Emily's Junk

Ever since I started working at Ailey a year and a half ago I have been work, work, working and go, go, going pretty much non-stop. Designing for this prolific and popular dance company has really kept me on my toes M-F, and the bit of freelance work I do on the side has kept me busy on the weekends. I really haven’t had a moment to consider collecting some of this work and preparing it for display to the public. 

But now, in the midst of my second trimester, I found this burst of energy. (It’s probably due to the knowledge that once the baby arrives in the spring there is NO WAY I will have time to do this kind of organization.) I spent this past weekend combing through a year and a half of work, picked out a few favorites and (finally) updating my website! You can check it out here: www.emilywilburdesign.com.

One piece that didn’t make it to the site, but I kind of wanted to share with the world anyway, is the postcard I did for the Tiny Steps class at The Ailey Extension. (It’s an adorable class for 2 year olds). This postcard makes me happy every time I see it. 

Check it out….

Found here

Tonight the new series Game of Thrones, based on the AMAZING Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, premieres on HBO. In honor of this I thought I’d post the redesign of this series that I did as a project last year.

These books fall pretty squarely into the “Fantasy” genre, and it shows in their packaging. However, they are also REALLY well written and not your typical dorky fantasy. I wanted to give these books covers that would appeal to a more literary audience and make them slightly less embarrassing to read in public.

The long awaited next book in the series, A Dance with Dragons, (ok, yes, this is kind of dorky fantasy) comes out this July. I was hoping that with this new release we might see a redesign of the series, maybe something that didn’t include beveled type, gradients and other “effects.” No dice. Oh well!

In at attempt to remind Spring that it’s time to arrive already (I am sick of wearing my ski hat every day) here are some lovely Bulgarian stamps designed by Stefan Kanchev in 1971.

via Design:Related

That was what I thought as the stage lit up for Prince last night at Madison Square Garden. His really is lovely.

The show was transcendent, definitely in my top 5 of all time, in part due to the stunning Miss Janelle Monáe (below). If you have a chance to see her live, DO IT! She’s so strange and wonderful. It’s like really funky performance art.

Top photo by me and my iPhone. Bottom photo by Zach Wolfe

I was looking for inspiration for an infographic project I’m starting at work when I stumbled upon this gem by Pop Chart Lab. Love!!

While unemployed over the summer I created lists and lists of things I was going to buy myself when I finally got a job. At the very top of the list was this book:

Penguin’s Art Director, Paul Buckley, chose 75 covers from the last 10 years to be featured in this book, along with comments from the authors, designers, agents, editors, etc. There are also some rejected covers that made it in, and some of the comments are brutally honest. (I was a little taken aback by Garrison Keillor’s pure hatred of the cover for his Love Me.) It’s a real insiders look and has been totally worth the wait.

Two of my favorite covers from this collection are these by Jen Wang:

You can read a great interview with Paul Buckley about this book here. Fun stuff!

Sculpture by Jason Freeny.

Last night I said goodbye to what has truly been a fantastic summer by going to see the Pavement reunion show at the Central Park Summerstage.

I was totally in LOVE with the light design—specifically the strings of lights draped across the stage. Gorgeous!

(Photos via Pitchfork and Limewire)