For years, I’ve collected folders full of old ticket stubs, receipts, catalogs, booklets, invoices, postcards, labels and other printed pieces dating from 1900 – 1975. These items are best defined as “ephemera” — things that were created to serve a practical, short-term purpose — not really meant to be saved (or written about in a blog post some 50+ years later). But being a designer who loves history and design history, it comes as no surprise that these items interest me. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever met a designer that doesn’t like rummaging through shelves of thrift stores or antique malls looking for cool printed “stuff”. I believe that collecting and studying these artifacts is really important — we can learn from the past and can find inspiration for current work.
I realize that some may classify all of this “stuff” as trash, but I see it as treasure. I appreciate the printing process, the craftsmanship, the hand lettering, the attention to detail and the history behind each piece. So I’ll keep on colllecting — I’ll just have to add some more folders to the filing cabinet.
Here are just a few samples I’ve collected over the years:
What a great script — and the perfectly tracked Futura typestyle.
1900 self-promotional brochure for a Chicago architecture firm
Back of an old photo card showing amazing lettering and detail.
Sheet music with hand-drawn lettering
Camera brochure cover. I love the Pilot logo.
A great example of good design for everyday purpose.
Kodak box cover
Great numbering style on a receipt from my grandfather's hardware store (1968)
Citizens Radio cards.
Invoice from my grandfather's hardware store - I forgive the spacing (kerning) between the W and the A in "Hardware" but love the typographic choice.
Beautiful lettering style and attention to detail on the back of this photo card.
What a nice lettering style and a capital "F". c.1925
The golden ratio (also known as the golden mean, golden section or divine proportion) is a height to width ratio that measures 0.618 and manifests itself in nature, art and architecture. The Parthenon in Greece incorporates the ratio, but it’s unknown whether or not the designers actually used the principle. The human form has this same basic geometric relationship — DaVinci studied this and created drawings that illustrated the proportion in his Vitruvian Man (below). Piet Mondrian used the golden ratio in much of his work in the 1920′s. Even Twitter uses the golden ratio principle for it’s screen design.
The Golden Ratio looks like this:
And is defined as the ratio between two segments such that the smaller (bc) segment is to the larger segment (ab) is to the sum of the two segments (ac), or bc/ab = ab/ac = 0.618.
And can be calculated like this (adding 1 to the ratio is phi, yielding the same basic geometric relationship):
More examples of the Golden Ratio:
Fascinating! Is it an inherent aesthetic preference or is it a design technique turned tradition? How do you explain the proportion found in nature? However you decide to answer those questions, it’s hard to argue that it has had an enormous impact on art and design over the years and continues to influence design today. Next time you see something that just “feels” right, or that you just can’t take your eyes off of, take a look at the proportions and remember – Ahh, it must be the 0.618!
For 14 years we’ve labored through September nights, consuming ungodly amounts of coffee, Coke and cheese puffs in the name of CreateAthon. It hasn’t always been pretty, and it never is when you’re facing drastic shortages of time, money, manpower and supplies. Yet somehow the work always gets done, and every year we leave CreateAthon pondering the same question:
Why doesn’t everyone in our industry do CreateAthon?
The simple, truthful answer has to do with resources. If only we had the time to put more into CreateAthon. If only we had more money to spend on marketing it. If only we had the resources to hire someone to run the program, full-time, we could recruit more people into the program to do more good for more nonprofits.
For as long as we’ve faced this conundrum, we’ve known what we had to do to address it. So I’m thrilled to announce that CreateAthon has become a 501(c)3 in its own right, joining the ranks of the organizations we’ve proudly served over the years. As a 501(c)3, CreateAthon is now in a position to pursue funding opportunities that can help us build much-needed organizational capacity — with a goal of adding full-time personnel and other resources to help the program grow.
When this sheet of paper arrived in the mail the other day, there was a collective gasp, immediately followed by parental-caliber squeals normally reserved for a child’s college acceptance letter. Proof again that our little idea is growing up.
I love finding a good story behind the design of something, especially when there is meaning and symbolism involved. For instance, the ubiquitous barber shop sign – the revolving, helical red and blue striped sign that’s typically mounted on the facade of the shop.
Back in the day, barbers used to perform medical procedures, including tooth extractions and bloodletting services. Apparently, they would hang the bandages on a pole outside to dry and the wind would wrap the bloody bandages around the pole. Yes, disturbing, but we’re talking the Middle Ages here. Leeches are part of the story, too, but I’ll leave that out for now. The pole represents the staff that was used for the patient to grip to encourage blood flow. The color red is symbolic for arterial blood, blue represents venous blood and the white symbolizes the bandages. It’s also possible that the blue was added when the signs were used in the United States, to honor the national colors.
And a note of caution: If you’re in certain parts of Asia, the barber’s pole design could be used to advertise and disguise a completely different type of business establishment, but I’ll choose to steer clear of that story.
Downtown Columbia scored a major economic victory last week with the opening of Mast General Store. With their vast selection of shoes, clothing, home goods, gifts, ole-timey toys and barrels of candy, it’s a fun, feel-good kind of place to shop, and city leaders and residents alike are all hoping it will be the catalyst for change in downtown Columbia.
What we believe makes Mast Store an even more exciting addition to Columbia is the fact that they are a company with values deeply rooted in corporate social responsibility (CSR). All the way back to their original store in the late 1800’s, Mast Store has always maintained a culture of contributing to their local community.
If you just consider their business philosophy of locating in cities where they believe the store can be a catalyst for Main Street revitalization, as was the case in Greenville, SC and Knoxville, TX, that in itself is a pretty significant way to make a difference. They are an employee-owned company, supporters of United Way, very active in promoting community events, and they hold several annual projects to benefit local food banks, shelters and others in need.
What I’m really excited about and energized by is Mast Store’s commitment to the environment. Their sense of environmental stewardship runs deep and is evident in these very progressive programs:
Green Power – the company purchases carbon credits in North Carolina and Tennessee to help offset the impact made by their delivery trucks.
Recycling – all stores recycle plastic, glass, paper, aluminum, bi-metal cans and cardboard, and their shopping bags have a special additive that quickens the decomposition process (I mean really, who does that?)
Mast Transit – employees earn incentives for carpooling, riding their bike to work, walking to work or taking public transportation (If only I could get an incentive for carpooling my daughter to school the past couple of years!)
Local Land Trust Day – the first Saturday of every June, Mast Store donates 20 percent of the day’s sales to their partner land trust in the community of each of their stores; think about it, on this one day, 20 percent of the sales from every store goes back into the local community specifically to support land conservation – I’d say that’s some pretty impressive CSR.
The Columbia partner for Local Land Trust Day is the Congaree Land Trust (CLT), a small organization that has conserved more than 27,000 acres of land in central South Carolina. CLT board members, volunteers and staff will be on hand all day to educate shoppers about land trusts, conservation easements and the status of land protection in central South Carolina – something you might not have ever considered it weren’t for Mast General Store and their tremendous sense of corporate social responsibility.
If you’d like your shopping dollars to have an impact on the local community, head downtown to Mast Store this Saturday, June 4 and see first-hand this great company that has moved in on Main Street in Columbia.
I’ve long held that January is the only civilized month. With its winter arms and 5 o’clock cloak, January offers an extraordinary opportunity to slow down, curl up, hide away. In fact, I love January because it is the one month in which it is deemed perfectly respectable to do so.
In January, I read. And by that I mean I fall slowly and deeply into wonderful, winding novels that take entire afternoons that stretch into evenings that go right on with me to my cozy you-can-never-have-too-much-down bed. I skate through centuries and across continents and just for a while, take leave of the incessant demands that are my life.
In January, I sit. Our living room is built around a real wood-burning fireplace, and our neighbors know if there is smoke coming from the chimney, Cathy is In Residence. There is just something about that fireplace, and me. I would rather sit and stare at its flames than watch TV or sit on a beach or play on my iBook. The woodsy smell, the pops and cracks, the constant tending, the red hot embers—I stare like a young lover, mesmerized.
In January, I knit. I know. So 70s. But I love the feel of yarn and the rhythm of the pattern and clickclickclick of the needles. I find deep satisfaction in making something useful. And I rejoice in the creation of something so beautiful, just Right There.
In January, I promise. I tell myself it’s within my power to make time to do these things any time of the year; that there’s no reason I can’t take an entire afternoon IN AUGUST to sit quietly, or read, or create.
And I believe. Until inevitably, February comes, and the pause button releases.
This piece demonstrates multiple development scenarios in the Bulls Bay Corridor, located in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Through the use of data-based maps, scientific data and charts, this brochure demonstrates how land use choices can impact the Corridor in a variety of ways. The cover uses a combination of letterpress and silk-screen techniques, and includes a CD that contains all maps, data, and PowerPoint presentations.
Keely Saye is a talented inbound marketing specialist and we’re happy to have her as a strategic partner. We developed a fresh, distinctive graphic identity that reflects her personality and her style of doing business. We designed a custom logotype and graphic elements: a custom pattern, vertical mark, monogram, color palette and graphic standards. Although 95% of her work is in the digital space (look for her new website soon), we felt that it was important for her to have a business card that would create a lasting impression. We turned to Copper Dog Press that printed each card by hand on a ca. 1900 Chandler & Price platen letterpress. All of this care and attention to detail is evident in the finished product(s) and is reflective of Keely’s work as well. We’re excited to help her launch this new look!
Imagine cooking 500 hot meals every day from a 300 sq. ft. kitchen. For 20 years or so, the Spartanburg Soup Kitchen had been operating out of a church kitchen and dining room, while the need to serve more meals just kept growing.
The board embarked on a capital campaign to raise money to build a new Soup Kitchen facility. While their case for support was sound, they lacked the packaging and community awareness to make the campaign a success.
So the CreateAthon team went to work on developing a new brand identity, outdoor campaign, and web site to re-introduce the Soup Kitchen as a vital part of the community. These outlets gave the Soup Kitchen the marketing foundation it needed, but the team didn’t stop there. Lee Price, Julie Smith, Tim Floyd and Teresa Coles developed a strategy for the Soup Kitchen that would help attract individual gifts to the Soup Kitchen well beyond the capital campaign. More to come in Part 2.
There is a rising consciousness that we are all connected, one to another - human beings, nonprofits, small businesses, corporate America. This blog is devoted to the study of the intersection between people and the thoughtful brands with which they identify.
