Growing up, one of the first things that inspired us to get into art and design were skateboards graphics. They’re striking, brazen, even subversive and just plain cool. Skateboards have always been a medium we’re drawn to. So, you could say we are stoked to be among the artists and designers selected in Rockports’s latest: Inside the World of Board Graphics. The book is chock full of amazing the art that adorns skate / surf / snow boards. Besides that, the book itself was expertly designed by Modern Dog, a studio who’s work has always inspired us.
Hey, We're Published
AhhtPowa!
We just got our hands on a new business card book published in China and wanted to share it with you. They included quite a bit of our work which was quite flattering. Here are some examples:
Running of the Blogs
Hello there, over the last week or so our work has been mentioned, recommended and we’ve even penned a guest blog post ourselves. We thought we’d make it easy for you and compile them here:
Daily Grommet
ÜberGeekGirl
Greenhorn Connect
"Dude, you must seriously like the alphabet, right?"
In a word, yes – yes we do. Which is why famed author Ina Staltz asked one of us (can you guess who?) to be part of the second volume of her Body Type series. The book collects over two hundred new typographic tattoos and explores the ideas and emotions behind this indelible commitment. This stunning photography collection features commentary on the letterforms as well as personal recollections by the tattooed on the motivations for their decided words. Order your copy here. Special thanks to the talented Janet King who shot the images for us.
Coming to a Library Near You
We are quite excited to report we have several pieces featured in a new book published by Collins Design. The New Big Book of Layouts includes an in-depth case study with our commentary for the BzzGuide we designed for The Other White Meat. We’re always happy to see design books that include some behind-the-scenes content on the design process, rather than just pretty pictures. Other print work by Alphabet Arm featured in the book include: Storyville BzzGuide, Sol Beer BzzGuide, BzzAgent Overview Book, Alphabet Arm and Jakprints promos and the Go GaGa Marketing Brochure. The book is filled with tons of great work and we are honored to be a part of such an outstanding sampling of designers.
Apparently…Design Matters (but we knew that).
Rockport Publishers have done it again, another stellar collection of inspired design samples. This go-round, they contacted Alphabet Arm to include our Sample Paks + promotional materials as a case study for the book. Pretty fancy – right? They interviewed us and everything, and wouldn’t you know it, we came off sounding real, real smart! Pick up a copy for yourself here.
Masters of the Logoverse – The Sequel
The Logolounge Master Library Vol.2 book has arrived and we’re incredibly proud to announce the editors included ten of our logo designs, including a number of in-studio pieces (the “El Cahote” design-bot and Arno, the Alphabet Armadillo).
We are always stoked to have our work included in any volume of a Logolounge collection, but the Master Library book series feels extra special! Get your own copy here.
TypoShirt One
We are psyched to have several designs selected to be published in TypoShirt One. The new design compendium showcases stand out t-shirt designs from around the world and is published by Index book. Also heavily represented is our good friend Chris Piascik of Print Brigade fame. The book features a ton of great work with a really wide range of graphic styles. Check it out.
Our Favorite Lounge
Rockport’s successful series of design books, LogoLounge, has just released their 6 volume. Once again, it is completely gratifying to see our work included among such talented company. With a showcase of 2000 logos and a color scheme featuring magenta, black and gray, what else could you ask for? Buy one.
Good Morning, Indeed
We were enthusiastic to see some of our business card designs among those featured on CBS Sunday Morning. We’ve been long-time fans of the show and it was awesome to see our designs on screen along with the iconic Sunday Morning sun logo. See the video here.
Here are some screenshots…
Check out the highlighted business cards we’ve designed over the years.
Cardious De Business
The Best of Business Card Design 9 (Rockport) was complied by Rule29 and they state the following: “The book features an innovative collection of the most current and best work by top designers worldwide. The “go-to” sourcebook for business card design inspiration, this volume contains pages packed with business cards, showing front, back, and special elements and materials. This unrivaled resource is sought by professional designers, corporate executives, and in-house marketing departments as an essential identity and branding tool.” Wow, and the fact they selected a number of our client’s designs as well as our studio business cards is quite an honor. Grab your copy here.
Their Legend Continues…
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt contacted Alphabet Arm to design a simple, yet flexible logo to be consistently used for their series of books, Good Sports (not to be confused with Good Sport).
Prolific sports writer Glent Stout’s new series for middle-grade readers focuses on the careers of trailblazing ballplayers, professional athletes who serve in the military, and female sport pioneers.
Special props to the talented Laurie Mildenhall for shooting these for us.
Masters of the Logoverse – The Return
The Logolounge Master Library Vol.4 (Type + Calligraphy) was just released and we’re incredibly proud to announce the esteemed editors (Ken Barber, Bill Gardner, Jessica Hische + Miles Newlyn) included a boatload of our logo designs in the book. Don’t believe us? See the index image below! We are always honored to have our work included in any volume of a Logolounge collection, but the Master Library book series feels extra special! It’s a great resource and form of inspiration for any designer, order one for yourself.
Jump in, the water is fine…
The first edition of the Logopond Identity Inspiration book just arrived in the mail, and we are very excited to see a sample of our work strewn throughout. In addition to a sampling of our logos, they even asked as to design a page featuring our studio profile.
Thanks for the props Logopond!
Looking to get a copy of your own? Pick one up here.
all the kids are doin' it…
The Grams, IG, Instagrandma, Insta, gramz, no matter what you call it, it’s become a social media phenomenon.
We are rather excited to report that NBC News just filed a report highlighting our lil’ Instagram feed > read it here.
And check our placement on the homepage, we ranked higher than that wannabe Cronut! Take that – trans fats!
We spoke to Jim Collins, Director of Multimedia and discussed of passion for Instragram, the community itself, and how it all ties back into our design work here at the studio.
And of course, if you’d like to see our IG feed, kindly follow us at @alphabetarm
Logo A Lotta
A series of our logo designs were selected and published in a new book, “Logo A Lot.” You should all check it out, it has a lot of great work in it. Other designers featured include: Art Chantry, Big Active, The Decoder Ring Design Concern, Stefan Sagmeister and Stockholm Design Lab, to name a few.
ONE Magazine
Chris was recently featured in ONE Magazine. Check it out!
Prize-winning hog
Here at Alphabet Arm, we’re not glory seekers. We no narcissists, always looking for the limelight. Although, when we do get some props, it is freakin’ sweet.
As we write this, Communication Arts has a feature in their exhibit section on the BzzGuide that we recently did for the The National Pork Board. It was a fun guide to work on, and we don’t think it’s too boastful to say that it turned out rather well.
LogoLounge 7
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, we have several logos published in the 7th edition of LogoLounge by Rockport Press. It’s always an honor to be recognized for doing what you love — and we love designing logos. Where can you find one?
Try here.
The Who, What, Wear
We just picked up a copy of the new book from Rockport Publishers, 1000 Garment Graphics, by Jeffrey Everett of El Jefe Design. Jeff is a really nice dude and a great designer, we’re honored to have such a strong presence in his book. There is an excellent selection of work featured by many talented designers + studios, including Ames Bros, Methane Studios, Nate Duval, Mike Giant and Modern Dog.
Novum Magazine
Novum magazine published a feature on us last year. We never really had a place to post about it until now… So check it out!
“Novum is a German magazine covering the world of graphic design. It reports on industry news, technology, trends, book reviews, job opportunities, and more.”
Aaron in Inked Magazine
Aaron will be featured in the new Body Type book, Inked magazine did a piece on the author, Ina Saltz.
Aaron’s (alphabet arm) is the black & white square on the right.
We're Huge in Buenos Aires
That’s right, when Aaron’s wife was in Buenos Aires for work recently, she stepped into a book store and being the loyal designer’s wife she is, looked through the Graphic Design section. She was drawn to the metallic silver of Diseño de Logotipos 4 only to be even more excited to find one of our Counting Crows designs smack-dab on the cover. Thanks Vianka!
Logo Lounge 4
If you haven’t heard of the Logo Lounge website and book series you are missing out. The 4th edition was recently published. We were honored to have 5 of our logos selected for this book.
Boston Magazine
Last month we were asked to participate in a University re-branding exercise for a Boston Magazine article. We were in good company with a few other design firms including, Arnold Worldwide and One Pica. Our assignment was to create a new logo for MIT. It wasn’t a particularly easy task as we all appreciate and respect their current identity. Nevertheless, we embraced the challenge head-on and came up with our own spin on the mark. You can check it out now in the current issue (May 2008).
The Best of Business Card Design 8
We were quite pleased to find that we have a couple projects in the new, The Best of Business Card Design 8, published by Rockport Press. The Tyrannosaurus Records card features a sweet die-cut-dino-bite based on the logo we developed. Our card for Up and Comer is hip to be square (and no, we haven’t our filled up our bad joke quota for the month).
Have you seen this book yet?
The much anticipated book by Stoltze Design, 1000 Music Graphics (Rockport), is finally out and in stores. We’re particularly enthusiastic about this because we had a bunch of our work selected and published in it. Honestly, its a great collection of work that we are proud to be a part of.
Logo Allstars?
Out of the 98,000 logos on LogoLounge, our submissions stood out to the powers-that-be so much so that they decided to feature us. LogoLounge is not only an amazing online community and resource of designers + firms, but it’s also become one of the best selling logo design book collections. It’s quite a honor for us!
Los Logos 4!
Alphabet Arm is proud to be featured in the new LOS LOGOS 4 book by Die Gestalten Verlag. They actually selected 18 of our logos, which may or may not include the following list of clients:
Art is War Productions, Double Guns Records, The Dresden Dolls, Empire Attire, The Fray, The Get You, Go GaGa, Leiana, Mr. Lif (X2), Tim McCoy and the Papercuts, Red Red Rocket, Relentless Skateworks, Pacific Electric Music Publishing, Static of the Gods (X2), Skeetwear Apparel and Tennessee Hollow.
The Boston Conservatory Gala invite
We had developed a number of cover comp for The Boston Conservatory’s Gala invitation this year. They ended up going with a different option but we really liked this one.
Somebody's watching
Business cards are both one of our favorite things to design, and one of our greatest design challenges. There is so much information in each card, they say so much about the owner, and they are an interesting way for your work to circulate. So with all of that hanging over our heads, it was no easy task to design our own cards. We’re pretty happy with them though, and they tend to generate conversations when we meet people. It seems somebody’s taking notice, though, as the site Card Observer is showcasing our cards on their site. Take a look.
Chris Piascik at Chorus Gallery
We are excited to announce that Chris has a solo-show of his paintings and prints opening up next Saturday at Chorus Gallery in Union Square, Somerville, MA.
Opening Reception: June 13, 2009 / 8pm – 11pm
Facebook event page
We make it rain…logos
From time to time, we get asked about the philosophy and process behind our logos. Affluent Magazine recently asked us how we approach logos, and how companies should address the challenge of identity/branding development in light of the current economic down-turn. The article went live yesterday, and it’s a good insight into how we approach the logo design process. It also showcases a few examples of recent logos we’ve designed that have helped to generated business and shape brands. Check the article out here, then peep the yacht reviews for your place on Nantucket.
Book-marked!
We were pleasantly surprised to discover that our work is featured in, not one, but two new books that were just released. One being, Typography Essentials: 100 Design Principles for Working with Type by Ina Saltz. The other is Logo Lounge 5. We don’t have any copies in hand just yet, but when we do, rest assured we will post an update with photos!
Essential Reading
We mentioned a couple weeks back about some recent books that have showcased our work. Well, we have the hard copies in hand, so we figured that we’d share them with you—starting out with Typography Essentials by Ina Saltz. It’s an honor to be included, and we think the book looks great. Have a look at the work they selected:
Stay tuned for details from Logo Lounge 5 next week.
Logo Lounge 5
As promised, check out the details on Logo Lounge 5 book. We’re honored to have our logos published in the latest book of this top-quality series. If you’re interested, you check see more about the book and buy it here.
(Also note that nobody has won the shirt contest from last week. Is it really so hard to just guess a number?)
BlOgBama!
We recently received a copy of Design For Obama, a book published by Taschen, by Aaron Perry-Zucker, Spike Lee and Steven Heller. The book was released on November 4, 2009 to commemorate Obama’s victory. It features a plethora of wonderful posters by a huge cross-section of artists and designers including Chris Piascik, one of the 4* corner-stones of Alphabet Arm!
*The number 4 does not reflect Donnie Bloggernaut or any other intern-extraordinaires
New Year, New Book!
We’re thrilled to be featured in the new book Letterhead & Logo Design 11 published by Rockport. The super-clean book design comes courtesy of Design Army out of D.C. Its always satisfying to be published amongst such an amazing collection of work.
Masters of the Logoverse
Masters Degree, Master Robin, Grand Master Flash, Masters of the Universe…finally we feel worthy to add our studio name to that impressive list. The Logolounge – Master Library Vol.1 book was just released and we’re proud to announce they’ve included seven of our client’s logo designs! We are always stoked to have our work included in any volume of Logolounge, but the Master Library series feels extra special! Get your own copy here.
