D. Norsen Design

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Waltham, MA
D. Norsen Design

Art Director & Designer. Inspiration & personal work. Clients: Jerry Garcia Estate, Light in the Attic, Aquarium Drunkard ... etc.

08/26/2026

New poster work for Chris Stapleton / All-American Road Show - tonight’s poster for their show with CARTER FAITH at Jones Beach Theater! This completes the unofficial ‘triptych’ of summer posters. Each connected in old county fair esqe design. This one was the tricky one as it was obvious what the animal should be for the other two while Long Island didn’t have an immediate one but being married to a Strong Island women I have heard my fair share of ocean and beach stories. So this is a homage to the magnificent beasts that live off the coast - docile and the size of a bus: the Humpback Whale. Available tonight at the show I have a small stash of APs available. Drop a DM if interested.

08/22/2026

Field trip report - after many years of discussing and daydreaming about a trip to Bread and Puppet Theater I loaded my kids in the car and we took the 2.5 hour drive from Boston today. I have shared my love for Bread and Puppet here before but to visit the museum while having a guided tour by an early member of the group was just plain incredible. There is so much to take in. It’s visually and mentally daunting but inspiring none the less. Peter and Elka created their own visual world while inviting so many others and their immediate community to participate too. Afterwards we saw the last performance of ‘Morality Demonology’ and it was just otherworldly to see it performed in their own theatre. That will live rent free in my head for years to come. Today we also visited the site of Betty and Barney Hill’s UFO abduction in NH and the Dog Chapel in St Johnsbury where we left a note and some of the Oldie Goldie’s hair. He was born just up the road and it was important to my family to bring a little piece of him back to his only other home. As I said to my kid’s on the ride back home to the hotel - ‘we really lived to VT to the fullest today.’

08/19/2026

New design work for outside time - geobriensystem / Kyle Simon The Sirens ‘Hunter’s Moon’. It’s honor to work on this multidimensional release. From it’s recording on the namesake’s celestial evening at The Farrington Observatory on October 17, 2024 to Lily Stockman beautiful painting and finally it’s release on Jonathan Williger - it was a collective of friends working on a very cerebral and time bending release. In discussing the design idea with Kyle and Brian we kept coming back to a mutual interest in New Age cassette designs of the 1980s. We wanted it to feel open and inviting but also eye catching. The main typeface was sourced from a vintage typeface book and laid letter by letter to create a natural tension. Not seen in these photos is the second side of the liner notes which we laid out vertically so the type leads you the opening of the observatory. Don’t curse me when you have to flip it and read it the long way like a newspaper. We like to make you work for your liner notes around these parts! Now available for Bandcamp preorder!

08/12/2026

New deluxe reissue work for No Quarter - Joan Shelley (with Nathan Salsburg) ‘Over and Even’ now with a second lp of incredible demos. This beautiful album was mine and many people’s introduction to Joan so it’s a thrill to be tasked to expand the design (additional images) and put some bells and whistles (metallic inks) on it. The original 2015 design was by Mark Ohe - a legend in his own right. Check those 90/00s Matador Records design credits and you will understand. Now available for preorder!

08/09/2026

New poster work for Chris Stapleton / All-American Road Show for their show in Detroit last night. Continuing the vintage fair poster theme this has a second influence from old football programs. Using the Lion as the focal point but flanking it with a mushy crowd l and scratchy football stadium drawings puts a little spin on an age old design. Coupled with the iconic palette (double blues and silver ink 😍) of the team and Michigan automobile namesake of the stadium pulls it all together. I have a handful of artist proofs. Drop a DM if you are looking - they sold out last night and online too!

08/04/2026

New layout work for No Quarter / Domino Recording Co. - Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy ‘Ghosts of American Pyschonauts’ live lp/cd. As always it’s a thrill to work hand in hand with bonnie prince billy. After recently reading his long form interview/book with Alan Licht I have an even deeper appreciation of how he approaches album artwork. It is very unique and thought out from all angles. This package’s cover artwork is by Will’s partner elsa hansen oldham and daughter Poppy Jo then photographed by Will. I immensely love how we cropped this one as you get the tiniest peek at the at the sprocket holes which add just a little bit more of an analog approach when we live in such a digital driven world. It is also printed on reverse board with gloss hits on the ghosts. It looks like perfection. Enough on the artwork though - this set is recorded Valentines Day weekend in LA with an incredible group of musicians including Thomas deakin Jacob Duncan London May Emmett Kelly Ryder McNair DV De Vincentis patrick shiroishi and the legend Dave Ferguson. If you are a fan of Will’s live records as much as I am then you are in for a continued delight. Available for preorder now with release in mid September.

08/03/2026

If you have been around here long enough you have probably heard me wax about seeing Phish in the mid to late 90s before I dipped out in the fall of 2000. To say I was obsessed is undermining the amount of live tapes and cds that littered my dorm rooms. They opened doors to sounds and influences that still exist in my day to day - from jazz to bluegrass to a little bit of everything in between. They are a melting pot of musical ideas and while I know they are not for everyone but Jerry put it best - “We’re like licorice. Not everybody likes licorice, but the people who like licorice really like licorice.” I have spent the better part of nearly three decades casually popping in and checking them out but seeing them in Las Vegas in April really put a fire in my heart again. The peaks they are hitting right now are surreal. Sitting next to madeofoak last night as our brains melted during the Tweezer segue heavy first set while constantly turning to each other to confirm what we were witnessing was real - is the proof in the pudding that I am not alone in these feelings. So long scattered thoughts dump short I feel forever indebted to the Phish org (Patrick Jordan , ᴶᵁᴸᴵᴬ ᴹᴼᴿᴰᴬᵁᴺᵀ Jason Colton) for the invite and hospitality this weekend. They are the best. Too kind beyond belief. Have you chomped down a Fenway frank during an incendiary second set? It’s a simple summer bliss. Also to see many other friends this weekend was the best. Needed as always. I can’t wait to do it all over again.

07/28/2026

New restoration/expansion work for Numero Group - Ida ‘I Know About You’ 2lp + bonus LP ‘I Heard About You’. This marks the second entry in the Ida x Numero Group catalog and it was a thrill to work on such a pivotal album for them and fans. The booklet includes deep personal pieces by Sara Marcus and Jenny Toomey with a wealth of unseen photography from Pat Graham and Rebecca Jane Gleason along with time period ephemera. Many thanks to Kristin Thomson for keeping the original Quark and support files intact making the restoration a little easier. Also thanks to Elizabeth, Daniel and Miggy for their guidance and direction along with Ken Shipley and Adam Luksetich too. I am copying the description from the Numero site as I don’t think I could write it better myself… “The only break-up record you’ll ever need to own. With its lofted harmonies, pick-pocket rhythms, and wailing-in-the-2AM-distance ambulance guitar solos, Ida’s 1996 sophomore album leaked out of Brooklyn via detachable car stereo CD players and mixtapes from long distance lovers. Originally issued on the stalwart Simple Machines label, this 30th anniversary deluxe Numero edition of I Know About You adds half a dozen extras, a wealth of photographic evidence, and fresh context from Jenny Toomey and Sara Marcus. Tissues not included.”

07/26/2026

Field trip report - when I saw David Rawlings and Gillian Welch in December of 2024 David slipped a beautiful ‘Bird Song’ late into the second set that just sent me down a hole of exclaiming it would be incredible to see him be Jerry for GD60 as all the rumors were flying around of who was going to be that role. It was so fluid and incredible. Flash forward to earlier this year and they drop a series of April dates on us playing the GRATE American song catalog and I had already committed to joining friends in Las Vegas to see Phish. Impossible to pull off traveling to both with personal and work schedules. Needless to say when the Newport Folk Fest date was announced I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on a pass (many, many, many thanks to Caps and crew for helping my daughter and I out) and dang it was worth the wait. I have heard a lot of Dead covers over the years but nothing that has soared this cosmically. It may of only been an hour of bliss but my smile was wide and the set so beautiful I was still bursting with excitement when afterwards I saw David and Gillian stuck in traffic so I had to be that goon waving like a loon. Newport is one of those festivals that just delivers on so many magical levels. Seeing a slew of friends and clients all in one place on a sunny, perfect New England day is a dream. If I missed you I apologize. If I saw you I can’t wait to hang again.

Rob Bleetstein rules - nicest, kindest dude. There is a reason you see him hanging and working with so many of your favorite musicians. Everyone should have a Rob in their crew.

Proud parental moment finding my daughter just vibing out backstage between sets.

Living my best free seltzer and yogurt life.

William Tyler and Yasmin Williams rearranging mine and everyone’s brains.

07/23/2026

(Shared this on my personal page the other day but as I sit here this evening eyeballing again I wanna share this missive as I can’t believe this is on my arm. Nick is also a fellow talented artist here in Boston). Apparently I needed to hit my mid 40s before I really wanted to do some significant tattoo work. I feel comfortable in my body again coupled with my imagination is bubbling on what I want to live with permanently on my skin. Last month I started daydreaming about what a Sun Ra tattoo could look like. I wanted something humorous yet kind of nihilistic and the mantra of ‘If they push that button, your ass got to go’ lives rent free in my head. Very much since the first time I heard ‘Nuclear War’ my during the first week of college when a new friend turned me onto to the whole bizarro world of Ra (and I turning him onto The Residents). With many thanks to nicholas mcevoy at Boston he entertained my insane idea enthusiastically. It exceeds what I had in my brain when I first thought of it. Next up with Nick is Daniel Higgs flash - but what and where?

Address

Waltham, MA
02451

Telephone

(857) 540-6564

Website

http://www.dnorsen.com/

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