Senior Thesis: A Weekly Update

This week I would like to introduce you to some work that resonates with me and inspires me to do what I do.  There is a little print shop in Lexington, Kentucky called Cricket Press.  I was first introduced to this business by Darrel Kincer in one of the digital imaging classes I took of his.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Cricket Press, it is a local print shop that specializes in creating posters and other illustrative ephemera (things that exist or are used or enjoyed for only a short time). To check out their full gallery of work, you should definitely check out their website here

So what do I find interesting about their work-besides pretty much everything? I love the way they successfully combine an illustrative style and typography without having the final product looking overworked or illustrative in a childish way.  I think the freshness of their work can be attributed to the use of negative space, color scheme, and the visual interest created by the variety of graphic imagery. When you think of commercial art, you think of annoying signs and logos with irritating colors and flashiness... everything that is opposite of what Cricket Press does. And after taking Daniel Graham's printmaking class last semester, I have much more appreciation for the craft. It's marketing done artfully. Sometimes people think that in order to catch people's eye, you have to use a lot of different colors, when in reality, if you look at the majority of their prints, you might find yourself struggling to find a poster that has more than 4 colors (not counting white or negative space).  

A few examples of handmade work from Cricket Press

Another reason why I am a fan of their work is that even though the imagery and text stands out, I don't feel as if it competes against each other. You almost don't realize how easy it is to get sucked in to reading their posters.  The layout creates such a natural flow that when you are viewing it, you don't have to question what you are reading or looking at. It reminds me also of the work of the early graphic designer Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, except cleaner. I could talk about him all day as well, but you'll just have to go look him up yourself, I'll catch up with ya'll next week!

-Maddy Fritz