Logo finalized

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPIKE TV - Branding work

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SPIKE TV - Swimsuit Specials

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

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

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