GUEST BLOG by Bonny Katzman

Bonny Katzman, owner of BK Design, is a creative soul with a unique  take on just about everything. She has brought her perspective to the invitations she designs and branding she creates for events; it's no wonder they are consistently award winners. I'm inspired by her observations of the world around us. I hope you are too!

David Merrell

Lead designdawg and Creative Director, AOO Events / AOO Live

THE WRITING ON THE WALL

By Bonny Katzman

As we know, everything has been done before. So the question becomes -- how do you add your own twist? Take graffiti for instance. It’s an art form that dates back to pre-historic cave paintings and yet each generation finds new ways to make it its own.

The spontaneous look and feeling of colored marks has an unorganized energy and seems to be appearing in new formats everywhere, from a chic Parisian hotel room interior to the recent London debut of the largest graffiti installation. This is a perfect example of taking a style that originated on gritty exteriors and placing it in new environments to create a fresh experience.

French graffiti artist TILT created the “Panic Room” at the Au Vieux Panier Hotel in Marseille, France, where, as you can see, he painted half the room in graffiti, and left the other half completely white and clean. 

 

The concept of splitting a room exactly in half with color or pattern would add a dramatic touch to an event space. I love the surprise of a few touches of color falling into the white space.

If you have the time -- it's a little more than seven minutes -- this is a great video showing the progress of the room.

Karpo restaurant in King’s Cross enlisted graffiti artists to create the largest graffiti art on their building… 160 litres of spray paint were used! 

The result was not only chic, but was a great PR play. The contrast of classical architecture with contemporary hot colors and bold graphics is a stunning statement. Updating “old” with “new” always adds some spice. 

And once a trend is hot, you see it everywhere.

From high fashion...

to food...

to typefaces...

Grunge typefaces are everywhere! Above is a poster and access passes BK Design create for an event my client, Rapid7, a security software company, was throwing at the RSA conference in San Francisco It's a young, hip, mostly male audience, and they wanted to play off "Security Street," their new, on-line community. 

to branding...

Graffiti once again influenced my design with these branded pieces for an HP event.

to footwear...

This was a campaign put together with the Seventh Letter graffiti artist Risk for Osiris Shoes to create a new line of Risk shoes. Along with the shoes Risk painted this wall for an upcoming video to promote the new shoe.

 and above and beyond!??

Bonny Katzman

Bonny Katzman is an award-winning graphic designer with more than 30 years of experience in the creative industry. Her career began in New York City where she worked on corporate identity programs and annual reports for a wide range of Fortune 500 clients.

In 1996, Bonny established BK Design, an independent studio specializing in event branding and the design of unique 3D invitations and accessories for any celebration or event.Partnering with professional teams throughout the country has allowed BK Design to expand the scope of its projects to include tradeshow booths, collateral pieces, branding and web design.

Bonny has held various board positions for the International Special Events Society and has received more than 10 awards for her creativity and dedication to the field. Articles on BK Design have appeared in Exhibitor magazine, Special Events magazine, The Boston Globe, Meetings and Conventions magazine, RSID Views, and the books, Be My Guest by Rea Kirdar Sinda and A Passion for Parties by David Tutera.

A lover of both shoes and painting, her recent exhibit of oil paintings, Shoes, Heels and Soles in Newport, Rhode Island, was the perfect marriage of both. Travel, chocolate, bangle bracelets and Pinterest are her latest obsessions.