MANVIL

With the goings on at SAAB, with the rally on the 14th and whatnot, a new client asked for a simple sticker to display his Oregon based love of Saab. Similar clients may be out there for Washington Saab owners, so we put that graphic together as well.

If cars represent the citizenry of countries (and we’re not suggesting that they ALL do) then the safety minded, enthusiast-driven Saab may well be a major part of Sweden’s image. In a country known for both fun-loving, zestfully adventurous citizens, and a somewhat stoic, solid minded (read: introverted) people, the reputations of Saab and Volvo seem to be plucked from central casting.

“We need somebody straight laced, mindful and safe, they’ll be driving a Volvo”

“We need an intelligent, loose cannon, let’s put them in a Saab”

Perhaps that’s not gibberish the way they’d say it in Hollywood, but it is somewhat close. MANVIL’s client wanted to be able to push their Oregon Saab pride subtly, so when a Saab owner wants to let their freak flag fly they can slap this on the back of their rigs. Here’s to the Oregon Saab owners, may you enjoy this in good health for many more years of driving.

The stickers are proper vinyl, with a UV layer for longevity. They should go on just fine and last for many years to come, which is more than you can say for that awkwardly spelled end table you bought after college. Go SAAB!

I can’t say I’m a big fan of protesting, but in these, the United States of America, it is an inalienable right to be able to do so. The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

That said, we at MANVIL think this officer should made to pay for his heavy handed peacekeeping. Although he might win style points in hell for the cavalier nature with which he maced the UC Davis students, he was in the wrong, and should be subject to a severe reprimand for gross abuse of power… and also for being a dick. He’s not in hell yet, and up here, according to the law of the land, he should be judged by his peers. 

For Thanksgiving 2011, we at MANVIL give thanks for the great bounty afforded us as Americans, and thanks for friends, family, and viewers like you. Happy Thanksgiving!

Initially the client request was for a black and white image, and it was good.

No really it was. The idea was to make a VERY easily printable logo that would not only grab attention, but also get the point across. What could be simpler than black and white. (Our vote: not a lot.)

So when the idea of coloring the image came up, we’re pretty sure the client said “easy peasy”. It wasn’t so cut and dry. Sure, “just put color in it” might have been the client’s response, but from a graphic designer’s standpoint, it wasn’t such a breeze.

Colors have qualities that work with one another as easily as they work against each other. The blue that works so well on the left might draw undue attention or recognition from the tan on the beach, the green on the grass and trees, or the red that provides the shape of the liner.

In honesty, we at MANVIL were against the colorization at first. Subsequently, we like how it pops and plays witht he eye.

The colors represent the vibrant allure of the Caribbean. It displays the vivid lifestyles of all the sea-going Caribbean folk who dwell within the non-pollution zone, while promoting the “don’t dump garbage in the sea” message.

There are thousands of beautiful places to visit in the Caribbean. Hopefully this image, backed by the multi-nationally signed and supported MARPOL treaty will get the idea to every boater in the region that there are facilities on shore to deal with rubbish. It’s not OK to simply toss stuff overboard.

We wonder how the image would look really large?

Caveat emptor means something like, “let the buyer beware’ and I’m not sure why that phrase hasn’t been on the tongues of all the pundits in the United States since Wall Street put the wood to the economy, but it is still something we hold dear at the MANVIL office.

When a client comes to us, we realize their money is often hard earned, and it needs to last them a while, so the graphic that we do for them is made the way they want it. Because they are paying for it.

Granted, we don’t want to show everybody what the client bought, but we can get close. Our client, who hasn’t actually ever bashed Sea-slugs with volleyballs, or vice-versa, has never wantonly harmed a sea creature in their life, unless, of course, that sea creature ate one of his lures. And at that point, all creatures within limits and size parameters are fare game, and good eating in the Pacific Northwest. (Yes, even the sea-slugs. And yes, we at MANVIL have eaten sea slugs. Raw, ‘picked from the coral on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon by a large boned sarong clad Samoan lady’ sea-slugs. Chewy, salty, chewy sea-slugs.)

So here is a brief peek at the business end of the client’s graphics. They had an idea, and we were able to put that idea together for them graphically. It’s not Charley Harper or Paul Rand, but it WAS in the client’s budget and the design they really liked.

For years now MANVIL has had questions as to whether we’d want to expand to a clothing line. We love product development, but due to a history of work in the construction trades, we have a heavy preference towards the durable, the over-sized, and the cotton or wool. (The waxed cotton in foul weather)

We’re not a huge fan of synthetic clothing. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, but we’d never be able to look all modern and fashionable like in the Nike or adidas high fashion realm. Although we do have affiliates who’d sport that stuff with applomb, the hollow strands that make up poly-propy-whatever dont work for MANVIL’s core office.  Let’s just say that the strands retain our personal traits so well that we prefer cotton or wool due to their ability to become odor free. (Plug nose here)

So what does MANVIL do at this point when the fabric we love doesn’t come cheap? We keep on trying to figure out ways to make it work for us, and in the meantime, we introduce this, the MANVIL Apparel logo v.1.5.

Technology that will work for the luddite I am.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a designer is the opportunity to try new things. Whereas this isn’t quite re-inventing the wheel, it is a shot at changing the way bicycles are personalized.

Challenge one: Create a personalized graphic that speaks to and for the bike owner

Challenge two: (and the tough part) get it to stick… to titanium.

Yes there will be challenges to any project, but this one is particularly sticky. Titanium requires some fancy electro-something-or-rather to make colors show up, but when they are on, the image will be ingrained forever. The image provided is the one we want to make work, whether it does stay put or not is another question for another day.

This is the image we’re shooting for. Whether it can be transferred to a stencil to be electronified is the challenge. Isn’t technology grand!?

We’ll see if it takes, and if it does, I’ll get a pic to show off the goods… but the glasses and goatee will stay on for client privacy purposes.

A while back, before the real efforts for Soapbox all fell into place, MANVIL took on a project for an international client. (Cue “Oooh! Lah dee dah!”)

Well, “Lah dee freaking dah” is right, because the project was a blast to put together and although not entirely finished, it means a lot to us. The ocean’s a beauteous place, and apparently, folks who live in the Caribbean want to keep a giant mass of plastic from making a nest on their beaches and in their waterways.

We got this one worked out to the point where hopefully it is obvious that no ship should dump crap in the ocean. Trying to convey regional laws as well as international treaties isn’t our gig. Especially as some of the countries in the region haven’t signed the treaties. (Bone heads)

Anywho, this is how we’ve been keeping our noses clean lately. Enjoy it, we did!

So I suppose all sorts of folks started chasing their passions whilst youngsters. Maybe I fell for graphics late. Maybe I’m a delayed bloomer. Hell, maybe I left my keys in my ignition. Whatever reason there is for pursuing anything, there might be somebody wanting to help you make your off-center dreams come true. All it takes is to get the word out.

Enter the 2011 PDX Kids Soapbox race on August 27th. Curiously enough, the current (as of this week anyways) All-American Soap Box Derby World Champion calls Portland her home. She dreamt about running the PDX Adult Soapbox race, but realized she wasn’t going to be allowed to. (Not unless she can shotgun a beer like a champ, but that’s ill-advised at her age anyway.)

So here’s to letting the gremmies have free reign of Hawthorne from 50th to 55th. If you’ve got a yoongster who wants to roll, take a peek and look into the race. I’d imagine it’ll be a great time, and I am glad MANVIL may be a part of the events success. Some Assembly Required.

The United States Navy's PT Forces Insignia

While working on a project for the PT-658, (Portland’s WWII PT boat museum) I came across the insignia the navy put together for the PT boat service. ” Cool!” thought I, until I looked closer.

Now I say, “Radical”. A glance with no concern of the details shows a rope, divided by a torpedo, with a few wakes in it. No big deal.

But the design is so much for than that. The rope is inconsistently sized so that twine is thicker in front of the warhead, as well as behind the propeller, thereby drawing attention to the direction the torpedo is facing. It is purposefully creating an oblong image to the eye. I wouldn’t have thought about this twice, but the stitch count is literally lower on the sides parallel to the torpedo. It’s like a moving target. It’s a round patch with an ovoid look, and for this reason it draws attention.

It’s a little thing. Probably nothing, but it is nice to know people thought about this kind of thing. It’s just a nice detail.

For the last three years the Rusty Iron has continued to gain prominence as a great venue for the Pacific Northwest’s Hawaiian Canoe Paddlers to race their first long distance run of the season. The awards provided to winning teams in any class were stickers. Although this does seem like a bit of a let-down for paddlers used to earning bronze, pewter or gilded metal awards, like I did as a kid, times have changed. The Rusty Iron is a distance race, traditionally the first one of the year in the Northwest. It is put on by Pacific Outrigger Canoe Club, a small cadre of enthusiastic, yet none too green-behind-the-ears paddlers. The race runs from Cathedral Park in St. John’s, down to buoy 12, then back up to the Rail Bridge, and back down to Cathedral Park.

On the last Saturday in April, the weather can be as calamitous as anything in the Northwest. We’ve seen rain, sleet, snow, fog, lightning and pure unadulterated Northwest Sunshine. It’s a great race, and this year, if you place, you get one of these fine tributes. I look forward to seeing you there, I’m the bearded guy with the scowl, the binoculars and the stop watches. Cheers!