Northern Ohio Railway Museum posters

I seem to be on a vintage kick. I like the vintage styling of these posters and it's interesting to dissect the posters and notice all of the elements (fonts, colors, arrangement, styling) that contribute to this feel. I'd like to figure out how to create the light rays from the trains in the first poster.

Slower posting

My life has been just a little bit crazy and busy lately and I've been ignoring my blog. I will write when I can and hopefully my summer will calm down soon...

Open Lotus

This blown open lotus shows how a little color goes a long way to making an impact. I like how the tiny bit of pink at the tips, bright yellow center and grayish green shadows make this white lotus pop. Photo by zenjebil at sxc.hu

Relato

We recently purchased some fonts at work and I'm in font heaven—too many delicious new fonts to choose from. One of my favorites is Relato, a contemporary serif font. I just love the italics.

Book Cover Inspiration: Oprah's Summer Reading List

Oprah's summer reading list has some books with interesting design. I love the color and decorative text on Dreaming in Hindi. The extreme cropping and ghostly white text on the light gray background make the Columbine cover moody and appropriate. I like the order and structure of Plan Bee. And for Admission, gotta love the 'A'.

Color Inspiration: Vintage Wallpaper

These pieces created from vintage 70's wallpaper were a surprise to me. It's not all avocado and mustard yellow. There are actually some unusual and creative color combinations that would work well today.

All pieces from Drawflowers Etsy shop.

Initial Caps

Decorative initial capital letters, like art, serve a purpose: to bring beauty and provide a resting point for the eye on the page. I don't get to use initial caps often but I can appreciate them as the beautiful objects of art that they are.

True North

In a sea of color and complex backgrounds, True North snack packaging stands apart. I like the neutral color scheme, creative and playful nut arrangements and minimalist typography. These design elements combine to create a solid, interesting and consistent identity.

Seattle poster

This Seattle city neighborhoods poster shows how inventive one can get with just typograpphy. Ork Posters also has other city neighborhood posters available.

Incidentally, Seattle is on my mind because I'm going there tomorrow. I'll be back to writing here in about a week when I get back.

Naissance

I like the striking black and white vector shapes of Naissance's splash page. The grayish blue adds subtle depth.