As The World Kerns

A soap opera of letters. by Robin V Clark

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Behind a giant amp at Old Town Music sits this rad poster. 1964 Ears is a Portland company started by a sound engineer who makes custom inner ear monitors  and plugs for musicians or audiophiles. Love the poster.

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Any time, Whiskey Soda Lounge!

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Digital Type:

The Drake Hotel

I am a huge fan of the Drake Hotel in Toronto, Ontario (not affiliated with the one in Chicago). I escaped there one snowy Christmas and had the most unplanned, un-tired holiday adventures ever. The hotel was newly rehabbed, the whole compound was well-appointed and fresh, the restaurant and cafe were top drawer, not too precious, not too cool, just right....

I could go on, but my purpose now is to show a good website. The design here reflects the bespoke nature of the hotel experience. I love the shifting background textures with each page refresh. It's easily navigable and the hierarchy is clear.

It's been a few years, and I don't know when I'll be in Toronto next, but I continue to subscribe to the hotel newsletter just because I like the graphics and the spirit and the ideas coming at me from Drake. And I like that their blog is called 'the ake'. Totally going back there.

http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/

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Digital Type:

Jones Agency

Foodily

Creative Mornings

Thibault de Fournas

We are asked to photograph some websites (no screen shots allowed). Results my vary!

The information superhighway is fairly clogged with janked up type and painful eyesores. Not these stops though, these ones are tidy and respectful in their efficiency. Usability + beauty + delight = more returning eyeballs.

http://jonesingfor.com

http://creativemornings.tumblr.com

http://www.foodily.com

http://thibaultdefournas.com/

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Brand Identity:

Double Dragon

Beautiful system developed by the Ficusamongus guy. Pretty good Bahn Mi, really nice interior and patio. Bravo.

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  Brand Identity:

BOKE BOWL

One visit to this place, and it is now in my regular rotation of sweet spots!

First, Boke Bowl is a textbook case of how to build a successful and exciting brand identity system. They have the details down and I am in love: the circle/bowl motif (the word 'bowl' doesn't figure in the signage at all), the demystifying ramen diagram (wayfinding for those unaccustomed to a good ramen), the tabletop numbering system, the supercute sauce and spice pictograms (no words, all accurate depictions of flavor), even the typeface they chose for BOKE is genius.

Second, the food. Vegan ramen is tough to find, but here it is and MAN, IS IT GOOD. I had eggplant steambuns, eggplant ramen with carmelized fennel dashi, and a Boke Toddy (for my cold :) ) The noodles had the perfect springy resistance and the broth was incredibly flavorful. I don't even know what-all was floating in there, but it was grubbin'. You can substitute gluten-free yam noodles if you want. Next time, I will try the 'vanilla cereal twinkie' or 'coconut kaffir lemongrass' soft serve.

The service was excellent as well.

What a pleasure.

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Type in a Retail Environment:

Skylab Architecture

Skylab looms large in PDX. Rad ideas infused with a real sense of our city. Walk up SW Burnside, and look up to the sun. There you will see the Skylab offices. It looks like they forgot a few letters, no? Keep walking up to 13th Ave and turn around, then you will see the rest of the sign...

It was just past the magic hour when I took the first photo, the second one ('ure') suffers a little in the dark.

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Wayfinding.

Double Ear Infection in Phlegm City! Whomped again. Winter in Oregon is fraught with pitfalls; you can always end up here on 'Pill Hill', looking at this sign, hoping you find the way to clear nasal passages....

If we want to get serious here:

This is what you see when you emerge from the parking garage and find your way outside of the first building at OHSU. It is a massively sprawling complex of buildings with many different maps...with varying results. The 'tram' here is really an enclosed gondola that goes down to SW Macadam (and a whole different set of 'care centers'), but the word 'tram' looks so much better than 'gondola' on this pictogram, no?

Eh. It is something to think about while you wait for antibiotics. :(

Don't forget to wash your hands!

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  Letter Love.

We are so full in this town, in every sense. Someone has put some love everywhere you look!

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Brand Identity:

SPIRIT of '77

American Cowgirls was this gross Hogs and Heifers-style sports / duderanch / skeezefest across from the Convention Center. Now, OMFGco has transformed the space into a beautifully appointed homage to Portland's historic glory years. Now here is a sports bar for me. The details are TIGHT! Retro games everywhere, gymnasium floorplanks refashioned into tabletops, blazer paraphernalia all around, etc. It's a sports bar with multiple giant screens? I don't care, I'll hang out there every week, even if Arvydas Sabonis is no longer playing.

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Brand Identity:

Little Big Burger

Little Big Burger is super cool looking. It must be at least partially because they use my favorite font, Futura. But, look, there is no question about the brand, they are dialed in! The fire engine red color is a magnet for us all. The price point is fairly low and accessible to everyone in a town bogged down by ridiculous braggy burgers (however, the smaller price IS for a smaller product). The menu on the windows is genius. Even when the place is empty, it looks cool, and piques curiosity. Bonus: inside each location, there is an awesome mural by Damien Gilley.

Not for vegans though.

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Wait, What's the theme this week?

Well, here's what I found on my walkabout.

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Product Packaging; Home Edition.

I decided to see what cool stuff I could photograph in my own house. We tend to collect cool packaging from everywhere we travel. When I start to feel a bit like I live in a store, I sweep through and rotate whatever is on display. I'm not even going to attempt to bust out all the over-the-top seven inch and box set packages we have. That is for another blog maybe...

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Product Packaging

Toys! Candy! Coffee!

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Trolling the Wall of Vinyl for logos with non-letter elements.

We have mountains of music at my house. For me, music is a tactile experience; the whole activity of digging for vinyl, collecting, poring over liner notes, staring at the packaging and imagery, going to live shows NEVER gets old. Here are some records that have logos intertwined with non-letter elements imbued with meaning, strengthening the brand.

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Hierarchy.

Successful hierarchy of complex information helps prevent sensory overload, confusion, eye strain, epilepsy, diabetes, shingles....etc.

Well, not really. But it can help.

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More Custom Type.

Although our assignment this week was to explore heirarchy, I could not resist including these letters too.