Va va VOGUE

The month of may is already there in editorial land and I am focusing on the vogues. Three different and gorgeous women on each edition of U.S, U.K and French vogue show contrasted design styles. U.S vogue features Scarlett Johansson photographed by Mario Testino, for the U.K we have Charlize Theron looking more beautiful than ever in a Valentino dress photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and finally Laetitia Casta for french vogue also photographed by Mario Testino.

VOGUE U.K is my favorite of those three for many for different reasons. First of all the photography and styling is all you could want from a Vogue, beautiful yet simple and elegant. The general color scheme of the cover made me instantly want to pick it up from the stand and the inside is as great as the outside. The light blue/green of the dress combines perfectly with the bright red(with a hint of orange) on the cover. The typography combination of a sans serif typeface with a serif one makes everything better. As well as being more visually appealing it adds the edge that is lacking on the french and U.S covers. This "living Special" makes me want to be Vogue and carry this edition around all day.

Now FRENCH VOGUE's minimal style on the cover works quite well with the photography, a very simple color palette matching Casta's eyes looks very fresh. All and all a good cover though a little excitement wouldn't hurt... The typography is still a little crowded and could have used a little more work. That aside this custom font made especially for french Vogue is absolutely beautiful and makes me drool every time I read an issue...

U.S VOGUE I am afraid to say looks a bit "cheap". Now don't get me wrong, it's not terrible but it lacks the fashion edge that the U.K and french covers have. I am not a fan of this picture of Scarlett Johansson but I think that what is throwing me off is the typography. Vogue needs to be doing some redesign on its covers...It simply doesn't look like a fashion magazine. And the type... all sans serif, all caps, big and round letters crowding the left side, NOT looking sexy at all. Its overcrowded and under treated, come on the french and the british are doing it so well, what is happening in the U.S?

GQ U.K's May Issue rocks your iPad

The May issue of GQ U.K is out on our tablets and all I have to say is nice job!

Model Candice Swanepoel is on the cover with great photography
from Terry Richardson.

This issue is sexier than ever and the inside is just as delicious as the outside. The cover with its restricted and sexy color palette is more than appealing and the way the pictures are being revealed as you scroll down do read the article is the perfect touch. Awesome come back from last month's issue. Nice work from the iPad team!
Hopefully this will make GQ U.S switch things up a bit on their iPad edition and think outside the box.

If there's an issue you want on your iPad this month, it's this one!

Esquire's 2012 Big Black Book

It's this time of year again folks, the brand new Big Black Book 

spring/summer 2012 issue from Esquire is out!

I got my copy this morning and it looks amazing. The cover is beautiful with its type
and awesome spot gloss. The font for the cover and titles throughout the book is dala floda which you can find on Commercial Type. It's quite expensive but beautiful nonetheless! The whole book is designed very tastefully with a clean modern look, Dala Floda gives it the perfect edge. In addition the special openers add so much to the flow of what is esquire's best issue this year so far. Only minus is the overflow of commercials but we can let that slide considering the general great design of this issue.

Time to go grab yours.

Esquire U.S April and U.K May covers

Esquire U.S features Sofia Vergara on its newest April issue versus Jon Hamm from Mad men for the U.K. May issue. Now clearly this isn't even a competition, a dark and undertreated cover versus a colorful and out of character Jon Hamm?

Esquire U.K's new look that has been in place since December is a breath of fresh air. The magazine is getting colorful and more youthful than ever and we like it! It is Jon Hamm's crazy side that is depicted in this issue and it looks great. Standing out from it's competitors is exactly what the magazine is and has been doing. Each issue since the redesign has been a success and it's only getting better, kudos to Creative Director David McKendrick.

Now on the U.S side, this month's cover was quite disappointing. For an April Sex issue, this cover lacks excitement. The overall color scheme did not make me want to pick up my copy from the news stand. The photography is still appealing but there is no contest between Esquire U.K and its American sibling this month on the cover front...

Which one is your favorite?

GQ covers match worldwide

Recently owner of an iPad, the first thing to do was to download all the GQ apps available from newsstand. I've been enjoying comparing the different designs of the magazine from one country to another. 

GQ France and GQ U.S are both beautifully designed wether it be print or iPad (Hurry up GQ France we want  more issues uploaded on the app!). On the U.K side things are quite disappointing. The April design was less than appealing to me, the overall childish type treatment for the headlines completely broke off from the GQ style we all love so much. Despite the fact that this march issue in particular is supposed to be a comedy issue, the type treatment was just too off. I also have to admit I don't care for Olivia Wilde's picture on the cover, I barely recognized her..

So for April we have a winner for the U.S Style bible special issue 

which with its alternate covers blows away the competition with a 

very clean and modern design.

France comes in second place 

with great photography though the copy gets a bit overwhelming on the cover, 

nonetheless good overall design.

Last on the finish line is U.K 

with a design fail for march way back there trying to catch up...

LOST TYPE - Free Designer Typefaces

A couple of weeks ago in my search for free typefaces, I came across this amazing website created by Riley Cran and Tyler Galpin. The fonts are original and beautiful at the same time. Users have the opportunity to pay whatever they like for a font, you can even type in '$0' for a free download.
All donations go to the font's designers. 

This website is a great place to discover new fonts and new designers all at the same time.

So congrats to them for providing us with awesomeness for cheap.

Check them out HERE

Alex Barthlen - Birth Announcements

Season's Greetings!

Here is one of the cards I made for this year's holiday season! The quote is from a Christmas episode of the Big Bang Theory, I thought it was so adorable it deserved a card, enjoy!

Happy Holidays~

Hovard Design Fall Promotion

This is a project I worked on during my time at Hovard Design under the art direction
of Bill Hovard.

"Fall is in the air and our Autumn promotion has been posted. Printed by the guys at Kayrock Screenprinting in Williamsburg, this issue is a three color silkscreened poster showcasing the colors of the season. As Albert Camus phrased it, "Autumn is a second Spring where every leaf is a flower". Printed on Cranes Lettra  220 lb. cover in pearl white, this 100% cotton sheet is not only beautiful to touch, it will last for centuries. Done as a series of 75 prints, each poster is hand numbered."

The Sketchbook Project

Walking around in Williamsburg I had the chance to come accross this amazing little store called "The Brooklyn Art Library" and just had to post on this. This place is the origin of a project called the "sketchbook project".

The concept is simple, sign up to receive a free sketchbook, fill it up, customize it and make it all yours before you send it back to them so that it can go on tour with thousands of others. Very inspiring and creative. The store had some amazing items as well; Vintage and design, what a perfect mix!

In addition to the tour, the books can also be checked out like library books at any time with a library card from the store.

you can check them out through those links:

Art House Co-op

The Sketchbook Project

Sketchbook project on Behance