Thirst recently finished an editorial illustration for this week’s The New York Times Week in Review feature on Wikileaks, written by Scott Shane. Text from four released documents posted on the Wikileaks’ website is blasted from the keyhole of American Government, and is frozen in a violent ricochet. Conceived, designed, and digitally generated by Rick Valicenti and John Pobojewski.

Beginning with RV’s sketch shown here in the lower right, the text itself was typeset in Courier (as it is online) and rendered in Processing using a simple particle engine. Several studies led us to chose the study where the violent aftermath seems just about to break…

Thanks to NYT’s Art Director Kelly Doe.

While Rick Valicenti did not attend the 2010 AGI Congress in Porto, Portugal earlier this month, we though you might like to see his response to their special exhibiition and book project: ‘Mapping the Process’. The AGI members were invited to illustrate and/or design their process. Rick’s is titled ‘F RISK Y and Sometimes Tongue Tied’ crafted entirely from purchased and heavily modified stock illustrations.

Photo in situ in the old palace next to the art galleries in Porto by Marian Bantjes.

On March 17, 2010 Matthew Jacobson wrote this letter to Rick Valicenti:

2010 marks the seventeenth anniversary of Number 17 and in honor of that I am putting together a book as a surprise gift for Emily Oberman and Bonnie Siegler, the two founders (so if you run into them, don’t breath a word!).

I’ve already emailed their friends, family, current and former employees, clients, etc. And I received a good deal of submissions, including from luminaries Paul Sahre, Stefan Sagmeister, Maira Kalman, Marian Bantjes, and Kurt Andersen. That said, I want to include “SEVENTEEN STRANGERS” (or at least people who are strangers to them, but whose work I really admire and know they do/or would as well).

Here’s the assignment, if you’re up for it …

You are invited to participate by providing your unique perspective on the actual number 17 (not the company). Do something unexpected, beautiful, smart, cool, quick, fun, serious, or any combination thereof!

Rick’s Response:
While his entry purposely has nothing to do with the number 17 it has everything to do with 17 years ago and another iconic partnership.

All memories of days gone by somehow seem to fade from clarity.

ps: here’s a glimpse at Marian Bantjes’ contribution

IEEE Spectrum Magazine commissioned Thirst for this realization for their January issue reviewing the best and worst technology of 2009. Rick Valicenti created a typographic flavor while channeling Paul Rand as John Pobojewski animated the ‘winners’ into fireworks and the ‘losers’ into ashes.

Inspired by sparks and timelapse photography…

the winners rise to the top of the heap…

…while the losers fall to the earth. The animation was built out of a simple particle system using Processing and Toxiclibs.

We were disappointed that the illustration wasn’t selected for the cover, but ultimately it was a fantastic process.

From: Mark Montgomery
Date: January 19, 2010 2:05:01 PM CST
To: Rick Valicenti
Subject: Re: losers

Rick: Your design was the most innovative and provocative. I wanted to go w/ your cover but was over-ruled by Exec. editor and E-I-C.
Thanks again and hope to work w/ you again.
–
Mark Montgomery
Senior Art Director, IEEE Spectrum magazine
IEEE: Fostering technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity.
Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering the Future

The full graphic is below, but if you want to learn what these numbers really add up to, run to your closest newsstand and pickup a copy. Who knows, maybe you’ll even catch a few red-hot sex secrets!

Pentagram’s Rebrand of Guitar Hero get reviewed by Armin Vit on Brand New.

As a black-and-white work, this is strong enough, but where the solid and smart structure of the logos really shines is in their proficiency to take on a multitude of hard rockin’ effects and Pentagram worked with some of the best in the business — Rick Valicenti, Adam Larson and Steve Wilson — to bring the identity to life and show how it can be implemented in a variety of ways while using the same backbone.

See more of the variations Thirst contributed and Read the full post on Brand New.

“Sketchbooks are such an integral part of the creative process, that they are often more interesting and inspirational than the final work. We are celebrating this unfiltered expression and hope to include roughs, prelims, doodles, and musings.”

Eight of Rick’s iphone photos are featured in Stefan G. Bucher’s new book, The Graphic Eye – Photographs by International Graphic Designers published by RotoVision (UK) and Chronicle Books (US) Fall 2009.