They never do...

Why are you starting this blog again? Why? Where's the logic? Do you even have time to blog? Yeah. Turns out, I do. It's not a question of having time, but more a process of finding time. It's important. I feel like I used to think. I used to write. I used to blog at the same time as being totally swamped with projects. The weren't always work for hire. Sometimes, I just made myself crazy with my own stuff. Honestly, I was happier and more creative. I read my old posts and actually like this guy. So yeah. There's no real destination here. There's no final goal. There's no Bigfoot at the end of this episode. But I still want to wander around in the woods for a little while...

Gorilla Face Test for Animation

A new logo

Posting a new logo.

Make me believe that you believe...

I keep running into this poster around my hometown.

It's promotion for a 4 part stand-up comedy series held by the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena. I absolutely admire the fact that they are trying to make this event happen. It's great for the community to have events like this going on, but something is really wrong with this poster (and the other printed materials promoting this event). This poster is not good. It really just looks thrown together. A huge part of promoting an event (from a design standpoint) is making people believe you actually care about your own event! This poster does NOTHING to convince me that the designer (and the venue) care about making this event successful. If you are having a Garage Sale or you are looking for a lost pet, just about any flyer/poster design is fine. But if you expect the public in general to take you seriously, you need to seriously consider hiring an artist or designer to give your promotional pieces a good look! Just for laughs, I threw together another poster using many of the same elements and info, to give you an idea of what it could look like...

Jamestown Community College (JCC) Rolls Out NEW Logos

Jamestown Community College has recently gone through a "rebranding" with new logos for the college itself, and for the sports teams on the Jamestown and Olean campuses. For the most part the new logos are successful, but what is it about the Olean Jaguar that they just can't grasp? For many years, the blue, black and white logo for the jaguars was the hideous sock puppet shown in the image. Although the new jaguar is an improvement from the old design, I can't help but feel they still missed the mark again. The silhouette of the new logo isn't remotely cat-like. The snout on the mascot is too long and narrow like a canine or hyena. It's expression is a little vague too. I threw together a quick jaguar with the same general logo treatment, just to compare. With a little more time and effort, I would simplify the spots and details to make it less illustration and more graphic. What happened? It's hard to say, but I have found that sometimes graphic designers get caught in the stylization of logos and lose those aspects of the image that communicate its identity. The reverse is true sometimes too. Illustrators can get caught up in the details of an image and lose their way to a truly good logo. Somewhere between the two extremes is a great logo, but the new JCC Olean Jaguar just isn't great.

I Don't Love You Too - 10,000 Maniacs

The Last Few Strokes...

So here we are, almost October and almost finished with the "California, Here We Come" mural. It is big.

With two more outdoor mural projects this season, it will be a race with the weather to the finish line. Stay tuned...