As part of my design business promotion I create a yearly holiday card to send to clients, friends & family. With an interest in local history, art & architecture the subject matter typically falls into one of these categories and are letterpress printed, or foil stamped by various local printers.
EXPO LINE SKYTRAIN STATIONS, 1986 | This card design celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Skytrain Expo Line and Expo 86. The font “Rockwell”, and the red & blue Pantone colours are from the Expo 86 graphic standards. I worked on the ALRT/SkyTrain planning documents while at the GVRD (now Metro Vancouver) and had a stint in the design dept. at Expo 86. These are the original station names on the Expo line when it opened in 1986. Printed by: Porchlight Press
VANCOUVER APARTMENT NAMES | I’ve always loved the unique names & gold leaf typography on the older Vancouver apartment block entries. I went around and photographed a number of my favourites from the West End to Marpole. I then recreated the type in a vector format, finalized the layout and created small illustrations of the apartments. Printed by: Porchlight Press
CITY CENTRE MOTOR HOTEL | The City Centre Motel located at 2111 Main Street has been a Vancouver landmark since the mid 50’s, featuring a large dimensional neon sign. With a storied past the hotel was often used for film & television productions. Since 2022 it has been repurposed as artists studios thanks to the efforts of The Narrow Group.
LIONEL THOMAS SCULPTURE | This is my tribute to an under appreciated public art piece in downtown Vancouver: "Symbols of the Cuneiforms” | 1960 by Lionel & Patricia Thomas located at 750 Burrard St., Vancouver. It’s one of those sculptures you might have walked by hundreds of times and never noticed, don’t forget to look up.
2400 MOTEL | The 2400 Motel is located at 2400 Kingsway in Vancouver. Built in 1946 to accommodate growing car-based travellers it’s been a Kingsway landmark for decades with the large neon entrance signage. It has a colourful history with stories ranging from murder & terrorist plots to film & television location shoots. For the design I visualized some of these stories with illustrations and icons. The site is currently slated for redevelopment. Printed with two fluorescent inks.
VANCOUVER BREEZE BLOCKS | I'm always on the lookout for breeze blocks and stamped/formed concrete which Vancouver has numerous & unique examples of. I photographed a few of my favourites, created the design and had them foil stamped on a grey textural stock which has the look & feel of concrete.
PACIFIC SURF APARTMENTS | Opened in 1967, the Pacific Surf apartments located at 1275 Pacific Avenue is one of many classic mid-century apartment blocks in the West End of Vancouver. Architect: Wilfred D. Buttjes.
THE MARINE BUILDING | Opened in 1930, the Marine Building is another stand-out building in downtown Vancouver and is a fine example of art deco detailing designed by McCarter Nairne & Partners. I chose to focus my card design on the ornate exterior entry facade. The card is foil-stamped in gold & silver foils and was recognized with a 2019 Applied Arts Design Award in the Craft Illustration category.
THE DOMINION BUILDING | The Dominion Building located at 207 West Hastings in downtown Vancouver opened in 1910. Designed by John S. Helyer. Card printed in two metallic inks.
NARA DEER CAUTION SIGN | After visiting Nara Park in Nara, Japan I was taken with the caution sign in the park warning of the possible hazards of interacting with the free-range deer. After photographing the sign I recreated the art & had it letterpress printed in one colour. This card design was recognized with a 3rd place honour in the 2020 Print Design Awards presented by Adobe. The design was also featured on the People of Print site. Printed by Fox & Found Press.