Changing Climate = Changing Lives

This was a real interesting client. We had to design an invitation and a poster. One side had eight panels of information about climate change and the reverse side was to be a poster. The goal was to make the whole thing feel like it belonged together so that it can be used as a personal invitation as well as a advertisement for the event with the poster.

I wanted to create something that would be interesting to look at and maybe something that people would just like to hang up because the imagery was that engaging. The poster has a city scape and a tree line that have similar proportions to one another. The idea was a reflection, on crystal clear water that you would not know where one begins and one ends. The images are so closely tied just as Changing Climate is to Changing lives, and visa versa.

I would put the invitation side up for viewing but I feel it would be more impacting to see it folded up and in person so you get the flow of the piece.

I am not entirely happy with the outcome of this. I struggled with color a lot, as I was trying to find colors that would read well on each other. I don't know why it was so hard, maybe I just wasn't seeing things the way that I needed to. I love the imagery on my poster but hate how the text lays out. I wanted there to be an ambiguous way of viewing the piece that's why I have two sections of text in different places set up in two different orientations. I wanted the owner to be able to put up the poster however they seemed fit.

I could totally improve on this, and I will eventually when I get around to setting up my portfolio for review at CSULB.

Church Brew Works

Packaging design was very interesting for me this past semester. We were assigned a project that involved designing the packaging for a beer or root beer company. I found this great place online called Church Brew Works.

The name is something to be desired but you work with what you've got when you get clients. I wanted to great something that was a lot more professional than their original labels and packaging, but wanted to let it remain different and quirky. So it has a slight drawn feel to it but at the same time, using great fonts and colors really make this beer stand out. I love the purple that I was able to get to compliment with the yellow. I have a Cell phone picture of the final all put together.

Some of the hardest things to start getting my mind around was the idea of space. That's why things are big and some things small. My idea behind the box was to make it seem like it could be its own little church. Stained glass on the steeple and brick that is all over Pittsburgh. I felt like that kind of stuff was necessary. I only had so much room on the bottle so the brew's logo had to be designed considering the curve of the bottle. I enjoyed this project and think it came out well!

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Movie Poster

We had a quick project where we had to put together a movie poster in a couple weeks. My professor suggested we explore the hybridizing of images to create something that would be a branding image that represents the movie. Design these days seems to be about labeling things what they are. Design should be more than that. I was trying to brand the title of this movie to the image so that when you see this lipstick in the bullet casing your brain always brings it back to the movie. It seems like a simple obvious solution but you'd be surprise how many people are excited to find that it's a bullet AND lipstick.

Wine Label

It's about time that I start showing some of the things I have worked on. Here is a Wine Label that I designed to emphasize journey. A classy label that is long and elegant looks great on the bottle, even though the picture quality is lacking. Thank you cell phones! I love how this turned out.

Engaged?

Things have been very exciting the past few days. I have been officially taken off the market (not that I have been on it before this weekend) by a wonderful young woman named Katie. We are engaged to be married this coming november. My good friend John was there first hand to snap some great photos of the event. You should check them out if you get a chance.

Carmel Bach (and beyond) Festival

Using the given copy from class, I had to create a poster that would grab the attention of 18 to 30 year olds who might not be interested in classical music. I decided after several rough drafts to follow this tattooed conductor. We have different fonts used for the heading and a very powerful picture. After the final critique one student said if the man was bald, that would have been the better choice. So if you are bald or have a shaved head that I can use for a remake of this poster let me know. Tell me what you think. Does it work? Are you drawn to the poster, and can identify with it?

Mission Statement

Although I am sure this statement will change over time, I believe that the first step is to set out to explain what this blog will be for and why it is being created.

Design is something that seems to be apart of me and I would love to share that with as many people as I can. For this reason, a blog seems to be the best way to do that. Stories about design and what its doing around the world is important for my own and many other artists creative process. This includes pointing to great websites, posting tutorials for different applications, bringing attention to unique design and whatever else I find important and interesting.
While design is important, it's not the only thing, it is a life which includes LOVE for LIFE and DESIGN, and the best kind of design to love is that which explores life and gets you to react.

I will say that this will ultimately be a way for me to output ideas, opinions, and any other information about design and my life. Read and enjoy with me LOVE, LIFE and DESIGN!