Congratulations to all you amazing lunchboxbrainiacs on surviving the third installment of 2020! I want to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU for your support this year and all the prior years. Knowing that y’all enjoy my mad creations is the cherry on top of the LBB sundae. Before we dive face first into 2023, here’s a look at the big LBB hits from this year.

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Could be the camera angle but it looks like Perine could've made a play here? #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/4iF6l7KPs5

— Andrew Gregory (@lunchboxbrain) February 14, 2022

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Best Selling Shirt.Woot LBB Shirt

But wait! There’s more! This year I worked on a MASSIVE project that I can’t talk about until it’s released in 2023. Stay tuned for updates about that project and other LBB shenanigans in the new year. Cheers!

Season’s greetings, lunchboxbrainiacs! I want to wish y’all a happy New Year and express my thanks for your support this year. Before we jump ahead to 2022, let’s take a look at this year’s top LBB moments.

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Sophia is a big @NPR fan 😀 pic.twitter.com/foNSmbCn29

— Andrew Gregory (@lunchboxbrain) August 26, 2021

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Welp, this year was one for the ages, wasn’t it? Amidst the insanity that was 2020, the lunchboxbrain train kept on rolling. Before I share some of my favorite work from this past year, I want to say THANK YOU to all you wonderfully weird lunchboxbrainiacs. Your kinds words and encouragement mean a lot to me. Cheers to a healthier and happier 2021!

And now for the best of 2020…

Top Tee: Necessary Allowance of Personal Space
Top Instagram Post: Erin Go Back Inside


Top Dribbble Shot: Count ‘Em All

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There’s still time to vote for Hope Is My Favorite 4-Letter Word over at @wootshirt https://t.co/Hn9fJHHhrw #SundayThoughts pic.twitter.com/7tjaKBuFtg— Andrew Gregory (@lunchboxbrain) April 5, 2020

I was also excited to put out another EP of instrumental music this year. Take a listen to Hambone here:

And let’s not forget the launch of my Giphy channel!

See y’all next year!

Greetings, lunchboxbrainiacs! I’m stoked to announce that LBB is on the move. That’s right – I’m expanding into the wonderful world of gifs with my own GIPHY channel! Check out all my goofy gifs and use them at your leisure.

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Time to turn up those speakers, lunchboxbrainiacs! I’ve released a new 4-track EP for your listening pleasure. Hambone is jam-packed with instrumental tracks inspired by old-school funk and hip-hop. Hope you dig it!

Happy holidays, lunchboxbrainiacs. I hope your year was packed with fulfilling, challenging and rewarding ventures. 2019 was a great spin around the sun – I made lots and lots of things that brought me (and hopefully many of you!) so much joy. I had 20+ shirts printed at Shirt.Woot, released some new instrumental music and helped AIGA Upstate New York crew celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Here are 19 other things that made 2019 a great year:

1. The launch of Tyler Finck’s incredible Upstate Design Community directory.
2. This awesome set of NFL draft posters designed and printed by Hatch Show Print.
3. Adobe Create’s round-up of public domain images.
4. A truly magical trip to Disney with my wife and kids.
5. Albany Empire’s championship season.
6. Watching 2x Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning get a well-deserved final ovation.
7. A majestic new album from the mighty Pete Rock.
8. The hilarity of Paul Rudd on Hot Ones.
9. Attending AIGA Upstate New York’s Creative Brew conference.
10. Enjoying many tasty beverages from my own custom-made LBB drinkware.
11. Dipping my toes into the motion graphics pool!
12. Andy J. Pizza’s Creative Pep Talk podcast. ESPECIALLY this interview with Lisa Congdon.
13. The delightful adventures of Detective Pikachu.
14. Becoming a godfather!
15. Dancing with this lovely gal.
16. SNL’s Graphics Department skit.
17. The honktastic chaos of Untitled Goose Game.
18. Discovering Johnny Sampson’s Creative Differences comic.
19. The love and support I felt from all you wonderful lunchboxbrainiancs.

See you next year!

Wait! Music? Yes, my lunchboxbrainiacs. MUSIC.

Long before I was spilling ink and pushing pixels, I was making music. With friends, by myself, in a bedroom, on stage. Music is a huge part of my life and I’m incredibly excited to share a new EP with you. Four contains four new, original instrumental songs.

Give these songs a listen below and enjoy. Cheers to another forty trips around the sun and back.

As a seasoned graphic designer, I believe in the power of strong visuals – especially logos. Unique marks combine color, form and (in many cases) type to leave a lasting impression on its target audience.

Some of the biggest brands from my childhood – McDonald’s, Nintendo, Pepsi, etc. – did just that. But with the benefit of time (I’m quickly closing in on 40. ACK!) and reflection, I’ve come to understand that the experiences I had with those brands were far more powerful than a simple logo.

In light of this realization, I wanted to reinterpret some of the most memorable logos from childhood (80’s and 90’s) to reflect my memories. It’s time to fire up the DeLorean and go for a spin…

Scene: Mid 80’s,Crossgates Mall in Albany, NY
Me: “Where are we going?”
Parents: “Burger King.”
Me: “Uhh, there’s a king of all burgers?”

There sure is. And in the mid-80’s, I was introduced to his majesty. I remember ordering my food, grabbing that adjustable golden cardstock crown, sizing it to fit my scruffy skull and transforming myself into royalty. In that moment, I was most famous of all bosses…I was the Burger King.

My life was forever changed when the Nintendo Entertainment System hit the streets in 1988. I vividly remember feeling an wave of joy and amazement when one of my childhood friends proudly announced that he was the proud owner of the NES Action Set (the console, two controllers, a zapper, Super Mario Bros and Duck Hunt). In no time, we were zapping ducks and battling bosses for hours on end. We were playing with power. We were in the zone.

If you owned a Starter jacket or hat in the late 80’s/early 90’s, you weren’t just cool…you were special. I don’t recall when I got my first and only Giants starter jacket (let’s say early ’90s) but I do remember feeling like a BOSS. While the star has lost its shine, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gen Z kids boomerang back to Starter as a throwback status symbol.

I’ve been a maker/creator/builder for as long as I can remember. I didn’t have huge, elaborate sets. I had just enough to put together small creations. The problem with owning a bunch of random legos is that small, sharp pieces can easily go missing. If you catch a brick at just the right angle, it feels like you stepped on a shard of searing hot glass. Note to all Lego enthusiasts young and old: buy yourself a solid pair of slippers!

My parents weren’t cheap. They were frugal. They knew the true value of a dollar and how to stretch it. They also knew that, despite the begging and pleading from my sister and I, cable TV was a luxury that we could afford to live without. Thankfully, a few of my friends’ parents weren’t as cheap frugal and every now and then, I was able to bask in the sweet computer generated glow of Dire Strait’s Money for Nothing video. In all fairness, my parents did relent after a few years and hooked up the cable hook up. Ironically, I’m now a proud cord cutter. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

You may call it powdered cheese product but I call it magic dust. For me, the opening of a Doritos bag signaled the start of a good time. I remember kids at the lunch table in school would trade just about their entire lunch to a classmate who had a single-size bag of Doritos. Ruffles, schmuffles. Cheetos, schmeetos. Generic nacho cheese tortilla chip??? Oh hell no. No processed crunchy snack could pack the crunch AND the taste like Doritos did.

Before the rise of WalMart, there was the mighty KMart. The phrase “Attention KMart shoppers!” brings back a flood of memories. Much like my wife and I take our kids on a weekly sojourn to Target, my mom would drag me on regular trips to the big K. It went a little something like this:

Mom: Hew Drew, get your coat and shoes on. We’re running out for a quick trip.
Me (in the midst of cartoons, video games or a Calvin & Hobbes book): Awwww. Where to?
Mom: KMart.
Me: Uggghhh…
Mom: If you’re not in the car in 3…2…
Me: K, mom.

I’m now convinced the blue light special represented the shared sadness of the kids who got dragged to KMart.

Pepsi was billed as “the choice of a new generation”. In reality, myself and other 80’s/90’s kids has a bazillion other choices when it came to soft drinks – Surge, Tab and Shasta to name a few. With that said, I could always count on Pepsi to deliver the goods during an epic burp battle with my friends. I tip my Starter cap to you, PepsiCo.

You could ask 10 basketball fans who’s the greatest player of all time and get 10 different answers. For my money, nobody balled better than Michael Jordan. As the leader of the dominant 90’s Chicago Bulls, Jordan won six NBA championships and five league MVP titles. Did I forget to mention that he was a legendary dunker? His moves off the court were equally impressive. His partnership with Nike elevated the brand to new heights ($2.5 billion in annual sales to be exact). Air Jordans were one of the ultimate status symbols in the 90’s. If you walked in to the first day of school with a new pair of Jordans or new Nikes, the general response was “DUUUUUDE!”.

Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, the Cold War was everywhere. Russians were Commies and Commies were the enemy. It was as simple as that. But sometime between 1989 and 1990, after years of diplomatic efforts, the Cold War thawed out. What better way to signal this historic development than to open a McDonald’s – an iconic American brand – in Moscow. I remember watching the news and seeing massive crowds of Russians waiting in line to get a taste of freedom. In my mind, for a few fleeting moments, those Russians became Americans. If only things were so simple now.

Scene: My house, present day
Me: “Hey kiddo, it’s beautiful outside. Get your shoes on and play outside.”
My 8 y/o old son (in the midst of video games or a Netflix binge): “Awww…just a few more minutes, k?”
Me: If you’re not outside in 3…2…
Me: Gahhhh. K, dad.

With the exception of the occasional video game marathon, my friends and I were always outside. We rode our bikes, played H.O.R.S.E. and generally beat the hell out of each other until dark. It was great. It was life before the internet. That was before AOL spread like a world wide wildfire. American Online blew up in the early/mid 90’s. For me, AOL was the first (painfully slow) gateway to the web. Web pages, chat rooms and email, oh my! Has the evolution of the web had some tremendous benefits? Sure. But I encourage you to log off, power down and get outside…as soon as you’re done reading this post

In the age of viral selfies and shared Facebook albums, it’s easy to forget that once upon a time, people took picture with actual film. There’s a pretty good chance that if you said “SAY CHEEEEESE!” in the 80’s/90’s you had Kodak film in your camera. It’s been ages since I’ve shot anything on film but there was something special getting your photos developed, waiting at the 1 hour photo place and then putting those new memories (yes, even the ones in which you look like an idiot because you blinked) into actual photo albums. Who knows…maybe shooting on film will become cool again like Starter jackets. I guess time will tell.

Season’s Greetings Lunchboxbrainiacs!

LORDY, WHAT A YEAR! 2017 was a wild one here at LBB HQ.

I had more than a dozen shirts printed at Shirt.Woot, Cotton Bureau and TeeFury to name a few. I also released 7 design duos (one apparel graphic, one surface design) over at my Threadless Artist Shop. These designs were well received and more importantly, I feel like my skill set (technique, workflow, etc.) grew by leaps and bounds this year. Even though I’m closing in on *gulp* 40, I’m still learning and trying new things. Keep going, keep growing – that’s the LBB way.

Just in case you forgot, your support is a BIG PART of my continued growth and success. If you bought some LBB swag or left a comment about my work on Instagram, Twitter of Facebook, please know that I know am thankful for your kindness and support!

And now, here’s are some of 2017’s greatest hits:

Most Popular Shirt

Lordy, I Hope There Are Tapes

It pays to keep up with Congressional testimony, kids. Shoutout to Jim Comey for the quote of all quotes.

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The Launch of the AIGA UPSTNY Threadless Artist Shop

Curating designs from other designers has always been on my bucket list and now I get to cross that one off. I’m grateful to my fellow AIGA UPSTNY board members who gave me the green light to chase this project. Special shootout to the designers who were kind enough to share their work for this initial collection. You don’t have to be a proud Upstate New Yorker to admit that these are some pretty rad designs. Stay on the lookout for our next round in 2018!

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Yay or nay? #tshirt #apparel #fashion #80s #80skid #parody

A post shared by Andrew Gregory (@lunchboxbrain) on Jan 8, 2017 at 6:41am PST

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Looking at these @Twitter UI chages like pic.twitter.com/SpwgrzSzU1

— Andrew Gregory (@lunchboxbrain) June 15, 2017

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Lordy, I Hope There Are Tapes

That’s a wrap on 2017, folks! May your 2018 be filled with great friends, epic moments and lots of LBB swag. Excelsior!

I’m happy to share that I have a new shirt and hoodie up for sale at TeeFury. N.O.P.E. – inspired by the classic 1980’s D.A.R.E. slogan – is perfect for those days when you just can’t deal. And let’s be honest – we’ve ALL had those day. So whether your watching Netflix or just watching the back of your eyelids, N.O.P.E. has you covered.