(Madison, Wis.) – Planet Propaganda has added Mike Krol as a junior designer working on such passion-based brands as Gary Fisher mountain bikes , Bretford furniture and workspaces, PunchStock royalty-free images , and Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches .
Krol returns to his home state following a rock star send-off in New York where he performed original songs and presented a video of his design portfolio at the Type Directors Club (TDC). This unique event celebrated the conclusion of his work with TDC’s annual exhibition and competition, his 22nd birthday, and “most importantly, my graduation from the School of Visual Arts (SVA),” Krol emphasizes.
Music plays an inspirational and reoccurring theme in Krol’s work. An avid record/CD collector and live music fan, Krol got his start in the graphic design profession by creating dozens of promotional t-shirts, posters, packaging and accessories for various national punk and ska bands such as Big D and The Kids Table, Mustard Plug, and Less Than Jake. His work has appeared on the world-wide Van’s Warped Tour the last three years and he has two shirt designs that are sold nationwide in the chain store, Hot Topic . Since 2003, Krol has designed the poster and promotional material for the national, re-occurring ska/punk revival tour “Ska Is Dead.” He also plays drums and guitar, and considered collegiate study for marching band before steering toward graphic and fine art.
Consistently placed in the top 10% of his class, Krol earned a B.F.A. from SVA, which he attended on a President’s Scholarship based on creative merit. During his four years in New York, Krol studied with designers Paul Sahre, James Victore, Ed Benguiat and Mike Joyce . During his junior year, he interned at A to A Graphic Services, Inc. where he and a fellow student designed an entire booth presentation for the HOW Design Conference in Chicago.
“Surprisingly, it was in my sophomore year when I was learning about graphic design that I ‘discovered’ the great work that Planet Propaganda was doing back in Wisconsin,” admits Krol. ” In my junior year, my instructor Mike [Joyce] helped me get an introduction. That summer, instead of working construction and landscape jobs, I was accepted as an intern at Planet. It was great and I’m glad they had an opening for me to come back. It’s wonderful to have a first job where I already know everybody, like their work and know I can contribute something, too.”
Planet Propaganda is a design, advertising and interactive company committed to shaping passion-based brands. Founded in 1989 in Madison, Wis., Planet’s national clients include Gary Fisher mountain bikes, Bretford furniture and workspaces, PunchStock royalty-free images, and Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. For more information, please visit http://www.planetpropaganda.com.
