The Corner Society
Corner Society grew from an obsession with intersections, bodegas, and third spaces. Things go down on the corner. We are drawn to these establishments like a well providing sustenance or a church promising salvation.
A rhythmic ecosystem coheres itself around these corners activities; a cacophony of happenings. Industrious and stagnant people, side hustles, bad days, and giggling kids. Projects next to condos. Amongst the snippets of peoples’ experience lives clashing and kissing of lyrical unfolding.
Art direction, designer, photographer - Robin Giordani
Modular logo made as an extension of the Curb Side project, seen below. The street lamp bisects the corner. Wheres as the stacking of “CS” remains unchanged, the multitude of CS phrases, Corner Store, Common Sense, Casual Sex can exist within this format. The activity enabled by such variation can only resemble that of the street corner society.
The “Welcome to Corner Society Tee” is modeled after the welcome signs to public housing projects. Super well known signage to those privy. Drawn to it’s use of the Cooper font, which is seen in schools, and known as childish, yet here it describes a building complex. Each project building has a different scripted “Welcome To..” type, so there is a large reference base to pull from and expand collection into more site specific clothing, and camouflage. The full collection is pictured below.
Abstraction of the project buildings from an aerial view. Played really well into a repetitive pattern, because of the cookie cutter type 50’s architecture. When you think about the pattern as a map it can show you designated public space. The negative space is the places that are often most occupied. I like playing with the perspective. From street level, or from across the East River you view a undulating mask of brown brick and windows yet from above each apartment complex has a very specific use of space; pockets of corner societies.
Curb Side Project Tee
Welcome to Corner Society
Launch Tee
Above Grounds
The Curb Side project, seen below, is my response to the variety of social circles present in the city today. I set parameters for the language of these text pieces to emulate the pragmatism of the cities layout. Having worked with themes around the words Curb Side, Corner Stores, and City Streets I decided that each phrase must consist of two words, the first beginning with C and the second beginning in S. I then proceeded to make as many combinations as possible, affirming the variety that could exist within these parameters. Lastly I grouped words by their cultural and commercial significance simulating the formation of neighborhoods, block by block throughout the diverse urban setting.
What I accomplished through this process was more so phonetic than informative. The pieces can be read left to right, up to down, or by random; however the rhythm produced by the words remains constant, and even poetic. The font “Bebas,” which resembles street signage is familiar to the urban eye, yet the white on black lettering and justified blocks of text produce an unsettling bombardment of imagery. The words become active participants in the larger sensory experience of the cities active streets.
CURBSIDE
Distribution
It was important to me for distribution to be an integral part of the brand. I wanted it to be more imvolved than simply going to the store or ordering it for delivery. I delivered all orders by hand, meeting buyers at their local deli. If they could prove to me they had a long lasting relationship with their deli, I’d give them the clothing for free. They were already in the Corner Society. I distributed to local delis, people could go to the deli and buy them and they’d get a cut of it.
The PJ-PJ's
I've always had a hankering for wordplay. So I couldn't help but launch the urban camouflage all over print projects with a playful project building pajama set AKA the PJ-PJ's. The fabric is modeled off of an original photograph taken from the mid level hallway window of the Seward Park Houses whose view is and only of itself. Subtle variations in the windows provide an actualized and lived in texture true to the buildings facade.
