HE-MAN Thermos Scan

Just some stuff I am messing with. This is a He-Man thermos from those old skewl metal lunch boxes.

Good VS. Interesting

As a second year art student I was once told something by one of my professors. " Don't aim for GOOD, aim for INTERESTING." Wow, as a young designer this seemed ridiculous at best. But it has stuck with me over the years. I am a big advocate for creating design that does more than organize information and show good use of a grid system. There are plenty of design robots that can handle this task. This is where the idea of INTERESTING comes into play. Whether that means that you are using an unexpected printing technique or an organic or expressive use of typography there needs to be something more to your work. Something that when the client or casual passer by experiences it they are surprised by something. Sometimes it truly is better to be weird than good. If you happen to be one of my students, keep this in mind. As you are working on your projects hold it up and say, what is interesting about what I am doing? Why would the design that I am creating hold someone's attention? Am I working toward newness or just regurgitating what my preconception of GOOD is.

Be more, be unexpected, BE INTERESTING!

Hucklebuck + Hollister Update

Here are a few of the graphic tees that I did during my stay at Hollister. I will be posting more as I process them.

Hucklebuck + Hollister

I spent the last year and a half working in house at Abercrombie and Fitch doing apparel graphics for Hollister. This is just a sneak peek at some of the work I did while there. I will be processing my total work from my time with HCO and will post a "best of" soon.

To see some of the latest stuff I worked on that's currently in the store check out the links below.

Color on Color Applique Logo Tees

Back To School Long Sleeved Textures

Back to School Long Sleeved Core Applique Logo Tees

White on Color Mixed Media

I'm officially on the board for ICON6

I got word today that I have been elected to the board for ICON6, the national illustration conference that happens once a year. Not sure where it's going to be yet this year, but it should be a blast and I am honored to accept the appointment. Check out the site for ICON5 from last year theillustrationconference.org.

How have I not heard of these folks!

BRILLIANT! www.paperrad.org

A group of digital artists. Some of the coolest stuff I've seen in years.

HUCKLEBUCK + PANTONE

Last spring I did some illustration work for Pantone. They were working on a catalog and had me illustrate the cover and a few spreads. One of my students was surfing the web today, went to pantone.com and the illustration that I had done was featured on the home page. Check it out at pantone.com

AIGA Design Revival 08

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the AIGA Design Revival in Pleasant Hill, KY. Every 2 years they host a weekend design retreat that is located in the largest existing Shaker Village in the US. www.shakervillageky.org. The setting is breathtaking. Historical, serene, just amazing.

Throughout the weekend we had the opportunity to host a series of speakers. Listed below...

Julie Beeler, Second Story
Margo Chase, Chase Design Group
Bill Drentell, Winterhouse - Winterhouse
John Winsor, Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Stanley Hainsworth (previous Global Creative Director of Starbucks), Tether - Tether
Todd Henry, Accidental Creative - Accidental Creative

My highlight of the weekend was having breakfast with Scott Hull, Dylan Menges, Tim Frame and John Winsor. John is the Executive Director of Strategy and Product Innovation at Crispin Porter. We had a really interesting conversation ranging from the finer points of collecting vinyl to the new things they were working on at CPB.

Overall I wish that I would have done my homework before going into the weekend. The speakers that were there were amazing and I regret that I didn't dig into enough knowledge of their work in order to ask more poignant questions.

I had a cigar with the desk clerk at the INN that we were staying in Beaumont Inn on the last night. It was nice to talk to someone who wasn't a designer. It was also nice to able to sit on the front porch and think of what direction I want to take the studio. Passion was a main underlying theme of the weekend and got me thinking about what I truly am passionate about. Is it the problem solving aspect of what we do as designers? Is it simply the creation of imagery that creates impact? Is it the idea of typography and communication? I think a bit of it all really. I am in a situation now, however, where I am teaching full-time and am not relying solely on my work to pay the bills. That is an interesting place to be. Freedom is often the toughest thing to deal with.