Title Type for Keen Shorts

Here are a few more pieces I helped North with for Keen’s RECESS IS BACK site. I created the hand drawn typography for these two spots, “Fresh Air” and “Grab a Paddle”, which are part of a video series about outdoor activities. I love the outdoors and this summer went both camping and paddling, the spirit of which I think are captured nicely in these little snippets. Although not quite as risqué as the biking-troll-powering-a-hot-spring “Get Naked” illustration.

The Fullitzer Prize

I like to make things for others, and since NJ had recently received so many trophies, I thought I would make an award for the man who subsidized those trophies: Jelly. But what do you give a man who seemingly has everything? He’s won awards galore and his bookshelf is littered with treasures: a gold watch, a paper hot air balloon replica, gifts from various years of WK12, a dismembered stuffed animal squirrel, some rocks, and an empty juice bottle. It would be a tough act to follow, but I was up for the challenge.

The Fullitzer Prize: a combination of the Pulitzer and Buckminster Fuller, rolled into a geodesic paper ball.
Ladies and Gentlemen, THE FULLITZER.

To give a little background, my inspiration came from three places. One: Jelly’s constant quoting of Buckminster Fuller, a big-picture-thinker, the man who built geodesic domes and wrote Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. Two: Before going to a conference to give a presentation, Jelly claimed he was nervous because previous speakers had won Pulitzer Prizes. HE hadn’t won one, and what was a veteran public speaker with lofty notions of finding your purpose to do…without a Pulitzer? And Three: At a friend’s wedding, decorations included some exquisite paper balls that I instantly wanted to filch. I didn’t take one, but another guest did.

One. Two. Three. That is how I made and presented the ONE and ONLY Fullitzer Prize to Mr. Jelly Helm. It’s a bit small and delicate, but I think its recipient will find infinite possibilities with it in his possession.

The Fullitzer Prize: a combination of the Pulitzer and Buckminster Fuller, rolled into a geodesic paper ball.
Thanks to the internet, I found some patterns to decorate the Fullitzer with.

If you’d like to make a paper ball and name it something special for someone in your life, here are the instructions. My personal tip is to invest in a circular paper punch so you don’t have to cut out 20 circles by hand. I had one already from doing some wedding invites and my sketchbook project. Once you have one, you’ll want to punch circles out of everything.

The Fullitzer Prize: a combination of the Pulitzer and Buckminster Fuller, rolled into a geodesic paper ball.
Awards come in all shapes and sizes.

Keen “Get Naked” Spot

When somebody calls you up and asks “Hey, want to draw a troll for money?”, you say YES. That is the short version of how I was pulled into a project North was working on for local shoe company Keen – a series of videos offering suggestions for healthy outdoor activities. My role was to illustrate a hot spring scene for Feel Good Anyway, my downstairs neighbors in the Povey Building and moving-picture-makers extraordinaire.

FACT: this image got caught in my spam folder.

After some character sketches and a few tweaks back and forth, we arrived at this diagram. The guys at FGA were great at pulling out the best parts of my illustration and extrapolating on it. It was like they had a magic wand that they would wave at things to instantly make them cooler. Or a BOX of wands. They’re that good. Or magic.

Where the the hot water comes from and where the water gets hot.

During this project I let it slip to a colleague that I was drawing a troll. On a bike. For money. He told me that was how I knew I was a made woman. RIGHT ON. To see the video Feel Good Anyway put together, check out Keen’s Recess site.

Far away, there is a troll pedaling furiously.

Keen "Get Naked" Spot

When somebody calls you up and asks “Hey, want to draw a troll for money?”, you say YES. That is the short version of how I was pulled into a project North was working on for local shoe company Keen – a series of videos offering suggestions for healthy outdoor activities. My role was to illustrate a hot spring scene for Feel Good Anyway, my downstairs neighbors in the Povey Building and moving-picture-makers extraordinaire.

FACT: this image got caught in my spam folder.

After some character sketches and a few tweaks back and forth, we arrived at this diagram. The guys at FGA were great at pulling out the best parts of my illustration and extrapolating on it. It was like they had a magic wand that they would wave at things to instantly make them cooler. Or a BOX of wands. They’re that good. Or magic.

Where the the hot water comes from and where the water gets hot.

During this project I let it slip to a colleague that I was drawing a troll. On a bike. For money. He told me that was how I knew I was a made woman. RIGHT ON. To see the video Feel Good Anyway put together, check out Keen’s Recess site.

Far away, there is a troll pedaling furiously.

On the Road with Moveable Type

Back in May I helped my letterpress friend Kyle Durrie with her project Moveable Type. She was getting ready to take her custom built van on the road and teach letterpress classes out of it, so I made her a logo and website. Now, I and many others are enjoying the fruits of her travels as she criss crosses this big country. Check out her blog for some great road trip pictures…one of my favorites being this pig statue.