techism

While working in illustrator CS3, or any of the CS series really, I’ll be chugging along and all the sudden I notice that I can’t see my outlines when I select objects. What the hell?  I can’t see outlines or selection edges in illustrator – you know, those great blue lines that let you know what’s in your selection and what aint.  Been there! In the past this used to kind of come and go and it’s super irritating.  That is, unless you know what’s going on.  If you run into this problem, there’s a simple fix.

cmd-h.

It turns out that this is a feature accessible in the view-menu called “hide edges”, accessible via cmd-h.  Of course this is right next to a much more commonly used keyset, cmd-g (for grouping).  If you find your edges are hidden and you don’t know why, you probably miskeyed the cmd-g into cmd-h and … welp…now ya know.

Recently I helped the Wexley School for Girls launch a new look for Taco Del Mar.  After their creative was a approved, I was looped in via ThorLoki to help webify the design and to design a plan to bring everyone together for a rapid development turn-around.  After some conversation on the nature of web design we achieved a consensus and I produced some lightly modified concepts.  A little fine tuning of the design was all that remained, and to execute it across all the internal pages for this company.

I’m looking forward to seeing where this visionary new direction goes. See it live: http://www.tacodelmar.com

Urban Earth Gardens is a super-environmentally friendly landscaping company and urban gardening consultancy.   This logo was inspired by a backyard tour of the owner’s amazing garden and bee hives.  The sun was low, the earth was plowed, and the leaves were back-lighted in the afternoon sun.   I wanted to capture this essence in his logo.

The Advertising Coalition was having problems with their old web developer’s schedule creep and asked me if I could rapidly deploy a content managed website for them.  We made our production schedule to go from concept to launch within 30 days.  Using BaseCamp to keep the project organized, and using assigned milestones to remind each of us of our parts in this project, we were able to produce a fine website that I hope will serve them for years to come as they grow their online presence.

The technology uses a custom WordPress theme that accomodates easy editing of the feature header on the home page, several custom layouts and templates, and lots of power to make the site grow grow grow.

The target audience is made up of media professionals who want to stay in touch with the latest developments in DC regarding advertising and government.  The client asked for lots of white space, a media savvy design, with a DC flavor that wasn’t too institutional.  I’m really fond of how this turned out and I think they are too.

http://www.theadvertisingcoalition.com/

I’m happy that the client is enjoying the freedom of her WordPress-driven website.  This custom theme was a real pleasure to put together.   Featuring a slick web2.0 look that really stands out from the traditionally lagging east-coast design institutions.  The Federal Employee’s Law Firm is accessible, readable, and growth-ready.

Need a security clearance? Contact Mahoney Jeffrey, the Federal Employee’s Law Firm.

A Dreamweaver powered static html website deisgned with w3c-compliant semantic markup and CSS.  This client was on such a tight budget that he didn’t even ask to see a comp.  “Surprise me.” he said.  So I kinda made this one up as I coded it.  I like the result.

He still raves about it every time I see him.

http://www.microstudiolighting.com

I was so excited when I got the call:  “The Salish Tribe needs a logo for a cigar line.  We need you to make a logo remniscent of a Havana Nightclub.  Think afro-cuban jazz.”

Yes please!  I threw on the Sabu Martinez and Tito Fuentez and went nuts.  I produced about 30 logos in a two-day gush of creative exploration in a totally foreign style to my usual art.  Here’s some of the results:

This was just fun.  Anyone who wants to go snorkeling in 45 degree water has to be a little crazy.  Well I’m pleased to make a logo to match.

I didn’t pick the tag-line…

…or did I?

Sometimes the best ideas come with the least effort.  The owner of this company brought me a post-it with a quick sketch of his idea:  Three differently shaped bottles overlapping.   “Can you do something like this?” He asked me with what seemed like  shame.  His vision was dead-on.  I produced the logo in under an hour and it’s gone on to lead a very successful online brand.  Months later I was able to revisit this identity and lock down some brand colors, variations and type uses.

This premium identity package was created for Ironwood Investments, a high quality property management service.  The challenge:  Design an identity strategy that can speak to investors and residents of Ironwood-managed properties alike.

The answer was to combine formal colors and typography with a symbol of relaxation:  The Ironwood way is to make every day seem like a vacation.  Relax, Ironwood is here.

Ironwood Investments Style and Brand Guide