Hol Art Books

So, I've officially hired a design studio and they've begun work on a graphic identity for Hol. Pretty cool. Along with dumping pages of stream of conscious branding thoughts on them, I also compiled a number of samples of other design things I like. They're posted at delicious.com/holartbooks/Omnivore if you're curious.

Omnivore is the design studio. They're a small group and, I think, quite talented. They work together remotely from Brookyn, Portland and Los Angeles, and have a terrific list of clients. I was particularly pleased that the founding partners had trained and worked with 2x4, which is the design studio I was lucky enough to work with on the new brand for the Gardner Museum in Boston. After an initial discussion with them, they already had some great thoughts, and were as interested in our publishing model as they were about the design job itself. I'll be excited to see their first sketches in the next week or two.

I've been asked why, given my design background, I didn't just design the identity myself. The question actually gets to the heart of Hol's publishing process. Its answer lies in my respect for, and trust in, the specific talents of trained professionals. There is incredible value in professional-level work. A logo created by trained graphic designers. A press release written by an actual publicist. The goal of Hol's publishing system is to bring these kinds of talents together in publishing books chosen by the community. Working along the same lines for Hol itself, seemed an obvious choice.