August 2009
2 posts
RECENT WORK: CLARITY COMPASS
Comprehensive project planning appendage of downtown’s Mosaic Design Studio, advising companies on how to get important things done efficiently. Icon set and print collateral to follow sometime in the near-ish future.
RECENT WORK: YAY BIKES
A sort of Facebook/MySpace/Craigslist/Match.com hybrid built for cyclists. Not sure if they’re going to go with this logo or not, but I think it’s pretty handsome. Yes, handsome.
July 2009
3 posts
RECENT WORK: LIVECLOSETOWORK.COM
Forthcoming social awareness campaign/website encouraging people to live close to their place of business. When up and running, the website will help users find affordable housing near their work and public transportation routes. Obviously the main objective is help reduce carbon emissions from commuters, but also to build a sense of community and partnership for employees of local companies.
RECENT WORK: GEARS & GARDENS
A bike tour of local community gardens, held in association with the American Community Garden Association’s national conference. Fun event, fun logo.
RECENT WORK: CARBON ZERO LAWN CARE
A local carbon-neutral lawn care company with a kick-ass business model. All their equipment is cordless electric, and they’ve outrigged their truck with solar panels that charge up the gear while they drive around. Super nice folks too. Check it.
June 2009
4 posts
RECENT WORK: RUST BELT PRESS
The fine art appendage of K.N. Kastranec. Still quasi-dormant due to lack of funding and time. But it looks damn good though. If you know anyone who wants to code out an e-commerce website in exchange for peanuts, holler.
THE CONDUIT
Lacquered, lubed, and trued. Ready to take on all comers. The Conduit. The hammer drops at 7:30 tonight.
CARPOCALYPSE: STAGE THREE
Fluorescence bee-otch. Follow it here.
CARPOCALYPSE: STAGE TWO
Back home in Berea this weekend to fabricate the pinewood derby beast. Yoinking Wally’s woodshop for a couple days to get this guy going. Full coverage over on Flickr. I’ve only got one word for you: Tunnel.
May 2009
6 posts
HABAN SAW CO.
Found this little Helvetica gem on an abandoned building at South Third and Lansing. I’m going to try to document as much found type as I can throughout the summer months, so be sure to stay tuned to the Flickr page. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing. Holler.
100,000
Well, it finally happened. The Jedi (GTI) finally turned that sixth figure. Congrats Isabella. In honor of the occasion I’m going to buy you an oil change, lube, and filter. Hotsy totsy, you are now officially a cougar. Yes… hotsy totsy.
2 tags
JUNKING
Picked up some pretty badass items this weekend at the German Village Yard Sale. At the very top of the list is the Print-O-Matic Postcard Mimeograph Machine. Scored it for only $5. It needs some work, but as far as I can tell it’s completely functional. I’m smelling a new round of business cards on the horizon. See the full litter here.
CARPOCALYPSE: FIRST DRAFT
First draft is done. Love some things. Hate others. Got enough good stuff to work with to make headway. The word of the day today is fenders. Fenders. Keep up with the process here.
CARPOCALYPSE: STAGE ONE
So the CSCA is holding their annual pinewood derby again this year. Carpocalypse. Got my kit the other day. About to start getting my hands dirty. I’m not sure what the car’s going to look like yet. I’m not sure what color it’s going to be. I’m not sure if it’s going to win. What I am sure of is it’s going to be a beast. Take that to the bank.
...
2 tags
50s CHAIR
I finally bought some new furniture. Got a great deal on a vintage couch/chair set. My best guess is mid- to late-fifties. Wrought iron and oak, I think. Heavy as shit. Cool as shit.
No idea who made it or where it’s from. Doesn’t really matter.
Got to go back tomorrow with the van and pick up the couch. It’s got black cushions. Huge. Eighty-six inches wide. We’ll see...
February 2009
1 post
TEASER
I’ve been kind of lame about the blog lately. But I’ve been pretty busy with some other stuff. You’ll see.
January 2009
5 posts
FORTY-FOUR
Click the picture. Buy a print. Be proud today.
“The Prowl” off of Dan...
COMEUPPANCE
The article, “Design Loves a Depression” by Michael Cannell was published in last Sunday’s The New York Times ”Week In Review” section. Please take a moment to read it.
Of all the asinine things. I bet the designers over at Ford and GM enjoyed Cannell’s pontificating after they used the rest of the Times to line the bottoms of their cardboard boxes....
OBJECTIFIED
I totally forgot to include this in my last post, but I’m really geeked up for it.
Gary Huswit, the creative genius behind 2007’s niche success, Helvetica, is dropping another feature-length documentary this year. In the same vein as his first, Objectified sets focus on the overlooked, in this case the mass-produced, everyday things we take for granted, and the people who design...
TWENTY AUGHT NINE
2009 promises to be as entertaining as it is young. Here’s my list of the new year’s most anticipated media releases.
MOVIES - Lots of great books making the transition to the big screen.
Where The Wild Things Are - Spike Jonze’s and Dave Egger’s long-awaited adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s classic children’s story. One of my favorite books as a kid. Tons of...
December 2008
4 posts
PHILIP
I originally wanted this book solely because M. Bierut over at Pentagram designed it. I figured at the very least it would look nice sandwiched between some of his others on my shelf; at the most, it might cause some visitor or home invader to think I was unduly intelligent or worldly.
Well it showed up under the Christmas tree yesterday, and after all the relatives vacated the abode, I cracked...
REMEDY
I feel like crap today. Fighting off the last bit of a lingering cold. Today’s remedy is some off-brand medicine, chicken noodle soup, Odwalla Power-C, and a heavy dose of Kubrick. “Dmitri, don’t say that you’re more sorry than I am, because I’m capable of being just as sorry as you are.”
TREE
We bought our Christmas tree last night, a 6’8” Fraser fir. It’s Ashley’s first real tree, ever, so it was kind of a special occasion. We’re going to decorate it real classic-like: colored ceramic bulbs, strung popcorn, the whole nine. We’re still on the lookout for the right star to top this bad Johnnie, though. If you’ve got any ideas, holler at me.
FIRE
It seemed like a day to have a fire, if only to fight the rain. The new hotness: Meet Your Printmaker. Pun intended.
November 2008
7 posts
WISH LIST
Well, it’s that time of the year when children around the world will start compiling their Christmas lists. It’s that time of the year when crayon is put to paper and millions of envelopes make their way to the North Pole. And it’s that time of the year for big kids like me to hope Santa brings them things they can’t afford and probably don’t really need. What...
808s & HEARTBREAK
I’ve long admired Kanye West for his ability to be both self deprecating and self righteous on the same record, carefully balancing his oversized ego with his innumerable insecurities. 808s & Heartbreak — modestly named for his Roland TR-808 drum machine and recent cardiac hardships — is another contradiction, a mechanical, almost robotic response to the rawest, most basic of human...
HEADPHONES
Nixon, my beloved watchmaker, will be broadening their horizons beginning next month by introducing their first line of headphones. The launch will include 3 models: The Master Blaster, The Nomadic, and The Wire. Presumably they will be studio monitors, over-the-ear travelers, and ear buds, respectively, with the rumor mills predicting a wide variety of colorways. Needless to say, at least one...
POCKETS
I emptied out my pockets today and everything was black. From left to right, 2001 Volkswagen GTI Key Fob, Embossed Leather Business Card Case, Apple 80GB iPod Classic, Tumi Leather Bi-Fold Wallet, Samsung SPH-i325 Mobile Phone, Pilot Precise V5 Extra Fine Rolling Ball Pen, Levi Strauss & Co. 514 Slim Straight Jeans.
PAW
Nixon learned to give me her paw today. I know this doesn’t sound like much, but imagine if your ADHD kid sat down and read a book to you. Big ups, Nix. Milk Bones are on the house all night.
“Old Devils” is the first single...
WINTER
According to the calendar, winter is just around the corner, but as is typically the case in Ohio it’s come early. Bags filled with the last remnants of our abbreviated fall are lining the streets, and that unique shade of Ohio Grey has already taken over the skies. Just as autumn passed me by, it seems so has this blog. Through sheer laziness I have neglected this outlet, and if I had any...
September 2008
2 posts
PHILLY
The fourth season of FX’s hit comedy, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, premieres this Thursday at 10pm. Over the past three seasons, the show has gained a strong cult following by using topics such as abortion, racism, homophobia, slave labor, drug addiction, and retardation as springboards for plot lines. And despite being heavily under-promoted by FX, the show has continued to...
HIATUS
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. Now that I’m settled again, look for something soon. Real soon.
July 2008
2 posts
DARK KNIGHT
5/5. The closest thing to all out war I’ve seen on the big screen in a long time. Heath Ledger’s Joker seems to pull from so many sources; the 1989 Batman, a bit of The Shining, and somewhat surprisingly, Saw. The film is too dark to really be mentioned in the same breath with other superhero movies, and pushes it well beyond its PG-13 rating.
FREELANCE
As of today, I am now accepting freelance clients for print work. Should you, or anyone you know need design work done, take a look at my portfolio and resume, and “holla atcha boy.”
June 2008
6 posts
WALL-E
5/5. Outstanding. If memory serves, this is the first Pixar movie driven predominantly by plot rather than dialogue. The crazy thing is, I didn’t even think about it until I was walking out of the theatre. There’s really nothing not to like about this film. Go see it with someone you love. P.S. I really want one of these.
PANCAKE PEOPLE
With the way we obtain our knowledge these days, “we risk turning into ‘pancake people’—spread wide and thin.” I don’t know if it’s a consequence of necessity or an intended irony that the article is 7 pages long, but it was certainly easier to read in the printed form. Via Design Observer.
FIELD-TESTED
I received the poster a couple days ago, now I’m just waiting on the book. I’ve got to say, I’m pretty excited.
EAMES
Yesterday, the United States Postal Service released a set of 16 42-cent stamps to honor Charles and Ray Eames. The set, designed by Derry Noyes, features many of the Eames’ legendary furniture designs, as well as a classic photograph of the couple. I’m not entirely sure of the USPS has released stamp sets commemorating designers previously, but if not, the husand-and-wife team...
DEATH
So for the past couple days I’ve been listening Shelly Kagan, a Yale Philosophy professor, talk about death. A bit morbid, I know, but free. Yale has started offering a handful of courses on their website, completely free of cost.
It’s called Open Yale Courses, and although the classes can’t be used for credit, and you can’t contact the professor with questions,...
3 tags
PLASTICS
Well, I graduated. Valedictorian. And after a week in Hilton Head with my family and girlfriend, 4 solid days of emptying both our apartments, and one last 12-hour drive, I’m back home in Berea for a bit of, as Ben Braddock would say, ‘drifting.’
Last Tuesday I flew up to New York to interview with Pentagram for their summer intern position. The interview couldn’t have...
May 2008
2 posts
3 tags
NIXON
The new lady in my life, named after the watches, not the President.
3 tags
CHAIRS WITH TALKING POINTS
“Sitting is a collaboration between human and chair,” via New York Times. Click the photo.