SpectroMagic

Welcome back to Designerland. Yes, I know...it's been ages since I've posted anything. Life does carry on and between my full time job, freelance clients and renovating a home there's not enough hours in the day for font finding and other fun stuff. Granted, I have enough shirt concepts in the wings to last me until next Christmas but I just can't keep posting that. I'm not a one trick pony, there's many tricks up this magician's sleeve.

Speaking of fonts, I just locked into snatching up a ton of new photos from Epcot and hope to continue our Designerland Typography Tour of Epcot Center come late this fall. In the mean time here's a new shirt concept based on one of my favorite parades, SpectroMagic.

The main logo of the parade along with the Mickey globe icon and original WDW Resort logo have all been treated with a vintage "Hamilton Type" letterpress like look. The color palette is a simple 2 color, over print method in aqua and carrot orange. I was channeling my inner Kevin and Jody when I picked this palette out.

 Well that does it for this installment. Tune in soon for more fun Designerland offerings.

Different Disney Strokes

Hope everyone had a swell weekend. Things have been crazy around here so alas no new font case studies...soon I hope.

Over the past weekend I did have some time to do a little jaunty treasure hunting at some antique stores around the area. If you follow me on twitter then you saw my finds!  For some reason I always find things in sets of threes. It's kind of become a game. Once we find one thing we know somewhere, somehow two more should follow....they usually do.

When I'm out and about looking for various vintage theme park merchandise I tend to always come across tons of non theme park Disney antiques. The one thing I find so interesting are the various different Walt Disney logos/signatures used on the packaging.

Most all of them have the look and feel of the free flowing, bubbly Walt script but some are vary unique in their brush stokes, weight and height.

I've started collecting photos of these various Walt scripts while out and about. Are any of them real? Are they all fake? Who knows, either way I love the feel and look of them.

One logo script I came across a few months back I recreated and changed into a new vintage (double entendre) logo for Walt Disney Imagineering.

Can anyone guess what type of product this original logo was used for?

The Enchanted Tiki Tee

Welcome back to yet another Retro Tee concept. I hope everyone has had a swell weekend. Last week I had such an amazing amount of fan feedback on the Enchanted Tiki Room tee concept that I decided to roll out another concept I've had collecting dust in the wings.

Unlike my typography case studies, I have enough shirt concepts to get me through another two years if I just posted only concepts for apparel but I'm not a one trick pony and typography is my passion. I had some free time this weekend to actually begin tracking down original typefaces and display font used throughout The Land pavilion.  Hopefully, I will be able to find more vintage research...most likely I'll have to break down and use some of todays fonts and typefaces.

Back to this weeks concept, the design is based on one of the Disneyland marketing photos of Walt actually inside the show building. I decided I really wanted to push my experimentation with frequency and dot angle when it came to halftones, not to mention it has a nice throw back look. I scaled the color of the photo back to a darker shade of the tee shirt color. On top of the photo I overlaid a graphic from a 1963 marketing piece that came from a simple 4 color brochure. 

I went back and forth on color combinations of this design. In the end I decided to keep the color palette 85% true to that simple 4 color brochure, while the colors don't necessarily harken the themes of Adventureland, they do hold true to my original inspiration. 

I could see the shirt paired with a nice pair of deep khaki cargo shorts and sported on a warm summer day. Well that does it for this weeks post. I hope all of you have a good week and see you back here real soon!

Enchanted Tiki Room

Welcome back to a new Designerland post. I'd like to first of all thank all of your who ordered the new edition of the Tiki Pineapple Whip shirt! I will be placing the order this week and they should be on the print production schedule for next week, be sure to tune in for my updates. Now onto this weeks post...


As I've mentioned before I just acquired a home and have been spending all my free time with this retro renovation therefore the Designerland Typography Case Studies have taken a back seat. Hopefully, I'll get around to our next one in the upcoming weeks as I have some downtime from the home. 

Now onto this weeks post. . .a new Retro '55 shirt. While the content may not be from the year 1955, the ideals and dreams surrounding it come from the yesteryears of classic Disneyland which we all love and enjoy.

This weeks concept is based on the World Engagement print advertisement put out in June of 1963 in promotion of the Enchanted Tiki Room. 

Well that will do it for this weeks post. Tune in soon for more fun Designerland updates. Thanks as always for stopping by and have a swell week!

Spaceship Earth

Welcome back to a new year here at Designerland. I hope all of you had an amazing holiday season and are ready for what 2013 has in store for all of us!

As you all know, this year we will focus on the typography used throughout Epcot Center, starting in Future World then making our way around the World Showcase. I've spent the last few weeks hunting for display fonts and various typefaces. So far in my research, I have noticed two things: 1. Disney fans just don't take as many pictures of signage/environmental graphics in Epcot as they do in the Magic Kingdom and 2. The typography in general is lighter in terms of usage when looking at Future World.

If you have photos of any Epcot signage or if you're out and about with your smart phone handy, do me a kindness and start snapping away photos to share!  Living in Indiana really limits my access to the parks in order to conduct my research. Before I even started Designerland, I had spent about two years hunting down and cataloguing the materials I’ve covered thus far in our typography case studies.

Next week I'll look at the fonts used throughout the (pre-Nemo) Living Seas. I've tracked down a few fonts but could always use more.

Now onto this week’s post. Since we're celebrating the kick off of Epcot typography here at Designerland, I thought it be fitting to release a new Retro '71 shirt concept based on Epcot...one from the Designerland vaults as they say.

This week’s concept is based on the mural painted by Claudio Mazzoli at the entrance of Spaceship Earth. The entire mural design is framed in a rounded-corner rectangle with the Epcot Center and Future World typeset logos. Lastly, some light distressing gives the overall design a not-so-perfect printed look.

Well that does it for this week’s post. Tune in next week as we release our first Epcot Center Typography Case Study. Until then, have a great week and see ya real soon.

Retro '55 Holiday Edition

Welcome back to another fun filled Retro '55 shirt concept. I hope you all had a terrific Thanksgiving and are now in full tilt Holiday mode, like we are here at Designerland. 

For this weeks shirt concept I wanted to honor the Holiday tradition that is the Disney Parks and Resorts Holiday Parades. More in point, those jaunty deer from Disney's 1961 "Christmas in Many Lands" parade that are still around to this day!

I came across a brochure advertisement with the deer on it and after some clean up I tested out a new technique I've been toying around with for the past month. While I enjoy using various aged and vintage top textures on my designs, because they align with the branding, my passion is really for tradition printing. This new look and technique is more of a woodblock/letterpress feel which I am in love with at the moment. Granted, it's more work than just overlaying a texture but the end result really pays homage to tradition press.

Well that does it for this weeks post. As you all know I'm out and about scouring the net for those fun fonts and typefaces of tomorrow in preparation for the new year when we tackle Epcot. Until next time have a great week and see you all real soon!

Out Now!

Hey guys justa quick post to let you all know that I have two new shirt I did along with Casey Jones and the amazing team at the Disney Design Group.

Check 'em out at a park near you!

I'm really proud of the reto Mickey/type shirt it was a surprise that the DDG released it. Thanks guys!

Matterhorn Bobsleds

Welcome back to another fun-filled edition of our Retro '55 apparel line. This week’s concept is based on one of my favorite Disneyland attractions, the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

The design of the shirt combines "fast moving" typography with an appropriated bobsled graphic. Changes to typography and the color palette give this old idea a fresh new look. Some of you (midwesterns) may catch the subtle reference not-so-hidden in the shirt!

The Matterhorn Bobsleds opened at Disneyland in 1959, but this design evokes more of an early 80's feel. I have it visualized as a four color design on a heather ringed shirt, but in all actuality, I would like the design be a full color, shiny and slick heat press graphic without the texture. Alas, those details are difficult to convey through Illustrator and Photoshop.

Well that does it for this week’s post. I will be taking a jolly holiday for the next few weeks, and my posts will be far and few between until I begin the Epcot series at the beginning of the new year. Be sure to check back from time to time as I have over 50 apparel designs sitting in the wings and a few jaunty ideas for special Christmas time posts. So until next time, thanks for stopping in and have a good week!

Some Wicked Apparel this Way Comes

Welcome back to another special Halloween post here at Designerland. Since my designs are usually based on theme park offerings, I wanted to try something different and showcase some designs based on the movies.

When I think of Halloween and Disney, a few live action classics come to mind. As a child, I was fond of the darker side of Disney, growing up with such cult classics as Something Wicked this Way Comes and The Watcher in the Woods. I’ve always been amazed that these pictures were released by the wholesome mouse—they’re dark, creepy, and at times downright scary, so when Halloween rolls around, I still love watching them. And while not as spooky, I have to throw Hocus Pocus into the mix. I remember going to the theater with my parents and little sister on opening night and instantly loving the pure campy goodness. Watching it today, I realize there are some themes and dialogue that aren't so family-oriented, which make it even more of a hoot to watch.

In typical Designerland fashion, I've created this series of shirts based on these classic seasonal Disney flicks. I really enjoy pushing myself and learning different ways of transforming existing art into something usable for screen printing. Sure, I could just do full color sublimation print, but I feel there's an amount of hand skill and craft lost with sublimation printing. 

The first design is based on the poster art for Something Wicked this Way Comes. The art from the poster is simply stunning with its semi-loose abstract feel and various watercolor and gauche washes. The hand lettering for the main title is equally beautiful. I got to try a new trick with the type treatment in order to give it a letterpress look.

The second shirt in the series is taken from the poster from The Watcher in the Woods. A piece like this deserves to be brought back into the present and honored with more than just a poster, so a shirt seems like the natural progression. The collage lends itself to a nearly all-over print format.

Lastly, my Hocus Pocus concept uses the poster art done by the amazing Drew Struzan. The VHS and DVDs all use a real promo photo, but they really should have run amok with the original poster art.

I guess the moral of the post is that classic poster design is becoming a thing of the past—hardly anyone produces new masterpieces that fans, designers and artists simply drool over.  Well that does it for this week’s post. I can see shirts like these fitting in well as a part of a D23 special Halloween release or the like. How do YOU celebrate the Halloween season along with Disney? As always, thanks for stopping by and be sure to tune in next week.

Disney Decor Part 2

Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of Epcot Center. One way to pay homage is a new series of wall decor for your home.

A closer look:

Two of the prints are actual off-set printed in a similar fashion to vintage comic books, with the ink plates slightly off register/offset and various halftones used throughout. The last print follows fashion to the earlier EST. print series seen here on Designerland, incorporating various park maps of the past and playing with positive and negative spaces.

Well that does it for this weeks post. I hope you all had a great weekend and tune into Designerland next weekend as we continue our typography case studies. Have a great week! 

New Orleans Mint Julep

Greetings folks! Welcome back to another edition of our Retro '55 apparel line.

This week’s concept is based on the fan favorite, the Mint Julep. The idea for a Mint Julep t-shirt has been in the works since I was designing the original Tiki Pineapple Whip tee here at Designerland. I hadn't tried this delicious drink until last year while at the Disneyland Resort and I instantly fell in love. I believe I had about 15 of them over the span of a week, and when I came home, I set to work trying to pinpoint the recipe. 

The Mint Julep Bar is located in New Orleans Square and is one offering that I feel helps sell the story of that particular land. I hear that Walt Disney World offers the same jaunty brew over at Port Orleans, but there's just something about New Orleans Square and the Mint Julep that go hand in hand.

Instead of designing some fun character holding the beverage or turning the plastic cup itself into a cute character, I decided to create a shirt that had more of a vintage label look to it, as if the Mint Julep was actually manufactured at a nearby plantation and exported as a fine southern beverage. The design itself has the New Orleans Square logo above the Blue Bayou, which was recreated by scanning one of the original New Orleans Square souvenir bags. Typeset below that is the beverage title set in the same font seen in the parks, along with some added storytelling copy that helps complete the look of the label. I also put the established date when New Orleans Square opened at Disneyland, flanked by an art nouveau whiplash curl.

Well that does it for this week’s concept—hope you all have a swell week. Thanks for stopping by.

Wedway Peoplemover

Welcome back to another edition of our vastly growing Retro '71 apparel line.

This week’s concept is based on the WED Transportation System’s branding from a 1982 marketing brochure. Once upon a time, Disney branded, marketed and packaged various park specialties such as the Monorail and the WEDWAY Peoplemover to outside cities and businesses. If you'd like to know more or see this jaunty brochure in action, jump on over to Progress City, U.S.A. by clicking here.

The design for this week is a simplistic black shirt with graphics based on the logo and various type from the brochure. The color palette was taken directly from the brochure and its branding. When printed, the white sections of the design would be discharge ink to give it even more of a vintage feel.

Well that does it for this week’s Designerland installation. Hope to see you back next week as we move on to the wonderful world of the Monorail typography. Have a great week and see you soon.

The Rainbow Connection

Just a quick post to let everyone know another one of my shirt designs has been released in the parks.

I was asked to design a simplistic yet nostalgic rainbow shirt for both the Walt Disney World and the Disneyland Resort. Even though the content and design are minimal, I'm really proud of this shirt. I hope you guys enjoy it and be sure to pick one up!

Special thanks to Micechat and Denise Preskitt for snapping this photo and posting it. Thanks guys!

Retro '71

Welcome back to another addition of our Retro '71 apparel line. This weeks concept is based on vintage Walt Disney World Resort merchandise. Over the past few weeks I've been out visiting the various antique and thrift shops Indianapolis has to offer. I've come across some amazing artifacts and now have officially become obsessed with vintage theme park merchandise. I know that I could easily acquire vintage merchandise via ebay but what's the fun in that? I do however use ebay as a reference before I begin hunting. 

During my research I came across a series of 4 mini glass plate coaster from the Magic Kingdom, simple in design and in colors of aqua blue, green, black and white depicting Adventureland, Liberty Square, Fantasyland and Main Street U.S.A. I knew right away that I must incorporate these designs into apparel for Retro '71 as well as find them for my collection.

I used the art directly from the plate, recreating it in Illustrator. The only changes I made were the main typeface for Adventureland (I reset it in a display font Disney used back in '71 for the branding of Adventureland), using the original Walt Disney World flag logo and adding the distressed textures.

I placed the design on a heathered green shirt. The printing technique would be waterbase inks or plastisol ran through an extremely high mesh count in order to get a soft hand.  The design would be printed without an underlay so that the print really looks vintage. 

There's a fine line when trying to make something look vintage when it comes to printing. Simply adding a texture to your art file only takes you so far. You need to find the happy medium with not only your art but with print production as well. Most if not all my shirts would be printed in similar fashion as Junk Food apparel. Fact: they have the best printers and printing techniques when it comes to authentic faux vintage looks. 

Well that does it for this weeks addition. Tune in next week for part 2 of our Main Street U.S.A. typography case study. Hope to see you back here soon and have a great week.

Retro '71

 

Welcome back to another fun filled Retro '71 apparel concept. This weeks post ushers in a new series/set of shirts based on the vintage park ticket books. Instead of rolling the concepts out one at a time (since showcasing a new design each week is somewhat pointless because we ALL know what these look like) I decided to just give you the entire set. Begin drooling now!!!! I know I am.

When I started to see the new merch rolling out for the 40th, I hoped a series ticket art shirts would be released...I waited and waited and sadly nothing. I took maters into my own hands. I recreated the lovely display fonts from various images of the tickets I found online...shout out to The Disney Experience site and their nice large size wallpapers! 

I imagine that the parks would never go for an entire series and that most fans would just want the E ticket shirt, but if cleverly packaged in a collectors box and sold as a limited edition set, the fans would willing (I know I would) drop the cash for these shirts. Could you imagine sporting a new ticket shirt each day of the week...talk about a Disney wardrobe dream!?!?!?

I placed the design in the lower left of each shirt, mimicking the placement found on each ticket. Since the design is somewhat abstract to non Disney folk I created a back tag that calls out the WHERE and the WHAT. Finishing the design off is our favorite wear and tear texture giving the shirts that vintage touch.

So what do you guys think? Okay well that does it for this weeks post. I have tons more shirt waiting in the wings (enough to take us into November) and those lovely Main Street Typography Case studies which I hope to get out soon. Once again thanks stopping by and have a swell week!

Poster Design

Here's a jaunty little design I whipped up a couple of months ago. I tried to combine the look of an old world map/vintage metal globe with one of the maps from the back page of a park brochure.

I image the poster be tall, almost 6' tall and in a nice chunky black wood frame which would be leaning up against a wall in my studio.

Poster Design

So in my down time I've been toying around with the concept of vintage posters that play upon construction and the final product. These are just roughs but I really enjoy where they're going. I plan on flushing out the series and have a few others already done but plan on saving them for another post.

In the meantime does anyone have any pictures of Walt Disney World's Pirates of the Caribbean being built/construction photos???? There are tons for Disneyland but none for the Walt Disney World Resort. I've searched everywhere on the net and in most of my theme park books but alas nothing. It's like those sneaky Imagineers just beamed over the attraction. If you know or have any photos you wouldn't mind lending to the project I would be grateful.