10 December 2009
In February, I was contacted by a company here in Provo called InsideSales.com. They create software (dialer type software and crazy efficiency-boosting applications) for sales people that kind of help change and redefine the paradigm of what sales is and how it is done. While not the job I would have sought out on my own—in-house was never really my thing—their story and product was really compelling and I felt that there was a lot of potential to do some great design work and help grow the company.
We’re about 9 months into this experiment and we’re starting to see some of the fruits of our labors blossom and hit the public. I figured this would be an appropriate time to show a bit more of the brand than what I have in the past. So here are a few more finished pieces to take a look at. I’d love to hear any feedback, as it’s a very foreign design style to me.
Main homepage… We did a photoshoot with Jonathan Canlas a couple months ago and the banner here features an amazingly talented Rhyan Atrice, from Urban Talent up in Salt Lake.
This is a report engine application (sitting within the black frame) designed a few months back. I’m pretty pleased with the outcome, considering the incredible amount of data that needs to be displayed and the constraints of html programming.
I have a few more pieces I’ll show after the jump. (more…)
02 August 2009
A while back, I designed a little promo/demo piece for/with my good friend, Micah. It’s super weird and creepy and awkward, but there’s something about it that I really quite like—even if I’m the only one. Micah stained the wood and mounted the prints on there. And there’s a CD clip/nipple (i don’t know what they’re called?!) on the back to put the demo disk on. I think it’s a pretty unique demo.
And, speaking of demo, if you are ever looking for someone to score a movie, commercial, motion piece, or otherwise for you… check him out. Even if he wasn’t a best friend and a band-mate for nigh unto a decade, I would (and do) use this guy for all my musical needs. Check this piece out that he did for Jon’s Film is Not Dead workshop… Super8 footage by Leo; Edited and designed, actually, by Micah, as well. (Also, some closer shots of the demo after the jump.) (Also also, isn’t is strangely convenient that those last three links all happen to be stuff that I designed as well… unintentional, believe it or not) (Also^3, that’s my beautiful, giggling, cake-top bride—suzie—in the adidas slip-on’s.)
02 August 2009
I’ve been working with Aveda for over three years now, starting as an intern back in New York in ‘06 and continuing as a steady freelancer ever since. They’re a really great company—both from a business model and the integrity it entails to the people they employ—and I’ve really enjoyed my relationship with them. Every once in a while I get to work on something to help develop their visual identity, rather than simply follow guidelines and I think that’s quite a bit of fun. Recenty they asked me to create a video player page for them that I thought turned out pretty well. Here’s a screenshot of what it should look like once it goes live.
22 June 2009
Every few months I get the opportunity to work with Jon Canlas and I’ve just begun to work on his upcoming website refresh for his 4th version of “Film is Not Dead” which he’s hosting this time in Park City, Utah. He’s officially announcing it today, but if you’d like a coveted seat at his workshop, act fast! Word on the street is that there is (already) very few seats remaining.
So Jon’s a good friend and, at times, I must confess that due to overexposure, perhaps, I get somewhat numbed to the greatness of his work. That’s why I appreciate these projects so much—it gives me yet another chance to dive into his work with refreshed eyes. Last night I spent probably almost an hour looking at a selection of his most recent work and was reminded how incredibly talented he is. And it made me think: if one is going to go through the trouble of meticulously planning the most perfect and gorgeous wedding (not everyone’s into that, but for those who are…), that they would just be insane not to hire someone of Jon’s caliber to document and tell the story of that perfect day. When we were working on his new brand last year, we really got into why he does what he does and the magic of photography in preserving those really important memories. Wedding days are crazy and—after months of planning—fly by once The Day arrives… it’s priceless to be able to go back and relive that day a bit more patiently and indulge in the details and the moments that were all a blur at the time.
Anyways, I’ve probably babbled enough. I’m going to post some of my new favorites pieces of his before and after the jump. Enjoy.
08 June 2009
It’s a bit awkward to photograph a pair of 7′ tall banners in a bland office space and make them look really good, but here they are anyways. I designed these for a convention table backdrop at work a couple weeks ago. Once again, ther was limited timeline (was it one day or two?) and budget—which I’ve come to learn means that I get to do the illustrating. I’ll continue to display and discuss some of the inside|sales rebrand on here, but for now I’ll just note the strong Constructivist overtones used to help convey the notion of a revolution. The visual concept was to blend that with a software-esque design aesthetic… Didn’t nail it, but I think we came to something decent for the time being. And until we do nail it, I think it’s kind of an exciting and fun creative challenge.
31 May 2009
The company I work at was a key sponsor of Saturday’s “Glenn Beck at the Capitol” fund raising gala in SLC. Thursday night, my boss called to tell me that they (the coordinators) granted us permission to play a quick little video at the event—something none of the other sponsors received, so it was a pretty big deal. Problem was: we had no such video to show.
So Friday morning at 7:30, my boss, Dave, Joe (from Children Kids), and myself met up and ran over ground rules and a few basic concepts. By about 8:30, we knew we needed our stand-by musician extraordinaire, Micah (of Typophile and Children Kids fame… to name but a few) in order to pull anything even remotely ok off. He was there within the hour and we got down to business. With some help from Ashley Mackay (also of Typophile fame) and a few rolls of sushi from Demae here in Provo, we completed the piece from conception to final render in one day—done by 2:30 am.
Now, I know it’s not the world’s most perfect piece, but I think there’s some good foundational work in there. And, honestly, I’m pretty impressed with us for getting it done—period. Especially since I haven’t used After Effects since said Typophile fame…
31 May 2009
Over the past few weeks, we’ve finally begun to see some of the new branding come to life. These cards, I think, are one of my favorites so far. I love the simplicity of the design because it gets out of the way of the receiver’s experience with the card. Business cards are a tactile experience and these are great to hold—the two kinds of paper, the letter press print, the stiff sturdiness of card… even the audible tone—a hefty smack—with which they land on a desk is really enjoyable.
They’re constructed of a sheet of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White and a French Speckltone Black sheet glued together, with black ink on the front and silver on the back (finally got to try this out… worked perfectly). Beautiful print work—as always—by Bryce at Bjorn Press.
A couple of guys from work took them to a convention back in Boston last week and amidst the various bright, big, and bold design that we did, feedback was that these cards made the most impact. I love that.
05 May 2009
Today at work I got an assignment to design an “ad” (no conceptual directions, copy, or liscenced images to work with) and it needed to be done in a couple hours, max. I spewed out like 10 different directions and ended up refining this one for submission. Hopefully I’ll get a picture of the print soon.