SO MUCH PILEUP

1970's Comic Book Ads

2012-01-30T09:33:00.003-06:00

Growing up, I was never much of a comic book fan the way a lot of my friends were (and still are in some cases), but I was always drawn to the artwork in the ads. Maybe there was something about the layout and graphic qualities that spoke to me more than the actual stories did. Here are a few great ads I scanned out of some old comics. I'll be putting more of these online soon!

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Philately Fridays: No Smoking

2012-01-27T13:17:00.003-06:00

2 great stamps from Itlay (1982) and Thailand (1980) exploring the disadvantages of smoking.

Philately Fridays: Russia, 1980

2012-01-20T09:18:00.002-06:00

Two stamps all about the Soviet Space Program. Loving the illustration style, very indicative of the era when they were created. Can anyone translate the type here?

Philately Fridays: France, 1976

2012-01-13T09:13:00.002-06:00

Milton Glaser for Time Magazine

2012-01-10T11:56:00.003-06:00

As part of getting inspired to work my ass off in 2012, I recently rewatched the fantastic documentary Milton Glaser: To Inform And Delight. I was reminded about a few of the fantastic cover illustrations Glaser did for Time Magazine around the turn of the '70s.

November 7, 1969

December 19, 1969

September 7, 1970

Philately Fridays: Israel, 1981

2012-01-06T10:15:00.001-06:00

Philately Fridays: Canada, 1974

2011-12-30T10:04:00.003-06:00

Here's a block of stamps celebrating Canada Post (Postes Canada). Four fantastic illustrations reminding us to keep the postal system alive and running no matter where we live.

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Wes Wilson for Playboy, 1967

2011-12-29T09:29:00.003-06:00

Wrapping up the year with a fantastically illustrated December 1967 Playboy Magazine cover by the legendary Bay Area psychedelic poster artist Wes Wilson.

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See (and purchase) more of Wes Wilson's artwork over at Wolfgang's Vault.

Herb Lubalin and the PBS logo

2011-12-27T23:02:00.003-06:00

One of my all-time favorites, the fantastic Herb Lubalin, talking about working with PBS to develop their logo, all with a great animation of the different logos transforming from one to the next. Love it.

Philately Fridays: Merry Christmas from Bulgaria

2011-12-23T09:31:00.001-06:00

Happy holidays to you and yours from legendary Bulgarian graphic artist Stefan Kanchev. Here are three of his annual Christmas stamps from 1984, '85, and '87.

Philately Fridays: Cuba, 1986

2011-12-16T08:56:00.002-06:00

Here are two stamps marking the 25th anniversary of both UNEAC (Unión de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba) and Radio Habana Cuba. Wait a minute... that would make this year the 50th anniversary of both of these organizations!

Hlava Rezatá, Noha Strakatá

2011-12-14T10:32:00.003-06:00

Super shoutout to my designer / drummer / film enthusiast friend Sam Smith (Sam's Myth) for putting me up on this incredible children's book from the Czech Republic. He came across a copy in Japan and showed it to me when we were nerding out over design books during Thanksgiving break. This book, written by Vera Provazníková and illustrated by Jan Kubícek, was released in 1983 but has a distinct early '70s feel to it. Maybe it's because they weren't able to easily keep up with new design trends in the rest of the world or maybe it's because they loved these styles, but alot of Eastern European designers held onto the popular design and illustration styles from the early 1970s all throughout the '80s and I don't have a problem with that at all.

OK, now sit back and enjoy just a few samples from this great book:

Philately Fridays: Bulgaria, 1973

2011-12-09T09:40:00.002-06:00

Two stamp-set from Bulgaria featuring some super-stylized illustrations of scenes of underwater exploration.

Philately Fridays: Spain, 1984

2011-12-02T09:23:00.001-06:00

Safety first!

Philately Fridays: Canada, 1976

2011-11-18T08:19:00.001-06:00

Well, since 123Klan is in town getting ready for their big show opening at CO Exhibitions this weekend, we're really in the Montréal mindstate, so here's a set of three stamps from the 1976 Summer Olympic games, held in their hometown.

Philately Fridays: Argentina, 1977

2011-11-04T10:49:00.002-05:00

Two stamps from Argentina in anticipation of the 1978 FIFA World Cup. Argentina went on to win the tournament by beating The Netherlands in the final game, 3-1.

Related: Here's Gauchito, the official mascot the '78 World Cup:

Philately Fridays: Brazil, 1978

2011-10-28T09:35:00.004-05:00

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Deceptively intricate design from Brazil marking the 70th anniversary of their Cruz Vermelha (Red Cross). Those little health and first aid-related icons are really nicely done.

Gurafiku

2011-10-26T09:51:00.004-05:00

I've been exploring Gurafiku, an online archive of Japanese graphic design. The site allows you to view work split up by decade and there are a lot of fantastic posters, book covers, and more collected here. Take a moment to look around. Here are a few of my favorites:

Ikko Tanaka, 1977

Yusaku Kamekura, 1968

Shigeo Fukuda, 1974

Kisho Kurokawa, 1970

1980

Jim Beam holiday stickers

2011-10-25T12:19:00.004-05:00

Groovy holiday stickers from a Jim Beam magazine ad. Show your friends and family you put some thought and care into that gift and weren't just trying to carelessly feed their alcohol addiction. Not sure who the artist is on these. Has anyone seen these before? No year was indicated on the ad, but I'm guessing this is from 1970.

My buddy Jerry Campbell mailed this in to me. If you're reading, thanks Jerry!

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Philately Fridays: Djibouti, 1982

2011-10-21T08:51:00.002-05:00

This is the first and only stamp I've ever found from the small Eastern African nation of Djibouti. Sort of a clusterfuck of graphic elements, but I really enjoy how haphazard and jerry-rigged the whole design is. Wild West lettering at the top with Arabic right underneath, the serif 150F, super angular satellite tower, and that gorgeous ultrabright cubic shape. Somehow it works!

Pepsi ad, 1969

2011-10-20T16:52:00.002-05:00

Graphic artist John Alcorn takes us away to a dreamlike world filled with sunshine, moutains, rainbows, and, of course, Pepsi.

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Louis & Gilbert Hotel Cocktails

2011-10-19T09:18:00.004-05:00

2 1980-era newspaper advertisements designed by Robert Miller for Louis & Gilbert's pre-mixed cocktail concoctions. These scream 1880 just as much as they do 1980.

Philately Fridays: Bulgaria, 1969

2011-10-14T10:07:00.002-05:00

Another fantastic designed by the incomparable Stefan Kanchev. Part of a series of stamps entitled "Means of Communication."

Japan Pavilion at the 1982 World's Fair

2011-10-13T09:17:00.002-05:00

Here are an artit's renderings of Japan's pavilion at the 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, TN.

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Philately Fridays: Mexico, 1972

2011-10-07T09:56:00.002-05:00

Otl Aicher's branding for the 1972 Munich Olympics is one of my favorite identity systems of all time. Here are some of those fantastic colors and graphics applied to a postage stamp from Mexico.

Click here to see more of Aicher's design work for the '72 Olympics.

Philately Fridays: Ireland, 1977

2011-09-30T09:13:00.003-05:00

Super nice illustration commemorating 50 years of Ireland's Electricity Supply Board.

Philately Fridays: Hungary, 1977

2011-09-23T10:00:00.002-05:00

Philately Fridays: Indonesia, 1974

2011-09-16T11:29:00.002-05:00

Three stamps from Indonesia, designed for the 17th (okaaaaaay) anniversary of Pertamina, the country's largest oil company.

Penthouse Mouths

2011-09-14T15:08:00.001-05:00

Super erotic late '70s illustration for Penthouse by Robert Giusti. This has everything I wanna see in a food-related illustration.

Philately Fridays: Canada, 1976

2011-08-26T08:56:00.003-05:00

Three stamps from Canada celebrating arts, crafts, and music just in time for the 1976 Olympics. This is a perfect execution of the '70s still life photo shoot trend which surfaced in a lot of advertising and graphic arts.

Philately Fridays: Bulgaria, 1980, 1986

2011-08-19T08:48:00.003-05:00

2 from Bulgaria, all about books. I'll forever be a sucker for a good fat-lined illustration. Can anyone translate these?

Philately Fridays: Cuba, 1979

2011-08-12T08:28:00.000-05:00

3 stamps in honor of the 20th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution!

Philately Fridays: Germany, 1970

2011-08-05T09:35:00.003-05:00

Six stamps from Germany dedicated to heroes and do-gooders.

Life Rescue Society

Guard

Fire Brigade

Caregivers

Mountain Rescue Team

Technical Welfare Organization

3 Bears and a Kangaroo

2011-08-03T09:08:00.003-05:00

Four animal logos created by German designers.

Philipp Seitz

Tobias Schwab

Gerhard Marx

Hermann Virl

Philately Fridays: Uruguay, 1975

2011-07-29T10:28:00.001-05:00

Yet another fantastic stamp design from Uruguay. There's something kinda Klimt and something kinda creepy about this one.

Philately Fridays: Israel, 1981

2011-07-22T08:08:00.002-05:00

Three stamp set commemorating the 11th Maccabiah Games in Israel.

More Manoogian

2011-07-13T15:16:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone who helped make my interview with Michael Manoogian the all-time most popular post on this blog. To show our appreciation, here's an extra dose of sketch images sent over by the lettering legend. Enjoy and spread the word!

Philately Fridays: Australia, 1977

2011-07-08T09:53:00.003-05:00

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5+1 stamp set commemorating 100 years of Test Cricket in Australia.

Travel & Leisure

2011-07-05T17:05:00.004-05:00

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Low color, yet highly stylized and very Summery vacation illustration taken from Travel & Leisure magazine, circai 1972ish.

Philately Fridays: Israel, 1979

2011-07-01T09:52:00.002-05:00

4 stamp set celebrating Israel's technological achievements in the fields of agriculture and beyond.

A conversation with Michael Manoogian

2011-06-29T09:09:00.007-05:00

Whether we know it or not, we all grew up with Michael Manoogian's design work in our lives. Since the late 1960s, Manoogian has been hand-crafting stunning and time-tested typographic logos for clients in the music and entertainment industries. In May 2011, his name appeared in my email inbox. Out of the clear blue, this legendary letterer had written to express his appreciation for my So Much Pileup blog. I humbly asked Mike for an interview for the site and, not only did he oblige, but he was also generous enough to send over a large number of his original sketches from some of his projects. And now, with no further ado, I present this exclusive interview with the great Michael Manoogian.

Please introduce yourself and explain what you do.

I fell in love with graphic design while studying at Rhode Island School of Design. I’ve been involved with it ever since. I dabbled in everything there, design-wise – posters, book covers, ads, photography. But it was lettering that caught my interest the most. On a scale of 0-10, interest is at the top.

Interest is what gets you out of bed in the morning. The passion you feel carries you to new discoveries, new creations. Without it life becomes a chore. I’ve been designing lettering and logos for the last several decades. It never gets old.

Do you think Mozart wrote all that beautiful music without being interested, or Beethoven, or Picasso, or Lubalin or Da Vinci or or or…. Not a chance in hell! They all had to be incredibly interested in what they were creating. Total absorption. It’s what carried them forward. I say this not to sound profound or anything. I just want to express it as fact. It’s a rock bottom basic reality. Without it, you wouldn’t build anything, and anything you started building would end up half-done and abandoned.

What is your earliest memory of being fascinated with typography or the graphic arts?

The first time I ever did any real calligraphy was my first year at RISD, 1958. I learned how to cut a nib from a reed, fill it with ink, and make my first letter. It seemed simple enough. But, as soon as I put pen to paper something magical happened to me. It opened up a whole new world of passion and interest. Anybody worth his integrity HAS to follow his passion.

I distinctly remember the fascination I had with lettering earlier than that. I was about 7, watching a man draw letters. I was totally absorbed. And stood there and watched him for hours. I couldn’t take my eyes off what he was doing. It was that fascination that awoke several years later at RISD.

Can you explain your process of working with a client and moving from the initial meetings up through the finished logo?

My process of working with a client is pretty simple – we’ll have an initial meeting, the more informal the better. We find out about each other, establish a nice rapport. That’s very important for me. He goes over the assignment. Then I’m off to my studio and quickly get to sketching ideas and concepts. With his input fresh in mind the ideas start to come pretty effortlessly. There is no shortage of ideas, 10-20-30, sometimes too fast to keep up with sketching them all. The “blank canvas” doesn’t scare me one bit. Actually, it’s an invitation to create. I bring the ones I really like to another meeting and we discuss what the best solution would be for his purposes, his company.

I do the finished art. That’s all there is to it. Simple – I hate dog and pony shows.

So much has changed in the world of graphics arts in the 40-some-odd years since your career has taken off. How have you adapted not only to the new techniques of creating digital artwork, but also to the new applications for viewing it (the internet, branding and logo infestation everywhere, etc.)?

Creativity, inspiration, artistry, exploration, inventiveness never change. Only the tools. We all have limitless creativity. It’s a matter of how much of it you can mine. How able you are at tapping into it, digging it up.

I spend my time at the sketch pad. Lots of time! After I get approval on THE logo I do a careful drawing of it. When I have all the elements exactly as I want them I scan it and send it to one of my pals who traces it in Illustrator. This goes back and forth a few times until he’s nailed all the nuances. That’s the extent of my knowledge of using the computer. Call me an old dog, but the technique never interested me much. The creativity did.

There’s really been a recent revival of the hand-drawn style you helped popularize in the late 1980’s.

...I mean, that Ninja logo is so iconic. How do you feel about it coming back around today?

If it left, it was only until clients and the graphics community realized that no computer can match wits with us humans. I understand the fascination with this new tool. When the novelty wore off we got back to basics.

It was a human who invented the computer. So, we are the boss of computers. We tell it what to do! When we allowed the computer to dictate to us is when you saw all these cold looking things it spit out. It got so prevalent that when I got an assignment from a new client, the only thing he told me was that he didn’t want it to look like a computer did it. Smart client.

Designers nowadays are looking back for inspiration to work which you and your peers were doing just before the dawn of the Macintosh computer. Who did you look up to as an up-and-coming designer?

While at RISD, the class took a field trip to the Boston Museum of Art to view an exhibition of Hermann Zapf’s calligraphy. I couldn’t get over how incredibly beautiful it all was. I learned a lot from that consummate master. It actually took my breath away. I didn’t want to leave.

Calligraphy by Herman Zapf

Herb Lubalin was another inspiration, the way he made sense of typography. It was not just good looking, it communicated! It made an impact. And in the commercial world what you need to do is create an impact on the viewer. Otherwise, it fades into all the noise of sameness and goes unnoticed.

Bob Cato was a grammy-winning (Bob Dylan, Barbra Streisand) art director/designer at CBS Records in New York. I met him later when he was living and working in LA. I was a young artist just trying to get some work. He saw my portfolio and said “Hey, you got something, kid.” I did a lot of lettering for him. He also knew “everybody” in town and introduced me to all the art directors at the record companies. That’s how I got into the music industry.

Bob Cato (L) with Michael Manoogian (R) in 1977.

There were a handful of us doing a lot of work back then, mainly in the music industry. The brothers Vigon, Jay and Larry, were doing some real cool things. Check out what they did for Fleetwood Mac!

Tom Nikosey was (is) fabulous. As prolific as they come. You should see his latest art!

Then Margo Chase came along a bit later and wrote several new chapters herself.

They were all innovators. Not a wannabe among them.

Any interesting stories from getting to work with any of these big name musicians that you’re allowed to share?

Ken Kragen was Kenny Rogers’ manager and boosted Kenny’s career to dizzying heights. He asked me to design a logo for Kenny. Out of the pile of sketches I did Kragen zeroed in on one and immediately knew it was the one. I met up with them when Kenny was doing a taping of the Dinah Shore show. I learned from Ken that Kenny was a little hesitant over adopting it and was going to try to talk him into it. I saw Kenny in the dressing room and brought up the fact that if he was hesitant, he shouldn’t take it. I could always do more ideas. After all, it’s your logo and you should love it. Well, he grew to like it and used it for years on everything.

Huge lesson I learned: “don’t resist.” Don’t resist rejection. Just don’t resist anything. If you do you run right smack in the face of it and that collision creates some bad energy, bad vibes. If you don’t resist, the thing runs right on by you and disappears into a nothing. It’s some law of the universe... “What you resist smacks you upside the head.”

Don’t ever include an idea you don’t think is stunning. The client can always be counted on to pick that very one. Why? That’s the one you resisted him picking! Don’t present any idea you wouldn’t be proud to sign your name to.

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Dolly Parton. I had done a logo for her first cross-over album “Here You Come Again.” It came time for her next album and I met her at the photo shoot to show her a logo I had prepared for her album. She remarked, “Well, I do like it but I want to wear this for a while longer.” At which point she raised her wrist to show me a diamond-studded bracelet she had made of the first logo. She went on to use that logo for years. It recently showed up again on a box set of her recordings.

Dolly and Michael at the photo shoot in 1978.

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Ken Kragen. He managed a lot of artists. Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Rich Little, Gallagher, Travis Tritt, on and on. He knew the power and value of logos. Whenever he signed up an artist he would call me in to design their logo. I’d bring a ton of sketches to his office. He would lay them all out on his floor and we’d sit there like kids and go over them. Sometimes it would be funny to me because he might take a phone call from Lionel Richie, then he’d get back to the sketches and his secretary would tell him Willy Nelson’s on the phone, can you take it or do you want to call him back. There I was, this skinny kid from Milford, a small town in Massachusetts, in the middle of all this star stuff going on around me. I kept thinking “someday they’re gonna find me out.”

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USA for Africa. Kragen was the horsepower behind it. He was also the man behind “Hands Across America”. He asked me to design the logo, gratis. All the suppliers were doing it gratis. No problem, I’d do anything for him. I went to the all-night recording of ‘We Are the World’ and as I walked into the studio there was the logo, huge, all over the place. Little did I know what was about to happen. As soon as the record was released it soared into a worldwide explosion.

For more on Michael, check out his website: michaelmanoogian.com

Be sure to check back next week for even MORE sketches from Michael!

Vacation Fun Spots

2011-05-17T12:15:00.002-05:00

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Time for some vacation! Illustrations taken from Disney's Vacationland magazine circa 1982.

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PInball Fever: Far Out

2011-05-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

Let's take a look at a stunner of a Gottlieb-produced pinball machine from 1974. I give you... FAR OUT!

More images and information can be found at the Internet Pinball Database.

Yankees Stadium Wearable Menu

2011-05-09T09:38:00.004-05:00

Designer Jun Kanai created this typographic uniform for waitresses at Yankee Stadium to wear.

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Philately Fridays: Israel, 1985

2011-05-06T11:26:00.003-05:00

Celebrating space-aged architecture in Israel... at least that's what I think this one is about. I have a hard time reading Hebrew without the vowels in place. If anyone has more information on this stamp and/or the building featured in it, please chime in!

UPDATE:

Thanks to Karen from Design Related who was able to translate the text on the stamp. She let me know it's a Memorial Day issue honoring The Golani Brigade Memorial site and museum.

Philately Fridays: Samoa 1976

2011-04-29T11:08:00.002-05:00

Here's a funky foursome from Samoa. Between these stamps and The Wild Samoans, all I know about this country is its affinity towards competitive athleticism. I should probably do some research.

Electric Company: Sign Song

2011-04-27T11:13:00.001-05:00

Philately Fridays: Amsterdam's Postzegelmarkt

2011-04-22T10:26:00.003-05:00

While in Amsterdam in early April, I was pretty excited to discover a small cluster of shops specializing in old coins, postcards, and most importantly, vintage postage stamps. If that weren't enough, each Wednesday morning, local stamp and coin dealers set up booths about 20 paces around the corner from these shops and sell their goods. I'm used to crotchety record dealers who hardly make up in tact what they lack in hygiene. By way of comparison, these Dutch stamp dealers were all super friendly and the general atmosphere of a stamp sale was much more enjoyable than that of a record fair. Here's a small sample of the great stamps I came up on at the market and surrounding shops.

Netherlands, 1972
Read about the Delta Works

Germany, 1986
I finally foud the other two stamps from this set I featured two years ago.

Netherlands, 1974

Netherlands, 1984
Four stamp set from Dutch comic artist and master of the "clear line" style, Joost Swarte.

Netherlands, 2001 / Click image for larger view
Six stamp set by Dutch graphic artist and screenprinter Harmen Liemburg. While we were visiting his studio, Harmen mentioned this stamp set he had designed and I was really happy to find it in the first shop we set foot in.

If you're ever in Amsterdam on a Wednesday between 10am and 4pm, I recommend stopping by the Postzegelmarkt right here.

Pushpin Studios for Chicago Channel 2

2011-04-21T17:49:00.002-05:00

Check out Pushpin's allstar lineup of Milton Glaser and Seymour Chwast goin' in on these great promo graphics for Chicago's CBS Channel 2. These were created under the creative direction of the great Lou Dorfsman.

David Quay

2011-04-19T11:48:00.002-05:00

London-based type designer David Quay studied typography under Ralph Beyer, from whom he learned to pay extra attention to the negative space between letters, as that information will dictate how an entire piece of type will look. David always argued that beautiful type could be strong and expressive enough to stand on its own as fully-finished design. See some of his evidence below and I'm sure you'll agree.

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Philately Fridays: Two from Japan

2011-04-15T13:24:00.002-05:00

Wow, OK sorry it's been so long since I posted here. I've been coming up on a bunch of new stamps lately, so expect more regular updates from here on out! Kicking things back into gear with two nice geometric designs from Japan, one an expressive representation of the chaos of Expo '70 and another for 1980's JCI World Congress.

Want to see me smile?

2011-02-17T11:04:00.000-06:00

Philately Fridays: Expo '70

2011-02-04T10:50:00.002-06:00

Diggin' this 4 stamp set from Italy celebrating the 1970 World's Fair, held in Osaka Japan.

...and here's Japan's Expo '70 stamp:

Hélène Majera

2011-02-03T11:43:00.002-06:00

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OK OK I know it's been a while since I last posted and I apologize. Been busy with design work, Burlesque, music, life stuff, all that. Anyways, here's a fantastic illustration from French graphic artist Hélène Majera, created around 1976 for Helanca textiles.

Philately Fridays: Belgium, 1982

2010-11-19T11:53:00.001-06:00

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CBS Family Film Classics

2010-10-21T10:31:00.002-05:00

Fantastic type design by the legendary Gerard Huerta. Such a rare treat to see 1920s art deco revival style laid out in a needlepoint pattern and rendered in early computer pixel fashion. Huge YES to all of those. Stay tuned for more incredible work from Mr. Huerta next week!

Natural Sex

2010-10-20T13:29:00.001-05:00

Logotype by David Quay.

Philately Fridays: Laos, 1983

2010-10-15T10:03:00.004-05:00

Here is a set of stamps from Laos, commemorating the 1984 Olympic games. I'm really into the illustration style, reminiscent of movie posters from the same era.

The Sensational Houdini Water Torture Escape

2010-10-12T08:54:00.002-05:00

Here is a poster designed by the great Seymour Chwast, he of Push Pin Studios fame, to promote magician Doug Henning's televised recreation of Harry Houdini's infamous stunt. This went down December 26, 1982.

Bill Cosby was there!

Here's a recap of Henning's performance:

Philately Fridays: New Zealand 1982

2010-09-24T10:28:00.003-05:00

Two years ago, I posted this little set of three stamps from New Zealand with some really fresh early '80s watercolor illustrations.

I came across two more from the same series, and heeeeeere they are:

Groovy Matchbook Covers

2010-09-13T08:33:00.004-05:00

Check out this super hot series of sports illustration matchbook covers found on Flickr. Thanks to Heath Harris for passing along the link.

Throw yourself waaaaay off schedule today by spending some time looking at the rest of this series as well as many many more fantastic vintage matchbook covers uploaded to to Flickr by Agence Eureka

Philately Fridays: Russia, 1979

2010-09-10T10:19:00.001-05:00

Very nice type and design on this stamp from Russia. Can anyone please translate any of the text on it?

Philately Fridays: Canada, 1980

2010-09-03T12:17:00.002-05:00

Wow it's been crazy busy over here. Sorry for the lack of updates! Here's a hot one from Canada - hope it makes up for my truancy.

Philately Fridays: Uruguay, 1978

2010-08-13T09:31:00.002-05:00

A stamp from Uruguay celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of Uruguayan author and playwright Horacio Quiroga.

Philately Fridays: Mexico, 1968

2010-08-06T15:34:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling generous today, so here is round 2 of stamps, continuing in today's theme of sporting events & psychedelia! I've been after these for a while - gorgeous set of postage stamps designed by the incredibly talented Lance Wyman for the 1968 Olympic Games.

Related: Lance Wyman at the Zoo.

Philately Fridays: Cuba, 1983

2010-08-06T09:46:00.003-05:00

Here is a quartet of stamps commemorating the 1983 Pan American Games, which apparently were played while on LSD.

Faltschachtel!

2010-08-05T15:24:00.003-05:00

Magazine advertisement for Faltschachtel folding boxes. Great illustration work from Christof Gassner, circa 1976.

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Hoechst Pharmaceuticals

2010-08-04T09:30:00.003-05:00

Well I've been listening to "Sex Farm" in anticipation of this weekend's Smell the Glove art opening at our CO Exhibitions space, so I thought it only appropriate that I share this very stylish-designed packaging for veterinary vaccinations.

Designed circa 1972 by Cyril D. Cronin & Mooura-George for Bean Advertising Ltd, Great Britain.

Houston Oilers logos

2010-08-03T12:33:00.001-05:00

Here are a few logos and icons pulled from an August 1968 Houston Oilers vs New Orleans Saints football game program.

Philately Fridays: Indonesia, 1977

2010-07-29T23:16:00.002-05:00

Fantastic pair of stamps for Indonesia's 9th Pekan Olahraga Nasional, or the National Games. It's interesting to see how other artists designed sports icons after Otl Aicher shut down the game with his 1972 Olympics icons. That said, I love how there is just enough variety between the style of these icons to keep them interesting, but still very much all in the same family.

Philately Fridays: Israel, 1975

2010-07-23T09:20:00.004-05:00

In honor of all the insane yardwork going down at my house right now, here's a stamp commemorating agriculture and celebrating the tractor drivers all across Israel. The curvy serifs in the green Hebrew ישראל text fits so well with the curvy green highlight shapes on the tractor and the driver's sleeve. Love it.

Children's Hospital icons

2010-07-21T17:07:00.002-05:00

Very cool and effective set of icons for the Children's Hospital of Buenos Aires, designed by Guillermo Gonzales Ruiz and Gabriel Ezcurra.

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Philately Fridays: Germany, 1972

2010-07-16T11:23:00.002-05:00

4-stamp set from Berlin Germany, inspiring the youngsters to look after animals. Not sure about dumping a whole bunch of kittens into a sack though.

Vote 4 Clean Water

2010-07-15T16:51:00.000-05:00

Designed by Barrett & Gaby in 1971 for Miami's "Vote 4 Clean Water" committee - something I think we can all get down with, especially on a day like today.

Stephan Lion

2010-07-14T13:58:00.002-05:00

Logomark for Stephan Lion Inc., a Manhattan-based graphic art and communication studio. Circa 1970.

Orlando vacation map

2010-07-13T09:16:00.003-05:00

My friend BK-One unearthed this gorgeous brochure / map of family-friendly tourist attractions in Orlando FL, circa 1983. Produced by Landmarker Maps. Not sure who created the illustration though.

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See also:
Theme Park Maps
Vacationland Magazine
EPCOT Center map

Philately Fridays: Israel, 1975

2010-07-09T10:08:00.004-05:00

Another stamp designed by one of my favorite Israeli graphic artists Asher Kalderon. That is one nice looking college campus.

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Three Psychedelic Posters

2010-07-07T10:39:00.002-05:00

Here are three groovy posters designed by three different artists from three different points on the globe for three various clients. All are circa 1969/1970.

Keiichi Tanaami (Japan) for an illustrated book.
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Dieter Fix (Cologne, Germany) promoting Moroccan oranges.
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Alan Gelman (New York) for Sears.
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Philately Fridays: World Cup Edition

2010-07-02T09:33:00.002-05:00

Copa Mundial fever is running the F wild. In honor of this morning's match, here is a little NED vs BRA stamp-off. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!

Rest in Peace Michael Jackson

2010-06-25T11:49:00.000-05:00

Philately Fridays: Ecuador, 1975

2010-06-25T10:07:00.002-05:00

I couldn't find any World Cup stamps in my collection and thought a regular soccer stamp would be a little cliché, so here's a chess stamp from Ecuador. Really clean illustration style we've come to know and love from South America.

A Boy's Life

2010-06-24T13:49:00.004-05:00

I found this gorgeously illustrated ad in a 1974 issue of Boy's Life Magazine. Can anybody identify the illustrator?

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I also love this style of magazine ad found in the back of the same issue. Life was so much simpler back then.

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Philately Fridays: Israel, 1971

2010-06-18T09:26:00.002-05:00

Here's an uncut sheet of stamps commemorating the 50th anniversary of Israel's Institute of Agricultural Research.

Giro d'Italia

2010-06-08T10:09:00.002-05:00

Love this poster for Giro d'Italia (the Italian version of Tour de France). Unfortunately I have no information on the designer.

Philately Fridays: Cuba, 1981

2010-06-04T09:01:00.002-05:00

Incredible use of color and shape. This stamp commemorates the 20th anniversary of the creation of DAAFAR, Cuba's Air Force.

Here's Lookin' at You

2010-06-03T09:07:00.004-05:00

Came across this great alphabet designed for French type foundry Mecanorma by Austrian designers Hans Donner (now a furniture designer and Sylvia Trenker in the late 1970s.

I Heard You Got the Fever for the Flavor

2010-05-27T08:50:00.000-05:00

Philately Fridays: New Zealand, 1976

2010-05-21T09:20:00.001-05:00

Does anyone do it like Haspel?

2010-05-20T17:21:00.001-05:00

Italian logo design

2010-05-18T12:20:00.001-05:00

Face-meltingly awesome Italian type and logomark design from the late 1970s and early '80s. No designer IDs available.

Philately Fridays: Venezuela, 1974

2010-05-14T09:02:00.002-05:00

Bright stamp design from Venezuela depicting a hypnotizing numeral 9. I feel like the black & red "Venezuela" / "0,50" type was thrown in as an afterthought by a different designer. The blue and orange type and geometric elements gel so well together.

Fontainebleau Hotel logos

2010-05-13T08:11:00.003-05:00

Here is a snippet from a 1967 magazine ad for New Orleans' Fontainebleau Hotel, showcasing their different lounges and bars. The hand-drawn script type is too good.

Peter Petrake

2010-05-05T10:49:00.002-05:00

Here are the first few pages of a psychedelic Spanish comic entitled Peter Petrake, written and illustrated by Miguel Calatayud in 1970. You can read more about Calatayud here.

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...TO BE CONTINUED!

Textile & Furniture logos

2010-04-29T11:39:00.002-05:00

Here's a batch of non-literal, exceptionally stylish and rock-solid logos for clothing and furniture companies. Which is your favorite?

Hebrew Dictionary

2010-04-26T09:00:00.004-05:00

My good friend Samantha loaned me this awesome chidren's Hebrew-English dictionary, so I shot a few photos for the blog. I love the simplified but stylized illustrations. Published in 1981, the book features illustration work from Dror Ben Dov, Yossi Gelbart, Alona Degani, and Esther Kurti.

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Philately Fridays: Belgium, 1976

2010-04-23T10:03:00.002-05:00

Slick stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the National Railway Company of Belgium.

Ladies And Gentlemen

2010-04-14T12:47:00.003-05:00

My friend Erik Westra and my other friends Aesthetic Apparatus started a music and art magazine a few years ago called Ladies and Gentlemen. Two printed issues were produced - each came with a screenprinted cover and a vinyl EP. Here we are in 2010 and LAGMAG is now (wait for it) an online magazine! The crew just posted up a feature on So Much Pileup and my stamp-collecting habit. You can read it right HERE.

Marta

2010-04-08T21:03:00.003-05:00

Love this logo for Atlanta's MARTA. Not sure when it's from or who designed it, but it was passed my way by Pileup reader Leon Ferri. Thanks Leon! Anyone have info on this one?

Look it up

2010-04-06T09:49:00.002-05:00

Wezz and I were in our building's office waiting to talk with the man in charge. I glanced over at his secretary's desk, saw this super groovy dictionary, and snapped a quick photo. Wild stuff, man.

Philately Fridays: Mexico, 1970

2010-04-02T14:39:00.002-05:00

One of my all-time favorite stamps. Designed by the great Lance Wyman, this one commemorates the total solar eclipse of March, 1970, the greatest point of which was visible over Mexico.

Do check out more of Lance Wyman's incredible graphic design work.