I'm On Cargo

Hey Check out my Cargo Collective Portfolio website. Don't be over excited, its still in the works, but I'm slowly updating it with more and more work, so might as well check it out and see how it develops! Click Here to se My Website!

Nerl Says Design Q&A

Please state your name and where you're from.
My name is John Knoerl and I hail from Canton MI. I just graduated from Grand Valley State University with a degree in Advertising.

How did you first get into gig posters?
I first got into gigposters about a year ago. I’ve always been really into music and stumbled upon some really cool ones and my interest just grew from there. I figured since I have always had a passion for both music and art, why not do something where I could combine them?

What was the first gig poster you printed?
The first poster I printed was for a buddies band called Robots In The Garden. It was basically just to get my feet wet and try it out. The first real paying job I did was for the band Passion Pit. They were having a show in Chicago that I got the opportunity to make a poster for. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from it.

How do you design your prints before printing them? Where do you get your imagery? (Don't give away all the secrets haha)
Most of the time I have an idea that I start with and just keep working at it from there on the computer. I just sit down at the computer and work at the idea I have, sometimes it comes quickly and sometimes the poster takes a while to come together. No matter what though, the poster usually never looks like what I think it is going to at the start. I find almost of my images through Google or other stock photo websites. I also sometimes scan cool pictures I find in books and drawings that I do. Then once the picture is in Photoshop, I manipulate it until it has the feel and look I want it to have.

How did you first start finding work and clients?
I first started by looking at tour dates of the bands that I listen to and then if they had a show that was coming to MI I would email the bands management and see if they would give me a shot at making a poster for the. When I first started out, it was hard because I didn’t have a lot of samples that I could show the bands, but now I have a good amount of work done that bands can look at to see what kind of work I do.


Who are some of your biggest influences... both design/art related and non-art?
I am a huge fan of poster artists like Aesthetic Apparatus, The Silent Giants, Young Monster, Nate Duval, Delicious Design League and more. They are all really great and I love their work. Another influence is just other cool/good looking design. Whenever I see a cool package or a cool design anywhere it makes me want to be better and to try harder so that I can create something that looks great too.


A lot of your posters are for indie rock bands, do you listen to those artists a lot? If not who are you into musically?
My musical taste is pretty big. I listen to anyone from City and Colour (acoustic) to Suicide Silence (heavy metal) and everywhere in between. Recently I’ve been getting into indie music a lot though, and those are the type of bands that generally have posters done for shows. I like having such a wide taste in music though because it allows me to do different types of posters and really understand the feeling I need to convey through the poster depending on the type of music.


What would be the name of your first hip-hop mixtape be?
Haha hmmm… I would say ‘John Knoerl Part I: Let Me Introduce Myself’. That’s just where I am at with my work.

A big thanks to John for the Q&A. You can see a lot more of his work on his blog at www.nerlsaysdesign.wordpress.com and buy some of his prints on his Etsy site, http://www.etsy.com/shop/nerlsays

Art Videos and stuff

So I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been really busy in the works with some freelance identity stuff, my prints and planning a show with Kyle Culps and Scot Ferguson, work, and all my other design stuff. But here is some stuff I have done recently for my Motion Graphics class, as well as a stop motion video from my Installation class last fall.

Reid Miles & Blue Note Album Covers

Check out these vintage album covers by the late Reid Miles. You probably own some of these, your parents probably have some, or at least you've seen these before. Reid Miles worked for Blue Note Records for almost his entire career, and they gave him pretty much free reign on the design of their album covers. I recently found a video on Grainedit.com using Miles' album covers as inspiration for the art direction of the video. The video is amazing. Check it out here! Otherwise you can check out the archive of Reid Miles album covers put together by birkajazz.com right here!

Andrew Archer

Check out these amazing illustrations from Andrew Archer of New Zealand. He's only 24 years old and has an impressive client list including Penguin Books, ESPN, and Vogue. A lot more to check out at his website, andrewarcher.com

Janina Sitzmann Art & Design

Check out these artists work I found this morning on the Behance Network. The design work is really nice, but the fine art installations and street art illustrations are amazing. Check out these pics but too see time lapse videos of the work you gotta stop by their Behance page here.

Concepcion Studios

Out of San Jose, Patrick Concepcion is a designer/artist who has been making some amazing silk screen and offset litho posters for everyone from Jack's Mannequin to Conan O'Brien. I recently contacted him to ask him a few questions about his work. His amazing "vintage" photographs are all shot by him or are found images in old library books! He either uses the photo as is or makes really simple and clever "collages". His minimal use of color is what really makes his work so amazing. Check more of his stuff out at concepcionstudios.com