Kevin Cantrell Interview – 50 States (Utah)

Kevin Cantrell – “Ideas last; styles come and go.”

This week Creative Chair is in Utah with Kevin Cantrell for the 38^th instalment of our 50 States series. Kevin’s hand lettering is a tour de force, especially when it acts as the cornerstone for high-end printed materials.

You can see a lot more from Kevin on his website.

Tell us a little bit more about yourself and what you do

My name is Kevin Cantrell, I am a creative direction and lettering artist specializing in comprehensive branding, packaging, with an emphasis on the alphabet.

How has your state influenced the work that you do?

I’ve lived across the world. Germany, Africa, Brazil, and finally settled in Utah. Interestingly, my roots go back to France on my Mom’s side. Late 19th century Utah has a lot of old Victorian typography, which was definitely a derivative of baroque and rococo (or late baroque). That style had a huge impact on my career and really helped inform my typographic inclinations. My career really launched when I started a poster series called 7 Days that features extremely ornate, Victorian lettering.

I kinda became known for that style, though really, I do a lot of looks. All my branding work is umbrellaed under strategy and concept. Ideas last; styles come and go.

Of your own work, what is your favourite project and why?

It fluctuates from projects that gave me my start to significant milestones. The Nike Bat is definitely a significant milestone in terms of visibility for my studio.

The next big one is a new branding project I’ve been working on for a year and a half for a hotel in Argentina called Villa Beluno. We named the hotel, created the strategic platform, and of course created the brand identity that is incredibly rich typographically. It should debut late this year/ early 2019. It’s something I’m extremely proud of.

And finally, if you died and got reincarnated as a song, what would that song be?

No question: U2 Where the Streets Have No Name