Ok – this time I have made a little logo for this occasion. A logo symbolising me flying off to go surfing. I wanted to it give the same feeling like the board-design I did a couple of days ago. I used a picture of an old board and tinted the photograph to give it a bit of a worn look. I laid the logotype text on top of the board to give it a more integrated feeling. I made the letter “g” as the symbol and gave it a sort of surf-wave on the top. The bottom part of the “g” is the turns one does coming down the face of the wave. The top circle represents the eye of the wave or also known as the tube - even though I�m not that experienced as a surfer. But I do like “getting wet” just as I mentioned in a previous design I made before.

So this means that I will be surfing and hangin out in the sun for a few days. I will be back with more designs and new fresh inspiration at the beginning of March.

Off to the beach, surf-trunks and the waves..
Hang loose til then.

It has a very nice coastline and wonderful surf-spots – with lot of surf and skate art in the area. So I did a little more of a skate / skull / surf-inspired design today. A bit more radical, one could say, or just a bit more ruff. Black as base-colour doesn’t mean that it is bad, or mean, in any way nowadays. Maybe an older public would think of it more as “something out there” or something from the dark side. Nowadays it is more likely to be found on just regular street-wear. There are many brands out today that give a more aggressive look. Like for example extreme – sport clothing. Then I guess it’s up to you to say what is extreme – sport and what is not. The red stands out very well in the blackish grey environment. The calligraphy suits the skull that is outlined in the background. To give it a broader feeling and a kind of electric look I have added some sparks or lines that come out behind the head. Another focal-point is the red dot behind the letter ”n”. I placed it at the same height as the eyes would be in the skull. It is easier for the viewer’s eye to catch ”California” as the main-word in the picture when it is aligned with these things.

The coffee trend is big and, as a drink, it has been popular for many years as I mentioned already on Friday.

The house of coffee – is this time made in a traditional font named American typewriter - made by Joel Kayden and Tony Stan in 1974. I have set it, as you can see, in a different way to the last approach. It is a more-clean version - meant more for a designer caf�. Still, it has a common everyday look. The mix of letters in the background gives a pattern-feeling. Even though it is a stylish coffee-place it gives a deeper look. The contour of the cup and showing the coffee in the cup also gives it a more obvious look – to help the customer understand what actually is for sale in there. One isn’t just selling, and pouring up coffee – one is selling an atmosphere and an enjoyable time.

A way of catching the essence of your product or brand is not only choosing a nice font or something that symbolizes your product, it is about finding something that stands out and is pleasurable for the eye, or easy to grasp. The general problem is often that you are going into a business that already is full of competition. So maybe you should, like in this case, use other characteristics. I used the double ”ff” to enhance the logotype this time.

I’ve been talking and designing so much coffee now, so I’m going for one right now.

Coffee is a globally spread and well-known drink made of coffee beans from the coffee plant. There are very many varieties and blends of the black gold. It is said that it was first tasted and drunk in Ethiopia. The word comes from the Italian word ”Caff�” which, of course, was borrowed from the Turkish word ”Kaveh” and so forth. Caff� was anyway very close to how we pronounce it today. Graphically it is a nice combination of letters.

There are also some big coffee-houses and brands in the world. Everything from ”Starbucks” to Mc Caf� is working its way up in the coffee-business - but don’t forget to try a standing espresso in Naples - there is something about that Italian atmosphere.

The soft ”C” in the beginning with the soft and rounded ”e” in the end of the word as well as using a ”script”-font like this - gives a very nice flow - and - I think it gives a hot beverage feeling. As if hot aroma and air are rising from a cup. I have added some extra twirls and shapes that remind you even more of the coffee look and maybe even the caf� look. I have taken a picture down into a cup in the background, a tall lat� by the way, to give it some colour. If you look carefully you can see the stem of a spoon come out of the glass to the right. The yellowish shade to the left is the steamed milk slightly mixed with the coffee. To add the last touch to the ”House of Coffee” I added two coffee-beans - two, because you should not just go for coffee by yourself. One bean looked a bit lonely!

Call a friend and go for a coffee.

There are many fonts made by now, many styles and print techniques. They all need to get their message out to their viewer or reader. This time I began by starting to draw a new font, or in this case - a symbol for something starting with the letter,”K”. As you can see on my sketches in the background the letter is built using many different curves, circles and lines. Finally, I got the right feeling I wanted on the ”K” - a kind of college or University look. Maybe it would suit Kansas University? That is without taking away their ”Jayhawk”. The star I brought into the design to give it a greater state of mind - it’s the best University and it belongs to the United States. As you probably have seen it is a very common American symbol and used in ”The Stars and Stripes”. The main stem of the letter I have used as the centre pillar in the logo. The other abstract part of the ”K” is balanced by putting in the star to the left. So now the logo doesn’t tip over in any direction – it stands firm in the middle of its State.

So good luck Jayhawks!

Toes on the nose is the expression used among long-board surfers describing the ”surf-trick” when you are hanging ten toes over the front end of your board. As you can see I have used again the same surf-dude, with the Aloha tattoo on his arm, to illustrate a great accomplishment in surfing. The thing is - you can do lots of things in life that are most fascinating and even hard to do, but you would have hoped that once in a while someone saw you. Otherwise it’s just like another surf-story that your friends role their eyes at and wonder if you are going to tell the ”Big Wave” story again. I have used a style of drawing that gives a cartoon-look and an over-dimensioned surfer to give the picture a much nicer and dynamic appearance. The perspective in the picture starts out with the dude to the left – then the rest of the picture is swallowed by the centre of the tube behind him. This gives it a speedier touch.

There is a clothing-brand that started many years ago that actually goes by the name ”Hang Ten”. They have a cool symbol showing two feet and ten toes. It was Duke Boyd and a seamstress, by the name of Doris Boeck, who started this brand in the sixties, in southern California.

Hang ten!

A character from the surfing world is proving that anyone can surf – including myself. Or as commented in the illustration – I get wet anyway and it feels great. I love the feeling and the atmosphere, the sea and the waves - even the washy ones – or maybe they are actually the ones that you catch easily. So as a tribute to great surfers through time – such as Duke Kahanamoku, Laird Hamilton, Kelly Slater and many more that made surfing into what it is today and also all those people who have inspired me to ”getting wet” - this illustration shows a pretty average dude, standing on the beach checking out the waves, in a pair of surf-trunks with a Hawaii-theme and the big gun under the arm – all set. This cartoon is also inspired by the very well known surf-cartoonist – graphic designer – Jim Phillips. He has done a lot of really nice art.

As you can see I have given my surf-dude a loose look - he is getting the hang of the surfer lifestyle from the bottom of his soul. The sun has tanned his leather-thick skin to be able to ride the board without needing to wear the rash-shirt. He’s even got the build of an old school ”Big Wave Surfer”.

Hang loose!

That’s someone who plays pre-recorded music on different occasions for an audience. In this case I even know this DJ, and I call him that too. I met him Tuesday and it’s been a while since we went for coffee as we usually do now and then. I have sketched him down for this post today and also made a symbol for him. Headphones are often used when you are DJ:ing so I drew a pair hanging round his neck - just to give it a little extra music touch. He has a simple outline and a simple character draft to make him look loose and easy-going which actually suits his personality very well. Adding ”The” in front of ”DJ” makes it look like he is one of the best. It’s also made softer and more like handwriting to fit the look of the cord coming from the headphones - as you can see in the combined picture to the right of the facial sketch. The letters D and J are merged together to make them into a logotype. I have mirrored the two letters to make them look like a head with the headphones round about - just like the character of him - well, not as a spitting image of him, more a sense of similarity.

Don’t forget that it’s the music that sets the mood…