Promotional Buttons, Custom Pinback Buttons | The Button Post

Aaron Belyea - Owner / Senior Designer

What got you into designing?
By default, actually. I played in a number of bands and ended up doing logos, flyers, and merch for fun. Friends and other bands we played with started asking me to design for them. I hadn’t really even thought of design as a career up until that point. Ironically enough, I had been collecting old clip art books, archival catalogs, type specimens and shooting photographs for years. All which seemed to integrate effortlessly into my early work. 

What was your first photo editing program?
I believe it was Photoshop 2. 

Describe your style.
I would like to think it’s somewhat diverse. I certainly respond to simple and bold solutions that have an underlying hint of complexity. Our client base is incredibly varied. I really value that over the course of a day we’ll work on super clean, sophisticated marketing material,  then switch gears and hand render type or distress elements for a messy, tactile CD package. As designers, it really keeps us from getting complacent or bored.

How would you describe running a design firm?
Amazing, challenging, fun, frustrating, but extremely gratifying. I really enjoy overseeing + art directing a bunch of really talented cats.

What are some of your favorite bands?
Yikes, that’s a tough one…Elvis Costello, Pixies, The Shins, Lee Morgan, Mr. Lif, Doves, Bad Brains, The Zombies + French Kicks.

Any advice for an upcoming designers who are interested in running there own design firm?
Think very carefully before hand. Have a solid understanding of payroll taxes. Order coffee in bulk. Make sure that you have a loyal client base before you open the doors.

What has been your favorite piece of artwork that you designed?
Wow, that’s even harder than the favorite band question. I did this mixed media piece for a design installation that I do love dearly. Part rust, part vinyl, part tin, part spray paint, part sweat.
 

How did you come up with the name ‘Alphabet Arm’?
Before I was a designer I had a love for type and had an alphabet tattooed around my arm. I quickly had the nickname “Alphabet Arm” which became my design moniker. 

How did you start up Alphabet Arm? Was it started by a group of friends?
I launched it as a solo designer in November of 2001. I ran the studio solo for a couple of years and got a handle on the business end, then slowly started adding designers. At the moment, we are a four designer studio with one bad ass intern.

What is your office like?
It is in a renovated brick and mortar warehouse with all the modern amenities of a new building. We have a lot of artwork on the walls. Two of my favorite installations are the noted “T-shirt Wall” (framed samples of shirts we have designed) and “The Logo  Wall” (12′ x 30′ wall with a sampling of logos applied as vinyl cuts). The vibe is very professional, but relaxed. It is a large open space and we spend a great deal of time telling jokes, screwing around, attempting to make each other laugh. If we weren’t such highly productive designers, I’m afraid not much would get done. Dress code: t-shirts and sneakers.

What helps you get inspiration for new designs/projects?
Everything? Pop culture, music, design heroes, poorly executed design examples, my designers themselves, and coffee.

What would your thoughts be for designing buttons? Any tips?
Try to come up with something that is not obvious or hasn’t been done a million times. Think about scale, think about the message, and think about it in terms of something you would want to wear yourself.

Any words of encouragement for new and upcoming designers?
Build a killer portfolio. Seriously, do as much work as you can even if you have to give it away until you have a respectable collection of work. Study the masters (Reid Miles, Art Chantry, Saul Bass), define your style, and practice, practice, practice.

Thanks for your time Aaron!
Be sure to check out his design firm Alphabet Arm Design

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Be sure to buy a button pack at bigcartel.com/product/button-pack

We recently started working with Matt Allen, who is the mastermind behind Ice Cream Man. I’d love to go into detail about the history of Ice Cream Man, but it’s best left for Matt to do so. Check out his press release here. What a clever idea! 

For more information, please check out the Ice Cream Man website. We donated 10,000+ single button packs to help get the Ice Cream Man name out. We’ll be supplying his entire tour with button packs! Below I’ve posted a few photos of our custom button packaging in action!

All Photos Courtsey of Ice Cream Man.com

I just thought I’d showcase a couple of our most recent “Free Button Campaign” offers. Right now we are currently giving away 25 free custom 1 inch buttons to anyone who links to PureButtons. If this is something you might be interested please send an email to: info@purebuttons.com with your artwork, mailing address and link. More information can be obtained from our previous blog post.

We hope you enjoy this free offer and we look forward to working with you!

Unfortunately, PureButtons does not offer other custom merchandise. Due to a limited amount of space, we can’t expand into producing anything other than buttons. We do, however, work extremely close with several large merchandise companies and would be happy to tell you all about them. Here are few we highly recommend:

www.jakprints.com

Jakprints is one of our closest custom merchandise affiliates. We have been working with them since PureButtons was open back in 2005. They are a very reliable company and are great for the concerned citizen. All of there stuff is sweatshop free and they use an all natural soy and vegetable based ink. They also print on all recycled paper. Don’t let that fool you, though, their work and turnaround is great.

JakPrints offers the following Merchandise:
Apparel Printing,  Sticker Printing, Embroidery, Offset (full color) and may even work with you on other custom projects!

Check out JakPrints services page to find out all the options you can do. 
 

 

www.rawtalentinc.com

Raw Talent is a very successful retail apparel shop. Not only were they named “one to watch”, but as well as a “Top-Volume Screen Printer” by Impressions Magazine in 2007. These guys are the real deal when it comes to printing and I would highly recommend anyone looking for a professional service to check them out. They are creative, innovative and they know how to please a customer.

Raw Talent offers the following Merchandise:
Apparel Printing & Embroidery 

Check Raw Talent out to find more information.

11:11 a.m. is a charity that PureButtons has sponsored for a few years now. Every year Purebuttons will donate a large batch of buttons for 11:11 a.m. to give out during the entire warped tour. They are a rapidly growing charity and they have a very big approach. All of their profits go towards the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation (http://www.pcrf-kids.com). Check out their website, make a donation and look out for them during Warped Tour!

Photo Courtesy of 11:11AM

The packs shown above are being sold for $1.00 at the 11:11 a.m. Warped Tour tent. All proceeds will be benefiting the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. visit their website www.1111am.com

I just thought I’d showcase some of our recent button packaging orders. So far the response has been great, keep up the unique designs! Stay tuned for actual photos. For more information about our custom button packaging check out our button packaging page.

Below you’ll see a sneak peak of our new Zipper Pull Buttons designed by Alphabet Arm. Looking for something unique to bring to your merch area? These are it! If you’d like to purchase the set below, please click here . These hot items are only going for $2.50 for all 6, what a steal! Our custom zipper pulls will be available to order on our website shortly. Check back frequently to view a new post with a discount code once these are live.

Photo Courtesy of Alphabet Arm Design

I’ve known Jeff for about 2 years now. I met Jeff through my friends over at Jakprints. GoMedia was currently designing some of Jakprints promotional material. After one glance I was hooked! I immediately started to ponder up promotional ideas for PureButtons. As my brain was racing with ideas I decided to contact GoMedia. Within a few hours I had a response from Jeff Finley. Since this point on I’ve sent Jeff numerous design projects. 

You can check Jeff out here:
http://www.gomedia.us / www.jefffinley.org / www.gomedia.us/arsenal and www.gomediazine.com

Here is my interview with Jeff Finley

How long have you been with GoMedia and is it true you are part owner?
I freelanced with Go Media in 2005 on a couple projects, but I didn’t start full time until January 2006.  And yes, I’m one of three owners.

Thanks Jeff for your time! 

We all get a bit of design fever, but sometimes we need a bit of help to get our design ideas 
flowing. We’ve been working with GoMedia for a couple years now and I feel that the new Vector Packs that they offer are a great way to help spark the creative process. Check them out here: 

We are now offering 25 free buttons to everyone!!!!
 

You may be asking yourself, “What do I need to do to receive 25 free buttons?” Well, the answer is simple! First, go here: PureButtons Affiliate and copy one of our links and paste it into your website, myspace, facebook, blog, or any other type of web domain.
 
The second step is to email us: Info@purebuttons.com with your link that tells us where you put our link/banner. Also, please send us your image (go here to download our 1″ template) and mailing address.

Once you do that you’re all set! You will get a conformation email from us when they ship with a tracking number. The final step is to wait a few days for your buttons to arrive then send us a photo for us to post on our Flickr page! The more creative, the better!