Design by Jim LePage

Abaout a year ago I interviewed and featured Jim LePage and his Word Designs project – his unique and modern illustrated poster series of the 66 books of the Bible. Since then we’ve become pretty great friends (what’s the “guy love” equivalent of online dating?)

Today he posted the very last of his series of 91 total prints.

Revelation

Please take time to see the entire series on his site and if you do not own one of these for your home (or the entire set for your church) then today is a great day to remedy that problem. Check the Revelation post to see how to take advantage of a sale going on right now – or how to win a free print of your own.

Proud of you Jim for sticking to it man.

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Glitschka Studios logo by Von Glitschka

At first glace Von Glitchka’s work might not seem so special… but (though this is a bit hard to explain) that is exactly what makes him such a master. Great design should after all, be “invisible.”

Over the past 8-9 years thanks to the courage and generosity required for him to share his wisdom with the rest of us he has become the ultimate resource and hero of vector designers everywhere.

Where he most amazes me personally (besides the sheer volume of work he manages to accomplish) is his logo design in particular.

Designing a good logo seems to be one of those design projects that laymen consider must be the easiest. I mean, look at the most recognizable marks out there — Target, GM, Chevrolet, IBM, Apple, Etc — all you need is a circle or a couple initials and you’re gold, right?

So small (or sometimes big) businesses everywhere recruit their design-school cousins or craigslist trolls to create a quick “logo.”

But you have to wonder, if it is so easy, why to most businesses have identities that look awful?

Because dude. It’s not easy. It’s one of the most difficult processes in the design world.

I’ve worked across a variety of creative mediums – motion graphics, film, advertising, illustration, corporate, print, publishing and even fine art – and I’d take any one of those categories well before “logo design” if I ever end up on graphic design Jeopardy.

So Von’s been published all over the place, manages like 10 websites, has written a handful of books (cannonized in the design community) and garnished a pile of awards for illustration and design… all that pales in comparison (as far as I’m concerned) that he can take a call today from one company among a million others just like it and create a single, timeless yet totally unique mark just for them.

And then do it again tomorrow.

Amazing.

Oh yeah, he’s a pretty dang cool guy too. Follow him on Twitter.

Tell us one of your favorite odors.

Vanilla bean scraped from the pod.

What is it about that particular smell?

It’s fresh, clean and completely unadulterated in it’s natural form.

What experience makes you feel alive?

Traveling and experiencing new cultures and environments.

What fears do you have?

Corporations that control and produce the software I use to create my art will become less flexible in allowing the user to control how they choose to work and instead insist that the user work the way they prefer you to work.

Other than that I try not to fear stuff. If something starts to wig me out I just give it to God and ask for Him to give me peace about it. Life is too short to let fear reign.

What have you learned about yourself over the past year?

We can’t depend on any form of authority or government to facilitate our livelihood, or sustain our happiness, or equip our potential. It’s on us, you have to motivate yourself and grow, learn, fail, and succeed. Can’t blame anyone else, you have to take responsibility for your own actions and inaction. I think leadership at all levels could learn from that too.

Are you working on anything cool right now?

I’m developing some branding for a new beer and distillery so that will be a lot of fun moving forward too as we do labels, bottles, packaging etc.

Do you find your creative work a spiritual experience? In what way?

My faith shapes my world view and my world view tends to influence my thinking and thus my design in various ways.

What tunes have you been hooked on lately?

I’ve been listening to a lot of 80′s hits lately. Stuff I use to listen too in art school. Huey Lewis and the News, Journey etc. I really like crooners too though like Frank Sinatra so I listen to those a lot too.

[NOTE: Check out (one of my favorite 90s girls) Petra Haden's a capella "Don't Stop Believin'" cover in the Strong Odors Spotify playlist.]

WIN!! Your very own copy of Von Gitschka’s Flourish.Banner.Frame

Von Glitschka has graciously offered up a copy of his book Flourish.Banner.Frame and you could win it!

This amazing resource contains 600 vector ornaments on DVD along with several real-life inspirational examples of use by top designers.

[UPDATE: Congratulations to Minneapolis designer Brandon Harrison for winning the giveaway!]

More Von Glitchka

Glitchka Studios on Facebook

@Vonster on Twitter

Von Glitschka on Google+

 vonglitschka.com

drawsigner.com

illustrationclass.com

and be sure to snag this Glitschka poster to benefit non-profit organization Charity:Water

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Sometime last year I had just a hint of an idea that involved taking my designs and photographing them to give it a little dimensional feel. I think the idea came when I was maxing out my photoshop skills to make client photos respectable for their print pieces. I come up with about a dozen new ideas each day though, so this one like most others came and went and was buried in my mental rolltop where all the clutter is stored.

Around that same time Ward Jenkins posted a few photos on Facebook of one of his favorite artists – Tom Allen.

I got pretty dang excited right off the bat, because Tom had already been doing something similar to that one particular vision for years now… only better.

At first glance Tom’s work—cutting up and photographing old paperbacks and pulp fiction—seems like one of those mediums we creative types discover and follow immediately with a forehead-slapping “why didn’t I do that??”

But when you really take the time to see what he does exactly.. you realize that you’re not really upset he beat you to the idea, but rather incredibly stoked because he does it so well any of the rest of our attempts to do the same would have seemed a parody in comparison.

When I then discovered Tom is a fellow Michigander I got especially excited though. I absolutely flip whenever I find other individuals in Michigan doing incredibly creative things because I believe that this is the spirit that’s going to bring Michigan up out of the ashes.

What I love most about Tom’s work isn’t that it’s just so lovely and the images he uses are so wonderfully kitschy, but rather the fact that he’s using source material that is so utterly common and familiar.

How many times have I walked past the stack of 10¢ paperbacks at my local library or huge hoards of them at estate sales and never even batted an eye? Yet somehow Tom saw the beauty in these vintage illustrations and had the creative vision to bring them back to life.

It’s the very thing that we hope is about to happen in our Great Lakes State.

Tell us one of your favorite odors.

Lilacs

What is it about that particular smell?

The slightest whiff catapults me back to my childhood. Why? I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s because my mom would always cut and place huge bouquets of them in the house.

Other favorites: School paste, A&D Ointment, the original scent of Jergen’s lotion and balsam needles. Yeah, I’m a freak!

My least favorite smell: roses
My grandma died when I was 10 and that smell reminds me of the three days I spent in the funeral home. One sniff and I become depressed immediately.

What experience makes you feel alive?

Backpacking. I trekked 31 miles across Isle Royale with a friend a few years ago and felt free and unshackled from the rigors and stress of daily life.

What fears do you have?

Having my career tank. That and open water at night.

What have you learned about yourself over the past year?

That as much as I enjoy helping people out when they ask, that I am just one person and can only do so much. That said, I’ve learned that saying, “No” isn’t a bad thing.

Are you working on anything cool right now?

A 16-print commission for a hospital (that’s all I can say right now) and widgets for a major website launch (again, I have to be tightlipped). I’m also teaching a one-week photography workshop at Penland School of Crafts (NC) the first week in November. This will be my 5th time there. It’s a place of pure magic.

Do you find your creative work a spiritual experience? In what way?

No. However, it does give me free license to make personal commentary about perceived stereotypes while injecting humor at the same time.

I’m a lover of myth and I’ve found, over the years, that I revisit the story of Sirens again-and-again. It’s the whole notion being rendered weak in the presence of beautiful sound that fascinates me.

What tunes have you been hooked on lately?

Hmmm. That’s tough-especially since I just signed on to Spotify. Now everything is at my fingertips-literally: type in an artist and listen.

However, I will say that I usually turn to more melancholy music in the fall. I’ve been listening to Cocteau Twins quite a bit along with This Mortal Coil. My favorite track, hands down, is from IT’LL END IN TEARS — a cover of Tim Buckley’s SONG TO THE SIREN. Elizabeth Fraser (Cocteau Twins) has the most enchanting voice. She is my siren.

Lisa Gerrard and Explosions in the Sky are also in heavy rotation.

More Thomas Allen

Become Tom’s friend on Facebook. (but only if you enjoy a regular dose of cynicism re: Michigan’s sorry government leaders)

Visit his website

Thomas Allen at the G. Gibson Gallery and Foley Gallery

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Early this summer my friend Kelly & I agreed to join forces on the totally awesome event that she dreamed up and founded in 2010—Traverse City Maker’s Market.

It’s been a whirlwind few months (since these things generally take a year of planning), which involved the two of us collaborating on a new website, recruiting over one hundred applications from awesome artists and crafters from all around Michigan, planning and promoting the coolest new thing in Traverse City.

This Saturday—October 22nd—the event finally arrives! (RSVP on our Facebook event page)

We’ve got 25 of the coolest vendors from around the state, plus a half-dozen amazing food & beverage vendors (including hand-squeezed brats!) and local musicians providing a great backdrop for us all day.

(plus some pretty sweet event merch too!)

October is a wonderful time to visit northwest Michigan – come on up this weekend for Maker’s Market!

PS. After-party at Right Brain Brewery is gonna be insane in the membrane.

Here are a few products from our vendors that I’m definitely looking forward to checking out:

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Reindeer by Lisa Congdon

Lisa Congdon is inspiring to me because (like me) she’s a self-taught artist—no fancy art school, no grad school connections with whom to jump-start careers—and didn’t start working as an artist until she was in her thirties.

She’s one of those people that give the self-taught, mid-thirties, bible-college-grad like me a bit of hope for this “career” I’m working on.

Because I have a tendency to want to do everything NOW.

I’m not sure if it has to do with my health history and that at any given moment I may have 6 months or less to live, but it seems like I’ve kind of always been this way. I was in way too much of a hurry to grow up when I was a teenager and as a college student I had pretty much planned to finish my life’s work by the time I was thirty (of course at that time I considered 30 pretty much the end of anyone’s life anyway).

So when I come across an artist like Lisa and see the years she’s invested to become the artist she is today it’s a good and sober reminder to me to quit worrying and keep working.

I totally love Lisa’s distinct style. It is really quite amazing how she manages to incorporate a wide variety of media and technique but still leave each piece recognizable as hers.

Lisa has a great positive personality which is evident in her work and always brings a bit of sunshine to my Twitter world (although her sunshine-y California tweets do induce a bit of jealousy when I’m covered in freezing cold gray skies)

Check out Lisa’s interview below and her awesome Etsy shop where she’s offering a fantastic 15% discount right now with the coupon code: STRONGODOR

What?!? … Thats right 15%!!!!!!

Tell us one of your favorite odors.

The smell of dry Fall leaves.

What is it about that particular smell?

I love Fall. For me, it represents the romantic transition from being out in the world (summer) to hibernation (winter). When I was a kid, my dad would rake all the leaves in the yard and then let us jump on the piles and make a mess. I love the smell of leaves in the crisp fall air.

What experience makes you feel alive?

I am an avid road cyclist and go for long rides often. In California, we have some pretty steep hills and mountains. I love the climb those hills on my bike (even though it can be excruciatingly painful) and then descend down the other side. Pushing my body to its physical limits makes me feel very alive.

What fears do you have?

I do not like to fly because I find turbulence scary. Even though I know it’s typically not dangerous. I travel a lot and so I have learned to deal with it, but it never seems to abate. So it also might make sense that I also don’t like anything that involves extreme motion+speed: roller coasters, carnival rides, even watching fast 3-D movies.

What have you learned about yourself over the past year?

I need enormous structure in my life. I am incredibly right brained and can wake up feeling totally overwhelmed everyday with creative ideas, potential projects, tasks, etc. I feel calmer when I can create some order in my life and create some focus (ie: get up, go for a swim, work on X from 10-12 and then work on X from 1-2, etc etc). Until I figured this out, I felt lost and ineffective as a self employed artist. I have to work hard to stay organized, but it keeps me grounded.

Are you working on anything cool right now?

I am working on illustrating a children’s book on a famous photographer from the 1920′s. That’s all I can say about it at the moment, but it’s an incredibly fun project and I am working with an awesome art director. The book will be beautiful.

Do you find your creative work a spiritual experience? In what way?

Absolutely. I used to work in an office for 8-10 hours a day at a computer and I was miserable + felt dead inside. At the time, I had no idea what real joy felt like, at least real joy associated with “work”. Now that I live and breath making art, I am in a constant cycle of inspiration (creating inspires more creating, etc etc) which to me is the essence of a spiritual experience. I think the process of creating from your own unique vision combined with the satisfaction of being able to share your work with the world afterward is an incredibly rich internal experience if you allow yourself …

What tunes have you been hooked on lately?

In frequent rotation on my iPod lately are the new Bon Iver album, The National, Band of Horses, Beth Ditto and The Gossip, Lovers, Cults, Sigur Ros (can’t get enough of them), Ólöf Arnolds…

[Editor Note: never heard of Ólöf  Arnolds? She's just one of several Icelandic artists featured on the ever-growing Strong Odors playlist. Subscribe on Spotify so we can listen to all the same music all the time and take over the world]

More Lisa Congdon

Follow Lisa on Twitter

Like Lisa Congdon Art on Facebook

Lisa Congdon Etsy Shop (don’t forget – save 15% with the code :STRONGODORS)

Lisa Congdon Fine Art Shop on Gallery Hijinks (is that Sól painting awesome or what?)

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Last summer I created a set of posters for the Traverse City Film Festival commemorating nine of John Hughes most iconic films. This month a couple of those illustrations were picked up by Open Skies magazine – a Motivate Publishing print magazine that serves as the in-flight mag for Emirates Airlines.

The posters are currently on exhibit at Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City. I’ve already sold a few out of there and they are each a limited edition – so come on out to my reception this Saturday to get one before they’re all gone!

You can also order the posters from my online store.

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Illustration by Troy DeShano

I’m excited to announce my exhibit opening at Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City next weekend!

All the work is already up, so you can stop by anytime to check it out, but I’d really love it if everyone could come to the opening next Saturday night!

If you are anywhere near Traverse City or even in Grand Rapids or lower Michigan wondering what to do for fun next weekend you should definitely make the trip up to beautiful Traverse City! Nothing’s better after a long day at the beach or hike along the dunes than a hand-crafted brew from Right Brain Brewery!

My reception will be from 7-9pm so please stop by and say hello and hopefully you or a friend can go home with some radical new artwork for your walls.

TCFF John Huges Posters behind the bar

If you’ve never been to Right Brain then you’ve been missing out! Each beer is hand-crafted with the same kind of TLC that we visual artists know is required to create something that we can be proud of. The atmosphere is really fun and relaxed—way cooler than a bar with no big-screen TVs in sight!

Come support local art and just have an awesome Saturday evening at Right Brain!

Let me know if you can make it by Likeing the event on Facebook.

Here’s the details

Right Brain Brewery July Artist Reception

• Date: Saturday, July 16th
• Time: 7-9pm
• Place: Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City’s warehouse district. (map)

More on Right Brain and the Artist Reception

• RBB’s July Artist Reception announcement
• RBB on Facebook

Never miss out on Strong Odors news!

If you haven’t signed up for my email newsletter yet, do it today. I offer regular contests, giveaways and other big announcements like this one that you’ll never want to miss. Sign up now!

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Illustration by Troy DeShano

I suppose I could have called this “angry birds.”

5″ x 7″ limited edition giclee on fine art paper – $22

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A couple years ago I discovered illustrator Eric Smith and his Live Now project. At that point it was a handful of illustrations, contributed by a variety of great artists—each with a particularly positive message.

After meeting Eric I came to find out that he is—like me—a cancer survivor and the project was inspired by his own experiences enduring treatments and learning the invaluable lesson that each moment of life is precious.

When I published my interview with him last year, he was just starting to work on a potential book of the project and I’m so proud to see that it was finally released last week.

If you know someone facing cancer today… or another sickness.. or hurting or feeling defeated in any way.. buy them this book.

Awesome job to Eric and all the fantastic illustrators who contributed.

Chad Kouri for Live Now

Dan Cassaro for Live Now

Pat Perry for Live Now

The book also features tear-out pages for you to share with anyone who could use a little encouragement.

Mikey Burton for Live Now

Find out more about Eric and all the illustrators who were a part of this book on the Live Now website.

All photos by Chelsey Scheffe

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Design by Metastazis

I found this interview with Metastazis founder Valnoir incredibly inspirational.

When I first started freelancing as a designer I had this attitude that my ideas may be weird, but I believe in them—and only clients that love to take risks and can trust me need apply.

Valnoir obviously has the same foundation to his work. From metastazis.com welcome page:

Metastazis does not carry out its clients’ every whim, and Metastazis does not add more Blue just because the client doesn’t like Red. Metastazis is always RIGHT, because the whole of our process is logical, because all of our decisions are justifiable in accordance with our own criteria and because we observe a coherence within our work.

It’s honestly what every designer wants to say but almost none of them have the guts. He goes on:

You come to us for our interpretation, to speak in your place, to decide and to act there where you have no words to do so. Do not come looking for a kindly designer who will make any modification to the work because “the client is king” and with whome you could “talk it out.” Come for something whole, something you’ve never seen before, and for something that you will accept or refuse in its entirety.

I also love how he points out that criticism can be good and will be welcomed if it is informed. How many times have you—designers—tried to explain that you’ve used particular colors, typefaces, spacing, etc. in a very intentional and purposeful way to a client who is convinced it should be otherwise because his girlfriend said so?

How many times have you given in to the request thinking “well, maybe his girlfriend knows something I don’t about their industry.”

I’m gonna guess you’ve given in every single time.

It’s his project after all, right?

But here comes Valnoir who warns everyone right off the bat that your project is now his project and unjustified critisicm is unwelcome. From the interview:

accepting criticism when it is unjustified is stupid. It is one of the terrible directions our modern society is taking where democracy has given everyone and anyone the conviction that their opinion was worth the opinion of an expert.

Wow.

If any designer, regardless of your denomination, isn’t shouting an old-fashioned Baptist “AMEN” to that then you I’m afraid there’s no hope for your soul.

I know there is always a delicate balance of remaining true to my own creative vision and delivering a product that your client is also excited about. Many times her reservations have more to do with her own fears about her customers or whatever, and I know that explaining my own choices to clients is a necessary and challenging part of the job too.

But perhaps in my desperation to get new clients, I’ve fallen prey to the trap of taking on clients who shouldn’t be working with me in the first place.

I don’t know…

Well, Valnoir and I definitely have very different sets of spiritual beliefs, but this morning he really convicted me of my own harlotry.

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