All I Need is Kat… and The Beatles

AIGA Jacksonville recently asked me to join 11 other members in interpreting the symbol most synonymous with love (the heart) for the 2012 I Love Design poster project. I was incredibly flattered that I was invited to participate, and the following is the write-up that I submitted with my entry: At the ripe young age of 37, I found myself a newlywed. When asked to define love in a heart-shaped box, I immediately thought of my wife. And did I mention The Beatles? I really, really love me some Beatles. If I’m not listening to them, I’m seeking out music heavily influenced by them, co-written by them or even vaguely reminiscent of them. So it seemed only fitting to combine my love for Kat with that of what I consider to be the greatest and most influential band in musical history. I give you… All I Need is Kat (and The Beatles).

Click here to leave a comment.

Old Fashion Wedding… Design

474

Since the venue for our wedding is the historic 5 Points Theatre, I thought it would be fun to go retro with the Save the Date cards. After borrowing from the feel of old movie posters for the front and infusing a little Hatch Show Print-inspired rock n’ roll poster for the back, this came together nicely. The eggplant, split pea and robin’s egg wedding colors (yes, those are the actual names) are offset by a slight distressing to give it that vintage feel. And now that I’ve had a chance to catch my breath… on to the invitations! Click here to see the Save the Date.

Imagination Squared

Imagination Squared is an initiative to show Jacksonville’s creativity and commitment to the arts in education and in life. These small squares (about 1,000) will be assembled into a giant mural to be displayed in Jacksonville’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Now I know it’s only a 5×5 inch square, but my big challenge was what to actually put in this thing. Being a music lover, my mind immediately went to my two biggest inspirations… Elvis and the Beatles. After struggling over which one to feature, the question hit me, “Why not both?” So my square shows the evolution of the career of Elvis through sketches superimposed on the Beatles’ famous Abbey Road album cover. I had fun with this, and I hope to contribute on projects like this in the future. Click here to see my square.

RFPs, Making the New Business World Go ‘Round.

There’s nothing like pitching a new business to allow you to push yourself creatively. Sure the RFP has a solid due date. Sure it has to be a bound book answering specific questions. Sure there’s an in-house budget restricting production. But other than that, the sky’s the limit! For this particular pitch to JAXPORT, Jacksonville’s Port Authority, I created the book that was requested, but it was the packaging that made the prospective client “ooh and aah.” I designed a hinged box to mimic real-life side-by-side shipping containers. Three days after sending detailed sketches to a fabricator who agreed on the limited budget, the box was complete. After getting the box back in-house, I added exterior graphics and built an insert that snugly housed the bound books. After that, I just had to “ship” it over to JAXPORT. Click here to view the box.

Pro Bono: Putting the FREE in Freelance!

Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Downtown Vision, Inc., Downtown’s Improvement District, on some logos to promote… well, promotions and events to increase traffic for Downtown bars and clubs. The first is Downtown Straight Up!, a monthly happy hour open to everyone, but targeted towards key Downtown organizations and decision makers. The second is The Core, an initiative which brings Downtown bars and clubs together to collectively offer promotions and educate people on the wide range of nightlife offerings. Exciting things are happening downtown, and I’m honored to make this contribution. Thanks for the opportunity, DVI.

Click on the links to view the logos, and let me know what you think!

Save your Garbage Man!

I’ve just started working on a new project for Veolia Environmental Services, and it’s really interesting. It is a public awareness campaign targeted toward stopping garbage man fatalities. I was not aware of this, but 63 workers were killed last year in the US by motorists who were either on the phone or just not paying attention. The campaign will include print ads, billboards, bumper stickers and a facebook page. I’m also sketching some storyboards for a video which will appear on the page that will be shot in the style of a 1950s black and white instructional film. Stay posted for updates. I hope to be posting things soon!

ART & COPY Tonight!

From 6:30-9:00 this evening, 5 Points Theatre will be showing the film ART & COPY. If you’re interested in the world of advertising, or if you just want to understand those who live it and love it, be there tonight to hear from some of the top creatives in the field who explain what they’ve done, how they did it and what’s in store for the future.