One of the handful of projects that has kept me occupied over the latter half of summer has been a logo design for my good friend's local start-up venture. This assignment simmered slowly and comfortably over much of the summer, and followed a fairly uneventful and standard process for logo development until one fateful night, when it was turned on its ear by a dream. More on that later.
The company – currently being crafted by recent PrairieView School of Photography grad Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk – is Hodgepodge Creative (site under work, but be sure to check the blog), a one-woman wrecking crew of skills ranging from professional photography to creative and journalistic writing to audio/video production.
The trick then for her logo-designer-in-arms, as per her wishes, was to express this wide-ranging skills set within a single, strong – and simple – all-encompassing visual. And following an initial coffee-house meetup to discuss and peruse her then brand-new portfolio, I sent her on an expedition to gather together visuals that shared common traits with what she had in mind for her own business (not a standard procedure, but between friends one can do this).
Sarah came through in spades; she is a great client (Sarah, if you're reading this, you are a great client). She had a strong built-in sense of what she wanted in terms of look/feel, colour schemes and general aesthetics. And I'm a huge fan of not having to mind-read. Who is?
From her Big List of Inspiring Visuals, I was able to confidently go about building a few options, then submit them for further discussion and refinement. Two concepts (above) played largely on her zeal for the outdoors and knack for nature photography, and utilized compatible tones as such. A third (below) took on a more abstract/typographic form. All were received well and good, and constructive feedback was lent.
“The word ‘hodgepodge’ makes me think of a pig,” Kerry said to me around this point (I’m paraphrasing). “You should do one with a pig.”
And that night, I dreamed of a logo concept – with a pig. The next day, I set to work.
After time, the concept – that of a creative beast of many talents – eventually came to fruition (above). Much tweaking and haranguing was involved, particularly in how the three equal elements would join and/or overlap. It was important that no one element overshadow the other two, and yet a single, blended shape was not achieving the desired outcome. I finally came about with offshoots of red, green and blue – representative of the colour model used in displaying images electronically.
I felt it imperative Sarah remain integral in the development of the final result (below). Throughout the process I included her input on style, colour and typographic decision-making, which eventually resulted in a last handful of tweaks; dropping the bold – yet perhaps overly-industrial – typeface for an earthier, friendlier one, and an automnal colour palette more in tune with her company's character and focus of her work.
I thought I'd take a break from the grid format to tell the tale of our Saturday just past. It was a glorious day out, so we took off to the Whiteshell for a hike.
The summer's been wet; a near write-off – but apparently excellent for mushrooms. First I saw this high school fire alarm bell jobbie. I wanted to pull it to get out of gym class.
I got a little closer, to view these fan-fugu-tastic spiky Viva Puffs.
And then I shelved my discomfort of fungi altogether for this giant, super gills-flipped-inside-out number.
Our lunch spot we shared with this chipmunk. In rapid succession it shunned my offerings of carrot, a grape, and then a smaller, more chipmunk-suitable grape.
On our return, we took turns on this made-for-dozing tree. It was much more suited to the contours of my back, despite how at peace Kerry seems here.
Over a fire that evening, I grilled some corn cobs and smoked-gouda-topped portobellos. These were inserted into buns – with tomatoes, basil and lettuce from our garden – and chased with s'mores.
This doodle represents my personal take on Illustration Friday's current theme of magnify, as well as a sneak peek of another stress-free artistic venture I took on to see me through the fading days of summer. Loosely drawn first in pencil, these birdies were afforded the quickest-of-quick rose red watercolour washes before being inked with .01-nib and calligraphic pens. I'm not sure what all else to add – except I have a lot of material piled up and ready to display in the near future. Please stand by.
It's been a teensy-weensy while since I've posted, and realize it may be some time coming as well. I've recently been the recipient of a wadge of fun and enjoyable freelance and pro bono work/assignments – ranging from illustration to logo design to photography – and need to direct my efforts as such. Some of it I'll be showing off in the weeks and months to come, no doubt, but for the time being Jeopopolis must resort to keeping the back seat warm.Stay classy. In the meantime, here's a photo to melt hearts; when my four-year-old niece in her pink summer dress snuck up barefoot on a lazing rabbit at the magic hour for photographers – well, I thanked High Holy Bacon.See you in September.
Illustration Friday's theme of modify had me scouring my photo vault, then interpreting in a purely technical manner. So bear with me here, if you think I'm off my rocker. Firstly, the quick sketch above, drawn with a fast-fading black brush pen – my new best friend – is of Kerry's brother-in-law and his mega-awesome hat. In Photoshop, I frittered away at the drawing's edges, particularly along the bottom, and performed some minor tweaks to a few detail areas where the brush pen was overly blunt.Where Illustration Friday's theme enters the picture is in choice of colour scheme and setting. The original photo (shown below), was snapped on a cloudy and blustery day on a northern Manitoba lake, from a boat halted at a barren, wretched colony of nesting gulls. The modified illustration instead inserts our hero into a far warmer climate. And there you have it.
This was the scene – according to the eggheads at Environment Canada – awaiting our six-day jet-away to the jungles of southern Ontario last week. My geographically-challenged family unit pitched in together for a lakeside cabin rental in Port Elgin, a resort-and-cottage town on the shores of Lake Huron that I know well from my childhood. And fortunately, the federal government does weather prediction about as well as [fill in the blank].
Rainy overnights and mornings were more the case, but afternoons and evenings were by and large, glorious, and even included a solid sunny day from open to close mixed in. This laid the groundwork for a classic stuffed-to-the-rafters cabin experience, including much wine, six-ton brownies, barbeque, bocce, beers, badminton, biking, Big Bay homemade ice cream and a run-amok midnight bat in the living room.
It was a grand time, to be schooled in bocce by my almost-five-year-old niece, and to giggle with my nephew, a 15-month-old ball of giddiness. To munch on fresh fish and veggies still weeks away from harvest back at home. To hear cheer-uppy cardinals at dawn and see egrets in the marsh, and to escape one of the coldest summers on record at home to be with people I love and a place in the world I will always have fond memories for.
Another piece of prodigious May Day output, this was my May 19 sketch – originally drawn with a couple of fine-nib pens, brush pen and light grey marker – of my nephew at two months old. Source material was from a photo shoot I had with him during a visit east last summer; also my last time seeing the chap – fortunately though we have a long-overdue second date coming up next week.A closer look can be had, here.
Top row (left to right): Iron & Wine, Okkervil River, Patrick Watson. Middle row (left to right): Great Lake Swimmers, Josh Ritter, Neko Case. Bottom row (left to right): Hey Rosetta!, Serena Ryder, Elvis Costello."Alright Winnipeg, check this sh*t out" – Afie Jurvanen (aka Bahamas) This year's Winnipeg Folk Festival was spectacular, for me, on many levels. But principally two: talent and weather. The latter goes without explanation; for myself, a lousy forecast can dampen even the best show – fortunately I can't think of too many examples where this has happened. So, lucky me. But the crew behind the scenes, who patch this whole thing together, put forth an incredible lineup for 2009 – in my humble opinion, the best ever. Frankly, somebody there must have read my mind. Some notes from this year's festival: The continuation of a second night-time stage has been a huge blessing, and this year's was, by leaps and bounds, the best. Between the only scheduled showing by late addition Hey Rosetta! On Friday, a quick pop-in for a screening of The Big Snit on Saturday and back-to-back concerts on Sunday from Patrick Watson and Great Lake Swimmers, the old guard can have their main stage. Patrick Watson (the man) and Patrick Watson (the band) were lights-out. I hadn't seen them before, and had no clue how they'd manage to put across live what they do on their albums (having a most daring percussionist doesn't hurt). I only wished I'd waded in closer to see his homemade mobile soundsystem, which I could only describe as a backpack/coat-rack of megaphones. Their Sunday workshop with Danny Barnes, human beat-box C.R. Avery and klezmer-rapper Socalled was quite fine in its own right. A ton of improvised fun, anyways. The Great Lake Swimmers put in an appearance or ten, or so it felt, holding their own against Josh Ritter and Neko Case (Saturday afternoon), and the bombastic Okkervil River (Sunday). Arguably the hardest-working band of the festival, they capped off the weekend with a rousing version of "I Am Part Of A Large Family" with Serena Ryder, complete with a rose-red sunset. These sideshows almost make me forget my personal highlights of the evening main stage, the specially-added Wednesday marathon from Elvis Costello, the all-eggs-in-one-basket Friday night, capped by Iron & Wine and my lady crush Case (led off with the happiest man in the business, my man-crush Mr. Ritter) and a Saturday bash with the 11-piece British party band Bellowhead – complete with tuba solo.
I had a great time with my camera this year, shoehorning my way up close for some of the daytime shows. Bigger, crisper looks at any of these photos can be had here.
This is the 200th artistic/creative diversion I've given myself since I began this blog at the outset of 2005. I am not one who tends to toot one's own horn, but right about now I am finding this pretty f**king amazing.This is another entry from my May Day drawing series; my May 18th contribution to be precise (I'm telling you, this is one self-started drawing challenge that continues to pay out). A brush pen portrait of my niece, based on a photo I took during a Thanksgiving 2007 visit to my sister's in Nova Scotia, this was dressed up not for Illustration Friday or any other themed assignment. It was done – as athletes sometimes say – simply for the love of the game.A closer look can be had, here.
Top row (left to right): adding machine of the beast in Ponemah; Sarah the roadside camel in Glenboro. Middle row (left to right): Kerry styles at the Souris agate pit; explosive words in the Souris caboose. Bottom row (left to right): daisies, yo; Kerry, on the bridge.-----
Kerry and I celebrated an odd Canada Day Wednesday off by seeing a bit of the countryside and jet-setting off to Souris, Manitoba. For those outside certain local circles, the town of Souris (population 1,683) is home to the country's longest cable-stayed footbridge, which spans the Souris River at a length of 177 metres (584 feet). Souris is less-known as the hometown of a former coworker of mine, who claims to have punched fomer Philadelphia Flyers' goalie Ron Hextall – who hailed from up the road – in the nose during a childhood hockey game. But I digress.With local scribe Bartley Kives' tome A Daytripper's Guide to Manitoba, we hit the highway west to see this village first-hand, for the first time. The book came in handy, guiding us through some backwoods directions to find a farm-based reptile exhibit in nearby Shilo. That was cool in its own right; certainly not something one would expect to see on the bald prairie. If you can find it, I'd say it's worth the $5 admission.In Souris proper, we ate lunch, strolled through the town park and chased the town peacocks. We explored a caboose-turned-museum. Walked the planks of the famous bridge (Kerry noted the shake makes it feel as if you're walking "like a Sweathog"). Rockhounded our heat-stricken butts off at the local agate pit. And then headed home – via Glenboro and its giant roadside camel – to a 9:00 dinner at Headingley's traveler haven Nick's Inn (bacon cheeseburger and fries for this hombre, but sadly out of milkshake). Following, we were so pooped we couldn't stay up for fireworks; instead, we heard them boom as we fell asleep in our bed.
