This is the first project that I worked on with Laura Kammermeier of Honeoye Falls business, Birds, Words and Websites. Mydarndest was contracted to consult, design and program a new website for Seneca White Deer, Inc. This site includes lots of content developed by Laura about the White Deer and the Seneca Army Depot. On this side of the project, we worked out developing a donation and membership system using Cforms plugin. Including the use of the plugins auto-replies to help with the process. It also includes the ability of making online purchases using WP e-Commerce Plug-in. The core structure of the web site was created using the Thesis theme per request of client.

The project is a solid use of WordPress and its available plug-ins to help this small non-profit. We can report that within 4 hours of launching the web site there were 2 requests for membership!

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One accomplishment during my term as president of AIGA Upstate New York was to re-establish new methods of communication using the internet. Along with Debi Bower, Web Chair, I designed and assisted with the re-skinning the web site. The back-end of the site is provided by AIGA and each chapter has the ability to change it to appropriately brand it to their chapter.
One important addition to the web site is the rotating banners showcasing work from our members. It is inspired by the AIGA.ORG web site which includes images from the AIGA Archives.

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I am not claiming to be a videographer, just a guy who likes to make stuff. This time it was a video for the Good Food Collective to kick off the 2010 Growing Season. Thanks to Chris and Brian for being good sports and contributing to my playfulness.

In the past, we have been using a logo created for the St. Louis Old School Tattoo Convention. It is a great event created for the Old School Tattoo community and Lyle Tuttle. It also had a star. Not the navigation star that you would associate with old school ink.

I proposed going “old school” with a Sailor Jerry style image. Something sexy and something coffee. I was able to locate a book of drawings for tattoo artists. It is not “Flash” but sketches. Making the work open for interpretation. The women I chose was holding up her dress, as if she was carrying something in the front. Instantly, I thought, coffee beans! Composing the image with pencil and paper, then scanning it in, I shared it with Matt Herren for his approval. “F*ck Ya, man. Let’s do it!” he said with great enthusiasm.

One thing that my skills lack is coloring tattoos. It really needed to be colored in by someone who works in the medium. Matt forward the drawing to Carrie at Evermore Tattoo in Edwardsville. She did a great job interpreting the drawing into color. Something that I was not thinking about was ethnicity. The result was a beautiful Latina.

I took the new artwork and finessed the lips and eyes. Giving her the come hither and buy this coffee look.

End result looks great. Our next step will be creating posters and t-shirts to promote this blend. Labels are at the printers and should be on the shelves by mid-February. Order now!
BUY OLD SCHOOL TATTOO BLEND

It is said that you need to create a “niche” market for your business, something that I do a lot of and enjoy every minute of it is creating web site portfolios for artists. I have a great network of artist friends, most of these are glass artists. Since I am married to one, the ability to have access to them is easy, they are all top notch people and the work they make is absolutely brilliant.

This time I was able to work with world renowned glass casting artist, Anna Boothe. Anna came to me for some updates on a static web site that was cumbersome to edit. I proposed to her a solution that would allow her to update her own imagery, resume and news. That sold her on the idea to graduate to the next level of web technology to improve her self marketing and ability to keep her fans informed of new work and upcoming casting workshops.  It was a great joy working with Anna. Next, we have to get a site for her husband Steve!

We were able to solve the functional problems of the previous web site and keep within her budget by capitalizing on previous experience building these types of web sites using WordPress. This theme is a custom WordPress theme that allows a unique design for this project.

This site is a composite of technologies. The core of it is a WordPress CMS that allows editing to much of the content on the web site. There is a little bit of Adobe Flash to create simple transitions in the banners. The photo galleries are created with the wordpress plug-in: NextGen Gallery in the CMS. The images appear as “pop-ups” from the gallery that include a slideshow from a technology called “Lightview” using the Lightview Plus Plug-in.

The other thing that was mentioned for future additions to the web site would be ability to add an eCommerce section. WordPress will provide us with the opportunity to do this quite easily. It will be added with WP e-Commerce plugin.

If you are an artist and would like to build a web site that you can manage, contact me!

>>View Anna Boothe Web Site

Here are a few pictures from our first day in Venice.

There are times when you have a pile of “rejects” from the client. This poster represents an idea that has grown out of numerous “rejects”. A few of the original designs,  I thought were pretty darn awesome. Others, not so hot. This was the last idea sent along that have not received approval or rejection. With great excitement to get away from the computer and get my hands dirty. I took my Saturday and ventured to the basement to experiment. The goal for me was to visualize how overprinting with different colors of silk-screen ink looks on chipboard and 110# card stock.

So, Shindell. Scott should be receiving a package in the mail soon. Now, you have some posters for what some call: “Shits and Giggles”. Enjoy!

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Ever since I built the silk-screen press in my basement, I have been itching to create 1 and 2 color posters for Matt at Goshen Coffee Company. The first of these designs is a 2 color 11×17 on chipboard. Laying down the white first and making it have some rough edges. Then putting the a crisp black typographic layer over top. Limited edition of 25. Looking forward to printing more of these in the near future. Watch out St. Louis. These will be keepers!

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It is always nice to work with an artist who is interested in keeping it simple and letting there work shine. The work of Drew Smith is a smart combination of glass, metal and whatever else he finds appropriate to complete his pieces.

Even on a low budget, WILLY BE GOOD uses available technology that will assist in establishing a rapid web presence and allow the artist to communicate with his visitors through news updates. The site is HTML/CSS with a WordPress CMS.

I love keeping it simple.

http://www.willybegood.com

We are a tribe of creatives that have let go of the last century and it’s techniques, seemingly never to return to the physical realm, let alone to labor-intensive processes that once were best practices of our industry. We do things differently now; a lot differently. The industry is not changing; it has changed. As Graphic Designers, we depend on those glowing boxes with plastic keyboards that we perch in front of day in and day out. Computers are filled with things we cannot touch that are strangely referred to as “Software”. If it were not for this technology, we would not be able to create so freely or so quickly. There is still no other way, however, to produce rich and subtle tactile qualities without traditional techniques such as letterpress. I do look forward to the day, though, that my digital printer can emboss letters into paper.

You have come out tonight to celebrate this new design resource, not only for those in Rochester, but for all of us in the Upstate of New York. The magic of a letterpress has brought out a community of like-minded individuals. Yes, you are part of this community. This is something the members of AIGA Upstate New York are actively encouraging; an Upstate New York Design community.

There is a lack of communication among design professionals in upstate New York, which has lead to a weak community. We need to realize that the path to improving this situation does not involve competition or provincialism. It is not about pitting Rochester against Syracuse, or Buffalo against Albany. We need to open up our networks and start sharing our knowledge and experiences more.

There is an abundance of talented creatives across this state; they do not all live and work in New York City! These individuals and agencies are doing great design in their many far-flung locations; but often it goes unrecognized by the wider design community. Our organization, AIGA, is committed to championing accomplishments of our members and other design professionals in the Upstate New York Design Community. AIGA is “THE” professional organization for designers. We are your peers.

You are all welcome to join the other 22,000 AIGA members and expand your networks beyond local circles. Looking for reasons why you should become an AIGA member? Check out the project becauseofaiga.com, where you can see over 150 stories from individuals who believe in our organization.