Contain(ing) My Excitement!

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For more images from the package, go here.

I had the immense pleasure of creating a very deluxe package for the Devin Townsend Project which is now being shipped to fans around the world. What a treat to work on a project of this levity and intensity, for sure. The package's features include a 12" x 12" charcoal linen slipcase, a 64-page book, a 45.5" x 11.75" gatefold centerpiece, 6xCD, 2xDVD, and more.

Throughout the process, I received nothing but the fullest support for my concept from everyone involved – most notably Devin and the almighty Steve Joh. Much respect and many thanks to two of them and so many others. Now that it's made it through production, I'm beyond excited for fans to pick up a copy, dig in, and have fun experiencing everything for the first time.

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My quotes from the press release:

Upon getting the call to work on what would become the "Contain Us" collection, I saw this as a chance to bring everything – both released and unreleased, seen and unseen – together in one clean, elegant, and utterly deluxe package.

I immediately began the process of developing a plan to bring that vision to fruition. As we all know, Devin is anything but cliché so eliminating dripping blood and the "none more black" approach was easy. Instead, I leaned away from all things metal and turned my aesthetics toward that of fine art, museums, and high-end printing methods. From the texture of the book and its slipcase to the feeling of the paper itself, I wanted everything to exude "class."

Devin & Co. were touring the states this past summer and I joined him in Philadelphia to both review my plans and to make sure we're on the same page. From the get-go, Devin & I were 100% in sync. To put it simply; the meeting could not have gone any smoother. For instance, the DTP albums and their concept inspired several aspects of my design concept and seeing those musical and lyrical ideas shift into the visual realm excited us both.

Hanging with Devin that day also gave me an opportunity to photograph both himself and the band behind the scenes. Several of those photographs can be found inside the album-sized book that contains approximately 250 rare or never-seen-before images culled from the band's personal archives, professional photographers from around the world, Devin's hand-written lyrics and studio notes, tour laminates, and pretty much everything in between.

"Contain Us" was no small task to coordinate, for any of us involved. However, seeing it all come together made it all worth it. Especially for me when I received an email from Devin saying: "Beyond cool. Seriously, way to knock it the FUCK out of the park bro!" Worth it, indeed.

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The "Modern/Vintage" Look Book

Open publication - Free publishing - More fashion

Note: To view properly, click to "expand."

Recently, I had the opportunity to photograph a vacant building in the Financial District of Manhattan, NYC. Known simply by its address, 5 Beekman, the building had me wanting to not only capture my own photographic work but also to shoot something special for Sally Jane Vintage. Upon doing so, I put together a "look book" with a focus on the fashion and photography.

THE HISTORY: Designed in April 1881 as The Kelly Building (after builder, Eugene Kelly), christened Temple Court in March 1882, and built to completion in 1883 of brick and terra cotta, Temple Court was 165,000 square feet featuring 212 office suites, a vault of safe-deposit boxes, an atrium topped with a glass pyramid, and much more. It was the first-ever fireproof building in the city of New York and the third with an elevator. Due to (of all things) fire code violations, the atrium was boarded up in 1940. Hidden behind the drywall, tenants from that point on would never even know of the atrium's existence. This drywall, despite its sad aesthetic, served to help preserve the railings and their character for future use. Vacant for the last decade and obscured in the New York skyline until 2010, the (likely) future hotel is now in the midst of finalizing its ownership and subsequent plans for redevelopment.

Zombie Boy vs. Dermablend

Whoever conceived this is a genius…

Dermablend takes you behind the scenes at the "Go Beyond The Cover" video shoot with Zombie Boy (a.k.a. Rico Genest), shot on location at the Tuxedo Agency in Montreal.

In The House Industries Cul-De-Sac: Pt. 2

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As part of our annual retreat, this year the Typography 1 students, Maria Cummings-Miller, and I traveled through Amish Country en route to Yorklyn, DE and the House Industries studio. This year, co-founder Rich Roat headed up the tours that also included fantastic insight from type designer Ken Barber, illustrator Chris Gardner, and all-around guru Brian Awitan. It's worth noting that co-founder Andy Cruz is in Japan for a month working on projects with Hermes, Vogue Japan, and much more.



Much was discussed regarding their business' history, internal process, present and future projects, and how they've approached type and the letterform as works of art. I love having a yearly excuse to hang with old friends while introducing the students to a world where type is seemingly limitless! Overall, we had a beautiful day for the field trip and while I didn't bring my dSLR this year, these photos will do the trick this time around.

Note: The post for last year's visit can be found here.

AIGA Central PA: FEED 2011

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This past week, the Central PA chapter of the AIGA hosted their annual FEED Conference. Featuring booths for Finch, Mohawk Neenah, the .918 Letterpress Club, and more – I also discovered a local letterpress printer in that of Thomas-Printers. The night also hosted the Moveable Type Truck, which got professionals and students alike super-psyched. One of my students, Jessica Messerschmidt, actually won Adobe CS5.5 in the drawing. Too cool. All in all, a nice night to nerd out with the regional design folk.