Get excited again.
Don’t Squat With Your Spurs On
This strategically punctured donkey whimsically hints at the after effects of this phrase. Western typography, parchment, and sepia tones round out its cowboy tone + manner.
You Can Pick Your Friends...
A strange phrase I remember from from my childhood. An equally strange rendering to match its personality. Such odd drawing allows for liberties to be taken with proportions and situations. Here our protagonist is proclaiming their friendship and scratching an embarrasing itch while steering clear of any nose other than their own.
Like a Frog in a Blender
Like a frog in a blender, but not exactly a frog in a blender. This was an opportunity to use abstract macro photography to evoke the refraction of light through glass as well as hint at green color within that glass. It is often more effective to leave the viewer to fill in the blanks. To that end, swirling typography suggests the whirl of blender blades without showing their result.
A Heart Attack Waiting to Happen
A hyper-literal play on words, this phrase brings to mind a squadron preparing to descend upon a heart. In order to keep the topic less serious toy soldiers strategize against the representation of a heart within the context of a video game interface.
An Eye for an Eye
Subtle and sinister, this simple facial modification evokes a vengeful intent, while its unexpected surrealism causes the viewer to double-take when they notice what is wrong.
I want more life, fucker
Such an iconic quote from Blade Runner—a movie all about questioning what it means to be human. Does an ultra-futuristic robot, choosing the more primal human behaviors, really seem so advanced and technological, afterall?
I Am the Walrus
I think it was Bob Gill who I first learned the idea-generating convention of asking questions when brainstorming a design. i.e. Why would a walrus say “I am the walrus”? Afterall, a walrus is funky, fat, and ugly—but this phrase sounds loud and proud. Well, the walrus must really feel confident and pretty. Oh, and this drug-induced Beatles lyric also borrows a bit from psychedelia. So throw in a dash of those fonts and colors as visual ingredients.
Jesus Selfie
I know, I know–your’re offended. Does it help that my intent was not to provoke anger or imply blasphemy? I only thought that this might be the ultimate selfie. I usually naturally gravitate towards symbolic work and was also interested in this more situational approach. This does bring to mind the old debate of artist’s intent vs. audience interpretation, as well.
Unravel the Rat’s Nest
A reminder and inspiration from Herb Lubalin that type can be as illustrative as pictures—sometimes more so. A tangle of letterforms creates the action and hints at what needs unravelling.
Dune
Nerd Alert. Sure I could have taken the strategic direction of making a slick sci-fi poster for this famous line from Dune, but that’s already been done. What if, instead, an examination was done to answer WHY the sleeper must awaken? The poor sheep that are being counted while sleeping are running away from a chef. A chef with spices. Don’t eat the sheep! And when else will I get to use a large picture of a worm?
