Artisan Economy

I've never been much of a cook. If you ask my friends, they will tell you that the microwave is my best friend. In fact, one of my best buddies was shocked when he learned that I actually use the stove on occasion.

Well, when I first was out on my own I did not own a single pot or pan to cook with. I cooked using the Stouffer's method. But when I decided to buy some pots and pans, I went for a set that featured a saucepan, skillet, and larger pot along with a lot of cook looking utensils that was a great price. These little cookware pieces lasted several years and were of decent quality.

However, when I decided to replace them this year, I decided to look around and spend a bit more for something of higher quality. I ended up purchasing a great T-Fal 2-quart saucepan along with their eco-friendly non-stick 12.5 inch Saute Pan.

So what does this have to do with an "artisan economy"?

Well, I got to thinking that I didn't value the cookware I had, it was disposable because I had only spent a modest sum on it. Then I started thinking about things like the apps in the app store, or office supplies, you know, the little things that are cheap and how if it breaks, you just buy a new one.

Really, when you think about it, can something that costs a dollar or less really cost less than a dollar to produce? In some cases yes, but what about something that is five dollars or even ten? When those items break, we usually discard them too.

But what would happen if we spent more for something of a bit better quality? What if that five dollar toy was ten and was built a bit sturdier and of quality materials instead of cheap plastic? Maybe your kids would value their toys a bit more and want to keep them longer. (Ok it was worth a shot... :P) Or maybe that nice utensil that you bought for $10 that was made of metal instead of plastic would last longer and do better for your needs.

As I've gotten older, I've learned that I'm willing to pay a bit more for quality. Maybe if we all were willing to spend a bit more less often for quality items, then our economy would improve as we need to fill positions to make all this cool stuff.

Ironically, soon after I had this revelation, Eric Karjaluoto over at Ideas on Ideas had a great post about the very same topic. Maybe, fingers crossed, it's the start of a good trend....

(btw, I'm not affiliated with Eric, smashLAB, or Ideas on Ideas other than I enjoy Eric's posts and once had a fun conversation about design conferences with him on Facebook that he probably doesn't remember...)

Deaf Monty Illustration

Over the summer, I was asked by my longtime friend Leslie (who co-owns the Innport B&B with her husband Jeff) to illustrate their dog, Deaf Monty for a new business venture. They are hoping to obtain a liquor license and open a small wine tasting bar at their bed & breakfast. They have a small dog, Monty, who is a cute cross between a Westie and a Maltese. He really is deaf and he has a penchant for cheese and red wines, so they figured he'd be the perfect way to advertise their new wine tasting bar.

So my job was to illustrate the ultra-cute, ultra-fuzzy Deaf Monty for a logo-esque usage. I started out by meeting the clients and Monty at Innport. I took some photos and the client also sent me some shots they had taken so I could have reference to draw from.

I reviewed all the reference photos and I Googled "westie" and "maltese" to see the breeds that are a part of Monty to see how I could best capture his personality.

After I narrowed down the photo reference to the few shots I thought would best convey Monty's personality, I began sketching with pencil. My first few attempts were very sad...but that's the whole point of sketching, to practice learning to draw your subject. After about a half dozen or so attempts, I sketched out this version of Monty that I felt captured him pretty well...

Reference photo...

My sketch...

Clearly, it is not 100% there yet, but I felt it was at a stage to get some feedback from the client. They replied that it was close, but not quite there yet, they felt the ears and snout still needed work. So back to the sketchbook for me.

Usually when sketching a subject, you get better at it the more you sketch it...well unless you don't. I just couldn't seem to re-capture the "magic" of that previous sketch. Here's one of the later sketches that was worse than what I presented to the client...

So what the heck do I do now? I had to take a break and think about what my next step would be. After some contemplation, I thought I would review the other reference photos to see if I should try a different angle on my sketch.

After re-reviewing the photos, I choose this one to sketch...

And here's my (quick) sketch from the photo...

I showed the client both the crappy "second version" as well as my new angle. They replied back that they really still liked the first sketch, but the third one (the new angle directly above) was very good too, was there any way to combine the best traits of each?

Most designers and illustrators probably would gasp in horror at this moment. But I didn't because by combining both sketches, I was able to resolve all the issues of the first sketch and was better able to capture the "true Monty".

Here's a rough digital composite I made for the client to review...

The client loved the composite and so I proceeded to make the sketch digital. In order to do this, I took my composite file and imported it into Illustrator where I used the brush tool and my Wacom tablet to retrace my pencil lines. I also decided to add a "wine stain" as a background element to help Monty stand out against a white background.

Here's the first version of the "digital Deaf Monty"...

The client overall liked the this version, however they felt the mustache was a bit too heavy handed and they had another suggestion, one that I wish I would have thought of. Since Monty is a dog who "nose wine", the client suggested I make the nose and mouth a subtle wine glass shape.

Here's my first attempt...

The client thought it was good, but not great, so I refined the linework and the nose/mouth area a bit and here is the final illustration...

The client loves the final result and is looking forward to using their new illustration to promote their new wine bar once the liquor permit is approved. I think this project was a great one in that I was able to help out longtime friends and with their input and guidance, I was able to take a good illustration and really make it awesome!

Wedding Invites for Sarah & Jon

Wow, it's been a busy year for me. So busy that I forgot to post several cool projects that I completed this year. Here's one of them...

I met Sarah through mutual friends a few years ago. She is a bright, bubbly, enthusiastic person. We both share a love of creativity and her energy really inspires me.I had known her for a few years when she met Jon. He is a bit quieter than Sarah, but he is a great guy, funny and fun to be with. They make a great couple, and I was honored when they asked me to design their wedding invitations and save the date cards.

I was a bit nervous, as this was my first ever wedding invitation, so I wanted to be sure I got it just right. I started my usual process of meeting with the bridge and groom to discuss the color palette for the wedding as well as to determine what theirpersonal tastes were. Once I had a better of idea of what their expectations were, I got to work doing research and sketches. Ialso started looking through my library of type to see which one would work best for the invitations.

Here's a look at a page of sketches....

As I was sketching, I doodled out a fancy "S" and "J" to represent the bridge and groom...

As I moved on to the digital mockups, I brought the cute little flowers and the fancy monograms with me. I wanted everything I did to be handmade by me so I all sketched everything by hand and then retraced each element with my Wacom tablet into Illustrator.

Here are the individual monograms...

And here are 2 unused concepts for the inviations...

After developing a few concepts for review by Sarah and Jon, I took their feedback and went back for another round. They really wanted to keep the invitations simple yet elegant. So I removed the floral elements and stuck with just the monograms joined together to symbolize their union as a couple. We also met with my fabulous friend and all around awesome person, Annie, who owns a local upscale stationery store, The Envelope. The couple chose a sparkly champagne paper with a darker navy-esque blue to back up the invitations. Annie suggested envelope liners to add a touch of elegance to the envelopes. To save on costs, I hand assembled the envelope liners and invitations. Thankfully, there were only 90 invitations to produce!

For the save the date cards, I designed the layout and per the couple's request, we had them printed at our local photo lab (which seems to be the trend these days) so they could send them out as their holiday cards/save the date cards. The final save the date cards printed on photo paper at our local photo lab and mailed by the future bride and groom...

And the final invitations and reply cards...

The couple informs me that they still get raves on their invitations to this day (as of this writing, almost 4 months after their wedding). They were extremely pleased with how the invitations turned out. While I was nervous when I first started on this project, I was also pleased with the results. And like any good designer, I was happy that the client was happy with the end product. It is a great feeling knowing that I could use my design skills to help make my friends' special day even more special.

Chilean Miner Poster

The story of the 33 trapped Chilean miners has really captured my heart. These guys could die any day that they go into work as a part of their normal job. (Most of us designers just sit at desks,the most dangerous thing we have to worry about on a day-to-day basis is falling out of our chair or our computer mouse biting us.)

I was thrilled to learn that the miners had survived the initial mine collapse. But then I was shocked, literally, jaw dropping shocked, to learn it could take 2 to 4 months to rescue the miners. Wow, I couldn't image being trapped with 32 other people in a dark, small, enclosed space for that amount of time.

I anxiously await to hear news that the rescue has occurred earlier than anticipated, but that doesn't seem likely, so I did the only thing I could as a designer: I made a poster to show my support for the miners and I've made it my Facebook profile image until their rescue. I know it's only a symbolic gesture, but it is a heartfelt one. If you'd like to join in, you are welcome to make it your Facebook profile image too. In the meantime, I'm praying (rezar means "pray" in Spanish) that these miners are rescued as soon and as safely as humanly possible.

Bunkers Sauce Labels

Wow, it's been a busy year for me. So busy that I forgot to post several cool projects that I completed this year. Here's one of them...

I completed this label design for Bunker's Bar & Grill, a local sports bar earlier this year.

The client had a couple of requests: they'd like a sports theme if possible and they really wanted to do a pepper that showed a heat scale for each of their sauces.

I started out with the sports theme, but it just wasn't giving off the right vibe. Plus the addition of a pepper graphic was not working out well...

So I worked on a simpler version that focused more on the pepper heat scale...

The client preferred this direction much better, but wanted a cleaner look to the label. After the client's suggestion of using white, I needed to figure out how to make the flavor name stand out more. I tried several variations and decided to give each flavor its own style of brushstroke along with a unique color that related to the heat scale imagery.

The client loved it and these are the final labels...