It’s wonderful when your passion for a particular niche blossoms into something tangible. In my case, the art of classic video game brand Atari has influenced me since childhood. It engrossed me so much that I’ve spent quite a few hours researching, interviewing, and collecting examples of the illustration, graphic design, and industrial design of this pioneering company. I’ve had the privilege to talk to many artists, designers, and even co-founder Nolan Bushnell about the creative legacy of Atari. That work is beginning to take shape as a book, and as word has gotten out about it, I’ve gotten quite a few questions. So I took the opportunity to talk with Michael Gapper at Edge Magazine and answer some of them. If you also have fond memories of Missile Command and Pitfall Harry, you might enjoy checking out the full interview.
More New Work: Laemmle Website and Branding
At Hexanine, we are huge film buffs, so it’s with great pride that we finally showcase our work with Laemmle Theatres. This great group of movie theaters in the LA area are stalwarts of excellent foreign, indy, and art house film. We were recruited by Three Thirty and Innfusion Studios to help expand their brand identity and design the current website. Check out the portfolio entry for more deets.
New Work: Ashley Furniture and ILC
Great work is the lifeblood of what we do, so it’s always fun to showcase work, even if it has been hiding behind the curtains for a while. Here are a couple such projects: Website design and branding work for Ashley Furniture, and an identity redesign for ILC. More details of these projects follow at their respective portfolio pages, so check ‘em out.
Navigating the Niche: Embracing the Power of Micro-Communities
The world is changing. We are rapidly evolving away from a marketplace ruled by mass culture, to one filled with a riotous patchwork of specific niches. Not long ago, one-size-fits-all communications, branding, and products stood at the top of the heap. Whether it was the Big Three TV networks, Top 40 Radio, or products designed for the Average Jane, traditional marketing and branding sought the widest spread and the largest customer base. But in 2014, these bastions of lowest common denominator thinking are slowly crumbling, thanks to the increasing fragmentation of media, culture, and interests. And these fragments — whether you call them tribes, micro-communities, or niches — have powerful potential for organizations, brands, and marketers.
Musings: For Love Or Money?
Wonderful, inspirational thoughts from Neil Gaiman, addressing students at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia:
“Nothing I did where the only reason for doing it was the money was ever worth it, except as bitter experience. Usually I didn’t wind up getting the money, either. The things I did because I was excited, and wanted to see them exist in reality have never let me down, and I’ve never regretted the time I spent on any of them.”
Happy Holidays From Hexanine!
As the year is winding down, we’re just now getting some time to reflect on the last twelve months. It has been another amazing whirlwind of a year, filled with peaks and valleys, great projects, amazing clients, new friendships, late nights, brain-searing ideas, and equal measures perspiration and inspiration.
Before 2013 comes to a close, we would be remiss if we didn’t wish you all a happy holiday and great new year — hopefully filled with friends, family, laughter and some time off to reboot for all that 2014 promises to be!
See you again next year!
Heritage or Garbage? 10 Thoughts on Reclaiming Old Brands
Occasionally we’re asked to partner with organizations who are looking to revive an old brand, resuscitate a product, or reclaim dormant intellectual property. Sometimes it’s for a brand new venture, or it’s a company rummaging through its archives for untapped assets. These behaviors can make a lot of sense, because typically, someone else has already put money, time, and effort into making that brand a recognizable one. The math seems deceptively easy: on paper it looks simpler to breathe life into an older brand than starting with a blank canvas. Some firms have even built their business models around reviving these castoffs. But it’s not always that easy.
Musings: Eames And Ignorance
Great thoughts on how ignorance and genius collided in the work of Charles and Ray Eames. The quote comes from the wonderful documentary, “The Architect and the Painter”:
“Sell your expertise and you have a limited repertoire. Sell your ignorance and you have an unlimited repertoire. He was selling his ignorance and his desire to learn about a subject. The journey of not knowing to knowing was his work.”
- Richard Saul Wurman on Charles Eames
Tim Interviewed About Art of Atari
“The game-playing wasn’t 100 percent of the experience. Part of what made the world complete was the artwork that conjured up this other place. I wasn’t sitting in my living room anymore; I was on this desolate planet or in space. And it was mostly because of that art.” – Tim Lapetino, quoted at The Verge
I have written before about my love for Atari, and how it morphed into a career and passion for design. It’s funny how some influential moments keep echoing throughout one’s life. I had the great privilege to be interviewed by The Verge’s Andrew Webster about the art of Atari, alongside some of the great artistic talents behind Atari’s amazing package illustrations. I am in great company, as some of the others interviewed for this story are now friends of mine, including amazing Atari artists Cliff Spohn, Steve Hendricks, John Enright, and Susan Jaekel. Definitely worth a read for another look behind the packaging of those great retro games.