Vampire Weekend - "Giving up the Gun." Still a favorite video of mine. Aesthetically pleasing and Jake Gyllenhaal playing tennis with girls. Win-win, right?
This has nothing to do with anything, except that I have had Vampire Weekend on loop all day today while designing. Just wanted to spread the joy.
This is the longest break between posts since I started Newbaric's blog 5 years ago. Not sure where the time went, but a lot has been going to on around these parts. First of all, I have conquered my first Wisconsin winter. Yup. This Californian just went out today in short sleeves in 47 degree weather, because guess what? That's warm!
So I guess that pup in the photo above is the easiest excuse I have for my lapse in posts. She frowns upon computer time outside of design projects, so I try and comply :) Our little buddy is Wrigley, aka, Wrigs, Wigley and her official AKC name, Wrigley Helvetica Lindstrom. She is a Bears, Cubs and Badger fan. We picked her up near Green Bay, so we figure when she gives us attitude it's because she is really a Packers fan.
Since the last post I have been posting work on dribbble and still getting in some Twitter time. Stop on by and say hello. In the long process of updating and improving the website. In a constant state of change, which is gooood.
CBTL has launched an "Above and Beyond" program internally to recognize its employees. We finished up this Above and Beyond logo for them to roll out with the program.
Wrapped up this poster for "Year in Review" UW graduate show. Come on out to the 7th floor gallery and the Art Lofts to see what's been happening this last year.
This is the poster for the 2011 Spring Colloquium at UW. Last semester it was the transporation map, this semester it's an Encyclopedia collection to represent the speakers. Sent to print and plastered all around campus. One BIG poster is between the Chazen and Humanities building...
Few companies in the world have the brand presence that Starbucks carries around. You can watch movies, TV shows and see ads in magazines from the last decade that all use that white coffee cup with a generic "green circle." For a brand to be that ubiquitous that it can be summed up in one shape and color, it's been doing something right. World, take note. Few "brands" in the world can lay claim to that level of brand awareness. To a certain degree, Japan owns the red circle, Apple owns, well the apple, Nike=Swoosh and UPS can claim brown.
The most recent redesign by Starbucks is the exact reason why they own the green circle. They DO NOT stray from it. They know who they are and know it would be silly and destructive to the brand to try and reinvent the wheel. They had a vision and reason for their redesign, and carefully applied, or deleted, from their logo what they needed to reach that vision. The power of brand and knowing who you are and what your customers expect from you will get you a long way. This last year has been a huge year for Starbucks in getting back to who they are and where they want to go from here.
Two main critiques that people have made about this new logo, that I DON'T agree with:
1. "Will Starbucks be able to pull off a logo without their name attached to it?"
Huh? Please, if you can name one other company in the world that is more able to do so, I would love to hear who it might be. I don't see Starbucks as an impulsive company, and with Mr. Schultz at the helm who are we to question? They have done their research.
2. "The new logo is boring"
You can't take people's critiques too serious in the internet age, simply because everyone has the ability to voice them, just as I am doing. They turn into opinions rather than constructive critiques. And we all know that person that always has something to say. The sky is purple... For the sake of this debate, their NEW LOGO is their OLD LOGO, without the text! They are not trying to reinvent themselves here. They are a green circle with a siren. Finished, no need to over-do something just to impress the public with killer design skills.
I read some of these design blogs and business sites and cringe at the opinions of fellow designer, business people and even worse, journalists. They sound like the nightmare that we all dread. Unless you have something constructive and well thought out to say, please turn your keyboard over.
Kudos to Starbucks on many levels. It's a bold move for a bold company. Looking forward to seeing how the rest of the identity system is applied.
Small type reads: "Grid Iron is a mono-spaced display font that should not be used under microscopic circumstances. Consult your designer if blurred vision, headache or upset stomach result in the use of Grid Iron. This may be a treatable, but serious, side effect of an overdose or mis-use of the font. The use of Grid Iron and it's effects haven't been endorsed by the FDA or AIGA. Use at your own risk."
This wraps up my the Fall semester of grad school at Wisconsin. I designed, developed and have finished my typeface "Grid Iron." It was a great process that gives me a much greater understanding and appreciation of type. Every designer should design their own typeface at some point. Good or bad it is a priceless way to really grasp the nuances of type. We use it every day and owe it to the design and type world. I have a new found respect for good typefaces and the typographers who create them. What an experience and reward to be able to type using your own typeface.
With Wisconsin Rose Bowl bound I found it fitting to finish off with a Rose Bowl themed project. I did a series of 6 one-off prints for my final screen-print project. This is one in the series and was shown in the Graphic Attack show in the 7th floor gallery. It's 5 colors printed on 100# French Paper with a nice dark wood frame. The series is a spin on the vinatage Penguin book covers back in the day, which was a Wednesday. Then overprinted with diffferent layers and varying graphics. You can see the "book cover" behind the Badger with text set in Stymie Bold. Every print is one of a kind. On Wisconsin!
With the addition of Nebraska to the BIG 10 in 2011, there was an opportunity to rebrand the conference and unveil a new logo. The one above is just one mark within their new identity system. Stay tuned to Pentagram Design's site for more of the identity system as it rolls out over the next few months. I have yet to form an overall opinion of the logo, but that's all it would be, an opinion. Everyone has one and it doesn't matter in the grand-scheme of things. The new logo works, it's safe and will take on a personality of it's own over time. I do like the mark above and it's effort to have more there than meets the eye. The old BigTen logo with the hidden "11" was clever and I think many were looking for a hidden "12" in the new logo, which isn't feasable.
What I am most excited about are these academic conferences taking an appreciation of design and the role it plays. With the new PAC-10 (soon to be Pac12), and with this logo for the Big10, they have reached out to well-known design firms and paid BIG money for their identity. Good stuff...
My fellow Urban Graphics humans and I are having a show this next week. I just wrapped this poster up this last week to promote the show. It's being screenprinted by Mr. Rees as we speak. 2 color, simple with a battle between a Storm Trooper and Rock'em Sock'em Robot... What? It makes perfect sense. Fun poster, good times ahead...
Just picked this poster up from print. Designed it for our first year show on Friday.
THIS FRIDAY, come on out and see the UW-Madison first-year grad work at the Art Lofts. Some good work to dwell over at and snacks to toss in your mouth. Don't be a stranger, come on by and say hello. Art Lofts Gallery, 111 North Frances Street, Madison WI 53703
It's the event of the year that everyone is talking about, haven't you heard?
Just wrapped up designing and illustrating this poster for the Graphics Graduate show at the University of Wisconsin. Our show, "Under Exposed", is coming up, and will be in the 7th floor gallery. Pop on in and see all the goods from the kind people in the Graphics MFA program. Good times ahead...
Printing it this weekend. Screenprint CMYK, with a 5th color of extra black for the text detail. Look out!
Ok, so this is a repost, and it has nothing to do with design. Getting cold here in Wisconsin and I was reminscing about the friends back in California. Good times, all the time. Here are some of the bros and I at the Newbaric bachelor party this last year. The sound effects and comments are classic. Probably only funny to me and a handful of others, but that's OK. You can get through it, right?
Just wrapped up this poster for Studio Days at the UW. Sending to print.... now.
So the University of Wisconsin - Madison has their Studio Days coming up. Stop on by to see the work that grad students are doing in their studios. Open to the public and free. I will be in my 7th floor Humanities Building studio on November 15th with all the graphics, printmakers etc... On November 18th there will be open studios in the Art Lofts where painters, photographers, 3-D and 4-D will be showing off their studios. Good times.
Finished up a quick poster/tee shirt graphic/screen printed pillow case :) Screen printing is awesome because you can throw just about anything under that screen, make the pull and voila! This one is for Subi, my dog. She is back in California holding it down. The Golden Retriever in the Golden State. Good stuff. Love that dog...
This is a poster I just printed. 18x24", 3 color screen print on 100# Golden French Paper. It's a study of characters, both human and type. Don't take it too seriously, have a little fun. Match up your own the way you think it should be... :)
I have been to A LOT of sporting events. Football games, Hockey games, World Cup Soccer games, Basketball playoff games, Baseball games, Japan GT races, and so many other random events. They all have their highlights and I love every experience I have had. I love my Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Blackhawks and Badgers, but by far, no contest, the best sporting event I have been apart of was Saturday's Wisconsin Badger's victory over Ohio State Buckeyes.
Granted, it's so much sweeter when your team wins, and it was... The game day atmosphere from College Game Day being on campus, to the opening kick-off and all the way through to the crazy victory party after. Best sporting event ever. The Badgers were on it from the kick-off, literally, returning the first kick of the game for a touchdown. The crowd was loud, and the student section was off their rocker. We couldn't even here the band or music majority of the time because of the roar at Camp Randall. Madison was at the center of the sports world, as far I am concerned. It was a once in a lifetime game to be a part of when your team knocks off the #1 ranked team in the country, and I wouldn't trade it for any other sporting event experience. Go Badgers, On Wisconsin!
The photo above was taken on my Hipstamatic, of the after game craziness. Fans ended up consuming the field and climbing the goal posts. Bunch of Badgers...
I just finished up a type poster, that I am printing today. I came across this clip on YouTube last night and it's along the same lines as my poster... I can't believe the interest in typography and fonts right now, so awesome. The time, and I'm sure money, that people put into these videos (like the Neutraface video I posted last week), is amazing, and the number of views they get is even crazier! Good stuff, go type!
I will post the Type poster I just finished up in the next post. Three color screen print titled "Typography: A study of characters." Will be on sale in the Newbaric shop...
Planet played host to the event and gave some behind the scenes tours of the studio. Great place and cool people. Planet founder, Dana Lytle gave the tours and it was priceless hearing about their beginnings to where they are now. Very respectable group of designers that are always working on what's next.
Hipstomatic presented their brief history from design studio to iphone app developer/designer. Lucas and Ryan traded off their stories of how things went and gave a great view into their world. Inspirational story and Wisconsin born. Product of the University of Wisconsin system... Got things rolling and voila. Good for them, always fun stuff to hear about.
I have watched this video multiple times, and I thought it was time to share it on the Newbaric blog. I am sure you have seen it by now, but it's always fun to watch. Classic. Pretty damn creative and entertaining. It's SNL’s Jenny Slate as Marcel the Shell.
Here is the link I went looking for on YouTube. Typeface, the film on wood type, graphic design and all sorts of other printed goodness...
Based around Hamilton Type in Two Rivers, Wisconsin. I will be making the voyage up there in the very near future. Pricesless place to have around. All about the craft. These people were graphic designers before graphic design was a career. Much Appreciated.
So I went onto YouTube to get the URL link for the "Typeface" movie that is in the post above, and this video, "Neutraface: an ode on a typface" was below it with almost 400,000 views. I had to watch it, as I am a fan of Neutraface, the typeface you can find at House Industries. I wasn't prepared. It made me laugh, it made me cry, I will never be the same. It was almost too much to put on the Newbaric blog, but I think you may need a laugh today.
What's funny about this YouTube age, is that I have never heard an official Lady Gaga song, only the remakes and spoofs you get via email and online. I never imagined a typeface getting it's own Gaga video...
Well, here are two typefaces I am working on. My first two. I have long studied type, and used type in my designs of course. But I have made it a goal to design typfaces, for better or worse, to understand the world a of type a little better. I understand the anatomy, I know the categorizations that type falls within, but sometimes there is that unknown that you can only find out by doing. My goal as this exercise moves along, no matter the result of the faces I produce, is that my knowledge and use of type will move to another level (up is the goal :)
So here are the first two attempts at creating the DNA for new typefaces. I know there is a long way to go, but I figure this is the stage to work out some kinks before moving ahead to the rest of the alphabet, kerning etc. So if you have your thoughts on the direction, holler!
I don't usually post random youtube videos here, but this video got me. The longer I watched it the more into I got. Not sure what else to say. Creativity is awesome.
Reminds me of one of my all time favorite bands, Strung Out. Make the guitar sing!
Just wrapped up the new Infinity ad. Showcasing their new hollow, all carbon-fiber race Aviso board. They are taking names and cleaning up in the contests they enter with this board. It's fast, and it has the rest of the industry scratching to keep up.
The ad is following the current campaign of freshness. Avantgarde sets the type-tone and the thick black lines set within a nice tight grid keeps things tidy...
