sweeteast : erin ellis : type, illustration, design : works & findings

Letterform Anatomy Freestyle

2011-06-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

A little warmup exercise inspired by Type Camp, to learn the proper terms for type talk. It hangs on the wall in my studio so it can seep into my brain a little bit every day.

Aria Antiques

2011-06-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Some beautifully hand lettered book covers found on the $1 table at Aria in North Beach. The guys who own this place have been there for 15 years and host a book arts salon every month or so.
Look at the "L F T" design on 'Delft'. three letters that are so difficult to put together. Genius!

more type sculpture

2011-06-24T01:21:00.000-07:00

Some shots from the amazing Stefan Sagmeister's lecture, "The Power of Time Off". These titles are animated, which adds even more charm. He is a master of wisdom and wit!

TYPE CAMP!

2011-06-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

I am here soaking up the sunshine and learning about letters for the next week. Summertime!

as a non-designer friend put it: type camp? it's where they go to learn about FONT.

girls

2011-04-26T23:27:00.000-07:00

Logotype design for submission to a Threadless competition to raise awareness about the child sex trade in the US. The second image is intended for printing in red, blue, and *GOLD*.

more sonnenzimmer

2011-04-19T21:29:00.001-07:00

from their site

type sculpture!

2011-04-18T12:32:00.000-07:00

via my friend Christiane Holzheid, found here

sz

2011-04-14T15:08:00.000-07:00

Chicago-based Sonnenzimmer is by far my favorite poster studio. There are many illustrators & designers creating nice posters, but i find that many of them tend to be rather conceptually straightforward, which can get a little uninteresting. Sonnenzimmer's approach is a bit more abstract, incorporating their own avant-garde inspired drawing and painting. I like the combination of bright & neutral colors, geometric shapes, and strangely placed unintrusive type. Their images move and meander across the page, rather than sit there still in space. And they do some really interesting layering with screenprinting. I pretty much want to cover my walls with their work.

drop it

2011-04-10T15:37:00.001-07:00

Music video for Zion I and the Grouch, directed by Pete Lee, featuring some hand drawn type by myself. It was challenging to come up with 9 different and interesting number ones (there's really not much to work with in a 1) so it was a good creativity exercise. I really enjoy making work that will move and change, rather than simply be printed on paper.

drop it on the 1 from Peter Lee on Vimeo.

strokes

2011-03-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Jillian Tamaki's simple and beautiful drawings of trafficked animals for National Geographic. She says here, 'It was an honour to be included in National Geographic magazine, which typically uses more infographic-style illustration.' Good point! Infographics, though no doubt effective, deliver their message in a literal, constructed, almost sterile way. Drawings like Tamaki's get the point across but evoke a bit of feeling as well. I love that we are seeing the designer/illustrator's hand in commercial work more often, especially with the recent comeback of hand drawn type.

drop it on the 1

2011-03-18T01:56:00.000-07:00

I drew a bunch of 1's for this music video directed by my super talented friend Pete Lee. It's called Drop it On the One, the 1's are animated to flash through in a rapid sequence. I'm really enjoying branching out in the video/film realm lately - most of my work up til now has been in print, and it's fun to see my drawings move! I'll post a link to this video upon its release.

for now, some stills:

irish time

2011-03-18T01:42:00.000-07:00

Countryside greenery, cute patterned dresses, and extravagantly large dogs. These things go together.

rich

2011-02-27T00:36:00.000-08:00

lovely 60's illustrations by Mitchell Hooks. From Today's Inspiration.

penguin has always known what's up

2011-02-25T14:14:00.000-08:00

book cover archive! i love going to bookstores to peruse the covers for inspiration and to see what's coming out in cover design...which tends to take a few hours. Although there is no substitute for wooden shelves and old book smell, this archive is a pretty sweet way to do some quick research of this kind.

put a bird on it!

2011-02-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

eleven

2011-02-12T01:07:00.001-08:00

treats, and what to wear them with

2011-02-12T00:21:00.000-08:00

another dream job

2011-02-03T12:05:00.001-08:00

awesome Kafka redesign by Peter Mendelsund, associate art directer at Knopf.

of his bright color scheme, he says this:
"...It needs saying that Kafka's books are, among other things, funny, sentimental, and in their own way, yea-saying. I am so weary of the serious Kafka, the pessimist Kafka. Kafkaesque has become synonymous with the machinations of anonymous bureaucracy- but, of course, Kafka was a satirist (ironist, exaggerator) of the bureaucratic, and not an organ of it. Because of this mischaracterization, Kafka's books have a tendency to be jacketed in either black, or in some combination of colors I associate with socialist realism, constructivism, or fascism- i.e. black, beige and red. Part of the purpose of this project for me, was to let some of the sunlight back in. In any case, hopefully these colors, though bright, are not without tension."

Genius!

from his blog.

from c

2011-01-20T00:04:00.000-08:00

animated title sequences

2011-01-19T01:17:00.000-08:00

a new project has got me watching all kinds of animated title sequences...this one is my favorite so far, by French studio Deubal.

watch the titles

the real deal

2010-12-14T12:27:00.000-08:00

country tones and autumn colors

2010-12-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

Finally finished this album art for an awesomely talented folky/countryish singer songwriter friend. I guess I combined old sign painting style with a Hatch-ish letterpress poster kinda thing. Although the cover is all hand-rendered, I used a little more font and a little less hand lettering on this than I had intended. I feel like the blocky wood type fonts on the back really work so I went with it.

I wish i could see this letterpressed, but we're going with a two color offset from Stumptown Printers. The tan background will be the paper color. It should be done in early January.

listen if you like.

rainy december outing

2010-12-06T15:29:00.001-08:00

in love with Luca

2010-12-06T00:55:00.000-08:00

wow! Luca Barcellona, who did some of the lettering in the opening credits for the film I am Love, is my new favorite. It's very inspiring to see someone of my generation practicing calligraphy - and that there's a market for this. Hand- lettering is popular right now but it's rare to find an actual calligrapher who is making work that's classy but modern. I wonder if he wants me to come to Italy and hang out and teach me everything he knows. wow!!

Wall of Light - York -UK- november 2009 from Luca Barcellona on Vimeo.

and the I am Love credit sequence, which is SO good:

IO SONO L'AMORE - Opening titles sequence from POMO on Vimeo.

Fold it up

2010-11-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

It's always been Ben.

i cher do wonder...

2010-11-28T00:33:00.000-08:00

why i haven't drawn her 'til today?

la casa verde

2010-11-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

pt. reyes in the mist

2010-11-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

playtime in chaos

2010-11-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

Witness the fruits of the modern collage party! My theme: man vs. nature. The lovely Meryl Streep cameos amidst the destruction, in all her porcelain-faced radiance.
click it!

cameraman

2010-09-21T00:24:00.000-07:00

hane Stanbridge business card. Drawing of an Arri sr3 film camera. Shane's trip to the Toronto film festival last week prompted the creation of these cards, and we were a little pressed for turnaround time, but I'm hoping he'll go for a letterpress version at some point.

If you're making a movie in the Bay Area and need a PA, grip, or DP, get in touch with him!

**daily drop cap by Jessica Hische. Dailydropcap.com

moosehunt

2010-09-20T23:46:00.000-07:00

ust finished this album packaging for Baltimore band Vinny Vegas. It's going to be a limited edition 7" vinyl. Song titles and other info will be on a card inside the sleeve. The material for this ep was written while the band was traveling through Ontario, hence the cover's theme: staring out the car window on a road trip, hoping that at any moment there will be an elusive moose, peering back at you from the trees.

I'll post more images of the actual album when it's printed and released.

front

** daily drop cap by Jessica Hische. Dailydropcap.com

looky and read-y

2010-05-20T16:15:00.000-07:00

ohn Gall's blog, where have you been all my life? If you don't know, John Gall is pretty much one of the most awesome graphic designers right now, and maybe ever. His book covers are pretty and classy and edgy.
I've decided in the past year or so that my dream job would involve reading books-on the couch in a sunporch or in the bathtub-and designing covers for them in a treehouse studio. Maybe a bit more like a retirement plan, as time can't always allow for reading a 600 page novel when you have a deadline, but doesn't it sound nice?

Anyway, this guy is an inspiration, and so is what he has to say and show. Check it!

*Daily Drop Cap by Jessica Hische.

deco fellows

2010-05-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

ew inspirations lately: Art Deco artists Erté and Icart. I love the elegance of the line, and how the same drawing can be both graphic and delicate. A new project is in the works. It involves gypsy jazz, magpies, and a Pearl. And another that has to do with a Whimsical poet and the Pine Barrens. More soon.

Icart:

Erté:

Awesome letter N from Daily drop cap by Jessica Hische.

how i feel today:

2010-03-04T22:46:00.000-08:00

thx to my friend Christiane, the crazy German meise who sent me this language-barrier-less treasure.

Jersey vs. California

2010-02-22T22:50:00.001-08:00

outing 'round the frozen farm

2010-02-22T22:46:00.000-08:00

calico-co-cozy

2010-02-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

just one

2010-02-22T21:48:00.001-08:00

green theme

2010-02-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Streep Week

2009-10-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

Some drawings of Meryl Streep. Maybe part of a bigger project, like the daily-Rod-Stewart-drawings i did last year. More to come!

Sophie's Choice Style

Classic 70s Meryl

Ellis Corn East to West

2009-09-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

New Jersey 9/24

San Francisco 9/26

Fleeting Fall

2009-09-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

Today feels just like fall. Which, sadly, happens about two days per year here this weather warp that is San Francisco. I took pleasure in hanging my bed linens on the clothesline in hopes that the crisp smell in the air will infuse itself into them.

die Deutsch Gabe

2009-09-28T14:20:00.001-07:00

This package arrived in the mail today, from my pseudo-mom Christa in Germany. In silly Bavarian dialect, i mog di so = i like you so. Although it looks pretty hanging on my wall, it is probably delicious and should be eaten. I always try not to let things sit around and collect dust when they could be of use, so after i visually enjoy this pretty little gift for a bit, I'm going to gastronomically appreciate it when i eat it for dessert.

masked music

2009-09-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

A logo/flyer for Craig Ventresco's ensemble of collaborating musicians, regularly put together for Thursday night entertainment at Cafe Divine in North Beach, SF. His fellow musicians are rarely announced beforehand, hence the 'secret players' and masked musicians. The International Silver String Submarine Band is a reference to the endearing (yet disturbingly racist in contemporary times) 1930s television show 'Our Gang'. Which is better known by its later title, 'The Little Rascals'. Craig has an impressive musical resume and is one of the most genuine and talented people i've ever met.

vegetables hibernate too

2009-09-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

So I'm at home in NJ for a couple weeks. I've been helping out on the farm packing corn, and the last days of corn season are approaching. Which means preparing and freezing the fruits of our labors (really, my dad's labors) for the winter. We spent the better part of the afternoon boiling, cooling, cutting, and bagging about 80 ears of bicolor sweet corn. It will be more than enough to last until next July. Though my dad does routinely put away about 3 ears with dinner every day in the summer.

jive turkey

2009-08-03T15:51:00.000-07:00

Sometime before the end of summer i have to get back home to NJ, where nature's creatures stroll down your driveway to say hello. My mom sent me this picture.

so 2009

2009-07-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

I made this painting for my friend Milo's sister's baby, Coco. I used acrylic on polyurethane on stained poplar. This wood took the stain really beautifully - I would definitely use poplar again. I hope little coco will always think this is cool and not too 2009.

important junk

2009-07-24T19:31:00.001-07:00

face your pockets
Hey look, the crap you use every day is art. Lay out all the stuff you keep with you and don't really think about but it all looks so pretty piled together. These are simple items, but i want to see all these strangers' things and how they've chosen to arrange them. We get so used to looking at things in a certain way, or not noticing them at all. i like when we're reminded of that. There's more than one way to see or appreciate everything. Friends Michelle and Shane and I shared ours. but ps. it isn't easy to keep your face still while a prehistoric scanner inches along to capture you at 300 dpi, as the website requested.

100 - 30 = style

2009-06-23T20:03:00.000-07:00

The stevenson secret. Todd Rundgren in all his 70s pop glory. we are neighbors. shhh.

Dorothy Hamill = bowl cut. and hamill camel. although she's young and cute, this haircut would become forever known as the 'mom' hair do. my mom had it, maybe yours did too.

ps. i'm back!

baltimore, ich liebe dich.

2009-05-19T14:06:00.000-07:00

last stop on this trip: charm city. party down with declarations of love and merriment. i made the invites for this wedding-i'll post those babies when i get back. !!!

London i

2009-05-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have been a stranger, but it's only because i've been on this Euro-trip for the past 2 weeks. I'm going to see about a grad program at the University of Reading tomorrow, and found this little treat on the program's blog. I think it's a good sign. Many more posts when i return.

deep nizzle

2009-04-23T19:59:00.001-07:00

Posting this is way long overdue-these were printed in December. Second cd i worked on for Gaucho, also with some calligraphy and wet warm watercolor luscious-ness . must do more things like this too.

party of the year, time of your life

2009-04-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

Invite & tickets for a graduation celebration party for education grad students at SF State. My friend Anisse is organizing this. Smart, classy, grown and sexy graduates party til the sun comes up.
note: must do more calligraphy, i like this.

wie ghets?

2009-04-10T01:09:00.000-07:00

2 weeks. working on some hand lettering/calligraphy projects in the meantime and brainstorming a project to work on while i'm there.

corrupt mischief

2009-03-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Flyer for another of Gabe's queer dance parties. April first - for reals.

hot mess of red life juice

2009-03-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

my illy of chainpaws idea by Jerry Paffendorf. It's going places.

stevie nicks forever, seriously.

2009-03-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

tx RF for sharing this.

tiny leaves and skinny trees

2009-03-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

Everything about this is so pretty. I like it better in German.

mister chester bear brown chester

2009-03-16T22:56:00.001-07:00

RUMOUR. Open your ears;

2009-03-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

I made this cover for my friend Jerry's typing game idea called BLORST. It has to do with taking random text from the internet and putting it into novels and was inspired by a Simpsons episode and the infinite monkey theorem. So it's been chosen as one of four finalists at the SXSW Screenburn Casual Game Design Competition and Jerry presents it for them today. gnarly macaque monkey fingers crossed!

sugar dog donut

2009-03-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Really missing the snow this year. Here is a cool family pup in the jersey snow. i wish that was me.

Listening to this and pretending i'm in an old car eating hot sugary donuts with a stranger while it snows outside. mmmm.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank (New Song Live in Copenhagen) - Best Sound Quality - The best bloopers are a click away

macrame bird of prey

2009-03-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Did you know that in the Naturalist Center at the Academy of Science, they will take down the taxidermy animals from the high shelves for you so that they can sit right before your very eyes while you draw them? Let me know if you wanna be drawing buddies. i'll take you with my membership if you'll buy me a cookie.

bad ass spaghetti

2009-03-13T20:09:00.000-07:00

I watched The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly earlier this week and i thought, dang! look at those old animated credits. pause-dang!-play-pause-play. This dude blogged about it yesterday. How our appreciation for this crossed paths, i do not know. awesome.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - Spanish Intro (Opening Theme) - A funny movie is a click away

big cat vs. peafowl

2009-03-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

Finally, here are the cards. They were meant to be a continuation of a New Year's card that i made with my friend Norman last year. Although i don't have very many of the 'peace' owl card left, HOPE and PRIDE are in abundance and available on my new etsy shop here.
some info:

cards are 5x5 square, blank inside.

back of HOPE card reads "In celebration of our new president, Barack Obama!"

Letterpress printed on Crane's Lettra 110 lb. by Norman Clayton at Classic Letterpress on a KSBAZ Heidelberg Cylinder.

Design & illustration by Erin Ellis.

analog appreciation

2009-03-07T23:57:00.000-08:00

My new buddy, black and white television. It's not so overstimulating and obnoxious as regular tv, and only mildly addictive. After years of living without one, I kind of like this little five-channel friend. Good for a little TV dinner.

94612!!

2009-02-19T17:02:00.000-08:00

Quick flyer for my roommate Gabe's dj night at The Gangway in SF. It's his first time to dj for reals, and he is excited. Gabe stresses that although it is a queer dance party, straights are very much welcome. bring your jordan-wearing friends!

hair massacre

2009-02-07T22:11:00.000-08:00

Last week, I got a haircut at Louie's barber shop. Although i like to cut it myself, this short hair is difficult and Joe, who cut it, has done me right in the past. But regretted it the second i looked in the mirror at home. Never had i been so traumatized by a haircut. all i could picture was that i looked like Lloyd.

Determined never to let this happen to me again, i wrote/drew this formula for avoiding terrible haircuts. How to fix miscommunication between you and your barber, according to me at 2am

of course, the next day i was over it and it turns out it looks pretty ok after a week. Old Joe knew what he was doing after all.

ps. working on some wedding invites, and hope cards have been printed. will post.

ear tufts

2009-01-24T01:54:00.000-08:00

With our new president in mind, HOPE card design with caracal, a dignified and majestic African desert cat. These will be letterpress printed at Classic Letterpress in Oakland, hopefully this week (offset background won't carry over to print, but i like it on the digital file). This is continues a series that began with the 2007 'peace' holiday card below, which you might have received in the old snail mail. This project is a collaboration with Norman Clayton of Classic Letterpress.

'peace, dammit!'

lost paper, fast pups, treehouse

2009-01-22T18:23:00.000-08:00

Rainy day working at home. In future times, this will be going down in a treehouse in the woods. Studio treehouse with wifi - it's gonna happen.

I had many new year/new start related creative thoughts and ambitions written and drawn in the sketchbook that i've (hopefully) only temporarily misplaced. I feel like a block of thought has vanished into the wind, but think that if that precious pile of paper shows its pretty face in my possession again, then will be the time to revisit all i've put down in there. Moving on.

Right now, drawings of fast pups - for an artist's book focusing on field coursing and the dogs' racing speeds and origin. Planning to include some hand lettering as well...more drawings soon.

warmth & wetness

2009-01-22T18:15:00.000-08:00

frank dragon

really do.

rain glow

happy bike

oh, henry.

post-work whoa

2009-01-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

for the new year to begin with an indian summer is scary, but a warmish sunset ride in January was real nice.

beach, betch.

2009-01-12T00:39:00.000-08:00

my bike ride to ocean beach was absolutely ha-mazing yesterday. mmm.

Jejune: China

2009-01-09T00:14:00.000-08:00

no, fluffy

2009-01-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

mine

something-soaked mattress

rainy day activity

real estate

2009-01-04T00:51:00.000-08:00

While moving the other day, came across these drawings i did from one of those silly Bay Area Living catalogs. I made them during a long and frustrating apartment search when i first moved here. My friend and I had a dog, and nearly every landlord we talked to had a serious aversion to dogs inhabiting their property. Saying the word 'dog' was the equivalent of telling them we planned to put down hay, cut all the doors in half and raise horses. wtf?

H.N.Y.

2009-01-02T01:40:00.001-08:00

this is intense

2008-12-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

Possibly my favorite scene in a movie, ever. So very good. If i become musical in 2009, it will be with a banjo.

philadelphia, CA

2008-12-29T15:55:00.000-08:00

ok ok, i know this scene must go on nearly every day and i just am not there to observe. I'm into traditions and organized play and anything that can get this many people excited about something. But not since high school parties have i been surrounded by this many rowdy dudes. whoa.

beach legos

2008-12-28T23:46:00.000-08:00

annie get your !!!

2008-12-27T17:14:00.000-08:00

Day after Christmas shooting has got to be one of the coolest family traditions ever. Rowdy family bonding in the vast expanse of the Mojave desert. It was beautiful. I am lucky.

pudd'n cup

2008-12-25T23:07:00.000-08:00

remember catching frogs in coffee cans and poking holes in the lid so they could breathe? this is like that, only for your butt.

seaweed

text is so a verb

ghost pig

la la holiday

2008-12-25T22:50:00.001-08:00

LA christmas morning. it's kind of beautiful, actually.

children are geniuses

totally dreamy drive

pules rush in

2008-12-25T13:14:00.001-08:00

purple rain

2008-12-22T19:48:00.000-08:00