IT IS WHAT IT IS

This is my design context publication. in it contains a few of the sorts of things which I enjoy on a daily basis, for various reasons. Naturally there are certain themes that run throughout this book, however it mainly serves merely as an indication of my creative interests at this point in time, rather than simply being a book about sign-painting or a book about hand-lettering.

Vague contents: words & signs & posters & some other stuff Crack on..

Im not comfortable with convenience replacing artistry

- Theo Parrish

TEMPA - my interest in Graphic Design stems almost entirely from this one label.

LETTERS, SIGNS, POSTERS, WORDS, PAINT, PENS, ETC.

ESPO

and applied my new found ethic to painting water-ice stands and soft pretzel carts. From there its been one foot in front of the other until I got here. DB: Which have been your most significant and satisfying projects to date? Steve Powers (ESPO) Interview Questions: Andy DB In 1999 steve powers (AKA ESPO) stopped writing graffiti and tending bar to to become a full-time artist. Since then hes become known for his witty word-based works that are a hybrid of sign-writing and mural painting. Here he tells designboom more about the themes explored in his work and his myriad influences. DB: Please could you tell us briefly about your background and how you ended up working in your current capacity? SP: I am the fifth of six children that grew up in an chaotic environment with 24 cats and a gun under my fathers pillow. I was desperate to escape and art was the pick I used on the lock. I attended university of the arts on broad street in Philadelphia. It was there I acquired the discipline to complete a task, a skill that had eluded me for 20 years. I immediately dropped out SP: In 2009 I went back home to West Philadelphia and painted a love letter to the neighborhood across 50 walls along the elevated train line. The love was received and returned to me and that is really the peak experience so far. DB: When did wordplay and words as images become a central theme in your work ? SP: That was there from the start. When I painted graffiti I was focused on one word. Now as an artist Im focused on all of them. DB: You work at many different scales - do you have a personal preference? SP: When I make paintings I feel like Im in communion with all of art history. I talk to the artists that have been talking to me all my life. DB: Do you prefer to work indoors or outdoors?

SP: The weather is always perfect indoors, but when I paint outside Im hoping for an interaction with a passerby that well put up on the wall. When it happens, a fleeting moment becomes eternal. DB: Did something or someone in particular influence the sentiments expressed in your work and your aesthetic? SP: Im in awe of the power and the reach of music. To compete with the majesty of music, I make paintings that are visual blues. I distill my everyday experience into paintings I call daily metaltations. They are painted very fast, fresh from the epiphanies that inspired them. The larger paintings draw from those metaltations and go to a deeper understanding of the transactions we make everyday to live our lives. DB: What are the main differences between street art and graffiti for you? SP: Graffiti is 30,000 years old, more or less, and it continues to relate a simple, eloquent message, I was here. Street art is peeling faded wallpaper advertising a product thats on sale at urban outfitters, DB: How do you think the popularity of online design resources has influenced design and art being produced today?

SP: Instagram has been really interesting for me. in the 3 months that Ive been posting daily metaltations, Ive learned what will move the needle with the internet. so as an artist I resist the temptation to give the people what they want, and I try to push different work to challenge them and myself. DB: Besides your professional work - what do you have a passion for and why? SP: I love to lurk on the corner. Paying attention as the city goes about its business always yields interesting data. DB: What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given? SP: When I was 15, my father, shortly before he ran off to start a new life, told me, I dont give a fuck what you do but you better have a plan. DB: What is the worst piece of advice you have ever been given? SP: My mother told me twenty years ago that I was crazy to think the city would ever let me paint walls. She hangs her head now and tells her students dont listen to me, my son didnt and he turned out fine. Lifted from designboom.com

ESPO

ESPO

ESPO

ESPO

DM: Most of the work I do is all just by hand. Now and again Ill get a job helping someone design some lettering for a logo or a t-shirt design. I think its cool. Im always down to use lettering for things other than just sign painting. TA: What do you like or dislike most about painting letters and making signs? What would be the ideal project for you? Dan Dusty Madsen interview Questions: RD Granados TA: As a third generation sign painter in your family, can you tell us about growing up around the craft and how long youve been doing it? DM: Growing up I always remember playing in my grandpas studio. I would doodle my name and write him little notes with his calligraphy pens. Playing in his studio was my favorite thing to do when we went there. My grandpas job was medical illustrator and letterer. Every birthday we would get these amazing custom lettered and illustrated birthday cards from him. I think thats what sparked my first interest about lettering. In 2007 my grandpa passed away. While going through his stuff in his studio I came across old sign painting books, photos, and materials that were originally my great grandfathers. Since then Ive focused most of my time into learning and practicing sign painting and I really do enjoy it. TA: Do you also work in the digital realm as well, graphic design, typography etc? If so, hows working with the analog vs. digital? DM: I dont know, thats a tough one.I really enjoy painting letters. maybe when a client wants a fun font and I have to convince them that thats now what I do. My ideal sign or project would be painting a large sign/ advertisement on a raw brick building. Its more exciting painting outside of the studio. TA: What would you tell a young graphic designer thinking about becoming a sign painter? DM: Id say if your hearts in it, go for it! we need more young sign painters out there. TA: Do you sense a revival of the craft and more people taking interest in traditional hand painted signage? DM: I do. I definitely think theres a lot of people out there that enjoy things that are hand crafted and authentic. Thats exactly what sign painting is. The word just has to spread that sign painting is still alive and people are still doing it. TA: Comparing your life working in the digital age to your familys past in

sign painting, what are some of the differences, advantages or disadvantages? DM: Well now a days its definitely easier to market yourself and put you and your work out there. Although, as an artist back in the day, I think you had more of a personal connection to the work you were creating/ designing. There was no photoshop and illustrator short cuts, so everything you produced was 100% you. TA: Do you listen to music when working, and if so, whats playing on your system? DM: Im always bumpin some jams. I play Louis Armstrong, The Weeknd, Sade, Tupac, Stevie Wonder, Teddy Pandagrass, Otis Redding, and the list goes on. Although its also sometimes nice to work in silence. It all depends on how Im feeling. Lifted from typearchive.com

Dusty Signs

Dusty Signs

OPTIMO

JD Twitch and JG Wilkes (aka Keith McIvor and Jonnie Wilkes) ran Optimo (a hugely successful club night) in Glasgow for a whole 13 years before calling it a day: For a year and a half we had no more than a hundred people in. Then one week there were about four hundred people. Then the next week it was the same, and the next. It was like a lightbulb had switched on in peoples heads suddenly they got it. It might have been something to do with our advertising. We put up all these photocopied posters around the city which started with the slogan Optimo says, kind of like Frankie says. That helped. That captured peoples imagination. Jonnie has designed all our posters and flyers ever since. Obviously capturing peoples imagination requires some talent, but what is maybe more impressive is that Jonnie Wilkes continued to make one poster near enough every week until the club night eventually reched the end of its life. Whats more is that every single poster is different to the last one, resulting in a wonderfully unique collection of posters.

A few of the Optimo posters

STOHEAD

Its interesting to see things taken out of context and placed in an unfamiliar light. In this case Stohead has taken a visual style that is all too familiar in public environments and placed it on the gallery wall, exposing qualities that are often overlooked in more familiar situations.

SEAN WES

In general, most people see words and read sentences to derive meaning. I saw letters as beautiful shapes and curves with forms full of beauty. It wasnt until years later that I discovered that I had a love for what was known as typography. What a feeling of relief and excitement all at once! I discovered that not only was I not some strange person with a deranged affection, but that there were also thousands of others who shared the same love for type. The internet has a unique ability for making one feel less weird.

SEAN WES

SEAN WES

THIS IS MY COSTUME thecostumelife.com

Yeah we thought we was cool so we made like an interent blog which is so hip.we just shove a load of our stuff and stuff we like on it , and hopfully that other people like . We are dead serious

thecostumelife.com

thecostumelife.com

thecostumelife.com

RETNA

At first glance, the work of the artist Retna looks like an undiscovered ancient script: a series of hypnotic symbolscomplex, beautiful and captivating. But Retna has created an original alphabet, fusing together influences from ancient Incan and Egyptian hieroglyphics, Arabic, Hebrew, Asian calligraphy, and graffiti. Each piece carries meaning, conveying an event or dialogue that the artist experienced. Lifted from the Economist

yeah

ALISON CARMICHAEL

Alison mainly works with advertising agencies and design groups but has also been called on to do exhibition signage, window displays, pop promos, embroidered lettering, body painting, writing with ketchup, shampoo, treacle, loose tea leaves and even full scale crop circles. She is known for her huge range of diversity and versatility in lettering styles.

I like new places

MESTRE

AMSTERDAM

NAPLES

BUDAPEST

SOMEWHERE IN CROATIA

BELGRADE

ABUZE BEOGRAD ZINE A small run of 200 zines produced by a collective named Abuze from Paris. Minimal writing, no credits or details, just a series of mainly black and white images depicting an interesting place in the world.

NUT CITY - zine by Elliot Holbrow, Joel Barton and Nazusk The image on each cover is hand-drawn, as a nice little touch.

SAMIYAM - RAP BEATS VOL. 1

Samiyam sold his debut album on CDR format through his Myspace and at a few select stores. The quirkiness and innovative nature of his music is reflected by the cover artwork - each tray sleeve displays a very different image to the next. Naturally they all sold out, perhaps due to his music but also maybe the fact that each buyer happens to possess a one-of-a-kind copy of the album.