"FADES & FELLOWSHIP: LIVE THEATRICAL SOCIAL COMMENTARY" NEW BARBERSHOP HAIRSTYLES CAMPAIGN

NEW WORK FROM THE FOUNDRY: FADES & FELLOWSHIP LIVE THEATRICAL AND SOCIAL COMMENTARY EXPERIENCE BRANDING WORK. FLIPPING THE SCRIPT ON THE CLASSIC BARBER'S HAIRCUT STYLES CHART POSTER--STYLE 1., STYLE 2., STYLE 3., STYLE 4., STYLE 5., ETC. FREDERICK, MALCOLM, MARTIN, W.E.B., MANDELA, ETC.

Work is underway on the Fades & Fellowship live theatrical social commentary experience design and identity work. A key component of the F&F identity will be our interpretation (we flipped the script) of the classic men's haircut styles chart poster. In this case, for F&F we're working with illustrator Janelle Jin Sanders to recreate the chart with the heads of Black men beloved by, and who've had, great impact on American society and the world overall. Black men such as Malcolm x, Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Dubious, Nelson Mandela, etc.

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NEW WORK FROM THE FOUNDRY: PRODUCING, DIRECTING, RAPPING, AND WRAPPING "THE COOK UP CONVO" EPISODES CAMPAIGN FOR TAHARKA BROS. ICE CREAM CO. AND NY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, D. WATKINS FOR THE COOK UP BOOK AND THE COOK UP ICE CREAM FLAVOR RELEASE

NEW WORK FROM THE FOUNDRY! RESEARCH ASSOCIATES FOUNDATION LOGOTYPE REDESIGN

New corp. identity design work from the Foundry! Corporate identity redesign for Research Associates Foundation.

Research Associates Foundation is an organization based in Baltimore, MD which is committed to promoting progressive activism in the city by awarding "small grants to support the projects of local progressives." The foundation originally wanted a mark created that reflected its dedication to fighting for societal equality in its design. Their prior logotype (seen below) did not give any clue to the organization's social justice focus. 

Always searching for a simple and elegant solution to the design problem at hand, we decided upon incorporating the one universal symbol of equality that is most recognizable, the = sign. For the RAF logotype redesign the = sign as a sign element fit perfectly as the two horizontal stems of the letter F and articulates plainly and clearly that the foundation's business is equality.

NEW WORK FROM THE FOUNDRY: EXECUTIVE PRODUCING BEYOND STEREOTYPES: HOW BLACK AND BROWN YOUNG MEN SEE THEMSELVES)

Wrapping up the "Beyond Stereotypes: How Black and Brown Young Men See Themselves"

NEW WORK FROM THE FOUNDRY! KISSES CLOTHING LOGOTYPE DESIGN

New corp. identity design work from the Foundry! Logo for new women's clothing company, KISSES. Love the name!

"Its been such a pleasure and honor to work with Darius Wilmore and his SuperFly! Foundry. He was able to answer all of my questions and the the logo he designed for me was flawless to say the least. I would highly recommend him to anyone that is looking for quality work."

--Kory-Ashley Pogue Founder, Kisses Clothing  ABOUT THE PROJECT:

KISSES Clothing is a new clothing and accessories line (including socks, skirts, dresses, scarves, ball caps and more) based out of Montgomery, AL. The new line's target market is urban and middle class American women from the age of 18 to 35. The company's challenge was getting a mark designed that could be "recognized as sexy, bold, original, enticing, confident, youthful and mature, classy, and with a twist of innovative style" and representing women in transition--sexy but classy with an urban twist", according to its founder. 

The company originally wanted a mark created that incorporated lips and lipstick in its design. Lips being the usual go to imaging for all things related to kissing this was understandable. However, we saw a simple and elegant solution to the their design problem almost from the start of discovery project phase. A simple horizontal flip of the second "S" letter, forcing the two S's to kiss each other forms a heart in the negative space. 

Can't get enough of this statue design! Goldie!!!!!!! MACKIN' on the movies,!!!!!!! Props 2 @UncleRUSH and to the team of designers who chose Goldie from 'THE MACK' film as the All Def Movie Awards statue! An inspired design idea! And if you've not had the chance to check out the ceremony that aired on Fusion you can peep it on youtube.

NEW WORK FROM THE FOUNDRY: THE FOUNDATION ALBUM CREATIVE DIRECTION, ART DIRECTION, AND DESIGN

DRINKING TO THE KINGS FROM QUEENS (RUN DMC AND JAM MASTER JAY) AND THEIR CLASSIC LOGO!

Came across the music memorabilia site Rockabilia and found out that they had a whole section dedicated to RUN DMC and JMJ! T-shirts, robes, socks, posters, backpacks, beach towels, ear buds, and much more. The black ceramic drinking mugs and coasters rocking the classic RUN DMC logo looked like the move! So the decision was made to cop! Raising a mug to toast the "kings from Queens" and one of our favorite all-time rap related logo designs! Classic ish going down all the way 'round!  

NEW "FLY!" WORK: CORPORATE IDENTITY (LOGOTYPE) DESIGN FOR THE LOCAL COLOR PODCAST PROGRAM BASED IN BALTIMORE

Local Color is a podcast created/hosted by Jason V. The show takes its name from the term "local color", which refers to the "distinctive characteristics or peculiarities of a place in literature, drama, or as observed in reality." The weekly program "talks with culture creators in Charm City who are changing the narrative about Baltimore and the people that live here". The program also takes the name and definition of the phrase literally as Jason's goal is to also shine a light on local Baltimore based people of color doing work he feels is beneficial to the community.  

In the vein of other successful podcast typographic treatments, the desire of Jason's was to have a simple mark designed for his podcast. The mark's design solution is a simple combination of wordmark and symbol that fits the purpose of the program (holding a magnifying glass up to Baltimore's local color for the audience to see via earbud, earphone, audio speaker). 

"TA-NEHISI COATES TO WRITE BLACK PANTHER COMIC FOR MARVEL" (AND WE'RE NOW EVEN BIGGER FANS OF MARVEL!!!)

And Ta-Nehisi Coates (see his recent Atlantic monthly magazine article on 'The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration') article should be tapped to write the screenplay for the film debut of this superhero as well! We look forward to peeping out the comic, Black Panther's film costume design, movie posters, etc! 

From the New York Times online:

Ta-Nehisi Coates can be identified in many ways: as a national correspondent for The Atlantic, as an author and, as of this month, as a nominee for the National Book Award’s nonfiction prize. But Mr. Coates also has a not-so-secret identity, as evidenced by some of his Atlantic blog posts and his Twitter feed: Marvel Comics super fan.

So it seems only natural that Marvel has asked Mr. Coates to take on a new Black Panther series set to begin next spring... (read on)

('CAUSE ACCORDING TO P-FUNK'S GEORGE CLINTON, NI***RS ARE IN OUTER SPACE TOO (PART 2))!!! "INSIDE THE RISE AND FALL OF NASA’S BELOVED WORM LOGO"

We continue offering more intergallactic insights regarding NASA and design with the story behind NASA's "worm" logo  (see our ''CAUSE ACCORDING TO P-FUNK'S GEORGE CLINTON, NI***RS ARE IN OUTER SPACE TOO" PART 1... post) and what, if anything, George Clinton and his funked up P-Funk fantasies had to do with this ish. 

ONE OF GRAPHIC DESIGN’S most famous love triangle begins, as most graphic design stories do, with a request for proposal. It was 1974, and Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn, founders of New York design studio Danne & Blackburn, had just responded to such a request, one asking the firm to re-brand NASA. It came under the Federal Graphics Improvement Program, an ambitious effort to revamp the visual identity of government agencies, most of which were, in a word, ugly.

Danne & Blackburn’s proposal hinged on a futuristic wordmark that came to be known as “the worm"...

(read on)

And what does George Clinton and P-Funk have to do with all of this? He/they have absolutely nothing and also everything to do with NASA, its "funky" "worm" logo, and space exploration! There's no Connection save a Mothership one if, like us, you grew up Black w/a telescope at your disposal, a love for sci-fi, a love for graphic design and art, watched the space shuttle take off and land live on TV, had a turntable (maybe two) at the ready, and a pair of fly parents with the Funk Mob's music in their record collection! We did, so, whenever we think of anything having to do w/space exploration we get good and ready to rock steady and sweaty while imagining that sweet chariot might actually swing down, stop, let us ride into space, and make that connection with the Mothership. George Clinton calling out that funkafied roll call y'all, adding us to his list of "n***ers in outer space too".