the mehallo blog. beta.

‘A pure, bland, unscented, soothing cleaning cream and lubricant’

Another vintage find: Albolene cold cream container.

For the past 15 or so years, we’ve had this little can perched in whatever bathroom was part of our nest.

Tags: cool finds, design, design history, typography by steve
1 comment  . . .   

The newest font package from Brazil-based Iza and Paulo W of Intellecta Design is pure pen magic: A loose interpretation of the work of Dutch calligrapher Jan van den Velde, 1568-1623.

The Van den Velde fonts feature a bunch of stylistic alternatives, ligatures, swooshes, swashes and other strokes that say woooooooo!

Two frilly fonts are available – one with letters, alternates and fleurons – and a ‘words’ version that features a set of customized words to make any decorative communiqué become the domain of an expert penman.

Snag your own thru MyFonts. Both fonts are on sale thru September 27, 2011.

Tags: design, design history, fonts, thoughts, typography by steve
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‘Exclusive designer styled brass finished die-cast locks’

We found this on our honeymoon back in 1995.

We’d picked up a bunch of trinkets in Seattle and needed an extra piece of luggage – so a few hours before our trip home, we ran across this luxuriously lined Lady Baltimore display model in a small shop.

Been a part of the family ever since.

Tags: cool finds, design, design history, fashion, photography, typography by steve
1 comment  . . .   

Handlettered type for GAMA-GO by the great Ray Fenwick.

Ray is the author of one of my favorite typographic comic panels, Hall of Best Knowledge – now available in convenient book form.

Tags: art, design, illustration, typography by steve
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‘It didn’t last long; true-blue Shadow fans (and, apparently, the owners of The Shadow trademark) didn’t care for Helfer and Baker’s smart-ass approach, especially when they killed the character off and resurrected him as a killer cyborg. It’s not surprising that happened to also be their final issue.’ –Robot 6

The Shadow (1987-89) was my favorite comic book series.

It was a sequel to a Howard Chaykin-penned 1986 update to the classic radio program, pulp novel character The Shadow, ‘What evil lurks in the hearts of men  . . .  The Shadow knows!’

Chaykin had brought the character into the 1980s, with uzis instead of .45s, ‘for mature readers’ emblazoned on the cover. And unlike the rest of his crew (Margo Lane and others had aged), Shadow alter-ego Lamont Cranston was still a rather youngish, dapper guy – ready to take on the New York of the Miami Vice era.

A monthly series followed – and after a few artist changes, writer Andy Helfer and artist Kyle Baker made it something else entirely.

Helfer and Baker’s take on The Shadow became a crazy whirlwind tour of Sopranos-like mobsters, wickedly dark humor, extreme violence, unexpected plot twists and in issue 13, they killed off the main character. Then his sons lost his body and with every successive chapter, one could not predict what would happen next. [Read more →]

Tags: cool finds, design, design history, illustration, publication design, thoughts by steve
1 comment  . . .   

‘Imagine what it must have been like for those living in America’s eastern cities to hear tales from the Western Frontier  . . .  Images created by Ben Walker tell tales of mystery and excitement that make the ladies squeal with fear and delight as their men quietly slip away to buy passage to The West.’

It all started with a bear and a gun – which was the most dangerous thing Walker would set out to draw. These became icons for Walker, who went on to become an Illustrator of The Great West, spending time on the Ponderosa and a long haul in Sacramenty.

Ben Walker is now based out of San Francisco.

Check out his website here, art and prints available here. Snake Oil Clothing here.

Tags: art, design, design history, illustration by steve
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The work of London based-Sandra Dieckmann.

Website here, blog here, shops here and here.

Tags: art, design, illustration by steve
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‘For a decade, Danny created art for musicians – album covers, event posters, and logos, among others. Now those artists are paying tribute to Danny with a free, downloadable 35-song album titled ‘DJG Was Here.”

Danny J. Gibson’s been a friend for years – and he’s one of the most prolific, experimental artist/designers I know. In a few days Quietly Contributing – Poster Art of DJG Design will open at the 1819 Event Space + Gallery in Kansas City.

More details here. Snag the free album here (please use the tip jar).

Article here. And visit Danny’s site here.

Tags: art, design, design history, illustration, music, typography by steve
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