Uncommon Graphics

Posted on 8 July 2010 | No responses

I ran across this creative online piece yesterday afternoon. It is uncommon in that it actually requires your to tilt your screen to see significant portions of the graphic. It was too good to keep to myself.

Misc. Stuff

Posted on 7 July 2010 | No responses

I am online a lot throughout the day and I always stumble across stuff that I think is cool, funny, outrageous, etc. I generally have no place to put what I find…so, I decided I would dump some of it here. Enjoy…

The Crayon Totem

This takes lazy to a whole new level…

Camelflage. Get it?

Floating?

Nosy Neighbors

Knock, Knock. Who’s there?

Who Approved This?

Posted on 16 June 2010 | 6 responses

My professional life revolves around marketing, advertising, and graphic design. I think I bring a unique perspective to this topic since I have been in virtually all related positions. I have been the concept guy. I have been the designer. I have been the guy sending it off to the printer. I have been the copy writer and editor.  And, I have been the guy who gives the final green light on a print or web piece. As such I know that ANY design that receives final approval for production goes through an inordinate amount of review and scrutiny. Here is the process (in general terms): the concept guy comes up with an idea for an ad piece; he gets budget approved and sends to the designer. He and the designer talk it through and the designer comes up with a couple of layout options. Those options are then looked at by a few people, feedback is given, tweaks are made…rinse and repeat until the design is done. Then it is seen by copy-editors, co-workers, close friends/family, etc. for the purpose of making sure that everything is spot on. Then the designated person passes it along in a print-ready format for production. All those eyes passing over a layout (not to mention the fact that the designer actually created it in the first place) and yet it still made it’s way into print. Yes…I am as shocked as you are.

Now…in all fairness…we’ve all let a word slip every now and then that was not spelled correctly or we used/didn’t use a comma someplace in our copy. But this is a remarkable example (AKA: “FAIL”) of some very bad photoshopping.

Be the first to find the FAIL and leave it as a comment!

New CD Design

Posted on 27 March 2010 | No responses

A very good friend of mine recently posted on her Facebook wall asking for help with a graphics project. I was obviously intrigued and so I threw my hat into the ring. Good news for me…but I got the gig. I am pretty excited about the project for a few reasons: 1) this is a dear, old friend; 2) the project is for CD cover art; and, 3) I respect the nature of her work and talent. This will be her first CD release. It is unique in that it is a recording of a live concert…acoustic in nature with a compilation of old hymns mixed with a few modern praise songs. She did not want her face plastered all over the cover art b/c she felt it would detract from the focus of the music. This release is intended to convey the experience of worship from the live event. With those thoughts in mind I went to work. After a couple of hours I had three concepts for her to review. I am posting all three concepts here…would appreciate feedback, thoughts, suggestions. Click images to see larger size.

CD Mock-Up #1

CD Mock-up #2

CD Mock-Up #3

Adam Beane

Posted on 23 March 2010 | No responses

I came across Adam Beane’s work today. He is a sculptor…and he is very good.  His work is small and generally commissioned. But his portfolio is amazing. Take 3-4 minutes and check out the detail and stunning accuracy of his work. I was particularly struck by two of his pieces: President Obama and Evangeline Lilly. The likeness of Obama was commissioned by Esquire magazine. It depicts the President mid-stride and waving. However, the detailed accuracy of his face is uncanny. Even the details of his hands…it is astounding really. Now on to Evangeline Lilly. Most of us know her as “Kate” on the suspense (and sometimes odd) series of “LOST”. She’s also been on a few make-up commercials of late and I’ve seen some older reels of her on a late night “call-in-date-line” from years ago. (No…not a stalker…just happened upon them.) Nonetheless, the look he captured in his piece is straight out of LOST. It’s that confused/concerned look that she gives whenever she is looking for Jack, Sawyer or Claire. It is also that look she gives to Locke when he starts talking about leaving the island….

Creative Art

Posted on 21 March 2010 | No responses

I recently downloaded an app to my iPhone called “iRate Tattoos”. Simple app really. It flashes an image of someone’s tattoo and you rate it 1-5 stars. Some were nice, some were over the top, and one or two were really impressive. To understand my opinion you have to understand my history with tattoos. I got my first tattoo when I was 18 years old. Not that different than a lot of 18 year olds today, right? Wrong. I am almost 36 years old now which means my first tattoo is as old as most college freshmen. I was gettin’ ink long before gettin’ ink was cool. Am I a trendsetter? Ha ha…not really. I just deeply appreciate creative art. And at the time (18 years ago) that seemed to be the most cutting edge method of demonstrating it. Since then, despite my earnest desire for more ink…I’ve only added three others to my permanent collection. I maintain said earnest desire…but it is regrettably tempered by my ink-less wife. Be that as it may, I remain an avid purveyor of fine art. Sure, museums and galleries have their place – but I am particularly fond of the mobile galleries.

On to this particular piece of work. When someone commits a significant portion of their body to a piece of art I have nothing but respect for them. Whoever owns this piece shows significant commitment. Commitment of time, finances, pain…but most of all…creative art. Notice the colors, the gradients, the specific elements, and the remarkable attention to detail. From the moose head on the wall, the evening skyline through the window, the crackling fire, the picture frame above the ornate mantel, the wood floors with accurate lighting, the dogs, the bear rug…all exquisitely done. It seems a stark contrast to the standard koi fish with blue back-scatter sleeve he’s sportin’….but, let’s assume that is part of his mystique. Nonetheless, this is exceptional creative art and needs to be shared.

The Pat Down

Posted on 12 March 2010 | No responses

Not everything in the world has to deal with graphics, web development or marketing. Some stuff is just plain funny and needs to be shared. This is one such thing. For the record, I have always been a fan of photo and video bombers. To “bomb” a photo or video means that you simply seize an opportunity to jump in a picture or shoot that you were not intended to be in.  Here are some classic examples of good photo-bombing.

The Old School Bomb

The Creepy Bomb

The Jealous Older Brother Bomb Read more

Old Spice

Posted on 11 March 2010 | No responses

I was forced to take a day of PTO today because I had accrued too many hours. So, while at home, I decided to customize a WordPress theme for my site. Wha-la…you’re on it. Nonetheless, while working on it I watched an episode of “Ellen”. One of her guests was the “Old Spice” guy. You know, the guy who talks incredibly fast and pitches the oldest hygiene product on the modern shelves. I have seen the commercials and I thought they were great. But, my initial thought was that people will either love them or hate them. Turns out, more people love them. Did not know this until today…but, the commercials were shot in one sequence. So, everything you see happening was actually happening on set. That actually makes the process more impressive to me.

All of this to say…this is a brilliant marketing move for Old Spice. They are getting a viral response and it bodes well for a company that has made few changes over the past 20 years. This is an example of not only smart war-room strategy but also doing a good job of leveraging social networks, etc.

As another interesting note to this story, the actor in this piece is former NFL football player, Isaiah Mustafa and has his own Wikipedia page and can be found on IMDB.