A Fantastic Thrift Store Find: Venture

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VENTURE: The Traveler’s World Magazine. Bi-monthly and subsequently monthly (1960’s-1970’s) publication of Cowles Communications, Inc. October 1964 issue.

As found at the Salvation Army, I recommend anyone interested in classic American design and advertising to pick any issue of Venture up if you see them. Every time I view an ad in these pages, and there are many, I ask myself: "What would Don Draper do?"

A Complex Visionary & Salesman

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As many of you know by now, Malcolm McLaren passed away on April 8th at the age of 64. The famed and oft-hated hype-machine, marketing (and apparent royalty) swindler and ego maniac was the stuff of legend. Co-founder of the 1971 London fashion shop, Let It Rock (which changed its name to "Sex" in 1975), with fashion icon Vivienne Westwood, McLaren also notably managed the Sex Pistols, New York Dolls and Bow Wow Wow. Alongside Vivienne and artist Jamie Reid, McLaren created a look that will always be synonymous with punk rock.

“For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer and I will miss him, and so should you.” — John Lydon

CM20: The Official Press Release

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Century Media Records’ North American Office Celebrates Its 20 Year Anniversary, Releases New Compilation Series

"Century Media Records is recognized around the globe as a dominating force and premier label for metal, hard rock and hardcore. The label is extremely proud to celebrate 20 years of metal excellence this year and have put together a special series of compilations that will highlight their 1st 20 years in North America. Four double discs will be released over the coming months, each representing a five year span to provide more focus and in-depth flashback coverage. The tracks for each reissue were meticulously chosen by previous Century Media President, Marco Barbieri, and are housed on 2 CDs in a beautifully crafted and designed digipack. Former Century Media A&R, Tom Bejgrowicz handled all the art direction and coordination, from designing the cover art, to choosing 100% recycled materials for the packaging. Each release will contain liner notes from Century Media employees, past and present.

"Volume one of this series hits shelves on May 18th. The remaining discs will be released throughout the year culminating with a massive box set at the end of the year."

Production Design, In Full Detail

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I've been doing more production work for EMI over the past month, including turning blank templates (above, center) into full-fledged layouts (above, right & left) for sale at Best Buy. The challenge is to take pre-existing design from the CD package and introduce it, warp it, adjust it and do whatever it takes to make it work in this new format.

In most cases, I have the most fun coming up with spines that both compliment the package and feature graphics not used in the same way within the original designs. Case in point, the Slash package has some killer spines utilizing artwork from the booklet's interior itself. I like the idea that, regardless of what side you're looking at – Slash is checking you out!

These projects are a lot to sort out; new barcodes, ICPN numbers, adjusted legal copy, native files created by someone else (who doesn't always know what they're doing), etc. but in the end I put it all together in a way that acknowledges the original but offers up something unique as well.