Illustration

The Good and Bad Side of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

By Delphine Hirasuna | September 16, 2013September 4, 2014

Every year the Indianapolis International Film Festival invites local designers and illustrators to create a poster for select movies, which it uses as a build-up to the festival. The posters are then exhibited at the Indy Film Festival and sold as limited edition prints. Lars Lawson served as designer and illustrator for this “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” poster, along with contributing artist Monty Sheldon and Timber Design. Not only did Lawson capture the character’s strange split personality, he managed to draw the typography so that it reads “Dr. Jekyll” from one direction and “Mr. Hyde” when turned upside down.

Announcements

AGI Designers Wax Eloquent About Type

By Delphine Hirasuna | December 3, 2012September 4, 2014

The words “typeface” and “character” are fitting terms to describe fonts. When listening to good designers talk about them, you would think they were gossiping about people. They talk about their emotional qualities, complain about what they perceive as their flaws, get blushingly specific about their physical beauty. For them, some typefaces are casual flings, good for a quickie when the mood strikes and the lighting is right; with others, they are in love and ready to commit for life. For many designers, a studying letterforms is more engaging than reading what the collected letters have to say.

Humor

New Era Caps Pits Chicago Against Chicago

By Delphine Hirasuna | June 23, 2012September 4, 2014

These viral videos are actually ads for New Era Cap Company, which is the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of caps for all U.S. major league baseball teams, minor affiliates and more than 200 U.S. colleges and universities. The videos don’t mention headwear until the close, but viewers recognize the rivalry, antics, jabs and banter of sport fanatics just by seeing the logo on the caps. The Chicago Cubs and White Sox caps make clear each wearer’s team loyalties and “tribal ” identifications.

Starring popular character actors Craig Robinson and Nick Offerman, the series of video ads are hilarious – and probably very close to reality. The ads follow on the heels of another Brooklyn Brothers ad series for New Era, starring actors Alec Baldwin and John Krasinski and the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox.

Design Quizzes

Quiz: Car Emblems

By Delphine Hirasuna | February 29, 2012September 4, 2014

Car emblems have existed almost from the inception of automobiles. Early cars had radiator caps that rested on top of the hood. At least one automaker got the idea of turning the cap into a hood ornament. Soon every automaker had an emblem or mascot adorning the hood of their car. In addition to giving the vehicle a decorative flourish, the emblem served as a brand identifier. Early carmakers based their designs on everything from national flags, family crests, coat of arms, constellation of stars, and animals that embodied the traits they admired. Today with the profile of cars looking so much alike, the emblem is often the only way we can identify the maker. See if you can recognize these. (Answers on the next page.)

Animation

Lacoste : The Man, the Brand,
the Online Pop-Up Book

By Delphine Hirasuna | June 21, 2011September 4, 2014

Lacoste has borrowed a page from real printed books, and gone one better, with this engaging online pop-up book dedicated to its founder Rene Lacoste. The six-chapter story is set to a lively ragtime tune and sound effects. Clicking on a chapter prompts visuals to pop up, and following the finger-pointing tab reveals a “gatefold” sidebar with explanatory text, old photos and vintage flim clips. A hybrid of different communications media, the online pop-up book tells the corporate story in a fresh way.