November 2009
We see these Ameren outdoor boards all over our city promoting energy usage. The concept is that they promote efficiency in the design without all those pesky unnecessary letters, so that “Save Energy” becomes SAV NRGY (although I suppose they couldn’t say “SAV NRG” for fear of upsetting NRG Energy Corporation. That would have been downright impolite, despite a whole consonant’s worth of extra efficiency).
This is not the first time we’ve seen the creep of txtng into advertising culture. The Arnell Group’s horrid Pepsi campaign (pointing to refresheverything.com) was a few months earlier, and even more widepread. And now we’re seeing the same ideas recycled yet again in an anti-Obama campaign. Pepsi, Obama and the GOP look at the letter “O” and see a void to be filled. Herb Lubalin is LOLing in his grave.
November 2009
Some people collect figurines. Some collect bottle caps, or baseball cards. We collect movie titles using the typeface Trajan. And there’s a whole lot to collect.
What is it about this one typeface that makes it so ubiquitous in Hollywood? It gets sliced, diced, shattered, drop shadowed, dimensionalized, metallicized, extended, extruded, and lit from behind with holy light, but it’s still just Trajan, over and over and over. Which is why the title for next year’s “Wolfman” looks just like the title from the seven year old “Mothman Prophesies”. That’s either design ignorance or laziness.
Find an example of Trajan in a movie title? Send it to us here and we’ll post it. Maybe we can shame Hollywood into buying a second typeface.
November 2009
I’ve been seeing ads around town from HealthLink celebrating their 25th year in business. I designed the logo back in 1984, while working at Eisenkramer Associates, run (as it were) by Larry Eisenkramer, who would later go to prison for scamming clients in a financial planning scheme.
I designed it around a typeface I’d seen called Jana, designed by St. Louis’ own Dick Juenger, one of the most professional (and kindest) of our town’s first generation commercial artists. Jana won Third Prize for Dick in a 1965 National Type Face Design Competition. It’s got to be one of the most lasting examples of his typeface that’s still out there.
The logo lasted far longer than Eisenkramer. Despite some of the best talents around, I was only able to make it a year working there, leaving as a 24 year old Creative Director. The firm imploded a year after I left. But it was there that I worked with Norty Cohen (the bongo playing head of marketing), Joe Bonwich (emerging technology writer), Ed Mantels-Seeker (the OCD art director), Tony Patti (beatnik production guy) and Maris Cerullis (my replacement as CD). The place was so disfunctional that I was throwing up from nervousness on my drive in every morning. 25 years later and this is all that remains of my work there. Who’d a thunk.
My oldest remaining logo is the 28 year old Plumbers Supply, which I designed in 1981, straight out of school while working for Kiku Obata.
November 2009
Client: Goldfarb School of Nursing
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‘Photo Friday’ is a weekly showcase of the photography work by TOKY Branding + Design’s Associate Creative Director, Geoff Story.
November 2009
Brad & Maddie Maglinger (TOKY Account Manager) announce the arrival of their second child, Isaac Kingston. Congrats!
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‘Photo Friday’ is usually a weekly showcase of the photography work by TOKY Branding + Design’s Associate Creative Director, Geoff Story. But this week he gets to sit this one out.
November 2009
The band, the Unconscious, was originally formed in 1986. Their popularity grew through the late 80s and into 1990 (when they broke up). They recently came back together for a 3-show Labor Day Weekend reunion tour. Now they are reunited full time.
TOKY did the poster for the Labor Day Weekend reunion performance in St. Louis at Blueberry Hill (which sold out). The poster was hand drawn in pencil by TOKY designer Mary. We recently reissued the poster with updated details about their upcoming show at the end of December:
The Unconscious Live
Monday, December 28th at The Pageant Theater, 6161 Delmar, Stl. MO, 63112
w/ The Great Crusades
Visit the Unconscious on Myspace
7:00 door, 8:00 show, $15
21+ only
November 2009
Last night RISD President John Maeda gave a talk on creative leadership at Washington University on the eve of his birthday.
Maeda delivered an inspiring talk as expected. He spoke of the importance of real in a flat, pixelated, digital world. Dr. Maeda described how critical thinking in design (problem solving) and art (question asking) can be applied to leadership. Once again proving that design can save the world.
John Maeda is a quirky little guy, with a great sense of humor and enthusiasm. I highly recommend you check him out.
Last night was the kickoff of a series of talks called Economies: Art+Architecture put on by the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.
November 2009
Is it just a coincidence that Twitter founder Jack Dorsey grew up in a city that embraces Message Bridges?
Give us a pedestrian overpass and a stack of SOLO plastic cups and we’ll find a short message to shout out to thousands.
I know of two bridges in St. Louis that have been adopted by the public in this way; one on Highway 55 near Bayless Avenue, and one of 44 west of Elm Avenue.
But why these two bridges, and not others? There are at least three other pedestrian bridges that span highway 55 north of the Message Bridge. What about the people in the neighborhoods surrounding this bridge determined that it was special? Why is this bridge always covered with messages of love and longing, but other bridges go silent? Why does someone heart Bob so much that they become bridge-worthy, but another Bob up the highway doesn’t make the cut? How did these people determine individually that these events (“Kelly is 16″) were meritorious of SOLO cups, but not permanent tagging?
In the end, Message Bridges are a polite form of graffiti, leaving no damage and providing cups to be recycled into new messages. They disappear as quickly and cleanly as any digital medium.
I want to find others in cities across the country. Is there another name for these? Anyone already talking about them? Send me an image and a map if you know of one. We’ll post them as we get them.
