You asked for it!!!!

I'm happy to report my first shirt design I did along side Casey Jones of the Disney Design Group has been released in the parks!!!!!

I was asked to create a shirt celebrating the time honored park snack, the churro. I appropriated the original Casa de Fritos poster from Disneyland and placed the sugary snack in the hands of our wild west outlaw.

What do you think guys? Be sure to pick one up the next time your at the parks and shoot me a photo!
I also want to thank Casey for snapping this photo and tweeting it! 

Splash Mountain

Welcome back to another edition of Designerland's attraction typography case studies. This week we'll head to our laughing place as we look at the various specimens used for the popular Critter Country/Frontierland attraction, Splash Mountain.

Guests board a hollowed-out log and drift along with Br'er Rabbit in his search for a little more adventure, all set to classic tunes from the 1964 Disney full-length feature, Songs of the South. Splash Mountain opened at Disneyland in 1989 and became an instant hit. Shortly after, the Walt Disney World Resort would have its own version, followed by Tokyo Disneyland.

Splash Mountain uses a wide array of decorative display fonts in its signage and place finding. The typography falls into several categories, with the four main classifications being Western, Woodblock, Antique and Victorian. Also featured are some comic-like fonts that help set the tone of the attraction and its storyline, which is based on cute, animated woodland creatures. Perhaps the most impressive type treatment was used for the attraction’s main logo. The original font used for the logo is nearly impossible to track down because it is so heavily modified with flourished terminals and curly serifs, all finished off with a rugged distressed edge. What's even more interesting about the logo is that Disney designers have used two different logos to brand the attraction on the signage throughout the area. One logo is more flourished and flowing, whereas the second logo is more Western, vertical and stiff. Next time you're in the parks, see if you can spot the two different logos.

That concludes this week's attraction typography case study. Tune in on Monday for another Retro '71 World Showcase t-shirt concept. Until next time, thanks for stopping by and have a swell weekend.

Country Bear Jamboree

Welcome back to another edition of Designerland's theme park attraction typography case studies. This week we'll be looking at one of Walt Disney World's classic show attractions, the Country Bear Jamboree.

The Country Bear Jamboree was originally designed for Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort by Imagineer and show designer, Marc Davis. As we know, the Disney's Mineral King Ski Resort never made it off the drawing board, but Marc still felt the show would be a perfect attraction for Disney World's opening day back in 1971. The Country Bear Jamboree became an instant classic amongst east coast vacationers—it became so popular that WED Imagineers brought the show to Disneyland on the west coast. Over time, the Imagineers toyed around with seasonal overlays but quickly changed the show back after guest attendance declined. Sadly, Disneyland's show was shut down due to the lack of interest. Today you can find the original classic show at the Walt Disney World Resort and at Tokyo Disneyland, which is the only version that still hosts three seasonal overlays.

When looking at the typography from Country Bears Jamboree, we notice all the display fonts have a western theme, which fits the location of the attraction within the parks. Under the generic umbrella of western display fonts we can dissect them even further into a few categories: Wood Type, Tuscan, Iron Work, Slab Serif, Spurred, 1800's and even 1970's. Most of the typefaces used throughout the signage are the more stereotypical western looking fonts (similar to those found in other surrounding Frontierland attractions), while others are straight from the 70's with their curvy flared serifs, stems and descenders. Those 70’s looking western-like fonts are both whimsical and funny to reflect the Country Bear Jamboree show.  Also, we have to remember that attraction was created during this era. I've tracked down the typefaces that still exist today. While other fonts can be found within the attraction, many are custom, hand-drawn fonts which were most likely created by show designers at WDI.

Well that does it for this week’s case study. Check back on Monday for another Retro '71 shirt concept and thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend.