12.29.2009




Designing to Decorate
An idle designer is a dangerous thing. On one hand, you have tons of time to think of amazing creative endeavours. On the other hand, your imagination can quickly get out of hand. I have had the past week off of work and in an attempt to avoid cleaning my apartment, I have decided that it is time to invent new and exciting decorating solutions. One such project are these letter prints for a friends house. The idea is to personalize a space like the bedroom, without having pictures of a couple up everywhere.

12.05.2009




Identity

I am always super flattered when a friend asks me to design them something. So I was thrilled when one of my best friends Lauren invited me to pitch some ideas for her BFs business card. The coolest part? He's a percussionist. Braeden knew what he wanted (and what he wanted was cool!) so it was fairly simple, but allowed me to stretch my photography, illustration and design skills all at once. And I even got a private concert for inspiration! He is AWESOME so if you are interested in live performance or lessons, drop me a line and I'll put you in touch (I replaced his real info with fake info here).

12.04.2009






Going for Lunch
I work with all guys. The reality of doing design/animation is that you are surrounded by dudes all the time. Which is cool, especially when they all walk down the street together. Makes for some fun shots.

11.15.2009












J + T
Here are more pics from a friends wedding. I didn't shoot this for real, I just snuck my camera in as a guest. CLICK HERE to see a few more.

Communicating Technology
A while ago I was asked to come up with a wall and scrim design that would create the ambiance for a booth at the WAEA conference (World Airline Entertainment Association). There were a few stipulations:

1) logo + their colours (purple) prominent
2) brand messaging catch phrases i.e. expect the unexpected, surprise & delight
3) message that Spafax is "ahead of their time" in the industry, or that they were using the most groundbreaking technology

After much deliberation (CLICK HERE to see a previous post with other options), I decided that the catch phrase "surprise and delight" provided a way to peak interest in a fast and simple way. Paired with the photo of a metropolis slightly askew and the sharp lens flare, the message became: "Spafax exceeds expectations, takes the clients to exciting, new heights." This allowed me to get to the idea of technology without going too "industrial" in aesthetic. If I could choose one thing about this that I think is most success, it is that I feel it communicates "technologically advanced" without relying on nuts, bolts and futuristic gimmicks. Instead, I went for frontiers, heights, wonder.

11.11.2009



Caffeine!
I have been on an indefinite hiatus from blogging for the last little while. A few reasons for this: my sister's wedding, followed by a trip to Seattle, Portland and Argentina. Boom. Not a bad excuse, eh? But, I am back in Toronto and now have the time to share some of the work I have been doing over the past few weeks. So, expect a few posts this week and next in what I am calling the "caffeinated blogging spree", or simply, "a lot of posts in a short time to compensate for the lost time." Above photo is me in Seattle embarking on my city-wide coffee crawl. Photo credit: Jonah.

9.27.2009



Bazaar Poster
Every year my mom organizes a church bazaar that takes place in fall. When I was first starting out a designer, she asked me to design the posters and other signage for the event, and since I do the marketing every year, she is my longest standing client! The challenge with these posters is to make a church event feel open to all in the community.


Stop-Motion Saturdays ... 01
In an attempt to get my head away from the computer for an hour or two (at least on weekends), I have decided to start a small, independent project - "stop-motion Saturdays." I have always loved how this medium relies on the simple notion of sequencing for its material. Also, as someone who only has a still camera, this is my only way of creating "original footage." Hope you enjoy.

9.26.2009



Children's design

I have recently been working for Corus Entertainment, a big media company in Canada doing motion design. With a number of channels devoted solely to children (YTV, Teletoon, Treehouse, etc.) they are arguably the best at designing for this demographic in the country. Although I have worked on a number of their non-children's brands, I have been inspired by the way Corus' designers/animators explore styles and solutions to the evermore challenging problem of communicating to young people. I did this board for self-development - I wanted to see if I could come up with an idea/design that would work for a kids platform. What do you think? I have to say, the jury is still out on whether or not I could design for the creative bastions that are the "youth."




Sky-high design
I used to think that web design was particularly impressive because of the unique hurdles the platform poses. However, after designing a few concepts for inflight entertainment interfaces, I have changed my mind.

8.30.2009




Wedding!
A few weeks ago I attended a beautiful wedding. These are a few candids. More to come pending the time to process the photos and approval from the bride and groom!



Brochure
A friend of mine recently recommended me for a quick job for The Centre for Equity and Human Rights, a student organization for the University of Ottawa. After speaking with the amazing coordinator Caroline, I was inspired by their goal of bringing people together to ensure that diversity and equity on campus were valued and that students who experience discrimination have a place to go. I decided the best way to send this message was to use an image that immediately evoked the idea of teamwork and accomplishment. Then I incorporated the colour of the organization - shades of blue, to keep the feel similar to the other creative they have in place. I used thick bars to organize the type as their strong nature added to the idea of solidarity.

7.12.2009







I have been working on a small series for a friend of mine for a while now.

7.11.2009



Have been sorting through old photos and found this one. Don't remember liking it or taking it for that matter, but I love it now.

6.26.2009




Wall and semi-transparent scrim to be part of a convention booth. These are the rejects from a recent campaign.