Brand Royal

GIRL SCOUT DROPOUT

2011-09-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

This past week was the illustrious launch of girlscoutdropout.com. An exciting project pinnacle to reach - especially when collaborating with such lighthearted and visionary folks. Sandi Amorello of irreverentwidow.com was the original brainchild for the project. She was inspired to develop this with a combination of her artistic and creative vision coupled with all the positive feedback she got from colleagues when mentioning the idea. Once again, I had the pleasure to work directly with Chris Kast of The Brand Company fame - an immensely talented individual who is an essential lubricant to the gears of creation and ideation. Nathan Hankla breathed life to the website by taking our core design and creating simple functionality. We brought our collective skill sets together to create the entire breadth of material needed, which included original brand/logo development, branded premiums, product and attire, print collateral and corporate identity design as well as the complete website development and social media presence. It was a colossally scaled, yet extremely fun and rewarding experience that we all had the pleasure to share right from the beginning.

I'm also very happy to see the launch even got us some press. That's us in the photo with PR expert Angie Helton. All of us are looking forward to seeing this great, fun, celebratory idea get some traction and spread like kudzu to all dropout's everywhere.

A Coronation (evolution)

2011-08-24T07:47:00.000-07:00

To be very brief, my friend Josh made a fantastic suggestion when he saw my skull/Brand Royal logo. I took his suggestion, and couldn't be more psyched. I love watching a brand evolve before my eyes. In fact, I'm seriously considering a limited run t shirt.

NICE TO SEE WORK IN ACTION

2011-08-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

A couple month's ago, A friend Leigh asked if I'd be able to do a logo design for team t shirts she needed for this year's Great Adventure Challenge at Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton Maine. She gave me the the two teams' names - 'No Nuts, Just Guts, and No Guts, Just Nuts' which IMMEDIATELY got the ol' idea machine rolling. In the image above you'll See the final results. The ladies, as always showed an impressive performance in a tough race. Extra shout out to my wife Amy who has had an amazing season of triathalons and the like. I couldn't be prouder of her. I'm also really glad I got to contribute a little additional style to an already exquisite looking group of ladies.
Below are the 2 selected logos before the final choice was made.

Finally, an ad

2011-07-26T11:21:00.001-07:00

I've always heard landscapers often neglect their own lawns. I understand this now having been in business full time for almost 3 years without creating a Brand Royal ad for print. Thanks to my collaboration with Rachel Flehinger and the Portland Improv Festival, I'd say the drought is finally over.

DEFENDERS of the FUNNY

2011-06-15T17:54:00.001-07:00

Got a chance to develop a logo for our hatchling improv group. The group chose this one (with a close 2nd to be posted soon) Love the juxtaposition of the peaceful buddha with a samurai sword, laughing in flowers. #Paradox anyone? Many thanks to Rachel Flehinger who helped bring our name and entity across the finish line. Looking forward to some good performance opportunities in the coming months. Stay tuned. Oh yeah, here's the grayscale version...

Successful Thinkers Overview

2011-04-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

Over the past year, As an advisory board member with Successful Thinkers I had theopprtunity to design all the event flyers. Below is a selection of what I haven't already posted before and are self-explanatory. As always, a great opportunity to just let the creativity flow.

Successful Thinkers Event at the Maine Military Museum

2010-10-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Another poster/graphic that we created for the next Successful Thinkers event. Since it was military themed scouring through old historical "Buy War Bonds" posters was essential for inspiration. If you're familiar with my other blogs, you'll understand the enthusiasm for military themes.

Last Day on Sebago Lake

2010-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Mike called me out of the blue to come spend the day on Sebago lake so he could flush out his boat before winterizing, and for peak fall foliage camaraderie. I couldn't pass up a chance to not only spend some fresh air-off-keyboard time, but also the chance to get some great fall pics before the leaves drop. OK, sure, I used 'Hipstamatic' for iphone, by I say it still takes a decent eye to catch a REALLY good shot. Hope you enjoy.

Successful Thinkers Flyer

2010-09-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

I was quite happy with the way this came out. I found a decent vintage racing image and pretty much stripped everything out of it except for the car, background and silhouettes. Everything else needed to be squeezed in a somewhat unique shaped space. Should be a fun event.

NEW BUMPER STICKER

2010-04-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

I figure this is as good a place as any to start keeping score of the little visual creative tidbits that happen now and again. This was an IM conversation between Bob B & myself just this morning. Thanks for noting it's bumperstickability Bob. :)

A HUMBLE THANK YOU

2010-03-27T10:54:00.000-07:00

To all the copywriters, creative directors, and co conspirators I have worked with over the years, I am thankful to have had to opportunity to work with you. In no particular order: Scott Rosenblit, Rob Travalino, John Huggins, Steve Anacker, Scott Sorokin, Eddie Hahn, Pam Shecter, Frank Izzo, Elisa Patuto, Geoff MacDonald, Rose Zivic, Bob Salazar, Ben Lippell, Doug Fallon, more more more will update when i continue recollecting.

FOUND ARTicles

2010-03-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

I was looking through a couple of old sketchbooks the other day and found a few interesting items.
I threw the pages on the scanner and now I'm sharing them with you.

I had/have a bit of an obsession with tikis.
So much so it even infiltrated client work with Ocean Spray. Man, how I wish they went with this. I always saw it as a lush realistic rainforest rendering with all the appropriate mossy overgrowth. (this is another obsession that has made into some of my art in college)

i also like doing pen and ink work on location. architecture seems to be where i liked to focus in these books. Friends will recognize 6A in the east village (circa 1987)

Others might remember Last Oak, Kismet, Fire Island.

Or our first house, 1 Oak Place.

This one here is sketched from a beach in the adirondacks about 8 years ago.

This was from a photograph of a sculpture by the Polish Artist Stanislav Szukalski.

This lil fella was standing guard in a coffee shop in Amsterdam circa 1992

Couple of thumbnail gouache/watercolor sketches. Gas pump was in Cape May NJ circa 1988.

Logo finalized

2010-02-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

After a decent stretch of time and a couple direction changes, I can happily say thet we have completed the development of M Imports' logo. M Imports specializes in wines from Argentina and several other South American sources. The goal was to make it identifiable as a wine co, but to not overdo the wine related imagery to the point it distracts from the name. I think we landed in a good place.

The Jack Grace Band

2010-01-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

What can I say about a close friend, compatriot, confidant and inspiration for well into 20+ years? Well, to start, he and I just completed the packaging design for his 6th album. Everything from CD art, to T shirts to stickers. Maybe the fact that I, as a designer, and also enthusiastic fan, have been repeatedly blessed with the opportunity to provide graphic design to help express and promote a great musician throughout his entire solo career. The opportunity that the plethora of these projects provided, beyond designer's indulgence, was an experience of creative spontaneity at its most hilarious and kinetic state. I have always enjoyed the multi-faceted collaborations Jack and I have had through the years, and as always, look forward to more. I will be posting other elements of the work Brand Royal has done for Jack Grace in the coming days in celebration of a long and winding road of collaboration.

Pecha Kucha Diorama Presentation

2009-10-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

I got to do a really fun thing recently. I got to present to a room full of very talented people in Portland, and describe my dirty little secret. It's a hobby actually. Plastic models. Moreover - dioramas. I even created a blog for them

Diorama Getaway.

even though I haven't worked on one in about 6 years. The theme for the evening was apresentation format called Pecha Kucha. Basically you have 20 slides, 20 seconds each (total 6min 40sec) to communicate something. anything. an idea, a talent, a message. whatever is worth sharing to a room full of your peers.

I was into dioramas ever since, when I was about 12 years old, I got Monogram's B-17 Bomber. Inside was not only hundreds of tiny pieces, decals, figures and the instruction book, but also a fantastic full color booklet of the famous Sheperd Paine's Diorama of that kit.

photos here.

Ever since those days, I've been fascinated by realistically creating miniature realities.
I even took it so far as to spend most of my career in advertising. another 'alternate reality' in and of itself.
Anyway, it was a great night. I encourage you to check out the other presenters' slide shows in the sidebar.
Each contribution was a valuable patch in the quilt that was that evening. Wait, did I just type that?

Pecha Kucha Presentation.

the joys of not owning your domain

2009-10-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Alas, in my attempt to get a hold of my business' url name for my pending website,
I get to enjoy sending a printed/handwritten letter which will supposedly be handed along to the actual owner of the domain to see if he/she so chooses to contact me in response. #domainfail

RESTART

2009-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, I know it's literally been a couple years since I gave this blog some love, so now it's time to get back into it. In a couple weeks, I'll be launching Brand Royal's website with much ballyhoo. I'm hoping to keep this blog updated with all sorts of cool design inspiration and innovative communication trends and techniques.

IT'S OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED

2006-04-04T15:09:00.000-07:00

Just go ahead and click the pictures to see a higher res version of the ads.

SPIKE TV - Branding work

2006-04-03T10:42:00.000-07:00

A whole lot of work went into trying to nail just who the Spike viewer is. The notion that it was Maxim on-air was a bit too narrow to maximize ad dollars, so the search for a more broad audience commenced. All the while, in the creative department, daily inspiration was being put together in the hopes that something would click. These following images are some of the ones that didn't make the cut. I thought they should still be shared to at least shed light on the logic.

THE VISION, THE PITCH, THE FINAL PRODUCT

2006-04-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

The assignment was to pitch the 3DO business by showing what could be done for their flagship game title: "Army Men". Vintage WW2 posters were the inspiration and gave me an excellent vehicle to differentiate the game within the stylized context yet stand out among all the other crowded, high tech looking game advertising.

These were the pieces that were completed for the pitch.We ended up winning the business and this is what got produced and ran.

SPIKE TV - Trade Ads

2006-04-03T10:36:00.000-07:00

Spike affiliates always had a variety of initiatives brewing.This i a selection of some of the creative that ran in trade publications such as AdAge, BrandWeek, MediaWeek, et. al.

Man, I WISH they ran this one. We were VERY close.

Slim Jim

2006-04-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

Back when Goodmark Foods was the parent company of Slim Jim, I had the chance to work on their creative. These were some comps of an idea that would shine a light on the whole idea that there REALLY was meat in the product.

Briggs & Riley Luggage

2006-04-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Had a fantastic opportunity to do an exploratory for some POS signage. These ultimately ended up working as an ad as much as point of sale.

SPIKE TV - Pros Vs Joes

2006-04-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

This was a thrilling assignment because I got to meet and shoot with all the celebs in this first season's show. Jerry Rice, Dennis Rodman, Jim McMahon to name but a few.

TOSHIBA - Partner Promotion

2006-04-03T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hollywood Video partnering with Toshiba for free video rental with purchase of DVD player.

SPIKE TV - Swimsuit Specials

2006-04-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Call it a perk. Call it a burden. Every year Spike would air The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Special. Even though it was preching to the choir promoting this show to Spike fans, it still gave us a good opportunity to have some fun.

Bata Shoe Co. - Power Skate Shoes

2006-04-03T10:18:00.000-07:00

These were an exploratory to announce the Launch of Bata's foray into the 'Skate Shoe' arena. The point of difference was the research done to make a better performing shoe.

SPIKE TV - Individual programs/specials

2006-04-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

A variety of tune in advertising for tentpole events and one off specials.

TOSHIBA- LCD Projectors

2006-04-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

These ran in marketing trade publications. At the time of their release they were the brightest portable LCD projectors available - hence the 'lumens' references.

Bata Shoes - X18 Reykjavik

2006-04-03T10:10:00.000-07:00

Some lighthearted ads announcing the availability of a hot new shoe line from iceland.

MORETTI BEER

2006-04-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

This ad was created in 1994 while working at Northcastle/Rotando Partners In Stamford CT.
This was out there long before the Art Deco poster trend we are currently seeing.