Boarding Pass – John Giordani
This week it’s a double header with Boarding Pass. Yesterday was all about Conn, and today belongs to his partner John Giordani. There are so many creative juices between the two of them I can hardly stand it. It’s always refreshing getting a peek into the sketch book of fellow designers (you can see his professional work here). And of course, his collection of vintage signage is fantastic – if only they made signs like they used to! Now if we can only get John to visit Paris (he’s never been)… {Thanks, John!}
business trip to honolulu
next trip on deck:
upstate new york for parents 50th
one place you would go back to again and again:
i really would rather be no where else but here at home on maui. but if i had to choose, i’d say waimea canyon and kokee state park on kauai.
place you’d most likely recommend a friend go visit:
venice
car. i do like air travel though. airports always seemed to me to be exciting places. i actually get time to sketch.
the grand canyon–actually most of the national parks thanks to that awesome PBS doc. and i always thought it would be great to spend a christmas in a major european city like paris or zurich or copenhagen.
place you’d never go back:
niagara falls
soon after graduating college, i took my first cross-country road trip with a friend who was going out to visit her beau in Seattle. It was memorable for 2 reasons, it was the first time seeing many of the natural US wonders and there were lot’s a freakish weather conditions that made for an unforgettable trip. Also, I have to also say that our first trip to Maui in 2001 was memorable because it changed our lives–the seed to live here some day was planted.
i love maps. aesthetically and for their utility. so i study maps of the area and do lot’s of internet research about places of interest, where to stay, where to eat, parks and botanic gardens, etc… i use kayak.com to compare airline ticket prices. when conn and i would take our trips to hawaii, i’d spend hours and hours online just finding the right cottage to rent. also, i like browsing the travel section in bookstores and flipping through guidebooks. and if can locate the local thrift stores, all the better.
i try to to keep a journal to document what we did, where we ate, what we saw. as a designer i’m fascinated with graphic ephemera so i try to collect packages, product labels, postcards, tickets, programs, etc… that visually appeal to me. also, taking pictures of signage and murals. i find myself taking pictures of interesting buildings too.

what is your favorite thing to photograph in a new place?
i get excited when i see storefronts and signage from the 1920’s through the 1960’s. My 2 trips cross country provided me with a lot of opportunities to shoot vintage roadside motel signage. i can’t get enough of that stuff. eccentric old houses and old buildings fascinate me too.
i remember taking rolls and rolls of film back in the days when there was actual film. 200 seems to be about the average.

what’s in your “designer travel kit” ?
our cameras have been mostly of the Canon Powershot variety. We recently upgraded to a Canon Digital Rebel. we usually take both on our trips. we burn up our little point-and-clicks though. they get a lot of use. i usually travel with a sketchbook–i make my own because i have specific needs when it comes to sketchbook design. see my now defunct site also i have this wonderful little pencil sharpener/eraser combo that i bought in berlin many years ago that has stayed with me. it has a little door to slide over the sharpener so you don’t get pencil shavings in your bag.
what do you do after a trip? how long after a trip does this happen?
upon returning home, there’s a scramble to put things away. i like to just get it all sorted and then i can relax. we usually put up some kind of slideshow online within a month after returning, it takes that long to edit the photos.
favorite souvenir/thing to bring back?
candy and chocolate–usually because of the packaging.

the little orange doghouse was outside a hardware store in Bologna, Italy 1998. i thought it was super cute and it delighted me to uncover the pic after all these years. and i thought our desing-minded readers would like it too.
links:
website :: john giordani graphic design
blog :: cuckooforcoconuts
CLICK HERE for more from past editions of Boarding Pass!
Xander
November 6, 2009 at 7:45 am //
Whoa, fun seeing all those shots of my hometown, Albuquerque. We really do have a fantastic range of old motel signs, if I may say so myself.
And I’m glad to finally hear of someone else who likes air travel! I also love the energy of airports– I even find myself a little on edge when I go took long without some time in an airport (like these days, for example). -X
John
November 6, 2009 at 5:56 pm //
Hi Xander. Thanks for jogging my memory. Yes, that particular trip, my second x-country road trip, ended in Albuquerque. We tried to follow Route 66 most of the way. That was in ’96, i love how the motel prices were so cheap. In fact, that’s always the figure in my head when i think of motel prices so i’m always shocked at how expensive they are now. i mean, comparatively anyway.