Last week we had the chance to hang out with the crew from San Francisco design studio MINE. Under the direction of Christopher Simmons, MINE is a small and versatile design shop. We got the low-down, talked graphic design, told some jokes, and saw lots of cool work.

The office is a little nook in Bernal Heights. Very intimate, and accommodates the three designers nicely. You know you’re there when you see the funky doorbell, the Eames furniture, a bright orange bean bag chair, and the distinguishing sign on the door that reads “this is our office.”

I’m always impressed with the quantity and diversity in the projects they’re working on. They’re driven by concepts, not by a certain style. The work doesn’t look like it was “designed by MINE.” Instead, it makes sense, has personality, and definitely communicates a point of view.

Thanks again to MINE for opening up the studio, and letting us snap these photos.

Enjoy the tour!

Thanks to Tim Barber and the rest of the gang at Odopod for inviting me  to their studio last Friday. They regularly meet to discuss design and Tim asked if I would like to join them and bring in some of the things that inspire me.

While I was there I was able to take a few photos of the studio. It’s a beautiful space filled with exposed brick, concrete floors and Eames Chairs. When I walked in the main entrance on the first floor, the first thing I noticed was an Odopod sign that looked like it was ripped straight off a Motel 6. It was hot in San Francisco on Friday so, I was lucky that Odopod came with AC, Free WIFI and HBO (I gotta get one of these signs). The rest of the first floor includes meeting rooms and the company parking lot (What is a design studio without atleast one vintage fixie?). The second floor houses the designers, the book collection and a big letter “O”.

Be sure to check the rest of our studio visit series including:

Small Studio: Office tour and posters

Chronicle Books

Thanks to Geoff Wagner and the rest of the crew at Chronicle Books for  for taking the time to show me around the Office.  It’s a beautiful space with lots of nice architectural details including exposed bricks, beams and piping. Large globe fixtures dot the ceilings and remind me of the original Lightolier ball lights that are often found in the Eichler homes of the Bay Area. The entrance to the building hosts a bookshop open to the public. Towards the front of the shop, new books are showcased on top of rustic planks of wood recycled from one of the building’s previous tenants. The top floor features an employee lounge with floor to ceiling window walls and nice views of the Soma district.

I was excited to see some of the new projects their working on. Chronicle works with some of my favorite illustrators and designers, so I knew they would have plenty of good stuff in development. They did not disappoint. Recently released and upcoming projects include work with Eleanor Grosch of PushmePullyou and Grady McFerrin.

While I was there I picked up a copy of Core Memory - A Visual Survey of Vintage Computers. I’ve been wanting this book for a while so, I was glad to finally get my hands on it. I’m curious what other titles from Chronicle have you guys been digging? Anyone else pick up the Factory Records book?

Lastly, shout outs to Chronicle’s in house design department. Lots of great work coming from there.

Leah Hennen of the excellent More Ways to Waste Time blog just posted a tour of my house/ studio. You can get a glimpse of the goodies here sans my dirty laundry and unwashed dishes. As you can see, books dominate the house. Any other book nerds out there?

See the full tour here. Stop by and say hello.

Several weeks ago I posted this wonderful Buck 65 gig poster designed by the Lyon, France based design duo Small Studio. Since then, we’ve been trading emails and they’ve been kind of enough to allow grain edit readers a sneak peek into their design studio.

I love the hand drawn typography often found in their poster work. In the examples below you can see the development of the type work for several posters that were designed recently.

Concepts + finished design for Dj Vadim/ June gig poster

Concepts and final design for Tobler One print

You can purchase the Tobler one poster here. also, you can keep up with all the latest Small Studio news + events at their new blog.

Thanks again to SMALL studio for sharing with us!

I was in New York a few weeks back and had a chance to stop by the studio of design champ collective Rad Mountain. Rad Mountain is the Brooklyn based collaboration of Damien Correll, Justin Fines, Wyeth Hansen, Garrett Morin, and Ryan Waller. You’ve seen their work in/for Good Magazine, Swindle, Nike, Urban Outfitters, MTV, and the AIGA to name a few. Overall, their work feels very hand-crafted, with lots of illustration and hand-drawn type. They really stand out due to their super attention to detail, which gives the work real personality and makes it so much more interesting.

The studio space is split in two; half design office, half screenprinting studio. It’s open and airy, and complements the Rad Mountain hands-on aesthetic really well. Highlights of the visit included seeing some new prints from Justin and Wyeth, and being introduced to Rambo, the design super cat.

Thanks again to the Rad Mountain crew for opening up their studio, and letting me snap some photos.

grain edit is proud to announce for your viewing pleasure the second installment in our ongoing record gallery series.

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One of the first people I met when I moved to California was Chris Veltri. Chris aka “Cool Chris” owns the world renowned Groove Merchant record store which has become a haven for those looking for obscure jazz, soul, funk and latin records. Chris is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet and his knowledge of music is bordering on insane. I couldn’t begin to count the amount of amazing albums he has exposed me to.

On one of my trips to Chris’s house I had a chance to take a few photos of his personal record collection. I only had time to go through a small portion of his collection, so here are a few of the choice album covers.

*Note - sorry for the poor image quality on some of the photos. I was having an issue with my camera.

Also worth checking:

The Record Gallery part 1- Mike the 2600 King