Mister Museum, The Debut and Making Of


Mister Museum out for a walk in the woods, comes upon a small creature. They start to talk, and...

At the end of last year I was lucky enough to help create branding for an idea called Mister Museum. Sometimes when a new client crosses your path, you just KNOW it was meant to be. Here is a stylized version of the Bureau’s first meeting with the man behind Mister Museum.

MM:

    I’d like to promote the content that museums and educational institutions curate, but in a more interesting manner so that it engages the general public. Basically, this would be a venture for increasing art and science literacy, with a point of view.

BB:

    LEARNING IS THE COOLEST!

MM:

    My target audience is people that are curious about things in general with access to up-to-date technology.

BB:

    THAT’S ME! SCREW INTERNET EXPLORER 6!

MM:

    I don’t want this to be any old museum-y logo. It should be fun!

BB:

    I LIKE FUN!

As you can see, I was psyched to help build a voice for such an interesting client. We decided a logo, website and e-newsletter were the best things to start Mister Museum off on the right foot. So, I got to work. I started with a typical brainstorming exercise, the word cluster, a very useful tool in case you get stuck in a creative fire swamp. Continue reading “Mister Museum, The Debut and Making Of”

A Good Book


Months and months ago I signed up for a project put on by Art House Co-op called the Sketch Book Project. The gist is that artists receive a blank moleskin, fill it with whatever they want, send it back. Then the collection of books go on a tour similar to a concert, but much more quietly. Well, I’m just now starting to fill my sketchbook, and here is one of the first pages.

Page from my sketchbookproject - A Good Book connected script type with mitochondrial fill pattern.

Update: the finished sketchbook is filed under my side projects at Sketchbook Project 2011: Things That Stick.

Anaco Pears Placard


Anaco pear card, vintage split-serif type with a single glowing yellow pear.

I went to California recently, and although I visited the area canvassed with strip malls and big box stores, I was able to find a small town general store that had some fun vintage fruit placards. I love pears, so I took this one home with me (and totally got through border control with it!).

All The Future Is New


All The Future Is New wallpaper preview, made from cut out paper

Today is the final day of Free Wallpaper Week at the Bureau. “All The Future Is New” was created from cut letters folded up from their original sheet of paper to make shadows. I hope you’ve enjoyed the freebies and spread the wallpaper cheer across the screens of the internet and eternity.

Download “All The Future Is New” in the following sizes:

320 x 480 (iphone) •  640 x 960 (iphone4) •  1024 x 1024 (ipad)
1440 x 900 (laptop) •  1600×1200 (full screen) •  2560×1600 (wide screen)

Please share these wallpapers following the guidelines of the Creative Commons “Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives” license. Basically, you can share the heck out of these, but always remember to attribute the source and please don’t alter or sell the art. Thanks!

Like a Glove: A Love Story


A personal project I’ve been working on this fall is finally complete! It’s wintry tale of smitten moose, fuzzy creatures and a house in the woods. Is it a drama, documentary, romantic comedy or porno flick? The verdict is still out.

Printed on a variety of colored papers using white flocking (fuzzy stuff, fun to touch), the poster is for sale in the newly constructed Bureau Shop. You can see more pictures and read about the process here.

Kahuna Gift Company Logo


In September I landed one of the larger projects I’ve tackled since going solo – branding and packaging for a start-up Hawaiian gift company. I love to work on packaging, especially if it is food related, so this was a great gig. Unfortunately, due to a macadamia drought, the packaging component was put on hold midway through the project. Major bummer! Designers get used to strange things derailing projects, but I never imagined a nut shortage would be one of those things.

Nuts or no nuts, the client still needed a logo and website, so I finished up those elements while we waited for the macadamias to make a comeback (still waiting).

Kahuna Gift Company logotype

I created a straightforward logotype with tone-on-tone sky and surf colors, intentionally steering clear of the clichéd palm trees and hula girls that adorn many a Hawaiian logo. The logo needed to be used in various situations, so a few options were created to accommodate different uses. Continue reading “Kahuna Gift Company Logo”