The EPL season is finally here, and Manchester as a whole seems to be aggressive out the gate. We’ll see how my Blues fair with their new boss and last minute additions. This is just a little something I whipped up for my fantasy EPL team. I thought I could add a badge like you can add a helmet in fantasy football, but apparently not. Oh well, it was a fun little brain exercise. My club name is Shaolin FC, an ode to the WU. It was too easy to put a W in the center and call it a day. I went the mascot route, and used the stars to represent the 36 chambers. I would like to get this made. Need a jersey designed? Get at me.

It’s worth taking a look at last year’s design, to understand how different each annual theme is. In community/church based organizations, I started to see certain trends in design. In line with the rest of the design world, many organizations latched onto minimalist, DIY design. Which isn’t necessarily a bad move when taking into consideration the demographic, which could be anywhere from 14-26 year olds.

Last year’s theme was Life In Full, Life In Christ. CFCY wanted to express the excitement in living a Christian lifestyle. We went with a bright and lively color palette, a CMYK scheme. I think in conversation, when discussing mood, someone said “Kanye West” haha. I can’t find my mood boards (my old external was stolen), but it consisted of Quicksilver add and an assortment of board shorts.

This year’s theme is a lot more dramatic and personal. It touches on the history of Christian martyrdom, and it’s effect on the longevity of Christian heritage. More on inspiration and process after the event.

p.s. Spring, you better hurry your ass up!

I had a lot of fun with this project. I was able to revisit a familiar style that I’ve kept on the shelf for the past few months. The concept takes from the traveling that the couple looks forward to, for them as well as their guests. I put a lot of thought into the smaller details, that I hope people miss at first and realize later, releasing a potentially teary eyed “awww”. It was designed as a colorless sketch at first but then I thought, “What am I doing with my life?” and added some color. I hope you like it…you, the couple, that is…but you guys too…all five of you who might still follow this blog.

*EDIT* Holler at Javison circa 2008.

This past winter, my nephew played his first wrestling season. I don’t remember wrestling being this intense. Again, I wasn’t good, so I probably wasn’t that interested. Walking into this middle school in central Maryland on a cold Saturday morning, I entered a different world. A world outside of PG County as most know it. A world that had a particular smell, a mixture of boiled hot dogs, sweat, and Cheetos. A world where parents encouraged releasing your anger on your peers, and talking at a reasonable volume WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!! Ok maybe it was a little like life in PG County, minus the smell.

Darryl???

YoDamita just put me onto Wallpaper Magazine. I haven’t picked up a copy yet, will do this weekend, but browsing through their digital content, I stumbled upon an interesting find, a jewel. I recall growing up, NASA wasn’t at the children’s table when it came to the evening news. And as a kid I learned that before my time, NASA and it’s efforts to be the leader in space exploration were reported daily. This had a major effect on the technology industry and advertising.

“Another Science Fiction: Advertising the Space Race 1957-1962″ by Megan Prelinger showcases advertising pieces from the period, highlighting the aesthetic of “a science fiction tomorrow”.

“Another Science Fiction looks over the early years of the space race, when government billions propped up a rampantly expanding defence industry, eager to sugar-coat its wares with the sheen of a science fiction tomorrow that was eternally just around the corner.”

Read the short article on Wallpaper Magazine, and then view the gallery. THEN purchase the book here…for me…then for yourself.

You can view them all here.

These are my three favorite.

He starts his day like 10% of the US population, looking for a job.