Have I mentioned how much I love drawing type?  Right.

The thing I love most about hand drawn typography is there isn’t the pressure of making it perfect. The slightly shaky lines, the lines that accidentally wander outside of the boundaries of the typography…that’s what I love. It’s tactile and human and you don’t get that naturally with digital art.

Frank Chimero had a blog post recently called Faking It. Here it is in a nutshell:

“How do you get those uneven edges in your illustrations?”
“I draw them, unevenly.”

“What’s the best way to get this to look like it’s cut out of paper?”
“Cut it out of paper.”

“What typeface are you using? It looks so much like handwriting.”
“That’s my handwriting.”

Of course. That’s what I love.

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Very, very excited to post my 100th design for this year. I’m amazed that I’ve created 100 unique designs in 7 months – it’s been a blast.

Thanks to my March drawing challenge, I have to say that I now enjoy having just a paper and pen in front of me (it hasn’t always been that way). Lately I’ve had fun utilizing hand drawn type in my wallpapers and tonight was no exception. I’m not completely for sure where the phrase “Where’s Bears” came from; it sounds like a book I would have read in elementary school, but after a quick search I wasn’t able to find a match. If anyone has any leads feel free to let me know.

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This week’s wallpaper consists of an idea, a sharpie, an image from Jimon Magazine, and a few photoshop brushes. Enjoy.

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The past few weeks have been absolutely crazy. Mix that with a little sunshine and you get a big lack of blogging. In the meantime and until things settle, I’ve decided to profess my love for MadMen (Season 4 starts Sunday evening).

If you haven’t seen MadMen, you’re missing out big time; there is absolutely nothing that’s not to love about that show.

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Image via Style Inspiration

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Image via Ugo

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Image via AMC

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Image via FanPop

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Image via FanPop

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Image via AMC

There’s a new phrase in town. The type is hand drawn with a Sharpie on cheap printer paper. You can’t get any better than that.

Hmmm…

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Yikes! It’s been way to long since I’ve lasted posted. It seems like my Design a Day project has turned into something more like Design a Week this summer. While I may have gotten slightly off track during these warm sunny days, rest assured things will be back to normal once fall and winter roll around.

This evening I re-purposed one of my little monster dudes from March for the wallpaper.

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At the suggestion of my friend Vanessa over at Lynn David Handbags, I watched The September Issue this evening. It’s the story of Anna Wintour, the legendary fashion editor of Vogue magazine.

I’ve always been captivated by the world of fashion; it’s this untouchable world of hauntingly skinny yet intriguing women and beautiful clothing. Of all the dream careers I’ve wanted to have, the idea of working for a fashion magazine / organization has always stuck in the back of my mind.

This wallpaper is for women, powerful careers, and high fashion.

Photo credits: Fashion Action (Jean Paul Gaultier) and Kosher Camembert (the train)

Download the wallpaper:
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I seemed to get a positive response last month with downloadable patterns so I’ve decided to take on wallpaper (for computers and iPhones) as July’s challenge.

With the oil spill in the Gulf, I’ve been thinking about the types of fish and seafood people eat. While I don’t really eat meat, I think it’s important to be responsible about my food choices. There’s a really neat website called Seafood Watch that recommends which seafood to buy or avoid and helps advocate ocean-friendly seafood.

This first wallpaper is about whales. While modern commercial whaling for food doesn’t really exist anymore (it was banned in 1986), there are still certain species within the Baleen whale group that are hunted for various reasons.

Download the wallpaper:
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It’s hard to believe that I’ve already completed 6 months of Design a Day. I haven’t completely reached my goal of posting at least 5 designs a week (technically I should be at #130), but I’m really happy with what I’ve done so far regardless.

In recognition of Independence Day this weekend, I wanted to go back to our country’s roots and celebrate the tradition of the American Indians. Their icons and patterns are so simple, but are rich and complex at the same time.

Download Origin as a vector pattern
Download Origin as a Photoshop pattern

Please reference me if you decide to use my patterns

This is a wrap for June and I’ve got the entire weekend to brainstorm for July’s challenge. I’m open to any suggestions if there is something you want to see!

Update: Thanks to my Jason, my design partner in crime at Aptera, we have a pattern! (Still in one color combination)

Download WhatTheWhat as a vector pattern
Download WhatTheWhat as a Photoshop pattern

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I’ve been trying since Tuesday to get this simple (emphasis on simple) pattern to the point that it’s repeatable. Circles. That’s all it is. I have no clue. Can anyone else smarter than me chime in on this one?

Download WhatTheWhat as a vector file

Take it and make it your own.