END BAD DESIGN: This Week – Mike Davis
Mike Davis, Burlesque of North America
Tell us a bit about who you are and the work you do:
I’m a graphic artist living in Minneapolis, MN. Along with my creative partner Wes Winship, I help run Burlesque of North America, a design and screenprinting studio. We design and print concert posters, album packaging, logos, and more for Arcade Fire, Dam Funk, Target, Nike Sportswear, Kidrobot, The Melvins, and many more. We also help curate and manage CO Exhbitions, a 2000 square foot art gallery space in the same warehouse as our studio.
What is your go-to font or font combination as of late? Can you provide a screenshot?
I tend to stick to the classics – Helvetica, Futura, Trade Gothic. If anything more decorative is needed, I usually end up drawing it in Illustrator. Of the hundred or so fonts on my computer, I probably use about 10 of them.
Why do you like that combination?
Pairing a custom face with something more simple and recognizeable is the best way to emphasize all the interesting aspects of the main type.
What font do you think is overused and about to go out of style?
I don’t know. I haven’t really been keeping up with type trends. I guess I know what I like and what I imagine to be popular or trendy in my own mind, but then I’ll look online or flip through a design magazine and have no idea what’s going on.
What do you wish you could tell new designers to quit doing?
Making vintage-looking movie poster designs of video games, Wu Tang albums, or whatever else. Olly Moss already nailed it – nobody else needs to bother.
What’s the next trend?
Late ’90s / early 2000s steez – post-grunge, giant geometric shapes, 45 degree arrows, tiny paragraphs of type, Designgraphik / Gmunk style. Someone needs to bring that shit back please!
Which trend is about to be over?
Making fun of hipsters.
What designer do you want to turn our readers on to?
Adam R. Garcia – one of the most genuinely talented humans I know. Check out his design portfolio, his sketch blog and his upcoming TRUST ME show at CO Exhibitions.
–Becky Lang has learned a lot more about design from sitting next to a designer at work than from reading any book explaining what ascenders and descenders are. END BAD DESIGN is her attempt to give everyone that access to designer opinions.
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