Those visiting Seattle for the first time can’t help but wonder what it would be like to make a home on one of the many islands that dot the Puget Sound. What would commuting at the whim of a ferry boat be like? What are the contrasts between the bustling metro hub and the pastoral, semi-rural countryside of the island exurbs?
For virtuoso artists like logo and lettering designer and graphic illustrator, Kelly Hume, who grew up in land-locked Iowa then trekked westward to study at Art Center in Pasadena, the idea of trading the bumper-to-bumper freeways of Los Angeles for the open ferry lanes of Bainbridge Island was practically a no-brainer. When the Internet wave came crashing along island shores, the notion became something of a slam dunk.
From logo work for Major League Baseball’s All Star Games to the NFL’s Super Bowl to lettering work for movies like Driving Miss Daisy and A Bug’s Life for Hollywood studios, Kelly’s clients are remote. “I spotted the lettering work I did for the NFL’s New England Patriots in their end zone, on TV,” said Hume. For Pacific Northwest islanders, time and distance have been transformed.
Borders have also changed for artist’s reps. A growing number cover the national marketplace writ large, as well as Canada. For the Toronto Blue Jays, Kelly recreated a custom font alphabet by working from existing typography on team uniforms, and did the same for the baseball jerseys of the New York Mets.
Still there is nothing like using one’s native, hometown knowledge. A project to design the logo for the City of Bainbridge Island went off the rails when it was handed to an agency in North Carolina. Reading that the island had cut down all its trees, not once but at three times in its sawmill past, the out-of-town firm presented designs that revolved around three axes, a sad reminder of an unflattering past that did not reflect the island’s beauty today. Kelly was called in to disarm the graphic axe-wielders. Local artist makes good.
While technology continues to conjure up new tools, such as a new 3-D lettering program Kelly is experimenting with, called Cinema 4-D, not all tech advances offer improvements. “In the beginning of my career, I would be hired to draw lettering and logos by hand to capture an idea or inspiration. I still start with drawing by hand before importing to the computer. Hand skills are less in demand today than they were at one time.”
On the purely digital side, Kelly also creates his own brand of music using the Mac software app called Logic, laying down tracks in his home studio. Lend an ear at https://kellyhumeandthehumanoids.bandcamp.com/ and you’ll hear the kind of sound one might imagine being played by a stage band. But this islander is a solo act — in visual and audible media. Check out more of Kelly’s graphical artistry at www.kellyhumedesign.com [24×7]
