hub thank you cards, image: underconsideration.com
looking at hand-illustrated design today, these thank you cards by hub design are all brightly-colored patterns with hand-lettered type. they’re also letter-pressed, which makes them extra special. see the whole set on underconsideration.com.
coffee supreme, image: thedieline.com
a rebrand of new zealand’s coffee supreme gave them 16 unique take-out cups in hand-illustrated style. this is the white set, but there are black and orange sets as well, all of them are super cool. see the whole set on thedieline.com.
evolve, image: emilymcdowell.com
i’ve been watching my friend emily mcdowell move into more illustration and hand-lettering and it’s all so fun to look at. she does fantastic work, sells prints, and has even created a printed scarf. see it all at emilymcdowell.com
today i’m taking the opportunity to share 3 wine packaging ideas that are all wonderful, but none of which exist in the commercial marketplace, either because they’re student work or personal projects. i’d love to see more of this on the shelves over the stayed embossed metallic serifs with only occasional illustrations of interest.
sangwine
sangwine by lydia nichols is a project based on a vineyard of her invention to showcase her lovely illustration work. why shouldn’t wine be set in a retro-fantastic national park or a polka-dotted california road trip? the colors and illustrative details are truly charming. read more on the dieline.com sangwine, image: thedieline.com
niagara chrysalis
niagara chrysalis by melissa deckert. i’ve seen a fair amount of diecut labels, but not many that use the distortion of the wine-filled bottle to add effects to back-side label printing. this is a great way to encourage interaction with the bottle, where a table wine can become a conversation piece. niagara chrysalis, image: thedieline.com
13 appelations
13 appelations by wei sun is a nice concept package on blend wines from multiple vineyards, tying together concepts of terroir into a patchwork of domaines and landscapes. beyond that, it’s covered in maps, another curiosity that gets people studying and enjoying the packaging. i don’t know a single person who doesn’t like maps. 13 appelations, image: thedieline.com
i’m a huge fan of the continuous line style of illustration, and this moving version that tells the story of mohawk paper’s legacy is a really beautiful way to evolve a narrative.
bill holsinger robinson logo, image: underconsideration.com
speaking of things connected, i’ve been looking at a lot of ligatures lately. or rather, i’m always looking at them, but i’m thinking about them even more, and i thought this logo for bill holisnger-robinson was pretty nice. see all the details on for print only.
Rahal Kitchen logo, image: anderson design group
taking ligatures to the next level with illustration is this lovely identity for rahal kitchen, which has iterations for all types of vintage-style farm stand packaging. truly great work from anderson design group.
this video may have a slow start, but it delivers on a small-scale portable rube goldberg machine. see the full write-up along with a diagram of the machine at fastcodesign.com.
looking at things new york this week, let’s start with pentagram’s redesign of the grand central logo. i think they did a lovely job paying homage to the iconic landmark by putting a quaint illustration of the timeclock front and center in their legacy logo. see more of how it’s applied at pentagram.com
one wtc logo, image: underconsideration.com
branding for the new building at one world trade center, by wordsearch. looks like a powerful and substantial wordmark so far, it will be interesting to see how it plays out in practice. see more at underconsideration.com.
it was nice to see this identity & menu design for jack’s wife freda on art of the menu, since we were just in new york last month and ate here for breakfast. i’ll admit, aside from the good reviews, i was attracted to the cute illustration and simple style. i love how the very menu you eat on as a place-mat is placed directly on their site as well. nice work & good food!
typography
subway sign, grand central station, image: newtypeyork.com
will newtypeyork.com ever update their blog again? i was really enjoying the great type specimens from around town, and thought i’d share this lovely subway sign, also from grand central station.
this week we’re looking at type-forward design, kicking it off with this bold branding for lucy’s fried chicken. i love how the outside of the menu shows the logo as an overprint on wood, while the inside is a nice, clean layout of fare. see the whole spread at underconsideration.com.
packaging
stoke bomber beer, image: thedieline.com
i’m loving this all-type packaging for stoke bomber beer. apparently this brand has always used some form of retro imagery, but this line is their foray into ww2-era nostalgia. peruse the write-up at thedieline.com.
typefaces
highway font, image: friendsoftype.com
i’m just looking for a good excuse to use highway by dan cassaro, with all its swashes, ligatures and alternates. and at 39 bucks it’s a damn good deal.
letter cutting
letters & stone, image: ilovetypography.com
the modern-day convenience of fonts usually only serves to make hand-setting letterpress a timely chore, but what about good old stone letter cutting from the age when serifs were more than a decoration? check out ilovetypography.com‘s interview with fergus wessel to learn more about a modern-day letter cutter.
we have these great west-facing windows that afford us lovely sunset views, but when i go to take a picture, i suddenly realize that my mind has erased all the telephone poles & wires. in the past i’ve hiked higher up the hill for a better shot, but i’m going to try to accept them more, and make them part of the composition.
parlato design studio 