The Design Bureau of Amerika officially launches it’s new screen printing studio, Amerikan Made Prints™ with it’s first commissioned work for local singer / songwriter, Joe D’Amico. TDBA had created the artwork for Joe’s CD, “Something in the Silence”, so when it came time to promote the upcoming CD release party, Joe contacted The Bureau about creating the poster.

The concept behind the CD package artwork was to create an illustration that on one level represented the brief moments of clarity that we sometimes get in the midst of the chaotic drama of our everyday lives. On another level the scene of two deer in the implied vast wilderness reacting to a perceived sound is a visual metaphor for how often in a relationship, it is not always in what people say to each other that is important but it is the things not said that is most telling. (Note: CD package photos coming soon)

The style of the CD artwork was designed to evoke some of the classic album jackets of Roost Records from the mid 1950’s with it’s line illustration, big swatches of color and the use of sharp angles for it’s typography. This type of design seemed to match visually to the organic and heartfelt sounds of D’Amico’s music.

For the poster, I didn’t want to simply transfer the artwork of the CD to the poster but instead use it as a foundation. I wanted the poster to have a really open and expansive feeling but at the same time still have a main focal point. I decided not to use type on angles but instead use the type to overlap the image of the deer so that it became the main point of interest and also added the visual tension to the design. This also helps establish the hierarchy of the poster’s message.

The orange and blue  ink was custom mixed to give the poster a better vintage feel. The paper is of course from French Paper, the official paper stock of The Bureau. Shown below are some pictures of the process in making this poster.

While Amerikan Made Prints will be an extension of The Bureau’s commercial services, a large portion of it’s output will be focused on the soon to be launched Ink Initiative™. This project’s mission will be to create hand printed, limited run posters for sale with 70% of each prints profit to be donated to a chosen non-profit organization. Keep an eye out for up coming news on the official launch of The Ink Initiative™