New lettering 

#handlettering #type #lettering 

Alphabet pattern mockup

My alphabet pattern mocked up as wallpaper

 

#pattern #wallpaper #fabric #repeat #illustration #type #lettering

copyright Alanna Cavanagh 2015

New type sample

I would love to see this on a grey tshirt with letters popped out in white....

Copyright Alanna Cavanagh 2012

Comfort

Today was kind of a lousy day. I felt like I hardly got anything done.
When this happens I take comfort in this Fran Lebowitz's quote.

New Book Cover

Last fall I worked on a book cover for Penguin Ireland + today it was released in North America.
It's the second in a series by Amy Huberman.
Below was the first in the series.

The art director for both covers was Justinia Baird - Murray of Head Design in the UK and in both cases I did both the illustration and hand lettering.
Tomorrow I'll do a post about the process behind the assignment.

Beginners by Director/Graphic Designer Mike Mills

I went to see the film Beginners last night.

Was attracted to the film initially because of this great lettering in the poster (which I suspected was done by one of my all time fave illustrators Eric Hanson.)

Turns out it was done by the writer/director of the film Mike Mills who began his career as a graphic designer. (!) Mike graduated from Cooper Union and then went on to work at M + Co. with Tibor Kalman. Coincidenza.

The film is very autobiographical with Ewan McGregor playing the main character of Oliver who - yes - works as a graphic designer. (yay)
I adored the drawings in the film which were all done by Mike Mills.

Below Oliver sketches "A History of Ex-girlfriends". Adorable.


Love the Princess Leia hairdo and Mill's broken line.

I think this ex girlfriend did alotta drugs.



Was excited to discover that a book has been published with the drawings from the film.
Add to cart. :-)

This Poster is from an earlier film by Mike Mills Thumbsucker.
Isn't it great?
ps. I am honking.

The film was wonderful in many ways - the performances of Christopher Plummer + Ewan McGregor are note perfect + heartbreaking... but for me Mill's entirely fresh + inventive direction is the big deal of this movie. For insight into it you can read a great interview with the director on the AIGA website here.
Strongly recommended - especially if you're designer/ illustrator sort.

ps. Fun fact: Michael Mills is married to Miranda July.
I think that = Mr. + Mrs. Quirky USA.

Design Agency Arcade

Arcade's signage for The Room at the Bay

Tshirts for The Bay

Through the website of a neighbourhood restaurant Delux I just discovered Arcade: a very fresh + gutsy looking Toronto based design agency. Love their work for The Bay and The Room - in particular their lettering. Definitely filed under People I'd love to work with.

Sketch for Good Egg Window

I'm working on an illustration on the theme of gardening for the window of Good Egg.
I love doing hand lettering so one idea I have is to write out the names of a bunch of herbs surrounded by little drawings of gardening tools + a garland. (I'll use any excuse to draw a garland!) I think it'll look best reproduced all in white on the window. Stay tuned for final result.

Words to live by....

Have been struggling with a bunch of stuff lately.
Wrote this quote out tonight. I plan to enlarge it to 6 feet and post on my wall!

Stunning Wall designs

Wall art at the newly redesigned H + M in the Eaton's Centre, Toronto
Bold, very graphic flowers that really pop!

More great flowers and scrawly handwriting

Nama Rococo's black and white wallpaper called 68
Whaddya think? Possible influence?

Another amazing Nama Rococo walpaper

Nama Rococo's homepage
Quirky and Bloody marvelous!

Popped into the newly redesigned H + M this week and was really struck by their stunning new wall designs which included enormous popping flowers and scrawly handwriting all done in black and white for a very graphic look.
Couldn't help thinking the designers may possibly have been inspired by a fantastic, really out there wallpaper company called Nama Rococo. Check them out here - methinks you'll be gobsmacked!

ps. Would love to know which Design firm is responsible for this work. Please email if you know the answer!

Inspiration: Olimpia Zagnoli

Style to burn. Check out those glasses.

Love her economical illustrations and sophisticated sense of colour.

Adorable.

Great window painting in Milan.


Check out that red lipstick. I think it might be Mac Russian Red. (Madonna's fave colour)
Will have to ask her....

The young Milan based illustrator Olimpia Zagnoli is kinda ridiculously talented.
The influence of her mentors Paul Rand and Bruno Munari can be seen through out all of her wonderous illustration, lettering, and mural work.
I also find her personal style very inspiring.
Intense red lipstick combined with her plucky haircut and big tortoise shell glasses is such a great combo. Total inspiration.

New lettering Work

Charlotte Gainsbourg - has smarts + incredible style. A real muse.
I love working with white lettering on top of photographs.
I am also currently obsessed with drawing garlands.

A bit about my process below.

I start by drawing with a pencil crayon on white paper.
(I love the chalky look you get from a pencil crayon as opposed to a smooth marker look)

Next I scan the image and bring it into Photoshop.
I then invert it under Image - Adjustments.

I then make the background invisible, create a new layer and then place on top of the photo.
This was another idea.
I especially like the look of white text on top of blurry photos.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of work

Nice hand lettering.

Saw this documentary on the weekend. Directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg.
Funny. Tragic. Fascinating to get such an intimate behind the scenes look at a creative person's life. I viewed it as a cautionary tale of what happens when you work too much.

Sketch: Kitties

A sketch for a pattern I'm working on.

Hello Heartbreak

Here's the cover I recently illustrated for Hello Heartbreak by Amy Huberman. It was a fun job as I love drawing cropped figures + hand lettering. Art director = Justinia Baird-Murray of Head Design in the UK. Published by Penguin UK.

Sketches for a Father's Day gift card

This is the same image inverted.
This is one of my favorite techniques. I love the look of drawings reversed out in white.



These are some Father's Day gift card sketches I completed last month for McGinty Design. Art director Kyle Russell.
ps. I am aware I have a bit of a brogue obsession.

"At the End of the Day"

Today on the radio program Ontario today Rita Celli interviewed a fellow named Paul Benoit who used the phrase "At the End of the Day" 11 times in a span of 4 minutes!
Oy vey. I can't stand this phrase. I notice people use it to bulk up their sentences and try to make themselves sound smart but methinks it has the opposite effect. meow! Anyway it inspired me to create this illustration.

"Aspergers is the new gay"

Sample 1

Sample 2

Part of R.M. Vaughan's 'Buttons for Toronto artists' series

I read this quote by R. M. Vaughan in his Globe interview with filmmaker Noah Baumbach today.
So funny I had to make a lettering sample out if it.
p.s. Looking forward to seeing Baumbach's Greenberg.
p.s.s. R.M. Vaughan has made a great series of "Buttons for Toronto artists" with quotes including
"Blame the Drake" and "Please stop talking about New York".
Just had to include a pic of those too.