3 NEW DESIGNS: March 19-22, 2009

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01. AWAKE IN THE SOUTHERN SKIES: Inspired by all things metal – from doom to black and death to stoner. As much as I love The National, Neko Case, Band of Horses and wholesome lifestyle – metal, and all its decadence, will always be a big part of my life.


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02. THE GLARE THAT OBSCURES: The title is inspired by this quote by James Thurber: "There are two kinds of light - the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures," while the art features a photograph I took recently at an abandoned ice factory.


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03. LIKE A MURDERING SUN: Featuring a detail from one of Gustav Doré's magnificent works for Dante's The Divine Comedy, this piece takes a cleaner, brighter and more colorful path than the other recent works. I [heart] white space.

NOW THIS IS TRUE TYPE.

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Do yourself a favor and take five minutes to enjoy this video on a modern-day letterpress shop. It's a fascinating view into the world of typography and techniques that are the same in this shop today as they were 600 years ago. Needless to say, Johannes Gutenberg would be proud.

A Crack In The Process.

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I was recently asked by an old friend to help create a design for their company, including a logo and a web-site for the business. Unfortunately, the farther the process went, the more I realized that they knew what they wanted all along and really didn't need me to accomplish the look for them. With that said, I really liked what I did for their logo (above) and will likely resurrect the concept in the future for another relevant project.

Note: I enjoyed the creativity the office photocopier allowed me for this logo. I've done this in the past but it was the discussion of this technique in the House Industries presentation (ala my boy Jeremy Dean and his Flyer Fonts collection) that resurrected the idea, got me out of my computer chair and into the "organic" world once again.

Designing Philanthropic.

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Myself and my family are involved in supporting the Humane League of Lancaster County, a wonderful organization who are trying to make a major difference for animals of all kinds here in Lancaster County. And if you've seen Oprah or studied up on Puppy Mills, you know the League is up against a lot in these parts.

The Tailwagger's Trot is the League's #1 fundraiser for the year and this is a certificate I whipped up quickly for them to give to special volunteers.

Design On Display.

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The PCA&D Faculty Biennial opened on First Friday here in Lancaster. I included my final designs for Ricky Nelson and Louis Prima in addition to both the final, printed piece and the original artwork for Shadows Fall's The War Within album.

MAN ALIVE Dsgn On Display!

Pennsylvania College of Art & Design Faculty Biennial 2008
November 24, 2008 – January 9, 2009

PCA&D is pleased to present new artworks created by its faculty members that teach studio classes in Graphic Design, Illustration, Fine Arts and Photography. This group exhibit provides a special opportunity for students to see what their artist/professors are working on in their studio and professional lives.

Reception for the Artists:
First Friday, December 5th from 5:00PM – 8:00PM

PCA&D Main Gallery
Hours: 8:00AM – 4:30PM
Monday through Friday, Closed holidays
717-396-7833

Postcard images, l-r: Timothy Campbell, Christine Welch, Tom Scullin, Scott McMahon, Tom Bejgrowicz, Emily Denlinger, Dan Lobdell

The House That Fonts Built.

As of this fall, I've begun teaching at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design.  Everyone on staff was talking guest speakers for the coming year, so I thought to myself; why not call on my old contacts at House Industries to speak to my Typography 1 students (and the rest of the school, for that matter)?!?!  With that said... Andy Cruz (owner and art director extraordinaire) and Jeremy Dean (now of Urban Outfitters and co-House conspirator of old) agreed to stop on by and share their wealth of design knowledge with the entire school.  It's going to be fantastic, to say the least.

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I'm wrapping up a 9-piece digital music compilation card project that feature my original art and designs. The titles are all various artist compilations featuring themes such as girls in rock (She Rocks), 80's hits (Alive & Kicking), California/surf music (Summer Fun) and more. Look for them in retail stores around the country later this year.

Radiohead Postcards (an unused design)

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I was hired to handle the production design of a 7-piece postcard book to help support the upcoming release of Radiohead's The Best Of release. Each postcard featured the 7 Capitol Records album covers, including the new collection. And although, in the end, the label chose a simpler route (black back, small framing outline) - I enjoyed getting my hands dirty creating something a little bit more elaborate for everyone to consider.

It’s parallel lines that will never meet.

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I was assigned the Blondie Parallel Lines: Deluxe Collector's Edition 30th Anniversary package design project. It's now completed and slated for release on June 24th.

The cover design was to be updated in order to differentiate this edition from past ones with the final version being heavily influenced by a piece Debbie Harry supplied us with.