Federererererererererer.....!

I am very specific about what gets me excited. I am extremely
picky and find myself not liking a lot of things; instead having
a very specific pool of items that I am passionate about. Recently
it seems, over the past year or so the sport of Tennis has become
one of those things.

This past week saw the anointing of Mr. Roger Federer as the
'09 French Open champion. A feat hewas unable to complete
for on 4 separate attempts. I watched nearly all of the matches
he was in and found myself in awe of the 27 year old's grace
and masterful playing. I have never been one for fanfare,
and it seems Federer and I share that. His style is subtle and
commanding, but almost understated. Watching him play
is akin to listening to complicated and densemusic, as both
appear standard or unassuming at surface level,
but after a prolonged and focused exposure one experiences
how truly magnificent either can be.

That all said, Take a closer look at this lovely little sport, one
free from macho posturing and beer endorsement, it is a
pretty sight to behold.

Oh and Congratulations to Roger Federer!

Type Cast-Axel is a Rose

Erik Spiekermann is not one of my favorite designers.
His typefaces, although held in high regard remind
me far to much of the "personality" of the 90's, which
just makes me sad. That said though, I might be a fan
of this new one he created for the ever-exciting
world of excel sheets. It is called Axel. It was created
with regard to the condensed columns and boxes
of the excel program and quite honestly, it looks great
serving that rather mundane purpose. I'm quite
partial to the lowercase "l", the little lip of the "y"
and the slanted tops of the ascenders a la "interstate"
and other road sign typefaces. All in all,
Spiekermann's usually overtly quirky tendencies
work out here for me.


Mhmmmm: Grizzly Bear-"Veckatimest", Ameseours, Being Broke,
Going home for a spell and Kayo Dot on the 9th.

Explanation

This poster and quote, although a little intense,
especially regarding the large text, really makes
me happy. It basically explains how I see and
approach design.

"I didn't get into design
to be an artist. To me, an
Artist creates things to
evoke emotion. Being a
designer goes a step
further than that, not only
trying to evoke emotion
but trying to make a
reaction. It is very
objective-driven, and that's
what makes it interesting."


Also, a very lovely looking poster.


Round and Round: St. Vincent-"Actor", Phoenix-
"Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix", Grizzly Bear-
"Veckatimest", Summer, Cherry Dr. Pepper, and
French Bread.

Wowie Zowie

So as most of you OTISians have done already,
we were assigned to make a Typographic booklet
based on a mental/physical illness. I decided to
do claustrophobia. I am still in the midst of
completing mine, but above is an example Erin,
my teacher sent of a neat gatefold book on
the Balla-Dora Typographika blog. She sent
it because there is a theme of covering and folding
in my structure that I have been trying to resolve.
Needless to say the example is stellar, and inspiration
has found a home in my mind once again.

Excitment surrounds: Opeth/Enslaved show this weekend,
, Writing Music for real this time(1 song nearly done for
my black metal/shoegaze like project!)
Overall relief abounds.

Aminals...Animals...

Above are two incredible pieces, entitled "Fight/Flight"
by miss Jessica Cooper, that I can't take my eyes
off of. Her work is stellar in general, focusing on
lesser known and intriguing nature facts and such.
I highly recommend checking her stuff out
along with all of her lovely and talented friends in the
senior illustration class that just graduated.


Into: St. Vincent, Ameseours-S/T, Peach candy,
melon soft drinks, expensive toothpaste.

Pargas with a P; Poster with an Awesome

Above is one of the most killer things I have
seen as a product of an OTIS student. This type
design and poster was designed by Mike Pargas,
one of the most solid individuals I have met
during my time at OTIS.

There is a lot we could talk about here, tons of nuance
in this little display face. The curved top of the "C",
the entire letter "x", the tension of the "s", and the
slits in the "v" and "w" are all really unique ideas that
breath a refreshing life into the font.

This guy here has been a major inspiration as a designer
and a human being. Keep an eye on him and his work
as he is now a graduated OTIS alumni. Good luck to
you friend.


Cheers: St. Vincent "Actor", not getting beaten up in a fight
last night, Funeral Mist-"Marantha", ISIS-"Wavering Radient"
Summer, Getting it together and Fuji apple pear lifewater.

"Never Sleep"

Above to the right is the cover for the two chaps
on the left's new book "Never Sleep". It chronicles
their experience from before art school (CCA in
San Fran) during, and after when they became the
singular unit known as Dress Code. This book has
seriously brightened up my life and inspired more
than any Swiss Graphic Design book...kind of.

Regardless, This book is invaluable for anyone going
to school to do what they love. Check it out deedles.

Re-emergence of the This.

So above is a complete overhaul of
my type specimen poster from last
semester. I'm pretty happy about it
but think I might just remake it again
over the summer to keep my type chops
in check.

Typographic Birthdaze

Continuing on the theme of making greeting cards,
I decided that I would make one almost entirely
typographic for my brother mark's 18th birthday.
It pulls heavily from a number of places...but still
reatains enough paul-ness to make it fresh.
Well-Designed....ehh...getting there.

Vortex of Good: St. Vincent- Actor, The National-Alligator,
Never Sleep (book), Summer vacation, waiting for
the new Phoenix record and the tons of shows I am
attending this summer.

Advances.

This one is much closer to getting that
"ahh...thats nice" feeling. I still need to
rework the type...I used Helvetica
Regular instead of light, and it looks
better, but I think I might need Semi-
Bold, as the Bold is a bith much. Tweaks
are ahead indeed.

Word: The Dirty Projectors-"Stillness is the
Move", Phoenix "Lisztomania" and Emily
Haines-"Knives Dont Have Your Back". Nice.