design, process, research & other bullshit

  • The branding of metal

  • An interesting post regarding the branding of metal, via Brand New and Vice.

    I found it quite funny that most of the comments on Brand New complained about the legibility and the fact that they all ‘looked the same’, although to be honest I wasn’t expecting anything else; appreciating a subculture as ‘extreme’ as black metal isn’t exactly going to be easy for the uninitiated. Despite that, these logos could at least be appreciated for their amazing linework and the symmetry of the hand rendered type.  Above all, a good visual identity should be appropriate for both the brand and the target market - and these logos no doubt succeed in that. In the case of these, legibility shouldn’t even be an issue since what the bands are trying to communicate are often themes of nature, misanthropy, desolation, brutality and utter grimness. The intricacies of these logos further emphasise these themes infinitely better than any typeface could.

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  • Inspiration // No Comments // 10:03 pm 11-24-08
  • ieyeayedentity

  • Last week I turned 22. Last week I also received my new business cards from the printers.


    Logotype set in Alejandro Paul’s ‘Affair’, body type in ‘Minion Pro’


    Eye am me.

    The moniker ‘ieyeaye’ is taken from an album by Rahsaan Roland Kirk, a blind avant garde multi-instrumentalist who was known for playing 3 saxophones at once. I’ve always been a fan of jazz, especially the more improvised and experimental side of it, and Kirk’s ‘The Inflated Tear’ is probably one of my favourite records of all time. In “Bright Moments : The Life and Legacy of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (2000)”, Kirk is quoted to have said “That’s what freedom’s all about learnin’ somethin’ then throwin’ it away.” I can’t play the sax, nor will I ever reach his amount of talent - but, like Kirk, I believe that this way of thinking also encompasses my own design process where freedom, expression, experimentation and improvisation is valued most – and anything and everything goes.

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  • booze, reflection, visual identity // 2 Comments // 06:48 pm 11-8-08