hand drawn type and web design - what a process

A few years ago, I met some fine gentlemen that were working on a game design. They needed someone to draw what was on their minds (and some stuff that wasn't). I knew, when I met them, that their talents were great and that I wanted them to appreciate my skills in their future. That intro brings me to the now. I was asked about a month ago to design a layout for a website. Calob Hess is a computer geek (geek is used here to mean super smart / ultra-talented person in his/her field) who needed some design help. I thankfully got the call. He has started a web design company but was in need of a landing page and internal experience.

Not knowing half of the terms listed in his "skills" column on his current website, I was at a loss for where to start my designing. Creating visual interest with a webdesign company usually results in photographs of the design team sitting around a fancy hipster table in a high end conference room (probably in Portland). Not that there is anything wrong with Portland, but this is north central Pennsylvania and we are not hipsters. I did not want to design something standard....predictable. 

My first thoughts were toward his logo. Good starting point since he had one already.

pics of logo and color bands

I liked the colors but it didn't strike me as something compelling or memorable enough to lead me in an artistic direction. I needed an image.

As I teach young students all day, I am constantly attempting to boil things down to the "element" level. I though about the purpose of his business. "Move other people's businesses forward." Pretty simple. Showing this is difficult but I knew I wanted a single image to get that across. I boiled the sentence down further to just "forward" and an arrow came to mind. I went outside to my garage and found some of my children's sidewalk chalk and began to draw an enormous arrow that I would photograph from a ladder leaning on my roof. As I was finishing it, I thought maybe my son would pose for a picture so it would look like he was finishing it. It was sunny....perfect weather for this shot.

orig pic of matt

The shadows were great and the sweater was interestingly simple. I made sure I was high enough on the ladder that the viewer would not see his face. 

I still wasn't sure if a kid drawing an arrow would work for a web design site so I set out to work on the word "forward" in the mean time. 

pics of forward tries

Finally, I stumbled upon a solution for the type. I overlaid it on the picture of my son and it just seemed right.

pic of matt and type

Now...how to make a whole website based on the look and feel of this image. I shot the image over to Caleb and he shot it around to some of his trusted friends. The feedback was immediate and positive. It was working for them so I ran with it.

I set out to simplify the other three pages he needed at that point and had to boil them down to a single image and single typography concept. Since the arrow was not perfect and made to look as though a young person drew it, I purposely used hand drawn type to impact the viewer first. "Seriously whimsical" were the two words I kept present in judging my designs. I wanted it to show that even when dealing with simple solutions, the business is serious about your business. I did lean toward hand drawn type because I love it, but, if it didn't fit, it was out!

Luckily, it seems to fit.

Often Design has limitations. This stinks. I like design to go as planned. Many of my wood projects have been less than my mental picture of the final project due to some of those limitations in the wood. Web design has some inherent limits that are not there in print. BOOO HISSS!

We will see how it all goes but the whole process sure is fun. Learnin' lots and lovin' the new venture.

a new book cover project

A few months ago I was approached to do some artwork for a local woman, Cheryl Edgcomb. Mrs. Edgcomb has lead an amazing life around Tioga county and it seems that she was continuously surrounded by stamps and the people that used and loved them. Coming from a family that worked for the U.S. Postal Service, she has not fallen far from the tree. Her personality and kindness make her one of those people you struggle to say "no" to. After a short conversation, I found myself neck-deep in beautiful examples of historical documents from the area, vintage postal ephemera, and all sorts of interesting objects and envelopes that were hard to put down. 

Mrs. Edgcomb was in the process of writing a book about the people she has met and the amazing tales that her travels found her a part of. She needed a book cover. Though not sure of what we could do for a cover, I was honored to attempt to make something concise out of all the mayhem. She had her title and tagline and the rest was on me. I brainstormed quite a bit. Her story lacked an isolated image that could stand as a cover image. I thought about creating some unique text but that seemed a bit vain on my part for this kind of story. As she started getting her collection out of the many boxes around my dining room table, the pile of stuff looked cool. I said that these things say it all. Like the countless stories, each of the thousands of items are a part of her and her history. I assume that all that know her, and that seems like every resident within 150 miles, would agree that the cluster of objects fits with her spirit....a myriad of stories that all lead into each other. For the cover photo, she picked out the items that were tied to a story within the text and other items that were close to her heart. 

She has a passion for life. An obvious one. She liked the idea as well as the final image. I used Styrofoam to ink some letters for the "stamped" look. Scanned them in and did some manipulation and color overlay. I hand drew the tagline that was inspired by her own handwriting. That's that.

Anxious to see the final book! She has put a pile of work into the project.

a few photographs I liked from our trip to Matlacha, Fl

I guess I love birds.

a small walk with the kids....fresh air needed

Cowanesque Lake was the site of a short walk with the little ones. We did not have much time and the weather was not cooperating as well. Just enough time to take in some scenery, eat some peanuts and such, and move on down the line.

The geese had been using the path as a bathroom for the past few days. Woody Guthrie would have called it some "hard travelin".

Not sure why I placed these two pics of Clare in....just thought they caught her spirit.

The eagle was the hit of the day. Kids watched for quite a while. There is something about large birds of prey that have always caught my attention.

If I was a better photographer, I'd be one of those nuts who sits in the tree or hangs on the cliff all day to get the ultimate shots of these amazing creatures.

always liked this one

This photo was taken about seven years ago. A run down shop of route 6 in Mainesburg, Pa. That's about all I have to say about it.

i needed a vacation from art....but art is everywhere!

When the school year ends and the repetitive nature of teaching has sizzled one's mind, the only way I can recover from this mental beating is to shut down for a stretch. We pack up our family and head the 1300 miles, due south, to Matlacha, Florida to visit my folks. It is here that I begin the two week search for mindlessness. I just want simple pleasures intermixed with total relaxation. There is one main problem to this plan that I attempt to implement each summer, natural beauty. 

The gulf coast of Florida is a spectacularly beautiful place. If you really want time away from art and true time void of thought in Southwest Florida, you should forget your camera. I spend 14 days each summer snapping hundreds of photographs (new digital technology allows us to delete about 80% of the pictures taken cause they just plain stink! no developing cost either!!!!!) Anywho, I spend the 2 weeks mentally cropping, checking lighting, choosing better angles and changing lenses (sometimes just in case something happens). The beauty in and around Matlacha refuses to let you relax completely. You gotta shoot!!!!

The wildlife watches you as well.

The weather comes up quick and usually with equal severity. As your field of vision is more than half made up by the enormous sky, it takes on an extraordinary feel....one finds himself looking up often.

Not even the grand entrance of my daughter can scare off a creature overrun by the prospect of an easy meal.

Though sometimes as vicious as the daily summer thunderstorms, the wildlife of Florida retains its beauty as well.

senior pictures....yikes!!!!

I was asked to take some pictures of my sister-in-law Sarah. She needed some senior pictures and I said "sure!" ..."but I've never done such a thing before." Her boyfriend, Luke, threw his name into the ring as he also needed some photos taken. Like any other challenge in my life, I was both dreading the process and stressing out completely. The Angry Strongo comics have been on hold as I have been knee-deep into Photoshop the past few weeks.

I chose a few of the picts to post....so...