Copter Design Studio

Language Arts: type & lettering exhibition

cj — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:07:22 +0000

My type & lettering work will be on display at The Human Imagination Gallery in Honolulu, located on the corner of Nuuanu and Pauahi Street. The show runs from May 4 – 30, with an opening reception on Friday May 4 from 5–10 PM.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shred Aloha!

cj — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:12:31 +0000

I created this brush lettering for a custom surfboard with JC Hawaii.

JC Hawaii, founded by master surfboard shaper John Carper, is know for making boards of the highest quality for world-class professional surfers such as Shane Dorian, Peter Mel, Sean Moody and many others.
Here are some sketches I did for the brush lettering.

Past to Present Exhibition Branding

cj — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:30:56 +0000

As an alumni of the Idyllwild Arts Academy I was honored when the school hired me to design the branding for “Past to Present,” the Visual Arts Alumni Exhibition at the Idyllwild Arts Academy. The exhibition includes work by artist such as Shepard Fairey, Nate Lowman, and many others who were once students at this prestigious arts school and have gone on to achieve success in the visual arts.

The Idyllwild Arts Academy is an arts school located in a secluded mountain town, so for the exhibition branding I created a “typographic mountain” which also includes the school’s iconic tree logomark on the left side “growing” out of this formation. The primary typeface is a proprietary typeface design which I started while at the Cooper Union postgraduate typeface design program. It is a revival typeface design based on the work of Morris Fuller Benton from the 1920s.
In addition to the original design, I created a custom display version of the typeface with extra thin hairlines which was used for the vinyl lettering on the gallery wall.

In conjunction with the exhibition there were lectures given by alumni including Shepard Fairey and myself, CJ Dunn.

Screenprints from the exhibition by Shepard Fairey

Painting by Monica Lundy

Screenprinted Canvas by Nate Lowman

Sculpture by Hawkeye Glenn

Original Typeface Design Specimen, Letterpress Print by CJ Dunn

Society of Scribes: Redesign

cj — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 07:11:13 +0000

As part of the Society of Scribes redesign we created a new logotype, working with master calligrapher Alice Koeth, founding member of the organization. The new logotype references the original lettering created for the organization in 1974, but has been completely retooled and redesigned in the horizontal orientation for more effective and consistent use across print, web, and digital communications.

With the new website, our goal was to build a more inclusive, interactive environment for the membership while creating an online destination for the calligraphy community at large. This involved integrating dynamic elements to the site such as live flickr/twitter feeds and a blog, as well creating a space for academic resources and publications on calligraphy where out of print material will be digitized by the organization and shared with those interested in learning about calligraphy.

Website before redesign

Website after redesign

For the site’s typography, we chose the humanist sans-serif Agenda by Greg Thompson (Font Bureau). As it is based on the work of Edward Johnston, considered a father of modern calligraphy, it is sympathetic to the calligraphy showcased on the site while remaining firmly typographic and not competing with the calligraphic work. For the serif type we chose Georgia by Matthew Carter (Font Bureau) for it’s high level of craftsmanship and readability on screen at small sizes.

More about the logotype:
As an organization focused on the lettering arts, the fine details of the logotype required special care. Precise attention was given to the width of each letter depending on its surroundings, for example the “S” in Society is not the same as the “S” in Scribes, all to create a balanced effect across the logotype. The same was true for the spacing between the letters, adjusted contextually and done according to calligraphic spacing conventions (which are in some ways different from typographic spacing conventions). Additionally during the digitization process we made sure to precisely capture the letterforms while maintaining the warmth of the original calligraphy.

Original calligraphy detail:

Digital logotype detail:

Special thanks to Alice Koeth, Society of Scribes Founding Member, and Cara DiEdwardo, Society of Scribes President.

Nike: Harlem Team Hyperfuse

cj — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:34:52 +0000

Nike released a Harlem team hyperfuse using the branding we designed for the Battle of the Boroughs innitiative.

Type@Cooper TDC Exhibition

cj — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 03:22:36 +0000

My work from The Cooper Union Typeface Design Program will be on display at the Type Directors Club in our class exhibition, with an opening reception on Tuesday September 27th from 6–8pm.Above is a sample of my original typeface, Range, which will be on display at TDC.

My work will be shown in the company of my 10 extremely talented classmates: Aaron Carámbula, Annica Lydenberg, Becky Johnson, Cristóbal Henestrosa, Jesse Vega, Juan Carlos Pagan, Liz Meyer, Mark McCormack, Nick Sherman, and Thomas Jockin.

RSVP Free admission to attend, space is limited.

Nike Battle of the Boroughs: Harlem Team Branding

cj — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:51:17 +0000

I designed the logotype and branding, including custom number set, for Nike Basketball’s Harlem team for the 2011 Battle of the Boroughs. Rather than starting with an existing typeface, I used one of my own custom alphabets I’ve been working on as the basis for the logo.

Branding applied to team jerseys

In addition, Nike will be releasing a pair of white AF1s with the Harlem logo laser etched into the back right side, as part of the NYC borough pack in August.

Instore signage

Thanks to Anthony Nguyen at Tango and Sons for bringing me in on this project.
*Images via freshnessmag.com and allsportseverything.com

Original Typeface Design: Process Book

cj — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 16:47:54 +0000

I started at the Cooper Union in the Post-Graduate Typeface Design Program in the Fall of 2010 and began my original typeface design in January of 2011. The following are some photos of my design process for this project.

Early sketches exploring translation and expansion stroke models

Explorations for the italics

Looking into adding additional weights

I was lucky enough to present my work to Johnathan Hoefler of Hoefler & Frere-Jones and master type designer Matthew Carter.

Below is the current state of my design, as I presented it this week. I will be continuing development for my Cooper Type final.

*Matthew Carter photo courtesy of Cristóbal Henestrosa, Johnathan Hoefler photo courtesy of Jack Curry

Team Nike NYC

cj — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:48:31 +0000

The Team Nike NYC campaign I designed for Nike Basketball is now live.

Judgement Day Tour: LiveZine

cj — Sun, 15 May 2011 16:31:53 +0000

I joined Judgement Day on their national tour with Pinback and created a series of tour zines along the way.

I created a new zine for each show using photos I took along the way and hand lettering I drew on the spot, usually at the venue during the sound check before the show. The zines would then be for sale at the show, printed on demand using a portable laser printer. It was a nice design challenge to create a (nearly) daily publication while traveling. This required making quick decisions and trusting gut instinct with no time for second guessing.