast green rolling plains punctuated by the graphically perfect acacia trees.

My images are unashamedly idyllic and romantic, a kind of enchanted Africa.”

I agree.

A Poster Show of the Greatest Moments in Sports History

2010-03-09T12:15:00.000-08:00

Currently on display at Gallery Nineteen Eighty-Eight in Los Angeles until March 26, 2010.

Food Festival Flags

2010-03-04T08:01:00.001-08:00

As seen on Ads of the World. Thanks to Michel of Black Eye Design for passing the link along via Twitter.

Home for the Holidays

2009-12-08T09:59:00.000-08:00

This is a poster I recently designed and illustrated to advertise one of Penn State’s themed dining commons dinners. I was influenced by Jessica Hische’s great work in her “Why We Love Boston in Winter” series. I love her type, and thought I’d try my hand at it as well.

For those of you who have been following me, you may recall that I blogged about Mediterranean Road Trip about this time last year.

Tap-Tap Art

2009-12-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

I recently had the opportunity to go on a missions trip to Port au Prince, Haiti, to help some pastors there with a couple projects for their churches. What an amazing place! I’ve been back home for almost a month now, and seem to find myself deep in thought over the many things our group saw and experienced there.

I wanted to share with you the custom artwork on many of the cars, trucks, vans, and buses that are used for Haitian public transportation. They are called tap-taps because of the sound made when tapping coins on the outside of the vehicle, signaling the driver of your stop. Most of these vehicles are in rough shape, yet local sign painters spare no amount of skill or time on each one. Check out traveladventures.org for more information and photos of life in Haiti.

That’s me taking catching a ride on the back of a tap-tap, Haitian-style!

Michael Doret and the World Series

2009-10-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

Check out Michael Doret’s latest blog post. It’s always fascinating hearing his insights, and this particular post has a baseball theme, just in time for the World Series.

Lumadessa

2009-10-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

iPhone/iTouch backgrounds by Josh Brill. According to lumadessa.com, “the word Lumadessa originates from the words luminous meaning ‘light’ and odyssey, meaning ‘a long eventful or adventurous journey’.”

I think they’re beautiful.

Dutch Type Details

2009-10-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Nice Flickr set by Henk van het Nederend. As seen on Quipsologies and After Image.

Vectorfunk!

2009-09-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Check out the wild and wacky designs of Matt W. Moore, Vectorfunk artist extraordinaire.

Daniel Danger

2009-09-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

I discovered Daniel Danger on OMG Posters! and followed their link to a site called Tiny Media Empire. I’m still familiarizing myself with Daniel’s work, but thought these 3 pieces were great.

Just My Type

2009-09-22T07:29:00.001-07:00

Check out more great images on the Design Observer. Article by Eric Baker.

Maurice Sendak on being an illustrator

2009-06-15T11:29:00.000-07:00

As seen on The Art Department. I love Sendak’s quote on what an illustrator is:

“Someone who so falls in love with writing that he wishes he had written it. And the closest he can get to it is illustrating it.”

Also, be sure to check out Cory Goodbey’s site, Terrible Yellow Eyes.

Stop-Motion: "Deadline"

2009-06-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

A short film by Bang-Yao Liu. This was his senior project at Savannah College of Art and Design. Special thanks to Doug for passing it along.

Shorpy Captures America

2009-06-09T14:00:00.001-07:00

Over the course of the last few weeks, my wife and I have been watching (again) the Band of Brothers DVD series done by HBO. For those who have never seen it, I would strongly encourage you to check it out. Band of Brothers is set in the European Theatre of World War II, and follows the men of Easy Company from their basic training in Georgia, through D-Day and on through Berlin and the end of the war. You feel like you really get to know the men on a deeper and more personal level, and gain a little better understanding of some of the challenges they faced.

The flip side of that story is the perspective of the folks back home who clung to each news story, no doubt thinking of family and friends whose lives may have been in peril. Below are a couple great photos I came across on Shorpy taken on D-Day. Set in Times Square, passers-by are watching news of the Normandy Invasion break across the scrolling marquee on the Times Building.

One observant person commented that the second image is reminiscent of 9/11, with New Yorkers looking on with obvious concern as events unfolded before them.

It’s amazing photography that captures the American spirit.

Behind the Bright Lights

2009-06-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

8 Great Logo Designs

2009-06-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

For some time now, I’ve been wanting to come up with my own list of logos that strike my fancy. I’d like it to be a semi-regular thing, occuring as often as I come across 8 great logos, which may or may not be all that often. Without further adieu, here is the first 8, in no particular order:

1. Anjou Bakery, by Gardner Design. It’s worth noting that the Anjou Bakery is surrounded by pear orchards in Cashmere, WA.2. Hollywood and Vine, by Michael Doret. Read about Michael’s design process on page 97 in The Secret Life of Logos, by Leslie Cabarga.

3. Coffees Dezvous, by Chris Parks of Up Design Bureau. Read about Chris’s design process on page 78 in The Secret Life of Logos, by Leslie Cabarga.
4. Jupiter Grille, by Sean Farrell. I think the logo below is an earlier iteration that he had proposed, but is the one I like best. See more of Sean’s work at penflare.com.

5. Untitled, by Kyle Webster. Logo for a series of networking social events for young professionals.

6. Guare Guare: guareguare.com Not sure who the designer is.
7. Elements Coffee Bar, by Doug Irwin. It’s worth noting that this coffee bar is situated in Penn State Behrend’s Chemistry Building.

8. Copycats Hi-Fi Media: www.copycatsmedia.com Not sure who the designer is.

Vintage Alphabet Drawers

2009-06-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Roughly 31 x 47 x 12 inches, these drawers are based on vintage printing blocks. Made by Kent and London. This beauty will run you around $3,800. As seen on Swiss Miss.

Pretty Much Everything

2009-06-04T13:34:00.001-07:00

By Aaron Draplin. As seen on OMG Posters! Seems like a great idea for a self promotional piece.

Michael Doret Interview on LetterCult

2009-06-03T12:24:00.001-07:00

Check out Alex Savakis’ must-read interview with Michael Doret over on LetterCult. They cover Michael’s background, inspiration, methodology and inspiration. Not all designers can do a good job of articulating who they are and why they do what they do–Michael is definitely the exception to the rule!

Special thanks to José for passing this along on his awesome X-Factor-E blog.

Nate Duval’s Phish Poster

2009-06-03T12:18:00.000-07:00

More baseball stuff?? Yes, it’s a sickness I have—but hey, it’s my blog.

As seen on OMG Posters!

Topps Heritage Baseball Cards

2009-05-26T09:25:00.001-07:00

I haven’t collected baseball cards since I was a kid, but I couldn’t help but pony up the $3 when I spotted a display selling current Topps cards designed like those from the 1960 season.

According to toppsheritage.com, Topps started the retro thing with a collection in 2001 that “is based on the set that originally put Topps on the card collecting map, the 1952 Topps set.”

Topps has altered the colors of the current photos to help them look a bit more vintage, and included the great blocks of color and type that worked so well in the original sets. The fun illustrations on the back of the cards are done in the same style I remember so fondly from the cards I used to collect.

Here are a couple original Topps cards from 1960:

And here are some current cards that were in the 2009 pack I bought the other day:

Here’s what the back of the cards look like:

There was actually bubble gum in the pack as well. It tasted just as bad as I remember, which was another nice touch by Topps for those of us who enjoy those walks down memory lane.

I got Deliscript for my birthday!

2009-05-18T06:38:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to a designer friend who surprised me this past Friday with an early birthday gift—Michael Doret’s Deliscript! Thank you! You have no idea how thrilled I am.

Read on, then go pick it up for yourself at FontBros. or MyFonts! Or add it to your own birthday list.

Deliscript comes in both Upright and Slanted character sets, and pushes the OpenType® envelope once again with these features:

Multi-length tails! (like it’s predecessor Metroscript)

T-Crossbars!

Stylistic Alternates!

Word Logos!

The initial idea for Deliscript was inspired by the neon sign in front of Canter’s Delicatessen in Los Angeles—check out that sweet type!

I guess getting another year older isn’t so bad after all.

Cartoon Modern

2009-05-08T08:09:00.001-07:00

As seen on Cartoon Modern, a blog by Amid Amidi of inspiring cartoon art from the 1950s.

32 alphabets modernes

2009-05-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

As seen in pilllpat’s photostream on Flickr.

X-FACTOR-E Blog: Chrome & Steel!

2009-05-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

X-FACTOR-E Blog: Chrome & Steel!

Coca-Cola's Summer Cans

2009-05-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

See more on the Dieline.

Touchey’s 30+ Awesome Poster Designs

2009-05-06T06:18:00.000-07:00

Check them all out on Touchey.com.

Volumeone

2009-05-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

“Volumeone is a design studio that brings a multi-disciplinary approach to the creation of visual solutions for print, motion and digital media.

The experimental 'Seasons' portion of volumeone is updated several times a year, featuring conceptual narratives and personal visual work. These explorations help show prospective clients the studio's wide range of visual and technical capabilities while providing a creative platform for learning and experimentation.”

I really love the type in this piece and recommend you watch the video on their website--it looks a lot better there. Be sure to check out Volumeone’s other stuff as well.

Home Slice

2009-05-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to my buddy Chad Frye who sent me this fun rocket/raffle ticket/art show invitation to the art exhibition of HOME SLICE. Check out more from their show here on Flickr. Here’s a taste:

Pretty Sketchy

2009-05-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

A group on Flickr. It’s fun. Here’s my sketch--I hope to see yours on there, too! As seen on Swiss Miss.

Updated 5.5.09: Speaking of sketchbooks, check out this book review on Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators and Creatives:

Michael Schwab

2009-05-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, my family had the opportunity to spend a few weeks in San Francisco. What a beautiful city! We did a bunch of touristy things--visited Pier 39, took a boat tour around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate bridge, visited Muir Woods and Muir Beach, went to the zoo, visited Golden Gate Park, rode a trolley car--ah, good times. We even took a couple days and headed over to Yosemite National Park. We want to go back!

While at the gift shop at Muir Woods, I discovered a series of wonderful images/logos for all of the Golden Gate national parks. These pieces reminded me of WPA posters from days gone by. I had no idea whose work it was, but it inspired me enough to try and create a similar look as soon as I got back home.

I know now that Michael Schwab is the creative genius behind these great images. You can check his website out here. I hope you enjoy his stuff as much as I do.

(Me and the fam at Muir Woods.)

(Here’s my spin on Schwab’s great style. This is a identifier for Penn State’s HUB restaurants.)

Neat-O Identity Designs

2009-04-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

As seen on Touchey.com.

HandMadeFont

2009-04-27T05:59:00.000-07:00

Spotted these fonts this morning and thought they were a lot of fun.

“We are an Estonia based design company HMF (HandMadeFont). It was founded in 2008 by Vladimir Loginov and Maksim Loginov. We spesialaze in developing of unique, untraditional fonts. We take inspiration from everything that surrounds us. On this website we offer completed fonts that You can buy and use freely.”

Check out the entire gallery at handmadefont.com.

Studio On Fire, Design and Letterpress

2009-04-24T20:13:00.000-07:00

“Studio On Fire is a hybrid design and letterpress workspace in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

In our design services, we are committed to making distinctive work that engages the senses.

In our printing, we are committed to making letterpress one of the most premium and relevant production methods for contemporary design.”

Check out Studio On Fire’s blog, called Beast Pieces, here.

Vintage and Retro in Web Design

2009-04-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

As seen on SixRevisions.com: 40 Beautiful Examples of Vintage and Retro in Web Design.

Photo Realism via Adobe Illustrator

2009-04-24T08:13:00.001-07:00

See more amazing images on Digital Artist Toolbox.

The Espresso Book Machine

2009-04-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Book printing on demand!

“It's not elegant and it's not sexy – it looks like a large photocopier – but the Espresso Book Machine is being billed as the biggest change for the literary world since Gutenberg invented the printing press more than 500 years ago and made the mass production of books possible. Launching today at Blackwell's Charing Cross Road branch in London, the machine prints and binds books on demand in five minutes, while customers wait.” Keep reading.

As seen on guardian.co.uk.

Michael Doret is back at it!

2009-04-23T20:49:00.000-07:00

While the accolades for his most recent typeface--Metroscript--continue to pour in, Los Angeles based lettering artist Michael Doret has been busy designing what is sure to be another award-winning font--Deliscript.

“Done in the same spirit as Metroscript, and unlike many ‘vintage’ fonts currently in release, this is not a rehash of an historic font design or showcard lettering that had been unearthed, but a completely new creation.”

Read more on Doret’s blog, Alphabet Soup.

The Art of Paul Catherall

2009-04-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

I just love the flat color, simplified shapes, and texture in Paul Catherall’s work. I had trouble picking which images to post--they're all so good. To see more, check out Paul’s site here.

Special thanks to Jim for passing this along.

Preserve

2009-04-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

“Preserve is on going project to produce a permanent visual record of hand painted building signage. Many of these are being erased from our cityscapes either being worn away by weather over time, covered as buildings have been repainted, disappearing as buildings are demolished or replaced with modern signage equivalents. This site will be updated regularly with my latest images and you are invited to contribute to this work.”

Once on the Preserve site, be sure to click on the images to see more great views!

Poster Cabaret

2009-04-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Gig posters from Poster Cabaret.

andyheckathorne.com

2009-04-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Whew! It took some doing but I've updated my website. I trust you’ll find it easier to use and more informative than my previous site. (The kids tell me it’s much more Web 2.0 now.) Please check it out and drop me a line with your feedback. I always enjoy hearing from you.

Steve Thomas

2009-04-13T12:01:00.001-07:00

Steve Thomas brings us retro posters from the future! As seen on Zazzle.com.

Barnumville

2009-03-31T05:57:00.001-07:00

Some great circus photography by Matt Hoyle. Be sure to check out his other work as well.

Looking Into the Past

2009-03-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

Jason Powell has started a new Flicker group called “Looking Into the Past,” inspired by the souvenir images of Michael Hughes.

“Images are made by finding old photographs of places, printing them out, and then holding the print up in the modern day location that the original photograph was taken.”

Great idea! (Incidentally, my wife and I were in Harper’s Ferry just the other day–so Jason’s image grabbed my attention immediately.)

Shorpy

2009-03-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

Shorpy is a great vintage photo blog filled with “thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s,” culled mostly from the Library of Congress. “The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.”

I really can’t get enough of this stuff.

Special thanks to Jim of After Image for passing this great resource along.

Sharing Information

2009-03-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

I’ve been using some new tools lately to better find and communicate with other designers, illustrators and creative people. I am constantly looking for inspiration, and these tools help me in my never ending search.

I’ll start with a little plug-in I came across for the Firefox browser (v. 3.0.7) that I’ve been using. It’s called Read It Later. For a while now, I’d been faced with a dilemma every time I came across an interesting link: Do I bookmark it?--thus adding to my list of thousands of links--or do I remember to check my browser’s “History” later on in order to find the link again? Answer: Neither.

Read It Later is the solution. It places a grayed-out check-mark in the url of every page you visit. If you want to read it later, you simply click on the check mark--which then turns red. The links are automatically sent to “Your Reading List” drop-down in the top right corner of the browser. Links are eliminated from “Your Reading List” the same way--by simply clicking the red check mark, returning it to it’s original gray color.

Notice in the image above that it has syncing capability, a search function, and even an RSS feed...which brings me to the next tool I’ve been using: Google Reader.

I started using Google Reader in January. Before then, I really didn’t understand what the benefits were. Now I subscribe to almost 60 different blogs, and they all funnel right into Google Reader--so I only have one place to go to read them. Not only that, Google Reader keeps track of what I’ve read for me much like an email application would by bolding unread items, so I don’t have to click through each blog looking for new content. Here is what it looks like:

At the bottom of each post is a tool bar where you can choose to do the following things:

Here’s where it gets really cool. By clicking “Share,” you can share items you find particularly interesting with other friends of yours who also use Google Reader. Not only that, I have all my shared items exporting automatically to this blog (look over there at the right column under my picture--there is a section entitled “Heckadude’s Shared Items”) and my Twitter page, where I share with others who follow me. It all happens automatically when I click on “Share” in Google Reader.

As I mentioned earlier, Read It Later has an RSS feed. I subscribe to this feed in Google Reader as well, allowing me to share those urls easily, too.

So, be sure to check out my shared items when you visit my blog or swing over to Twitter to see what I’ve been finding.

Louise Fili Launches New Site

2009-03-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

As seen on TypeTheory.

“Louise Fili Ltd. recently launched a new website, and it wasn’t a moment too soon. In recent months the blog of Jessica Hische, a prolific designer for Louise Fili, has been the best window into the world of the firm’s work. The new website is more comprehensive and accessible replete with a case studies section and a very promising blog.”

Jessica Hische

2009-03-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

I want to do my part to get the word out about Jessica Hische. I stumbled upon her work a few weeks ago and find myself going back to her website and blog again and again.

According to Print Magazine, Jessica sent her hand-lettered “12 Days of Christmas” card to designer Louise Fili in December 2006. Not long thereafter, Fili hired her. “Jessica’s energetic approach to type, lettering, and illustration is boundless,” says Fili. Read more.

Art Grootfontein

2009-03-04T17:10:00.000-08:00

See more on grootfontein.net.

Typophile on Flickr

2009-03-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

Typophile’s group pool entitled:

...for the typography obsessed.

Show us your typographic obsessions, type designs and typographic compositions in progress. Show us your handlettering, your glyphs and found typography.”

It’s a huge collection and has some nice stuff. Check out Typophile’s website here.

Alex Trochut

2009-03-03T05:55:00.000-08:00

As seen on Designious Times. Check out Alex’s portfolio here.

The Many Uses of Twitter

2009-03-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

I've been utilizing Twitter more and more to connect with other designers, find fascinating urls, follow design trends, etc. Check this video out (which I found via another user on Twitter) and then check out my Twitter profile at twitter.com/heckadude.

Kadir Nelson

2009-02-25T07:08:00.000-08:00

With spring just around the corner, I wanted to put a post together with a baseball theme. My original intent was to have a batch of baseball illustrations from a wide range of artists. However, I stumbled upon the work of Kadir Nelson, and his stuff was just too good to only devote a couple of images to. You can check his website out here to see more of his great work.

Retro Cereal Boxes

2009-02-24T17:48:00.000-08:00

Coming soon to a Target near you. Read more on TheDieline.com.

Crayol-iscious

2009-02-24T06:01:00.000-08:00

“My earliest memories of making art involve the use of wax crayons. I can still remember the pleasure of opening a new box of crayons: the distinct smell of the wax, the beautifully colored tips, everything still perfect and unused. Using the first crayon from a new box always gave me a slight pain. Through a novel technique that I have developed, I again find myself working with the familiar form of the crayon.” Keep reading.

Christian Faur goes waaay past the 64 pack with the sharpener in the back. Check out more of Christian's amazing work here. As seen on ColourLovers.

Ka-Chow!

2009-02-23T20:21:00.000-08:00

I was looking through some of my family pictures tonight and came across some Halloween costumes I made with the boys the year before last. Thought you might enjoy them, too.

Here's a shot of Will and I applying a custom paint job to The King.

I finished things up myself around midnight. Pretty darn proud of myself.

Seeing how excited the boys were the next morning made it all worth it. Will had some awesome bed-head working in this shot.

Watching early morning cartoons at our very own Drive-In Theatre.

Sam Nielson

2009-02-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

As seen on Sam's Tasty Art. Special thanks to Chad Frye, Illustration Guy for passing this along.

Glennz

2009-02-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

Former Threadless designer, Glenn Jones, makes a go-of-it on his own. Read about it here on ThinkDesign and then mosey over to Glennz store for a tee shirt!

Grass

2009-02-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

I gotta get me some of this for the office.

Grass' squares are designed to give a natural touch to the office or home by placing them freely or according to feng-shui. Unlike ordinary flowers, “grass” is completely natural, a piece of earth, that grows indoors with minimal care. Click here for the full article.

As seen on TheDieline.com.

Erik Natske

2009-02-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

“Erik Natzke is an interactive designer who is constantly trying to blur the lines between design and technology.”

I'll say! I've never seen anything quite like this before. Check out Erik's journal here and more samples like this here.

Shape Collage

2009-02-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

As seen on Digital Inspiration:

"Called Shape Collage, this software is absolutely free, lightweight (~300kb) and it’s written in Java so it works just the same on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux machines."

I just downloaded the software and ran some of my family's recent Disney pictures through it. I was able to create what you see above in under 5 minutes. Plus, you can add customized shapes. It's pretty cool!

Special thanks to Jim for passing this along.

Mediterranean Road Trip, Part 3

2009-02-18T06:52:00.000-08:00

This morning I finished up the poster I've been pecking away at for the last couple of months. It is headed out the door to the client for them to see for the first time, and I sit here typing with my fingers crossed (it's hard to do, though I know many of you have experience with this as well).

I have mixed feelings about the final look of it, but more than anything, it's been a really good learning experience. I've been able to dabble with some new techniques, and have sought inspiration from many different artists and designers. It's not Laura Smith or Otis Shepard, but to quote Roger Clemens, "It is what it is."

I'd love to get some constructive criticism from you, my readers. Please feel free to comment on anything--the overall composition, the colors used, the typefaces, the illustration--anything. I want to continue to improve, and really appreciate any feedback.

Here are some closeups:

From the first time I received this project, I thought the title was kind of funny. "Road Trip" seems like such an American term. To me, it doesn't seem to fit with the word "Mediterranean." Hmmm. Perhaps the whole point is to convey an American touring the coast of the Mediterranean--with that thought, some ideas started to percolate.

I'd seen some type on a poster by Kerne Erickson that I really liked and thought could work for the word "Mediterranean." I came across the font "Cheboygan" and thought it closely resembled the type Erickson used--so here it is. Nothing says "American" more than Metroscript. That's why I used it for the words "Road Trip Dinner." (Plus, I am determined to use this font on everything. Michael--I told you this was gonna be an issue.)

On these dinner posters, I normally try to get creative with the menu type. (Like on this one.) Here I decided to be as straightforward as possible and use the approach I read about on book cover designer David Drummond's blog. Drummond has an amazing ability to use just a few fonts to consistently support the overall message he is conveying. I used Futura on the menu items in the hopes that they would play a secondary and supportive role.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I sketched everything out initially on paper and then redrew everything in Illustrator. After that step, I took it piece by piece into Photoshop where I could add a certain level of "hand-done" quality to it. Paul Rogers was kind enough to explain to me that he tries to only do things on the computer that he could do with paint. I didn't abide by this completely, but did try to hint around at it a bit by using some free Photoshop brushes I picked up on Bittbox, as well as by applying some Mister Retro Machine Wash filters and some old fashioned Photoshop "noise."

So there you have it. There really is a method to my madness--though the results can be scary--much like Dr. Frankenstein experienced. Again, I'd appreciate your feedback.

Theater Marquees

2009-02-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

As seen on Flickr. I love the type, neon, colors, and wear-and-tear on these old signs. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Websites

2009-02-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

“We all make mistakes running our websites. However, the nature of those mistakes varies depending on the size of your company. As your organization grows, the mistakes change. This post addresses common mistakes among large organizations.

Most of the clients I work with are large organizations: universities, large charities, public sector institutions and large companies. Over the last 7 years, I have noticed certain recurring misconceptions among these organizations. This post aims to dispel these illusions and encourage people to face the harsh reality.”

By Paul Boag on Smashing.com. Designers will especially identify with Points 7 and 8.

Special thanks to Scott for passing this along.

Color Scheme Designer

2009-02-11T13:13:00.000-08:00

Another cool tool to help designers with color. Be sure to check out the tabs along the bottom. (It took me a while to find and utilize them.) Check it out at colorschemedesigner.com.

Special thanks to Jim for passing this along.