MAD Design expands into music and marketing with New Media

With the Musicanator I wanted to combine music and graphic design in some way. Musicanator was created to extend my reach into the artistic medium of music, sound experimentation, and performance. My co-host on the show is the Governator. I use audio clips from audio samples from a variety of media and features songs that are usually remixed or seldom heard (“b-sides”). The Musicanator plays b-sides and electronic music. The philosophy of the program is, “There is so much music out there that you just haven’t heard it all. We will expose you to new music, so stop whining!” No song is played more than once and popular songs are avoided, unless there is a remixed version. Inside the studio the Musicanator advertises MAD Design’s services as a graphic designer. Outside of the studio, I create posters for each Musicanator show, acknowledging MAD Design on each poster as the designer. This method creates a circulating motion of self-promotion.

MAD Design is a freelance operation, founded in September 2009 on campus. After working for Lawrence University’s Communications Department for a year and becoming depressed by the all the rules of graphic design: the Lawrence swoosh, using pre-made fonts, depending on “tracing” where the computer does the drawing for you, and being perfect in general. I came upon a revelation! Everything is relative. Things that we use and art that we see is all created by people. I could do it myself, so I adapted a DIY aesthetic (“do-it-yourself”). I could design whatever he wanted and began to advertise and offer design services to students: posters, logos, and other signage.

Even fine art.

That designed drawing will be showing the Warch Campus Center in the art exhibition, “Figure.”

Unlike the other students of Interarts, my final project has happened during midterm. During the week before Valentine’s Day, I showcased the presentation and product affair about the pangs of passion. Love Is MADness combined all sorts of media. There was an exhibition of graphic design artwork, a special Musicanator playlist of promiscuous songs (among them songs such as “Take A Walk On the Wild Side,” by Lou Reed, “Just A Gigolo,” by Louis Prima, and “Big Pimpin’ [feat. UGK]” by Jay-Z to set the mood), and a performance by Dr. Love who treated walk-in to his table and delivered his merchandise. One thing is for sure, the Communication’s Department would not publish these post cards and stickers.

They are too cool.

I sold those art works outside of the cinema at intermission and after the end of the showcase and continue to sell them at outside sources Avenue Art Gallery and Etsy.