Han Shot First

I saw these a while back, but I seem to look them up every few months because I love them so much.  I’m a big Star Wars fan, and digital artist Olly Moss’ poster set is fascinating and beautiful.  At first glance, I thought they were nice; nothing crazy, but well done and pretty.  But the more I looked at them, the more I realized how great they were.  The silhouettes  of characters as the focal point is great, but having key locations from the films acting as accents is just brilliant.  C-3P0′s eyes are the two suns of Tatooine, Cloud City is Boba Fett’s visor and Darh Vader’s mask and facial features are made by the trees and wildlife of Endor (nerd overload!).

I enjoy these posters so much because of the amount of thought that went into them is clear.  Anyone can make Star Wars references, but this artist took the time to make each poster very specific to the film while creating a cohesive look between the three.

This is the kind of thing that inspires me as and makes me jealous that I didn’t design them.

Check out more of Olly’s stuff at his site, ollymoss.com

 

Oh, right, I have a blog!

Man, it has been a while since I last posted.  I could make up plenty of excuses, but I won’t.  Some very cool things have happened since my last post: first and foremost, I got married!  I figured since I found a woman that  could handle my eccentricities and nerdiness, I better hold on to her for dear life.

Aside from that I’ve just gotten a little overwhelmed; sometimes life gets in the way of living.  But I will get back on this  blog thing right now, so stay tuned !

Art & Copy

I was searching through Netflix’s library of documentaries the other day when I came across this little gem: Art&Copy.

Here’s the Netflix synopsis: Explore the fascinating and sometimes mysterious world of advertising with this compelling documentary from filmmaker Doug Pray that features a host of interviews with some of the biggest names in the business. Meet the talented minds who created taglines forever embedded in the American psyche, including “Just Do It,” “Where’s the Beef?” and “Got Milk?” Hal Riney, Ed Rollins and many others share their insights.

Essentially, this movie goes through the advertising boom of the late 60′s all the way to the present.  It’s a great film to watch for anyone who is in the creative industry, regardless of whether or not your particular creative field deals with advertising directly.

A majority of the film deals with the creative process, maintaining integrity, and most importantly, selling that idea to the client.  I found it quite interesting to hear these tales from those who lived them.  Anyone looking for a good documentary on creativity in the business world, I highly recommend Art&Copy.

Recent Project: Classic Entertainment DJs

Recently, I’ve been working on a project for a local Disc Jockey.  Classic Entertainment DJs had a website but it was seriously dated and the company lacked any real unified identity.  So, along with designing their new site, I also decided to create a logo for Classic Entertainment DJs as well.  It was a fun project and the client was really open to any ideas I brought to them and in the end, I think they are very happy with the result.

And since we decided that the client would like to update the site on their own, I designed the site on WordPress.  The site is nearly finished, so feel free to check it out!

www.classicentertainmentdjs.com

Enhancing or Misleading?

On last night’s news, there was a quick story on Lancome’s newest ad campaign in the U.K. with Julia Roberts as the face of the company.  Using a celebrity as the face of the  company is nothing new, but the U.K. banned this campaign because it is misleading consumers.

Companies using Photoshop to enhance their product is also nothing new, but sometimes they can go too far. ‘Enhancing’ and ‘misleading’ have become increasingly similar in recent years.  As a designer, I can’t help scrutinizing things I see on a daily basis; whether its a restaurant menu, junk mail or a billboard on 95, its kinda hard to turn off.  I have always found print ads, especially magazine ads to be some of the worst offenders.

Sometimes the enhancements are harmless and unnoticeable, but sometimes they unfairly portray a product or person to mislead consumers.  I’ll be the first to say that most of Rolling Stone’s  covers are photoshopped heavily, but they aren’t selling a specific product on the cover, just the contents of that issue.  Look at the example below; its the cover of Rolling Stone’s  television issue with the cast of Mad Men sitting in the back of a car.  It’s a nicely stylized photo: but where’s Jon Hamm’s other leg and January Jones’ left hand?  It defies physics!  Two people’s bodies are occupying the same space.  But, you know what, that’s okay. This image is selling a feeling, a scene and style.

Other photoshop jobs give the consumer false information, like the outlawed Lancome campaign.  If your selling wrinkle-reducing makeup and you photoshop the wrinkles off the face -that’s a problem.  Your showing consumers an unrealistic portrayal of your product.  Let the product show what it can do, if it’s good, people will buy it.

 

Goodbye Old Friend

‘Tis a sad day for me.  My iMac has incurred a fatal wound – a fried logic board.

Much to my chagrin, it looks like I’ll be in the market for a new Mac in the coming days and weeks, especially with freelance deadlines quickly approaching.  Thankfully, my iMac waited a few days so I could finish the wedding invitations, otherwise the computer wouldn’t be the only dead thing in the apartment.

Semper Fi iMac: 2007 – 2011

Manly Men: Ok, I get it.

Recently, I’ve been growing frustrated with a growing trend in advertising.  The trend – campaigns anchored by a ‘manly man’ hawking some product that is often aimed towards men has begun to irritate me for a few reasons.

When the concept first popped up, I will give credit to Old Spice,  I thought it was a fun, original idea.  Though the campaign itself was satirical and tongue-in-cheek, it gave a light hearted nod to Old Spice of the past.  It also challenged a younger generation to keep up with their father’s “toughness.”  How many men today can remember their father splashing some Old Spice aftershave on their face in the morning before work?  That’s why I like the campaign – it updated the brand while remembering its past, made fun of its position but also made that position very clear.  Also, while the tone has been stolen, so has the style in which the commercial was made!  They used  what looked like a continuous shot where the actor either changes location or clothing without flinching or breaking contact from the audience with all the confidence a manly man can muster.  I won’t go into detail with examples but companies like Dairy Queen, Edge Shave Gel and Living Social have borrowed liberally from Old Spice’s playbook.  The novelty has begun to wear off to the point of annoyance.

I know that there are many other campaigns and companies who have been stolen from, but I just find this one to be so transparent it’s painful.

Get your own good idea!

Even though I mentioned Living Social as a ‘borrower,’ they did at least change the creative approach and the campaign works well as a result.  The same could be said for Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man in the World.  Yes, he is a manly man, but they show you why in a very different way, while being satirical.  It didn’t hurt that they borrowed a few Chuck Norris jokes too but, hey, who’s keeping count anymore.

  

Minimalist Inspired Movie Posters

As a designer, I lean towards minimal design in my personal style.  I find it fun and challenging to create mood, emotion or to try to convey a message with a few objects and let the audience put it together.  That’s why I thoroughly love it when designers reinterpret commonly known things; in this case, its movies.

Below are some samples I found online (from the       sites, http://inspirationfeed.com,  http://mmminimal.com) that I find to be just great.  I really enjoy the style and simplicity of the designs, makes me want to go home and do some of my own!

   

[ current music: Steve Martin - New Songs for the Banjo ]

Sore and Beat up, but for a good cause

This past weekend was the MS Mud Run in the Philly area.  Bring the genius I am, I joined it with some friends and forgot about it shortly after.  Well, a week before the event I finally remembered and was able to raise some money for a good cause.

But boy did I underestimate this run.  First off, I don’t enjoy running; anyone that does is either lying or crazy.  Couple that with the mud which had a fair share of rock and gravel, you got yourself a good time.

All in all, I was glad I did it, happy to finish it and can deal with the soreness and cuts.  How often do you get an excuse to get filthy dirty?

 

… I’m still cleaning mud out of my ears.

 

 

 

Pittsburgh: Color Coordinated

This weekend I will be heading to Pittsburgh for a friend’s bachelor party.  As luck would have it, the Phillies are playing the Pirates so we’ll be able to catch a game of our beloved Phils while we celebrate.  Last weekend, I was in New York City, where I was once again lucky enough to see my Phillies play the Mets at Citi Field.  As a fan wearing red in a sea of blue and orange (though there were plenty of Phillies fans there) I clearly stood out.  But aside from the Phillies and Mets, there were plenty of Yankess, Giants and Jets fan showing pride as well, adding shades of blue red and green into the mix.  I came to two realizations: 1. The Mets are terrible (couldn’t help myself) and 2. Why can’t cities think when picking team colors?  Now I know that its not that easy to pick a teams color, and essentially  their branding.  I know that there are a lot of factors that go into a team going to a specific city, but it would help the city’s  sports fans stay consistent!

After the Mets game, my friend and I kept pointing out all of the Pittsburgh fans – it’s hard to miss bright yellow and black when its against red, blue and orange.

Then I realized, Pittsburgh is on to something here.

Whether I saw a Pirates (poor souls), Steelers or Penguins fan, they all had the same yellow and black.  So, if a Penguins fan goes to the Pirates game with his Sidney Crosby shirt on, he won’t stick out because the colors are the same.  I don’t know if it was good planning or dumb luck but Pittsburgh has it act together on this.  9 times out of 10 (unless your in boston and see Bruins fans, or even a Saints fan, but I think the color is slightly different) when you see yellow and black its in support of Pittsburgh.  If that’s not good  branding, I don’t know what is.