There is a man whose words can make you cry. He can summarize a life and business ethic, his, in such a way it leaves the audience, you, thrilled to be alive. This is only one of his many abilities. Illustrator and designer Aaron Draplin approaches the design of business and the design of a logo with the utmost respect for common sense, and for the common man. What he creates is practical. Fluid use in the everyday lives of his customers.
Draplin’s Draplin Design Company had a booth at MondoCon in 2015 that was quite different than the others around him with gig posters, film posters, and original drawings — he was armed with branded hair brushes, change purses, and ballpoint pens. Again, practical. Alongside those items were his brilliant series of Thick Line art prints, Space Shuttle prints, and the ever present in the world of Draplin, Field Notes memo books.
As a student and historian, Draplin stays true to the ‘less is more’ aesthetic of design. Watch his ‘Logo Design Challenge‘ video and you will begin to understand the level of genius and restraint that goes into his ‘Thick Line’ prints, a series of posters that depict the sunset or water, simply, with a few thick lines of color.
At the convention Draplin ran his booth like a showman and whether you like his work or not, he has a gift for pulling you in with his charm and conversation. I found myself standing at his booth in awe of his genuine joy and gratitude with each customer, his penchant for storytelling and pure honest enthusiasm for what it is he does inspires an immediate love for the man and his work. It’s this that he brings to the stage as well. He is an accomplished speaker on design and has done talks for varies groups including HOW and TEDxPortland as well as the Marchesa Theater for MondoCon.
Aaron Draplin was an inspired choice of vendor and speaker for Mondo to bring to the movie loving crowd at MondoCon, and I can only hope that others experienced the same thrill I did of watching the man work.
A sampling of his work below, followed by video of his talks —
Hair Organizer from Draplin Design Co.
Spare Change Containment Apparatus from Draplin Design Co.
Emeryboard from Draplin Design Co.
From Draplin’s line of Field Notes Memo Books
‘Space Shuttle’ by Aaron Draplin
‘California Compiled’ by Aaron Draplin
‘Sunrays’ by Aaron Draplin from his ‘Thick Lines’ Series
‘Sundown’ by Aaron Draplin from his ‘Thick Lines’ Series
‘Water’ by Aaron Draplin from his ‘Thick Lines’ Series
‘Foliage’ by Aaron Draplin from his ‘Thick Lines’ Series
‘Clouds’ by Aaron Draplin from his ‘Thick Lines’ Series
‘Peaks’ by Aaron Draplin from his ‘Thick Lines’ Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOPA0NaeTBk
