Pigtails & Pixies LOGO

recently i was asked to help design a logo for "Pigtails & Pixies Bowtique", custom made accessories for head to toe, specializing in hair bows (and tutus) for little girls.

you can see Erin's amazing work on her BLOG, and you can always buy lots of great products for the little ones in your life at ETSY or ARTFIRE

some fun first tries:

(you can always click for larger view if you like)

the final "banner" i made looks a bit like a clothing tag.

i had fun playing with the dotted line in stitches and cartoon flutters:

add glitter...

Derek and the Darling LOGOS

i don't know how i'm always lucking out working with the nicest people ever, but NYC's rock n' roll dance outfit "Derek and the Darling" presented me with the fun challenge of helping them with a new logo as they embark on tours and record releases all this year.

I wanted to find them something clean, sleek, and smooth to both match their style (as well as avoid anything looking too dated in a year), and something that would be fun and modern (but referenced their music too), not to mention match the enthusiasm of their personalities.

i believe in options, something i've been told is a bit of a designer no-no. sometimes i think it may be my lack of confidence in my design skills or sensibility, but other times i know that i'm the kind of person who can tell you what i don't like before i can tell you what i do like, and most times i have to see it first anyway. i think a lot of folks are like this, and the bottom line is, if i'm going to honor the compliment of being asked to work on something For You, i'm going to make sure it's done For You. i know it's supposed to be "up to you as a designer" to fine tune and craft a vision, but it's not entirely my decision is it; i'm just an interpreter and vessel.

i like options, i love exploration, and i'm all about collaboration with the client to give them something they will be a million % excited about. i've worked at companies that didn't care enough about the customer, client, or product, and the end results were never great, and never ever long lasting. so here i tend to bombard folks with a ton of (appropriate) typefaces first, thinking of them (and rocking out to their music) the entire time, and we narrow it down quickly and collectively. we start wide and chop 90%, and then dive into the details, where i tend to thrive. we actually staid pretty true to the various typefaces and pictorial ideas, with only minor tweaks to match the same precision their music has. here are just a few:

in the end we took a crucial roundabout journey to come back to a place where we started, wiser and more fine tuned than before! you can see how they used their new logo on FACEBOOK as well asMYSPACE, and of course on tour and on record now!

Death Gospel

yes indeed you may have heard pieces of Adam Arcuragi's rousting hootenanny "Bottom Of The River" on TV recently (that's me playing harmonica!)

congrats to Adam and the entire Lupine Chorale Society!

now get out there and see Adam LIVE (because he is amazing live), or head over to High Two Records, or wherever fine music is sold, and grab a copy of Adam's live-take, feel-great, long-player: "I Am Become Joy". we all enjoyed making it, we know you'll enjoy listening to it

oh boy! new records!

and they came out great!

for the record:
1) Paper+Plastick Records is one of the best things to happen to music. period.

2) Coffee Project are two of the coolest dudes ever, and i'm SO proud to get to be a part of what they are doing. their show last night in NYC at The Silent Barn knocked my socks off, and their excellent new songs are full of so much heart-tugging & humor. you really need to see them on tour, as intimate a setting as possible, and be simultaneously spellbound and pumped by the cleverness of every aspect of the songwriting. Their first full-length LP "Moved On" is OUT NOW!

3) The Blacklist Royals bowled us all over. spirited, rebellious, & passionate anthems as heavy and driving as the motor on a '59 Buick Electra (you can hear some HERE). such rad generous guys too; really appreciated getting to spend time with them, and now triple-proud to have gotten to work with such a great band

4) Greenland Is Melting. phew, i was not ready. the most passionate bluegrass music you have ever heard. like the sweetest honey drizzled over your first heartbreak. i didn't get to do any art for them --- because the amazing Shaun Pereira did (and you have to buy this LP and unfold it's vertical Andrew-Wyeth-meets-Steadman+Burton glory)! head over to P+P HERE to download the record FOR FREE if you don't believe me. you'll be giving them your hard earned whiskey money like i did. have i mentioned Karl, Will & Shaun (whose name i misspelled on my card, sorry) are the nicest guys ever?

-------------------

Zounds! check out this great tour video from Jake & Buddy, and the super nice shout out they gave me towards the end! this gives a great snapshot of one of the best shows/nights ever! (why, that's even my noodle on the bottom right of the preview!)