KAREN KLASSEN STEVEN WOHLWENDER SWEDISH DIGITAL BREAKAWAY EXHIBIT DESIGN ANNUAL 53
KITCHEN DOG THEATER PRESENTS
WORLD PREMIERE MAINSTAGE OF
RUTH
BY VICKI CAROLI
DIRECTOR: KDT ARTISTIC COM
MAY
25
L A U N N E A E R N G H T Y T DESI F FI
September/October 2012 Twenty-Four Dollars www.commarts.com
—
J
by Anne Telford
still waters run deep
T
he old Latin adage, “still waters run deep,” applies well to Canadian illustrator Karen Klassen. She terms herself “introverted” yet her easy laughter and friendly nature belie her claim. Though spending a couple of days with the 35-year-old illustrator, whisking around Calgary in her Japanese righthand drive, four-wheel-drive truck causes some reassessment of first impressions. For Klassen seems equally at home cross-country skiing in the mountains that ring Calgary and riding her motorcycle as she does painting beautiful yet edgy fashion illustrations and stitching up a couture-worthy dress. There is much more to this slight young woman than initially meets the eye. Klassen was born in remote Northeastern Canada to a large French-Canadian Catholic family: fourteen children on her mother’s side, eight on her dad’s. She remembers always drawing as a child, and enjoyed small town life. “Actually making things is really important to me. I come from a family of makers,” Klassen says. She majored in illustration, graduating from Alberta College of Art & Design in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in design; she later taught at the college for two years. Concept was king at her school, but while she carries this emphasis into her assignments, “Concept isn’t everything to me,” she says. “I also really enjoy making a beautiful striking image.” She likes living in Calgary, the largest city in the province of Alberta that lies between prairie and the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Klassen is pragmatic and practical about doing business and preparing herself for assignments. She seems to have created a healthy balance in her life. On Klassen’s website, work is divided into two categories: Light and Dark. Her painted portrait of Typhoid Mary for an e-promo, is unsettlingly erotic with her decidedly ill comehither gaze. And on the light side, her fashion feature for Avenue Magazine is elegant and whimsical, with its juxtaposition of antique and modern furniture styles. This year, illustrations from a Bankers Hall ad campaign were used in various formats including as a mural wrap on a commuter train that she enjoys randomly
Right: “Illustrations created for large-scale banners and barricades, used as retail placeholders in a condominium project under development.” David Frej, creative director; Otherwise Inc., ad agency; Roosevelt Collection Lofts, Chicago, client.
40
Design Annual 2012
Packaging
1
1 (series) Gareth Dotchin, art director Clare Harder, designer Empire Creative Group (Melbourne, Australia), design firm Meander Valley Dairy, client “Meander Valley Dairy, located in Tasmania, needed a packaging range that would tell the story of their products while conveying quality. A quirky typographical treatment became the core feature of the brand. Each application is tailored to the package with different relevant words being used within the cow shape, creating a strong presence.” 2 Kenny Kim, art director/designer Dan Shepelavy, executive creative director Berny Brownstein, chief creative officer Marc Brownstein, principal Brownstein Group (Philadelphia, PA), ad agency Passion Vines Wine & Spirit Company, client “The branding and identity for Passion Brews included a refillable growler with two blank labels. For craft beers, brand names and beer types are of utmost importance, and the labels allow this information to be wax-penciled on and updated frequently.”
2
3 Ajoy Advani/Pushpam Malaviya, creative directors Alok Nanda, executive creative director Pushpam Malaviya, illustrator Alok Nanda Company (Mumbai, India), design firm Filter, client “Clear Conscience is a biodegradable, enzymefree laundry aid that helps protect prized clothing and the environment. Created to appeal to the urban housewife, the rawness of the handmade Pondicherry paper pack was set off with a high-gloss black label. The result is a package that’s simple, stylish and, well, clean.” 4 (series) Randall Smith, creative director Derek Boman/Russ Gray/Bryan Wilson, illustrators Modern8 (Salt Lake City, UT), design firm Franklin Mill, client “Bookjigs attach to your book and include a ribbon so you never lose your place. We created an integrated approach by designing both the product graphics and the package.” 5 (series) Christine Celic Strohl/Eric Janssen Strohl, designers Strohl (San Francisco, CA), design firm Leckerlee, client “Lebkuchen are traditional German cookies that have been sold in elaborate decorative tins for over 100 years. A brand identity and packaging deeply rooted in the history of these spicy, oversized cookies was needed. Traditional Lebkuchen tins and other antique confectionary inspired the logo, iconography and patterns.”
84
Design Annual 2012
3
4
5
Communication Arts
85
1
208
Design Annual 2012
2
Self-Promotion 1 Bryan Fisher, art director/creative director Sera Burke, graphic designer Andrew Southam, writer Perfectholiday Design (Santa Ana, CA), design firm Paper Chase Press, publisher Andrew Southam Photography, client Andrew Southam—Fifty Portraits and Some Words. “How do you take a collection of celebrity portraits that spans twenty years and compile it into a cohesive and fresh format? Every picture told a story, but it was the amazing backstories Andrew recounted that inspired us. With anecdotes and impressions of the celebrity photo shoots our client had done over the years, the portraits took on new life. It’s an art book as much as a functional portfolio.” 100 pages, 101⁄ 2 × 14, 4-color, perfect-bound, image-wrap hardcover book, foil stamp on the cover. 2 René Clément, art director Louis Gagnon, creative director Paprika (Montréal, Canada), design firm/client
3
“What better gift to receive for Christmas than your very own original tree? Whether in flashy colors or classy black-and-white, our little makeit-yourself tree is sure to bring holiday joy to any home!” 3 Guy Pratt, designer Kevin Shaw, creative director Stranger & Stranger (New York, NY), design firm/client “Every year we create a limited-edition product to mark Christmas and celebrate success with the people who support us and make it happen. After last year’s Absinthe, we went a bit ‘moonshine’ but more ‘snake oil’ and lo-fi (we think). Enormous fun was had writing all the ads for the bag as well as the 500 words on the bottle. Our favorites are ‘for reliable fire lighting and sterilizing of wounds.’”
Communication Arts
209
design
Printing on Paper As more businesses migrate their communication efforts to the web for cost effectiveness, exposure and convenience, web marketing response rates continue to decline. Print remains a powerful vehicle by providing tangibility and legitimacy to communications. Creative and engaging printed materials help businesses stand out from the crowd and highlight their unique capabilities.
Trends
� eQ JOURNAL ISSUE 004 �
TAKING THE GUILT OUT OF PAPER
“
Sappi’s eQ Journal 004 (na.sappi.com/eQ/journals.html) shows how sustainable forestry protects air and water quality, supports biodiversity of plants and wildlife and results in healthier forests and a healthier planet.
76%
Nearly 80% of US paper mills
of small businesses surveyed state that their ideal marketing mix is a combination of print and digital communications. —Pitney Bowes
use recovered fiber to make some or all of
Paper from beer? Gmund’s Bier Papier (gmund.com/EN/products/bier-papier) contains brewer grains from mash. Color choices include Weizen, Lager, Pils, Ale and Bock.
their products. About 140 mills use recovered
”
paper exclusively. —NCASI, Environmental Footprint Comparison Tool
French Paper Company (frenchpaper .com) has a new commerce site with search tools that make it simple for customers to find, select and specify paper, while telling the story of this family-owned American business.
Edited by Austin, Texas-based creative collective Public School, Design: Paper (rockpub.com), is a curated collection of approximately 300 designs, along with detailed essays from designers exploring the essence of creating designs using paper.
CA Queries Creatives
What is your criteria for selecting paper for a project? Pum Lefebure, cofounder/creative director, Design Army, Washington, DC. “Printed work is dimensional. You can see, hold, feel the paper in your hands so, for me personally, texture really matters. Your paper choice should add to the feeling of the piece. When I select a paper, I give it the same amount of attention that I would give to type, color and image choices—it can make or break your design. I will often start a project by looking at the paper I want to use first and work backward with the design/composition. It’s the same approach a fashion designer might take— be inspired by textile first, then design the piece accordingly.”
Sabine Lenz, founder, PaperSpecs, Palo Alto, CA. “Every paper has its own personality and thus can enhance and support the message I want to get across in my design. Is it an elegant piece that would be best suited to a gloss-coated stock or would the texture of an uncoated stock speak best to the intended audience? Should it be light or have a substantial feel? The finish and weight are my first considerations. The environmental aspects of a sheet play a big role as well, but with so many sustainable paper choices available these days, be it for offset or digital presses, I never feel like I have to limit my vision.”
Louis Gagnon, cofounder/creative director, Paprika, Montréal, Canada. “The choice of paper is a crucial step in the design process as it can enhance a project or completely destroy it. I have often searched in more commercial or less fashionable paper categories, which often look insignificant at first sight, but become sensational with the right design. We frequently create paper mock-ups in the early stages of the design process to adjust our concept because of weight and opacity issues. We don’t choose what the finished product will look like; it naturally imposes itself upon us. The ecological aspect is also often taken into consideration, but only up to a certain point.”