As we enter into our seventh year here at IC, we've decided to give our iconic mummy mark an upgrade.

The reenvisioning of our logomark is something we have been considering for some time. With a consciousness for particularly small uses (social media icons, products, packaging, clothing tags, etc.) we sought out for a bold, timeless mark that stands strong in every possible scenario. With a handful of new projects/products on the horizon, we decided that now is the time.

The original mark I created in 2006 was inspired by skateboard graphics and other pop art from our coming of age. Although it feels somewhat classic in its own right, the detailed style has proved to be limiting over the years.

Our goal was to create a simpler, more streamlined version of our classic "cyclops mummy," keeping its overall concept (and hopefully its recognizability) in tact, but modernized and with a broader range of usability.

We explored a variety of shapes for the head itself - a perfect circle, a rectangle with rounded corners, etc. In the end, it was imperative that it truly convey a head shape, so we landed on what we refer to as the "egg."

Aside from the logo's core theme, we also knew we'd be sticking with our classic color scheme. It feels as integral to our brand as the mark itself, and allows us to maintain our focus. Another benefit of this new mark is our ability to explore varying combinations of these colors depending on its use. The solid white or yellow wrap will be the primary marks, while the shaded versions - with white highlights on the yellow wrap, and yellow lowlights on the white wrap, give us more detailed options as well.

A minor but important detail was the small piece of wrap peeking around the backside of the mummy head. It's a subtle inclusion, but it truly helps the read. It was necessary that this piece be included, but without jeopardizing the true center of the new mark.

You'll also notice the inclusion of an ® mark. With the recent registration of our brand name and identity, it's time to make it official.

And of course, we celebrate this momentous occasion with some swag. New T-Shirts are available for pre-order (shipping mid-late September) as well as new silk-screened die-cut stickers.

Our buddy Joby Harris, a visual strategist at NASA JPL, gave our Blast Off! pennant a tour of the facilities in Pasadena. Next time we'll accompany the pennant, but for now this is pretty freaking cool. Huge thanks to Joby for doing this! Above: The Mission Control Room.

The art studio:

At the Mission Formulation room:

At The Spacecraft Formulation Building:

The Mission Control Room lobby:

Misc. editorial work.

Our Gravity logo for Lecrae - Where's Waldo style. Thanks to Rick Titshaw for the heads up.

We recently had the opportunity to work with some friends to create a brand for their newest endeavor, Animal Media Group. One of their first projects is an incredibly moving documentary called Blood Brother, which they were gracious enough to share with us, and had me choking back tears for nearly 90 minutes straight. Watch the newest trailer (below) and look for the film in theaters soon. Bring some tissue.

We got 6 inches of snow yesterday. So naturally Seattle is shut down and I'm chugging coffee while drawing in my slippers. Decided to dust off a few more Grandpa illos in the process. These 5 span approx. 5 decades, with the last one created the same year he passed away.

Here's a few fun character spots for a misc. newsletter, circa late 1940's to early 1950's ...

A mighty big thanks to everyone who came out to our Full Circle show/Leroy C. launch party at Super7 on Saturday night. We had a blast. And as you can see above, Leroy did too.

If you find yourself in SF anytime soon, the show will be up for a few more weeks.

Photos courtesy of Zac Schwiet, Kaiju Chronicle and Toybot Studios.

We're excited to announce that we'll be showing a collection of work at the Super7 store in San Francisco, opening on April 23rd at 6PM. We'll also be debuting the first colorway of Leroy C., the newest member of the IC family! Super7 will have a limited amount on hand to take home.

We'll be sharing a collection of 20+ posters and prints, including a number of illustrations from our late grandfather, Alfred Paulsen. As someone who influenced our work tremendously and spent much of his young adult life in the bay area, we thought it would be fitting to include some of his work in the show.

We'll also have a few new limited Leroy C. prints available. Come out and say hi!

Another spot circa 1970's. Client: Unknown.

Our longtime friend, Karina Sprinkle, asked us to create the identity for her new massage practice. The idea was to convey a sense of calmness and peace, but steer away from typical massage related imagery (hands, Papyrus font). The leaf seemed like an appropriate direction, given their often medicinal qualities, and it also gives a little love to the great PNW. Here's a look at the business card.

Another spot from Grandpa. This time it's Newton. Date: unknown. Publication: unknown.

Found this one just in time. Happy Halloween everybody!

This has been sitting on my desk for 8+ years, so I've been meaning to post this for awhile. This is our Grandpa's old business card for 'Imaginators', his DBA for freelance projects.  I always thought 'Imaginators' was a great name as a kid and have since just assumed someone else has snatched it up. Turns out that I'm right, but it doesn't appear to be for anything substantial. I'm not 100% sure if Grandpa created the letterforms by hand or not, but I've always felt like it fit his style really well.

'Slide and Vu-Graph Illustration' - I love seeing that.

More editorial goodness from Grandpa.

We recently just wrapped a fun logo/business card project for Sparrow Builders, a new general contracting firm headed up by our cousin John Paulsen. John wanted something with a simple, modern and clean aesthetic, so we played around with different styles within those restrictions. The wireframe design was one of the last options we provided and ended up making the cut as the final logo. After the design was green-lit, the fine folks at Mandate Press (check this out) took over and delivered some pretty amazing letter-pressed cards on 110# Cranes Lettra stock. Follow Sparrow Builders and Mandate Press on Twitter.

These 3 pieces are some of my favorite from the AP vault. Not only are they a fun batch of mix-n-match monster features, but visual proof that buried somewhere deep within my DNA lies that love of creating monsters. My beloved grandmother recently just turned 86, and as my mom put it - we are 'attempting to mine her memory as much as possible' in regards to grandpa's work. There is just a lot she doesn't remember. My uncle states: "I'm not sure what the purpose was. He may have used them as examples when he was negotiating or demonstrating options to a client". Ahh, character comps. Sounds familiar.

Grandpa was always larger than life to Ryan and I. His career laid the foundation for our love of art. Unfortunately during most of our youth, we lived in different states and didn't get to see him as much as we would have liked. We grew up in Central Oregon while our grandparents lived in a little town called Oroville, about 90 miles south of Sacramento. I remember the yearly visits and the family gatherings at Christmas, but like most families at that time, we didn't have the money to travel often. Unfortunately, my memory of art conversations with him are fairly limited. I just remember always being in awe around him. He had a deep, soothing voice that commanded the attention and respect of everyone nearby. And I remember him always smiling and laughing. I like to think that had something to do with loving his 'job'. But on the other hand, I'm not convinced that artists really differentiate 'job' from 'life'.

In 1989, my father landed a new job in Sacramento. Relocating from a sleepy town in Oregon to a larger city was a big culture shock for me. And ironically - shortly after that, grandma and grandpa actually relocated to Washington state. Grandpa passed away in 1995. I was 20.

At the time of his passing, I was playing music and touring. Being in a band was my life. Art (visually at least) was on the back burner . I knew that it was something I was going to circle back to, but it wasn't in my immediate future.

Now that I'm 35 and have been doing this 'professionally' for almost 10 years, you can imagine how many questions I wished I would have asked him. It's something I can't spend a lot of time thinking about because of the obvious reasons.

I am grateful to have most of his pieces that he left behind, and the many family members who are helping to remember/research where and when these amazing illustrations came from. Many, many, many more to come.

Thanks, grandpa.

Here's another one from the files. Most likely late 1970's. Post NASA freelance. Looks to be something for 'Butte County'. Possibly a small local newspaper.

Many of you know that our grandfather, Alfred Paulsen, was a gifted illustrator who worked for NASA for 25+ years. During his tenure there (and after), he dabbled in all kinds of fun freelance work on the side. Recently we've started unearthing loads of his work and will be posting it on the blog from time to time.

I'm not sure what this spot was done for, but couldn't help but crack a smile just looking at it. Circa sometime in the 70's.

Much more to come.