Poring over some photo-lettering specimens—one of my preferred pastimes—I stumbled upon an advertising postcard that had been mailed to the original owner of my Lettering Inc. book back in November of 1960. The postcard was exciting enough to me on its own; I presume very few examples of this kind of ephemera have survived, and […]
Tag Archives: typeface
Metal type
Categories: General updates
Ain’t nothing like seeing a design come to life.
Colby Poster Printing Mini-Documentary
Categories: Inspiration
Just had a chance to watch the beautiful 3 Union Shop, a short documentary about the Colby Poster Printing Company, written and co-directed by C. R. Stecyk III of Dogtown fame: I’ve been collecting Colby posters for a few years (they even had a role in inspiring some of my wedding collateral), and I had the […]
I AM STERN Fold of the Week
Categories: General updates
Thrilled to be featured on Trish Witkowski’s FOLD of the WEEK with our design for the I AM STERN laser-cut folding mailer.
Laser cut I AM STERN folding banner
Categories: Case studies
NYU Stern commissioned us to design a unique and tangible promotional piece for the Undergraduate College. We came up with the idea of doing a folding banner that could be easily mailed, but would unfold to a large size for display, like a pennant. We had already designed the branding for the “I AM STERN” […]
In like a lionfish
Categories: Case studies
My brother Devin and I recently completed this collaboration based on an idea proposed by famed artist/author/illustrator James Gurney: “How would an Art Nouveau designer (such as Alphonse Mucha or Henri Privat-Livemont) design a label for an imaginary product called ‘Lionfish Shampoo?’” We went a little far afield from the original prompt, in that our […]
Shaken & Stirred Millennials Infographic
Categories: Case studies
Our latest infographic for Scarborough focuses on the drinking habits of people from ages 21 to 34 in the US—”Shaken & Stirred Millennials,” as it were. Featured typefaces are Mostra Nuova by Mark Simonson and Andes Condensed from Latinotype. Check out the real one on visual.ly, or to see the infographic in its entirety (one very long […]
Seymour Chwast’s Dante’s Inferno “The End Place” Poster on Mad Men
Categories: General updates
I was perusing Google Analytics, as one is wont to do on a Saturday morning, and realized that the Three Steps Ahead Etsy shop had a spike in traffic the other day thanks to a New York Times blog article about the popular television series Mad Men. A commenter had linked back to my shop because […]
A couple of new letterpress prints
Categories: Case studies, General updates, Inspiration
Voilà, a couple of new limited-edition letterpress prints, hot off of the Heidelberg Windmill! Both were typeset by hand and printed with antique wood and metal type, and both are for sale in my Etsy shop. You can get 15% off your order by using coupon code STEPAHEAD when you check out. (more…)
Digital Media Infographic
Categories: Case studies
Our latest infographic for Scarborough focuses on the local side of digital media usage and attitudes in the US. As it turns out, San Francisco, Austin, Atlanta, and Washington, DC have some interesting things in common (and also many factors that are very different between the cities). Featured typeface is Andes Condensed from Latinotype. Check […]