Business cards.

Finally got these designed and printed. Links to my website and blog are included, as well as a QR code that goes directly to my site. Now to make a decent mobile site...

How shiny.

Wild Letterforms Appeared!

Except it's more like Pokemon Snap, I suppose. Either way, check 'em out. Most came from downtown Pensacola.

Promotional flyer/poster for DK.

Continuing this whole thing, I wanted some more promotional material... well, a show flyer and a poster were inevitable.

Show flyer:

Poster:

Letters and such.

Despite being dealt with the two letters no one wanted, I decided to do what I could with the letterforms in these little posters. I'd say "simple" but I'm not even sure anymore.

Eat shit, Cockatoos.

For whatever reason, I had the day off today, so I decided to actually be creative and work on a project rather than procrastinate. Since the book cover contest is coming up, I decided to go ahead and get a head start, doing a series of book covers based on The Lord of the Rings. I decided to go with an old 70s paperback look for the series.



So yeah. Let me know what you guys think.

"Yes We Cannabis" Infographic Campaign - Complete!

Since I'm completed this project, I might as well talk a bit about each piece/show the final work. Just maybe.


Visually representing an extensive call-to-action, the infographic poster is the main hub/source of information for the Infographic Campaign. Consistent with the rest of the pieces, the main banner stays close to the top and leads the viewer down into the information. Each US map is shaded according to the information pertaining to it, whether percentage shading or shading based on the relevant states. The Annual Deaths section is laid across a single blade from the marijuana plant vector, showcasing a use of icon-based info display. From there comes the monetary-based information, accented by physical dollar bills. The icons lead to further information regarding each particular spending section. The Caduceus icon immediately relates the viewer to health issues, some of which are represented in each “branch” of the graphic. Below it is a simplified graph representing the legalization vote over a span of 40+ years. Then of course, the call to action and source logo. The color scheme overall gives an organic feel, not psychedelic - this is due to the campaign being marketed to middle-aged non-smokers as opposed to those who often partake.



The bus wrap needed to be short, sweet, but glaring. One major important fact, accented by the larger, bolder font, headlines one side, as the banner and call-to-action remain on the other side. The color scheme remains organic and consistent.



While there were multiple size dimensions available for the bus shelter poster (the largest standard being 48x70), I decided to go with a classic 27x41 size, the same size as standard movie posters. The content of this poster contains a bit more reading than any other piece, due to the fact that more time would be available to read the piece (waiting for a bus can take quite a while, you know!).



The ad follows the standard of a full-size print for newspaper. As this was a taller image, I decided to take the originally-horizontal US maps from the infographic and spaced them out evenly and vertically.



The magazine ad is short and simple, but consistent. One section from the infographic has become the main focus of the ad, leaving a powerful message as the viewer flips through the magazine itself.



Utilizing the icons from the Annual Deaths section of the main poster, each frame of the digital billboard remains focused on one certain drug, leading up to the call-to-action. The typography is big, bold, short and sweet; easy-to-read for those passing by.



Various promotional items were created, again not targetting the smokers themselves, but others. A t-shirt is a no-brainer, and the color scheme remains the same throughout. The bumper sticker is a die-cut from the banner featured on the rest of the pieces. A hemp totebag seemed like a practical use for what was being represented, and keeping the call-to-action on it was the best bet.



That's all for now.

That's just like, your opinion, man.

Sometimes stepping away from the computer can be great for a designer. Hell, the idea is listed on every "20-something blurbs about what the fuck do to as a graphic designer when you're sucking creative shit through a straw". Ya know, take a walk outside, feel the world, see it in all it's glory, and relax. New perspectives and all that. Does it always help? Sometimes it may not be new at all; it could be something familiar you just weren't recognizing or thinking of. Maybe that will work.

Either way, that has NOTHING to do with my redesigning of my entire project, but here's some progress~!

First is the Bus Stop Poster (once upon a time my incredibly wordy infographic that made much more sense as a bus stop poster). Updated it with a hemp texture, some font changes, etc. The texture carries over to the other pieces for consistency.



Next is the billboard, using icons from the full infographic (more on that below) as background elements behind the main focus, the data represented... in cool GIF format!



The bus wrap, sharing some data from the main piece and the textures of the others. "Woah".



And of course, I am working on the main piece, but it is far from completion. A sample of one of the elements from it:



That's all for now.

Addys n' such.

See that Lyceum Poster way down there? The Italian one? Won a Silver Addy for that one. :3 Seriously though, I was kind of surprised but I'm glad. That little extra tidbit in my portfolio will definitely help out, but that was easily my favorite of the three mailers I had created. In other news, I'm changing my Infographic Campaign to something completely different. The STD idea fell through. More to come on that.

But seriously, who gives a shit?

Continuing along with some progress of my retro packaging project, I've learned a few things. Some quite literally, some... not. They just kind of appear in my head sometimes. Some say it's a condition. Anyways, so one main focus of this project for myself (a personal goal, if you will) was to improve my digital illustration skills as a whole; learning to properly shade vectors/images all while learning the functions of my drawing tablet at the same time. For my trial run, essentially, I decided to start with the image I plan on using for my cassette tape redesign of "In God We Trust, Inc". The original cover was a standard picture of Jesus on the cross, but the catch was that the cross itself was made from folded dollar bills. While I like the original, I had to think deep on what the album made ME see and hear. The visual representation of separation of church and state (and just about everything else) with a more drastic approach led me to the image of two businessmen "sealing the deal" with a firm handshake... but with one hand bleeding from the center, sans nail. How would I draw this, though? I have certain visual styles I enjoy creating, but the modern comic book style of shading was the exact look I wanted. After lots of research and about 5-6 hours of time, this is the image I created:

Like 15 layers of soft gradients and pixel-perfect vector cleanup helps, I suppose. Now all I have to do is use this same technique on an entire vinyl spread. Welp. Speaking of that vinyl, by the way, my original idea of a collage of shopping bags? I needed more than that. I wanted to be hands-on and unique with the entire design, so I kept with the shopping motif with the typography (especially the tracklist), while just plain-out keeping it "punk as fuck". So here's what happened after a few hours:

More to come.

Punk'd

I've been a punk fan since I can even remember listening to music. It was always so raw, loud, energetic, rude, and anti-everything. Basically, it was perfect for teen me. Dead Kennedys were always a personal favorite, so this project has a bit of personal touch to it as well. The vinyl album will be based on Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death, a compilation album put together by the band shortly before they broke up. The songs on this album really exemplify what DK is about - that whole anti-consumerism/anti-Reagan era style - and yells as loud as it can. Continuing with that motif, I plan to make a collage of sorts on the front cover of many shopping bags/brands/etc all dirtied up, with some typography all over it. Opened up, the two-fold inside cover unveils a large image of zombies in the supermarket, pushing their way through each other just to give in to their consumerist desires, ignoring everything and everyone else. The woman behind the counter looks tired, old, but smiles (or else she'd be fired, ya know?). She might also be a robot. Haven't decided yet. Either way, the idea behind this is slightly illustrated (focusing on vectors) in that cheesy old 80s punk look. It may be a bit straightforward, but sometimes, that's OK. The cassette tape is based off of In God We Trust, Inc., which was also fairly to-the-point. The original art had Jesus on the cross, of course, though the cross was made of dollar bills. Clever as hell actually. I wondered what the hell I was going to do, but then it just hit me - stick with the "corporation" idea, and have a firm handshake between two businessmen - although one hand will have a large, gaping hole in it, bleeding all over the other man's hand. The VHS tape is going to use the Dead Kennedys LIVE VHS from '91. The cover originally is a tad standard - screenshots from the film itself. My idea is to feature a large, blank TV under the logo on the cover, though the screen is cut out. The reason for this is due to the fact that the VHS will have a label featuring one of those screenshots, but will only appear on the TV when the VHS is inside the cover. I'm using Too Drunk to Fuck as my 45 (how quaint). Seriously though, it's one of the best DK songs out there, and the art is going to have to reflect what the song does - a bit melancholy and head-tilting awkwardness, but raw and dirty and downright disgusting (the song ends with a 5 second clip of someone puking their guts out). Images of a dirty toilet in some dive bar pop in my head. We'll see. Stay tuned for more concrete ideas.