What’s the story with Buffalo? Equally mocked and praised in popular culture for its industrialist décor, its nowheresville pace and its quintessentially American toughness, for most of the nation the town remains just a punch line or an obscure touchstone. But a quick glance at Hero Design Studio’s website proves that things do happen in Buffalo. Bands come to play and young people gather. And when these things happen, Hero often provides the visual advertisement.

Hero has a maxim on its webpage: “advertising is art.” As a mission statement, that’s as good as any. Hero’s work, as its name might suggest, tends to run towards the masculine: clean lines, bright colors and simple themes. Thankfully, Hero’s website also has a store section where you can pick up reproductions of the posters they’ve created for concerts in and around Buffalo — as well as nationwide — and count Wilco, Panic! At the Disco and Ben Kweller amongst their past clients. Some of these are truly fantastic, and would do wonders for blank walls.

–Dan Steckenberg