Set the Wayback Machine: “Viva” Astrology

I thought it would apropos and an interesting idea to start the New Year off by initiating a series of posts that looks back at some of my work from times gone by. Much of this work will be pre-digital—done the old fashioned “analog” way, with pen and ink. Most was done as pre-separated art: I inked my art on multiple cells of frosted mylar using a Rapid-O-Graph technical pen. Basically the areas of black ink on each cell could be designated to print either with CMYK callouts or with Pantone numbers. It was a very laborious process that was easily duplicated after the first few versions of Adobe Illustrator had come out.

Four Astrology Sign “Logos” for VIVA Magazine

So right now let’s set the Wayback Machine for the mid ’70s and VIVA magazine published by Penthouse (a kind of Playboy for women). The Art Director—the late Rowan Johnson—asked me to design logos for their monthly astrology column which would change with each issue. Even though at the time I was paid quite a paltry sum for my efforts, this was a great ongoing project for me. Much like my recent “Jewish Zodiac” project, I saw this assignment as an opportunity to create a portfolio of distinct yet related logos. I think they really highlight the possibilities of using letterform design not as an end in itself, but as part of a total design concept where letters are treated as one of several related illustrative elements, and integrated into an expressive whole.

America Swings

Josh Baker, Art Director/Designer at Taschen Publishing, needed a cover design for a book by New York photographer Naomi Harris. The book: America Swings. The subject: a photographic odyssey spanning the 50 States chronicling the swinging sex lives of everyday Americans. My challenge was to come up with a cover design that would encapsulate the “Route 66” flavor of Ms. Harris’ travels and communicate the uninhibited/explicit nature of the subject without spelling it out on the cover.  For the cover’s swingin’ blonde figure I got a little help from my wife, illustrator Laura Smith. I then created one of the more complex graphics of my career—this time working almost exclusively in Photoshop—as opposed to Illustrator which is my usual application of choice. I also created a detailed map of Naomi’s travels across America for the book’s endpapers.

The Jewish Zodiac™

About a year ago I was contacted by comedy screenwriter Seth Front who pitched me his idea for “The Jewish Zodiac™”: a parody of “The Chinese Zodiac” but with deli foods instead of animals. Each of the 12 signs (based on birth year) would, in a light-hearted way, personify the food’s characteristics as well as explore compatability with the other 11 signs. It seemed like a good idea, and I could design them all as vintage deli food labels with the potential of becoming a mini portfolio of 12 related but distinctly different designs.

One problem I needed to solve was that Seth had already done food photography, and was intent on using it in the designs. Initially I wasn’t hot on using his photography because I thought it would be difficult to integrate into my graphics. But then I figured out a way of using Photoshop and Illustrator to translate the photos into simplified graphics using limited color. The results looking deceptively simple and easily achieved—but figuring it out and translating each photo was in actuality a very labor intensive process. I was then able to extrapolate the label designs using the limited color palettes derived from the processed photographs. Below is a section of one of the photos and the corresponding section of its simplified graphic counterpart I created, reducing it to 6 flat colors:

It took many months to get all 12 done, but I’m very pleased with the group as a whole. Below are two of them—if you’d like to see all twelve in more detail follow this link to the PROJECTS page on my website. To purchase T-shirts, mugs or magnets please visit Seth’s “The Jewish Zodiac™” website.