Author Archives: Mike
Seal Sitters waterfront banner samples
Here are a few “appropriate” samples of our work. We can cover a broad spectrum of styles and, of course, always work to do what’s best and appropriate for each particular project. Please feel free to browse the rest of our website to see what more we can do. Thank you for considering Modern Dog, and we hope we can work with you!
Hand Sanitizers
Client: Blue Q
Everyone appreciates a good hand sanitizer – some even say they are the thin line between health and disease. And we ALL know, “if you’re not sanitizing, you’re getting infected”. Modern Dog created 11 new hand sanitizers for Blue Q using design and humor that covers everything from Pharmaceutical to ridiculous.
Let Modern Dog help you create your online presence. Whether you’re large or small, the folks at Modern Dog understand what makes a site appropriate and successful.
Impressive: Printmaking, Letterpress and Graphic Design
Edited by R. Klanten and H. Hellige
Gestalten 2010
Aquarium Lunchbox
Client: Seattle Aquarium
Designed to be used as a giveaway for children ages 4 to 12 years old, this Seattle Aquarium promo had to appeal to both boys and girls. The illustration is reminiscent of cartoons that their parents grew up watching. Featured characters – octopus, salmon and orca – are sea creatures that live in the Puget Sound.
Olive Cookie Treats
Client: Olive Green Dog Products
Over the course of the past two years, Modern Dog has worked on everything from website design to direct mail to packaging for Austin based Olive™, makers of “Green Goods for Modern Dogs”. Pictured above are the organic, handmade, all natural Cookie Treats (no wheat, corn or soy – no artificial colors, no artificial flavors and no preservatives of any kind). We named the products, did all the copy writing and of course designed them as well. Scrummy for your best friend’s Tummy.
Aquarium Waterfront Banners
Client: Seattle Aquarium
The Seattle Aquarium banners are displayed during the height of the tourist season on Seattle’s waterfront. For 2009, we did three designs, each featuring a different sea creature native to the Puget Sound – an octopus, rock fIsh, and harbor seal. The banners measure 7′ long by 2.5′ wide and hang from poles in front of the Aquarium. If you happen to be in Seattle this summer, make sure you look up.
I’m Not Gay, I Just Really Love Rainbows
Client: Blue Q
From 2006 – 2007 Modern Dog developed a line of “Not Gay” products for Blue Q. One of the design inspirations came from Hawaiian rainbow bumper sticker designs from the 1980′s. Modern Dog’s own Robert Zwiebel designed and wrote all the copy too. From the Blue Q website, “why should homosexuals have all the fun? Rainbows aren’t private property”. PS: May also be used by homosexuals BUT ARE NOT GAY.
UseLess Shopper
Client: Seattle Aquarium
Continuing with the theme of “Inspiring Conservation of our Marine Environment”, the Seattle Aquarium “Useless Shopper” is made from recycled materials. Unrecycled plastics often end up as litter, causing increased costs for clean up and disposal. Besides being an eyesore, plastic bags can also be a hazard to the health of marine mammals. Discarded plastic bags frequently end up being the cause of death each year of hundreds of thousands of sea turtles, whales, jellyfish, seals and birds who eat the bags mistaking them for food. If that’s not enough, plastic bags take up to 1000 years to decompose! Making new plastic bags takes energy and resources that cause greenhouse gases. Bag design features useful tips and facts about plastics and their cause and effect printed on the side and bottom panels. If your visiting the Seattle Aquarium this summer pick up a Useless Shopper, and help keep the Puget Sound healthy so future generations can enjoy it.
America Dreaming
Client: Little Brown & Co.
Book cover design for Little Brown & Co. The cover illustration references important 1960′s cultural icons: Gloria Steinem, Angela Davis, Martin Luther King and a young John Lennon, among others. The audience for this book is High School students who know little (or in some cases nothing) about the counter-culture and social revolution that took place during that important time period. The inspiration behind the illustration style was taken from doodling on Pee Chee folders.
Sticks and Stones Water Bottle
Client: Blue Q
The high price of bottled water is not the water but, in actuality the cost of the bottling, packaging, shipping, marketing, retailing and transporting it all over the globe. When calculating your carbon footprint, you might want to consider picking up an eco-friendly Blue Q “Sticks and Stone” wide mouthed water bottle. Plastic water bottles pile up like mountains of waste. In 2008, about 40 million bottles a day went into the trash, or even more unfortunately became litter. These billions of bottles take up valuable landfill space, leak toxic additives into the groundwater and take a whopping 1,000 years to biodegrade, if ever. We are proud to be a part of Blue Q’s latest product line of ultra light weight, easy-to-clean and reusable bottles. (The wide mouth makes it easy to add ice cubes too!) Our design incorporates natural, organic shapes and lines that radiate a meditative quality. Constructed of food grade stainless steel and printed with lead-free inks the bottles are also much better for your health too. What sweetens the deal? Blue Q donates 1% of the sales to support global clean water initiatives. See the entire line of custom water bottles at BlueQ.com.
Fainting Goat
The next time you’re in the mood for a sweet treat try Fainting Goat, a new organic gelato shop located in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. Fainting Goat gelato is made from locally grown, organic dairy and sugar, and handcrafted on site by a family-owned business. Fainting Goat gelato is lower in both fat and calories when compared to traditional ice cream. It’s lighter and healthier because it’s made with milk instead of cream. Mother, father and daughter are as sweet as the treats they serve. Flavors include roasted almond, coconut and pineapple, pistachio, caramel and almond, hazelnut, tiramisu and chocolate of course. Want to sample something, just ask!. Located at 1903 North 45th St., Seattle.
Jeanne Bliss “I Love You More Than My Dog” Book
Client: Jeanne Bliss
For twenty five years, Jeanne Bliss has had the job of “just do it” strapped to her back by five corporate presidents. She is a champion of the customer experience. Jeanne helps leaders get the customer on the strategic agenda, redirecting priorities and creating transformational changes to the brands’ customer experience. She coaches leaders to wrap their company’s focus around customers and customer profits. Jeanne found Modern Dog through a Google search last Fall. She asked us to help with a part of her new book, “I Love You More Than My Dog” , which will be available in October 2009. We are excited to show a small preview of the “challenge” pages. (Book cover and remaining interior spreads designed by Portfolio Hardcover).
Clara Anders Wedding Invite
Client: Clara Anders
Back in 2002 we received a number of persistent emails from a student designer in Germany wanting to intern. We relented and Clara Anders graced the halls of Modern Dog for 5 months in 2003. After her internship ended, we became closer and our relationship went from employer to friend. In July 2009, Clara married the love of her life, Aron Hendrix in Berlin Germany. Clara wanted her invitation to be a custom piece and asked for the invite to be written in 3 languages: English, German and Swedish (since she was marrying a Swede). The illustration is based on photos Clara provided of herself and Aron. With a nod to the naive and outsider art, we delivered and Clara told us that people thought it was the best wedding announcement they’d ever seen. And Robynne even made the trek across the Atlantic to be with Clara as her Maid of Honor.
Seattle Aquarium 2008 Annual Report
Client: Seattle Aquarium
The theme of this year’s annual report for the Seattle Aquarium is “community”. As well the usual financial information, the report serves as a documentation of all the outreach work and marine life preservation that the Seattle Aquarium initiates. Our art direction and design goal was to make the densely informative report appear friendly and approachable. Cover photography by the talented Joann Arruda was shot on location at Alki beach in West Seattle.
Blue Q: Gums 2009
Client: Blue Q
These tiny gum boxes pack a wallop. This past Spring 2009, Modern Dog was commissioned by Blue Q to design 14 new gum products, and we’re ready to do some show and tell. We named some of the gums (ie Instant Asshole, Cotton Mouth, Fuck it, That’s so Gay, etc). and wrote much of the supporting copy with lots of help from Blue Q copy writer Kelley Lear. Bonus visuals are tucked inside each box. It was a long, painful process with constant back and forth – going from fun to frustrating and horrific then back again – but always a satisfying finish. Because almost all of the art direction was spot on, we couldn’t be happier with the results. Look for them at your favorite specialty boutique soon.
