Moustaceh-A-Thon 2010

I just finished up the logo for this year's 826CHI Moustache-A-Thon. More details to come...

Versteeg

My first foray into typeface design is now available at MyFonts.com. I first designed Versteeg, which may or may not be named after my favorite Chicago Blackhawks player, over a year ago, but it wasn't until now that I took the step of actually programming it as a usable typeface. I had been creating the typeface manually in Illustrator for projects here and there. I finally programmed it as a usable typeface using FontLab Studio 5, which was relatively easy to use, even if it hasn't been updated in over 2 years (though it's UI feels like it was never updated to fit in with OS X).

Here are some examples of Versteeg in use:

The majority of the characters in the typeface were designed in a 3 by 3 grid. Capitals and lowercase letters with ascenders and descenders were expanded to a 4 by 3 grid (though certain characters had to expand that grid in width). Most pixelized typefaces work on a much more generous grid, but it is this restriction that distinguishes Versteeg from other pixel-based typefaces and makes it's characters unique. The style known as 'Versteeg Square' was the first style I designed, but the other circular styles evolved quickly afterward. I have a couple further evolutions sketched, but they are considerably more complicated, so it may be a while before I get them drawn in FontLab. Stay Tuned!

In the meantime, tell your friends to buy Versteeg:

http://new.myfonts.com/fonts/blankisthenewblack/versteeg/

adamhaslett.com

For my degree project at the Rhode Island School of Design, I decided to take a short story and expand it into a visual book of it's own. I've always loved to draw, so I chose this in order to make a project that allowed me to design AND illustrate. But I didn't just want to illustrate the story, I wanted to carry the story through the whole design. I wanted the way the type was set to enhance the story.

Finding the right story wasn't easy. Some of my favorite short stories didn't really lend themselves to a visual treatment. At the recommendation of a family member, I read through a new book of short stories named "You Are Not A Stranger Here" by Adam Haslett. A few stories would have worked well for what I was doing, but a story named "Notes To My Biographer", about a mentally ill father trying to reconnect with his estranged homosexual son, inspired me more than any other.

I worked on this book during my last semester at RISD, and when I was finished, I, with the encouragement of a few friends, decided to seek out the author and send him a copy. Shortly after sending it I heard back from Adam Haslett, who had very nice things to say about what I'd done. We exchanged a couple of emails and that was that. You can click here to see an online version of the book.

Then earlier this year I heard from him again. He had just finished his debut novel and decided he needed a website as an online source for all things Haslett, and wondered it I was interested in giving it a shot. I was thrilled at the opportunity and got to work right away.

Well, I'm happy to report that the site, shown above, is now finished (click here to visit the live site). It was a pleasure to work with someone that wanted something unique, and recognized the importance of having a designer create a site, rather than find a template online somewhere.

After the project was complete, I was given the opportunity to throw some designs in the mix for the cover of Adam's novel. I created a few designs, and went through a few revisions with the publisher, but in the end they went with an in-house design. Below are a couple of my favorites, and you can go to my site (www.thomasjquinn.com) to see a few more.

Angeleno Dinner Invitation

I recently designed this invitation for a client dinner in Los Angeles. I wanted to foil stamp the silver section, but there wasn't enough money, so we had to just print it one color.

ICFF Opening Night Invitation

Here is an invitation I finished a couple months ago. I convinced Holly that a black foil stamp on black paper wouldn't be a problem to read, and it wasn't, provided that they don't mind tilting the invite to read it. I'll always appreciated that Holly is willing to sacrifice a little function in favor of form. Unfortunately, I did hear that there were a few complaints from clients that they couldn't read it. Whatever. Just tilt it.

Moustache Bash

Here is a logo I recently finished for the 826CHI Moustache-a-thon. It is a moustache growing contest in which contestants, well, grow moustaches and solicit donations to 826CHI, a local tutoring center that helps students ages 6 to 18 with their "creative and expository writing skills". It is an awesome place, you should visit their website: 826chi.org

Steve Reich Poster

When I was in school, my typography teacher gave us an assignment to create a poster for a piece of classical music using typographic elements only. I was excited to make a poster for my favorite composer, Steve Reich, but in the end I wasn't very satisfied with my poster. So I decided to do it again. A small preview is below, but you can click here to look at a larger version of it.