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Last Updated:
Mar 19th, 2008 - 07:43:02 |
The Real Best Of Detroit ’07
This issue marks Real Detroit’s seventh Real Best Of Detroit issue and
the beginning of the paper’s ninth year in print. Thanks to all of you
readers who voted for The D’s real best of the best in all things
nightlife, food, culture, music, sports and entertainment.
The Real Best Of Detroit is our annual celebration of everything you
think is great about Motown. Inside this special section, you’ll find
features on fetish shops, record stores, restaurants, bars, clubs, DJs,
bands, beauty salons and comedy troupes, to name just a few. You’ll
want to hang on to this issue for a while. Think of it as a guide to
everything cool — and you helped make it!
But you readers didn’t do it alone — the voting was the easy part! The
writing, photographing and organizing was where the heavy lifting came
in. Thanks to everyone who helped out …
Writers: Eric Allen, Deleano Acevedo, Andrea Bonaventura, Nikki Chaney,
Keith N. Dusenberry, Kristin Maccioche, Jeff Milo, Stephanie Schneider,
Stefani Skotanis, Kirk Vanderbeek, Tom Watts, Rachel Weber and Travis
R. Wright.
Photographers: Eric Allen, Geno Bisoni, Guy Brown, Dan Graschuck,
Christopher Jablonski, Stephanie Schneider, Scott Spellman and Travis
R. Wright. | RDW
Best Cover Artist:
Justin Fines
by Keith N. Dusenberry
This year’s Real Best Of Detroit cover artist, Justin Fines, grew up in Detroit but moved to Chicago and then New York (he currently lives in Brooklyn) to further pursue his design dreams. Fines’ one-man Demo Design company has recently done graphic design and illustration work for HP/iPod, Complex Magazine, the anti-smoking Truth Campaign and hipster indie rock band We Are Scientists, among a number of others.
Real Detroit: You grew up in Detroit ...
Justin Fines: I was born in Detroit, but spent my childhood in St. Clair Shores livin’ a typical Midwestern existence, chasing the garbage truck and setting off fireworks and whatnot; skinning my knees. I moved to the city when I was 19 and lived all over downtown; my favorite spots being on Iron Street over by Belle Isle where I could watch the lowriders from my roof on the weekends, and my last apartment over in Woodbridge. Memories! Spent a lot of time running around in abandoned buildings, throwing bottles at things, scrounging for change in the couch.
RD: How’d you get started in design? Did you go to school here?
JF: I went to the Center for Creative Studies for three years, then dropped out. ... It was the mid-‘90s, so I was really psyched about music at the time, especially electronic music. I went to lots of parties and admired designers like Jon Santos, Digital Doug, Dag and all those guys. So I jumped at the chance to start designing party flyers. I loved it. Every flyer I did (some of which are painful to recall) was a huge learning experience, and getting a printed piece was like a high for me, I was so amazed at the process. Just the idea that you could pour your heart into these little ephemeral printed moments and other people could share and appreciate that was addictive for me. Eventually, I ended up doing work for Derrick May and Transmat, and other labels like Intuit:Solar and such.
RD: A good chunk of your stuff looks street-influenced (bold, clean lines; bright colors; lots of symbols). Did you come up tagging/stenciling?
JF: I did not. I came up drawing! That really is where it all started. I never did “street art,” but my flyers all ended up on the street, back in the day! Like, literally. But I really loved all the graff I saw in Detroit, with all the urban spelunking I did with my friend Brandon. We would marvel at the mad wall-drawings in the train station, like, “Who did these?” Amazing stuff.
RD: Where do you want to take your work?
JF: Learning about animation and motion graphics was really valuable to me, and I’d like to keep pushing my work in that area. Ultimately, doing a children’s television show would be incredible ...
RD: Some upcoming projects?
JF: There are a couple new shirts out now from 2K (2ktshirts.com), a company in Japan that has shirts by an incredible roster of artists. Another Detroit artist now living in NYC, Tristan Eaton, has a company called Thunderdog, and I’m one of several artists who just did a bunch of cellphone wallpapers available next month through Cingular. And lots more, just check out my site (demo-design.com). | RDW
More info: www.demo-design.com.
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