Della Mae
Date: 2011
Client: Della Mae
Project: Album Artwork
Della Mae is an up-and-coming bluegrass band out of Boston. Talented musicians all around, they turned to me for their debut album, I Built This Heart, right before signing to Rounder Records. Together we came up with art design that featured some feminine touches (they are an all-girl band, after all) but still represented their serious musical chops.
ThinkMusic Group
Date: 2011
Client: ThinkMusic Group
Project: Complete Branding of new company
ThinkMusic Group is a start-up music and talent management company that came to me because they needed a face: logo, business cards and several branches of a very professional website. From live bands to event organization to music education to artist management, they provide amazing services to a huge market … and brand versatility mattered to them and their clients.
Inlander Fall Arts
Date: 2007
Client: The Pacific Northwest Inlander
Project: Illustration for Fall Arts Issue
The Inlander is the biggest weekly in the inland northwest with about 136,000 weekly readers. It’s based out of Spokane, Wash., and each fall they run a special issue on the arts. In 2007 I created the cover art and all the illustrations for the lead feature.
Type Tuesday
Date: Ongoing
Clients: Art for fun!
Every Tuesday I devote time to creating or working with typography. I draw a drop cap, a whole font, a quote or just something related to type. When I’m done, I post it on my blog. Sometimes I feature a guest artist, and there are occasional giveaways, too. Type Tuesday is a highlight of each week for me. Here is a few of my favorite recent entries.
Kevin Long
Date: 2011
Client: Kevin Long
Project: Album Artwork
Kevin Long is a singer-songwriter and a Spokane native. His work is fabulous and is engineered by Grammy-winning engineer Kory Kruckenberg. I was honored to design the artwork for his debut full-length album, Small Town Talk. The illustration is completely hand-drawn and features Spokane landmarks.
Noah Gundersen
Date: 2009
Client: Noah Gundersen
Project: Album Artwork
Noah Gundersen is a talented singer-songwriter out of Seattle whose work appeared on Sons of Anarchy and rose to the top of the charts on iTunes. In 2009 I had the privilege to design the cover of his EP Saints & Liars. (Bonus: I engineered and sang on several of the tracks.)
Monte Ingersoll
Date: 2009
Client: Monte Ingersoll
Project: Album Artwork
Every designer tackles personally meaningful projects, and Farther Along is a project featuring the musical talents of my extended family (musicians everywhere!). Each element of the design was taken from family books, sermon notes, hymnals and journals, so research played a big roll in this album design. This was definitely a treat to work on.
Self-Promotion
Date: 2007-2010
Client: Karli Fairbanks (me)
Project: Album Artwork, Music Promotion Materials
Designing and illustrating albums began with artwork for my own music. After producing my own album art, one sheets, post-cards and marketing mailers for radio and publicity, musicians started to ask me to do theirs, too. I wholeheartedly believe that a good band/musician should visually brand themselves to match their sound.
Beaty Will Save the World
Date: 2011
Client: Personal
Project: Custom Typography
“Beauty will save the world” is a quote from The Idiot by Dostoyevsky, but it’s also the title of a book by Gregory Woolfe, the founder of the immensely popular journal Image. Beauty drives my work and my life. To create internal and external beauty, to lift up others and to shed light where there is darkness: those are noble goals.
Purchase the Original
Kitchen Series
Date: 2009
Client: Personal
Project: Kitchen Illustrations
Art is about sharing, and so are cooking and baking. I love my artwork, but I’m also compelled to feed people and create beauty with flavor. As I was thinking about how much I love fresh herbs (they are seriously delicious), I decided to create a little drawing. It appealed to other food and art lovers out there and turned into this series of illustrations.
Purchase Prints
Inlander “Best Of 2008″
Date: 2008
Client: The Pacific Northwest Inlander
Project: Illustrations and Typography for the “Best of 2008” Issue
The “Best of” issue is the landmark annual issue for The Inlander, an alternative weekly with the nation’s highest market penetration, and I drew a robot and a handcrafted type for each section. The mechanical beasties included a robot athlete, a robot hiker, a robot musician and more. It’s one of my favorite illustration projects.
Miscellaneous Illustration
Date: 2011
Client: Personal
Project: Ongoing
I’m always illustrating, always discovering new techniques, and always exploring new themes … which is why people think of my work as very dynamic and diverse. Many of my illustrations end up as prints, and these are just a few from my personal collection.
The Musician’s Wife
Date: 2011
Client: Kimberly Loomis
Project: Website Header and Details to Match
Kimberly is a photographer and mom who follows my blog and reached out to me to help freshen up her own blog. My work is always about understanding clients, and she had lovely ideas related to her family and her personality. We had tons of fun and came up with a richly textured illustration that kept the focus on her values and personality.
Blue Button
Date: 2008
Client: Blue Button
Project: Logo and Stationary
Blue Button is a non-profit screen printing company in Spokane that works with at-risk kids and screen prints clothing and posters with eco-friendly materials. The challenge was to create visual impact with donors and clients while still showing that the company worked with youth.
Josh Ritter Poster
Date: 2009
Client: The Red Room
Project: Poster for Josh Ritter Concert
When I had the opportunity to design a poster for Josh Ritter’s performance at the Red Room in Kennewick, Wash., I was especially excited for the project. Josh is a phenomenal musician and one of the greatest living songwriters anywhere. To really make the poster stand out, I illustrated his entire portrait.
Booze Day Marathon
Date: 2011
Client: Booze Day Organizers
Project: Poster and T-shirt for Promotion and Participants
The Booze Day Marathon Pub Run happens every year the night before Bloomsday, which, with more than 50,000 participants, is the largest road race in North America. The project combines elements of two great cultures: the running world and the pub world.
Song Series
Date: 2009
Client: Personal
Project: Acrylic Paintings Based on Songs
When I recorded my second full-length solo album, I decided to put together an art show of paintings inspired by the songs I was writing. I used imagery, concepts and sometimes even words from the songs. I showed and sold the paintings at a cozy coffee shop in downtown Spokane.
Empyrean Anniversary Shows
Date: 2008
Client: Empyrean
Project: Three Poster Designs
The Empyrean was a local venue in Spokane, and every anniversary weekend they hosted theme nights. Over the years I’d illustrated many posters for the venue, and those posters often featured a bird theme, so I used birds in this project, too. For each theme night I illustrated a bird in the style of the nightly theme: hipster bird, ‘80s dance party bird and rastafarian bird.
Ribbon Font
Date: 2011
Client: Private
Project: Hand-drawn Ribbon Font
I started working on this font for a Type Tuesday post on my blog. My readers liked the sample I made, but it also drove significant search traffic from Google. Apparently “ribbon font” is a big deal for designers, decorators and scrapbookers, so I decided to complete the whole alphabet.
Free Download available soon.
Maldives Poster
Date: 2008
Client: Empyrean
Project: Poster Design
Geography buffs and world travelers know that the Maldives are beautiful islands near India. Music buffs know that those islands gave their name to The Maldives, an alt-country band from Seattle. The band’s live performances are regularly sold-out, and their albums are popular. With their roots near the Puget Sound and with their name borrowed from an island nation, a ship seemed appropriate for this specific stop on their tour.
Undertow Designs
Date: 2009
Client: Undertow Music Collective
Project: T-shirts
The Undertow Collective is a music distribution and management company that works with some pretty amazing bands. The company is 15 years old and operates nationally, and they have shops in Boston, St. Louis, Seattle, Portland and Champaign, Ill. One of my projects included artwork and illustration for David Bazan and his band Headphones.
Garage Voice
Date: 2008
Client: Garage Voice
Project: Poster Design
Garage Voice is a Seattle band that originally hails from Michigan. They asked me to design and illustrate a poster for a homecoming show they played a few years back, and this hand-drawn poster shows the flock returning to the nest.
Annie Bethancourt
Date: 2008
Client: Annie Bethancourt
Project: Album Cover
When Portland-based Annie asked me to design the album for Three Hundred Suns, I knew exactly what would set it apart and still give it an authentic Portland feel: hand-stitching. The whole album cover is hand-stitched with a custom design that catches the eye and keeps it, too.
Krochet Kids Intl.
Date: 2006
Client: Krochet Kids International
Project: Logo Redesign, Branding, Hang Tags, Website and Newsletters
When Krochet Kids was still a small nonprofit preparing to go international, they worked with me to create a complete brand. We redesigned their logo, developed new branding elements, and built an innovative website with collaterals. Today KKI is incredibly successful (they landed major partnerships with Volcomm and Nordstrom’s), and they’re a model of the best kind of sustainable philanthropy.
Da Vinci Exhibit
Date: 2011
Client: Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
Project: T-shirt
The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture is the premier museum in the inland northwest and the Da Vinci exhibit was their biggest show and most heavily promoted event in several years. I designed several pieces for the exhibit including a t-shirt and an exhibit program.
Mother’s Day
Date: 2007
Client: Personal
Project: Mother’s Day Typopgraphy
Custom type and fonts let you share emotions and ideas in ways that cookie-cutter fonts can’t. They’re more personal, more expressive and totally unique. This illustrated project really highlights just how powerful custom lettering can be.
Scott Ryan
Date: 2011
Client: Scott Ryan
Project: Digital Album Art and Poster
Scott Ryan is a singer-songwriter out of Los Angeles. His musical style mixes layers, textures and complicated sounds, especially on this new album, Mercy Killings. I wanted to reflect his style in the album art, so I combined different types of line work with mixed illustrations, photo layers and shapes.
Global Neighborhood
Date: 2011
Client: Global Neighborhood and Global Neighborhood Thrift
Project: Logo and Website
Global Neighborhood is a nonprofit organization in Spokane that helps refugees create stable homes and lives. When they decided to branch out into starting a Thrift Store business to further support the refugee community, I took their existing logo and refocused it to reflect the new aspect of the organization. They also needed a site redesign and a new site for the Thrift Store that were cohesive.
Teryn Carter
Date: 2011
Client: Teryn Carter
Project: Website with Custom Lettering
Jazz singer and big band arranger Teryn Carter hails from Los Angeles and plays in venues throughout Orange County and southern California. She turned to me to help her design a new website with a custom, hand-drawn font and customized illustrations.
The Cave Singers
Date: 2010
Client: Empyrean
Project: Tour Poster Design
The indie rock band The Cave Singers makes its home in Seattle and has now released a handful albums, several to critical acclaim. They’ve got a rustic folk sound that’s great to listen to, and their facial hair is almost as good.
Man Man
Date: 2011
Client: Red Room
Project: Poster Design
Man Man hails from Philadephia, and the experimental band has released numerous albums and criss-crossed the country several times. They also found their way into a series of Nike commercials and an episode of Weeds. Better yet: several of the band members have wicked beards.
Jesse Sykes
Date: 2011
Client: Red Room
Project: Poster Design
Known for the rich texture of their music and the intensity of their lyrics, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter has released multiple albums. Without using any words, this poster emphasizes the power of the lyrics that have made the band widely recognized.
David Bazan
Date: 2010
Client: Undertow Music Collective
Project: Tour Poster Design
Previously of Pedro the Lion and Headphones, David Bazan announced his solo career on 89.3 The Current and has since released several full-length solo albums. This poster was designed for his first full band tour promoting the album, Curse Your Branches.
Inlander Short Story Cover
Date: 2009
Client: The Pacific Northwest Inlander
Project: Cover Illustration and Inside Lettering
As the region’s major arts and culture newspaper, The Inlander hosts an annual flash fiction contest: tell a story in 101 words or less. I designed and illustrated cover and hand-drawn lettering for the feature. With such a word-focused piece, nailing the type really mattered.
Custom Lettering for the Inlander
Date: 2007-current
Client: The Pacific Northwest Inlander
Project: Custom Types
Knowing that hundreds of thousands of people are going to experience my fonts and type every week is a powerful experience. That’s why I always look forward to my work with The Inlander, one of the most popular and award-winning alternative newspapers in the country.
Thanksgiving Illustration
Date: 2009
Client: The Pacific Northwest Inlander
Project: Thanksgiving Illustration
For the tens of thousands of foodies in the inland Pacific Northwest, The Inlander is the best place for restaurant reviews, recipes, culinary news and food culture. I illustrated the Thanksgiving story on holiday tastiness. No turkeys were harmed in the illustration process, but if they were, they would have been delicious.
Song Series
Riverfront Builders
Date: 2011
Client: Riverfront Builders Inc.
Project: Logo and business cards
A contracting company in the Tri-Cities of Washington (Kennewick, Pasco and Richland) turned to me for their corporate identity. The design is simple, clean and memorable, and prospective clients know right away what the company does … which means the company spends less time building their brand and more time building their business.
Jacob Rodenbucher Photography
Date: 2011
Client: Jacob Rodenbucher
Project: Logo and Business Cards
Jacob is a Seattle-based photographer who specializes in wedding photography and senior portraits. The simple design of the illustrated logo almost makes it easy to remember and quickly connects clients to Jacob.
Brandon Vasquez Photography
Date: 2011
Client: Brandon Vasquez
Project: Logo and Business Cards
Brandon works in the Spokane area and is a versatile photographer with experience in weddings, engagements, concerts, commercial photography, senior portraits, landscape photos and film. His illustrated logo design keeps the focus on his camera and his profession.
Sacred Roots
Date: 2010
Client: Sacred Roots Community
Project: Logo Design
Sacred Roots is a grassroots community movement. They’ve taken a nontraditional path to church building in southeast Portland, Ore., which is a community that mixes hipster culture and blue collar workers. We worked together to create a logo that reflects the community’s name and the growth that Saced Roots is seeking without seeming like a “traditional” religious organization.
Commissioned Art
Date: Fall 2011
Project: Painting for a baby room
I was hired to create this painting for a baby room. The painting was to be non-gender specific so I tried to just keep it light and whimsical with fun colors. I’m always available for create custom paintings for gifts or decor. Contact me for a quote.
Mariel Vandersteel
Date: Fall/Winter 2011
Project: Album cover and packaging
Mariel is fiddle musician out of Boston. She has a wonderful skill of making tunes come to life and this album is her solo debut featuring some of her own tunes and some traditionals. I also designed cards, one-sheet, flyers and other printed promotional material to go with the album packaging.
Dominik Baer
Date: Spring 2012
Project: Album cover and packaging
Dominik is a German folk artist. We worked very closely together to create this concept and packaging. The concept was based on the title track of the album being about how our culture has changed because of technology. The interaction we have with reality and the tangible world. I really enjoyed tying this idea in to each part of the layout. The magnifying glass was an added bonus to get the listener to interact with the packaging and enforce this idea of physical touch vs. being detached from things because of technology.
Hotel Stella
Date: January 2012
Client: Hotel Stella Booking and Management
Project: Logo and Business Cards
Hotel Stella is a Spokane based booking and management company for independent musicians and bands. They represent a handful of Pacific Northwest musicians helping promote and book gigs for artists who do not have label representation.
