The Annual Report Poster

In anticipation of the release of our 2009 Annual Report we have created 2 posters to wet the appetite. If you’d care to order one, let us know, we’re happy to print on demand. The poster is 27.5"x 39.5” and can be printed on bond or archival stock, giclée, inkjet or whatever suits your budget. Limited to 50 prints in this first edition; price on demand.

Ordered rings delineating colors used by project in 2009.

The ‘gravity off tilt to the right’ remix of the rings.

Four quarters of the business year, Q, QQ, etc at each quarter of the rings set.

Yes, seven years of decadent minimalism. Cheers.

Client: Self Commission
Creative Director: Jett Butler
Designers: Sissy Emmons, Jett Butler and Melissa Martin

MADRONE Landscape Architecture

Jon Ahrens is a quiet man with a strong presence and body language that suggests great yet humble strength. This suits him well, as he leads a team of fellow designers and a crew of men—Madrone Landscape Architecture—that re-shape the earth into more perfect and idealized visions of what nature might have done.

His elegant yet organic identity system will literally take root with his clients. A first for our studio, we worked with a paper manufacturer to produce a 100% compostable identity system. Created with live native seeds, when planted it will produce Mealy Blue Sage (a flowering sage) and Blue Grama grass—chosen and specified by Jon specifically for their viability in this region of Texas.

Once again we place our voice as a design studio within that of the client. Quiet, unassuming, highly educated and knowledgeable (ask Jon the scientific name of any plant they specify and when it will bloom or go dormant), Jon executes design for his clients that follows a simple idea: respect the earth. Jon is not interested in a style of landscape architecture, he’s interested in a methodology.

As are we.

As a research based brand consultancy, it’s critical to know and understand context. Jon’s clients have exacting taste. Jon’s work is beautiful but unassuming. The image of the profession—his competitors—is riddled with imagery of trees, seeds, flowers.

Jon’s identity produces flowers. The patterns in his identity system reflect the complexity and mystery found at the root of mother nature’s workings, not just their outcome. The simplicity and work-a-day strength of the typeface is devoid of affectation or unnecessary intervention, as are the words it reveals in his brand promissory. It defers to the work.

Madrone Landscape Architecture is an award winning practice located in Austin, Texas with some of the finest residential projects in the city in their client roster and an award winning memorial park in San Antonio.

Detail of Madrone’s letter-pressed brand announcement–you can see the texture of the seeds embedded in the paper

Reverse side of the brand announcement. The Madrone LDC pattern is an original pattern designed specifically for Madrone. It exists in a constant state of flux —it may be read as growing or receding—reflecting the natural cycle of growth and dormancy in nature.

Brand announcement wetted and ready to be planted.

Front side of the letter-pressed business card.

Reverse side of the business card, wetted and ready to be planted

Once wet, the paper and ink begin to break down, creating a pulp that aids in feeding the seeds as they begin to take root.

The business cards and brand announcements for Madrone are completely compost-able and made with native Texas seeds that will sprout with a little earth and water.

The Madrone print system includes business cards, envelopes, letterhead, brand announcements, and thank you cards.

Madrone brochure.

Featured photography by FÖDA Studio

Landscape photography by FÖDA Studio.

Detail of the letter-pressing on the brand announcements.

Madrone portfolio website designed by FÖDA Studio.

Blue Grama Grass-native Texas seeds imbedded in the Madrone seed paper. Image courtesy of waterwiseplants.utah.gov

Mealy Blue Sage-native Texas seeds imbedded in the Madrone seed paper. Image courtesy of city-data.com

Client: Jon Ahrens, Madrone LDC.
Creative Director: Jett Butler
Design Development: Jett Butler, Melissa Martin, and Sissy Emmons
Website Coding: Caspar Lam
*Both the Madrone brochure and website feature landscape photography by Jett Butler
Copy Writing in collaboration with Holly Gonzalez.
Letter-pressing by Sarah Wymer of Studio SloMo

FÖDA Spoke: Pecha Kucha Austin

Jett gave a presentation on our research based creative process for the brand and identity we designed for Edgar Papazian and Doon Architecture. Sorry if you missed the presentation, but you can take a peek at the slides.

The slides from the event below:

Many thanks to Herman Dyal, Carla Fraser, Tomoko Kuwahara for making Pecha Kucha Austin happen.
Also a special thanks to Sean Lopano for the photos of the event.

FÖDA Speaks: Pecha Kucha Austin

We’re please to announce that FÖDA Creative Director and founder Jett Butler has been asked to speak at PechaKucha Austin, Volume 7, Thursday February 18th. 7th PechaKucha, 7 year birthday for the studio, 1 week apart? Serendipitous.

What is the 20x20?

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.
It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of “chit chat”, it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It’s a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.

Learn more here.

Quietly, we've turned 7.

It’s our birthday today, we’re seven. Thank you for your patronage.

Here’s a role call of those who made the studio what it is:
Shawn Hughes, Tommy Tenery, Sharon Butler, Nikki Niehus, JR Crosby, David Hobizal, Brad Sliva, Trina Bentley, Katie Ford, John Hoysa, Sean Lopano, Rob Bode, Melissa Martin, Caspar Lam, Sissy Emmons, Michele Nelson, and a special honorable mention for Ms. Jessica Phillips.

Cheers,

-Jett

David Wilkes Builders

David Wilkes Builders is a new company evolved from the former partnership of Trinity Builders.

The work of David Wilkes Builders ranges from traditional to more contemporary architecture based on their clients’ needs. As a builder/remodeler, their execution is all that matters as they do not have an aesthetic style but assume that of their client or architect. They produce high-end remodeling and new construction for award winning architects and interior designers like our friends Webber+Studio, Joel Moezersky, and Rose Bartush and collaborate with artisans like Berthold Haas.

As their promissory makes clear:

“Home remodeling cannot be placed on an assembly line. Everything is done by hand; bespoke.

Our labor produces elegance. Each piece of wood–every brush stroke–is unique. As guests in your home, we know this level of consideration for craft will be appreciated.

As builders, we believe it imperative.”

Business cards with nesting bird motif

New business brand announcements showing the first instance of the nesting pair

Letterhead with folded reveal

Custom doorhanger left as a courtesy to neighbors informing them of a new building project on their street.

Mailing labels

Notecards

Detail of construction site signs instructing proper etiquette when on site. Metered leading and careful typography are employed even on construction signs.

Custom lined notepads–lining matches the leading of the entire system

Silk-screened T-shirts

Hats embroidered with the logo

Steel job site signs

Signs present a clean, all business face to the street with a reveal for the homeowners on the back.

The second and only other appearance of the nesting pair revealed to the home owners on the house-facing side of the job site sign.

Portfolio and Client Access Website designed by FÖDA Studio

Limited run catalogues presenting select images of work.

FÖDA Photography of David Wilkes’ hands for their catalogue.

Creative Director: Jett Butler
Logo/Identity Development: FÖDA Studio
Design Team: Melissa Martin and Sissy Emmons
Website Coding: Caspar Lam
Copy Development: Holly Gonzalez

Y-Size Your Business

We’ve handled almost every aspect of Jason Ryan Dorsey’s corporate identity growing it gradually since 2005. In December he released his 4th book, but this time with a FÖDA Studio designed cover. Please, Y-Size Your Business.

Creative Director: Jett Butler
Designer: Melissa Martin

New Years Eve: Lamberts as a Casino

When else does a client ask you to delineate their historic building as a riverboat casino?
The Lamberts 3rd annual New Years Eve Bash.
December 31st. 9pm–2am. $135. Open Bar, Extravagant Vegas Buffet, Full Casino.

Gold and Silver metallic inks on black FSC stock.

Detail of the Schneider Building as a riverboat casino.

The handbills.

Creative Direction: Lamberts Downtown Barbecue
Design: FÖDA Studio.

Under Wraps

One of our largest branding projects of the year, David Wilkes Builders, is wrapping up. We will present their entire identity system at the beginning of the new year, but for now tear into their custom wrapping paper.

Creative Director: Jett Butler
Designer: Sissy Emmons

Working in Stone : Samarkand

Last year we began collaborating with master mason, sculptor, and artist Berthold Haas to develop a pattern—which he dubbed the Samarkand—for his line of hearths. The following is a look at both the hearth itself, as well as the rigorous study we put into our first work in stone.

Collaboration is the best part of design.

Berthold Haas, born in Germany in 1947, has been crafting fireplaces, architectural stone, and grottoes in Austin since 1989. Berthold employs a combination of hand tooling, computer aided design, burnishing, hand staining, mosaic inlay, etching, sandblasting, and other methods to construct his elegant designs. It was a great privilege to be approached to develop a pattern for one of his lines of high end hearths. Featured in Luxe, Berthold sums his goal:

“These fireplaces are totally my aesthetic choice. I’m not trying to accommodate an ambience, but to make a piece of art. It’s a huge difference.”

For our contribution to Berthold’s art, we delved into arabesque patterns derived from the Islamic traditions of painting and stone carving (like the works at the Alhambra).  This study was a continuation of our recurring interest in complex patterns and how they might be introduced into other mediums. Where we departed from our past efforts was by investigating quasi-generative forms (based on symbol patterns established from a dynamic library). The rigorously crafted patterns that resulted were then taken apart ‘by hand’; an intuitive, manual, reckless deletion of pieces. [A dichotomy of precisely designing a system only to then deconstruct it has been an ongoing obsession for the studio.]

The investigations yielded the hearth that Berthold has dubbed the Samarkand, and he made the deliberate move to tint it blue as an homage to that historic city’s domes. It’s a nice nod, as the first paper mill in the Islamic world was in Samarkand, and we typically work in that medium. The pattern is hand tooled, and the tinted limestone is a patented hand process that Berthold puts down himself in his bodega.

The Samarkand Prototype in Berthold Haas’ shop.

Detail of the deconstructed pattern. The non-symettrical pattern always diverges just before it can be rationalized, a trademark of stars and rosette patterns, as well as kite and dart pattern combinations or others using keyed match points.

Close up. Note Mr. Haas’ accuracy.

One of the original rosettes from our studio from which the pattern was generated. This is one of over 47 patterns, many with sub-variations.

One of the unused quasi-generative patterns. Complexity led to fractal or near generative form that was unbuildable, but compelling to study.

Detail. Smooth ground finish compared to rough inset finished by hand.

The master himself, Mr. Berthold Haas.

Limestone stacked at the bodega.

Detail of Berlin from the hearth line, with 24k Italian gold mosaic inlaid by hand.

Details from Berthold’s working color palette studies.

This collaboration can be developed in a number of scales and potential mediums, and both Mr. Haas and FÖDA Studio would love the opportunity to work entire walls. We are accepting large scale commissions, but you can buy a hearth directly from Mr. Haas.

Client: Berthold Haas
Creative Director: Jett Butler
Pattern Design and Deconstruction: Caspar Lam and Jett Butler
Production Design: Sissy Emmons and Melissa Martin
Photography: Jett Butler
Inspiration for mathematical solutions: Craig S. Kaplan, Associate Professor, The David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, University of Waterloo

MJ's Rubik's Cube™ Glove

Malverde presents New Years Eve 1980 with DJ Big Face and a midnight Michael Jackson tribute. Poster by FÖDA Studio.

A nod to Tron for the true 80’s nerds.

Client: The Icon Group for Malverde
Design: Jett Butler

Preppy Website

Fela-Bration!

DJ Chicken George Celebrates his birthday at Malverde, in the Spirit, Life & Music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Guest DJ Sets by Martín Perna of Ocote Soul Sounds/Antibalas + DJ Jeff Strange.

November 21st at 10PM. No cover. Birthday giveaways.



Fela’s face gets transformed into a series of topographical planes, with an abstracted and simplified face paint motif added as Fela himself might have done.

Client: The Icon Group for Malverde, Austin
Design: Jett Butler
Hand, Scarf & Fela Model: Sissy Emmons
Download an iPhone wallpaper: FELA_paper.jpg

Fancy Website?

REMINDER: SFC Chef Series

FODA Studio is proud to sponsor the Inaugural Sustainable Food Center’s Chef Series. Featuring meats and produce from the Austin Farmers’ Market with a multi-course tasting menu from Austin’s most exciting and innovative chefs. Sunday, November 8th, 6 pm at La Condesa, 400 West 2nd Street, Austin. $150 per person. Proceeds to benefit Sustainable Food Center.

SFC is devoted to sustainbly grown and humanely harvested food that supports local farms and cultivates a healthy community. Information and ticket purchasing.

Participating Chefs:
Rene Ortiz-Executive Chef, La Condesa
Tyson Cole-Executive Chef, Uchi
Shawn Cirkiel-Executive Chef, Parkside
Todd Duplechan-Executive Chef, Trio
Jesse Griffith, Dai Due Supper Club
Laura Sawicki-Pastry Chef, La Condesa



Posters, handouts, email blast and theme by FODA Studio.
Creative Director: Jett Butler
Design, Illustration & Logo Modifcation: Jett Butler
Design Support: Melissa Martin, Sissy Emmons