November 2011
1 post
5 tags
Barnes and Noble, YardBirds and Richmond Bride...
I can’t believe that the holiday season is almost upon us!! I thought I’d pause and post some things that I’ve been working on lately.
Currently, one of our bigger clients at CRT/tanaka is B&N College Booksellers. This is not the Barnes & Noble you find in shopping centers across America - but rather the Barnes and Noble college bookstores you can find on almost any...
September 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Richmond
Here is another sneak peek at some recent work. I have been lucky enough to be part of the team at CRT/tanaka that is currently working on developing promotional materials for Big Brothers Big Sisters. I LOVE love love these type of feel-good projects! Below is an accordion style brochure and a window cling:
7 tags
Busy, Busy Summer
I just realized my last post was May!! That is pretty bad - so I thought I’d share a sample of some of the freelance projects that I worked on over this summer.
Sara Layne and I used to work together at Oliver Creative. She was our project manager and now runs her own business, Ethan Assistance. She also does some marketing for her parent’s shop, YardBirds (awesome Bird and Garden...
May 2011
1 post
2 tags
New Illustration - Richmond Bride Magazine
Ah yes…springtime. It’s a popular time of year for brides to walk down the aisle. For some brides, a large concern is not where everyone is going to sit or if the groom has rented his tux…it’s whether the brides’ arms are going to jiggle or if she’s going to fit in her dress. This is an interesting article on how to get fit quick with some illustrated...
April 2011
3 posts
Better Business Bureau celebrates 100 years!
I enjoy working on logos because they allow me to flex my illustration muscle. Combining an illustrated icon with a type element can seem like a simple task but often takes hours and hours to perfect.
My creative director at CRT/tanaka is responsible for BBB’s brand refresh a few years ago. Now that the organization is getting ready to celebrate it’s 100th birthday in 2012, they have...
4 tags
Florida Supersweet Corn Contest
UPDATE: Just got a photo of an in-store promotion poster that I designed for supersweet corn and Tops cooking school:
Online supersweet corn promos:
Just launched the new Facebook contest for Florida Supersweet Corn. More and more of our clients are using social media outlets to introduce new products or promotions.
5 tags
Going Green
Here is a project that I’ve been working on the past few days - a t-shirt design for an upcoming event at the Virginia Science Museum, sponsored by Energy Forward (a community awareness program put together by Shell).
PROJECT UPDATE! I always love “before” and “after” reveals. I thought I’d post this quick note to show you what the client signed off on and...
March 2011
6 posts
5 tags
Only the good die young
Remember the classic animated movie Rudolph? Remember the Island of Misfit Toys? Well, I like to believe that there’s a similar place for all creative ideas that die too young and never see the light of day. Such was the case with this ad, created as part of a new branding effort for Blueberries (The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council). This concept was created to convey the BIG nutrients...
3 tags
5 tags
A new look for the Virginia Community College...
This new corporate identity package was designed for the Virginia Community College System and the Virginia Foundation for Community College Education. Items created include a quarterly newsletter, annual report, brochures, programs and event invitations. The design elements for this package play upon rich blocks of color, bold typography and custom photography of real students that evoke a...
5 tags
"I think it's so groovy now..."
I love working with Richmond Magazine’s Art Director, Isaac Harrell (which I’m sure I’ve mentioned here before). Isaac has a wonderful way of allowing me to spread my creative wings a little further each time we work together.
When Isaac came to me last week about producing this new 2 page spread illustration for their Dine section, he knew he wanted something retro and I knew...
3 tags
New Promotional Logo for Avocados From Mexico!
Another quick project - for Avocados from Mexico. At CRT/tanaka, we do a lot of PR for this client with our partners, Lewis & Neal in New York. This new promo was created for a target audience of women, ages 25-45, to be used in press materials, a Facebook page and an online promo page that will link off of the AvocadosFromMexico.com website. Who knew avocados in your breakfast could...
5 tags
February 2011
2 posts
5 tags
2011 Summer Camp Guide Illustration, Richmond...
It’s that time of year again! I’m constantly amazed by the amount of time it takes to plan out “fun” activities for your kids these days. What happened to spontaneity? What happened to hoppin’ on your bike and building forts in the woods? I guess those days are long gone…but that’s how I remember the summers of my childhood. These days, everything is...
January 2011
1 post
Up to Date? New Illustration for Boomer Life...
Here’s the latest 48 hour freelance job! For the February issue of Boomer Life Magazine, Scott Harris (AD) hired me to churn out some quick illustrations for an article - “Up to Date?” - on where to look for love in Richmond, VA. The topics of divorce and being perpetually single are not the most cheerful subjects - so Scott said he thought my spunky style could help lighten...
November 2010
2 posts
July 2010
1 post
2 tags
June 2010
1 post
April 2010
4 posts
Coke and the Happiness Machine
Coke does it again! Brilliant stunt marketing to a targeted audience:
Coca-Cola “Happiness Machine”
7 tags
eMarketing Dictionary
A helpful tool when explaining web/emarketing related items with clients - that was sent to me by Maliya Rooney (Traffic Manager at CRT/tanaka). This listing offers a short definition for just about anything related to online graphics/media:
eMarketing Dictionary - The New Zealand Marketing Association
8 tags
Mobile Web Will Rule by 2015
There’s been a lot of conversation lately about the ever-changing face of technology and how that will affect the job market for all interactive designers and developers. Just two to three years ago, I never heard of someone working as a “social media monitor”. Even at CRT/tanaka, we now have an entire practice dedicated to building social media campaigns - that span Twitter,...
Creative School of Thought
I have met a lot of wonderfully creative folks in my career, but none as energetic and optimistic as Eric Larkin (former multimedia designer at CRT/tanaka).
I was very excited when he shared with me a project that he has been working on and collaborting with other creative minds to build. The project is the Creative School of Thought - a one stop hub and plethera of creative information on all...
March 2010
1 post
15 Sites Web Developers & Designers Should Know
Awesome resource for some nice web short cuts! Need greek text for copy placement? How about a free background pattern? Can’t figure out what font was used in an old gif or jpeg - no problem? Check it out here!
I’ve used several of these for a few years - but there are some others that I’ve never used before - such as CSS Tidy (which actually cleans up and optimizes your CSS for...
February 2010
1 post
Now You're Typin'
Here are some wonder resources on all things type related - for print and web!
Wonderful article found at Nice Web Type - on the basics of web type/CSS. How to code the styling and how to keep it organized!
Some favorite modern type styles of 2009 - at Type for You.
Information on open format web type on Firefox - Hacks.Mozilla.org
Typographic diversity for the web - Edenspiekermann.com
A...
January 2010
1 post
August 2009
1 post
Cutting edge...or just plain cool?
What provokes you to bookmark a Web site? Do you enjoy the content? Does it provide you useful information you can use on the job or tips for daily life? Does the Web site help you solve a problem? Is it cool to look at? What about it poses you to share the link with others?
I remember the first time my coworkers and I got hyped up about YouTube. We had all seen sites that had video content...
June 2009
1 post
Michael Jackson - Media Genius, Even In Death
When thinking about what to discuss for today’s blog topic, I immediately thought about the media frenzy surrounding the death of legendary pop performer, Michael Jackson.
When I was watching the television coverage on Michael’s death on Thursday evening, a friend automatically thought it was a scam. I’ll definitely agree that Michael, in his lifetime, was a magnet for gaining media coverage, even...
May 2009
3 posts
Five Rules to Start With
My favorite question to ask clients when working on an interactive project is, “How will you measure the success of your web site?” Usually this question is followed by a long pause a few glances at each other across the long, dark board room table. It’s easy to get caught up in all the glitzy web lingo, such as “flash animation” and ah yes…“optimized graphics”, but remember! All that...
April 2009
2 posts
March 2009
3 posts
Use these!
More great things to share! I’ve been bad lately about posting the latest and greatest - from my coworkers in the interactive department at CRT/tanaka…so here is a list of cool stuff to keep you tingling!
For the adventure types. This video is not for those who are afraid of heights: http://twitpwr.com/6so/
Ted.com. I should visit this site way more than I do now. Great video that...
Don’t be afraid of the “F” word…the word “Frugal”
This past weekend I had the opportunity to co-write a blog article for a new Blog all about weddings in the south - The Little White Book. I was asked to provide some money saving tips for brides - who want to plan a creative wedding on a shoe string budget. Check it out!
January 2009
2 posts
Turtle Power!
This past January, I was involved in launching the 25th Anniversary Web Site for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - http://www.tmnt25.com
Mirage Studios and 4Kids Entertainment turned to CRT/tanaka (where I am an art director for the interactice practice) to develop an official TMNT 25th Anniversary Web site that would attract both new and old fans to join in the “Shell-ebration.” The site would...
December 2008
1 post
These are a few of my favorite things...
Fun article I thought I would share from MSNBC:
Last-minute Web sites to save your holiday – ‘Tis the season to procrastinate, but the Internet is here to help
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28183159/?pg=7#Tech_HolidayWebSites
Top sites referenced are:
Amazon.com – Who hasn’t used this site already?
Etsy.com – wonderful online community of artists and craftsmen alike – folks from all over that sell...
October 2008
1 post
September 2008
3 posts
“I dream for a living.”
– Steven Spielberg
URLs and Beyond!
God bless the web geeks! There are several of us in the office who just can’t get enough of the what geeky tools we can find next.
This is my new favorite - thanks to John Hopkins - http://www.definingtheobvious.com
The site Quarkbase lets user type in their favorite URLs and wham! Instant stats, summary, domain info, user tracking, web hosting and descriptive info on all your favorite...
Everyone Wants Blue
I once had a coworker who had a person design site that was called Everyone Wants Blue. We used to joke about an entire world that was coated only in various shades of blue and how happy that would make the corporate world.
Almost every single logo, brochure, business card, corporate identity piece that I have designed in my now 11 years of experience has always ended up with some sort of blue...
July 2008
13 posts
“Right from the beginning, I always strived to capture everything I saw as...”
– Norman Rockwell
Logo share and fun tools
Show and tell! Here’s another link that was sent to me - where a collective group of folks have created a place on Flickr to post and share logos (logos they created or logos they saw and enjoyed)…
http://www.flickr.com/groups/logos/pool/
Another interesting site that seems like a visual buffet of treats and tools for the designed mind (ideas, trends, news, technology):
...
2008 B2B Marketing Forecast: Rise in Budgets,...
Interesting article on online budget increases/forecast for 2008, sent to me by a coworker.
Most B2B marketers (some 60%) plan to increase their 2008 marketing budgets - but fully 79% plan to increase their online marketing budgets, according to BtoB magazine’s “2008 Marketing Priorities and Plans” study.
BtoB’s previous survey (2006) had found that nearly 76% of marketers planned to increase...
“An artist has to keep one ear to the ground and one to the heart.”
– Bruce Springsteen
