Top 10 Inspirations from Chad Michael

An article from PaperSpecs

top-10-main-Chad

I can count on one hand the number of designers whose work I’ve fallen in love with based purely on their business card: Chad Michael is at the top of that list. Its devilishly intricate foil details and grinning skull-like grail are more in keeping with some mythical talisman than a simple calling card. It is precisely this mix of thoughtful sophistication and otherworldly iconography that makes Chad’s work seem both fresh and new, as well as gloriously historic. His bold choice of typography only enhances this feeling.

chad-michael-studio-business-card

1. What other designer or designers truly inspire you?
I have a sincere amount of admiration for the design work of Jordan Metcalf, Josh Emrich, Steve Wolf, and Curtis Jinkins to name a few. But I would say a large amount of what inspires me does not come from other designers’ work. A majority of what fuels me are designs from the past, unusual illustrators such as Madeline von Foerster, textile design, and book covers.

2. Of all the different papers out there, what is your absolute favorite?
That’s a tough one! The paper book room here in the studio is quite large and I’m always going through periods of being in love with a new stock. At the moment the Allure line has caught my eye. For letterpress printing I’ve been diving into the Gmund stocks [Get Swatchbook].

3. When the ideas just aren’t coming, do you have a particular thing you do or place you go to get the creative juices flowing?
I have a variety of things I’ve learned that work fairly well for me when I’m not feeling inspired or when the brain just won’t work. The big thing is physical exercise. Exercising to the point of exhaustion usually lifts that fog around my thinking. For times when I’m not feeling super inspired, I dig through my visual archives and sketch out ideas for brands that don’t exist.

almanac-grand-cru

4. What is your favorite printing technique?
I am a sucker for foiling. I think that is obvious in my work but over the past year I’ve really been trying to get farther and farther away from what makes me comfortable. As of late I’ve been playing around with blind embossing, holographic foils and metallic inks.

5. Do you have a favorite type of project to work on?
I have two big enjoyments when it comes to design. One is package design and the other is stationery. But alas I don’t get to produce stationery for clients as much as I would like.

6. Is there a piece of packaging that you’ve come across that you absolutely love? And if so, why?
This past year: Macallan Malt Whiskey produced an 1861 Replica design that I really find successful. It has a gorgeous dead-leaf bottle with a hand-blown glass texture. The label isn’t overworked and has some beautifully set typography. [See below.]

macallan-1861-replica-with-box-15906-p

Click the link below to see the other four inspirations.

read more/source: https://www.paperspecs.com/paper-news/top-10-inspirations-chad-michael/

Related Posts

ATA Truck Tonnage Index Decreased 0.3% in April

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.3% in April after increasing 2.3% in March. In April, the index equaled 114.7 (2015=100) compared with 115.1 in March. “After a revised increase in March of 2.3%, the April index declined just slightly,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The outlook is solid for tonnage going forward as the country approaches pre-pandemic levels of activity, with strong economic growth in key areas for trucking – including retail, home construction and even manufacturing. “Additionally, the index increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time since March 2020. Part of the reason for the gain was due to an easy comparison with when the index fell significantly in April 2020,” he said. “But I’m expecting increases, albeit smaller than April’s, on a year-over-year basis going forward. Trucking’s biggest challenges are not on the demand side, but on the supply side, including difficulty finding qualified drivers.”

Diesel Becomes a Dirty Word for Oil Traders

With demand for the fuel accelerating in September after a hurricane knocked out a swath of U.S. refining and fires eliminated processing in Europe’s hub, diesel was credited with underpinning a rally in crude. Brent jumped above $60 a barrel last month and is still on an upward trajectory. But while those refinery issues are normalizing -- and diesel is weakening -- there’s been little let-up in the rally in crude futures. They reached a more than two-year high of $64.65 a barrel on Nov. 7, and remain close to that. “This will counter the recent support to crude,” Alan Gelder, vice-president of refining, chemicals and oil markets at Wood Mackenzie, said of signs the diesel market is weaker than expected. “Particularly if demand growth turns out to be disappointing” given the importance of diesel as a source of consumption during winter months. Click Read More below for additional information.

Oil Holds Near 3-Week Low as U.S. Output Climbs to Two-Year High

Futures were 0.4 percent lower in New York after falling 4.2 percent the previous three sessions. U.S. production had its biggest weekly gain since the end of June, climbing to the highest level since July 2015, according to Energy Information Administration data Wednesday. The increase offset the price impact of an 8.95-million-barrel decline in crude stockpiles, the biggest drop since September. U.S. crude output rose by 79,000 barrels a day last week to 9.5 million a day, the EIA reported. Crude stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for WTI and the biggest U.S. oil-storage hub, expanded a second week to 57 million barrels. Gasoline inventories climbed by 22,000 barrels to 231 million. Click Read More below for additional detail.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search