A few photos from a Duckpin Thanksgiving spent out in Shenandoah National Park: a log, a sign, a cola dispenser, and Neoproterozoic columnar basalt jointing.
For the Amalgamated Printer's Association's monthly bundle, we created this piece using just wood type. We received a couple inquiries on how we did it. Here's the scoop:
First we printed the backsides of wood type to create a field of brown. We added strip material between the blocks so one could see each individual one, rather than a monolithic rectangle. We selected the pieces to include a wide variety of wood grain patterns.
We locked up the rightside-up type in the proof press and hand inked it with the brayer from corner to corner. This created the blueish hues near the "T" and exclamation point . Next came the paper and a pull of the press. Presto, a thank you card!
Now that Columbus Day has passed, it's time to decorate for Christmas!
We usually feature sites that are heavy on inspiration for type or poster design. In this post, we feature a selection of magazine covers taken from nascapas. The Brazilian site captures the best magazine covers from around the world, posting up to a dozen different issues a day. Covers often include captivating photos, lively type treatments, and intelligent conceptual illustration. (Plus some funny-looking words from countries that don't talk American.)
My how they grow up fast. Seems like just yesterday we were making a 5th birthday card for Duckpin's youngest printer. Fast-forward a year and and half and she's now a full-fledged intern. To congratulate our newest assistant, we made her her very own stationery. She did us the favor of adorning it with a self portrait. Thank you, Sophia, for spicing up our refrigerator door art collection.
While traveling through the small town of Aquasco, Maryland, this summer, we spied this old building embalmed in it's own kudzu. Fittingly, it advertises various undertaker services -- including embalming.
New to the annals of "don't judge a book by its cover" comes this gem. Available from Amazon, the book purports to teach you all you need to know about bowling. So what kind of expert is teaching us about bowling? Well, according to the book's description, "this content has been curated from Wikipedia articles and images under Creative Commons licensing..." So it's basically the internet borrowed and reprinted on paper.
Since you did such a great job last time, we're again turning to you readers for some design feedback.
We love a great combo of letterpress and die-cutting, so we had to highlight this promo piece for A Hundred Flying Monkeys, an outfit based in California. Funky illustration, beautiful printing, AND it'll put your eye out.
Is anything sacred with slot machines?!?!
Ever wonder what it would look like if Uncle Sam threw up on your car?
How easy is it to get information these days? As easy as turning on the tap, according to Richard J. Evans. To illustrate that, he completed the installation informationleak_part two (pictured above) as part of his studies in Birmingham, England. For those letterpress purists out there, don't fret: no vintage type was hurt in the making of this art. The wood type used was cut specifically for this.
If I ever get lost in a city, I want it to be this one. No, not Washington, per se, but a city that's built entirely from type. Axis Maps has created a series of five city maps that weave together nothing but letters to shape the city form. From waterways to the street grid, the posters aren't only accurate, they're distractingly compelling. So much so that your mind might actually get lost just looking at them. Finally, a map that you get more lost the more you look at it.
