Fun tee shirts

Just came across an old favorite: http://www.bustedtees.com/

Check out the "Mac daddy" one. Yeah that one is so me.

A little more civil disobiedience

Came across a Bob Dylan cover while listening to Cowboy Junkies. The lyrics still speak true to our present political situation. Notice the women on the block could be many of us asking about change. We need to act. Get involved. Please.

"License To Kill" –Bob Dylan

Man thinks 'cause he rules the earth

He can do with it as he please

And if things don't change soon, he will

Oh, man has invented his doom

First step was touching the moon

Now there's a woman on my block

She just sit there as the night grow still

She say who gonna take away his license to kill

Now, they take him and they teach him

And they groom him for life

And they set him on a path where he's bound to get ill

Then they bury him with stars

Sell his body like they do used cars

Now there's a woman on my block

She just sit there facin' the hill

She say who gonna take away his license to kill

Now, he's hell bent for destruction

He's afraid and confused

And his brain has been mismanaged with great skill

All he believes are his eyes

And his eyes they just tell him lies

But there's a woman on my block

Sitting there in a cold chill

She say who gonna take away his license to kill

May be noisemaker, spirit maker

Heartbreaker, backbreaker

Leave no stone unturned

May be an actor in a plot

That might be all that you got

Till your error you clearly learn

Now he worships at an altar of a stagnant pool

And when he sees his reflection he's fulfilled

Oh, man is opposed to fair play

He wants it all and he wants it his way

Now, there's a woman on my block

She just sit there as the night grow still

She say who gonna take away his license to kill

With this ticket I thee wed…

I have wanted to post this 2006 wedding invitation piece for some time. Please check back on this post, since I will be updating its description in the next passing weeks. I consider this piece one of my best works. To give you some history on it, this invite was for a couple to whom I am related to the bride. The groom owns his own movie production company and we have become very good friends as well as business associates. The couple chose to get married in a great old movie theater. Perfect setting, perfect concept to jump off from…

the cover

This is an actual shot of the happy couple staring at lights outside my house. I cut and layered them into a photo of an old theater. I redrew the text and movie sign itself carefully in Adobe Illustrator and brought it together in Photoshop with some other modifications.

main interior page

The piece opens upwards revealing the main interior page. This page's image was achieved by photographing the couple sitting on my couch and bringing in theater chairs from stock. I added a screen texture for the background and used a light drop-shadow to blur the text a bit to create a look of old movie credits.

map insert

I originally wanted this to be in an unachieved third fold—unfortunatley this was restricted by the printer. The map carries through the look of an early movie theater.

the RSVP

Arguably the part that turned out best. This RSVP ticket was a tear-off mailable piece. Already stamped on the reverse side, this ticket postcard achieved a +90% attending rate.


Fonts used in this piece:

Berthold Akzidenz Grotesk BE
Rosewood
Snell Roundhand (modified)

A question…

Great indie movie about segways. Don't ask.

Good snapshot of America. Click here: 10 MPH to check it out.

So I'm Busy

Praying for freedom.














So Its been a while… If you have been wondering where the heck I've been, I must confess its been a lot of Facebook, new job and Ron Paul. By the way GOOGLE RON PAUL!!!! NOW!!

Anyways I hope to get back to posting new work soon, so please don't give up on me! I have an ipod touch which helps me get my design content down into electronic form. Regardless I must say I NEED to promote Ron Paul until the presidential race is over. If you've Googled him like I asked you, you will understand.

Honestly our internet will have taxes on it soon, we will have national ID cards WAKE UP!!! Our government will soon control us from cradle to the grave and we are moving towards a Communistic society everyday. Ron Paul believes in our preserving and reestablishing personal freedoms and privacy. Like getting rid of the the IRS… Thats right! Our framers of this great country never intended for the U.S. government to be able to access info on how much you make. The far tax lays in only a sales tax—equality for the rich and poor. No special interest groups. But we need to fight. Support Ron Paul today!

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

I got a job!!!!

I got a job at an ad agency. I will let you know how it goes!

Time to speak

The vote is coming. A great way to speak out on issues that are getting under your skin is to use your first amendment afforded to you by your constitution. You remember what that is right?

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Listen, I voted for Bush in 2001 and now I need to rectify my actions. I was wrong.

If you like check out my shop
for this artwork on clothing to make a statement yourself. Don't stay silent!

New Blog Design

Hey Blue Bikers! I had some to to redesign and wanted to know what you thought. Be cruel you know I can handle it. Especially you CVH!

New tee shirt

Here is the new tee I did for Sweet Japonic, a local band here in Grand Rapids, MI. Their music seductively mixes old funk,jazz, and blues with modern elements and lyrics that inspired this concept of a female figure mask with modern type and old amp equipment. Thoughts?

Well here we go…

I have an interview tomorrow at 8:30am. Here goes nothing, as they say…

Personal Identity Revision

Here is the revision. I find it works better because it is more simplified. I also like it better because it is more geometric. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks again.

Niagra Challenge

So I challenged you all to come up a collage for the picturess I posted. Here is mine now that I have more time to do what nobody else seems to want to do. Hope you like it.

New personal logo

A start. I need some feedback. Hit me people, hit me!

So I got layed off and bought a new Mac? So!?

Yes its true my friends, I got pink slipped my friends one week ago. So I did what any good designer would do; turn around and by a new 24" imac and loaded it up with new software. Silly you say? Maybe, but hey I need to get an updated résumé out there and I ain't going to do it on my 400 Mhz 2001 laptop!

Here is me installing software:

Just Kidding… Seriously though I need your help. I need some input on projects. Keep your eye out there is more to come very soon.

I call this one "ode to Adam Sandler":



And the ever famous three-eyed, two-mouthed man:

No time to write/post

I wish I could show you some work but there is no time for the rushed.

Vacation

So it seems I've traveled not much of anywhere in my life. For some design inspiration this is needed. So here you see me in Niagara Falls, Canada smoking a cuban in front of a wax museum dedicated to famous criminals. Yeah I had to do it. I mean, when will there be a photo-op like that again?

Speaking of photo-ops the following are some contrasts of the natural beauty and the unnatural junk that surrounds Niagara. My wife is working on a collage art piece displaying the contrast between the two. Feel free to take these pics and do something up yourself:

Freedom of Speech

As the very few of you who read this blog know I took down a post last week that pointed out questionable graphic design/computer practices. The fact is I heard some feedback and there was concern for what was posted, that it would come back to haunt me. I took it down because I really didn't think the post was worth any tension.

BUT… this does bring up a much larger issue which my Dad and my Grandfather went to face wars (Vietnam & WWII) for; our freedoms of speech granted to us by our U.S. constitution. We are truly blessed to live in a nation such as this—but we must never leave the vigil of guarding these rights. Certain organizations/people may think they have the right to silence their own fellow citizens in this country, but they are dead wrong.

As designers/visual communicators and as U.S. citizens this issue is so very important, especially in this booming information age. Imagine having this information controlled/filtered by the elite few. You may think that the media already does this filtering, which may be true, but there are many increasing ways to get information through alternative news/information/viewpoint sources such as (in a smaller extent) this blog. These venues must be bolstered with our support as citizens to send a clear message that the common citizen ideals, thoughts and ideas still makes a profound difference in this country.

Wikipedia explains freedom of speech as this:

Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with relatively authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced…

Freedom of speech is still on of the many things that makes this country great. Lets all do our part to keep it that way.

Screened Bitmaps with Gradients

I seem to be drawn to work with bitmaps with a slight gradient or color variation in the background. I'm feeling that it may be going back to the 80's or early 90's but people/clients seem to like it. Below is an web ad/banner I am doing for my company (an adoption agency). Should I continue using this technique (I don't mean all the time) or is it cliché?







Detail:



















What do you think?

Having Fun with the Forcast

Okay so it is like mid-April here in Michigan. So it snows 8 hours then it rains 8 hours then it snows again. It was 70º one day a few weeks ago, then the next day 35º. Literally the state is so confused with the weather. So what should we do? Laugh about it.


Here is a illustration of our weather (of biblical proportions) done by Chris a fellow Graphic Designer at my wife's work. It really captures a Michigan's resident's feelings of this type of freakish season we are experiencing here. If Michigan was a designer it would be the most inconsistent designer of all time.