Mr CUP News

 

Last week, I was invited by Adobe France to cover the inspiring Offf festival in Barcelona. For those which doe not know it, OFFF is a community inviting all those who are eager to learn to participate and get inspired in a three-day journey of conferences, workshops, activities and performances. This event is really about meeting people and sharing inspiration. During the 2015 edition I met Michael Chaize there, and one year later I get an interview about his experience at Adobe published in Walter magazine ! 

 

Offf is like being 10 and back to school... "Hey I like your work, do you want to be friend with me" ? This is what happen with Sebastian Spasic alias AKUsepp, among others, an amazing photographer from Germany. He starts shooting Adobe invited designers, as well as people around Offf and this is the result. Among them the "other" french designer of the band, Olivier Huard. Thanks again Stéphanie and Adobe for the great moment ! 

 

Portraits of Michael Flarup, Dan Mumford, Carl Sprague, Rudolf Klöckner,  Olivier Huard, founsy & Bart !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These 2 last pictures are me working/not working and I had the pleasure to met the great Carl Sprague who was set designers on The Grand Budapest Hotel, among others ! I present him Walter 2, of course !

 

During the event I also do a a live presentation of my work that you still can now watch here, hosted by the great Rufus Deuchler. 

 

 

As I am writing this message, I still haven't get the Walter magazine 2 in my hands ! It is well finished, but it goes directly to the people who will send it to subscribers or supporters over the kickstarter campain ! I should have my own copies on monday, just before going to Paris and share a great moment at the Artazart book store to present it ! If you are in Paris on the 24th, please join us from 6 to 9 pm to share about creativity ! If you can come, please tell us on the facebook dedicated page !

 

 

We all know the visual codes of a deck of cards – ace, king, queen, jack... hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades ... red, black. Theory11 reinvent these codes and call in graphic designers and printing craftsmen to create remarka ble games ! Everything is in the experience, the feeling, the paper quality, the gilding and the decoration. Walter 2 will feature a full story behind these decks and here comes Citizens, designed by th one and only Kevin Cantrell. You know him, he his behind the deign of Walter 1 front cover !

 

 

 

 

Kevin this story behind these cards : Theory11 contacted me to create an opulent and currency inspired deck for a specific magician. The initial ask was to create something singular but with hidden iconography throughout that told the magician’s story in a subtle manner. As the creative progressed, the hidden iconography became more tertiary as the currency theme and other design elements rose to the surface. The iconography and subtle connection to the magician became so tertiary, in fact, that we decided it was better to have the deck stand on its own independent of the magician.

We changed the name, drawing inspiration from the rich look and feel. The concept of justice and equality, written in latin as “libertas et justitia” and “e pluribus unum” meaning "one for all,” or the idea of justice and liberty for everyone, made the name “Citizens” really resonate. My process is two fold: architectural and gardening. I come up with the basic structure for the key components centered around typographic components such as the logotype and a custom monogram made inside a custom ace of spade. Following the architectural foundation, I then fill in the space as needed (gardening) which is really more intuitive than anything else.

We wanted every panel to tie into the other, almost like a magic box. So if you turn the box around you’ll notice that there are subtle connection panels that run to the spine. Every panel was integrated and considered; we didn’t want any detail to feel unintentional or an after thought (just as we wouldn’t want any individual or citizen to feel ... unimportant as the latin them of “liberty and justice for all” resonated throughout). In addition to the aesthetic connectivity, we wanted there to be a high sense of functionality to the deck as it stood on a shelf. The name “CITIZENS” fit beautifully large on the main side panel, so that from a distance CITIZENS would read easily above the rest; hence this citizen is sure to stand out in a crowd!

 

 

 

 

The detailed ornaments of Kevin Cantrell combined with a gold foil, hot stamping and bronze foil give Citizens the masterpiece status! Even the inside of the box has a breathtaking, intricate guilloche pattern. The Joker and back design bear the Latin phrase “Audentes Fortuna Iuvat.” Fortune favors the brave. The Ace of Spades features an iconic Citizen “C” emblem. Citizens artwork extends in three dimensions from the laser-etched hardwood cover. Open it to reveal 6 decks of Citizens. Handcrafted detail with laseretched panels and the finest African hardwood make this box set the most luxurious collector’s edition to date.

 

 

“A time before the United States existed, a time when we were subjects of a King across an ocean, we, the Sons of Liberty operated in the shadows, leaving secret signals, passing hidden messages, and meeting in the dead of night.” These playing cards embody the spirit of freedom that the Sons of Liberty fought for, featuring Freemason symbols, the Liberty Tree, and many other secret images. A few of the many heroes of the War are represented on the court cards, giving you a chance to become acquainted with brave men and women. Illustrated by Jeff Trish in a woodcut style with intricate details throughout. Custom court cards, aces, Jokers and subtle variations in all the spot cards make this deck completely unique all around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few copies of the Sons of liberty are also available in the shop.

 

 

I have buy several decks for my personal collection of the past weeks and took some more to propose them in the shop. Check the updated part of the shop to get Union, Monarch red and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check all the cards available in the shop here.

I usually always found the time to post something on the blog, but this time, it was too much ! The Walter 2 magazine is moving well, but even with the success of the first volume and all the subscription, doing a printed magazine is a new thing for me. Walter is not available on major newsstands, only in independent shops and book stores. But it took time to found sellers, time we dedicated to the content and the design of the magazine. We now miss money to print the second volume, so we finally deceided to do a new kickstarter to bring a new light on the project.

 

 

I can now reveal more on the contents of this second volume:
A creative / A Project (front cover) :  Dodecahedron by Rafael Araujo
Instagram to follow : 1924us and more
Neon type Museum of Las Vegas
Dieter Rams and the 10 principals of design
Studio visit : Parliament
It's a kind of magic : creative decks
Creative type
Honey Honey
Marc Besant : design with Peter Gabriel
Exclusive Anton Corbijn interview
Star Wars : original trilogy posters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new Walter will feature an article on the making of Creative playing cards created by Joe White or Chad Michaels, and I am please to have them available in the shop again, including the limited edition Artisan Wood box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One big change is that I now have a creative studio, but also Jef who start working with me ! So I can now sleep almost one more hour every night ! The office is a little messy and empty, but we will soon found time to unpack all the boxes... For time to time, I check in my vintage stuffs and shoot them on instagram !

 

 

And last week I was invited to talk about my work and projects with the Walking Web team ! It is in french, but it is here.

 

 

Jef, who start working with me at the begining of february now work on editorial design and web development. His first mission was to design a dedicated web site to the www.letterpress-calendar.com ! Good start !

 

 

 

I will be one of the speakers at next -ING festival in Dubaï ! Will tell you more about it soon !