Events

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New plans

January 17, 2010 in Business, Events, Illustration, Personal | Comments closed

New year and going out for some new things. On the smaller side is a portrait/portfolio contest by Artists Wanted. It’s one that I don’t really think I’m going to fit too well, but I figure there’s a better chance of something coming of it by entering than by taking a pass. Check it out and vote.

Further down the road, I’ve registered for the South by Southwest Interactive Conference in Austin. Really excited about this one despite the fact that I don’t quite know what I’m up for. The basic aim is to get out, make new associations, acquire some knowledge that’s a bit out of my experience, and have a good time in a new city (travel is always good). This moves up another portfolio project—business cards. Postings to come on that as they progress.

Scott Gustafson

December 4, 2009 in Events, Illustration | Comments closed

UVU hosted the second illustrator program I was able to attend this week. Scott Gustafson, children’s illustrator, presented a contrasting style to Jon Foster from the other night. These oil or acrylic pieces and series involve weeks and months of devotion to a single project, with so much rich detail. It was interesting that he presented some examples of his early work, the kind many of us would want destroyed once we achieved higher proficiency; though it’s great to see the progression. Like other night’s program, Scott showed the process on a particular piece, pointing out one instance where he would leave a difficult, unresolved spot alone to come back to it later. I can relate to doing that when I burn out on a particular section or project.

Jon Foster

December 2, 2009 in Events, Illustration | 1 comment

This evening, I went to a program hosted by the Illustration Department at BYU by fantasy/sci-fi illustrator Jon Foster.

It was fascinating that although highly proficient with computer software for his work, he doesn’t seem set on any one medium, process, or combination of media. Sometimes entirely computer-rendered, though sometimes he’s combining or entirely using gouache, sometimes oil, occasionally rough and loose, while other pieces are detailed and finely rendered. That odd evolution of pieces and styles while maintaining a consistent steampunk flavor was particularly intriguing.

Where Jon mentioned being focused on figure work (which i can identify with), I was noting that the background elements are often silhouettes.

From the beginning of his program, he was remarking that he had had to move past the caring about outside rating and comparing of his work to that of others’, judging it a wasteful and inhibiting endeavor.

I found it interesting that he not only uses himself as a model, but does so frequently. I always remember that being one of the cardinal rules of scrap—to never use yourself as a model. Even when using other models, he’s drawing from the same small group, but he’s able to make it work and adapt it for the piece.

Green to the Extreme: Omniture to Adobe

October 23, 2009 in Events, Freelance, Graphic design | 2 comments

Omniture Timeline

This past evening was the “Green to the Extreme” Omniture celebration party remembering the past thirteen years and marking Omniture’s transition to an Adobe company. As a contractor, it’s fantastic to be invited and mingle with the sea of green. I have acknowledge and congratulate my friend Brad McCall, of course, for his creation of the Omniture brand.

For the event, I was able to work on a large banner commemorating Omniture’s history to date and really pleased with how the seventy-foot banner turned out. Steve Gustavson and Ben Child of the marketing department had a great concept for having a shape underscore the flow of time (using the signature green, naturally). As the banner is being sliced into year-sections, framed, and auctioned off, I wonder somewhat how much a design I worked on is being sold for all told. And yes, I used Adobe products to create it.

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Details at Buckingham

June 9, 2009 in Events, Personal | 1 comment

Again I was a bit touristy yesterday and visited Buckingham Palace. The State Rooms won’t be open for a few weeks, I went over to the Queen’s Gallery, not quite sure what I was going to see. Not that I’m normally into dishes, but the porcelain exhibit there was particularly interesting. One of those displays of intricate detail and really cool color. The French pieces involved some serious detail and fascinating flowing shapes in both the decoration and the shape of the dishes, vases, and such. The Royal Treasures were also tight with intricate detail, which I’m all over.

It’s always a shame when photography isn’t allowed that the supplied books on the exhibit are small on images, long on analysis, poor on reproduction color, and usually don’t print the pieces you really want to remember. I’m finding this to be a common affliction with so many museums, or maybe I’m just a bit picky.

The British Museum

June 1, 2009 in Events, Personal | 3 comments

During my visits to the British Museum this last week, there were a couple times that I was struck with how much history we have exemplified by rooms filled with categorized items which, of course, only make a small sampling of all physical evidence we now have of the course of history. I was also thinking how much of our historical knowledge is derived from artistic expression— paintings, sculptures, literature, clothing, architecture, music, etc. Obvious thoughts, perhaps, that have occurred to me before, but one of those ideas that has more depth to it when standing in a room with shelves upon shelves of books, artwork, sculptures, and cataloged history.

I also went and checked out the Shah ‘Abbas exhibit. I always enjoy Islamic calligraphy and was glad that BYU had such a great exhibit a few years ago. I’m drawn to the attention to detail and the beauty of letterforms intertwining and used not only for their verbal meaning, but for the design of the shapes. I had to be amazed at the detail achieved in the small format of the paintings also.

Good thing to be able to visit repeatedly. Last trip out this way, the one visit I had to museum was marked by being so tired from jet lag that somehow I managed to view the Egyptian collection and miss the Rosetta Stone.

“Smash your brand”

February 19, 2009 in Business, Events, Freelance, Graphic design, Website | 3 comments

After a couple intense weeks of working on pieces for the Omniture Summit, I was able to attend some of the events yesterday. It’s an interesting sensation to walk into the event venue and be surrounded by all this signage I’ve been collaborating on. That’s a lot of green.

The closing session for the day featured Martin Lindstrom who related many great things to work into professional practice. One in particular is the idea of “smashing your brand”– that is to say, having recognition of your company and product without the logo at all and more so by the smallest elements used in building your brand (i.e. a familiar color, sound, or the way photography is used, etc.). I was sitting with the UXD team who had to credit my friend Brad McCall for his handling of the Omniture brand in it’s initial conception such that many elements are recognizable as signature Omniture to people who have worked with them. For a session at a conference for a technology company, I was thinking how much of it was directly applicable to design, which gets me fired up to design and examine some new ideas.

I’d like to think that I’m building my identity fairly well so far. Of course, I don’t have a logo as yet, but feel that the use of sketched elements that I create almost subconsciously sometimes that I used for the buttons, borders, and menu items on my site make it unique as something identifiably me.

Addy’s People’s Choice

January 17, 2008 in Business, Events, Graphic design | 1 comment

Last night I went up to the Utah State Fairgrounds to vote at the “Night of the People” for the Utah Advertising Federation Addy’s. I’m grateful for the post about it from from the Utah Graphic Artists Forum. I’ve never been before, but was impressed by the kind of work coming out of Utah. I arrived in the latter half of the event and hoped that there were more people attending earlier, as the turnout was a bit slim. I often hope to have a better association between colleagues in the area.

Some of the ads or campaigns that I remember particularly were for Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, I like how the elements came together in the various components of the campaign. The Route 66 era, National Park look excites thoughts of travel and tourism. The Utah Film Commission had a gorgeous book of photography that was ordered by color. Richter7 had some very fun, but quickly read billboard designs. Bajio has always had some fun ads which interest me despite that fact that I generally shy away from that kind of food. I thought the writing and the creative placement for Utah Opera were strong points. I would also liked to have seen more for Bountiful Bicycle, which plays well off of the current environment. There were also quite a few PSA’s that appear to allow for more creativity.