And The Winner Is..... STUNNING!

I've actually never seen the TV series, The Good Wife, but I understand it's pretty popular and well-done. So, I had no particular ties to the show or the actress (although she is gorgeous) when I came across this image in the Communication Arts Typography Annual.

That being said, I absolutely LOVE this award-winning 2013 Emmy Award advertisement! It was an entire campaign, each ad featuring "custom typography swirling around the stars of the network's [CBS] most popular dramas, including Blue Bloods, CI, Elementary, NCIS, and The Good Wife." (CA, p. 124) As it turns out, The Good Wife and its star, Julianna Margulies have won and been nominated for Emmy Awards since 2010 (4 wins and 30 nominations) as well as numerous awards and nominations from other organizations such as People's Choice Awards and AFI Awards. Well, enough about that.

The collaboration between Mattson Creative design firm and CBS has resulted in print ads that are absolutely stunning in their typography, photography, composition, and aesthetic beauty. What I like most is the way the typography seems to have a life of its own and dances around Julianna playfully and gracefully; it looks like an entity that was in the room with her as the photo was being shot. Parts of it go in front of her and parts go behind her. She's a very elegant figure, and the typography is elegant, to say the least. I've always loved decorative typography with lots of curves, swirls, loops, and spirals, and this one is especially beautifully designed. In the composition, white lettering contrasts with a dark gray background; the type and background contrast starkly with the rich red color of her dress. She is the focal point, yet the typography absolutely cannot be ignored. It's designed so well, you almost can't imagine one without the other. Amazing.

Just for fun, I had to look at Mattson Creative's web site, and I found images of two other posters from this campaign in addition to an illustrated image from a short animated spot based on The Good Wife, so I'm also posting those because it's interesting to see part of the rest of the series as well as another design style and medium with the same subject matter. I love how all of the posters use the same typography (but treated differently in these two) and only black, white and shades of gray with red being the only other color. I also love the idea of a short animated piece using the style of illustration in the last image below. Cool stuff!

“Ty is far beyond a designer, he is an artist and his approach to design is always fresh and innovative. I am a huge fan of Ty's work! Not only is he amazingly talented he is a wonderful person, extremely professional and fast!    - Lauri Metrose, Sr. VP Communications, CBS TV Studios

"CBS commissioned Mattson Creative to design a series of animations based on their current hit shows. We created bold and colorful graphic interpretations for ten of their top programs. The individual spots aired nationally in 2012 and the complete 60 second sequence, featuring all of the shows, was used to open the CBS Upfront at Carnegie Hall." - Mattson Creative web site

Sources: 

The Good Wife print ad from the 2013 Emmy campaign, designed by Erik Marinovich, typographer and Ty Mattson, art director at Mattson Creative design firm (Irvine, CA), designed for CBS.

From Communication Arts Typography Annual 4, January/February 2014, p. 125. 

The two other print ads and the illustrated image are from Mattson Creative's web site, http://www.mattsoncreative.com.

NEKO CASE-INSPIRED ILLUSTRATION

Looking through the Communication Arts Annual (cited at the end), this illustration caught my eye immediately because of the movement, the animals, the colors, and the sense of fantasy/adventure. At first glance it would appear the red-haired girl is running from the animals, being chased by them; however, the title indicates that she is one of them, running with them, barefoot, wild, at one with nature in a forested area. It looked so familiar to me! Then I had an "aha" moment as I read the description and realized that the girl is Neko Case, an amazing singer/songwriter who seems to feel this way about herself, according to what I've read about her and images I've seen. (And she does have beautiful red hair.) 

I'm An Animal, by Jensine Eckwall

I looked at the Neko Case CDs I have to see if there is any similarity in the illustrative style (I was sure there was). Eh...not so much; but this one, "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood," does have certain similarities, the decapitated Neko Case heads notwithstanding.

Back cover, Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, by Neko Case

Then I remembered a video I'd seen for her song "Maybe Sparrow," and I watched it again. She does have a love for animals and the wildness of the world. The video combines animation (illustrative) and reality. It's worth watching. See it here:

MAYBE SPARROW VIDEO

ANYWAY, I'm An Animal is so "alive." the composition is so well-balanced and unified. Everything in the image—the direction of the animals' movement, the trees, the shape of the path, the girl's hair blowing back—creates a circular movement that keep your eyes following it around to the focal point (the girl), who is also made to stand out by the contrast between the snowy white background and the black dress and streak of red hair. The detail is amazing, and the line of animals doesn't end, as you can see teeny images on the far right of more coming. 

WAIT! As I continued looking more closely (how did I possibly miss this before?), I saw that the girl has a knife! Then I realized that she is among, actually leading the line of predators (and how did I not notice this at first either?); all of the animals, beginning with the girl, are predators of one kind or another, and they are all chasing the deer! Wow. Maybe as you looked at the image, you noticed these things right away. It made me feel so unobservant for not seeing them before. I think it's brilliantly done.

Neko Case has a liking for the bizarre and the macabre. Her songs often combine beauty with the sometimes ugly truths in this world. I saw her live at the Canopy Club a few years ago, and the imagery in the show was an important element that vividly complemented the music (she had an imaginative stage set including a giant owl looming above as well videos and projected images behind her and the band). In I'm An Animal, Jensine Eckwall captures beauty combined with the macabre/ugly truth so well. The piece is stunningly beautiful and haunting, but upon closer inspection, it (for me) elicits a feeling of almost horror or dread about what's going to happen to the deer. Or maybe the deer will outrun them all. I don't think that's really the point. The point is that the girl—Neko—is among the predators of the world, and it's not good or bad—it just is the way things are. All animals do what is in their nature to survive. And in this case, she is the leader of them all.

In terms of the composition, it's amazingly well-designed and also beautifully detailed. I love it. I even have a Pinterest board of just illustration. I absolutely love detailed illustration, especially of animals or animals with people. No wonder this one stood out to me as much as it did.

Source: 

I'm An Animal, by illustrator Jensine Eckwall, "a conceptual portrait of the singer Neko Case, who exerts a major aesthetic influence on me." (Personal work)    Jensine Eckwall's website

From Communication Arts Typography Annual 4, January/February 2014, p. 211. 


*An additional point of interest: After writing this blog, I opened Itunes and started listening to Neko Case songs, and whadayaknow? She has a song titled I'm An Animal on her 2009 CD Middle Cyclone!

I'm An Animal song lyrics (from MetroLyrics)
you could say it's my instinct
yes, I still have one
there's no time to second guess it
yes, there are things that I'm still so afraid of
but my courage is roaring like the sound of the sun
cause it's vain about its mane and will reveal them to no one
and I'm an animal, you're an animal too
pick up that rock, drink from that lake
I do my best but I'm made of mistakes
yes, there are still things I'm still quite sure of
I love you this hour, this hour today
and heaven will smell like the airport
but I may never get there to prove it
so let's not waste our time thinking how that ain't fair
I'm an animal, you're an animal too
you're an animal too

DEFYING GRAVITY

This is another book cover designed by Chip Kidd. I love the manipulation of the photography. It's so evocative of a magical, dreamlike state of mind. The photo shows the spine of the book as well as the cover, and I really like how the image begins there (it may carry over to the back of the book as well). The color choice (basically a monochromatic scheme using blues) is also a factor in evoking a somewhat eerie, mystical mood. The slight graininess is also effective. The layout and design are fantastic; the design is balanced and is unified by color and proximity. The typography is simple, and the hierarchy is very easy to read. I like the widely-tracked letters in the title and author's name.

Mostly, I like the obvious. The water is defying gravity. It's like it has a life of its own. It began to pour out of the glass, but then changed its mind and decided to go up instead of down. It's a brilliantly intriguing design for true stories that have to do with magic or possibly making things happen with the mind. I would love to be a book cover designer. I find Chip Kidd's work very inspiring!

Citation: Kidd, Chip.Updike, John.Book One: Work, 1986-2006. New York : Rizzoli, 2005. Print.