creative deconstruction

July Design Inspiration: Jordan Puopolo’s Air Canada

Posted on 09. Jul, 2010 by Matt in INNOVATION

When I first saw these pieces by Jordan Puopolo, I stopped everything else I was doing. It seemed appropriate to just sit there, looking at them. You know how some things just feel right? Well, I hope so. Because it’s a great moment, and one I found in this concept. Vibrant colors fuse with an aged beauty, seeming to illustrate an idea that withstood the test of time. I don’t care how young or old you are, there’s a magical quality to flight. It remains a beautiful, striking thing, regardless of how often you experience a takeoff or look out at the clouds. I see this reflected in the powerful streaks of color. They can’t be contained, nor should they be.

I thoroughly enjoy imagining and inventing possible stories behind this and that. But it’s also cool to get to know the minds behind a creative work. While I don’t know Jordan, he seems like the kind of guy I’d get along with. In our brief emails, he came across as an upbeat, friendly guy. I can’t help but think this played into the whimsical character of the project.

Created as a school project, the reasons behind Jordan’s conceptual and aesthetic decisions were pretty straight forward.

“We had to make an annual report and the company and themes and all that was up to us. My solution came about for a few reasons. First of, I was (and still am) really into vintage design and illustration, so I went in hoping to go in that direction. And I decided to do an airline because there is so much great imagery that can come from there. That year happened to be the 70th anniversary of Air Canada, so I was able to justify the aging and the retro style by celebrating the history of the company. The idea was that someone could pick it up and they would immediately start to think about Air Canada’s place in history.”

“Visually, I got my inspiration by doing a lot of research into old airline ads and travel posters. For example the rainbow plane was inspired by an old El Al ad. The other plane illustrations (the cover/inside cover) obviously are meant to emphasize the historical theme again because one is current, and the other is old. And for those I just wanted to do real sparse and simple illustrations.”

And this is the part that really made me smile:

“Basically, it was an opportunity to try and create the kind of design that I love and spend hours each day looking for, and I don’t find that those kind of opportunities come up all that often, so I went for it.”

I’ve spent a lot of time doing things for that very reason. And you know what? It’s always been worthwhile. That being said, I want to leave a few questions for you to ponder.

First, when was the last time you did something just because you love it? My hope is that, on a consistent basis, you either find or create these opportunities.

Second, if it’s been a while, what’s stopping you?

I’m guilty of making excuses. No question there. But when I find that I’m lacking a sense of love for what I create, it becomes a priority. If I can’t get excited about something, I need to create something that excites me. The times that I follow through with this have always been memorable, and always worthwhile.

Tags: art, cover art, design, inspiration