a subtle art

As John Cusack in High Fidelity once said, The making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many dos and don’ts. I would argue that just as subtle as the making of a good compilation tape (or cd) is the making of its cover – it says so much about the personality/dedication of the maker. Do you fold your own cover and hand-write the songs or just print the iTunes playlist? Create your own title for the mix or inscribe a note or doodle on the CD itself? Leave the whole thing blank?

What if the CD was a gift to your closest friends and family to commemorate one of the most important days of your life? 

My coworker and good friend Amanda (no relation) was getting married, and had the brilliant idea of making awesome mix cds as wedding favors. They were doing a small, non-traditional marriage in the same place they got engaged (a coffee house!), and wanted a CD cover that reflected this sensibility.

I ended up going with a simple, illustrative route based on the couple’s distinctive hair (or lack thereof). To give it that personal feel, the track list is hand-lettered on the back of the sleeve.

Here’s a shot of the happy couple so you can get the full effect.

Congrats, Amanda and Tom!

(Both photos courtesy J.J. Lane)

process: ways the world can end symbols

In choosing a topic from which to create a set of symbols, I wanted something more complex than an easily simplified set of existing objects. I also wanted a topic that would keep me interested, and have an element of hilarity. I picked “ways the world can end” because it fulfilled these criteria and gave me the potential to have fun with visual metaphor.

Here’s some sketches, starting with the initial narrowing of content and media explorations.

About here I realized that I needed to narrow my sketches according to which are the “fastest read.” For example, aliens destroying the earth is more immediately understood than nuclear hadron collider disaster (see below).

Moving on to the computer, I added a few variations that didn’t make it into the final set. As you can see below, the sun punching the earth and the earth melting were conflicting in content, both reading as “global warming,” so I picked the more active of the two. Also, the apple core didn’t read “humans depleting earth’s resources” as quickly as I wanted, so it too was scrapped.

Here’s the final set. From the top: aliens take over earth, the sun explodes, black hole, nuclear warfare, robot apocalypse, and divine intervention.

Stay tuned for part II of this project: how these symbols exist in the real world!

Exploding pie charts created for my thesis presentation to describe the time I spent on different phases of my two seminar projects.

After my presentation last night, illustration professor Douglas Dowd suggested I might identify myself as an illustrator, which I took to be a compliment, since I consider myself primarily a designer or typographer. I’m forward to being able to leverage these two abilities and see how this informs my future work.

why i haven’t been posting much

Come see the Wash-U Design + Illustration Thesis Projects next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings (April 13-15) in Steinberg Auditorium. Reception 5:30 pm, presentations start at 6.

I’ll be presenting a symbols project and a visual identity on the first night only, but come for all of it!

(poster credit: Cheree Berry)

christoph niemann's abstract city blog →

Abstract City is a New York Times feature blog written and illustrated by storyteller extrodinaire Christoph Niemann.  Each post features a series of illustrations made with one stylistic form, using innovative materials such as legos, woven strips of construction paper, and lines of coffee on napkins.  Each shows a masterful level of control, balancing playful handmade materials with clear communicative goals.

I really enjoy these playful illustrations as well as Niemann’s comic-like approach to storytelling. Also check out his website, christophniemann.com.