Print Magazine Interview
Sketches and process behind a Time cover design
7/29/2012
Post Typography is featured in the current (August 2012) issue of Print Magazine. For an issue on the theme of "used, wasted, abandon, forgotten" we show off one of our favorite "killed" projects, a cover illustration for Time Magazine's Money Issue.
In addition to the final artwork that never saw the light of day, we show a handful of other unused sketches. The interview sheds some light on the process of designing and choosing a cover from both the illustrator and magazine perspective, as we talk about some of the ways that we approach an editorial illustration project with a short deadline.
You can see a comp of the final (killed) cover in our Magazine Covers case study.
Post Typography's Greatest Misses
Spring Lectures at Ringling College & MICA
3/21/2012
Post Typography will be giving two design lectures this April in Sarasota, FL and our hometown, Baltimore, MD. Our "Greatest Misses" will show a behind-the-scenes peek at the design process, illustrated with never-before-seen projects that fell short, missed the mark, or were blown off-target by the fickle winds of client taste.
Friday April 13, 2012
Ringling College of Art & Design :: Sarasota, FL
Auditorium :: 1:00 PM
(in conjunction with "Best of Ringling")
Monday April 16, 2012
Maryland Institute College of Art :: Baltimore, MD
Falvey Hall :: 7:00 PM
Presented by the MICA Graphic Design Department
Both events are free and open to the public and will be followed with a Q&A and Lettering & Type book signing.
Lil' Kim
Custom lettering for Time Magazine cover
1/23/2012
We created the custom lettering treatment and background pattern for this week's Time cover, featuring North Korea's Kim Jong Un and the hilarious headline "Lil' Kim." The lettering was loosely inspired by communist propaganda posters, while maintaining some of the general shapes and proportions of Franklin Gothic (Time's type family). The design and background were created to pair with an awesome propaganda-style portrait by illustrator Tim O'Brien.
During the design process, we tried a bunch of other directions for the headline lettering, including a few inspired by that other Lil' Kim. Here are a few of our favorites that didn't make it.
Knowledge That Works
University of Baltimore campus banners
11/29/2011
Each letter of this typographic illustration for University of Baltimore's "Knowledge That Works" campaign is a different type of chart, graph, or other visual representation of information. The diverse group of graph styles and forms embodies the breadth of academic pursuits at University of Baltimore. Look for our banners and posters in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood and on UB's campus.
Groundhog Day
Our poster for a screening of the classic Bill Murray film
11/21/2011
Be on the lookout for our oversized poster for the classic Bill Murray flick, Groundhog Day. The poster consists of a giant image of Bill Murray created from thousands of tiny Bill Murrays! Meta! The film screens on 35mm in Baltimore on December 13 as part of Maryland Film Festival's Gunky's Basement film series, curated and hosted by Dan Deacon and Jimmy Joe Roche.
Baker Artist Awards Exhibition
Baltimore Museum of Art, Sep. 7 - Oct. 2, 2011
8/21/2011
The work of Post Typography is included in the Baker Artist Awards exhibition this fall at the Baltimore Museum of Art. B-grant winners Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen will be displaying a large-scale installation of Post Typography's Floral Explosion wallcovering design for Maharam Digital Projects. The exhibition is free and open to the public, and there will be a closing reception and performances on October 1 from 7:00 to 11:00 PM.
ESPN Magazine's Best in Sports Cover
Balls to the wall!
6/16/2011
To illustrate the cover of ESPN Magazine's 2011 "Best In Sports" issue, we teamed up with photographer Frank Hamilton to photograph hundreds of sports balls, discs, pucks, spheres, discuses, shot puts, birdies, chips, and even curling stones (special shout-out to Potomac Curling Club!) flying together to form the words "Best In Sports." Thanks again to everyone who loaned us their balls!
Maryland Film Festival
The eyes have it!
5/15/2011
Our designs for the 2011 Maryland Film Festival are currently displayed on posters, yard signs, banners, and billboards all over Baltimore. They have some great films screening this year — check out the festival May 5 through 8.
TIME Magazine Cover
3/15/2011
Check out the March 21, 2011 cover of TIME for a Post Typography illustration! The cover story is on data mining---the process where your personal information, spending habits, web browsing history, and interests are collected, compiled, and sold to advertisers and marketing companies. We worked with Design Director DW Pine to create this portrait of author Joel Stein out of Joel's actual data collected by several major U.S. data mining companies.
Daily Drop Cap
You and what R-my?
3/10/2011
We were psyched when Jessica Hische asked us to participate as a guest designer in her awesome Daily Drop Cap project and even more psyched when we got a chance to draw the letter "R" (one of our favorite letters of the alphabet from a typographic perspective). Our R (or R our?) and all of the other initial caps can be embedded in external websites for anyone who's looking to spice up their hum-drum blog design.
Alien Director's Cut
Silkscreened poster for special 35mm screening
3/4/2011
We recently designed a poster to promote a special screening of Alien for Maryland Film Festival's Gunky's Basement film series. Curated and hosted by Dan Deacon and Jimmy Joe Roche, Gunky's Basement has been presenting classic fringe-pop sci-fi, horror, and weirdness from the 1980s, all presented as beautiful 35mm prints. Check out the next screening of Who Framed Roger Rabbit in April.
Maharam Digital Projects
Floral Explosion wallcovering for custom installations
1/28/2011
Post Typography has created a new wallcovering design for Maharam's curated Digital Projects series. Floral Explosion marries elements of antique/vintage wallpapers with comic books and pop art---upon close inspection, the pattern's intricate, seemingly-traditional floral motifs are revealed to be composed entirely of comic-book style explosions and weaponry. Floral Explosion has a very large repeat (10' x15') and can be ordered to custom specifications and sizes.
To learn more about Floral Explosion and to see the other great projects in the series (including work by 2x4, Vito Acconci, Marian Bantjes, Paul Smith, and more) visit the Maharam Virtual Library and open the Maharam Digital Projects binder.
Gingerbread Cinema
Our most delicious illustration ever!
12/6/2010
Check out our illustration/baking project in this week's issue of Time Magazine. With assistance from the lovely Katie Rose (of Charm City Cakes) we designed this gingerbread house/cinema to illustrate the Arts section's Holiday Movie Preview. Having the studio smell like a confectionery for a week was just icing on the cake... so to speak.
Midterm Elections
For the Washington Post's Sunday Outlook section
11/7/2010
Post Typography created this cover illustration for today's Washington Post Outlook section, in which editorials by Republican pollster Frank Luntz and former Democratic Majority Leader Tom Daschle recommend ways for a polarized congress to come together to address our country's urgent problems. Art Director Kristin Lenz worked the "don't be mad" fold-in concept into the layout as the two editorials are pulled together when the page is folded. For an added bonus, the "OUTLOOK" masthead folds to become "OK." We also created this spot illustration for the inside portion of the articles.
Greenbuild 2010 Conference
Post Typography identity design for Greenbuild 2010 in Chicago
10/22/2010
Post Typography continues our design work for the annual Greenbuild conference and expo with the graphic identity for Greenbuild 2010, in Chicago from November 17 to 19. Greenbuild is the world's largest annual conference and expo devoted to environmentally responsible building, development, architecture, and urban planning. The graphic identity for Greenbuild 2010 is built from a colorful palette of 3D cubes that symbolize structures or building blocks and represent the convergence of the green building movement. Check back after the conference when we'll be posting more images in the Greenbuild 2010 Case Study.
DC Metro Ads
Currently displayed on the DC Metro
9/28/2010
We recently adapted our "Realize the Potential..." ad campaign for the USGBC's LEED program to run as banners on the DC Metro system. Look for them on the Red, Blue, and Orange lines through mid-October.
John Legend & The Roots
Wake Up! album cover illustration
9/21/2010
We recently completed illustrations for the front and back cover of the new album Wake Up!, which features John Legend and The Roots covering classic soul and R&B songs.
Understanding Campaign
"Fhm" (fuh-hem') is Arabic for "understanding"
9/20/2010
Post Typography contributed a lettering treatment for the Understanding Campaign, a non-profit aiming to further cross-cultural dialog and collaboration between the English and Arab worlds. You can buy T-shirts, buttons, and stickers featuring our first foray into Arabic lettering, as well as those from other contributors, on the Understanding Campaign's Kickstarter page. All donations support the organization's upcoming projects.
The Onion News Network
Time for grownups
8/25/2010
A humorous flow-chart that Post Typography illustrated for Time Magazine makes a brief appearance in this hilarious clip on The Onion News Network.
8 Faces Magazine
Interview with Post Typography
8/20/2010
Post Typography was recently interviewed by Elliot Jay Stocks for the new limited edition typography magazine 8 Faces. Also included in the first issue are Erik Spiekermann, Jessica Hische, Ian Coyle, Jason Santa Maria, Jos Buivenga, and Jon Tan. Physical copies of the magazine have sold out, but a high-res PDF can be downloaded from the 8 Faces website.
New York Times Book Review
Cover Illustration
7/11/2010
Check out our cover illustration for this Sunday's New York Times Book Review. The lead review is of Jennifer Egan's incredible new novel A Visit From the Goon Squad, which follows a dizzying, intertwined narrative of an ex-punk rocker, (going not-so-gently into middle age) and the relationships of those around him.
UPDATE: You can now order a limited edition set of vinyl stickers based on this illustration!
Suny Purchase Talk
Post Typography lecture at SUNY Purchase in New York
3/9/2010
Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen of Post Typography will be speaking at SUNY Purchase College's School of Art + Design the evening of March 24. The talk and presentation takes place from 6:30 to 7:30 in the VA Building, and pairs some of the studio's iconic and recent projects with the stories and concepts behind the work.
Artist Music Journal
Limited edition Post Typography poster book
2/23/2010
Soundscreen Design's Artist Music Journal is a series of limited edition small books by artists and musicians that focus on the inseparable connection between music and art. The latest in this series, Post Typography's Artist Music Journal presents 24 pages of posters and flyers for Double Dagger and related bands, paired with the back stories of each show and design. Includes reproductions of many rare and never-before-seen posters! Beautifully printed in full color offset lithography, limited edition of 1000 copies. Previous and upcoming AMJ editions include Daniel Higgs, Hisham Bharoocha, Shaun Flynn, Bongout, and Seripop.
Available for order through Soundscreen Design or at Atomic Books in Baltimore.
2010 Wall Calendar
A Typographic Wall Calendar by Post Typography
11/4/2009
Looking for a gift to give that special design nerd in your life, or just need a non-boring calendar to spice up your kitchen or cubicle? Our new 2010 By The Numbers limited edition wall calendar features twelve original typographic illustrations by Post Typography. Each month presents a different interpretation of the number "2010" through a wide variety of inventive, meditative, and eye-popping lettering treatments and illustrations. 2010 By The Numbers is the creative person's antidote to the typical wall calendar---kids love it too.
2010 By The Numbers is now available for purchase/order at these fine retailers:
Atomic Books (Baltimore)
Baltimore Museum of Art Shop (Baltimore)
Golden Age (Chicago)
Word (Brooklyn)
and through our website
Lettering & Type
New book written and designed by Post Typography
10/1/2009
We are very excited to announce the release of our new book Lettering & Type: Creating Letters and Designing Typefaces from Princeton Architectural Press.
Written, assembled, and designed by Bruce Willen and Nolen Strals of Post Typography (with a foreword by Ellen Lupton) Lettering & Type is a smart-but-not-dense guide to creating and bending letters to one's will. More than just another pretty survey, Lettering & Type is a powerful and essential how-to book full of relevant theory, history, explanatory diagrams, exercises, and hundreds of inspiring insights and examples from contemporary practitioners of lettering and typeface design.
Visit www.letteringandtype.com to learn more about the book and take a look inside.
If you are in the Baltimore or NYC areas, you are invited to join us at one of our two book launch events: Thursday, October 29 at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Tuesday, November 17 at The Cooper Union. Both are free and open to the public.
