I haven’t been this crazy about a band since I was a Cobain-obsessed teenager. During the last month, my casual interest in early-80’s punk band The Misfits has mutated into a devilish craving. I’m a fiend.

At first, I had written The Misfits off as just another low-fi thrashing experience, but then a series of thrilling revelations occurred. I discovered the band’s taste for sci-fi and horror-themed songs (‘Teenagers from Mars,’ ‘Night of the Living Dead’). They have a song about a werewolf, a song about The Fly, songs about Jackie O. and Marilyn Monroe. I was stunned when I realized the power and range of diabolical Misfits mastermind and frontman Glenn Danzig, “a powerful vocalist who didn’t so much emulate Elvis Presley and Jim Morrison as embody their cocksure attitude and charisma,” according to the iTunes review of the band’s debut. This is a hardcore punk band, led by a melodic crooner styled after Elvis, singing songs about martians and vampires. It’s the strangest hybrid, a creepy Frankenstein creature of a rock band, and the whole thing is utterly hilarious. That’s how I became a Fiend (Danzig named his self-published Misfits fan club enterprise the ‘Fiend Club,’ signing some of his letters to friends and fans with “Stay Cool Ghoul”).

They want your skull.

As early as ‘78, the band was already branded with a name, logo, hairstyle (the incomparably inconvenient ‘devilock,’ a lock of hair narrowed into a horn-like sheath that hangs between the eyes), and sound that all thoroughly embodied their signature campy horror style. I dug further and futher, and before I knew it, I was spending way too much time YouTube-ing vintage Misfits clips and Googling nerd-alert search terms like “Glenn Danzig biography” (watch him show off his book collection). After years without a serious new musical obsession, it was a real joy. I love Grizzly Bear but bands like that don’t encourage obsession. If part of your look is being casual and appearing not to try too hard, your fans will probably follow suit. An Interpol tattoo is surely a rarity.

The band’s most well-known song is ‘Where Eagles Dare’

The final revelation came when I started reading Misfits lyrics. Some of the band’s songs are so fast and raw that it was occasionally difficult to hear the lyrics properly, but I soon discovered a lyrical genius in the eccentric meathead-to-be Danzig. I thought I heard a rousing chorus of “I want your soul / I need your soul.” This struck me as a passable, somewhat generic love song. My jaw literally dropped when I learned that the song title was ‘Skulls,’ the chorus was actually “I want your skull / I need your skull,” and the lyrics told a gory tale about a demonic psycopath with a skull collection. Holy shit. If you can see the humor in it, and if you’re a fan of horror films (Danzig was raised on the creepy/silly horror classics from 50’s film production company Hammer Horror), it’s heaven.

Even if you don’t crave more two-minute-long songs about the undead, I recommend being youthful when you can this month. Pursue some of those unbridled passions that can shrink away amidst the stresses and obligations that come with adult things like age and career and time. It’s good for you. Sometimes it takes work to find bands that you adore – research and browsing and recommendations and sometimes years of listening to music you enjoy but don’t always fiend for. But it’s worth it, so find what you fiend for. And remember, as the Descendents once said, “Thou shalt not commit adulthood.”

Yesterday, I held a photo shoot in a mannequin factory for musician Boots Factor (of Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers). It was a very exciting adventure; here’s a sneak peek.

My great friend Ryan Germick drew this ‘Party She-Wolf’ in my honor. This drawing is a reference to the Magnetic State ‘Party Werewolf’ t-shirt design, which you can purchase to support the World Wildlife Fund.

I just read a quote from graphic designer hero Paul Rand that really made me think. Rand is quoted in this Smashing Magazine article about logo design as defining a logo thusly: “a logo is a flag, a signature, an escutcheon, a street sign. A logo does not sell (directly), it identifies. A logo is rarely a description of a business. A logo derives meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around. A logo is less important than the product it signifies; what it represents is more important than what it looks like. The subject matter of a logo can be almost anything.”

This view on the meaning of a logo is no longer true. In fact, it has been reversed.

Again, Rand is my hero and I look to his work for inspiration regularly, but his most well-known designs were created during the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s. Corporate branding has evolved drastically in the decades since.

According to Naomi Klein’s No Logo (published in 2000, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in branding or corporate identity), “The astronomical growth in the wealth and cultural influence of multinational corporations over the last fifteen years can arguably be traced back to a single, seemingly innocuous idea developed by management theorists in the mid-1980’s: that successful corporations must primarily produce brands, as opposed to products.”

In other words, Nike’s corporate identity – including, but not limited to, its ubiquitous ‘Swoosh’ logo – carries much more value and meaning than any pair of sneakers. In fact, that pair of Nikes will wear out in a few months (and you might purchase whatever new model they happen to be hawking at the time), but the Swoosh will remain untarnished as an image emblazoned on the side of billions of products and ads – and more importantly, as an idea in the minds of countless consumers.

Mr.Rand says that a logo derives meaning from the qualities of the thing it represents. But what about the generic package of cheaply-produced shoelaces that bear the Nike logo on the label? Surely consumers pay more for these shoelaces because the product is deriving meaning from the logo, and therefore, the brand.

During Mr.Rand’s career, the logo existed to support the product. For many of today’s megabrands, the product has become secondary to the idea of the brand and the logo’s symbolization of that idea.

The challenge for us graphic designers is to use this powerful tool for good and not evil! If you have skill and talent as a logo designer, use it to strengthen those brands and companies whose goals and motives you trust and admire (a.k.a. not Nike).

If Mr.Rand were still with us today, I’m sure he’d be at the forefront of developments like these. Here’s a classic interview with the endearing, no-nonsense designer for old-time’s sake.

Above is the flyer I designed for the 2010 Beard Ball, hosted by my friends at Build-A-Beard. The show is a benefit for RightRides, which is an organization that provides safe late-night rides home for women and LGBTQ individuals. Cool cause, huh? I thought so too, so I had my design fee donated to the organization. Hope to see you at the show!

Rockwell reproduction by yours truly

I stumbled across this in an old sketchbook today and just had to put it online because I still feel very affectionate for it. This is a (skewed, poorly lit) photo of an oil painting that I did in college. The assignment, given to students in the Illustration Department at Parsons School of Design by the legendarily skilled and bawdy illustrator Alan Reingold, was to duplicate an oil painting by a famous artist.

I chose a Norman Rockwell painting (see Rockwell’s original here) in which I saw a whimsical concept and challenging photorealism. The last time I saw my version of the painting, it was in Dad’s basement somewhere, but I’d love to find it and frame it because it remains one of my favorite paintings I’ve ever done, despite the unoriginal subject matter. It represents a time when I was drawing and painting all day every day and learning all the time. I still work hard and learn always, but I rarely paint anymore, and, well, I’m a nostalgic sap, okay? There, I said it (as if it wasn’t already obvious enough by the fact that I chose to emulate a Rockwell).

My first menu design was an exciting challenge. The design solution is tasteful and elegant, and we displayed an enormous amount of information on a variety of menus, including brunch, dinner, and takeout. For further menu design inspiration, check out this analysis of the menu design strategy at Balthazar.

I highly recommend the food at La Bonne Bouffe; Skander takes a great deal of pride in his fresh ingredients and mouth-watering entrees that deliver authentic French and Algerian recipes to New York appetites. View the menu design.

Buy a new face for my iSexbot

Dodge draft for military service in Machine Wars

Make pilgrimage to recently unveiled Google product: Google Fountain of Youth

Put Segway on Ebay

Watch Cloned Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve

Buy new vinyl-only album releases by Pixies, Alice in Chains, Blur, Rolling Stones

Go see James Cameron’s technologically innovative new film, ‘Biomorphosphere.’ Viewing the film requires a single binocular worn on your third eye

Take moon boots to robocobbler

Transcend biology

Survive daily onslaught of tsunamis, hurricanes, hordes of zombie Nazis

Pimp my DeLorean

In all honesty, it was one of the best years of my life as I continue to develop the life of my design studio. Although my schedule is always packed with design work (two new site designs and a menu design will be featured on the homepage soon), some of 2009’s highlights came through my writing. For most of my life, I have been interested in both writing and art/design. In college, I earned two degrees – one in Illustration, one in Writing – at the New School’s BA/BFA program. People always asked about my goals for the two fields or how they’d intersect. Now that I am making my living by creating graphic design and also writing about design, I know the answer to that question. Or at least one of the answers.

Anyway, here’s my highlights from 2009. Thanks to all my clients, friends, and colleagues.

1. Five Chapters Redesign
The year started with a very successful job: the redesign of the logo and website for Five Chapters. Here’s my blog post on the redesign (written in January, reposted to this blog in August).

2. New York Times City Room Blog Feature
Say what you will about Twitter, but that site generated a 2009 highlight for me within days of joining. New York Times editor Patrick LaForge asked his Twitter followers for suggestions of blog posts about NYC people/events. I made a suggestion, and shortly thereafter, Mr. LaForge was kind enough to include my interview with Michael Sayers on the NYT City Room blog. Here’s the interview at my blog, and here’s the feature on City Room (they link to Magnet Cat, which was the former name of the Magnetic State blog).

3. SK6ERS Shirt Design
A design highlight was this t-shirt design to promote the album The Bear by my friends in rock band Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers (SK6ERS drummer Boots Factor and I were flatmates and drinking buddies while living in Stirling, Scotland). Here’s a bunch of fans wearing the shirt.

4. London For The Win (Literally)
The shock of the year came in August when I won a trip to London. I won the trip by writing a short essay about Magnetic State for the British Airways ‘Face of Opportunity’ contest. Forget 2009, this trip was a highlight of my life. Here’s my blog post the day before leaving and here’s a summary of the trip, including my Tweets from London. My favorite Tweet I wrote, and a moment that remains vivid in my mind: “Walking along the Thames. The sound of bagpipes off in the distance, ocassionally smothered by the wind”

5. Supermundane Interview
I spent my days in London writing two articles. The first one is this interview with artist and designer Supermundane.

6. Smashing Article
The second piece was my debut for Smashing Magazine. The piece is called The Beauty of London in Design. The article was a joy to write and I was flattered when Pentagram acknowledged it. I look forward to the publication of my next piece for Smashing, which is complete and will be published in the next few weeks. Many thanks to Vitaly and the rest of the Smashing editorial team.

7. Lighthouse Art Class
This is an ongoing highlight for me, but this year I continued to find new meanings and rewards in my job teaching visually impaired teens at the Lighthouse International. In 2009, we made 3D wire sculpture, a robot pinata, and tactile skeleton collages, among other projects. Here is an article I wrote about art for the visually impaired, including samples of my maskmaking project with the Lighthouse kids.

8. Save The Werewolves
I had a lot of fun working on a project for fun and charity: www.savethewerewolves.com. Here’s a blog post on my intentions with the satirical site design.

9. What Recession?
The freelance income at Magnetic State more than doubled from 2008 to 2009. Many thanks to all clients, colleagues and friends.

Thanks for your support and pleased stay tuned for new designs and new writing that will be posted here and at the www.magneticstate.com homepage in the next few weeks!

Happy New Year and much love,

Dan Redding