Roam Buffalo

Leftover Mixes: the cassette tape art history project

2012-01-26T09:46:00.003-05:00

See my new project: http://www.leftovermixes.com

Hold The Line

2011-06-03T08:03:00.000-05:00

The Blog has been slacking, I know, I know.... With the trip to NOLA for the AIA Convention and the never ending pile of work, it has been tough to get back to it. So until I can around to some postings, check out the OtherWisz Creative Facebook page for frequent snippets. We like you, we really do...

Cheescake

2011-04-14T11:25:00.000-05:00

The current e-newsletter put out by Graphic Design USA magazine features another OtherWisz Creative designed project- the Sweet Marie's logo we designed for Culinary Art's Specialties in Buffalo, NY. We are honored to get the recognition again from this fine design publication! The logo was designed as a new brand for frozen desserts that will be available in the frozen food sections of major grocery stores in the US.

This logo designed by our team last Summer. The process included helping the client select a name for the new line of products. Following the success of the Arthur Paul's frozen cheesecake brand we created a few years back, we again tried to find a name that was part of the family history of the company. Arthur Paul was the founder, and the new brand is based on one of the current owner's grandchildren, Marie.

This logo has a lightness and familiarity to it that projects an innocent sweetness to the dessert; matched with an equally pleasing color scheme, it is sure to stand out with consumers. The Spring color palette is complemented with a flower sitting in for the dot on the 'i' and it's lose petal as the apostrophe. The fonts include Didot and the playful ITC Veljovic.

Here is what Graphic Design USA had to say:

"SWEET STORY-- OtherWisz Creative provided naming and identity strategies for this new brand of frozen dessert. The client is Culinary Arts Specialties and Marie is a grand daughter of one of the owners. Mark and Jill Wisz head the Buffalo NY studio."

The enewsletter can be found on their website: http://www.gdusa.com/egdusa/2011/0412e/msg.html

Mirror People (Slow Version)

2011-04-11T22:56:00.012-05:00

Confessions of a Graphic Artist, Part 87 -- 1992-93: Traditional Graphic Arts And The Computer Live Together In Sin

My first corporate packaging project also included my first published, corporate illustration. While working for Steve James Design, a small Buffalo agency back in the Fall of 1992, I had the pleasure to construct the final artwork for some Tops supermarket products that would eventually end up on the store shelves. Steve, my boss, had designed the packages and I had to build them. It was 'construction' for sure, as it involved ink on boards, black and white stats and layers of cut rubylith. So when I recently ran across this almost 20-year old Tops Tea Bags 48-count flattened box in the flat file, I felt it was a good example of the wilderness years of graphic design when traditional cut-and-paste design transitioned to computers become the 'tool of choice' in this field.

Now by the early '90s I did have some package designing under my belt -- a CD jewel case for local rockstars Scott Carpenter and The Real McCoys, a Scinta's! VHS box, plus a few cassette cases -- but this was the first time I had worked on something that would be seen by thousands of people a day, especially people who were out buying some generic tea. It was exciting, it was my first advertising agency job and I wanted the Tops Tea Bags box to be great! I had worked previously as an in-house designer, and then in pre-press for a few years while freelancing, but this job was in a cool downtown loft space (we listened to jazz and rock music, kinda loud sometimes) and I was pretty psyched to do some real package design!

In the year I worked at this Buffalo agency (1992-1993), we made the move to use computers to handle the final artwork for most of our projects. This was quite a transition to make as tasks like managing fonts, monitoring file sizes and getting things to print correctly were a real pain in the ass.

This Tea Bags box has a bit of both the old and the 'new' in it:

Traditional: hand-cut tea cup silo, rapidographed inked grid, wax and pasted logo stats and color separations by plastic overlays.

Computer: text was typeset (VAG Rounded, maybe...) on our single office MAC computer. Then it was delivered on a floppy disc to the typesetter, Buffalo's Printing Prep. We had to come back the next day to pick it up. The shiny stats of the headlines were trimmed out on the full sheet, then waxed and CAREFULLY pasted down to the boards or overlays. We had to use the sliding ruler on our drawing tables to make sure everything was straight. It was primitive, but like I mentioned, I was helping to move this agency into the computer age of the '90s, and we had to start someplace.

My first product illustration, the tea bag artwork used to illustrate the concept of the 'Flow-Through Bag,' was something I had hand-inked on a crisp white piece of board. It was drawn larger and then it was 'shot down' using a stat camera in the office darkroom and pasted into the working art for the box. It was like shrinky-dinks, you could be kinda sloppy because it tightens up when you shrink it down. I was no way a competent hand-inker -- my string for the tag is lumpy, my angles are all off -- and this teabag took several tries. In the end it also looks like the waxed down 'Tops red diamond' slipped off the center of the tag artwork a bit in between the time the boards left the agency and the film was shot for the printer -- dammit. But hey, when it was printed on the final boxes, it sure looked awesome on the store shelves! I always went down the tea aisle when I shopped back then, even if I didn't need tea, just to admire this box...

Overall, the Tops Tea Bags box was well-received -- nothing was spelled wrong (spellcheck was in it's infancy) -- and I even got to work on other projects beyond food packaging at the 2-person agency (but not until my resume expanded to include baby diapers, extra large dog food bags and 6-color cereal boxes). The computers eventually took over and the time spend building things like this four-spot color (plus the photo insert) box went from several days to a few hours. Everything got mathematically perfect. The background grids to this Top's brand got straighter versus the sometimes wavy hand-inked lines. But somehow as we modernized our process, the personality of it was lost I guess…. you know, the tea cup on this package was photographed in our design studio, it's not stock art.

But little did I know as I hand-inked this teabag artwork for the fourth or fifth time on a Fall afternoon in '92, while listening to Dizzy Gillespie or the Goo Goo Doll's Superstar Carwash CD, that I was about to make the jump from a traditional graphic artist to a computer graphic artist with the click of the mouse. Continuing to follow the trend of the graphics field by learning web design in early 1997, I was able to keep this design ship afloat for almost 25 years now. Though things are faster and easier today, I sometimes miss the days when there was a real craftsmanship to the graphic design field. I mean, look at this fine hand-drawn tea bag.

Stay Gold

2011-03-20T20:11:00.006-05:00

The 2011 ADDYs saw our talented team at OtherWisz Creative bringing home some hardware! The Rave Reviews were celebrated at the Tri-Main Building in north Buffalo and saw a good showing of Buffalo creatives hanging, drinking, watching break dancers, drinking… well you get the picture. Most of the large agencies won the majority of the awards (as usual) but our crew had a great showing, winning 2 silver, a gold and the 'best showbook ad'. The last one was quite a surprise!

The package design we created for Boston Valley Terra Cotta has won it's second set of kudos taking a silver at the ADDYs in the 'Sales Promotion, Sale Kit' category. Last month the BVTC box won an American Package Design Award from Graphic Design USA magazine. The other awards went to two more of our BVTC projects, the pocket folder with line cards set and the 64-page Terraclad catalog.

As a Buffalo Ad Club corporate member, we had to submit an advertisement for the event showbook. Since the event was a 'rave theme' this year, our ad was a play on words hinting at the club drug ecstasy, or 'E'. See it below. It won best ad in the book and came with a big wall plaque award.

Kudos from the judges in the Showbook- on the TerraClad book: "Detailed and well executed." and on the TC Box, "Very cool package."

Congratulations to the OW team, great job! We are humbled to have others really appreciate our work -- we know we like, we know the client liked it -- it is cool to know other people like it as well! See our winners below.

Gold ADDY
Category: Collateral Material, Brochure, Color
Title: TerraClad Product Brochure 
Client: Boston Valley Terra Cotta
Credits:  Mark Wisz, Art Director , Jill Wisz, Creative Director , Dan Wangelin, Designer , United Graphics, Printer

Silver ADDY
Category: Sales Promotion, Sales Kit
Title: Boston Valley Pocket Folder 
Client: Boston Valley Terra Cotta
Credits: Mark Wisz, Art Director/Designer,  Jill Wisz, Creative Director,  Dan Wangelin, Production Artist , United Graphics, Printer

Silver ADDY
Category: Sales Promotion, Sales Kit
Title: Terra Cotta Product Sample Box
 Client: Boston Valley Terra Cotta
Credits:  Mark Wisz, Art Director,  Jill Wisz, Creative Director/Designer,  Dan Wangelin, Production Artist , Hawver Display, Package Manufacturer

Best Showbook Ad
Title: We heard there was a rave tonight... 
Client: OtherWisz Creative Corporation

The above photos were shot by Joe Cascio.
"Stay gold, Pony Boy..."

>> See all the 2011 winners at the AdHub website.

BRAND New Cadillac

2011-03-07T13:57:00.003-05:00

Western New York's weekly business newspaper, the Business First, ran a great feature on OtherWisz Creative Corporation's re-branding efforts of one of our clients, Boston Valley Terra Cotta. The article appears in this week's issues (March 4-10, 2011) is titled, Company That Rebuilds Initiates a Rebranding. It includes quotes from Jill and I, John Krouse the president of Boston Valley Terra Cottta and a few other side notes from representatives from some of the larger advertising agencies in Buffalo.

The articles describes OtherWisz Creatives' initial meeting with BVTC and details some of the efforts that we underwent for their corporate rebranding initiative including meeting and interviewing employees, researching competition and brainstorming with the BVTC staff.

For BVTC, the process of exploration was "eye opening." Said owner John Krouse, "Some questions (from OtherWisz) made us think that we had to redo our business plan and how we thought of our company."

That is how in-depth we got- - forcing the client to re-think their overall message, even questioning the company name! What we ended up with was a refocused message, a new brand, new graphics and a more solid presentation of BVTC. Everyone involved saw the rebranding as a great success.

Thanks to Biz1st write Dave Bertola for scribing a flattering piece on our company and our work and for Biz1st photog, Jim Courtney, for not making Jill or I look goofy in the photos. Nice bonus- the accompanying photos shows us examining the BVTC sample box which recently won a America Package Design Award from Graphic Design USA magazine. yeah!

Link to the article on the Business First website.

Here is a low res PDF version of the article to print and read.

View some of our BVTC graphics work on the OtherWisz website.

Everyday I Write The Book

2011-03-01T09:44:00.001-05:00

We are pleased to announce some more kudos for the OtherWisz Creative team! Yeah! We have been informed by the fine folks at Rockport Publishing that our work has been selected for inclusion in "Typography and Enclosures," the fourth book in the LogoLounge Master Library series. Getting published is very exciting and a fine 'feather in the cap' of the awesome creative team here at OW headquarters.

The logo designed for the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum has been used to brand this non-profit collection of Buffalo Sabres memorabilia and has appeared on signage, stationary, apparel, the website and blog and in our 40th Anniversary display that is currently in HSBC Arena.

The logo features manipulated type that was skated over with vector skate hack marks. A plus sign replaces the ampersand to reflect the faceoff circle of a hockey rink. With matching Sabres' vintage gold and blue, the logo has become a recognizable brand for this collection of awesome hockey memories!

For more info:

> Feature on the OtherWisz website, click OW web.

> Main Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum website at BleedForTheBlueandGold.com

> The Bleed For The Blue and Gold blog for the latest museum updates.

> And, for those of you that missed it, photos of the 40th Anniversary Sabres Display.

Easy Life

2011-02-15T10:02:00.001-05:00

It is 1990. Imagine a morning commute that's a 10-second stroll from your breakfast table to your own home office… Being your own boss, making more money, having a flexible schedule How you may ask? The 'computer' I am telling you! Do terms like "high-quality publications," "special effects," and "visually appealing, multipage documents" excite you? If so, then the world of desktop publishing is for you!

I discovered an ad in a 1990 Home Office Computing magazine that explains how by ordering a free catalog from the NRI School of Home-Based business an ordinary layout artist could be transformed into a desktop publisher! Wow. If I would have known it was that easy back in 1990, I wouldn't have waited 10 years to start my own business.

See this quote from the ad:

"With a firm foundation in traditional design and layout, you're ready to make the leap to contemporary publishing methods using the IBM-compatible computer, desktop publishing software, mouse, and printer included in your course."

I am glad I joined the exciting world of the 'publishing revolution' to get where I am today… but if I would have seen this ad back in 1990…. hmmmmmmmm, what if?

Click below for large version of this ad. Print and save.

Working For The Man

2011-02-04T09:55:00.001-05:00

As we move into our 11th year as OtherWisz Creative, we reflect back on the first 10 years of our design business. It is pretty incredible to think about doing this for 10 years! (...and here's to 10 more! Cheers!). I can also brag that this is my 24th year in this wacky field- officially starting my freelance business way back in 1987. Anybody remember Adobe Freehand 3? "Anybody remember laughter..?"

For the celebration of "Completing a Decade of OtherWisz," I am going to take some time to reflect back on things past. I know I do that often here on this blog, but I am old school and this may be one of the best ways to preserve my designs from long ago. The ghost of design past will haunt the internet... until Google decides to erase all this free disk space it has been handing out for the past few years.

So for all you kids that have dreams of starting your own company, I give you my LAST resume. After this one, there was no need to produce another. All the marketing for myself became company bios, client lists, brochures and the corporate OW website. This resume was designed as a tri-fold brochure, clever, eh? It was divided up into 3 sections including my Design, Publishing and General Experience in the graphics field. Starting with Wizard Graphics in 1987, while in college and lasting up until my last real job at the now-defunct Syrinex Communications (ending Jan. 2001). Oh, the memories come flooding back as I review this document. Please note that this was probably created in Adobe Pagemaker for those at home keeping score.

Some illustrious past experience included my pre-press days at Graphtrix (1981-1992) and The Retouchables (1993-1997), where I cut my teeth in the file prep, drum scanning and matchprint making world. I learned all about a process that is almost completely handled in-house by printers these days- but the experience was invaluable. Another highlight is my brief, yet deep stint at Steve James Design (June 1992-May 1993), where I brought my then-extensive 2 years of computer experience to a traditional advertising studio and made a life-long friend.

My publishing past is laid out in detail starting at The Record (the Buff State paper), including the Sign o' The Times, the famous Slack magazine and finally ending with one of Buffalo's first on-line publication, the BuffaloPOST.com. Created with writer David Staba and a gang of misfits, writers and ex-journalists, the BuffaloPOST preceded the popular Buffalo Rising, which rose from a similar era online pub, One-4 (I think it was called, or was it 1-Four?).

From the cut-and-paste acrobatics as the graphics guy at Appliance Parts Distributors (1988-1990) to the early days of the web at Perception Publishing Group, where I learned web design back in 1997, this resume is chock full of nuggets. Programs listed that I had experience using include BBedit, GIF Builder and Quark Express, baby! All in all, this resume is a nice flashback set in P22 Johnson Underground.

For your other old schoolers out there, " I can also use a pen an an x-acto blade…"

I scanned the resume for you all to enjoy- click to enlarge. Please post questions and smart-alecky comments below.

We Are The Champions!

2011-01-31T14:38:00.006-05:00

We have just been informed that the Boston Valley Terra Cotta Sample Box we designed last Fall has won a place in the 2011 American Package Design Awards! Sponsored by Graphic Design USA magazine, the competition highlights excellence in USA-designed packaging. We are part of the 15% of winners chosen from the over 1,500 entries submitted from all over the country.

The winning sample box design will be featured in an upcoming issue of the magazine and available online as well.

Here is what the OtherWisz Creative website says about this project:

"The product packaging created for Boston Valley Terra Cotta replaces an existing color sample board of terra cotta chips glued to a large and heavy masonite board. OtherWisz Creative designed a custom, compact box to showcase the company's color line. Made with recycled cardboard and modifiable inserts, we developed an affordable and flexible way for Boston Valley to ship and showcase both color chips and project-specific product samples. Wrapping the packaging with full-color illustrative photographs, the Boston Valley Terra Cotta Sample Set is an architect's resource to the company product line."

Good job OtherWisz Creative team (Dan, Jill, Mark)! and the guys at Hawver (box manufacturers)!
Above, rockin' box photo by Joe Cascio.

Control

2011-01-11T22:39:00.002-05:00

The Buffalo Business First newspaper released it's ranking of top Web Design Firms in Buffalo in it's December 31, 2010 -- January 31, 2011 issue and OtherWisz Creative Corp. continues to rank year after year. We are in at #21 in a list ranked by 'number of websites designed in 2011"-- but we all know it's quality, not quantity!

This year I was quoted when asked what is the most common request from customers in 2010 and I cleared my throat, and clearly stated...

OtherWisz Creative Corp. "Customers are always looking to manage their own content, link into social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook), and have a custom-designed site and not a cookie cutter template design."

And that is a fact! I hear these things all time.

The thing that happens when you get ranked in a fine business pub like the Biz 1st is that for the next few weeks you get offers to sell you a fine plak with the article/or listing captured (& mounted) for all of eternity to hang in your paneled-office waiting room. I have been getting these inquires for years, as we are always ranked in this list and have had our company featured a few times. Always great to be in The BizOne! Once I actually received one of these nice wooden laminated plaks unsolicited. It was for the Best Buffalo Web Firms listing if, I think 2003 maybe.... I remember it because it had engraved art of a guy surfing a wave on it. It was pretty rad.

DENTIST'S COLLECTION BECAME BUFFALO HOCKEY MUSEUM The following issue of Biz 1st (first 2011 issue) had a nice photo and feature of our client, the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum. With Dr. Joe standing in front of our Sabres 40th Anniversary display cases, it had a color photo with our fine work in the background.

Check it out, posted on the BleedForTheBlueandGold.com blog, rightee here.

Good press for 2011 so far!

Round & Round

2011-01-06T10:56:00.000-05:00

The Olympic Committee revealed the branding for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on New years Eve last week. A smooth flow of 3 hand-holding figures with a scripty wordmark, the logo was developed by a Rio design form called Tátil. According to the Logo Lounge website, it was chosen from 139 submitted logos from agencies across Brazil.

LogoLounge noted:

"In addition to the requisite vibrant colors and sense of celebration, there’s a lot to see in the new design—people uniting, of course, but also the shape of the city’s landmark Sugarloaf and the subtly embedded word 'Rio.'"

The controversy is already brewing as critics compared it to the logo of the Telluride Foundation as well as “The Dance,” by Henri Matisse. You can be the judge. I like it's smooth flow and think it is better the the goofy Vancouver logo from the last Olympics. I can see the similarties in the figures and the shapes as compared to the Telluride logo as well as some of the colors... but the Rio logo seems to have taken it a step further. And any smooth set of naked dancers are going to compared to Matisse, especailly if they arere holding hands!

Read the LogoLounge post here.
The Rio 2010 Olypmic website, read here.

Red Skies At Night

2011-01-04T21:55:00.003-05:00

The awesome typeface blog Fonts In Use posted a great piece on a unique design technique that is rooted in the distant past of all graphic artists (well, us old ones, anyways...)- the Type Specimen Page. You have probably have seen this layout where rows or different point size fonts are layed-out to visual explain a font's characteristics-- the fonts in use, weights and widths, and how the characters look in harmony with each other.

Sam Berlow's Fonts in Use article notes that the 'big red book,' the original font specimen book created by the American Type Foundry, is most likely where this layout originated. It might also be rooted in old time Western posters or printer-designed playbills, as one of the commentators on the article posted.The funny thing is how this font marketing technique has indeed become a page layout design used in graphic design everyday. This technique is created by stacking different lines of different sized rows of the same font-- you will see if if you look at book jackets, signage, magazine layouts and, of course, posters.

I think it is a great technique in a designer's too box. First, it forces you to use a single font face, second it's a great space filler, and thirdly if relies on tight, exact and well balanced kerning- a staple of any good designer.

Read the full article here- Fonts In Use.

Let It Go

2010-12-29T23:49:00.002-05:00

Fast Company recently posted on their design website about letterpress printing with Lego bricks. A local shop, the Western New York Books Arts Center has been known to print with objects and then add handset letters on top to create some unique print pieces. This is the first time I have lego bricks appropriated for another use besides stacking.

The prints in this article have a strange old 8-bit sensibility to it and the guys doing this, Physical Friction, note they are inspired by old video games. I really like the results the legos produce when printed.

Read the article on the Fast Co. design old website, here. This project was recently profiled on NPR as well.

All The Young Dudes

2010-12-24T10:26:00.001-05:00

This year's holiday season will again include a post-xmas gathering of Clash fans and punk rockers alike at Buffalo, New York's Mohawk Place for the 9th Annual Joe Strummer Tribute night. Commemorating the anniversary of the death of one of rock's greatest icons (and a personal hero of mine)- the late, great Joe Strummer- many of Buffalo's finest musicians will be playing Clash & Strummer and inspired sets. Again I will be DJing sets of punk rock, ska, rock steady, dub & reggae music between bands. It is a lot of fun and not too be missed. Lip up fatty!!!

We design the annual poster for this event here at OtherWisz headquarters. This year's poster has proven to be a popular one as they are disappearing off light posts, coffee shop windows and the walls of rock clubs around town. Keeping it punk, with some distressed graphics, a bit-mapped Joe and a red and black color scheme, the poster is the ninth in a series of OtherWisz Creative reinterpreting the same theme.

Proceeds from the event again go to benefit Strummerville. This charity started in the wake of Joe's untimely death helps young bands in England keep it going. Check out their website to find out more about these guys.

The event takes place Sunday, the 26th of December at Buffalo's famed Mohawk Place. DJ music starts around 8:00 PM or so with the first of several bands starting at 9PM-ish.

Here is a link to all nine Strummer posters for the Buffalo event.

Insight

2010-12-24T09:56:00.001-05:00

Here is a great piece published on Mashable highlighting the Top Ten Digital Marketing Trends of 2010. As the internet continues to speed up everyday life, including the way advertisers interact with the public, it will be interesting to see how active these trends are by the end of 2011.

Written by Todd Wasserman, the article's highlights include:

Bar Code Scanning- By using your smart phone to scan an in-ad bar code to get more info online, this has taken the place of simply listing a website URL in an ad. This is also interesting because you are letting people decide themselves if they want to dig deeper- and then tracking their activity. Instant stats!

Location-Based Advertising- By checking in at a specific location to get a deal, everyone knows where you are at all times. Skeptics think this level of transparency may be taking it too far by letting some people know when you are not at home. Just pray none of your Facebook 'friends' are prone to burglary.

iAds- ads, ads, everywhere, popping when you least expect... even on your smart phone, Ipad, etc. Are we expecting to be inundated all the time now with ads everywhere we turn? Are people starting to ignore the messages advertisers are force-feeding them?

Group Buying- Groupons has taken a lot of flack, but it seems to be working as thousands of people save at the same time.

Personalized Video- Technology has allowed the user to get involved now as your name and image and location can be included in video messages.

Technology has allowed advertisers to engage people at every turn. Like I noted above, there is a point where the viewer will ignore the message as they commonly do with paid search engine listings. The trick for us marketers is to uniquely engage them so they will still care.

Read the full article online here to see all the trends in online marketing of 2010...

Eat To The Beat

2010-12-21T17:01:00.005-05:00

One of our favorite start up clients here at OtherWisz Creative is Cater Tots. Curtis Knight started his own company while still working three other jobs- no kidding. Cater Tots caters freshly prepared, healthy food to daycares in Western New York. Recently profiled in Buffalo's Business First newspaper as a 'Rising Star," they just scored a large contract with the local YMCAs. Way to go Curtis. Read the article online here, link me! Unfortunately, you have to be a subscriber to Biz1st to get to the full article which is ridiculous. Even the New York Times posts for free.

The backstory: OtherWisz Creative met with Curtis about 2 years ago when he asked us to help develop his brand for this new start-up idea he had. He found us online after searching for 'graphic design, buffalo, ny' on Google. He wanted OtheWisz to come up with a logo to start him off on the right foot. Within the first few weeks of starting this project we got a frantic call from the client asking that we hold because he needed to change his name! The company's first choice of a name was already taken. Yikes! We all regrouped and began to work with the new name, Cater Tots. OW went on to create the logo and brand based on the combination of healthy foods and happy kids. Bright colors and playful typefaces make this logo fun, bright, safe and accessible.

The project continued with business cards and a simple website to get him out there-- he was off and running. The following summer-- for an upcoming trade show-- we created a table runner, line cards and then eventually, brochures. The company used these marketing materials to send out letters of introduction helping to land new clients early this year. Cater Tots is a good example of money spent right on marketing materials and the success that can come from having a professional, well designed brand image accompanying his sound business practices and outstanding customer service.

Congratulations to another successful OtherWisz Creative client-Curtis Knight and Cater Tots!

The Mob Rules- Back in Black

2010-12-20T17:41:00.003-05:00

I just read a great piece on The Design Observer about the famed Black Rule- a tried and true graphic element. Working with the grid-- used to organize and balance layouts-- the back rule grounds a design and is great for hanging a title. Really coming to prominence during Massimo Vignelli's 1966 branding of the NY City Subway system, the black rule has been relied upon by designers since.

A quote from the article:

"Another thing about The Black Rule is that it is democratic: though its formality emanates from the power of Black, and its authority emanates from its connection to the grid, it sits just as happily on a piece of non-profit newsprint, or matte-coated paper, or powder-coated steel, or 100 percent rag stationery. No snobbery connects to The Black Rule."

Unfortunately, often copied, the black rule has been known be abused and used simply to fill space. But as a powerful design element, it has seemed to stand the test of time-- it even guest started in the Helevetica movie! Re-watch the movie it and see for yourself. The black rule rules!

Read the piece here- reposted for serious design geeks only- linked it.

Colors! Colors! Colors!

2010-12-13T10:36:00.001-05:00

Pantone announces the 2011 Color of The Year and it's pink. Not quite sure how I feel about this one, probably won't have any chance to use this in 2011... but, hey! ya never know. Apparently PINK is hot for 2011!

The 2011 pink is called 'Honeysuckle" and is number 18-2120 from the new numbering system (the closest match to the standard Pantone colors is 205 U). "A dynamic reddish pink," as they describe it, can be used for wedding invites, house paint, clothing and.... well, that is probably about it. I think last year's color-- Pantone 15-5519 Turquoise-- had more practical uses, but they have experts working on this, I suppose... It seems like a lot of hype (you can download the press release for this announcement on the Pantone site) but they need to have something to say every year to keep there products valid to designers.

The Pantone site describes next year's pink as:

"A Color for All Seasons
Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it. Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life."

So, hey kids, go PINK in 2011!!

Reach Up

2010-12-10T13:31:00.002-05:00

Secrets to Success: 2011's Marketing Trends
This article originally appeared on the OtherWisz Creative enewsletter, Wisz Words

This year, your business can stand out by keeping up-to-date with the latest trends in marketing. Social marketing matures in 2011 as businesses continue to value and respond to consumers feedback. People are online talking about the brands they like and dislike — and their friends are listening. Your business needs to take notice and be aware of what your customers are saying. Here are a few of the ways you can stay ahead of the conversation, and competition, this upcoming year.

Social Media Grows Up
With easy-to-target demographics of social media, you can put your products and services in front of people that have already expressed an interest in what you are selling. For example: ads posted on the popular social networking site, Facebook, can be targeted to consumers by geography, age, gender, and personal interests. You can cast as wide or as narrow of a net as you like and receive measurable results almost instantaneously by tracking ad views and click-through rates to your website. When you consider the value of reporting tools and targeted focusing, social media is an affordable, viable marketing and sales tool that you can take advantage of.

Mobile Will Continue To Grow
With the proliferation of smart phones — experts predict over 500 million will be in use by the end of 2011 — consumers are now accessing information once obtained through their computers right in the palm of their hands. Mobile versions of websites and phone apps give your audience what they need, when they need it, wherever they are. A smaller, compact version of your company website can be a useful tool and might be a marketing priority in 2011. Custom apps offer unique opportunities to build brand enthusiasm within your target audience.

Transparency: If They Love You, They Will Tell You
Consumers are involved in the development of company brands like never before. Blogs, Tweets and Facebook friends can make or break a new product, as users share their opinions with anyone willing to listen. This new, stronger consumer voice develops the brand quickly — and it would be careless not join the conversation. You have the opportunity to connect with your audience: instantaneously if you like. The medium gives you an opportunity to interact directly with your customer: opening your company policies and procedures to customer scrutiny, by answering questions and responding to suggestions and resolving complaints. Company transparancy, coupled with swift feedback and response demonstrates to your customer that you care about what people are saying. Social media is a powerful tool that can be used to hone your message, build loyal relationships and define brand identity.

Content Is Still King
People want to scan through search engine results and find what they are looking for as quickly as possible. Flash and fluff can interfere with your search engine ranking, while websites populated with useful information about your product and services rise to the top. Keep your website current by offering your audience something to keep them engaged — latest company news, industry trends, tips and tutorials, new product announcements — and they will keep coming back. (Another example of brand loyalty.)

Print Is Not Dead: Offline And Online Marketing Go Hand In Hand
One thing never changes: a successful brand message is a combination of multiple forms of media presented both online and in print. While many businesses will see a continual increase in their online marketing budget, keeping a foot in traditional marketing methods is still the key to online success. Print is not dead. Your website is the means for potential customers to learn about your company, serving to represent your company when you aren’t there. Just because you have a website, doesn’t mean customers are going to find you. To drive customers to your site, all of your printed marketing collateral should have your website address listed. Your website and printed material should compliment each other with visual and verbal continuity. The right formula to building a strong brand identity: put your message where your audience can find it, keep it steady, strong, and make it memorable.

As trends in marketing change from year to year, your company needs to stay one step ahead to be successful. Let the experts at OtherWisz Creative keep you on top in 2011 and for years to come.

Join our growing list of subscribers! Sign up for the Wisz Words Email Newsletter to get these tips and trends delvered to your email box as well as features on the newest OtherWisz Creative projects. Email us here- newsletter@otherwisz.com

Take My Hand

2010-12-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

29 Rules for young designers to live by was developed by Troy, NY designer Doug Bartow. Mentioned in today's edition of the HOW Blog, this poster has quite a few philosophies that us old-guy designers preach constantly. With a nice balance of design and content, this should be on all our young-designers Xmas list.

A few of my fav that I preach constantly are: 'Say No to Spec Work', 'Don't Fear Type' and 'Content is Still King'. Here is the complete list from the poster, thanks Doug:
01. Sweat
02. Play Nice
03. Don't Fear Type
04. Define Your Audience
05. Br Yourself
06. Learn to Say No
07. Collect & Share
08. Be a Design Author
09. Build Your Book
10. Clan Up Your Act
11. Re:Search
12. Observe Trends
13. Defend Yourself
14. Paper Matters
15. Content is Still King
16. Reject Personal Style
17. Say No to Spec Work
18. Become Indispensable
19. Join AIGA
20. Build
21. Seek Criticism
22. Never Compromise
23. Know Your History
24. Value Your Work
25. Make Mistakes
26. Keep a Sketchbook
27. Your MAC is a Tool
28. Respect
29. Teach Others

The only think I must note that this poster is getting printed on a 100% recycled paper, Mohawk Loop. We are currently using this same paper for a book cover and it has been a nightmare to print on. It is so soft, being 100% recycled, that the bits of the paper have lifted off on press, leaving un-printed areas. I look forward to seeing this in it's final printed state.

Heavenward Grand Prix

2010-12-02T10:29:00.003-05:00

BVTC new biz cards

OK kids, I have to apologize... I never meant to let the blog drop ('let the raga drop', yes, but not the blog....). I don't want you all to think I don't care, I do. We just have been very busy. This might have been the busiest final quarter to a year yet.

I have some things to post- some project stories, some old time graphic design flashbacks, some end of year lists- and I will get to them. I promise you kids, there will be some things for you to enjoy this December. So hang in there.

>> To see what we have been up to, go to the OtherWisz Creative website to have a peak.

>> We did get some national press for the Sabres 40th Anniversary Display we created with the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum in the November issue of the Graphic Design USA enewsletter. See the screenshot below.

I Shot The Serif

2010-10-04T14:09:00.004-05:00

A project we recently worked on (that was not hockey-related) were these marketing materials for Independent Nursing Care's 2010 Flu Immunizations clinics. Every year this client of ours spends the last few months administering flu shots to the general public and corporate clients at various locations throughout the East Coast.

To help boost awareness of the flu shot clinics, we worked with the team at INC to come up with the "GET SHOT" logo that appeared on posters, buttons, stickers and hand-out flyers. The same brand has appeared on the INC website as well as in radio commercials and web banners.

The OtherWisz team took the phase supplied by the client and developed it into the logo seen above. We used a soothing color scheme that matched the existing INC brand and we softened the phrase "GOT SHOT" by substituting the "T" in "SHOT" for a syringe illustration created in-house. The logo is used on buttons worn by the trained nurses administering the shots and on stickers for the people getting shots, hence the "GET SHOT' vs. the "I GOT SHOT."

Using a stock image of a nurse (used on other INC collateral and the website) we created a compelling visual to further soften the idea of getting immunized. If you are like me, I hate to get shots. The nurse appears on the customizable posters, hand-out flyers, the INC website and web banner.

Designed in a 'mad rush' 2-week period, the final project included coordinating the printing of the pieces from different vendors that all had to be delivered the last few days prior to the start of the flu shot campaign. So with several edits from the client, who was mostly out of the office preparing for the clinics, we got our mad rush excitement! But if you are like me (I work better under pressure) and thrive on meeting the deadlines!

In the end, the OtherWisz team delivered, the client was happy and many Western New York's proclaimed, that they "GOT SHOT' by a trained INC nurse this flu season.

Escape is at Hand For The Traveling Man

2010-09-23T15:51:00.001-05:00

A grueling full day of non-stop action has resulted in completed display cases. Yeah!

Wednesday was the final install day and the Buffalo Sabres 40th Anniversary Exhibit (see info below) is complete. The Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum collection is mounted, hung, labeled in 2 custom-designed display cases at HSBC Arena.

They can be viewed during any event, hockey game or at the many open Sabres practice. Watching the glass guys finally drop in the panes was quite a relief. It looks good, check it out. More info about this experience will come down the road, for now, enjoy these snapshots.

Case 1- full!

Case 2- the view from coming up the west side escalator.

1975 Playoffs tickets, programs, buttons, etc.

The completed 500 Puck Stack!

Aud section in Case 2.

Crozier area of Case 1.

Dave Andreychuk skates.

Christie drawer displayed full of cool locker room gear.

French Connection gear.

J. putting in the final touches before glass drops.

Dr. Joe from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum. Happy to be done.

Miller stuff. What is the "ER"?

"About the BHE+M" descriptive placard.

Peca Cup Finals gear with well-worn stick.

OW credit pucks in the bottom corner of both cases.

ALL ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: Come see the full exhibit commemorating 40 years of cool Buffalo Sabres hockey moments based on items from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum's permanent collection. It all goes on display at HSBC Arena for the first pre-season Sabres game and will be up all season, 2nd floor, on either side of the big center bar overlooking the entrance.

Fire in the Hole

2010-09-21T20:28:00.007-05:00

Today was the final prep day for tomorrow's installation of the Buffalo Sabres 40th Anniversary Exhibit (see info below).

The OtherWisz Creative rested this weekend and got back into it over the last few days. The rock band Nickelback was sound checking in the arena today and the noise was deafening, so it was really tough to hear or think straight. Hopefully it will be quiet tomorrow for the full install.

Tomorrow is 'the day'-- they drop the glass and we are offically done. I am sure there will be a few clean up things-- we have to finish the accompanying trophy cases, the Sabres need to install some wall graphics... but the main part will be done.

Here are a few snapshots from today.

Tough puck gluing day: they were sliding instead of sticking. We tried several glues and in the long run, I had to be less acrobatic with my puck stacking.

Jersey stand with placeholder marking.

Some of the completed descriptive signage.

ALL ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: Come see the full exhibit commemorating 40 years of cool Buffalo Sabres hockey moments based on items from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum's permanent collection. It all goes on display at HSBC Arena for the first pre-season Sabres game and will be up all season, 2nd floor, on either side of the big center bar overlooking the entrance.

Walk The Line

2010-09-16T20:01:00.014-05:00

Today was a full install test run for the Buffalo Sabres 40th Anniversary Exhibit (see info below). Details, details!!

The OtherWisz Creative team spent all day with the help of the good Dr. Joe, the owner of the Buffalo Hockey Museum + Experience putting everything in it's place. And then taking it out. We hung graphics on the walls; some unframed as of yet, some placeholder print-outs. We mounted all the tickets, programs and other cool hockey things. We had all the jerseys in place. We kept piling on pucks, building a mound of 500. We hung hockey sticks from the top of the cases with 25# fishing line.

But then we took it all apart.... as the case glass won't be ready to drop until next week Wednesday. But for a few hours, the final cases were (almost) all together, and they looked super. I am very proud of my team. Tonight is a night finally for some sleep. Our graphics guy is getting married in two days and we all need to recharge some.

We now have a few days to finish some graphics. All the ID tags and the Ticket/Buffalo (more on that later) should be done tomorrow (right, Phil?...) and velcro will be attached, so it is ready to mount next week. A few things need to be framed and some additional graphics need to be designed. More to come, in the meantime enjoy these snapshots from today... with captions!

Dan assembles the Perreault 500-Puck Milestone commemorative mound of pucks (the second of our puck-tastic feature, see the other here).

Close-up of the first-year team autographed stick crossing with commemorative Wilkenson sword (1970) over "graphic to come".

Case 1 Crozier stuff.

Ruff nameplate in the Frank Cristie drawer from the Aud locker room.

Taro sticker (if you don't know look it up) & one of Bert's milestone goal marker.

Some 1975 Stanley Cup Finals things with Dave Shultz Wanted Poster.

Dr. Joe & Dan work on Case 2.

Memorial Auditorium stuff with stick hanging in place.

Commemoration 9/11 Boulton jersey and my arm hanging a stick.

ALL ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: Come see the full exhibit commemorating 40 years of cool Buffalo Sabres hockey moments based on items from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum's permanent collection. It all goes on display at HSBC Arena for the first pre-season Sabres game and will be up all season, 2nd floor, on either side of the big center bar overlooking the entrance. To find out more, stay tuned!

The Lonely End of The Rink

2010-09-15T23:15:00.011-05:00

Oh, baby.... work continues on the installation of the Buffalo Sabres 40th Anniversary Exhibit (see info below). The OtherWisz Creative team spent three consecutive late nights working hard and we are getting close. Thursday will be a dress rehearsal of sorts as we will set it all up, photograph in and then break it down. The glass manufacturer made the glass for the cabinets wrong and it is finally going to be back in next Tuesday. It would be nice if we were building this in a locked museum room, but not so, this is the HSBC Arena and it is teaming with people with the start of pre-season only a week or so away. So we can put it up, but can't leave it up until the glass is in. This means carting valuable artifacts back and forth.

Tomorrow will give us a really good sense of it all with almost everything set up except the ID tags and a few other graphics.

These are some quick shots J. took including some AUD artifacts, Miller's Winter Classic mask and the 500 mass of pucks to commemorate Gilbert Perreault's 500th goal on March 9th, 1986 when he became the 12th guy in NHL history with 500.

Ticket To Ride

2010-09-13T23:03:00.007-05:00

Will working on this Sabres 40th Anniversary exhibit installation we have had to dig through the BHE+M archives. Here are a few first season ticket stubs (1970-71) that I thought I would share.

The tickets were not as fancy as they are now. They only came in two colors- red and green- and we liked it that way... just a like a cold Utica Club! Only $4.00 a game ticket price, I wonder what the beer cost back then?

I am a fan of this poster/ticket layout- just some typeset text, well balanced, even with all it's bad kerning issues. The abbreviated months are very dated looking as you don't see a lot of FEB'RY or OCT'BR being used these days....

There is just something very elegant about this haphazard simplicity (or I have been up too late scanning tickets).

ALL ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: Come see the full exhibit commemorating 40 years of cool Buffalo Sabres hockey moments based on items from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum's permanent collection. It all goes on display at HSBC Arena for the first pre-season Sabres game and will be up all season, 2nd floor, on either side of the big center bar overlooking the entrance. To find out more, stay tuned!

Fifty Mission Cap

2010-09-13T15:25:00.006-05:00

Work continues on the install of the Buffalo Sabres 40th Anniversary Exhibit (see info below). The OtherWisz Creative team spend the third day on site finishing installing photos (while wearing gloves) in the second case. We also mounted the large wooden logo (from the Aud Club), we installed the really cool puck tower (commemorating Hasek's 70-save game in 1994), built the 500-puck stack and put in the helmet mounts.

Internally we are finishing up editing content and planning the rest of the install. The case maufacturers are killing our schedule as they built the glass for the cases at the wrong size and it had to be redone. They are ruining my fine-tuned install schedule and we all have to keep altering our plans.... but we are adapting.

ALL ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: Come see the full exhibit commemorating 40 years of cool Buffalo Sabres hockey moments based on items from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum's permanent collection. It all goes on display at HSBC Arena for the first pre-season Sabres game and will be up all season, 2nd floor, on either side of the big center bar overlooking the entrance. To find out more, stay tuned!

The Model

2010-09-10T15:09:00.011-05:00

Work continues on the install of the Buffalo Sabres 40th Anniversary Exhibit (see info below). The OtherWisz Creative team spend two days of display set-up including: Step 1- the "massing". This was getting the risers and the mannequins set up to see how the space will be filled. We put all the jerseys (except for the rare Horton jersey which still in storage) on them to see how great they will look.

Then next came Step 2: outlining all memorabilia location with masking tape and putting in the mounted photography. We had to quit early today, but we'll be back at it on Monday with plans to get everything in by next Thursday. Hopefully... we still have a lot to do, but it is looking really great so far.

Here are some snapshots from the last few days including J. holding Ryan Miller's Winter Classic mask, some masking tape layout and some hockey jerseys getting mannequin-ed.

Tower of Power

2010-09-06T21:49:00.007-05:00

For the Sabres 40th Anniversary Exhibit (see below), to compliment some of the awesome memorabilia from the BHEM collection, we created some pucktacular pieces to represent some of Buffalo's hockey milestones. Here is a sneak-peak: a little item I refer to as HASEK'S TOWER.

This stack of 70 pucks are speared on a steel stand we had custom built. It was designed by our OtherWisz team, welded and 'pucks a-drilled' in Holland, NY and it was delivered today! This display item (shown here, not in the display case yet) will be a part of a Dominik Hasek section at the start of the second case. This cool tower-o-pucks was designed specifically to commemorate a legendary 70-save game starring the Dominator.

The game is told as... On April 27, 1994 in the Memorial Auditorium, the Sabres were playing in the 6th game of their first round playoff series versus the New Jersey Devils. Ending at 1:52 AM the next morning, the game went into 4 overtime periods as both Hasek and Devil Brodeur dueled to the finish. Dave Hannah scored on Buffalo's 50th shot to win the game 1-0. Hasek ended up making 70 saves in a single game, 39 in the overtime periods alone. Last season (2009-10) THE average shots per NHL game was only 31.something-something... Fantastic Sabres moment remembered in a cool stack of pucks.

ALL ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: Come see the full exhibit commemorating 40 years of cool Buffalo Sabres hockey moments based on items from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum's permanent collection. It all goes on display at HSBC Arena for the first pre-season Sabres game and will be up all season, 2nd floor, on either side of the big center bar overlooking the entrance. To find out more, stay tuned!

Freeze! Rock!

2010-09-02T21:37:00.006-05:00

The first step to our Sabres 40th Anniversary exhibit installation is almost complete. The backdrop to our 2 display cases are being made to look like skated-on ice. These will be the background to the memoribillia that will be on display. Our design team came up with a great technique to recreate ice and our designer Dan spent a few nights perfecting the 'ice.' We painted the back of the cases and the back of plastic sheets white. Then the front of the sheets were attacked with sandpaper to dull the finish and add the skate marks.

Today we installed the backgrounds and tomorrow we add more 'full case' marks. I think so far it looks great and I will post more as we continue. Our deadline is to have it up and looking great for the first pre-season Buffalo Sabres game later this month.

We're Gonna Win That Cup

2010-09-01T15:50:00.006-05:00

Hockey. Hockey. Hockey. That is all we have been thinking about as we continue to work on the design and installation of an exhibit highlighting 4o-years of Buffalo Sabres history that will be on display in HSBC arena for the entire 2010-11 hockey season. The items in the cases are on loan from the Buffalo Hockey Experience + Museum (click me) and it will feature a fantastic look at 40 years of Buffalo Sabres' hockey.

This is the largest scale project we have worked on here at OtherWisz Creative besides web projects. We started with the curating of the pieces and writing the story it tells you the viewer. Next came the design and layout of the two 108 x 80" display cabinets and five trophy cases. J. -- with an extensive background in trade shows and museum displays -- had a huge role in the design & layout. We also designed graphics, wrote the text, selected the photos used and are in the process of installing the background to the cases today.

Next week is the fun part- the installation of the displays. This will include setting up the mannequins for the jerseys, hanging banners, mounting photos and items and then placing the sticks and other pieces of Sabres history into the display.

Now I can safely say that I know more about hockey then I ever thought I would know as we have been immersed in this project over the last few months. I know all about the 1976 game vs. the Soviets, the All Star Game that took place in Buffalo in 1978, Hasek's 70 Save game in 1994 and much, much more.

I will post some photos as we progress further.

Sudden Impact!

2010-08-20T11:15:00.005-05:00

It is not that I have nothing to say.....
or Don't call it a comeback ('cause it ain't)!

Work has interfered with life (and blog postings). The office has been flooded with projects including a really cool museum-type installation, a Flu-shot campaign, a bunch of websites and a few other things. I am not complaining- it is a good problem to have- I just want to get a little more free-time, so I can blog, sleep, stay away from the computer, etc.

So stay tuned sports-fans.

To keep you tied over- here is the latest rock poster I did for another rockin' Wolf Tickets show. This one has a great 1960s-era LIFE magazine photo of 'Broadway" Joe in stripclub prior to NY Jets Spring Training that year. Oh, the horror and the beauty of it all.

Then there is this.......

BONUS VIDEO BEATS: from Mick Jone's basement!

Box Set

2010-07-17T14:28:00.021-05:00

Wide Margins: An Exhibition of 'Zines and Self-Published Works from the Sublime to the Silly is currently on view at the WNY Book Arts Center. It runs from July 16-September 3, 2010 & includes hundreds of home-made, self-published works of literary and graphical self-expression. Zines were the blogs before the internet. They were made with typewriters, glue, scissors, tape, copy machines, old computers, press type, pencils, paper, markers, photos, stats, stickers and often staples.

Both my 1990-era pubs -- the Sign O' The Times (SOTT) and Slack Magazine, done by Wizard Graphics-- are highlighted in a glass display case. Thanks to WNYBA's Amy & Jessica for curating this super show. This is really a fine collection of hanging, stacked and piles & piles of literally a shit load of publications. Make sure you get down before Sept. 3 to check this show out- it is very cool!

I missed the opening reception as I was out of town, but I biked down the Saturday afternoon to check it out. I was pretty psyched to see the show. I took these snapshots -- heavy on the Wizard Graphics case -- for your viewing pleasure.

HELPFUL LINKS-
Facebook page- click. BuffaloSnooze preview- click. WNY Book Arts page- click. Slack Magazine online website.

The full Slack & SOTT case. Click on this image collage for big view....very nice. This display includes tee, Slacker in Space original comic art in stat & negative form, a poster, business card, watch, rubber stamp and original issues of SOTT and Slack Magazine.

Side view of full SOTT- Slack case- protected under glass!

Edits to Issue #1 of SOTT includes hand notes on laserprint proof.

Poster for Slack fundraiser at 3rd Room & one-of-a-kind original SLACK watch.

Various SLACK Magazines with Slack in Space comic by Don Keller.

SOTTs from 1991.

Zine case 01- colorful, fancy zines.

Zine case 2- very professional looking zine-age.

Hanging row of the great Duplex Planet zines.

More colorful Duplex Planets.

Hanging zines and tools (electric typewriter & 'pre-zine' print press).

Beer Frame- a classic from back in the day.

Artbabe!!

Stacks-o-Zines.

Event posters in WNYBAC window on the corner of Mohawk & Washington, Downtown Buffalo, NY.

Saturday morning, post opening party clean up.

BONUS BEATS- WNYBAC is a great addition to the Queen City -- they have been around for one year now. Please support this non-for-profit if you are a fan of the printed arts-- especially the antique hand-made, letter-pressed versions of book and all things printed. Become a member!

Start Choppin'

2010-07-07T19:45:00.002-05:00

Born in the Summer of 1993, Slack Magazine flourished in Buffalo NY's underground Zine world alongside such luminaries as the Sacred Cow, Snot and The Avenue Player. Sputtering out in February '96 with one last great splash (The Beer Part II), Slack Magazine lived it's life for 20 issues and included slam-bang-gonzo journalism, reviews, ridicule, satire & early computer graphics littered with scans from borrowed postcards, magazines & newspaper clippings. Written and edited by some of Buffalo's greatest creatives (writers-DJs-photographers-drunkards) of the 1990s, Slack has finally dusted itself off & entered the digital age right here.

I gathered all the digital issue of Slack and posted them in it's very own URL at SlackMagazine.com Slack now lives in the digital age, enjoy this slice of Buffalo, NY 1993-1996.

Check it out, kids!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2010-07-01T15:15:00.005-05:00

Don't squish that logo. Don't flatten it down, don't bring the sides in. Please never re-size that logo misproportionately. Stop puling on a corner when you have placed it in Illustrator, or (God forbid, you are designing in) Photoshop. Side note: Photoshop is a photo editing program, not a layout program. You should stop designing in Photoshop, while we are on the subject....

Back to the logo you are hurting..... Don't force it to fit. Don't manipulate the logo in any way.

Show some respect to the designer who developed the logo. If you cannot get the logo on the page without changing it in any way-- besides scaling it proportionately-- then don't. You are showing disrespect to the craft.

It you can't do this, then please stop practicing graphic design. If you don't know that this is wrong-- screwing with that logo the way you are-- then you have no business doing what you are doing.

And I mean it. Just stop it.

Bustin' Loose

2010-06-25T08:18:00.005-05:00

I am joining DJ Jeffro for a little night of music at Staple's this Saturday night in historic Allentown (across from Nietzsche's). Come on down folks! Funk, funk, funk and (mostly) all vinyl, baby.

Doing It To Death

Featuring DJ Jeffro with guest DJ Dr. Wisz of Deja Blu

According to the creator of this funky night, DJ Jeffro:

What is Doing It To Death? Nothing crazy, just a laid back night of hard hitting horns, snares that are mighty tight and alright, and ridiculously raw grooves that are pure dynamite. Aided and abetted by The Funkmaster Generals.... Otis, Stevie, James, Sly, Curtis, Zig, Booker, Maceo and Arlester.

Grooves that are so ON the money that you'll be amazed you got in for NO money.

4+ hours of classic soul & funk music from the 60's, 70's and early 80's. Stax, Motown, Curtom, King, Tamla, Desco, Hi, Daptone, and more.

Saturday, July 26, 2010

11pm- close

100% free, 200% funky

keep on keepin' on.

Do You Believe in Magic?

2010-06-09T08:10:00.015-05:00

Ideas That Work MAGIC

While thinking about designing some new self-promo materials, I dug out an early self marketing piece from way-back-when. This is probably the 1st 'mailer' I ever did for myself. It was from 1990 & it was a small folded postcard that opened to reveal the magic of Wizard Graphics-- my first company.

The cover stars the WG Wizard! State-of-the-art, art! My wizard dude was an early computer illustration chunkily mouse-drawn in Adobe Illustrator 88 by building simple shapes over scanned clip art (borrowed from a Clipart book-- hey, I told you it was 1990!). I added some shading (available in percentages of 10), shrunk-down star art on a black background and a very magical font exclaimed: Ideas That Work Magic. Bam! Impressive, eh? These were printed at the copy shop on glossy card stock, roughly hand-scored (as you can see below), folded and scotch tape sealed.

Looking back in time, the other side seems like rather bold & brash filler. The plain back was meant to look like a real postcard and includes a decorative script that read:

Having a great time, wish you were here! Business has boomed and we are quite successful. Call us and find out how we can help you and your business get a new, sharp look for the '90s. See you soon...!

Oh baby...!

The inside is all black like the cover and has a clipart top hat showering money (!!!) and a sharp-dressed 70's clipart dude. These pieces of stock art were both once used in a cut-and-paste sales flyer I had created at my first graphics job at Appliance Parts Distributors, late 80s (see back when here).

The fancy WG business card pops out since it has that expensive purple gradient on it (again, see old post about the history of my own personal biz cards including the original wizard, of Wizard Graphics). The sharply written, prince-esque marketing hoopla reads "Wizard Graphics Can Create Magic 4 U," "Design & Layout - Appearance & Appeal," "Creativity is the Key To Make It Happen," and the hit-'em-while-you-got-'em, call to action "Call Today."

My first design business supplied the following graphic design services (we have come so far):
promotional pieces
advertisements
business cards
business forms
newsletters
letterheads
invitations
brochures
envelopes
posters
menus
slides
fliers
logos
signs
and
much
more!

1990- there were no websites as of yet and the 'slides' mentioned were for event presentation (because Power Point was in it's infancy). I was starting to use computers back then and Pagemaker made laying out 'business forms' a snap. I once did an order form for Kreher's Egg farm -- my roommate was an Egg Farmer for a bit in the early '90s.

I sent these out in the US mail, maybe 50-60 pieces, to business addresses I looked up in the telephone book. I don't remember how I gathered this hand-made, targeted list of potential companies deserving of 'magic design'... but I sent them out and waited. A good portion of the list were bars and nightclubs in the Elmwood Village and Allentown, as well as a few existing clients. I think I had officially had a part-time job as a freelancer for about 4-5 years at this point.

Was the first self-mailer a success? Well for 1990 standards, not bad really: marketing-wise there is a loose concept, it delivers the list of services, it displays the fancy biz card and the call to action. I remember, I did get some work from an existing client, so it did win me a design project... You know, it was first stab at self-promo and I am still doing this 20 years later.

FOOTNOTE: This is not the earliest example of graphics I have dug out, did this poster from 1987-- the pre-computer days of Buff State....

Who Loves The Sun

2010-05-26T21:48:00.022-05:00

Cool It Down -- Twin Fair, 8-Tracks and the missing CDs, that one's that really hurt...

I think back about all the CDs I used to own that were stolen, borrowed and never returned, disappeared after a party, you moved out-of-town and you traded them to me in exchange for your share of the utility bills, and the otherwise misappropriated. The ones that you remember most are the ones you really miss.

Of the first 2 cds I ever bought -- LL Cool J's "Bigger and Deffer" and B.A.D.'s awesome first record, "This is Big Audio Dynamite"-- only the BAD remains in my collection. Kinda sucks not to have the first 2 cds I ever owned. Not for nostalgic purposes, because they both rocked. I have the first ever record I purchased- 1975's (bought new in 1978) Aerosmith 'Toys in the Attic" (but then again, it might have been Joe Walsh's "But Seriously Folks" LP....). Good one... probably bought at Twin Fair or Cavages at the Boulevard Mall.

I don't have the first cassette tape I ever boughtm and know I don't have the first home-recorded cassette I ever made-- but I do remember it was The Beatle's blue LPs (didn't bother with the red one, for some reason..). I know I don't have the first 8-track tape I ever duped. Before moving all the way to cassettes at an early age, I did have a nice collection of 8-tracks when I was 14-15 years old including Steely Dan "Aja", Cheap Trick "Live at Budakon," Alice Cooper's "School's Out," and the first Boston & Foreigner records. Hey, I was 15 years old.

But I must bring this back to the misappropriated CDs of the past. The ones that really get me, are the CDs I have completely forgotten about. They are the ones that pop-up and make you say "damn, now I have to buy that for a second time...". I have one CD of the 2-CD set New Order "Substance" in my collection... that really burns me, someone stole one half of the collection. Loser. That second one was the good CD too! I am also missing-- and if YOU have them, please return them-- the Cure's "Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me", "LA Woman" by The Doors and/or U2's "Joshua Tree"... I already replace the first two, so on second thought-- if you got 'em, keep 'em!

The real painful ones are the forgotten ones that sneak up on you like this: I recently read the 33-1/2 book about the "Velvet Underground and Nico" LP and decided to dig out the vinyl version so I could burn it to CD (for myself only, of course...). I haven't found it yet, but I know (hope) it is still in the record collection someplace. Then it hit me. I used to have the CD of VU's commercially-pleasing, hit-filled "Loaded" - quite a fine recording, I might say. It's gone... a long time ago. I forgot I even owned it, it has been gone for so long. I probably bought it 24 years ago and owned it for about 10 years of that time. I found a real beat-up and unplayable vinyl copy that wasn't mine to start with... I may have 'misappropriated' this one.... (not on purpose).

But when you have a bunch -- some may say, too much -- music like me, you can get a surprise once in a while. The exact opposite happens. I had a hankering for the live Kinks double LP "Two For The Road," and bammmmmmm-- there it was! Awesome. Then a few mysterious ones will creep in like Electroman's "KookaKook" 12" record... who's was this? Thanks!

Mirror in The Bathroom

2010-05-17T11:14:00.006-05:00

Once again I have a painting included in the Western New York Book Arts Member Gallery Show. The opening is this Friday, May 21st from 6-9PM. Come on down, support the arts and check out my latest work of artwork (that is not graphic design).

For last year's WNYBA's Member Show, I included an old painting that I thought would be fitting as it had 'words' included in it. It was something that I created when I was producing a lot of artwork: 10+ years ago. For this year's show I got my act together and completed an entirely new piece of art. It is a painting that is a more 'built up' that painted -- it includes acrylic, old presstype and powdered graphite. It is currently untitled, but I hope to give it a catchy title before I turn it in in a couple of days.

Hope to see you folks at the opening, for more info click the link!

2nd Annual WNYBA Member's Exhibition
On view May 21-July 9th.

Opening Event Friday May 21 6PM-9PM

Location:
Western New York Book Arts Center
468 Washington St.
Buffalo NY 14203

NOTE (05.18.10): Last minute entry with a new painting created last night- Now I have to decide between 2 submissions. Let's see how it looks this AM.

Spin Me 'Round

2010-05-05T07:58:00.004-05:00

People always come over and seem to enjoy visiting our studio space (especially other artists). I was thinking on working on a series of blog posts that would be about some of the graphic artists and creative folks I know-- so see if I could get them to let us get a peek into their studios. Creative people often have the best spaces to work in- packed with designs, inspirational material and just plain cool stuff!

Earlier back, when this blog started, I did a series of posts which were brief interviews with some local Buffalo design-folks. I'll see if I can get the time to get into this sort of project. I'll start to see what sort of interest there is from you, the loyal readers, and the artists themselves.

In the meantime..... a peak into the OtherWisz Creative office space (top floor).

O My Soul

2010-05-01T15:28:00.014-05:00

The family spent the afternoon printing. This morning we went to the Western New York Book Arts to learn about printing with wood type, the way they did it hundreds of years ago. Today's hands-on class was to combine wooden block type letterforms into animal shapes. See some photos from our experience below.

This was a fantastic experience. It started with picking letterforms, setting them up in a galley, using wood 'furniture' to lock it all in, and then printing using equipment from the 1880's. The girls came up with some nice designs which I will pick up in a few days after they dry.

Designing with your hands really made you feel like an ancient craftsman. The smell of the ink, the rolling of the hand-press and the results made for a great time. It doesn't get an 'real' that graphic-designing by hand with woodtype. Good for the soul.

Some of the wooden type we used to print with in a variety of styles, typefaces and sizes.

Our host Rich Kegler showing some past work for inspiration.

Leftovers from a previous print job.

Young designer looking for type specimens to start with.

The young designers designing with woodtype, setting up on their trays.

Rich inking some letters for a proof.

Some wood block type all 'purpled' up with ink.

Young designer peaking through window in basement of Book Arts.

What's Going Ahn

2010-04-29T22:39:00.015-05:00

In a world rendered only in back & white, there were few graytones and bitmapped reigned supreme.

I remember the olden days when everything was on black and white (unless it was printed on colored paper stock). Before color printers were all the rage (and affordable), us event-marketing types (aka poster-flyer makers) did all our posters in single color: black on white. Simple graphics for simpler times, they were....

While searching back for some deja blu flyers, I unearthed some rock show flyers I had designed back in the early '90s.

This collection includes:
> 808 State at the ICON
> Ladies Night Saturdays at the ICON
> The Headhunters at Nietzsche's
> A 1991 double bill of The Headhunters & the Steam Donkeys at the Little Harlem
> Gil Scott Heron at the ICON

These flyers were build on a combination of either a band's press photo or something scanned from a magazine-- usually vintage Life magazines or a '90s rock rags like R-Stone-- and some typographic magic. The one up top-- the Double Hoedown (at the Little Harlem, a vintage Buffalo soul & jazz club that burned to the ground and was demolished in 1999) has titles generated in 'Typestyler', an early font manipulation program that was used to create effects now common in ALL graphic design programs. These crazy effects included: drop shadows and outlines. Wow. Heady stuff back in 1990. The graphic computer tricks that seems so basic on computers today, were a byte-churning event back then. Typestlyer was known to take a few minutes-- yes, a few MINUTES- to create a text effect! This DBHD! poster includes a hint at my early obsession of stars on rock posters. I still haven't kicked that habit.

For a band building a reputation at the time on the blips and bleeps of early acid house-techno-- 808 State-- I tried to get 'super electronic & computery'. This flyer was built upon a photo scanned from a science textbook that had some state-of-the-art Photoshop magic -- a noise filter, glow and drop shadows-- added to it. Wow (again).

This other Headhunters poster was a simple one, but it is my favorites from this bunch. Not a lot of computer tom-foolery on this... just a simple closeup of rock legend Chuck Berry lighting a cig, darkened to give it's shadows a bit of a sinister undertone. It had the most basic of event details overlayed in a blocky font. I remember going for something to compliment Terry Sullivan's band's real rock-&-roll sound and I wanted a paste-to-the-wall vintage feel- I think this one has really stood up over time. As the Ladies Night -- with a cleavage peaking, cig-smoking Isabella Rosalinni-- looks dated (Good God Stretched Type! Argggh!!), I think this one and the Gil Scott still look good. They might look nice printed in a 20 x 30 format?

To think these were created on a Mac SE-30, often transferred by floppy disc to my job at a local service bureau and printed to Photostat Paper to create a 'master' hard copy ($8 each). You couldn't print your own-- laser printers wern't all that good back then.... they were printed by the bar owner (or the band) at Kinkos on 8-1/2 x 11" white bond paper. Though I think the futuristic 808 State flyer was printed on neon yellow paper.

Did I get paid well to do these back then? Ha!

No, but I got to see alot of great free rock shows...

Click for larger views:

The Headhunters at Nietzsche's (updated)- Classic rock image for a great Buffalo rock band.

808 State at The ICON (1993)- British electronic comes to Buffalo early '90s.

Double Bill Hoedown featuring The Headhuters & The Steam Donkeys (1991)- Great late night show of local Buffalo bands in an unlikely venue. Nice giant rock hair, Mr. Matt Smith!

Saturday Ladies Nite at ICON w/ DJ Unlimited (1992)- alternative, progessive, wave! club flyer, Buffalo, NY. "Gals," "Girls," "Women" & "Ladies" drink free!

Gil Scott Heron at ICON (1992)- The revolution was not televised, it was live! This was one of those ICON shows where the garage door was open and the side room was filled with folding chairs.

Tiny Bubbles

2010-04-06T13:17:00.002-05:00

Easter Sunday 2010! Cousins with bubble guns!!

Don't Call Me Scarface!

2010-03-25T21:21:00.006-05:00

The latest installment of OtherWisz posterdom is for the upcoming Punky Reggae Party 2 at the Mohawk Place. This event features some great local punk bands (Wolf Tickets, Chosen Ones, Rockas) with a ska/reggae bent all wrapped up with WBNY's DJ Universal.

This poster is probably one of the more colorful pieces I have created in a while drawing on the red, green and gold of traditional reggae graphics. The client wanted something including, and I quote, "punk rockers, dreads, and speakers speakers speakers!!!"... so did I listen to the client..? Not exactly. Instead I used Don Letts! I figured since Don was using one of my posters in his movie, I would put Don on one of my posters (read post below). Seemed fair enough.

The Formula- how it was made....
I "found" a cool photo of Don and blew him out, bit-mapped him and started to build up around the event title. I have no idea why I am so drawn to this western-circus font, the Rosewood Standard, or why it even works here, but for some reason it does. I think because the font has that old-timey poster feel to it, juggle the individual letterforms around and it lends itself well to a party atmosphere. The rest of the text was set in one of my favorite chunky rock font, Poplar Standard Black. I don't know, maybe I need to start using some different typefaces..? You tell me.

I was dying to use the 2-Tone guy and by balancing him with the Circle Jerks dude-- we had both the "punky" and the "reggae." I then added the ska checker board at the top and bottom to frame it. But I wasn't ready to call it day and something felt like it was missing.... I wanted to get some of the aggression and violence that the rastas, punks and ska dude rallied against when the Punky Reggae movement was born in 70's London. So a spray-painted, bloody splat seemed to work just right. By layering it behind and on top of the corner pieces of art, I got some messy depth.

Some fine tuning at this point included pulling an ornament from the typeface and offseting it on top of the jumbled characters. I took the same ornament and placed it over our main man's glasses to add to his 'death stare' with an implied set of daggers. I gave him a golden yellow halo, and we we were just about finished. As per usual, with any OtherWisz rock poster, I had to add a few stars. I started to "over-star it," and the client asked me to pull back a bit on the stars... I think it was a good piece of advice.

BONUS BEATS- the above snapshot was snatched from a photo taken at the Mohawk Place last week and it shows my poster hanging in it's natural environment. Rock on!

I'm In Love With a Girl

2010-03-18T07:51:00.002-05:00

RIP Alex Chilton (1950-2010), one of the great ones.....

Party at Ground Zero

2010-03-10T09:05:00.009-05:00

ROCK POSTER claim to fame- OtherWisz work included in movie about Strummerville.

I was contacted by the production staff of a movie being made about "Strummerville," the charity foundation created following the death of Joe Strummer to continue his charitable work. They wanted to use one of my rock posters (click now) in the movie!

The film is by Don Letts, the famed English filmmaker with strong ties to the Clash. His list of accomplishments is amazing: he was one of the first club DJs in England to play dub, reggae and ska, he was in Big Audio Dynamite with Clash-man Mick Jones, he is an author and he has directed numerous videos including "Pass The Dutchie" by Musical Youth and "Back on The Chain Gang" by The Pretenders. In 2003, filmmaker Letts won a Grammy for his Clash documentary "Westway to The World." Good bio link here on BBC radio.

His new movie is about Strummerville and the work they do, the bands associated with it, the yearly concerts, benefits and their continuing devotion to helping youths obtain their musical dreams themselves, as DIY-man Strummer would have liked! The charity is described on their website as "aiming to create new opportunities for aspiring musicians. Set up by the friends and family of Joe Strummer in the year after his death, the charity seeks to reflect Joe's unique contribution to the music world by offering support, resources and performance opportunities to artists who would not normally have access to them."

The production company, Brassneck TV describes the movie, debuting this weekend (March 12-21, 2010) at the SWSX music festival in Texas as:

STRUMMERVILLE- Joe Strummer's untimely death in 2002 sent shockwaves around the music world and beyond, yet Joe's friends and family were determined that his spirit would live on. In this documentary, Grammy award-winning filmmaker Don Letts demonstrates how Joe's DIY attitude is manifesting itself through a charity which helps aspiring musicians - Strummerville. The film features performance footage and interviews with Strummerville artists, supporters and founders including Billy Bragg and Damien Hirst, plus previously unseen footage of Strummer himself.

Locally, Wolf Tickets rocker Chris Malachowski has been carrying the flag of Joe Strummer since his death in Dec. 2002 and OtherWisz Creative been designing the posters for each tribute show (as well as DJing them). Chris has kept strong ties to Strummerville, as our local event has donated proceeds from each show to the charity.

It was cool to get the call, and it is an honor to have some of my work featured in a movie about such a great organization that is associated with the memory of one of my heros, Joe Strummer. So if anyone will be at SWSX this weekend, look for the film and the brief glimpse of an OtherWisz-designed poster.

LINKS:

Here is PR of the movie on the Strummerville website: click here
Here is the movie production company's site Brassneck TV, click here.
Here is the link to ALL the of posters I have created for the local tribute shows in Buffalo- here click now
More info on Strummerville- here ya go

Sounds of the City

2010-02-23T09:43:00.008-05:00

Looking back on an era of acid jazz and the posters that set the scene.

Things have been rather hectic around the OW headquarters and I haven't had much time to sit back and contemplate or even muster enough energy to write about something. So the blog has suffered as you can see...sorry. It has been a busy year. I thought I would spend some time looking back (while cleaning the flat files looking for something) and post some old graphic design work, some rock posters, some DJ flyers and some of the fun things I have completed over the years.

Going back to 1997, when the DJ scene in Buffalo had worn out it's post-rave vibe, all seemed lost on the club scene. Rock & hip-hop ruled the bars and DJs were regulated to the typical Friday and Saturday night slots. A friend of mine opened the Kingsnake Lounge at 112 Chippewa street and a new groove was born for the end of the '90s. DJ Scotty and I took our love of electronic music, early drum and bass, abstrakt hip hop, and a new groove called acid jazz, and created what we called 'deja blu.' We spun records (yes kids, vinyl records...) at the end of the bar on a Tuesday night and created a scene for the chilled out, imported beer and martini drinking set.

The posters and flyers I did for our nights were always changing in order to keep it fresh. Born of the distressed, grunge of the era (late '90s), the posters were often built directly in Photoshop to take advantage of the layers, filters and accidents that made cool & unplanned things happen. A signature look was born to promote a signature DJ night than moved from the weekday stint to the monthly, full house Saturday nights. Often with images of sax players and manipulated jazz icons, I borrowed strongly from the Blue Note graphics of the 1950s and turned it on it's head. Printed after hours at my job at the time, I was limited to one-color on white stock. When my day job bought a color printer, I still worked in a limited color range to keep it simple and stark.

The official deja blu logo is probably the only logo that I have ever designed that doesn't exist in vector format. A layered Photoshop file, the DB logo was a misaligned ghost of an identity, a vibrating, floating logomark that represents the music, the scene and the blurry consumption of too much alcohol. With unnecessary accent marks on the logo, I always wanted us to appear strange and foreign.

Here we have three examples of deja blu flyers, typical of the era. The first one was a 1/2 page, black and white and may have been one of the 1st flyer to promote the deja blu Tuesdays. The official 'deja blu' logo had not been created yet, but the visual aesthetics can be seen in it's infancy.

The other two are from specific Saturday nights at the Kingsnake Lounge and represent the deja blu look at it's top form. The first one from November 28, 1998 includes fuzzy typefaces, fake halftone dots, and a limited color palette (always in blue). The second poster is from a night in 1998 (2-days before x-mas), and it broke away from the norm with a much more balanced, less grunge look. Printed again in a limited palette but on blue paper stock, the yellow glowing deja blu logo hangs on the half-toned, manipulated clip art building like a flag. Other deja blu posters often included Europeans enjoying cigarettes and cocktails or urban landscapes, as with this one. This was a memorable night on the Buffalo club scene with duel slide shows, flashing lights, over-capacity crowds (screw the fire marshall) and people dancing their asses off and flipping up the walls, drinking like it was the end of the world, all over a pumping, jazzy groove that was acid jazz in it's prime. Great flyer, great night!

There will be more to follow, including some early '90s rave/party flyers and some ICON concert posters (where I was the official poster designer in it's heyday). I have to organize them and scan them, so pencil that in as 'coming soon.'

CREDITS: (1) original deja blu logo, (2) deja blu 'The Original" flyer from 1997, (3) "November Twenty Eight Saturday" poster for Kingsnake gig 11/98, and (4) "Sound of the City" poster for Kingsnake gig on Dec. 26th 1998. All designed by Mark Wisz, Wizard Graphics.

Shadrach, Meschach, Abednego

2010-01-28T16:33:00.002-05:00

"...got more rhymes than j.d.'s got salinger / I hold the title and you are the challenger"

RIP JD Salinger

The Mirror Conspiracy

2010-01-17T11:06:00.002-05:00

Today's Buffalo Snooze essentially re-wrote an ArtVoice story about Buffalo's electronic DJs in the 1990s. See the AV story linked here. Again Scott & I, as "dejablu" were named-checked. It seems a history of this Buffalo DJ scene cannot be written without our influence mentioned. This is very cool and it makes me feel great to not be forgotten! An honor to be remembered, to say the least.

To add to this story: both the Kingsnake, the 658 and the Blu (Osaka) were weekly DJ gigs begun by Scott and I. We were the first DJs at the Kingsnake on Chippewa, the first ones to move to 658 after the original 'Snake closed and we were the opening night DJs at Blu on Main Street. My DJ parner Scott hosted the weekly 'open DJ nights' at Blu that began the careers of a lot of local DJs.

As written in the Buffalo Snooze article:

"Concurrent with these warehouse and loft-space parties, a small but vibrant club scene began to grow in Buffalo — centered around the Chippewa area, but certainly not limited to it. The likes of the Rendezvous, Asbury Alley, the Kingsnake, the Atomic, the Icon (later to be known as Club E), the Opium Lounge, and Osaka's Blu, among others, all featured at least one night of DJ-based music per week....

.... In addition to the Knowmatic Tribe guys, Deja Blu, DJ Zuk, Mike Parker, and the collective responsible for the weekly Baby Steps shows at Broadway Joe's conspired to lay the template for 21st century Buffalo electronic dance music."

This makes me think 2010 is ripe for some dejablu reunion gigs?!?!? Someone call DJ Scotty!!

Buffalo News article: They spin, we dance: DJs draw crowds downtown

Walkin' Up The Road

2010-01-09T18:56:00.008-05:00

Smashing Magazine has compiled a nice online collection of retro signage pulled from Flikr and various other sources. Though most are the 'neons' from yesteryear that you might expect to see, there are few painted walls and wooden-type signs which are very cool. Included in this online compilation is Buffalo's own Parkside Candies and one from Greg Meadows (who shoots a lot of Buffalo urban images). I just drove past the Parkside Candies building on Main Street in the University District and though it is still open, it is looking pretty rough.

One of my favorites is the Chandler Liquors with it's flaming comet circling the 1950's script and boxed in characters from an Arizona liquor store and the Route 66 original Shell sign which is still colored in the same branded yellow and red they use today (though probably different Pantone colors). When everything has gone plastic and digital, these original designs serve still to inspire. Take a look at the link below.

>> Click here to check it out.

NOTE: Though my posting has slowed down it has been for good reasons- holidays and very busy work days. I hope to get back in the groove and keep this thing going stronger. By the way, this is POST #300 ! ! !

The Harder They Come

2009-12-21T11:22:00.004-05:00

This saturday (26th)- the day after Xmas, I will DJing the annual Joe Strummer tribute show at the Mohawk Place entitled The Harder They Come. This is a great gig organized by Mr. Wolf Tickets, Chris Malachowski that includes a several bands playing Clash and Joe Strummer songs (mostly Clash songs). The headliner being a conglomeration of some of Buffalo's best musicians going under the name Rebel Waltz Orchestra and last year they had some Great Train Robbery horns to really flavor it up.

This gig was a packed house last year- some come early. Doors open at 8:00 PM and I will spinning the tunes between sets and prior to the 1st band. My set list includes a lot of dub, reggae, punk rock and various other grooves inspired by the late great Joe Strummer. Joe had a great liking for a variety of musical styles which his bands, The Clash and The Mescaleros incorporated in their groove.

A portion of the proceeds do go to Strummerville- the Joe Strummer Foundation For New Music (info here).

This year's poster (above) tries to pull the flavor of the title of the event (the Jimmy Cliff classic) and The Clash's love for NYC street music of the 80s- rap, dub and reggae with the boom box and the mohawked Strummer images. Always a sure bet with red, this years poster looks a bit minimal as compared to the past event posters. The fonts include the new P22 font, LTC Winchell and hand-cut looking face, and the chunky Poplar- one of my fav rock poster fonts.

POSTER GALLERY- You can see the full gallery of JS Tribute posters here I have created over the past 8 years by click here.

Hope to see you kids on the 26th, shaking off those Christmas day cobwebs.

Fantastic Voyage

2009-12-17T12:02:00.003-05:00

Happy Holidays from us all at the Roam Buffalo blog, Where to Roam and OtherWisz Creative. It is the holiday season- aka Clobberin' Time. Nuff said.

Classic 1974 Marvel Treasury Special- Giant Superhero Holiday Grab Bag courtesy of NateTrax.

Christmas Rapping

2009-12-14T22:11:00.018-05:00

The PANIC! Sale was not really panic-driven. I think it was still too ahead of Christmas for panic shopping. The throngs of shoppers who strolled through the main gallery of the Western New York Book Arts seemed pretty calm during the this second annual sale of WNY crafters, screen printers, jewelry makers, book makers, t-shirt designers, and artists alike.

I shot a few snap shots of the crowds in the gallery for you out-of-towners to see. Bonus props for Eric Morse, in-town for the holidays on vaca from his job in Hong Kong. First storm rolls in to remind Eric about BuffaloSnow!

We are working full steam ahead into the holidays with a lot of stuff going on. Gotta be careful to not slip right through the upcoming holiday with head buried behind the computer. The kids would be mad. I'll try to post some neat holidays photos as I might not have a lot to say. Rock on!

Shoppers shop & the boppers bop.

Super Rich and his accomplice Carima.

Crowd chatting, shopping & more. Out-of-town Eric and his glowing alien backpack talks with Kevin & Val.

More crowd with Sunnyoutside David in front- holding court, brewing espresso, selling books.

Jill runs the WhereToRoam booth (with Rich making sure all vendors are chillin', makin' buttons, brewin' joe & hot chocolate, etc.)....

Shopper approaches the W2R booth with hand on wallet.

Shoppers under high ceilings, big windows and joy in their hearts (I think).. See Hero booth across the way.

Looking West across the gallery space from Marti's head.

Crowbiz and her wares.

Crowbiz's Capitalist Pig was coated in Russian text during the show. Ready 4 sale!

Happy Holidays to you! Support & join the Western New York Books Arts Center!

Brand New Cadillac

2009-12-03T23:27:00.013-05:00

Last Minute Panic Holiday Marketplace- the revenge!

Panic! Revenge!

Sounds good?

Friday Dec 11, 4-8 pm &

Saturday Dec 12 12-6 pm.

Once again, we will be selling our Where To Roam tees, hoodies and scarves at the Western New York Book Arts Center's Last Minute Gift Buying Panic Marketplace. Buffalo artists, crafters, bookmakers, printers and graphic artists will be there. Come on down, it was very cool last

year. This appears to be the final run of these particular W2R Tees- so get 'em while you can before we run out! Collect them all! Trade with your friends!!

The event is being promoted with this super great hand printed poster designed and printed by P22 (& WNYBAC's) Rich Kegler. The poster is red and blue ink on an awesome silver card stock. I captured some details below (click for VERY large views). I am not sure if it was worth the $30 parking ticket I scored today? Go Buffalo!

The event will be at the main gallery, 1st floor of the Western New York Book Arts Center 468 Washington St at Mohawk in Downtown Buffalo on Friday Dec 11, 4-8pm and Saturday Dec 12 12-6pm. Free admission and open to the public- come for Friday Happy Hour or Saturday afternoon shopping. Perfect gifts for giving or hoarding. Hot item for this year? The W2R scarf- get it!

This year's Vendors include:

• Elizabeth Leader

• Crowbiz

• Hero Design Studio

• Donald Trainor/ Shiny Object Media

• Where to Roam (Us, yeah!!!!)

• Amy Greenan

• Rene Hoover

• SunnyOutside Press

• WNY Book Arts Center Shop and More!

Cool Poster Details: Click for larger view!

The Mix- the overlapping letterpressed blue and red make purple (kinda)....

Some cool detail art from the right hand strip of objects, knick-knacks and other graphical nuggets.

Windings, eat your heart out! Nice gourds, Gord.

Panic on the street of Buffalo! ha ha! Smiths! Ha!

Beat Dis

2009-11-26T09:22:00.004-05:00

dejablu, Scotty and I, are named-checked in Craig Reynolds piece about Buffalo, NY's DJ history, post 1990. It was very cool to get the little plug as our place in Buffalo DJ-history is noted.

When Scotty and I abandoned our rock-n-roll bar DJ gigs to started spinning records in Oct. 1997 on the corner of the bar at the Kingsnake on Chippewa, we would have never thought a whole scene was going to blow up around us. Delving into, what was later to be known as acid jazz, we played records on a Tuesday night. In our primetime we played such cool spots as the Kingsnake Lounge, 658, Osaka's Blu, O, Off The Wall, old Pink, Rendevous, Calumet Arts Cafe, the Tralf, Albright Knox Art Gallery, Mohawk Place, Daemen College Gallery, WNYBAC, CEPA Gallery, Allen St. Hardware, Third Room, Central Train Terminal, old Burchfield Penny Art Center, many more that I have long forgotten, and had a drink named after us, the dejablu martini!

The older I get, the more I wanna rock! Excerpt from the AV article:

"Atomic Cafe and the Kingsnake Lounge in the early years of the Chippewa Street resurgence were ground zero, attracting fashionistas and Elmwood’s denizens of cool, and later, Club e (formerly the Icon), 658 on Main Street, where the Knowmatic Tribe held residence once the Kingsnake closed, and the Opium Lounge, all opened their doors to electronic music. By now, there was a healthy community of experienced DJs, all pursuing their own personal styles—like DJ Zuk of Deep Soul Plug, who started playing cosmic lounge, and Dr. Wisz and Scotty, who as Deja Blu spun acid jazz."

> Read extensive AV article here.

> Click here for dejablu discography.

Let's Pretend We're Married

2009-11-22T22:19:00.010-05:00

Finding the right typeface for a logo takes a lot of courting before a commitment can be made.

There a lot of fonts out there to choose from when designing. Too many, some might say... But the subtleties that get missed by your average viewer are what make a font special. When you are designing a logo and you are making some logo-typeface decisions, you really start to notice those subtleties. By paying close attention, you notice the way a letter has it's own personality, each letter being a small part of a bigger family- which is more than just the alphabet but includes numbers, character, punctuation and assorted what-cha-ma-call-its.

When a typeface is being explored for use on a logo, you are really only concerned with a limited number of characters. For instance the 'OtherWisz' logo is built from Century Gothic- the 'less-square' cousin of Avant Garde. I need only worry about the o,t,h,e,r,w,i,s and z. I don't really need to care about the remainders- I simply didn't need to be bothered with the 'a' or pesky 'q'.

Let's Get Together
Certain letters that often follow each other in common words are build (originally drawn) to balance with each other, fitting within each other, often nestled together. But you can't rely on the set kerning (the space between the letters) of characters when building a logoface. When letters and words are set into a block of copy or paragraph, you are often at the mercy of that font's set kerning. And that is fine it this situation. But when you are dealing with a microcosm of each individual letter up against another letter- you can and should move them yourself. By moving the letters closer, or further from each other, you can work to achieve the right balance between letters and (even as important, if not even more...) the space between the letters. When an inexperienced graphic artist sets headlines or letters in a logo that often just type it 'as is' and let it be. Often ignoring the fact that certain letters just have to be moved manually-- for instance an 'A' next to a 'V'- newbie designers often leave enough space that you can drive a truck through.

Big In Japan
I am working on a logo design now and find in interesting some of the very subtle elements to the typefaces that I have chosen to work with. Some little things you would never notice until it is blown up HUGE! You think a character has a straight edge until you see it big and then notice it is all wavy. Is this done on purpose to add personality to a font or poor, sloppy design?

When I view newer fonts against the classics- and I mean fonts originally hand drawn, eventually converted to digital-- it seems more care may have been put into those old design. Now I don't mean every new font obviously- I have friends that are type designers and they put a lot of care into what they do, agonizing over every last element of a font. But often I will look at a recently designed FREE FONT and find it to be of poor quality when viewed in close. Free fonts are usually worth that, next to nothing. As well I should note that 'classic fonts that have been digitized' are at the mercy of the digitizer and the foundry that made them, certain subtleties have been known to get lost in the translation at times.

When designing a logo, take care to choose a typeface that has the personality you want and explore the font's history to get a sense of what the designer may have been thinking. Choosing the right font is a combination of character, style, quality and history, but sometimes it is just a lucky crapshoot. And of the million of fonts out there, you will find just one that is right for the logo you are designing.... or at least a half a good dozen alternatives!

NOTES:
The attached graphics are few of the latest logos we have designed at OtherWisz Creative. The top is the NannyPro.com logo built from Baker Signet, Aurther Baker's 1965 slight-calligraphic face. The second logo is for a new catering service for daycares, Cater Tots and it is built using a fatty- Rudolf Koch's Kabel (this is the 1975 computerized version). Lastly, we have the Tracy Diina Communications logo which is designed using Stone Informal, a font originally designed in 1987 to look good when printed on laser printers plus a subhead set in Adrian Fruitiger's wonderful Avenier 35 Light.

Between Something and Nothing

2009-10-26T21:59:00.010-05:00

or Behind The Wheel (Route 66)....

My work space goes from really messy to really neat in a few hours when planned company is set to arrive the following morning. We normally keep a pretty clean & tidy (dusted and swept) office space, but we got a lot of stuff and each working job has a folder (or several piles of folders) of stuff. If we are heavily into a few things at the same time, that means that every available flat space- and some not-- are covered in drawings, sketches, books, meeting notes, hand-written notes and well, just stuff. The bigger the job- the more stuff there is to it! Things get misplaced often with so much stuff around here.

So when we have a potential client paying us a visit, we have to spend a few hours dusting upstairs and down, vacuuming, mopping the concrete floor in the lower level, putting away records & CDs, and filing the stuff. This is good on two levels: 1st- it makes the office look snazzy in it's own cool design-studio-in-a-barn way, all sparkling, shiny clean, and 2nd- all the stuff gets reorganized. The 3-level bin on my desk being the happiest, as it gets de-stacked, un-crammed and filed. It is nice to have several meetings on the clean-the-office level in a row. More bang for your vacuuming-buck, for sure!

Everything Counts (In Large Amounts)

Though I have always heard it said that a 'clean desk is a sign of a sick mind' I must admit, I have felt it to be true. I don't have time to neatly organize things on a day-to-day basis. My daily desk grows to be piles over the week. Taking the time to plow through the piles, throw some things in some folders, throw some folders in the file cabinets- makes a world of difference in the long run. So I might be preaching a sort of 'messy-in-the-short-run' with a dose of 'neatness-over-time' method to all this.

I guess some people must see the value in everything organized all the time. Visually they may go as so far as to have cork or magnetic boards with everything evenly spaced, nothing overlapping. I think that would make me a bit nuts.... but I guess if I could find that phone number I thought I tacked up here... somewhere.....hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmm. Shoot.

Groove Me, baby

Being the creative type I am stimulated by visual clutter. I like walls of postcards, photos, posters and stickers. I like shelves with miniature figures, knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, gadgets and geek toys. I really like books and magazines and listening to music (but I think I am digressing...). I need to see samples of colors combinations and moods set in photos and graphics around me, reminders of typefaces and design elements, techniques, styles and grooves. I guess my office gets the full mixmaster treatment - samples and clips of different things, unrelated visuals- existing in harmony- like a good mix tape that has a lot of different types of music.

I think most people/future clients that are looking for some sort of graphic, design or web service-- and have never been in a design office-- still know what to expect. A lot of people get a real charge about coming over here to the graphics company and some are, quite frankly, oblivious to it. No one has been shocked, so far (that I can remember).... Your average lawyer, doctor, etc. expects us creative folks to be a little nuts and wouldn't be surprised if they walked into our space and it looked like Pee Wee's Playhouse or a set on the '60s Batman TV show with a lot of angled windows and doors. So I think this attitude has given designers worldwide the right to have a nutty office- and it's expected! I don't think I could trust a neat and tidy designer with nothing on their walls... would you? What about a messy, colorful, movie-postered, rock-flyered lawyer's office?

Trans Europe Express

2009-10-12T20:52:00.002-05:00

Well not all of them....

Know Your Chicken

2009-10-05T22:25:00.031-05:00

Confessions of a Graphic Designer- part 45:

I was talking with a designer friend about why a smaller, 'boutique' firm is better that a larger agency-type of company. I have always heard freelancers say they 'can often juggle more that one ball at a time..." In our little firm, we are always working on multiple projects at the same time- sometimes juggling them. I was born into my work-life multitasking- circus-like!

Homefries For Church Folk

I've had a job ever since I was able to get my work permit at 16 (some 25+ years ago). At most of them, it was a balancing act of working on many things simultaneously. I am talking about my pre-design jobs, including my very first job of packing and un-packing trucks that took new clothing and sold it to senior citizens at old folks homes. Hey, I thought it was a kinda slow business model, but it gave the residents an afternoon of shopping and they were fashion conscious! Though we often spend time waiting around for trucks to show up, we were always packing, unpacking, pricing, counting, re-hangering... well you get it.

With a few jobs in between-- including lawn work, furniture delivery guy, pizza delivery guy for one day-- I found something I could do for the full 4+ years I went to the 'ol alma mater, Buff State. I started out as a dishwasher at the Sheridan Family Restaurant and worked my way up to a closing line cook. It was crazy fast-paced, and I learned to organize, evaluate hierarchy of importance, delegate tasks to my team and cook a breakfast steak in mere minutes. It was all about teamwork, moving fast, thinking fast and doing everything at once over and over again for several hours! Things could get hairy on a Sunday morning--post-church with a lot of hungry church-folks waiting in line outside to follow a helping of the Lord with a helping of homefries! Learning to think under pressure and solve problems was a valuable skill I learned while slinging soulvaki.

Computers Make Ya Go Faster

Once I moved into the now extinct, yet glorious world of digital pre-press- things happened even faster- it was the computerized '90s after-all. At The Retouchables, owned by airbrush master Dan Schuder, I would balance a slew of customer's jobs, checking files, troubleshooting, outputting film and making matchprint and dylux proofs... all while promising deadlines! It was early in the computer age & things moved at the speed of 800k floppy disks, all happening at once: Pow! Zoom! Click! Whirrr! I was born into the design business running as soon as I hit the ground and my restaurant experience really got me prepared to do so (Thanks, Nick!).

Better, Faster, Meaner, Leaner

So do you get a better, faster version when you use a small shop vs. a larger shop? In our case, I think you do. Often we have to switch gears on the fly and we are equipped to do so. You can go from sitting, thinking and writing a proposal (estimating time and doing math), to writing headlines for the ad we have to design right now because "...we forgot that was due today and we forgot to call you about!" But we'll do it, we like doing it. The next hour you are meeting with potential clients dressed up in a tie (the "Superman Suit," as Dan from The Retouchables used to call it), sitting, listening trying to impress. You can go from adding content to website template pages, resizing a large batch of photos, to suddenly having to slow down, clear your head, sit down and create with a pencil and paper. You know, really design.

I try to make it sound real exciting, and sometimes it is, but the point being is having the ability to keep it all organized, being able to switch gears to attend to a clients needs, and working on 2-3 things at the same time is a skill I am not sure I have seen in every designer I have met. I see it more in a smaller agency, where the owner is doing a lot of the work and see it less in larger agencies where a lot of people are good at doing a single task. They have experts that can do this and ones that can do that- but can they do more that one at the same time? How fast can they switch gears? Are they allowed to? Do they have to have it approved, fill out a change order, etc....

I guess I never realized when I was either inventorying blouses or deep frying fish on a Friday night that was learning skills that would become useful in your local octopus-limbed, ambidextrous graphic design team!

Agnostic Blues

2009-09-29T19:21:00.010-05:00

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but the Wolf Tickets CD artwork finally showed up at my door, and I gotta show it to you. I know I wrote that piece about the poster for the CD release gig and how I made the masthead graphic by hand, but I thought I would post some photos of the final CD packaging since I was pleased with the way it came out.

The graphics tell a sort of story as the front cover illustrates 'defiance' (man vs. tank), the inside j-card is the 'retribution' (cop beating kids) and finally the under-the-cd graphic illustrating the 'penance' (man in jail). I am not sure that's what I was thinking as I first began to work on this, but something made me link these images together and it fell into place as I was desiging it.

This CD job went through a lot of changes, as did the music and the band during the process. The back cover image was suppose to be the front. I was never keen on using the baby as the cover, but maybe it plays into the story as the beginning phase (the baby as early troublemaker...?)-- proceeding to the cover 'defiance' stage of life? I don't know. The whole thing just gelled in the end- the band, the music and the artwork.

Here Comes The Hell!

Front, inside flap and CD. What is black and white and red all over? Wolf Tickets!

Front with back.

Masthead on CD starring P22 Typewriter font.

Close up of masthead created with presstype (details here).

CD with inside flap with a snatch of title track lyrics (plus stars, and lots of 'em)...

Lyric sheet.

Back cover. Love vs. hate.

Tray card graphics. Oi!

BONUS BEATS- Nate's photos from the CD release party at the Mohawk Place.

Brand New Way

2009-09-23T12:47:00.008-05:00

We have tried to be very proactive with moving our design company full steam ahead- we have some new clients this Fall, some others on the horizon and a few prospects. My goal is to reduce my stress and time in the office. Ha! Do I really need to work nights besides working all day? I am hoping not. I think most people aren't used to working 9-5, stopping to have dinner and then going back for another bunch of hours. I am not complaining, that is just how it is. I am used to it, but I think it is starting to wear on me some. I am starting to see the value of getting good sleep nightly!

To reach this goal- we got to think ahead. I think what keeps this design boat, afloat is the continual planning, refining and just plain fine tuning. J. and I are always trying to improve our plan of attack to make sure it all runs smoothly. As we officially enter Autumn (yesterday)- the kids are back in school (I miss them already...). The balancing act of baby-stitters, summer fun (one minute an honorary Marshall at Fantasy Island Theme Park, the next in someone's board room) and kids hanging around the office-- is no more. It is just our team spending all our time creating good design... plus a lot of paperwork that makes this so-called "time creating good design" possible.

As a business, we have to attend to the things that are business-- I thought graphic design was going to be all fun and games! Coming up on 10 years as our own company forces us to look back on what has made this successful, but we have to look forward as to what will keep it successful. We have to stay ahead of the trends in marketing and design, make sure our clients are happy and make sure we aren't killing ourselves in the process.

The elusive free time is a really good goal.... and if we plan correctly, maybe it can be obtainable. Suggestions...?

Streetlife

2009-09-15T22:49:00.012-05:00

...me and my Buffalo Sabres, yeah, yeah, yeah...
-- We're Gonna Win That Cup

While designing an upcoming exhibit for the Buffalo Hockey Experience and Museum I have had access to some great hockey memorabilia. We are trying to brand the exhibit with some appropriate graphics, so I have been doing my research through the collection's archives. One of the first things BHEM's founder, Dr. Joe, handed me when I met him last year was a 1972 program from a Sabres-North Stars game.

This old blue program, this one treasure (it was a keeper, sports fans) had been a big part of the inspiration when working on the initial logo and the overall brand of the museum last year. It is full of great poorly printed photos, stats and hand typeset stories of the 1972 Sabres' hockey club.

This program has also been a great look into the Queen City herself in the early '70s. The ads for Buffalo shops, department stores, bars and restaurants give you a peek into nightlife in general. These are places I have only heard about and one that is still here: No Names (at right). The ads sure are pleasingly retro, baby! So I scanned a bunch of them to share.

More on the upcoming History Museum event later...
but for now- Ladies & Gentlemen- Buffalo, NY 1972.

Wild West Saloon in the Statler Hilton Hotel. "Bring the Bunch for Brunch!" Yee-ha.

This is kinda wild west as well, did 1972 Buffalo have a lot of saloons with spitoons?

I love this one, this guys outfit just says 'hockey player' (or Doug Henning)... outfitted by Ron, Frank and Gino.

Every other drink is 1/2 price... care to join me for a 'businessman's lunch?'

The Keyhole for the fashionable young man. They have it all: flare slacks, blue denims and belts!

The finest in what we used to call 'professional entertainment' for your dancing and listening pleasure...

The legend, Twin Fair, there used to be one in my neighborhood across from the whale car wash.

Mohawk Riot

2009-09-08T20:09:00.010-05:00

The Hell Cometh

My latest rock poster design is for the upcoming Wolf Tickets CD Release Party at the Mohawk Place on Friday, Sept. 25th, 2009. I was pleased as to how this one came out, so I thought I would write about the process of creating it.

This design was based on the CD artwork which I developed earlier in the Summer. The CD art will see the first light of day (or should I say, dark of the inside of the 'Hawk) the Friday of the show. All the stuff I have done for head-Wolfer Chris Malachowski have 2 things in common: stars and the color red. It just always seem to fit what I do for the band.

The CD title is Here Come The Hell and I played around with creating a title graphic for some time for this project starting with the CD. I tried to find a font that was punky and sans serif. I use serif-less fonts often in rock posters, often relying on the Futura family (love that Extra Black!). From a distance, I think they are more readable.

I couldn't find a font I wanted to use for this and I was getting tired of manipulating the typeface in photoshop- so I decided to go old school. I pulled out some old decrepit Lettreset Presstype (Helvetica Medium) and started to hand-set (or rub, I should say) the album's title. The sheets were old, crackly and the letters didn't stick very well- but I loved it!! I overlapped a few characters which a second burnish to cover pieces that fell off after not sticking. Kerning characters by eye, as well as lining up/overlapping them manually created the offset to the characters that I was looking for. Once I was happy with this built up art, I scanned it into Photoshop and adjusted the levels so the background became white and the characters solidified tonally. Also I filled in some of the missing pieces to hold together the integrity (ever so slightly) of the letter forms. I made a 600 dpi bitmap TIF file and dropped it into my cover image on the CD of the tanks. It was reused on this poster design. And there you have it- by hand, punk rock!

The use of P22 Typewriter font was exactly what WT requested. This typewriter-themed font style has become popular with punk rock designers for ages so it fit the bill. It also has a hint of a quasi-military feel-- M.A.S.H. did the same thing for Stencil fonts. When I stared to add elements and text to the piece I decided to make the CD title art huge (it is proportioned about 400% larger that on the CD cover) to draw attention to this catchy name 'Here Comes The Hell' (no exclamation point needed). So if you can imagine this full size (see link at bottom), you can read the title from 15 - 18 ft. away. I added a few more stars to keep with the WT brand and decided to give the whole thing a rougher look by framing the large, manipulated, color-tweaked photo in a sharp-edged frame giving it the 'viewed through a broken window pane' aesthetic.

I took a few extra steps to further distress a couple elements. I upped the font size of a few characters and added a bolder stroke to others. Some of the letters moved up a hair and a few down a hair creating some motion, some uneasiness and a bit (ever so slight) of drama. The main manipulated image borrowed was a square photo so I had to do something to fit it in the 11 x 17" format. By simply copying a chunk of the top of the photo, flipping it and pulling it out like taffy, I was able to fill the space with a ghostly shadow which almost looks like smoke. If you notice above the 's' in 'comes' there is a repeat of the tank antenna. I didn't bother to stamp it out as it looked natural as part of the background behind the large title. Happy accidents, eh?

There you have it. Click here for a large PDF (4.2 MB) of the the poster or go authentic punk: go to the show and tear a poster from the wall of the 'Hawk as a souvenir. That is the greatest compliment to any poster designer.

Oi! See ya on Sept. 25th at the Mohawk!!

BONUS BEATS: Wolf Tickets on MySpace (hear 'em!).

Autumn Beds

2009-09-06T11:50:00.005-05:00

I 'heart' work.

Holidays seem to stunt the growth of the business. I know I have been writing a lot about 'not' working lately, but I have been working a lot... really... well, as much as I can-- what with vacation, days off, long holiday weekends, etc... This is the time last year when things seemed came to a screeching halt, due to a lot of unforeseen circumstances. Somehow we survived and trudged on.

This year I am trying to be proactive and stay focused as the year approaches it's close. I have been looking at this week the same way I approached the start of a new year. By this I mean, I am trying to concentrate on prospects, I am trying to stay psyched, and I am trying to look to September like a new beginning. Why not?

How, you may ask..? I am doing this by calling a lot of clients- trying to see what they have planned for the rest of the year- pulling the 'duds' off the lead board and just keeping some of the likely prospects up there and cleaning my desk. That last one is a tough one. This means I have to find a place for everything from the trays & piles on my desk. This includes bits of paper with phone numbers, stray job notes and graphics, post-it-notes, phone log slips, photos, and other assorted what-have-you-nots. I hate cleaning up.

So as I sit in the office on a holiday Sunday (against my better judgment), I think I can wrestle some success from the remainder of this year. By trying to stay focused, not slacking, and keeping the boat afloat, I think we will successfully ride out the waning tip of this recession with a good year. This time, 2010 begins with Sept. 1.

NOTE: Illustration by FEW ©2009.

On and On

2009-08-27T08:37:00.002-05:00

No phone calls, no email message dings, no TwitterBook posts....

no hours in front of the computer...

Getting away from it all makes it all seem worth it. I haven't been able to totally disconnect, but I am putting a good effort in. The shop seems to be running smoothly without us.... well, with a little direction from the man in the woods.

This week has been filled with: campfires, hiking, cooking and eating, eating and eating.... playground trips, horseshoes, gathering wood, fishing, Terry Farrel Jim Beam, Bass Ale in the woods, pie-iron cooking, marshmallows, trees, grass, waterfalls, star-filled sky and rainbows. Well, I just threw that last one in, it sounded good....

We'll see you kids back in the city soon!

Fields of Joy

2009-08-17T09:48:00.008-05:00

I can see clearly now the rain has gone...
It's gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright) Sun shiny day.

The month of August has become our official OW vacation month. It is not that we stop working and leave town, we just take it (a little) easy. August includes: a few long weekends, some days off with out-of-town guests sightseeing, and trying not to work on Fridays- well only 1-2 hours anyway.

We do get away for a few days to go camping, but followers of this blog know that:

the laptop comes on the trip
the office is staffed while we are gone
and I am in contact via phone and email

I can't just shut down completely, can I?

While running our own gig, we really need to be reachable at all times. We have a lot of help doing the OtherWisz show (as a client once called it), but it's my ass if something goes wrong. And I can't pull a Stefan Sagmeister and:

close my business down for a year
go on sabbatical
make art
come back & pick up as if nothing has happened....

Now, I am not complaining, I signed on for this 'graphic design thing'. But a strange thing has happened: I re-discovered the weekend. They are like a mini-vacation- one in every week! And this 'weekend thing' really peaks with Summer in August- now we really got something.

I have had several periods in my life where I had a full head of steam. I worked during the week, worked nights freelancing, had DJ gigs on the weekend (often both a Friday and a Saturday night) and it just kept going. But after almost 10 years of just doing this-- running the design business-- I have all but stopped working on the weekends. This is the way it was meant to be and I like it. Weekends!! Yeah!!!

This 'weekend thing' just sort of happened. Now I really look forward to the weekend. I am usually getting fired on Thursday nights... I'll work late on a Thursday anticipating the weekend, then I am free once Friday night hits. I mean, I can still send some emails over the weekend, perform some quick website maintenance/updates, maybe read some documents... but I don't want to. Unless, of course, I absolutely, absolutely have you (see the above point about "...it's my ass if...").

So now a great month like August comes along and it has a good solid 4 weekends in it. This is like 4 vacations in the same month. These vacations include cutting the lawn and gardening, but hey, it beats sitting in front of this computer. I don't really think the 'word' computer and 'vacation' should be in the same sentence.... Once I can break that chain, we can really be free for that month off in Italy or Spain. Now that sounds like a good idea!

But for now I can float through Summer relaxing and really targeting these weekends for maximum fun. For the rest of the month I will be building websites, playing outdoors, reading RFPs, walking to the Saturday market, writing proposal & meeting notes & agendas, camping & hiking, marketing & promoting things, hanging at the waterfront & eating ice cream, writing letters & articles, laying in the yard hammock, camping, did I mention camping? Not so bad.

Don't You Forget About Me

2009-08-09T20:16:00.005-05:00

RIP- John Hughes

Director John Hughes passed away last week and I offer my 15 favorite quotes from Breakfast Club (1985) as a tribute. I also love Ferris Buellers Day Off and Sixteen Candles, but B.Club meant a lot to kids of my generation. I was one of the sterotypes in this movie.

Top Breakfast Club Quotes

15) Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.

14) But face it. You're a neo maxi zoom dweebie, what would you be doing if you weren't out making yourself a better citizen?

13) Stupid, worthless, no good, goddamn, freeloading son of a bitch. Retarded, big mouth, know-it-all, asshole, jerk. You forgot ugly, lazy and disrespectful. Shut up bitch. Go fix me a turkey pot pie. No dad, what about you? Fuck you. No dad, what about you? Fuck you. Dad, what about you? Fuck you.

12) Hey, how come Andrew gets to get up? If he gets up, we'll all get up, it'll be anarchy.

11) We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all.

10) Hey, homeboy, what do you say we close that door, we'll get the prom queen impregnated.

09) Well, Brian, this is a very nutritious lunch. All the food groups are represented. Did your mom marry Mr. Rogers?
Uh, no. Mr. Johnson.

08) You're an idiot anyway. But if you say you get along with your parents, well, you're a liar too.

07) What if your home... what if your family... what if your *dope* was on fire? Impossible, sir. It's in Johnson's underwear.

06) Just me. Just you and me. Two hits. Me hitting you. You hitting the floor. Anytime you're ready, pal.

05) The next time I have to come in here I'm crackin' skulls.

04) When you grow up, your heart dies.

03) Screws fall out all the time, the world is an imperfect place.

02) You know what I got for Christmas? Oh, it was a banner fucking year at the old Bender family. I got a carton of cigarettes. The old man grabbed me and said, "Hey, smoke up Johnny."

01) Could you describe the ruckus, sir?

BONUS BEATS: Breakfast Club trivia

NY TImes (Aug.17) Quotable John Hughes Video Clips

Fancy Footwork

2009-08-02T10:39:00.010-05:00

I always get a kick out of the johnny-come-lately reporting of the local newspaper. They always seem to be months, if not years, behind trends that have been-and-gone in other larger, national papers. Sunday's (Aug. 2, 2009) BuffaloSnooze had an article about a new 'Virtual Office' ad agency in town. The story was written about this great new concept that is challenging the big boy ad agencies on town. The Virtual Office involves hiring freelancers instead of having a staff. Sorry boys, old news....

For almost 10 years our company, OtherWisz Creative, has been one of many 'virtual offices.' In fact, the invention of the laptop computer was designed to free us all from the cubicle world-- the laptop computer had born the original virtual offices. As well, wireless technologies let us break even further from the tradtional office space.

OtherWisz Creative has always been a lean mean, designing machine using freelancers. Our staff is small and our work is big, hence our tagline "Little Firm Big Solutions." By doing all the creative ourselves and outsourcing everything else- from photography, writing, illustrating, programming and software development- we have always kept overhead low. This has also enabled us to pick the right individual for the right job or task. Each project always had the best-of the-local-best working on it- all under the OtherWisz name.

Working as a virtual office always seemed to fit how we operate, and it works. As the death bell tolls for the big agencies in town, companies are taking more notice of the little and middle-sized players. Stand, a local advertising agency was the latest big shop to close, and it would seem, others are due to follow.

I guess this way of operating isn't 'news' until someone puts a tag on it (hence, the Virtual Office).Who needs a physical office space at all anymore..? We can communicate via the internet, meet with clients in their office (more convenient for them), post proofs and comps online for review... even get paid electronically. We actually like having a physical office space- our 1885-era converted barn is a creative stimulus in itself- but we don't need really need an office. Things have changed drastically in this industry, but contrary to what the BuffaloSnooze reports, the Virtual Office isn't new.

Saturday Night Fish Fry

2009-07-23T23:51:00.010-05:00

Hey, all you kids, you graphic-design kids! Hey! Don't steal graphics off the internet to use on your website or brochure designs. You are gonna get caught!!

No, go back to the past... in fact, go so far back, that the art is no longer under copyright protection. Let's use some clip art from the 1930s and 1940s. Oh yeah, express common ideas and popular subjects like: holidays, sports, the weather, retail sales & specials, religion, and (still big these days) the depression. Oh, if it was good enough for your great Grandpa's commercial artist, it is good enough for you.

Design like the olden days: print out these nifty illustrations, trace them onto your art boards with one of those newfangled carbon tracing paper easel thingies... and by-cracky, you'll make 'em laugh with your play on words! Ha!

I have had this pack of Heyer Cartoon and Idea Book miniature illustrations for ages and I haven't used them yet... though I still plan on it. The box announces '85 pages, printed on one side and easy to trace with 575 cartoons'... these are the Microsoft Word Clipart of the early twentieth century. These are great-- they are crisp, black and white line art with hand lettering headlines and taglines. There could be a new font design in here someplace. You can't go wrong with these little bits of history. There are a few that are racey and a few that are a racially insensitive-- like the Warner Bros Cartoons from the same era that need disclaimers and apologies today-- but I'll save those for another day.

Now who is going to scan all these and vectorize them so we can share them in the future?

Big time- $1,000 all in coins!

I am not even sure what this means....

Crazy baby-faced man robs bank (while holding giant sugar cube)!

If he's gonna be there, I think I'll leave early....

For Those About To Rock: savings so amazing, it is like a giant ice cream cone for a weird old man kid!!

Old timey fun: catch the skinless cat and then let him go in a crowded theater!
Oh, 'It's Out,' baby.

Summertime

2009-07-18T07:31:00.007-05:00

It is easier to design in the Winter. In the Buffalo Winter, it's cold outside, you are in the house more, and you tend to spend more time in front of your computer... In the Summer it is tough to commit to sitting still.

We have such a small window of truly wonderful weather that you want to be out, out, out. In the Winter, I can even sneak a few weekend working hours in. But in the Summer? No way.

When I first got into this business, it used to be typically slow in the Summer. The theory being (and the old timers will attest to this) was the decision makers in large companies (CEOs, Big Bad Bosses, etc.) were all on vacation in the Summer so decisions were not made, and nothing could get signed off on, in regards to developing marketing materials. The advertising and marketing field had a 'season' where things got designed and developed in the Fall and were produced in the Winter for the Spring marketing season. Ask any printer you know, who has been around for more than 12-15 years, and they will tell you all about this.

But this is not so anymore. Bosses take vacations all year round, people are work-a-holics and never stop and there isn't a 'season' in this field anymore and hasn't been for ages. It has been a busy Summer, and the fact that I haven't blogged about anything since the Prince piece- which was more that 2 weeks a ago- just goes to prove that fact. It is not that I haven't had anything to say (read: complain about) it has been quite a pile of work piled upon us. Not complaining, mind you, just explaining.

All this makes it hard for a small, family shop like ours to get away. We have a camping trip planned, but as anyone who was reading this blog over the last few years knows, the computer comes on the trip. I can usually work via email just a bit to keep thinks rolling. So with Summer in full swing, we try and squeeze a lot into our free time (which never involves the computer or TV)... If I am not working, I am going to try to get in a walk, bike ride, a trip to the park with the kids, campfires, bar-b-cues, parties, a few outdoor rock shows, but no beach or pool-- it has been a bit chilly this Summer. So the Summer has been a "work-work-work-work-all week", and a "relax-play-relax all weekend" and then back to the "work-work-work-thing".

As the company continues to grow, maybe someday I can do less of the 'work' and more of the sitting back and watching.... maybe I can be of of those bosses that leaves for a month in Europe with his family, while the self-sustaining business runs itself with some capable employees?.. I will surly blog about that.

Take Me With U

2009-07-01T21:00:00.012-05:00

"Nobody would have the balls to do this. You just wait -- they'll be freaking."
-- alleged Prince quote as he erased the bass track to 'When Dove's Cry' while in the recording studio.

Flip the cassette, I told my brother and he did. We were back at the beginning of side one. The strains of a church organ came pouring out of our boom box and it wasn't gospel music we were listening to. My brother and I were helping my Dad and his work buddies set up the 1984 Buffalo Car Show at the Buffalo Convention Center.

”Dearly beloved we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called life ...”

It was one of the first times the Car Show was at the Convention Center, upgrading from it's run at the Eastern Hills Mall. The place was vast and I had never been in an a building of this size- it was like an empty concert stadium. At that very moment, my brother and I were not doing much helping, but waiting for the giant boxes of ramps, stands, banners and catalogs to get delivered up on the floor-- and listening to rock music. Funky rock music.

"...Electric word life It means forever and that's a mighty long time But I'm here 2 tell u There's something else The afterworld...."

And we were listening to not just any funky rock music, but the soundtrack to a movie my little brother and I saw the previous week. The Kmart-bought cassette tape had little in the way of liner notes, but the cover featured our hero on his motorcycle- a long haired, purple clad soon-to-be-rock star straddling a purple motorcycle parked in a foggy alleyway. A mysterious, dark haired, buxom woman stood behind him on the fire escape. My brother turned it louder.

"A world of never ending happiness
U can always see the sun, day or night

So when u call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
U know the one - Dr Everything'll Be Alright
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left
Ask him how much of your mind, baby

'Cuz in this life
Things are much harder than in the afterworld
In this life
You're on your own

And if de-elevator tries 2 bring u down
Go crazy!"

The music was large and it filled our corner of the mostly empty Convention Center. Since no one was watching my brother or I, we went 'oh no, let's go crazy' and started to jump around like mad, throwing up our arms, air shredding..... My dad came over and asked if we were planning on helping today.

This Summer, 2009, marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie & soundtrack to Purple Rain. I have a certain affinity for this record and the movie that changed my life as an 18 year old fresh out of high school in the Summer of 1984. I was really always into music and I had a Dad that had a good record collection of 70s rock to help me out. But Prince and Purple Rain was the first thing that was new, weird and different for me. It was mine. My parents didn't like it, I did. Turns out a good portion of the world liked it too.

I thought Purple Rain was the greatest rock movie I had even seen and I loved the LP. Up until that point I may have seen Help, Yellow Submarine, some Monkee's episodes. But nothing like this. This was a rock movie. It had live rock scenes with scorching gueetar work, people dressing strange and slightly punkish, sex, motorcycles and a misunderstood artist with a frilly shirt and a pencil-thin mustache.

Here are the Top Ten Things I Learned From Purple Rain (Looking Back at The 25th Anniversary):

10) Rock can be funky and funk could rock.

09) And said 'funk songs' could exist (quite funk-ily) without the bass guitar. Sacrilege? No, genius.

08) Sometimes when your good, you are really good.
In the summer of 1984, for a moment in time, Prince had the #1 single, #1 album and #1 film in the U.S. Dang.

07) Great movies often have bad sequels.
Although Graffiti Bridge was not officially a sequel (you are not fooling me), it has a lot of the same characters, the same city, same theme- and it was really bad. Really bad.

06) Purple is the best color.
Ask any king or prince.(or any guy with an unpronounceable symbol 4 a name).

05) Think quick under pressure and you may be able to pull it off.
Protégé starlet Vanity very famously left the project just prior to filming, leaving Prince to cast the unknown Apollonia Kotero as his own love interest. She became an overnight star-- for 1 movie.

04) Backward lyrics are misleading and mysterious.
At the end of Darling Nikki: "Hello, how are you? I'm fine, 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soon. Coming, coming soon." If only Tipper knew....

03) It is cool & useful 2 use numbers 4 words.
Hello, all U twitter-ers and text-ters. Ha, gotcha. Thanks Prince, you visionary.

02) Song lyrics can change the world.
“Darling Nikki” was the track that made steam come out of Tipper Gore's ears and sent her on a personal vendetta to clean up pop music-- ultimately resulting in the Parental Advisory stickers that pepper albums to this very day.

01) When the world seems against you- just be you and persevere and you will come out on top.
Example: one minute Billy says to The Kid, "Nobody digs your music, but yourself...."
The next minute: the crowd is swaying, girls are crying, and lighters are in the air!

Bonus Beats-
Download SPIN magazines free collection of the LP being covered by other bands.
Six of the nine songs are good, Purplish Rain (secret word: "guy")
Highlights: “Take Me With U” Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and “I Would Die 4 U” Mariachi El Bronx

Other Links-
• Pop Matters Magazine- 10 stories celebrating PR
• Minneapolis Historic Society- Prince archives
• NPR story on PR

Set The Controls For The Heart of The Sun

2009-07-01T10:51:00.004-05:00

I haven't written much as I have gotten buried under a pile of work and home things. Summer is here! You can tell because Target is bringing out the school supplies... yikes!

This is the transition week. The kids are fully off from school and hanging around a lot. J. and I must do the balancing act of trying to work, keep the kids busy and not go crazy. She will work in her summer office more- aka the kitchen or living room (thank you, wireless technology)-- and I will be in and out a lot.

The kids are pretty self-sufficient, but they don't want to hang around in the office all day. They are both artists, so they can paint, draw, build, create, construct for a while- but that isn't going to last all day. Either J. or I will take them out for a portion of the day: park, cheap movie, walk, waterfront, running errands, etc. Last year we had a friend-teacher-nanny situation and that worked great. This year we are 'winging it' with mixed results, but not so bad so far (3 days in...).

I remember when my Mom worked on Saturdays as the bookkeeper at the Colonial Court Motel on Niagara Falls Blvd. and she would begrudgingly drag me and my brother along with her many times. We would play in the hotel lobby with our GI Joe or Matchbox cars, or explore in back where there was a bit of woods, have lunch and generally hang around. I think we managed pretty well..

Owning a family business puts the kids around more that not during the Summer. We try and keep them away from the TV and the convenient babysitter computer as much as possible. But even the educational programs (PBS kids, StarFall, etc.) still render them starting at the TV or monitor and I don't think that is really doing them that much good.

I am trying to teach my kids to be self-entertaining and, so far, I think they are really good at it. And if I have to take them out more-- good! An occasional trip to the park, to push someone on a swing is very therapeutic for me as well. It is calming, it is good to get away from this here computer and I think in the long run, the time spend with my kids is building a strong bond that will last forever... or until they become parent-loathing teenagers. I guess we'll see.

Caught, Can We Get a Witness?

2009-06-17T22:43:00.007-05:00

I had an appointment the other day that was a no-show. I take it as a bit of a slight, a sign of lack of respect... They called to apologize (kinda) much later after we were suppose to meet, but after I called to see where they might be. I was not happy about this. Even worse though, the meeting was at 4:00 and I often knock off at 4 to hang with the kids/cut the grass/maybe help with dinner.... I take an average of a 4-5 hour break and come back to work for 3-4 hours in the evening. So blowing me off on my down time, it was bad enough the meeting was scheduled during my downtown, sheesh.

I run along the lines of some old school business philosophies. I have learned from the best. I always write people letters, thank you notes, follow ups. I am professional, I try and explain things as clearly as I can, get it all in writing and I do my best to show up on time for meetings. Occasionally, I may be a few minutes late and I feel pretty embarrassed when I can't make it at the set time. My time is valuable so I try not to waste others.

I wonder, as technology advances and as business gets less and less formal, where do the old time practices, respects and standards of operations end up? Do they disappear completely? Do people have formal business meetings over their cell phone or tweat, twitterize or twext each other? As meetings have moved from the conference room to the coffee shop, has this trend weakened the connections and partnerships people make...?

I would much rather meet someone face-to-face if I am going to do business with them. But I have, a few times over the last year or so, successfully completed some design projects where I have never met the client face-to-face. I know this is common with freelance illustrators and writers, but I have a bit of a hard time with it. Talking to someone in person gives you a better feel for them and this is especially valuable when meeting first time clients.

I may be at the end of a dying breed of business folk trying to hold on to some old school practices, but I have found them to work. I think people can appreciate the professionalism (especially from a creative type- some people think we are wacko), and I am going to keep meeting you in person. We'll talk about the next project, we'll chat about our kids, common interests (hockey, rock, RZA, etc.)... and we'll shake hands. Go ahead and twit, tweet or tweather me, I'll call you back and we can set up a time to meet. In person.

Photos: kid shot photograph of lawn about to get schooled, old schooled... and Bobby Digital, he'll always meet you on time, and kick your azz!!

One of My Submarines

2009-06-10T23:23:00.015-05:00

Write/Paint

Back in 1984 when Apple revolutionized the world of personal computing with the Macintosh computer I was graduating from Tonawanda High School. I took several art and design classes from my favorite teacher William DeGlopper including photography, graphic design, illustration, plus a printing course (in shop class, no lie) but no computers. I continued my path as a designer enrolling into Buffalo State College the same year and ran through their design program-- with some journalism tossed in. The closest I came to a computer was word processing at the The Record, the school paper. When I first came into touch with a computer that could be used as a design tool, the decade was coming to a close as the 90s began.

The first Mac I actually used to design was a bit more advanced version that the one here (SE-30)... barely... It was this same size. And though I didn't carry it around in a little sack riding in my bike's basket, I did carry it around from my job to my house. It seems funny to lug this big box around, but this little machine was actually pretty compact for it's day and age. It is interesting how computers went from this, to bigger desktops and back to a small size in its life cycle of 25 years so far.

I have a couple of these little Mac SE-30s boxes and I love the information, instructions and photos in the manual. Last year I posted a piece about the the fonts that came pre-loaded (er, I mean you had to load them yourself from a small floppy disk) on this machine and another one about using the state-of-the-art MacPaint.... this time I chose to show you the 'lifestyle' photography from the original Mac manual.

The images are pretty humorous in their authentic '80s office style and preppy, white guy-ness. The shot with the guy in his office late at night with his sweater around his neck is priceless. It's marketing like this-- with its uber-80s geek-ness-- that kept the rock poster designers from using computers... and probably it's list price of $4,400 ($4,900 with hard drive). Think about what sort of computer you can get today for four grand!

Quick note on the carrying case: "... Your Macintosh will fit under the seat in most commercial airplanes. and in the overhead compartment of others.." Try carrying this thing onto a plane today, let alone getting in UNDER the seat!

A little tickle to get it started, adjust the brightness and you are computing!

Why is this man's collar down? You can tell by the look on this guys face he is crunching numbers. Internet porn had yet to be invented but the calculator watch had.

The ease-of-use. Big desk, littel computer: a couple dudes working in their law office or someplace businessy like that.

The sexy. After hours '80s dude chillin', catching some UV rays California-stylee.

The traveling computer: Packing it up to go... city awaits in the distance.

Bicycle Race. ... and then going, with the little mac riding up front in the basket. Jealous guys looks on from shadows.

Hello, aren't I beige. Love me.

Cryin'

2009-06-09T20:02:00.005-05:00

T-Shirt Of The Week #13: PRINT Magazine
Yellow and red art on black tee

This is my weekly feature on a favorite t-shirt that I own, number thirteen. This one tells the story about being a graphic artist. Four of the little artist dude in the circles are stressing out: scratching his head, sitting and worrying, crying his eyes out and placing a gun to his head surrounded by crumpled paper- bad ideas, perhaps? The fifth dude is jumping for joy and tossing money... Is this not the true tale of the artist?... 80% struggle, pain, suffering, 10% satisfaction.

This was a free shirt I got when I renewing a subscription to PRINT magazine ages ago. The artist is none other than Mr. Chris Ware, creator of the amazing ACME Novelty Library comic book series**. I always loved the tale it tells without words- it is open to interpretation don't cha know.... I have felt like this guy for most of last week and I am waiting for the 'jumping in the air with money' day... will it be tomorrow..? I am hoping.

** Thanks to Paulk in hotlanta for filling in the artist for me... I knew the work, but didn't know his name... so stoopeed of me.

I Go To Work (but not on a Saturday!?!??!)

2009-06-06T08:55:00.001-05:00

I often take Saturday & Sundays off from the biz-ness and it seems to work well. I mentioned several posts ago how I dislike working on the weekends and avoid it whenever possible. Since most of my work-time is spend working on proposals and finding the work, I sometimes will sneak some creative in here and there to satisfy that need. But it has to be fun stuff- rock posters, CD art, etc.

When I was in college and had a restaurant job I spend all weekends working. It wasn't too bad except the dreaded late nite Sat & the early Sunday morning combo. To make matters worse, the time between those 2 shifts was not spent sleeping- as you may imagine. But getting up Sunday morning to work? I guess I could get up early these days and put some hours in before the girls awake...? I guess I am more of a nite owl and would rather put the hours in late if needed.

As we are well into our 9th year as our own thing- OtherWisz Creative- working the odd hours seem less and less a necessity. Though I feel like I still have to work like crazy to keep the ship afloat, I guess I don't really have to as much these days. We have the staff to do the work and as long as I keep it coming in, manage it, and come up with the concepts (w/ J. of course) I guess I can keep it to standard biz hours- 9-5pm. I think creative folks usually would frown on that and would rather work the crazy hours.

I am interested in what you folks out there are doing, especially the creative types...? What sort of work schedule do you keep you writers, musicains (see Willie above), artists, graphic folks, photogs, etc? Let me know- comment.