Hasta La Ideas

Artists align for a community poster festival celebrating bicycles

Started in Minneapolis just three years ago, the Artcrank show was a quick, fun way to publicize local artists by inviting them to create posters about bike culture. Since then, the concept has spread with lightning speed to cities like Portland, San Francisco, Des Moines and even London. With new cities taking part every year, “Artcrank is growing roughly 10-15% faster than I can keep up with,” said Charles Youel, Artcrank’s director and curator—not a bad problem to have.

“Accessibility is a big part of what makes the show unique,” Youel explains. Local works on display each sell for an affordable $30 apiece at each venue. “The more accessible those experiences are, the more diverse and interesting a biking and artistic culture becomes. I see people arriving on bikes, discovering local artists they’ve never heard of and connecting with causes. If free beer and cheap posters are the catalyst for that, it’s cool by me,” continues Youel.

Another central component to Artcrank is ensuring every show reflects the character of the community. At Portland’s show tonight (7 October 2010) Deschutes Brewery will offer free beer at the Ace Hotel Cleaners, an old laundry facility the Ace Hotel Portland converted into their own event space. “Having local partners and sponsors who support the show is a very important part of making Artcrank a more sustainable proposition,” said Youel.

Local artists featured in Portland’s show include Aaron James of MathDept, Martha Koenig, the husband-and-wife team of Truen and Julia Pence who make up Craft Services Design Co. and numerous others. In many cities, Youel posts an open call for artists on Facebook or Twitter. However, in a more established bike mecca such as Portland, he often contacts the artists personally to request submissions.

“When we first started entertaining the idea of doing shows beyond Minneapolis, I thought, ‘Well, this will work in places like Portland and San Francisco.’ And I figured that would be it,” said Youel. “Since then, we’ve seen the show catch on very quickly. We’re betting that Artcrank can and will work anywhere that people love bikes and art. So far, it’s a bet we’ve won every single time.”

Artcrank Portland will take place at the Ace Hotel Cleaners at from 5-11pm. All proceeds from the show will go to Bikes to Rwanda, a nonprofit that provides cargo bicycles to farmers in Rwanda as transportation for basic needs and coffee hauling. Other upcoming shows include Artcrank SFO at the Chrome store, and Bend, Oregon in December.

Also on Cool Hunting: Joy Ride Art Shows

Follow the games in style with David Watson’s double-sided poster set in Gotham. The piece was developed for Soccer Aid, a British charity that raises money for UNICEF. No doubt we will be following the U.S./England match come this Saturday.

Front of Poster

Back of Poster

About the poster:
A doubled sided A1+ typographic World Cup poster designed for Soccer Aid | UNICEF, by David Watson | Trebleseven printed on 170 gsm PhoeniXmotion Xenon.

Soccer Aid raises money for UNICEF to help children around the world.

The Poster was produced in collaboration with G&B printers and PhoeniXmotion paper.

All poster sale profits will benefit Soccer Aid | UNICEF.

Dans la continuité du projet Posters Series of Tv Shows, voici ces nouveaux posters minimalistes représentant plus de 50 films par des symboles simples et colorés. Un excellent exemple et travail du graphiste Hexagonall, à découvrir dans la suite de l’article.

Pour aller plus loin : Portfolio Hexagonall

Previously on Fubiz

• Tim Burton Posters
• Snask Film
• Asics Running Film

The poster for tomorrow competition for 2010 is now open for entries. This year the theme is the abolition of the death penalty. Learn how to participate here.

Excerpt from press release:
In 2009, countries with the highest number of executions were Iran (with at least 388 executions), Iraq (at least 120), Saudi Arabia (at least 69), and the United States (52). In China information regarding the death penalty remains a secret, but estimates show that China executes more people than the rest of the world combined.*

But there is hope—the number of people being executed around the world appears to be declining. And in December the United Nations will vote on a universal moratorium on the death penalty. It’s a vital step towards abolishing the death penalty once and for all. No matter whether you live in a country that practices capital punishment or not, we have to raise awareness across the whole world that the death penalty is a violation of human rights that has no place in modern society.

Providing a fresh take on Stephen King‘s classically twisted words and worlds, graphic designer Nick Tassone evokes the spirit of the disturbing films with a set of movie posters that perfectly illustrate each daunting plot.

Tassone cuts out the gore and reduces each image down to an essential stylized symbol, using a two-color palette of black paired with a pastel. For “Carrie,” an upended bucket hangs from a rope, while “Firestarter” and “Cat’s Eye” receive a literal treatment, showing a single large match and a wide cat’s eye. These condensed interpretations reinforce King’s ability to create intelligible stories, easily recognized even years after they were originally published.

Adding a layer of detail to play up a bygone tone, the vintage-inspired graphics include scratches and imperfections. The simplicity of Tassone’s design lends a familiar Hitchcockian dread and unease, making for an ultimately creepy yet visually-pleasing poster.

Pick up the Carrie poster and (soon) more for $30 from Tassone’s online shop.