Brian Paul Nelson – Branding / Design / Illustration">Brian Paul Nelson

Just finished up some custom type, illustration work and merchandise pieces for the band Wild Nothing. View the entire project under my portfolio and stay tuned for more work for these guys as time goes on. Also, be sure to check out their latest album Nocturne, it’s definitely of the enjoyable variety. I posted a few of my favorite tracks below.

Wild Nothing — Shadow

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Wild Nothing — Nocturne

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Wild Nothing — Disappear Always

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Wild Nothing — Paradise

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Wild Nothing Portfolio

I have always had a deep respect and appreciation for true letterers and their craft, especially those designing type before computers existed. That regard is even greater now after creating my first official typeface, Recollection. I have dabbled in designing type before and have used hand written type in some of my projects, but I have yet to create a full face until now. The type was inspired by thickset letters from old signage and posters that were created before modern day printing and technology existed…you know, “The Glory Days.” To show off Recollection I also created a few posters that further encompass the inspiration behind its design. View the Recollection project under my portfolio.

Some great work from Switzerland based Bureau Collective. Their ability to restrain each project to the bare essentials of type, imagery and color is dominant throughout their portfolio and really exudes a sense of quality that you know they continually strive for. Be sure to click the images for better closeups.

“If you can design one thing, you can design everything.”

That quote above pretty much sums up one of the true icons of design, Massimo Vignelli. As you can see most of his work is heavily defined within the Modernist tradition. He focuses on simplicity through the use of basic geometric shapes and forms.

Vignelli was born in Milano, Italy on January 10, 1931 and studied at Academia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts) in Milan and then at the School of the University of Venice. In 1957, he came to New York on a fellowship and then traveled to Chicago where he taught at the Institute of Design of Illinois Institute of Technology for 3 years. He also taught at the Umanitaria School of Graphic Design in Milan and at the Institute of Industrial Design in Venice.

In 1966, he traveled back to New York where he cofounded Unimark International and worked with high profile clients such as American Airlines, the Ford Motor Company, Gillette, JC Penney, Knoll, and the New York Transit Authority, who continue to use the trademarks and graphic standards produced my Unimark to this day. Then in 1971, he established his own studio, Vignelli Associates in New York with his wife, Lella where he continues to design to this day. Definitely a living legend.

• Career Characters

• Meridian Watches

• Phorm Motor Oil

• Suites

Some new work is posted under my portfolio where you will find a couple different projects I’ve got going on right now.

First up is my Career Characters set which is an on-going project of different careers that I would think would be cool to experience for a day or so. The Lumberjack has been up for a little while, but I just finished with the Pirate. More to come in the future.

I have also been developing the brand for Meridian Watches, an up-and-coming U.S. based watch company. A new identity as well as different collateral pieces are underway. I’m also working on packaging and a few other elements so expect to see that and more pretty soon.

Finally, there are some other new brands in the works that are in the very early stages of development. I have however posted the logos for them under my Logo Archive section. Phorm Motor Oil (pronounced “form”) and Suites which will be a seafood market based in Charleston, SC. Look out for more on both those projects later this year as well.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look through my work.

I really enjoy when an artist blends together fine art and design as in the work of Calvin Ross Carl. His geometric painting and sculpture work brings a unique quality that can not be achieved through the computer alone. The textural value of the shapes along with the brush strokes create individual characteristics within each piece of work.

Some really nice branding and design work coming from Barcelona based Hey Studio. Most of their work has a restraining yet persuasive quality to it that I enjoy. Be sure to click on the images for larger sizes.

Cinerama was a cinema technique that had boundless entertainment, social and political ramifications throughout the 1950s and early ‘60s and set the standard for how we view movies and television today. The concept is widescreen, and Cinerama was the leader of all wide-screen formats in use since that time. It is a filming and projection technique, rather than a film style, genre or subject. These images are from two Cinerama theater programs from 1954 & 1956. The eclectic use of type, illustration and photography really helped bring to life the impact this technique had during those times. Be sure to click the images for slightly larger versions.

More on the history of Cinerama here.