Nashville’s alternative weekly, the Nashville Scene, recently released its 23rd annual Best of Nashville issue and it begins with a declaration: “If Nashville were a speakeasy, these days the world would be tapping on our door whispering ‘Swordfish!’ trying to get in. Call it whatever you like: an age, a period or a renaissance.” Indeed, Nashville seems to be taking off with a fury these days, and here at Ethos3, we feel lucky to be along for the ride.
Aside from the juicy ‘best of’ accolades, what really caught our eye about the issue is its beautiful, illustrated, art deco design, which was fashioned by the Nashville-based Anderson Design Group–– a great place to take inspiration from on this Monday morning.
The firm was first established in 1993 by Joel Anderson and David Thomas, and focused on a wide myriad of print and web design. The two parted ways in 2007, after which Anderson reorganized the design firm to specialize in illustrative design, branding and product development.
A quick rummage through ADG’s (expectedly) well designed website shows the wide range of work the group has produced over the years, and reveals a solid cohesion throughout the pieces. The illustrative, art deco-esque design in the Scene’s ‘Best of’ issue is indicative of most of the design coming out of ADG. (Check out the beautiful packaging ADG created for Olive + Sinclair Chocolate Company.)
ADG’s ‘About Us’ page states that its philosophy is to “serve clients by learning their business, knowing their competition, and understanding their target audience.” We respect how client-focused the group’s philosophy is, and we admire how– despite a wide range of projects and clients– ADG’s body of work maintains a high level of consistency throughout. There’s commonality in all the work coming out of the Anderson Design Group, a feat that doesn’t come easily for many graphic design firms.
The group has designed everything from cleaning supply packaging to CD covers to websites to baseball cards. Its body of work is exhaustive, and again, the fact that all the work finds common ground in some respect is a testament to the firm’s talent. If you’d been familiar with ADG’s work before you saw the Scene’s ‘Best of’ cover, there’s a good bet you would have known right away that ADG had designed it.
So head over to Anderson Design Group’s website for some design inspiration this Monday morning. Rummage through the firm’s different sections of work (logos & branding, packaging, product development, website design, illustration, etc.) to find inspiration in how cohesive and consistent the work is. If you’re considering using illustrations in your next presentation, ADG is a great resource for you.
Photo Credit: Designer/Illustrator: Andy Gregg; Creative Director: Joel Anderson
