We used the opportunity to do some more hand lettering on this one, see the results and the before and after images below. Always fun to see where ink on paper (towel) takes you. As for the leaf image…we’d like to thank our backyard tree. Once we found the perfect one, we scanned and edited it to work great for this imagery. Thanks Mr. Leaf, you were great to work with.

I recently finished the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, and besides being an insightful look into the man, it’s full of really interesting stories relating directly to advertising and design. Classics like the “Think Different” campaign are in there, the story behind the best Super Bowl commercial ever, “1984″, and Jobs relationship with Lee Clow, well known creative director who was with Chiat/Day at the time.

But the one story that I laughed out loud at was the one involving Steve Jobs hiring the famous graphic designer Paul Rand to design the logo for NeXT, the company Steve Jobs started after Apple fired him. For any graphic designer that has ever been asked to design a logo, this is a story you’ll appreciate in a way only a designer can.

The Next was to be cube-shaped so Rand suggested the logo be that shape as well. Jobs agreed and asked to see some options. Big mistake. Rand didn’t do options.

“I will solve your problem and you will pay me,” he told Jobs. “You can use what I produce or not, but I will not do options, and either way you will pay me.” And it would cost $100,000.

Two weeks later, Rand flew back and presented his solution in the form of a book (see below for sample) walking Jobs through the rationale. Jobs loved it but asked for the yellow of the ‘e’ to be brighter. According to Isaacson, “Rand banged his fist and declared, ‘I’ve been doing this for fifty years and I know what I’m doing.’ Jobs relented.”

I can’t imagine saying that to a client, but Rand was 71 at the time and a world-renowned expert in his field: not everyone could get away with it. But I think the lesson is that Paul Rand did not respond to Steve Jobs like the average designer does, he had the guts to say something that not only convinced him with the brand’s logo design along with a 100-page brochure detailing the brand, but earned him $100,000.

“I will solve your problem and you will pay me” is how we’re answering the phone now.

Once again, the excellent print was done by our good friends The Half and Half, edition of 170, signed and numbered. Make sure to check out the photo gallery below for some of the process pix and details of the artwork as ink on paper.

Side note: Eric is originally from the Hickory area, at one time he was a struggling artist in Nashville, TN, now his album Chief was announced as a nominee for the 2012 Grammy Awards for Best Country Album.

David Carson is well known for the quote: “Don’t mistake legibility for communication.” He has written about his appreciation for the ripped up and layered paper and partial typography on billboards, the ones awaiting new “perfect” shiny graphics, revealing all the more visually interesting layers and texture, “the ugly underneath”.

We encourage you to take a fresh look at the type around you on any given day…what’s more visually interesting and engaging in this era of “perfect” computer work? Look in any design annual (Print Regional is always good, albeit a LOT thinner lately) and you’ll see the trend among designers for a while now is hand done type and text. It’s great to see in our opinion.

Now, go make some messy yard sale signs and be creative…just don’t make it perfect.
Enjoy the gallery of photographs we’ve taken of typography that caught our eye at one time or another (we have TONS like these we’ll hopefully post later).

All photography © The Silent P // Pfahlert Creative Labs // 2012 //

As Wilco’s site says, it’s “A classic 8.5 oz diner style heavyweight ceramic mug with a two-color design printed on each side. For maximum enjoyment, use fresh Intelligentsia Coffee or Tea. While spinning some Wilco tunes. Something to wake up to.”

Photo of mugs with beans by Eckard Photographic.

We don’t like making predictions, but it would seem just plain wrong that after all the work we’ve put in during 2011 and now finally releasing an all new website for your viewing pleasure, that the world would now end JUST when we were spreading the love, as it were.

In case we’re WAY off and things go south quickly, you’d be wise to head on over to www.thesilentp.com and spend what time is left checking out the creative work we’ve produced recently.

Read the full Press Release here (PDF document): PCL Website Press Release

100 samples show: Our poster for Wilco’s Savannah show is in there among some great samples from talented artists and designers. They also try to answer the question “What is a great poster?”

Enjoy!

The album cover has been included in their year end article  ”Album Covers of the Year 2011″. The article includes some nuggets from us as well as KW herself. Honored to be among some album covers we loved from last year too: Gillian Welch (make sure to check her article out!), Iron & Wine, Cut/Copy, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes and Real Estate!

You can see more images of the cover design and the interior design here.

REDEFINE is a Seattle and Portland based magazine that aims to create substantial, boundry-blurring music, arts and film. Multi-disciplinary music and art review.

Crosshair in Chicago screen printed them off of our color separations (spot white and metallic gold inks on French Paper’s Construction Paver Red line), then they were driven (yes, driven) to Wisconsin’s Great Lakes Flocking, the company that then added the amazing element of flocking (think raised red velvet texture!), and with that, they were then trimmed and sent (RUSH) to Chicago. What the heck is “flocking”?

We’d like to thank Wilco and TMM for an amazing opportunity to be a small part of a grand city tour concept. Chicago did indeed get “The Whole Love” from Wilco.

Make sure to check out the gallery below for detail shots of each poster design and some photos of the merch area at the venues. You can also head over to Wilco’s Facebook page and see each and every setlist and poster here. Big thanks to Bill Mooney for inspiring the series. Design: D.R. Sapperstein and The Silent P.

BOOM-BOOM, DAH-BOOM.

Check out the additional images in the gallery below (includes action shot). Thanks to Brad Fox for the great photos.