Seven Hundred Penguins

While perusing my favorite Calgary book store, Shelf Life Books, I came across Seven Hundred Penguins, a collection of 700 covers from Penguin books around the world. I couldn’t resist making the purchase, and have been enjoying flipping through, endlessly being delighted and amazed at the diversity and talent showcased throughout the 2-inch thick book.

As a graphic designer, I’m interested in the ways that illustration, design, photography and typography are used to communicate a message. Seven Hundred Penguins displays a unique selection of treasured classics and past-editions, along with hundreds of unheard-of titles from the Penguin archives.

Below are only some of my favorites from the collection.

A Matter of Principle

The lovely Jacinta and I agreed to embark on a journey together, to read Moby Dick in it’s entirety. Now, I have no idea whether or not you have read Moby Dick, but the only thing longer than Herman Melville’s beard, is his winded-ness. Sometimes I wonder if his editor even read the manuscript. It must have been one of those “5:00 on a Friday” things that didn’t really get the attention it needed. Take for example the chapter “The Whiteness of the Whale,” is essentially a multi-page rambling, comparing Moby Dick to different white things. Now, I’m no literary genius, but I’m pretty sure the chapter title said it all (seriously, Melville - you had me at ‘hello’ on that one).

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Baseball Logos. If it aint broke, don’t fix it.

For the most part, I’m not too fond of the direction that most baseball teams are going with their logos these days. It feels like the so called “modern” logos of Major League Baseball are simply attempts to change things, when oftentimes nothing needs to be changed at all. Case in point - the Toronto Blue Jays. Since doing away with their original logo in 1996, they’ve gone through three changes, none of which I can honestly get too excited about.

Here is a collection of my favorite logos, some have been replaced while others remain in use to this day.

More information on sports logo history: sportslogos.net

Toronto Blue Jays
In use from 1977 - 1996

New York Yankees
In use from 1913 - Present

Chicago White Sox
In use from 1976 - 1990

Today is the day! Ampersanniversary #1

The day has arrived! It’s the first anniversary of my ampersand logo, and 1-year of business as a freelance graphic designer in Calgary.

To celebrate, I’m giving away some book-ends to a lucky person. All you have to do is re-tweet this tweet (if you’re on the Twitter), or “like” the Ampersanniversary post on Facebook. You are free to do so until I get into the office on Monday morning, which is when I’ll pick a winner.

I built the book-ends with my bare hands out of the tip & tail of one of my old skateboard decks. Then I wood-burned “Instant Classics & Greatest Hits” along with some icons from some of my favorite books. I’m really happy with how they turned out.

Thanks to everyone for their support, and good luck!

But is it art?

“Please. Not another, ‘but is it art?’ discussion.”
-Untitled (2009)

When chatting with other creative folks, the thing that seems to come up most often is the old classic, “what is art?” discussion. Where do we draw the line? Or perhaps more importantly, where SHOULD we draw the line? Rather than talk myself in circles, I’d like to encourage you to watch the film, “Untitled.” Adam Goldberg is an aspiring composer who stretches the boundaries of what most people consider art. Mayhem and hilarity ensue.

If you know anything about the art world, this is a film you need to see.

Ampersanniversary

This Friday marks the 1-year anniversary of my CP ampersand logo, and 1-year of business as a freelance maker-of-stuff. I like to take every opportunity to celebrate, so I’ve decided to give away some presents. I won’t say much, except that the gifts will be sweet. The gifts will be homemade. The gifts have something to do with ampersands. You can win a gift. I’m excited.

See you on Friday.

A Real-Live Banksy

When I traveled to San Francisco earlier this summer, Jacinta & I happened upon a real-live Banksy piece. Naturally, we lost our minds at how awesome it was, but we weren’t 100% certain that it was a legitimate Banksy, due to the current popularity of his style. After confirming the legitimacy of the piece with Google, we returned with a camera and captured this image.

If you are in San Francisco and want to see this, it’s in SOMA, on 9th St - between Folsom and Harrison.

New Site! Well, sort of.

I know, it looks quite a bit like the old one, with a few new fancy features and tweaks to the layout. Ever since it’s initial launch last August (2010), I’ve had a few principle issues with the build and design, and have been putting a great deal of thought into what I wanted to change, and how I wanted the new version to function.

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