Category Archives: Design

April Showers Bring May Flowers: Marbled Dries Shoes

I am definitely feeling more optimistic than ever now that I’m walking around with the equivalent of psychedelic rainbows on my feet. When the Dries Van Noten Fall 2008 RTW collection came out, I was immediately drawn to the bright, slightly futuristic marbled patterns on some of the clothing. I saw some of the pieces in person twice, but they were woefully out of reach. And, the shoes didn’t appeal to me because they’d lost the chunkiness of seasons past.

Fast forward to last week when I was perusing the selection at Halo and realized that they had some pumps from that collection marked down to less than half price in my odd size (36.5) which is extremely hard to find. I slipped them on, took a few steps and they actually stayed on my feet. A miracle. And, the curvy pin-up girl shape suddenly made sense, balancing out the blindingly bright pattern.

When I originally saw the Fall 2008 collection, it had a strange familiarity. Back in 2006, I had made an art piece called Psychedelia with a similar bright mix of colors that later influenced the work I did for Virgin Records.

And, that’s partially why I make no differentiation between fashion, graphic design and fine art. They are all triggered in some manner by one another with influences that constantly circle back around. One inspiration leads to another and they form a path like little stepping stones to an even bigger vision. But, enough of the philosophical meanderings. All I know is that from now on, each one of my brightly colored steps will be filled with rainbows and smiles!

P.S. Jane of Sea of Shoes wears the marbled dress from the same collection here and you can get a much better idea of how intense the pattern really is!




The Typofiles #16

Stallinga: This is Our Logo is a book that I picked up on a trip to New York in 2002. Though I’ll admit that my purchase was based on the amazing cover which is an actual stencil, the work by renowned Dutch designer Henk Stallinga is just as captivating.

I love the typography that’s laced throughout this book. The stenciled text mimics that of the cover and if you choose, you can use it to make your own. A book about design that encourages reader interaction is a beautiful thing.

All of the little icons actually have a corresponding key in the front of the book and some are pretty funny. The human form below stands for ‘Approximate Size Compared to Man.’

View The Typofiles set on Flickr here.




American Eagle Laser-Etched Presentation Box

One of the coolest projects that I ever got to work on at Nemo was this laser-etched wood presentation box. Some designers don’t enjoy working with teams but for me, it’s one of my favorite things. The collaboration that takes place is super inspiring when you mix a hugely varied group of personalities. I love seeing the sum of everyone’s parts come together to create an amazing piece of work.

For this project, I was responsible for laying out the typography on the front panel, which was then laser-etched. Since I was only able to work with A’s and E’s, my goal was to create as much contrast as possible through weight, scale and serif vs. sanserif type. Thanks to the Nemo team (and Leo for the guidance!) for letting me be a part of such an awesome project!




Tools of the Trade: Stendig Calendar

nubby twiglet typography

Originally designed by Massimo Vignelli in 1966, the Stendig now resides in the Design Collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

The calendar is set up in the ‘Eurpoean Style’ with Monday being the first day of the week and it rotates back and forth between black and white pages for each month. Not for the faint of heart, the Stendig measures an astounding three feet by four feet!

I had one of these beauties back in 2007 and the best part is, once you’re done with a month, you can use the sheets for wrapping paper, collage, craft projects and so much more!

Retailers that sell the calendar include Stendig, Unica Home, The Art Store and See Jane Work.