Young Lions of Pop Blog

We've Moved

2010-09-06T15:40:00.001-07:00

Head on over to www.younglionsofpop.ca for all the latest...

Autumn = Busy

2008-11-15T20:27:00.001-08:00

We realize it's been a while since we posted something here. No excuse but that we've been quite busy really. Which is good for business, but bad for blogging.

Roar for Pablo Pino's "Herencia"

2008-09-24T07:32:00.000-07:00

Title: Herencia (trans: Inheritance)
Artist: Pablo Pino
From: Power to the Poster

Sometimes a poster is worth a thousand words....

c/o Creattica

Live!Stock photos Online

2008-09-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

If you missed Victoria's "Live!Stock" poster and button show a few weeks back you can now check out some photos of the show on flickr.

Again, cheers go out to Olio Cooperative for wrangling years worth of work from the Island's vibrant gig poster scene.

Vancouver 2010's Graphic Identity

2008-09-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

Canadian Press has an insightful video in today's Globe and Mail looking into the branding of Vancouver's 2010 Olympics.

There's also some more background and another video on the 2010 site here.

The palette and textures used to reflect Vancouver's urban/natural hybrid within the Olympic identity is spot-on and it'll be interesting to see how the brand develops over the next year.

LOLA: Lowfish/Megasoid

2008-09-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

If Friday's after-party doesn't bring Call the Office down, we're sure these cats will be shaking the rafters on Saturday night.

Again, it's been a pleasure working with the fine folk behind LOLA and we're stoked to have been asked to offer our services to help promote such a high caliber festival. Make sure to head on out this weekend and support the show(s).

LOLA: Woodhands/We Are Wolves

2008-09-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

After being so impressed with their posters last year, we were excited to be contacted to work with 2008's LOLA festival on a design for one of their many promising concerts this year.

Taking our cues from last year's aesthetic we went with a strong but minimal design - something that should really stand out on the Forest City's hydro poles - for Friday Sept 19th's Woodhands/We Are Wolves show at Call the Office.

If you're around town during the fest make sure to check join in the rock and roll and get down with the rest of the program.

Rifflandia / Live!Stock

2008-09-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

We didn't get a chance to promo the show(s) before it happened as we were working remotely in the land of unreliable internet (Northern Ontario) when it all went down, but we were pretty stoked to read that Victoria's Rifflandia Music Festival was a raging success. A big roar goes out to all those who pulled the festival together!

If you, or someone you love made it to the numerous live acts or were able to swing by the Live!Stock poster/pin exhibition it'd be rad if you left some comments on the post to let us know how it all looked.

BONUS PRIZE: If you happen to have caught a pic of any one of the three featured YLOP posters we had in the Live!Stock Exhibition, we've got a free poster for you! Just post the pic online somewhere or send us an email (younglionsofpop at gmail dot com) with the shot and your details and we'll get the featured poster of your choice to you c/o YLOP and Canada Post.

Recent Web Work

2008-08-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

Client: Off the Map
www.offthemap.com/live
When Off the Map needed a website to promote their "Born Again Church" Tour we thought we'd have some fun with the "gig" aspect of it all. And in the end, promoting the 3-city conference with a series of posters, flyers, and the website itself was about as much fun as a rock n' roll show itself.

Client: The Fix
www.ilovethefix.com
The Fix runs two of Victoria BC’s premiere hair styling and fashion salons. For their inaugural website we needed to create an online presence that would not only showcase their growing portfolio but also their increasing involvement in city-wide community development projects and events.

Client: PrimpMyPalace.com
www.primpmypalace.com
The folks over at PrimpMyPalace.com had the great idea that DIY home renovators might want to share their projects with other like-minded would-be designers. The challenge was to create a website to allow these projects (and their advice!) to shared as intuitively as possible without overloading the user in options.

Canadian Rock Shirt Museum

2008-08-09T05:02:00.000-07:00

For all you gig-shirt fans out there: CBC Radio3 is launching the Canadian Rock Shirt Museum.

Make My Logo Bigger Cream

2008-08-05T07:05:00.001-07:00

This bang-on designer's inside-joke comes courtesy of Agency Fusion.

Off the Map Live launches

2008-07-16T07:32:00.001-07:00

Off the Map Live went live (sorry about the pun) a few days ago with a brand-new design c/o Young Lions of Pop.

The conference takes place over three cities and they wanted to take a concert tour angle and give the site a real rock n' roll circus feel. Enter YLOP and our love for gig posters.

Overall, the project was a blast to work on we're stoked with how things turned out.

We'll be adding some actual gig-posters to the site over the next week or so, so make sure to check back soon.

Roar!

ps. As always, the site was beautifully coded and programmed by Rich Cain.

Blogging and Summer (Not Bored)

2008-07-03T18:15:00.001-07:00

The two don't really mix that well now do they. Rest assured we've got some great new projects underway to share with y'all soon enough. If, on the other hand, summer finds you shuffling your feet and impatiently twiddling your thumbs, why not have a look around our new favorite cure for boredom.

YLOP gets in fight with server. Server wins (for now)

2008-06-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

The YLOP "official site" seems to be wanting a weekend away from the internet...~~we'll get things back up and online shortly.~~ We're back online now!

Until then, feel free to check out our print portfolio on flickr or our two most recent web projects: The Fix, and PrimpMyPalace.com.

Colin McTaggart Admat

2008-06-18T07:14:00.000-07:00

Guitar-deity Colin McTaggart needed a little poster template to work with for some upcoming shows and had a picture, but not much else. Knowing we make things look good - he came to us.

We wanted to keep it super-simple and come up with something slick. And we think we did.

If you get a chance to see C McT around Vancouver Island anytime, make sure to check him out - dude's got licks like nobody else we know.

The Wind Beneath YLOP's Wings/Who Inspires Us

2008-06-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Nothing helps/hinders a designer more than drooling over the work of others. To that end, we peruse a lot of today's best design around here.Here's a list of some of our favorite oases of design inspiration.

Smashing Magazine
You can't beat Smashing's lists and lists (and more lists) of phenomenal work. These dudes have their eyes open for the cream of the crop and they rarely fail to dig up scores of inspiration.

PSD Tuts
Want to become a zen master of Photoshop? PSD Tuts will walk you through it one simple step at a time. Created by Eden, these dudes run some other fab sites too (including the next entry).

FaveUp
FaveUp is a straight up "favorite" site with heaps of user-submitted logos, websites and business cards.

Canadian Design Resource
From coast to coast to coast Canada's got some great designers, and you can count on the folks at the CDR to showcase the best.

The Dieline
Packaging, packaging and more packaging.

Seth Godin
Seth is a the marketing Guru, and regardless of the fact that his opinions and thoughts could arguably show up on any list (of any topic), he's often got a lot of great advice specifically tailored for designers.

Katya Andressen's Non-Profit Marketing Blog
Another maven of marketing, Katya Andressen's blog is jam packed full of tips, quips and the best of ideas.

X-Canada

2008-06-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

We've just finished moving our (physical) offices from Victoria BC to London ON. While we're still working internationally (who else loves the internet!) we are looking forward to getting our laptops dirty with the maple sap of a new province.

If you, or someone you love needs us to make something look good, you know how to reach us: (younglionsofpop {at} gmail {dot} com. Roar!

The NY Times on Hil and O's Design

2008-05-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

The NY Times is running a fun little article on the style differences between Clinton and Obama's websites. They get some witty Mac vs PC quips in there and talk to a few designers. It's worth a read for anyone interested in Mcluhan's adage about the medium being the message so check it out.

c/o Don Crawford

p.s. the article is from back in February and it looks as though Clinton's website may have been touched up a little since then. Does anyone know if it has or not?

The Designed Bakery

2008-05-07T15:40:00.000-07:00

“One of the things I learned in designing is if you want to be successful, you design for yourself... You don’t try to understand what’s happening out there. So we designed this bakery saying, ‘We don’t want to be serviced, we want to take control, and we don’t want to be held up.’”

~ City Café Bakery (Kitchener, Ontario) Owner/Designer John Bergen

Read more about other design features of the bakery, including honour system payment and the wonders of voicemail.

GreenNumber®

2008-05-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin has a great post on the threat of a green marketing backlash on his blog today which is worth a read if you're at all a fan this planet.

The reason we bring this to your attention (beside the fact that we love this planet) is that since Seth's idea about a "Green Number" is still just an "idea" there really was no visual representation of what he was suggesting.

Enter Young Lions of Pop.

What are the essentials this symbol needs?
In thinking about GreenNumber® we wanted it to be international in scope and dead simple to identify. Since it's hoped to be plastered on products as small as a flat of strawberries and as large as a flatbed truck, it also needed to be scalable and sharp. Thus, no intricate detail-y type stuff. Just the ~~details~~ facts. (Yes, that is Helvetica).

Did it need a "leaf" or some other green-marketing cliché? Probably not.
We figured keeping it as subtle as possible would help distance it from the green-fatigue Godin hints at. So instead we opted to go for a predominately green circle with a blue border inside to reference the globe. Likewise the inner darker-green half-circle can suggest a sideways leaf or even a rising sun if you'd like...

Great idea. Where do we go from here?
Who knows, it's only been "out there" for a few hours. If you happen to sit on any big boards, do research for a university, or run your own business, let's see what we can do about taking this idea to the next level and actually creating some sort of standard measurement we can tack onto the products we use to help encourage small(er) ecological footprints.

Roar.

YLOP Re-design

2008-04-27T18:10:00.000-07:00

Some designers change their online portfolio as often as any self-respecting person changes their underwear (ie. "often"). Other designers tend to work on their portofolio about as much as mechanics work on their own cars (ie. "hardly").

If you've been a fan of YLOP for any amount of time now, you know more than anyone that we treat our portfolio like a pair of hang dried boxers.

With that in mind, and the fact that we've recently taken on some great web-based projects (which we're also looking forward to sharing ) we figured it was time to begin the task of re-designing younglionsofpop.ca.

Stay tuned as we flesh things out over the next few weeks...we're guessing a mid-late May launch date. Until then, enjoy this little sneak-peek at what's in store!

Arial Black and the Times New Romans

2008-04-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Roar to Arial Black and the Times New Romans for having one of the best band names we've ever come across.

The fact that "Bikes" sounds like a full on art-school mayhem circus leads us to believe they just might be the designer types.

Obey Orwell

2008-04-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

In a move that "just makes sense" iconic artist Shepard Fairey (the man behind Obey) has been commissioned to redesign covers for Orwell's classics "1984" and "Animal Farm." The re-vamp is aimed to intrigue teen readers in high schools the world over, but you can be sure Young Lions will be scooping up a copy or two for the bookshelf/wall when they're released later this year. Roar.

Street Café Promo

2008-03-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

A few good-natured folk from around town are gearing up to start serving a meal down at Victoria's Mustard Seed Food Bank/Street Church for those not accustomed to "eating out."

As long time fans of the Mustard Seed we were pretty stoked to be able to lend a hand help them out by creating something they could pass around downtown to spread the word (and the menu).

Of course, with Helvetica on our brains, this is what we came up with.

Photo Credit: Gahdjun

Lupton animated

2008-03-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

Beautiful.

Directed and animated by Boca and Ryan Uhrich

With love from Ellen Lupton's Thinking With Type

Everyone Hearts Helvetica

2008-03-19T10:07:00.001-07:00

If you haven't seen Helvetica (the film) yet, do yourself a favour and check it out. It's intriguing, beautiful and often times quite hilarious as well. Well worth roaring about.

Kenmore's last hurrah/roar!

2008-03-05T18:13:00.001-08:00

Colin and the crew over at Kenmore House have thrown a whack of phenomenal house parties/concerts over the years. Alas, all good things must come to an end, and they'll be throwing one last party at the end of March before moving to new digs.

To celebrate the final Gordon Head sock-hop, Young Lions of Pop was commissioned to create these promotional pieces...

1623: we salute you.

Michael Beirut on typography

2008-03-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Here's a great 8 minute interview with designer Michael Beirut on some of the intricacies of type.

c/o Malcolm Johnson

Nardwuar Campaign Blog launch

2008-03-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

In light of our facebook group's soaring success (we're now at 500+ members and continuing to grow) we've gone and started a blog to allow the whole world to get involved.

Feel free to head on over and take part in a completely scientific (!) online poll or peruse the videos linked in the sidebar!

http://nardwuarforthejunos.blogspot.com/

Obey Nardwuar

2008-02-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

As our humble facebook group surpasses 300 members we wanted to let you know that we've made contact with the Human Serviette himself to confirm that sure that should we turn the volume loud enough for the Juno's to hear, he would take up the mantle of host.

And so, with a full nod toward Shepard Fairey's "Obey Giant" project/phenomenon we thought we'd do up a little image to subliminally encourage anybody on the find-a-host team at the Junos.

Nardwuar Ad 1

2008-02-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

The call to make Nardwuar the host of the 2009 Juno Awards in Vancouver continues! To mark the 200th member of our facebook group, (UPDATE: we're now at 250) we thought we'd create a little promotional image to keep the ball rolling!

Our aim was to give the piece a real television bus-stop-ad feel and the images we gleaned* (Nardwuar sure can strike a pose!) worked beautifully with what we envisioned.

Keep spreading the word, and of course, rockin' in the free world.

*Nardwuar Portrait: William Jans
Vancouver Shot Taken by: Po Yang

Make Nardwuar the host of the 2009 Juno Awards

2008-02-14T15:51:00.000-08:00

Chart Attack wants us to make Nardwuar the host of 2009's Juno awards in Vancouver - and we couldn't agree more.

There's no petition up and running yet, but we did go and start ourselves up a facebook group this afternoon. Check it out, add your name and let's make it happen.

We've also got plans to make the button seen on your left available shortly.

Until then: Keep on rockin' in the free world and "Doot-doola-doot-do ..."

For those of you who unfamiliar with The Human Serviette, here's Nardwuar vs none other than Snoop Dog...

Roar for Ameris' expansion

2008-02-03T22:40:00.000-08:00

Our good and shutter-crazy friends over at AMERIS just welcomed a new photographer (and a whack of great shots to their portfolio) to their midst last week. If you haven't yet seen the work of this Vancouver-based (and will travel) outfit, do yourself a favour and head on over to www.ameris.ca

Tweaks complete

2008-02-02T01:19:00.000-08:00

Ah, the life of a designer often seems a never-ending temptation to tweak and modify. Welcome to the blog and official site v2. If anything looks ugly in your browser, let us know and we'll happily fiddle some more.

working out a few kinks

2008-02-01T20:56:00.001-08:00

We'll be working out a few kinks in the site over the weekend, so if you notice anything off...check back Monday....

Cindy Davis Live at Lucky Bar

2008-01-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

Here's the lastest poster(s) for Cindy Davis' upcoming show at Lucky Bar (Feb 9).

We started with Cindy daydreaming about "the nerd" before guitarist Colin McTaggart suggest we add a little Big Ben, some stars, and an animal or two. In the end, we went with the poster sans nerd, but thought we'd post them both here for your enjoyment anyway.

For all you art students: Yes, that is Durer's infamous Rhino.

Kiss Your Librarian Button

2008-01-26T09:38:00.001-08:00

Everybody knows the library is where it's at. Here's our attempt at returning the love...

p.s. Actual buttons are in development: if you're interested, drop us an email at younglionsofpop at gmail dot com or leave a comment on this post.

Roar for Corey Holmes' Nature

2008-01-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

This gorgeous taxonomy of corporate identity by Corey Holmes had us the minute we saw it. It reminded us of Adbusters' Corporate Flag (does anyone know who designed it?) but with more commentary on inspiration than allegiance.

Also worth checking out by Holmes:
Symbolic Action Logo
Decades Renovate Postcards

Hewitt/Davis Handbills

2008-01-18T00:58:00.000-08:00

These handbills were to be distributed at a Justin Hewitt show to promote his opening slot at Cindy Davis' CD release concerts. With Hewitt's audience in mind - and with a gracious ego-in-check from Davis - we created a handbill featuring his logo (the Lion) and giving similar weight to both opener and headliner. Roar x2!

Roar for Typohile's fictitious album covers

2008-01-11T15:22:00.000-08:00

When we first read Typophile's rules for this randomly-selected fictitious album "battle" we were expecting some fun design to come of it- turns out the contest provided some great design as well. We've posted a selection of our favorites here (including our own treatment of "Nightbird's" latest) but it's worth checking out all the submissions here.

From top to bottom:
Jos Buivenga
Young Lions of Pop
Peter Bruhn
Jos Buivenga
James Mark Hatley

Part of a Balanced Design Diet

2008-01-07T00:23:00.001-08:00

Roar for Lamo

2008-01-04T22:32:00.000-08:00

Christmas was good to us here at Young Lions of Pop; there's nothing like a new pair of slippers, especially when their logo is so beautiful.

While the stylized lamb printed on the tissue paper wrapping these comfy slippers is fun/elegant enough, what really impresses us is the logo and wordmark.

The echoed lines and curl/swirl of this logo reference a ram's horns without being overly illustrative, and the inclusion of "LAMO" is just enough to hint at the box's contents.

The odd placement of the ® symbol is also quite nice.

Merry Christmas from Young Lions of Pop

2007-12-21T10:36:00.000-08:00

To all our clients:
thanks for the opportunity to work with you over 2007

To all our fans:
Roar!

To everyone in between:
All the best. See you in the new year.

*BONUS*
From us to you: Rumour has it, we've got a super limited edition button on it's way....ask us if you see us 'round.

New layouts for blog and YLOP home

2007-12-11T02:09:00.000-08:00

Well, 2AM is as good a time as any to launch a new layout for both this blog, and the "official" YLOP site. It's taken a while to find a good blogger template, but we think our persistence has paid off and rewarded YLOP with some great new winter digs.

The hope is that we'll eventually incorporate both sites into one big happy family site, but for now we'd still love to have your thoughts on the new layout for both the blog, and the YLOP home.

Roar for War being Over!

2007-12-09T15:58:00.001-08:00

Welcome to December.
NOTE: We're hoping to steer clear of holiday design roars and let you enjoy food, family, charity and love this season without our going off about design, but we did want to get this one Roar out and heard above the rush of the malls and abominations like the jingle cats.

Featured: "War is Over (If You Want It)
Designers: John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Year: 1969

We haven't really seen a statement like this at Christmas since them angels showed up years ago and brought tidings of peace and goodwill to a few lowly shepherds. And while it's been almost 30 years since John and Yoko's 1969 statement/billboard/song it still seems an idea that we (you, me, the rest of us) could actually pull off one person at a time.

From an aesthetic point of view, what's great about the design is the stark simplicity of it's headline-inspired treatment. The exclamation point changes the whole feeling of the poster too; infusing the call with hope and celebrating the future here and now.

Roar for "A Year or More" album design

2007-11-30T10:05:00.001-08:00

Featured: "A Year or More" Album Design for Cindy Davis

Art direction: Rob Campbell (Ameris/Fabric Creative) and Dan Stewart (144 Productions)

Photography/design: Rob Campbell

Production assistants: Cindy Davis, Ryan Macleod, Angie Khoo, Julia Campbell

As mentioned earlier this week, we'd like to spend our Friday feature roaring over Victoria songwriter Cindy Davis' recent album design where photoshop was snubbed in favour of an old-school home-crafted diorama.

Aside from the sheer "fun" of such a handmade design, what really impressed us was how intimately the treatment literally "packages" a collection of songs which span "A Year or More." There's something about the frayed edges of the box and the music strewn about the floor which resonates with what we imagine the creative process for many musicians feels like. It's moody, it's raw, and ultimately it's something real. Ain't that what good music's supposed to be about anyway?

Bonus roars go out for a great type treatment (Univers light/bold!) and the pride to show off the diorama with the great "reveal" of the plug-and-box on the back cover.

Roar.

Another Davis Poster

2007-11-28T18:23:00.001-08:00

Releasing an album = lots of posters, which means we're pretty happy here in the Lions' den. This one features a photo by Rob Campbell (of Ameris, and Fabric Creative). Ms. Davis' album is titled "A Year or More," so we wanted to go with something which spoke to the passage of time - which lead us right to Mr. Campbell's beautifully shot white-on-white clock...

Cindy Davis in progress

2007-11-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here's a few mock-ups for Cindy Davis' upcoming cd-release shows. We're probably going to go with a more organic approach (ie. less stylized) but this is how we got the bus moving and thought we'd invite you along for the design process ride.

P.S. we're just waiting on final credit info, but we'll be featuring her new album's design for this week's "Friday Roar". If you want a sneak-peek, you can see it here.

Friday Roar | Joy T Shirt

2007-11-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

We caught this piece on The Hour's "Is This A Good Idea" Blog and were stoked to read more about the company/artist's aims on their/his website.

Joy apparel is a socially conscious T-shirt company created to promote peace and equality on a global scale. Opposed to all forms of discrimination, every face found on the website has been inspired by a real person. Upon selecting a face, you then customize your own shirt, choosing from a variety of styles, sizes and colours. When you wear your shirt, you are encouraged to think about that person and how your everyday actions can affect others and the world we live in.

After purchasing a shirt, you may then participate in this global project by submitting a photo of your own visage, which will then be drawn by hand and posted on the website for the rest of the world to wear.

Wearing a Joy T-shirt is about taking an active stance against racism and discrimination. It is about loving your neighbor, because in someway or another we are all connected!

And that, dear readers, is worth a Roar!

Friday Roar | The Salvation Army (Canada)

2007-11-09T14:13:00.000-08:00

Forget about (but don't ignore) their Santas and kettles, the Salvation Army in Canada has taken to web 2.0 with style and a design sense that just makes sense.

Whether it's their blog (produced by Jeremy Watt), their organic T-Shirts (with original insignia design by George Walter Peacock) or their Virb page (design by Simmy ), the Salvation Army's web presence works because they know that spreading good news goes further when you've got good design to clearly communicate it.

From us to you: Roar!

Further Reading: The Salvation Army on their approach to branding/identity.

Red Cowboy now blogging

2007-11-08T09:57:00.001-08:00

Our good friends over at Red Cowboy Designs are now blogging here. Yee-haw!

Smahing Good Fonts

2007-11-08T09:53:00.000-08:00

Oh how we love websites who know how to make a good list....especially when it includes 40 free fonts!

MCD's "Jaunty Hat"

2007-11-06T13:43:00.001-08:00

Here's another poster for Matthew Christopher Davidson's upcoming show at the Solstice Café. As much as we enjoyed creating the paisley and yellow poster, we really wanted to do incorporate this picture of Matthew in his "jaunty hat."

YLOP Black Screen Savers

2007-11-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

For anyone interested in a black-on-black YLOP screen saver, we've posted 1028x768 and 1280x800 options on our flickr site. Feel free to download and enjoy the peace and calm of a black desktop! ~~Roar~~ Purr.

Colin McTaggart at Detour

2007-11-05T10:58:00.001-08:00

When we asked Colin if he wanted a Unicorn or two featured in all three dimensions on his show poster, he answered with a resounding "Yes." And so that's what we did.

Been busy

2007-11-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Apologies on the lack of a friday favorite today - we've been busy here in lion land. Expect some new work shortly!

Friday is for Favorites | Buick's poster for The National

2007-10-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

If you've listened to The National's latest album you know that this week's favorite by Malcolm Buick looks pretty much exactly as they sound: dark without the depression, incredibly complex and very arresting.

ht: Gig Posters

The Broken Strings' Hallowe'en Show

2007-10-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Darcy's Pub houseband darlings The Broken Strings were looking for a "Hallowe'een'ized" version of an earlier poster we did for them for an upcoming hallowe-en show which happens to be on the dark night itself.

The original (on the left) had a lot going on, so we knew it'd be pretty fun to work with. In the end we switched the cute little sparrow for a Poe-inspired raven, splattered some blood around, added a little lightning to the cloud, distressed the text,viciously pulled the tape out of the cassette, and - of course - added a skull. We're pretty happy with how it turned out and hope you enjoy the spooky makeover...

There's also two other mockups on our flickr site here and here if you're brave enough.

Friday is for Favorites | Good enough and Great websites

2007-10-12T10:58:00.000-07:00

This week's favorites aren't so much "designs" as they are remarkable guidelines for design. Both come from on high/Seth Godin.

1. How to Create a Great Website
2. How to Create a Good Enough Website

Friday is for Favorites | Calgary's Vital Signs

2007-10-05T09:17:00.001-07:00

This week saw the release of a number of "Vital Signs" reports for a handful of Canadian cities. The reports are "an annual community check-up [which measure] the vitality of our cities, identifies significant trends, and assigns grades in at least ten areas critical to quality of life."

Being the civic fans that's we are here at Young Lions of Pop, we were perusing the reports and stumbled upon the superb layout of Calgary's report (download here). Created by Calgary's Wax Partnership, the report's photographic treatment is cheeky, over the top and very very clear. If perception is in the eye of the beholder....

Make sure to download the report to see the rest of the great photographs and layout.

YLOP on Virb

2007-10-03T15:57:00.000-07:00

We're now on Virb. Roar.

Uncommissioned posters for PoP-GoW

2007-10-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

We like to keep our ~~skills~~claws sharp over at Young Lions of Pop here, so on down days we sometimes find ourselves taking other peoples' ideas and running with it "uncommissioned" - so to speak.

Such was the case when we saw the first five minutes of John Campea's "Prince of Peace - God of War" documentary. We couldn't resist trying to capture the tension inherent in a film which travels North America asking the simple question “Should Christians kill people?” To that end, we thought employing the subversive language of public protest (graffiti) and a subtle nod to the "Red, White, and Blue" would be fitting...

NOTE: The background images (the wall, and the blue/white colourfield) for these posters were both acquired under a creative commons license from I. Yudai's flickr gallery . The Jesus stencil was from some older work we've done here.

Friday is for Favorites | The World of Nat King Cole

2007-09-28T08:23:00.001-07:00

It always sounds cheeky to throw the "great minds think alike" line around, but it was fun to stumble upon this great 2005 Nat King Cole compilation cover from photographer Bernie Abramson, art director Diana Barnes and designer Andrew Robinson and notice it's similarity to our own little diddy we did for an art show here in Victoria a few years back.

MCD in paisley and yellow

2007-09-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

Here's a teaser of a new poster we're working on for Matthew Christopher Davidson's upcoming show at the Solstice Café. It's fall, and Matthew is sporting a beard these days so why not go with something cozy like paisley and sweeten it up with a little yellow....

Fridays are for Favorites | LOLA Fest Posters

2007-09-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

This week's favorites come from LOLA Fest art-director Lucas Stenning. The star of all three has got to be the type treatment: it's sans-seriff simplicity and full-justified copy is first-rate clean.

Bonus points are given for the Prefuse 73 poster whose black background gives the whole thing a particularly friendly "Lite Brite" look.

And what designer isn't a fan of being able to include a whack of great sponsor logos?! The beauty's often in the bottom....

If you're around the Forest City this weekend, make sure you swing by the event at it's numerous locations and support a local art scene doing a good job at upping the city's artistic community.

BarracudaSurf + OIL+GAS

2007-09-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

The new BarracudaSurf.com went live earlier this week. We got to work on the site with the rest of the "Oil+Gas Media" crew and we're stoked to see the site up and looking as clean and crisp as one of Carl's boards itself.

A subsequent new clothing line (and catalogue) is currently under development and we'll let you know as soon as those threads become available. In the meantime, learn about one of the Islands' great shapers.

Fridays are for Favorites | Bodies of Water

2007-09-14T17:18:00.000-07:00

Today's favorite comes via either Kyle or David from the design section of Bodies of Water's website.

Part vinyl sleeve, part 1940's coaster, from the sans serif type to the muted colours and the big "29" we're fans of this show poster's straightforwardness.

Inspiration-station: Alvin Lustig perhaps?

Friday is for Favorites | of Peace Doves

2007-09-07T08:03:00.000-07:00

This week's favorite comes c/o designer Josh Higgins. We found the poster on Gig Posters and instantly resonated with the mournful simplicity of it.

While the star of this piece is easily the dove's broken heart, we're also impressed with the tight copy treatment and the fact that the lines around the dove function equally well as rain, tears, "falling," or even gunfire.

There's also a great nod to another one of our favorites in John Heartfield's gripping 1964 work: "Never Again."

People we like

2007-08-31T04:59:00.000-07:00

Find More Young Lions of Pop at:
Our Official Site
Facebook
Flickr

Fellow Creators:
144 Productions
Ameris
MalcolmJohnson.net
Red Cowboy Designs
The Fix

Makers and Keepers of Great lists:
Canadian Design Resource
SmashingMagazine.com
Faveup.com

New Threads

2007-08-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

We just gave our "official" site over at YoungLionsofPop.ca some new duds, including a simpler layout, a select portfolio, and a clock with a deer on it. Check it out.

While we were at it, we also threw together a pre-site teaser for Oil+Gas Media, who we've been collaborating with on large(r) projects lately.

By the Power of Greyskull

2007-08-17T15:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, the rumours are true: we may very well be incorporating He-Man into a poster this fall.

Adore's new patterns etc

2007-08-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

We've been hard at work creating a new blog (still under construction) and fresh ID pieces for a Victoria based faith community named Adore. The toile-and-bird imaged featured here was originally going to inform the entire new site, but alas, it was more fun than it was actually representative of the community itself...no sense in keeping it caged up though we say! To see a few more of the original concept check out our flickr site.

Telling the Truth teaser 1

2007-07-25T09:44:00.001-07:00

While we trudge away behind the scenes on a few projects, here's a fun little teaser poster we've done for an upcoming conference on the intersection of faith and the arts. The conference has been a keen critic of the state of what passes for "sacred" art over the years, but they've done so while at the same time trying to create the space and enthusiasm for some great new art. With that in mind, we thought we'd go with something which can be read as playful, critical, or a little bit of both....

YLOP + The Urban Farm

2007-07-10T11:05:00.001-07:00

The Young Lions of Pop are pleased to announce a new partnership with Victoria's favorite urban farmers: The Urban Farm*. Growing in the city, for the city, The Urban Farm has been supplying local grocers with fresh produce since 1999 are poised to begin operations in Vancouver in the fall of 2007.

As part of a larger re-branding initiative with The Urban Farm, the Lions will be busy rolling out a new logo, delivery packaging, point-of-sale display units and an introductory website over the next few weeks.

*formerly "The Impossible Farm"

Fridays are for Favorites 2.1 (Canada Day edition)

2007-06-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

In honour of Canada Day this weeken, we figured it'd be good to offer our favorite collection of Canadian design. For this, we gladly stand on guard for the Canadian Design Resource. The CDR's collection of uniquely Canuck logos, graphics, and even Canadian "nature" is intentional Canadiana at its best. So show some true patriot love and check 'em out.

And while we're at it... we've also got to point you toward Douglas Coupland's Souvenir of Canada and Souvenir of Canada 2. Great writing aside, Copeland's photography and the liberal use of negative space in the books' layout is as quirky, humble and gentle as the nation itself.

Fridays are for Favorites 2.0

2007-06-29T08:38:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the "dove" theme from last Friday's favorites, we bring you this great design from PeopleNotProfit. The stitching on the wing is handstitched (very nice), and the silhouette inside the sky/cloud is a great subtle nod of hope.

(thanks to Josh Brown of Red Cowboy Designs for turning us on to PNP.)

Local scores

2007-06-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

We've got a few new exciting contracts to announce in the next few weeks. When first-borns have officially been pledged/blood brothers sealed, we'll fill you in on all the details. Until that time we can only say that they're both uniquely local (to Vancouver Island) - and one involves really tasty pesto.

Friday's are for favorites

2007-06-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

Here at the Young Lions of Pop we're stoked to see what our fellow designers are up to, especially when their work is current and engaging without being over-the-top/I-eat-adbusters for-breakfast. That's why we're introducing our "Friday Favorites:" a collection of work by other people who also make things look good. Because hey, we've all got a spark for good design...

Today's featured designs can all be found on tees from Threadless' ongoing competition. From top to bottom:
Permafrost Pollution by Vikto Hachmang
Pretty World Inferno by Peachbeach
Peace and Hate. Can you Tell the Difference? by Allan Faustino

June Buttons

2007-06-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

If you're part of the facebook fan club, you'll know by now that our June buttons are available. And because we love our blog-readers too: we've got enough stock to give away these shiny little 1-inch pins to the first 5 people who send us their snail-mail addy and the password ("roar!") via younglionsofpop {a}t gmail {dot} com.

Roar!

Operators are standing by...

2007-06-15T20:58:00.000-07:00

Feel Free to Contact us at:

younglionsofpop{at}gmail{dot}com

519 701 0354

New Shirt Designs 1 + 2

2007-06-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

We've got two new designs up and for sale via cafépress here and here. They're both on the cheeky side of climate change because we figured everybody needs protection from the elements and it ain't so often that bandwagons and good causes mix so well...

Like we told the facebook fan club: these will be our first sales through cafépress and while they're a reputable business, we're keen to know what you think of their printing, speediness of delivery and all that jazz.

Feel free to send us pics of you in your new threads and, as always, we highly recommend hangin' to dry.

Roar!

____

"Officially Yours, YLOP"

2007-06-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we launched our "official" website over at www.younglionsofpop.ca . It's a slimmed down offering of this blog + the flickr account meant to showcase select design, a little "about" and a whole heap of brand new whitespace. Enoy

What we've been up to

2007-06-07T14:22:00.001-07:00

Summer is nearly upon us in sunny/rainy Victoria and the Young Lions are crawling out of their dens to stretch our legs, shake our manes and track down design work like the wounded gazelle it usually is.

In the past few days we've made a few tweaks to the Victoria Green Directory's layout and we're also excited to be announce we'll be working the design and hype machine for an excellent new app aimed at co-op housing committees with our friends at ClearCove.

Of course, this blog has also been resurrected and we hope to keep you in some sort of loop with a wide assortment of useless information, quirky imagery and savy design.

So there you go. Stop by often - but go play outside more. Roar!

new blog

2007-06-06T12:47:00.000-07:00

well, not so much new. just new-looking. and some new content...eventually.

Welcome to the Lions Den

2006-10-09T10:51:00.000-07:00

for more information contact: younglionsofpop {at} gmail {dot} com

Daniel Dead Man

2006-03-26T17:13:00.000-08:00

Ryan + Cindy

2006-03-26T17:11:00.000-08:00

Dust Light abbey

2006-03-26T17:10:00.000-08:00

Dust Light white

2006-03-26T17:09:00.000-08:00

Mountie

2006-03-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

Stars

2006-03-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

welkin

2006-03-23T19:28:00.000-08:00

broken strings

2006-03-23T19:27:00.000-08:00

VOL

2006-03-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

Trump

2006-03-23T19:16:00.000-08:00

maplewood lane

2006-03-23T19:15:00.000-08:00

mcd

2006-03-23T19:14:00.001-08:00

organ

2006-03-23T19:14:00.000-08:00

jam tard mike

2006-03-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

Jets Heatherton

2006-03-23T18:42:00.000-08:00