Letterpress Appointment Cards

Square appointment cards. A follow up to some business cards designed for client. Paper choice this time around was card stock, not cotton. Still this light blue recycled paper (with flecks of dark brown) marries natural cotton paper used for business cards well.

The logo design was inspired by the palmette motif which has a long history that dates back to Ancient Greece and Egypt. This simple symbol has been thought to represent many things like an early version of the halo as well as a connection with the sun’s sunset and sunrise.

Turin Design Week: makers, creators and monsters

This week Turin held “Torino Design Week”: A gamut of demonstrations, talks and design products from mostly Italian makers, but also from the rest of Europe, America and Asia. At Operae (a space where independent designers could present their products) my main intent was to see (new to the scene) Italian independent art book publisher Lazy Dog Press, and their presentation of their first book, “Take your pleasure seriously” featuring (graffiti style) calligraphy by Luca Barcellona. The presentation was developed around and about the contamination of self-production and the new branding of “Made in Italy”.  Also Garagedesign (a virtual place where product designers can submit and develop limited ed. designs for the consumer) offered an intriguing talk on new business models.

L-R Daniele Prosdocimo of Valcucine (kitchen design), 

Luca Barcellona and Massimo Pitis of "Lazy Dog Press”  

At the historical house 'Casa del Pingone’,  Turin based Mag Is In presented their beautifully curated project of 65 independent magazines from all over the world. Among the flux of underground Italian self-produced magazines, art books and zines like Nuant, were (big sigh) monsters House Industries' photo-lettering demo-magazine and the subtle and sweet graphic novelist, Chis Ware. 

House Industries: Photo-lettering

Chris Ware: Tales of Tomorrow

Nuant: page open featuring Officina Tipografica Novepunti

It was an inspiring afternoon capturing the increasing move towards the personalization of products, but highlighting the decidingly questionable "how to”; a topic surely to be explored deeper at next years event.

Letterpress Workshop in Italy: Take 1

The first ever edition Pirouette Press workshop along side Officina Tipografica Novepunti, letterpress design group from Milan, took place this last weekend at the Museum of Printing. The theme was to make typographic Christmas cards using wood and/or lead type. The participants dug in and just after a few hours were in the 'printing zone’.  There is a new and fast growing wave of letterpress printing in Italy, and it was exciting to see this historical Italian type made by historical type foundries put back to work!

Top left clockwise: Print proofs, Matteo Vio and Jacopo Mencacci of 9PT,
Merry Christmas card project by Paola Paoletti, Partipants Paola Paoletti and Alessia Ambrogio 

    

Me recording the awesome work!

Product photography with props

More and more my work focuses on product photography to try and get the best representation of   design I do. I still work with a point and shoot camera, and I like the discipline of learning to use best what I have. It’s a continuous learning process with great hints on the web to take some decent images and improve your skills from the likes of the Biz Ladies section of Design Sponge . It is a part of the process between what you do and getting it out there to the public. Here’s a business card hand printed in two colors on Crane’s Lettra 100lb paper for a painter with prop.

  

More attempts at product photography click here.

Saluti da Mondovì :: Letterpress Workshop in lovely Italy

Letterpress Workshop with Officina Tipografica Novepunti and Pirouette Press in Mondovì, Italy at the Printing Museum in the historical city centre. 

Enter by 12-10-12

October 20-21, 2012

150 euros - 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. - min. 4/max 6 people. 

Saluti da Mondovì-prima li stampi, poi li spedisci 

Il Natale si avvincina e non hai voglia di cercare fra mille cartoline tutte uguali? 

Oppure vorresti fare auguri personali tutto l’anno? Potresti essere nel posto giusto!

sabato 20 e domenica 21 ottobre, presso Museo della Stampa-Mondovi, workshop di  stampa a caratteri mobili con  Officina Tipografica Novepunti di Milano e Pirouette Press.

Entro: 12-10-12

Costo : 150 euro (materiali compresi) 

ore 10-18  minimo 4 | massimo  6 persone

Snap Shots :: I shot a hipster

There are different sorts of projects I’m wrapping up and others on the horizon. One in particular which has been gnawing at me (I should add, gnawing at me like one does on a chicken bone) is developing a lounge|wine bar menù. The creative process topic is a popular one and I think there is no exact formula, but you end up figuring out what makes you tick. Sketch is such a popular method and some think it’s the truest one. Sketch for me starts in my head, more commonly known as concept. Then I like to approach the subject or topic by defining it. Give it a name then define that. Well, here’s a practical example I’m working on: the lounge|wine bar one. On a structural level, I have no idea it’s container. This is a photographic study only. My muse is Kevin, he’s a bartender, dabbles in public relations and hipster. Key word, hipster-the modern day dandy.

Il tema del processo creativo è popolare e penso che non c’è alcuna formula esatta, ma personale, troviamo quello che funziona per noi. Sketch è un metodo popolare e alcuni pensano che sia il metodo più vero. Lo schizzo per me inizia nella mia mente, poi affronto l'argomento definendolo, do un aggettivo e una definizione. Bene, ecco un esempio pratico su cui sto lavorando. Il menu per un wine bar. Magari non ho ancora idea circa il contenitore del menu, ma sicuramente il concetto è chiaro. Questo è solo uno studio fotografico. La mia musa è Kevin, è un barista, si diletta nelle pubbliche relazioni e ‘hipster'. Parola chiave, hipster-il dandy moderno.

Other images of the modern day dandy, click here