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: vintage
Metal type
Categories: General updates
Ain’t nothing like seeing a design come to life.
New graphic tees from Three Steps Ahead
Categories: General updates
Do you lack graphics on your t-shirts? Do you lack shirts in general? Do you want to dance? If you answered yes—or no—to any of these questions, don’t despair! Our new line of graphic t-shirts is now available on Etsy. Shown above, left to right, are The Maker Tee, Go Beyond, and Science! More designs on our […]
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 […]
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 […]
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…)
All Together Now
Categories: General updates
Here’s a peek at the extra special packaging we’ve put together for our brand new print series. Get ’em while they’re hot on Etsy!
Three Steps Ahead Print Series for Etsy
Categories: Case studies, General updates, Inspiration
Music has always been a gigantic source of inspiration for me as a graphic designer (see my wedding invitations, for example), and I’m proud to introduce the first specimens in a series of audiophile prints exclusively for the Three Steps Ahead Shop on Etsy. These examples were all inspired by music of the 1960s, specifically […]
Three Steps Ahead on Fab
Categories: General updates
We’ve having a gigantic vintage sale on Fab.com starting at 7PM Eastern on Monday, December 10. Check it out here, and be sure to sign up for Fab if you’re not already a member. We’ve got some major goodies for sale, including some incredible vintage posters by Seymour Chwast, industrial modern salvage, letterpress type, mid-century […]