I’m going through an Aaron James Draplin phase at the moment. My first exposure to him was on the Marc Maron WTF podcast, totally by accident. More posh people would call that serendipitous.
Every time Draplin talks he oozes passion. I love to hear anyone passionate about anything. His main focus as a designer is logos. He loves collecting patches, packaging, buttons and preserving old work that stands the test of time. His favourite logo was designed for the US 1976 Bicentennial. It encapsulates his approach perfectly - geometry, few colours, simplicity.
I like this one because it’s patriotic without being typical for some reason. The basis is a star, which is distinctly American. The curved ribbons surrounding it also reinforce the nationalism but it’s not over the top. I also noticed these ribbons form "A"s. The little bit of shadow where the red meets the blue is enough to make them bounce off the surface. The image has amazing depth. If you focus on the red, the White or the blue it’s a different image each time. The repetition of shape gives it an infinite quality. So simple. So complex.
I love this stuff from the 70s.
