In this series I'm going to try my best not to compare apples to oranges. I understand there are vast differences in technology, ideology, legality, etc between designs of the past and designs of the present. However, I believe there was, is, and will always be a way to almost objectively design something properly. To me, this means a design that is well executed, aesthetically pleasing and properly communicative... in relation to whatever is being "sold."

TWIW, V.2 is in regard to travel advertising. In this case, specifically cruises. Here are my thoughts on the ads in question:

1. I don't even know where to start. How about the copy? Clearly one is simply advertising a specific cruise ship, while the other goes into much more detail about the price, locations, discounts, dates, etc., but that in itself says something about modern advertising's problem with forcing too much information into a single ad. Add to that the tragedy of 5+ arbitrarily used fonts and typesetting that seems to make no sense at all. Except of course for the legal line, which is strategically set in black type over a dark portion of the image. Crafty.

2. We used to marvel at things like the massive Cunard cruise ship, shown above. But as technology and engineering progress, we're less interested in how we'll be getting to our destination and more interested in where it's taking us (and how much it will cost). But aren't these ads for the cruise itself? If you just want to go to The Bahamas, you can fly there in a fraction of the time. This is about the experience of the cruise. And as you can see in the more recent ad, the actual cruise ship has become an afterthought; a footnote.

3. As for the imagery, we're faced with the obvious difference between professional designer and someone with a personal computer. Before the computer we relied on professionals to do the job of advertising. They were skilled in their craft. They knew type and composition and cohesion and color. They designed because they were good at it. I know I'm stating the obvious here, (and there's a heaping helping of irony as I sit here and type this) but it's a bit of a bummer that the computer has turned every civilized human into a jack-of-all-trades.

4. In the end, one is clearly worth framing and displaying in your home, and the other is sure to end up in a trash bin. I refuse to believe that we collect things that are "vintage" purely based on nostalgia. The bottom line is that, in most cases, that old stuff is flat out better than the garbage that we see today.

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.

We're excited to have a table at the upcoming Flatstock 27 at Bumbershoot Festival next weekend, Sept. 4-6th. It's always a great hang with fellow poster peeps and an excuse to publicly drool over so much great art. Oh, and just to get this out of the way before it starts: No, we don't have any Phish or Southern Culture On The Skids posters. Hope to see you all out there!

Here's our new poster for Arcade Fire, a band that we haven't been able to get enough of lately. I was inspired by the song 'City With No Children' from their new album, 'The Suburbs'. Available in the shop on September 27th. See it larger.

I had the idea a while back to post about the perils of modern design, specifically in regard to rebranding, the evolution of a particular design and things of that nature. I've decided to finally pull the trigger and go for it. As my brother has begun posting a series dedicated to our grandfather, I thought this might be the right time. After all... the time period in which our grandfather was designing will often be the era in which my postings will refer to.

"The Way It Was" will be a study (and occasional pseudo-rant) about a particular design of the past, and a directly (or at least somewhat) related piece from recent years.

TWIW #001 is based on an email conversation I had with a few like-minded friends a couple of years ago. The subject in this case is a box of Trix cereal. Target had announced that it was re-issuing old General Mills cereal box designs for a limited time, (God bless design-savvy corporations) and in being reminded of that classic old box design, I couldn't help but dissect the modern design and suppose what it's trying to tell today's consumer. Here are my thoughts:

1. The logo, once simple and bold, is now 3-dimensional, has a white stroke, yellow bevel, and emboss. ALL of which have gradients. Somehow this "pops" more.

2. Since brand loyalty is dead, the nice big General Mills logo at the top of the box (which I'm sure used to assure people of the reliability and integrity of the product) is replaced by a very small GM logo, overpowered by a "whole grain guarantee" and a list of other nutritional values. Not that nutrition is anything to shrug at, but let's be real- this is Trix.

3. The cereal itself isn't enough anymore, so there has to be added incentive to buy. In this case, there's an ad for "fruitalicious" games on the back of the box.

4. The fun-loving bunny on cute roller skates is replaced by (honestly) what seems to be an INSANE rabbit, literally throwing Trix at you.

5. Lastly, and probably most importantly, the modern box has a disclaimer sentence that reads something like "cereal shown not actual size," because people are so stupid (or assumed to be so stupid) that they can't comprehend that the 1" macro-lens-photographed meteor puffs on the front of the box are bigger than they actually are.

Here's a fun project we recently wrapped with the fine folks at Creature and JanSport. Catch the bus to see The Cave Singers - performing at an undisclosed location. A quick synopsis of the event:

'This summer, JanSport presents the first installment of the Bonfire Sessions, a free concert series celebrating the epic memories that can only be made outdoors. Here’s how it works. The hidden location of the concert is kept secret until the day of the show. All August long, check in here at Unzipped , as well as Facebook and Twitter , to get clues about the band and where to hitch a ride on the 28th. We’re taking a mere two busloads of people, so you’ll want to stay on top of the bus stop spot. And get your best lining-up/dancing shoes on.'

The poster was designed in 2 sizes: 24" x 36" and 18" x 24". 8 colors, screen-printed.

Here's our new poster for The National show at Marymoor Park on 9/11/10.

Just finished this poster for Vampire Weekend... couldn't help but go the literal route for this one. Just too fun. Vampire meets piranha- a match made in Heaven.

Here's our new (and early) poster for The XX show at The Paramount in September.

Here's a look at our poster for The National, who will be performing at this year's Sasquatch! Festival. These guys are a personal favorite of ours here at the office, and we anxiously await their new album later this year. Poster available soon-ish!

Our buddy Ethan was in town and decided to snap a few cool shots of the shop.

Here is our new poster for the upcoming KEXP Kid's Dance Party on Father's Day. Now breakdancing dads have a place to go. Prints available soon.

Here are 2 posters we just wrapped up for the upcoming Sasquatch! festival. If you've seen Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job! on Cartoon Network, you won't be offended at this poster. If you have seen it, and are still offended, sorry about that - blame Ryan. And TV On The Radio - Well, their last record (which is epic in every way) is called Dear Science, so I got a little 'science-y' with it ... then felt like it needed a bear for some reason. These will be available towards the end of the month.

Here are some images from last night's Perspectives In Poster Design event. From left to right are: Jeff Kleinsmith, Barry Ament, Coby Shultz, Art Chantry, yours truly, Ryan and Jacob McMurray (the man behind it all). We had a blast talking about inspiration, process, motif and toy collecting. The guys sitting around us played a very large part in making Seattle a destination for us (almost 9 years ago), so it was an honor to be up there. Thanks to everyone who came to hear us ramble.

(Thanks to Demetre for the photos!)

Don't forget the Perspectives In Poster Design event tonight at the EMP. 7:00PM - 9:00PM

Ryan and I will be part of a panel discussion entitled Perspectives In Poster Design along with Art Chantry, Ames Bros and Jeff Kleinsmith at the Experience Music Project on Wednesday, March 11th, from 7-9PM. 

"We hope you’ll join us for this panel discussion on the evolution of poster design in the Northwest. The evening will include prominent local graphic designers discussing everything from poster art and design process to unsung graphic heroes and influences, all illustrated with examples of their work and others."

We hope you can make it out!

By popular demand, we've reprinted our Kings Of Leon "Lonely King" poster design, this time with a change of color palette. These are going pretty fast, so get yours now.

I cannot get enough of this record! If you live in the Northwest, see them at Neumo's on November 6th. The live show is phenomenal.

Apartment Therapy just posted an article about an antique store called Hunt & Gather in Minneapolis, MN. I'm currently searching for airfare as we speak.

Not really, but this looks like some sort of paradise.

Ryan and I will be speaking on November 6th (2-3PM) at this year's Grammy MusicTech Summit. The topic: 'Graphic Design Challenges for New Media'. Stop by to hear our thoughts on the wondrous world of the new album cover: All 55 x 55 pixels of it.