Studio A

Tomorrow is the first day of issue for the new Wilt Chamberlain stamps designed by Antonio with art by Kadir Nelson. Pushing the envelope (ahem), the stamps were designed to be extra-tall. Even so, they can show only half of the 7′-1″ superstar center. Today, the New York Times ran a nice article about Wilt and the stamps. Check it out:
http://nyti.ms/120MqBr

Rockin’ the CASVA! Here’s a publication we recently completed for CASVA (Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts) and the National Gallery of Art. Chronicling the work of twelve visiting scholars, the design unifies diverse imagery and content into a dignified, elegant book. Here’s to another twelve years of CASVA success!

We recently completed the Fall 2014 issue of Women in the Arts magazine and it just arrived on our doorstep. This issue features articles about the exciting New York Avenue Sculpture Project installation of Magdalena Abakanowicz’ work, an interview with two-person video art collective Soda_Jerk, a profile of wordless novel pioneer Helena Bochořáková-Dittrichová, and an overview of an upcoming exhibition that explores the Virgin Mary in Renaissance and Baroque art.

We were excited when the Smithsonian asked us to design their 2012 Annual Report and were equally thrilled when they asked us back to work on the 2013 report. The final product just arrived and we are happy with the results. This year’s theme is “People. Passion. Purpose.” and highlights many talented people who help make up the Smithsonian. Here’s to 2014!

Fridays are so good! Today was even better than usual due to the arrival of this 2014 wall calendar designed by Magma for Engelhardt and Bauer. We know, it’s already September, but we saw it on display at TypeCon and fell in love. It’s an homage to Vignelli’s 1966 Stendig calendar, printed with 8 colors (it’s even more brilliant and beautiful than our iPhone photos show). Come by and take a look next time you’re in our neighborhood!

They didn’t ask for our opinion about Israel/Gaza or Ukraine/Russia or even Ferguson, Mo. But Antonio was quoted in the Washington Post in a story about the new signage at Tyson’s Corner: washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/what-a-change-in-font-says-about-the-future-of-malls-in-america/2014/08/29/1e5b3ac6-2eee-11e4-9b98-848790384093_story.html

Have you ever judged a book by its cover? Here’s a link to a brief interview with book cover designer Peter Mendelsund, from last night’s PBS Newshour: pbs.org/newshour/bb/book-designer-plucks-vision-authors-pages/

Hello, and welcome to the Studio A blog. We’ve added a selection of entries previously posted on other social media sites. We hope you like them, and come back regularly to see our new additions. Thanks for visiting!

Here’s a nice remembrance of Janis Joplin from a former friend and songwriter Johanna Hall. And she uses the stamp we designed as her lead. esquire.com/blogs/culture/janis-joplin-2014