“Shout Out” Series: Ross Moody

We each have an individual way of creating: bringing distinctive experiences, diverse talents and a unique voice to the creative table. If we learn others’ processes, we can enhance our own, in a sense build better creative tools to use when designing. Learning the processes of those we respect and admire is a tool that furthers our knowledge of graphic design and serves to present endless inspiration and countless methods of creation.

The intent of the “shout out” series is to feature design innovators, gain insight into their creative process, discover how their philosophies influence my own idea generating/design process and offer you a chance for creative inspiration and growth. From a personal standpoint, I want to determine if this hybrid of creativity leads my designs down surprising, unexplored pathways ultimately expanding my own creative toolbox.

Ross Moody

Ross Moody is a graphic designer who’s got a knack for creating and finding witty things. He’s figured out a way to use these unique skills and apply them to 55 Hi's, a design studio he owns and operates. 55 Hi’s creates and sells paper creations including greeting cards, prints, calendars, journals and miscellaneous stationery items.

   

Favorite visual communication design quote Ross lives by

Work hard and be nice to people. –Anthony Burrill

   

Three self identified, descriptive words best describing “Ross Moody”

• Workaholic. “I enjoy my work. I don’t like the connotation that comes with that word.”

• Friendly.

• Collaborative. “I have discovered that projects are much more fun and rewarding when working with other people. It takes some of the pressure off and makes it a team effort.”

   

The Moody design philosophy

When asked about his philosophy, I receive quite an insightful response: “I’m unsure anymore.” This answer stems from understanding design encompasses many different facets of communication. It has so many purposes and because of this, it’s difficult to sum up into one simple statement. After this initial off the cuff response, he breaks it down into two finite categories: personal and professional work.

For self-exploration, Ross’s approach is, “Create things that I, myself would use, enjoy and believe in. If I’m not excited about it, nobody else will be either.” That mindset is a darn good “self test” when figuring out if a concept is successful or not.

For client work, Ross believes it’s a different scenario every time. With that thought in mind he states, “Do your best and swallow your pride.” Ross encourages referencing “Design as Art,” an article written by artist, designer and design philosopher Dan Stiles. The basic premise is there are two kinds of design: design as a service and design as art. Stiles compares design as a service to being a plumber where someone calls you to fix their pipes and you fix them to the best of your ability, then you collect the money and move on. No matter how you look at it you’re fixing pipes, not building the Sistine Chapel. The client isn’t interested in getting the Sistine Chapel; they just want their toilet to work. That’s pretty much 99% of the paying work that’s out there. Don’t expect deep creative satisfaction from design as a service, but expect a secure job and a paycheck. Stiles also adds, be thankful you’re in a nice soft chair pushing around 12 pt. Helvetica instead of out in the hot sun pushing around dirt. Wise words if you ask me!

   

Awards or publications featuring the design stylings of “Ross Moody”

While no awards have been awarded to date, Ross’s work has been blogged about on sites he respects. Recently, someone submitted his work to NotCot.org. NotCot.org is a community of creatives, design lovers and trendsetters that serves as a studio bulletin board gone digital. Each image and caption brings you to a place worth visiting. It's about sharing what inspires you. Ross’s submitted work was featured on the site. Unfortunately, the submitter spelled his name wrong! Ross’s thought on this big oops: “It was the thought that counts. Spell my name however you want. I appreciate it.” I hope he wrote NotCot.org and got the shout out corrected!

   

A standout, defining moment in Ross's career thus far

The most rewarding experience to date since establishing 55 Hi’s is the overwhelming positive feedback received over new design pieces. Although admittedly not a glamorous defining moment, Ross knows he’s onto something when making pieces people enjoy. Ross recalls recently showing a friend a pair of bookends he was designing. The friend thought they were purchased from a store and wanted to know where he could get them.

   

Creative influences connected to Ross’s work

Ross attributes working and collaborating with designers (Drew Melton, Chris Sandlin, Riley Cran, Anthony Lane and Justin Mezzell) since founding 55 Hi’s as one of his major influences. Interacting on a daily basis online, they’ve developed a good-natured “one-up fest”, feeding off each other’s work and always outdoing one another. From sharing designers’ pieces to swapping images of typography from the 50’s, inspiration comes from everywhere and is a constant source of motivation for the group that never seems to stop!

   

Ross’s words of wisdom to impart to other designers

“Make the logo bigger. Seriously though, I don’t really have any wisdom to impart. I’m just winging it. I enjoy what I do and there isn’t enough time in one day to do it all.”

He suggests checking out a few sources he’s learned quite a deal from:

• Any book by Stefan Sagmeister.

• Any book by Michael Beirut.

• The book “Art & Fear” is great

• “The Thinking Course” by DeBono has some eye opening content in it.

• Ross also swears he’s watched every video on “the99percent.com” at least twice.

   

Examples that represent the “Moody” design aesthetic

Not all who wander are lost.

Ross’s brother told him this when he was young and it’s stuck with him ever since. This statement highlights it’s not the destination, but the journey that counts. We all feel lost at times, but it’s those moments that present the most unexpected rewards. Ross’s design decisions were made referencing subway maps and directional cues. This concept is supported by the typography, which is created by connecting one point to another. While “wandering” through the design, you find starts and stops along the way, but take a moment to step back and look at the journey as a whole. You quickly understand the meaning behind that journey.

When in doubt, mumble.

Contrary to the previous design that is layered with deep thought and meaning, this example features Ross’s off the cuff humor. The direct statement makes you laugh to yourself and you relate to the sentiment. In design, that connection is enough to emotionally engage the viewer. His light-hearted type treatment adds to this sentiment. I’m particularly drawn to his use of dotted drop shadows, hairline outlines and misregistration or improper alignment of letterforms throughout. In most cases when working in print design, misregistration is considered a mistake yet Ross is skillfully able to intentionally use it to support his message.

Do what you love, love what you do.

Ross has an ongoing series of “communal word” prints he’s designed. The common theme throughout the series is featuring a phrase containing a word that’s repeated twice to create a symmetrical (or close to symmetrical) sentence. Some of the phrases featured in the series are “Less is More, More or Less” and “Work to Live, Live to Work.”

   

Ross “Moodyian” design attributes

After reviewing Ross’s body of work, I’m going out on a limb here and taking a crack at extracting some elements that represent his visual voice:

Retro Design

In Ross’s case, the connection to the 1950s aesthetic is readily apparent. Retro graphic design often integrates typography, color palettes and styles from previous decades. Smashingmagazine.com does a wonderful job describing visual connectors often employed to capture a retro design style: (1)

• Old-style typography (e.g. Roman typefaces: traditionally, serif faces based on a style of ancient Rome and is the typical classic serif of today. Roman also refers to any upright typeface (as opposed to italic, slanted, or script). (2)
• Script fonts and handwriting
• Illustrations from old posters, movies, newspapers, CDs, vinyls and ads
• Old electronic devices (e.g. radios, televisions)
• Old packaging
• Old photographs
• Vibrant, rainbow colors (high contrast)
• Dark, dirty colors (brown, dark red, dark blue)
• Textures
• Torn, used paper with stains (often yellowish paper)

Witty dialogue with the viewer

One of the benefits of being a visual communicator is the opportunity to interject your point of view into your messages. I fully expect to see your personality coming through and this is certainly the case with Ross. His wit and sense of humor not only speak to the viewer, it shouts!

“Less is More, More or Less”

Quoted directly from the works of Mr. Moody himself! Speaking with Ross, one comment made resonates with me, “Complicating simple things often ruins them.” Thankfully, working as visual communicators, we have the insight and personal experience of being consumers to rely on. It’s difficult to cut through the visual clutter and comprehend the numerous messages being spoken at the same time. This process of breaking down the message, simplifying it (verbally or visually), is an excellent approach for all of us to take when designing.

   

Ross Moody’s influence on my idea generating/design process

As previously stated, the intent of the “shout out” series is to feature design innovators, gain insight into their creative process, discover how their philosophies influence my own idea generating/design process and offer you a chance for creative inspiration and growth. From a personal standpoint, I want to determine if this hybrid of creativity leads my designs down surprising, unexplored pathways ultimately expanding my own creative toolbox.

I’m exploratory designer, integrating different artistic mediums into my work and embracing spontaneity (a.k.a. happy accidents) throughout my creative process. My self identified design style leans more towards the streamlined/modern side. Needless to say, I truly connect with Ross’s less is more, more or less sentiment. At the onset of this experiment, I’m uber psyched at the opportunity to delve in Ross’s retro world while still holding true to my modern roots.

Choosing to create a design related to Ross’s “communal word” print series, I immediately encounter a hurdle searching for a “symmetrical sentence” phrase. This is no easy task. “Do what you love, love what you do” makes an instant personal connection with me. My MFA thesis advisor (and design mentor) David Holzman said this all of the time. But alas, this is the exact phrase Ross features in his examples so that one is out. Since so much of what we do is based on communication, I opt for “Say what you mean, mean what you say.”

   

Some aspects of my hybrid design I want to highlight

• Script

Script typefaces are based upon the elegant stroke created by handwriting. Truth be told, I’m so not a “script” using designer. Thinking about this, I can’t even tell you the last time I used one in a design. In this case, there are several reasons why I utilize a script. As previously stated, script fonts closely connect to retro design. I also want this message to read as a personal mantra of sorts, almost as though you’re saying it quietly to yourself. The soft spoken and delicate script has some guts bumping right up next to and even infringing on that aggressive looking “MEAN” word.

• Slab serif typography

While geometric san serifs are my true love, slab serifs (often referred to as “Egyptian”) with their horizontal slabs and uniform thickness of letterforms come in a close second. In this case, I intend to place visual emphasis on the word “MEAN.” At first glance, the word overpowers the design and projects a bold, possibly even offensive tone.

• Misregistration/improper alignment of letterforms

Integrating Ross’s intentional misregistration technique is also a first for me. Comparing his designs with my hybrid, it’s obvious his approach and resulting visual effect is much more technical than I intend to achieve. I’m chalking this one up to my “happy accidents” approach. I’m trying to capture that true “oops, something happened while this job was on press” result.

• Integrate fine art

In this design exercise, the fine art element is watercolor as texture. I can’t exactly pinpoint my affinity for watercolor but when it comes to representing me, it always seems to find its way into the mix. The watercolor emulates a weathered, worn and torn visual that is often connected to retro design.

   

So at last, I present you my Dr. Frankendezign creation!

   

In conclusion

This experimental “shout out” series is far from complete. I’ll continue to champion learning the processes of those we respect and admire. This practice not only furthers our knowledge of graphic design, but also serves to continually present endless inspiration and countless methods of creation. Now, I offer up a challenge. Find who inspires you and ask, “How do you create?” You might be surprised by their response and have a chance to take an amazing journey.

Interested in taking part in the “shout out” series? Then by all means, give a shout out and let me know!

Blog resources:

(1) http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/07/retro-and-vintage-in-modern-web-design/

(2) http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/basic/g/roman.htm

Design is a battlefield. Ways to keep fighting the good design fight.

In the dog-eat-dog world of design, you must quickly develop a thick skin in order to continue fighting the good visual communication fight. Think back to the first time you hung a piece of work on the wall in school during a group critique. After pouring your heart and soul into developing and executing your concept, did the group’s comments come flying at you as though you were facing a firing squad?

The process of creating visual communications is an extremely personal one. We’re as passionate about our art as every artist is about his or her work. Of course, there is personal risk involved when exposing the fragile, creative underbelly that is normally protected by that tough, thick skin. I respect you for laying your creativity on the line knowing you might return from creative battle with some scars and emotional wounds.

Employ a few attack strategies to cushion the blow of those hard-hitting comments:

How about adding some sugar with your lemons?

If you’re proposing changes, find a balance between what is working and what isn’t and list both positives and negatives. Hurting someone’s feelings does not accomplish anything, except creating a tense, nonproductive environment.

Do not take the comments personally.

The group's job during a critique is to identify areas you might want to consider revising to ensure your message communicates in the most effective manner. The critique process identifies additional options and establishes vital next action steps in your exploration. I repeat: don’t take what is stated as a personal attack. Yes, sometimes those comments are hard to take, but try separating personal feelings from the communication task at hand. Objectively listen to the feedback and decide which points are valid and need addressing.

Empower yourself. Make your own decisions.

Comments and suggestions will be coming at you from all sides during the critique process. Trust your gut instinct throughout your creative process knowing in the end, when the project is presented to the client or creative director, you’re the one who must defend those decisions.

Play well with others.

I don’t know about you, but I’d choose to work with a mediocre designer who’s a team player over a prima donna designer any day! Who wants to work with someone who is cocky and arrogant? Creativity flourishes in a collaborative environment that motivates and inspires, not in one that is tense and aggressive. I can partner with that “average” designer, work with them on refining their skill sets and be confident clients/other team members will gel with them too.

Cheering works especially when you’re cheering for yourself.

Positive feedback and support from others is encouraging as you refine and evolve your visual voice.

While these external shout outs and kudos are nice to receive, I urge you to place more emphasis on finding this reinforcement from within. Do you feel you’ve done the best job and pushed yourself beyond "just good enough" onto "something you’re proud of”?

OK, the classic Saturday Night Live "Daily Affirmations" skit is over the top but hopefully my point resonates loud and clear! Exposing that fragile, creative underbelly when designing means you’ll encounter moments when your principles are challenged, times when you’re told you’re not good enough, occasions when you’re forced to revaluate what you’re doing or where you’re going. The lesson to be learned here is not about the perils of falling down, but about picking yourself back up and starting again wiser, more determined and focused. Listen to your inner cheerleader, incorporate your own daily affirmations and walk away from the experience having learned something about yourself and your integrity as a designer. Hear me loud and clear on this one: there is value in what you do. Only YOU decide what you’re capable of and what greatness you will achieve. Don’t rely on the external but instead, look to yourself for these answers.

In conclusion

Design truly is a battlefield. Our path on the journey to creating effective visual communication is a treacherous one. Our thick-skinned protective armor cushions some blows received fighting on the front line. Thankfully our passion for design pushes us to repeatedly take personal risks exposing that fragile, creative underbelly we might otherwise keep hidden from the world. The statement “without risk there is no great reward” certainly rings true. That sentiment alone is worth receiving a few creative battle scars for the greater design good, don’t you think?

Your journey of self reflection begins with two simple steps

Self reflection offers you an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Growth that often occurs through reflecting on experiences and expanding your perspective. In the spirit of self reflection and growth in a graphic design context, I ask you, have you identified the skills you bring to the creative table? What about areas you need to improve? Your journey begins by answering two simple questions. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses?

The practice of turning your focus inward and being brutally honest with yourself can be challenging:

View This Video

All joking aside, your journey of self reflection is worth the inner struggle for it results in clarity, establishes direction and starts you on the path to achieving your next personal and/or professional goal.

What are your strengths? 
Identifying your strengths enables you to pin point qualities that perhaps only you posses empowering you to shout these unique, stand out qualities from the rooftop! OK, not the rooftop but in your communication with clients, creative directors and potential employers. The rationale behind my last blog entry building a better ladder doesn’t only apply when you’re concepting for clients. It directly applies to how you promote yourself and how your intended audience perceives you. Having a strengths list at the ready is an excellent resource as you edit your résumé, write cover letters, update your portfolio, interview, promote your brand and build your ladder.

What are your weaknesses? 
Additional benefits present themselves when referencing that dreaded list of weaknesses too. Is this not an excellent starting point of “to-dos” encouraging you to become a more effective visual communicator? You’ve basically self-identified action steps to make you more marketable in an extremely competitive field.

In another previous blog post, things I’ve learned about visual communication during my lifetime, I cite the contrast between a design school environment where inspiration abounds (other designers’ work, examples the professors show, etc.) to the environment of working in the industry where those vital inspirations are sometimes more difficult to discover. Keeping that weaknesses list on hand ensures you always have areas to improve, keeps you inspired and ultimately enhances your strengths list.

In conclusion
I hope working as a visual communicator you’re always thinking, questioning, finding more effective ways to emotionally connect with consumers, and yes, enhancing your own skill sets. Your journey of self-reflection truly begins with asking those two questions. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Use your chosen strengths for stability and support and your weaknesses as a personal mission of growth, self-motivation and inspiration.

I challenge you to build a better ladder

When tasked with the creative challenge of promoting a brand, product or service, consider how you want to position that brand, product or service in your target audience’s mind. What do you want the consumer to think about when they come in contact with your message? What emotions do you want to conjure up? What do you want the consumer to associate with your brand, product or service? As the creative strategist, it’s your goal to fulfill your target audience’s need, develop a solution to their immediate problem and make your brand, product or service relevant in their mind.

So what is positioning? 
Businessdictionary.com defines positioning as a marketing strategy that aims to make a brand occupy a distinct position, relative to competing brands, in the mind of the customer.

We are creatures of habit. 
Take a moment to reflect on your own purchasing habits. What deodorant, shampoo and laundry detergent do you use? Chances are when it comes to choosing brands, products and services you’ve got a few personal favorites. I’ll be so bold as to state you probably stick with the same brands in each category. You might try a new one every so often, but chances are you go right back to your tried and true favorites.

It’s a jungle out there!
To cope with the explosion of brands, products and services vying for our attention daily, we’ve conditioned ourselves to mentally rank them. This process can be visualized by imagining a series of ladders in the mind. Each ladder represents a completely different brand, product or service category (ladder 1: deodorant, ladder 2: shampoo, ladder 3: laundry detergent…). Upon each rung of a ladder sits a different brand within the ladder’s brand, product or service category. (1) The ultimate goal for any brand, product or service is to occupy the top rung of their category. Once a brand, product or service is sitting on that top rung, it’s extremely difficult for any other brand to knock the holder of that top rung off. The best they can hope for is to settle for the second, third rung or worse!

This visualization is crucial to remember when positioning a brand, product or service. If the chances of knocking one of those top three competitors off the rungs of your chosen ladder are so slim what other options do you have?

The answer is quite simple… build your own ladder! While there isn’t much room on the ladders currently found in your target audience’s mind, there is more than enough room to build a new one and place your brand, product or service on that highly coveted top rung.
 
So you’ve decided you want to build a new ladder. Where do you go from there? My suggestion: do a S.W.O.T. analysis to determine your brand, product or service’s (and the competitions’) Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. What are you and the competition doing right? What are you doing wrong? What unique attributes does your brand, product or service bring to the consumer? Remember, the consumer always asks him/herself “What’s in it for me?” Fulfill a need, be the solution to their immediate problem and make your brand, product or service relevant in the consumer’s mind. Look at the market landscape and identity areas that currently aren’t being utilized. If you find such an area, start building that ladder and get your brand, product or service firmly planted onto that top rung!

What is your brand, product or service’s unique selling proposition? 
I alluded to this in the previous paragraph by asking you to determine what unique attributes your brand, product or service brings to the consumer.

Entrepreneur.com defines the unique selling proposition (USP) as the factor presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition. Unless you can pinpoint what makes your business unique in a world of similar competitors, you cannot target your promotion efforts successfully. (2) You can thank ad guru and marketing master Rosser Reeves for coming up with the concept of developing a USP. In 1961, Reeves outlined the promotion technique in his book “Reality of Advertising.”

He defines a USP has having three parts:
> Each ad must make a proposition: "Buy this product and you get these benefits".

> The proposition must be unique: something that your competitors do not, cannot or will not offer.

> The proposition must sell: it must be something consumers really want; it pulls them over to your product.

In essence, a USP briefly and clearly explains a single quality about your product that lets it stand out against the competition. (3)

In conclusion
There are many “me too” companies in the market today touting similar messages about similar products or services, and yet there’s still plenty of unchartered real estate in the consumer’s mind for our brands, products and services to stake claim and begin building a better ladder. Working as creative thinkers we must figure out ways to connect with the consumer helping them see the value in what is being communicated. There is concept and strategy built into every mark we make. Design is so much more about psychology (what makes us tick) than it ever is about just making stuff look “cool.”


Blog Resources:
(1) http://teamaltman.com/2010/05/understanding-the-ladders-in-your-head/
(2) http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82480.html
(3) http://www.hardtofindseminars.com/Rosser_Reeves.htm

Words to design by

While working with my creative teams, I often catch myself repeating tried and true design mantras. This got me to thinking; do I have a list of personal musings I rely on to get my design point across? We all know the answer to that question or there’d be no point to this blog post! Here’s a sampling of what I compiled. Given more time and thought on the subject, I’ll add more. Let’s just keep this as a running list of “words of wisdom” or better yet, “words to design by” and leave it at that. Here goes nothing:

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
A quote I absolutely live by! If you’re on a path, it is someone else’s path. Chart your own path for this is the best way to ensure you’re unique. Unique and one-of-a-kind means your work has a platform to stand out from the endless parade of other designs that consumers come in contact with.

If graphic communication is expected, it is boring. If it is boring, no one pays attention to it. If no one pays attention, you have not communicated anything
Make connections to disparate objects and build an unexpected bridge between them. Only when the consumer is able to walk across that bridge will they understand the connection. The key here is finding unique, unexpected connections. If the concept (the bridge) is expected, it is boring. If it is boring, no one will pay attention to it. If no one pays attention to it, you have not communicated anything. If 9 out of 10 designers come up with the same solution, it’s too obvious. Always push your solution beyond the typical and expected.

We’re all egocentric when it comes to design
Most graphic communication is created on a mass scale; meant to be read by numerous viewers and yet we all engage with it as if the design is speaking directly to us. Successful messages are those that you can relate to, you can laugh along with or touches you on some level. I firmly hope your work invites the viewer to become involved, gets them to act for a cause, educates, and informs. In the simplest of terms, inspires and motivates the viewer to do something!

Ying when others yang
We as visual communicators design in response to what is happening around us. Keep an ear to the ground, educate yourself about what’s current in visual communication and then run in the opposite direction as fast as you can! Ying when others yang for it’s the best way to stand out from the crowd. If you use design elements (colors, typefaces, etc) that everyone else is using how can your message possibly stand out?

Is anything original?
Don’t have the audacity to think your idea is original. It doesn’t matter how out of the box you think your concept is; chances are it’s been done before. It’s your responsibility to research and determine if your “original” idea has been executed before and develop ways to modify it and make it your own.

You’re the captain of your own creative ship
Follow your gut instinct when designing. Doing so helps you find your own visual voice. We’re creative thinkers and interjecting our own point of view into designs is what helps bring unique solutions to the table. The goal is to develop a stand out message, right? Since you have your own perspective, your own point of view, you offer what no one else can.

You make the final decision as to how you want to present your work. In the end, you’re the one who must defend it to your creative director, client, professor, etc.!

One visual and one word can affect the lives of many
There is power in our visual voice and with this power comes great responsibility. What you put out into the world influences others. Don’t take this responsibility lightly. Rely on your morals and integrity. If what your promoting doesn’t feel right, do something about it.

Designers must be transparent
I want you to develop your own visual voice and fully expect to see common threads connecting your individual designs together when looking at the breadth of your work. That being said, ensure your clients’ voice comes through loud and clear. Your design “style” needs to overlay on top of your client’s brand elements allowing their brand voice to resonate. You’re communicating their message to their audience after all!

Establish visual hierarchy
Ask yourself this simple question every time you design: what do I want the viewer to see first, second, third? Placing the elements in the composition according to the predetermined numbered list is a simple but effective way to start establishing visual hierarchy. Using basic design principles allows you to emphasize one element over another so more important content looks and presents as more important. Placing the elements so they are on the same level of visual hierarchy can create a sense of visual tension, a visual tug of war of sorts. This visual struggle can result in the design feeling cluttered and disorganized leaving the viewer confused. Don’t get me wrong; some visual tension is a good thing to have for it offers a sense of energy and movement. The issue occurs when everything in the composition is screaming, “look at me!”

In conclusion
That’s all I can think of at the moment… mentally exhausting, but a little journey of self-reflection does a designer good!

If we’ve had the chance to work together on a creative team previously, any additional comments, phrases or words to design by you’d like to add to the list?! Give a shout out if I’ve missed something.

Inspiration abounds!

Designers are social commentators of their time. We design in response to things that are happening around us. There is much inspiration to be found… all you need to do is look! I wanted to put this theory to the test. My best friend and I decided to walk from our place in the East Village, NYC to Soho and back. Camera in hand, I grabbed shots of images, signs, ads, illustrations, (anything really) that piqued my interest. Here is what I found along the way. 

I believe each of the elements included in this image were placed individually but are working together to create a striking, layered effect. The vintage 50s flare illustration married with the red, abstract paint and the blue dahlia flowers creates an alluring composition. 

Talk about brand recognition! More than half of the letterforms in Google are missing or covered and I am still able to make out the brand elements. It must be one recognizable mark! 

Store signage made of industrial steel. I love the exploration of materials and how the color and texture of the sign will continue to change as it is exposed to the elements. I have a HUGE issue with the bad kerning though. Look at the amount of space between the O and C in café. A rule of thumb I use for kerning is place a lower case l between words to determine if there is too much room between them. In this example, “OlCAFE” remove the "l" and you achieve better kerning. 

Here is a digital mock up of what the sign should look like! ;)

The image was printed on individual pieces of 8.5 x 11 copy paper and mounted to the wall with tape. Exposed to the elements, the ink has begun to run, the paper is warped and peeling. Now the visual has some emotive power! So much more engaging in this state than the original and intended one I am certain. 

I have no idea what this is communicating, but the bold color and union of bazaar imagery caught by attention. I’m not much of a fan of vertically placed type. We read left to right and are used to seeing letterforms placed in that fashion. When letterforms are placed on top of each other in a vertical format, the space between the letters becomes more important than the letters themselves. That being said, adding dimension to the letterforms helps them connect visually. 

The similar size of the Beast and Hombre text visually competes for attention. One or the other should take a more dominant role in the communication to avoid causing a visual tug of war. 

Laser cut metal letterforms with the counters removed. The sign offers a subtle sense of dimension throughout the day. The shadow on each letterform moves as the light changes. In the evening, the sign is lit from within causing the shadow to disappear.

Outdoor sign stating Studio Salt is looking for a Junior Architect and an Interior Designer. Upon closer inspection, this sign is loaded with typos. I’m embarrassed for the designer who created this. All I have to say to you is have some respect for our craft and learn to spell check! I hope this helps you:

> InDesign the key command is Apple > I

> Photoshop the key command is Edit > Check Spelling

> Illustrator the key command is Apple >

Utilizing non-traditional medium for store signage. Stencil letterforms are cut into a huge piece of plywood. The plywood is varnished to protect it from the elements. The design is simple, bold, modern and industrial.

Bold color and imagery. Take notice of the man talking on the phone to give you a better idea of scale. 

If you are ever walking around NYC, take notice of the traffic light poles, well any pole really. There are tons of tiny ads and stickers posted on them. In this example, create your fate is typeset backwards. 

A QR (quick response) code used in ambient fashion: spray-painted on the sidewalk. Smart placement for there is no other competing messaging anywhere near it. 

Mixed media collage of one angry George Washington. Repetition of form and a very aggressive scribble leave an impression. Talk about emotive!  

A poster promoting A.S.V.P., an online independent street art and graffiti photo community that grades street art that has been posted to their site.