Mediabistro Picks Banner Submission For UnBeige Site

UnBeige, a site dedicated to design and all things design-related from the people at mediabistro.com has chosen, for the second time this year, a banner design I'd submitted to their regular 'design our logo' feature.

UnBeige is a site I frequent fairly regularly. As I said, this is the second time one of my banner submissions has been chosen to grace the site. It's the second time I've submitted anything, so... two for two. ;) This time around, I just wanted to convey a cold, icy, wintery feel. And I wanted it to look cool. Let me know what you think.

Here is the current banner submission...



And here is the former banner submission...



Click on the banners to see them at full size.



UnBeige

Mediabistro

Christmas Day 2006

I have mixed feelings and reservations about posting this kind of stuff here...I don't want to appear to be fishing for sympathy. However, if this had happened to any of my friends or family, I'd want to know what happened.

My wife and I were lucky enough to have survived a pretty horrible car accident Christmas day. We had traveled about 3 1/2 hours south to Medford for Christmas. My parents live there along with my brother and his family.

We had to start heading back home Christmas day because we both had to be back to Salem for work. If you live in the Pacific NW you know that the last few days we've been having crazy torrential downpour. It has been raining nonstop for days in most of Oregon. Because of the rain we'd left in plenty of time to get home at a decent hour if we took it nice and slow. I was driving. I had slowed down to 50 - 55 mph and was being passed by jokers who didn't take the standing water on the road seriously. I was in the left lane at one point, and was returning to the right lane and we began to hydroplane. The back end of the car swung around, and we hit the embankment on the right side of the highway and began rolling, numerous times. We ended up stopping upside down. Some passing motorists stopped and cut us out of our seatbelts, yes we were both wearing seatbelts, and we both crawled out of our own accord. Michelle, my wife, had some serious contusions on her head, suffered a concussion and her left arm was ripped up pretty bad. I have some lacerations on the top of my head, my right hand is torn up pretty bad too. The doctor called it 'road rash.' And my back is killing me. We were both ambulanced to a nearby hospital, sewn up and released. We spent a day or so recuperating at my parent's house, and we're now back home in Salem.

We feel lucky to be alive, and we thank God that we are. We know how fortunate we are and how much worse it definitely could have been.

Thought I'd share, 2007 can NOT come quickly enough for us!

LogoLounge Has A New Look

http://www.logolounge.com/

It looks good. And it looks like the LogoLounge book 4 deadline is fast approaching, I'd better get my butt moving. I vow to get my work in that book. Have to join LogoLounge first though. Gotta get on that!

Edit: I've now joined, and added the first 8 logos in my repetoire. More to come!

By the way, there's a great interview with Bill Gardner the creator of LogoLounge on the Illustrative Designer Podcast. Check it out here-

The Illustrative Designer Podcast - Interview with Bill Gardner

Recent Work

I realized that I hadn't posted any recent work in quite a while. Here's a tee-shirt design for a local girl's basketball tournament to benefit breast cancer.


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Elf Yourself!

Ran across this site recently and got a laugh out of it. Fun stuff! Don't miss the great links to other activities down in the right hand bottom corner. Click on the image to be directed to the site.

Happy Holidays!

AIB Has a New Look

Adventures In Blogging is sporting some new threads these days. I've updated the header, revised the AIB logo and cleaned up the sidebar information. I'm still hashing out the color scheme, but basically this is the finished product.

Why a tattooed, winged pig you may ask? Why not?

Let me know what you think of the new look. Good, bad or indifferent.

-Jeff

Images of Christmas

Season greetings!

I hadn't realized it had been such a long time since I'd updated this blog. The last post was such a downer I decided to make the next update a much more positive post.

I love the magical qualities of Christmas. My mother told me once that she used to decorate the Christmas tree, when we were children, from a child's point of view. She consciously thought about the visceral experience we'd have exploring the ornaments and lights from our perspective.

These few images are an attempt to re-capture some of that magic. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Fate has a funny sense of humor....

It wasn't that long ago that we'd moved into these crummy apartments in Salem (September 17th actually, one month ago today) and I was complaining about how small and dirty it was...the carpets were filthy. We'd only moved in because we'd had to be up here so quickly for a new job I was taking and had had no luck in finding something we liked the three or four times we'd come up looking. I ended up renting the apartment sight unseen over the phone. I'll never do that again! Fate as it turns out had a joke to play on us ....

Last Tuesday morning at about 9:30 am I received a frantic call from my wife saying that the apartment complex was on fire. I raced home as quickly as was legally possible.

What I saw as I drove over the hill to the complex is something I will never forget, a great big plume of gray smoke billowing up into the sky. Luckily, Michelle got out of the apartment in one piece (though she did forget her shoes). We spent the better part of the rest of the day standing in the parking lot waiting for some word on the damage. The fire started in the apartment directly above ours, though we didn't, as it turns out, sustain any fire damage, the water and smoke damage was pretty high.

It's been a week since the incident, we were incredibly fortunate to have some great friends here in town who have put us up while we've spent time moving our belongings out of the apartment and finding a new place to live. We've now found a great new place, (NOT AN APARTMENT!) and are getting ready to move in. We cannot WAIT!!

I've attached some various links to some news and other websites concerning the fire. Some even have video, check them out.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

Link 4

Link 5

Link 6

Greatest American Hero - Now that is COOL!

A friend pointed this out to me today. How cool is this? The Greatest American Hero Seasons One, Two and Three in a DVD Box Set. That's the complete series on DVD!!! This was one of my favorite shows from my childhood, just check out the list to the right for more on this...this is too cool!

From the website: Believe it or not, he’s walking on air! William Katt stars as mild-mannered high school teacher Ralph Hinkley, whose close encounter with aliens leaves him with a red super-power suit that only he can control. But when Ralph promptly loses the instruction manual, the safety of mankind is left in his fumbling hands. Now with the help of his attorney girlfriend Pam Davidson (Connie Selleca) and FBI agent Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp), the world’s most unlikely flying crime fighter is ready for action. Who could it be? Believe it or not, he’s THE GREATEST AMERICAN HERO! Michael Pare and Faye Grant co-star in this awesome ‘80s hit created by Stephen J. Cannell that featured such guest stars as Joe Mantegna, Markie Post, Bob Saget, Rick Dees, June Lockhart, David Paymer, Barbara Hale, André The Giant, Dixie Carter, Don Drysdale and more. This deluxe set also includes interviews, with cast and crew, and the unaired spinoff series pilot “The Greatest American Heroine”.

My birthday's coming up, anyone listening??? ;)

Busy month!

I got married September 2nd, and moved to Salem, Oregon September 17th. Needless to say, I've been a busy beaver. Still living in "Box City" right now, so excuse the mess. ;)

UnBeige Banner By Jeff Andrews Design

Jeff Andrews Design has designed a logo/banner for Mediabistro's UnBeige site. Click on the image below to be directed to the site.



For more information regarding the UnBeige Call for Entries, click here.

SELF PROMO PIECE FINISHED

I've just completed my newest self promotion piece. The card will be used as a leave behind and in additional promotional material. It can double as a flyer or a mini poster. It will be printed on heavy weight card stock with a varnish, and measures in at 6" x 6".

Advertising Space Now Available.

Advertising space now available on Sugar Frosted Goodness and Design Inspiration. Rates vary depending on length of term and number of sites utilized. For more information, and to take advantage of this fantastic new opportunity click on the direct link below.

Thank you!

For more info CLICK HERE!

Jeff Andrews Design joins designerID

Jeff Andrews Design has joined designerID. (www.designerid.com)

designerID was developed by Brian Hock, a 15-year design veteran and graduate of Bowling Green State University. Hock refined the business strategy and concept at the AIGA-sponsored “Business Perspectives for Design Leaders” program held at Harvard Business School during the summer of 2005. Hock was one of 40 design professionals selected to participate in the program, which included a diverse group of design leaders from a wide range of companies including Cisco Systems, Target, Yahoo, IBM, Razorfish, and many mid-size to smaller firms.

Launched February 2006, designerID.com is a web-based, virtual design community serving designers, design students and schools, organizations and suppliers. It provides members with an easy-to-use way to stay in touch with fellow designers and an easy-to-search design library.

• The site was originally developed in response to design schools' inability to stay in contact with past graduates. While the site has expanded to offer a range of services to the design community, it supports the educational community by serving as a conduit between design schools and alumni and by enabling design students to have their work critiqued by design professionals.


• Member designers can use the website to post their profile and examples of their work; research the type of work being produced locally, nationally and internationally; send and receive emails; and receive up-to-date news on competitions, conferences, and new products.


• Design schools can create their own school page; be featured in the site's school directory; send targeted messages directly to member alumni; share unlimited examples of student work or let member alumni populate the school's page; and send messages directly to all designer members about special school programs, seminars, or events.


• Design firms can use the site to research work, create a company page, share unlimited examples of the types of work they do, send targeted messages about the company directly to members, and be listed in the site's company directory.


• Supplier members can create a company page, send targeted messages about products or services directly to members, and be listed in the site's directory.



View the Jeff Andrews Design profile.

Design Inspiration Summer Series

Keep a close eye on Design Inspiration, my blog site where I interview well established and up and coming designers and illustrators from around the world, and see what makes them tick.

This Summer, Design Inspiration is going to kick it into high gear with a serious glut of entertainment. We're coming up on the sites one year anniversary, (August 16th) and to celebrate we plan to post a literal deluge of awe inspiring interviews.

Every interview will be jam packed with valuable insight into the minds of the industries best, plus full color examples of some of their remarkable work. Be sure to check the archives also for the great interviews we've done over the past year.

You will not want to miss this! Bookmark the site and check back everyday!!!

Jeff Andrews Design Launches New Website

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Roseburg, Oregon graphic design studio Jeff Andrews Design launches it's newly revamped and retooled website today. The site boasts an updated portfolio, an extensive links section, and a downloads page where you can help yourself to a new desktop background.

Jeff Andrews Design is a full service graphic design studio specializing in logo and brand identity, print collateral, illustration, website design and marketing.

Visit Jeff Andrews Design at http://www.jeffandrewsdesign.com

Or click on the image below to be routed to the website.

Launch This!

In anticipation of my own site's relaunch, coming very soon, I've seen three of my fellow designers and friends launch three very unique and inspiring websites of their own. Websites that I thought deserved to be shared with the world at large.

The first to debut, was IllustrationClass.com. This site was developed by uber-talented designer and illustrator Von Glitschka. Von is a friend who happens to teach at a college up in Salem Oregon. In an attempt to give his students the best possible bang for their buck, he began making his class assignments and resources available online. He also shared the assignments and work with the lucky denizens of the HOW forum of which I frequent.

In his own words:

"Last summer I was asked to teach a digital illustration class at the local college visual arts program once a week here in Salem, Oregon. I had never taught before so this was a whole new experience for me. I quickly realized the way my students learned best was when I demonstrated a process. I literally showed them how to go about doing a creative task and commented on it. This led me into developing numerous step by steps I could show them each week.

Over the course of last year I built up a nice little archive of teaching resources. I also posted them on this forum to let other creatives benefit from them and due to that being received so well I decided to give them a proper home here at their own site."

http://www.illustrationclass.com/

This site will serve as a HUGE resource for illustration students and anyone else really who is looking to brush up their illustration skills. It's GREAT!



The second site comes to us from Philadelphia designer, Melissa. Melissa is an in-house designer who's frustration with the sea of non-designers she works with prompted her to create this site which should serve as a fun, educational resource tool.

Melissa said:

"The general public doesn’t understand us or our profession. At least half of the things that we, as designers, bitch about have to do with the fact that people don’t know the slightest bit about design. How many times have you had to explain the importance of white space to a client/coworker who didn’t want to waste precious advertising space? How often do you plead, “The logo is already big enough!”

After a rather tumultuous week at work, I decided that my arguments were futile, or at least inadequate. I needed to full-on “edumacate” these people! "

The Non-Designer

"Hopefully it will turn into a knowledge base of what every non-designer should know about design. Now, when someone comes to me and says, “Hey, can you redesign the company website for me by noon tomorrow?” I can point them to an article written by a talented designer regarding appropriate deadline expectations."



The third and final site destined for greatness that debuted this week is one called The Yale Park Collective. This site is the brainchild of Nebraska designer Steve Gordon. Steve's vision for the site is to offer up witty, provocative, intelligent dialogue regarding all things creative. Design, fashion and life in general.

Steve explains:

"I have started a creative consortium that I have named Yale Park. It is a grouping of like-minded Creatives with similar attitudes but completely varying styles and approaches to Life in general. Right now the think-tank collective is comprised of myself, Eric Hines and Travis Bellinghausen. The crew will grow as a grassroots "street team" and interested readers, but we will add to the pantheon from time to time. Jeff Fisher featured the new logo on his Creative Latitude column 'Logo Notions'. "



http://yalepark.blogspot.com

"Mainly aimed at being a personal commentary on all things Creative from our own personal perspectives, I hope to grow this creative outfit to proportions unknown. I have no idea what direction this will take but I am liking that because I want it to be biomorphic in growth allowing me and others to comment on all things of Creative interest, not just graphic design."

A departure....

Ran across this photograph a few days ago. It sure takes me back.

This is a photograph of Andrews men. My grandfather and two of his four sons. My father in the middle and my uncle Bill to his left. From left to right in front you see my cousin Page, my brother Rhett and then myself holding my baby cousin Shad. This photo would have to be from the early 80's. It brings out alot of emotion in me as my grandfather and uncle are no longer with us. My cousin Page wrote off the family and doesn't keep in touch with anyone anymore and that baby is now a senior in college.

Where did the time go? We used to have a great time visiting my uncle's house up there in Pendleton...riding motorcycles and spending alot of time in the great game room he had in the house. Pool table, pinball machine, soda on tap at the bar etc...it was so different then life at home for my brother and I. Needless to say, we LOVED it!

Good times! What I'd give for a time machine some days.

Even Robots Get The Blues....

Wouldn't you know it, George got lonely. ;)

George, George, George of the Jet Stream!

All hail George!

BITE ME!

What can I say? It's been one of those days! Feel free to borrow this image to send to any and all of your "problem" clients. Haha!

Whatdoyathink?

Edit: By the way, someone has expressed interest in a tee-shirt design with this image, so I've made a few available here for anyone interested.

CLICK HERE!

The BOLT...Again!

Wondered what the rest of him looked like? Haha...I resemble that super-hero! This illo was an experiment of sorts...kinda fun tho. Whuddoyathink?

The BOLT!

A quickie! Did this while sitting on hold on the telephone. Guess I've got super-heroes on the brain. Enjoy!

What?!

I don't know. Maybe someone questioned his keen sense of fashion. No theme, beyond the obvious, just an example of boredom last evening taking illustration form. Whatdoyathink?

A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN....

Recently I was contacted by my friend Linzie Hunter, a UK based illustrator extraordinaire. She'd recently developed a brand new website and wanted me to contribute to it. The site showcases the desks and workspaces of artists, designers, illustrators and other creative people.

The site is called On My Desk. Check it out for a great sneak peek behind the curtain of Jeff Andrews Design, and check back often for updates. If you're a creative, contact Linzie if you'd be interested in contributing to the site.

Avatar Schmavatar!

My new forum avatar. Reusing some artwork from an unused logo design.

Pick Me!

A little top secret "monster" project I've been working on. An original character design. It's been a while since I'd posted anything to SFG, thought I'd better catch up a bit. Hope you enjoy!

Jeff Andrews Design Contributes to Logo Notions Article

I was recently approached by Jeff Fisher of Jeff Fisher Logomotives to contribute to an article he was writing for his Logo Notions column at Creative Latitude. It was a great honor, and I am very thankful for the opportunity to participate.

The title of the article is 'Using, fusing and abusing “the rules” of logo design.'

The questions posed to me were as follows:

1.) What are the top three "logo design rules" you were taught in your design education and who did you learn them from?

2.) What logo design of yours best represents the implementation of the rules you have listed above and why?

3.) What additional "rule" of your own would you add to that list as advice to a designer interested in getting involved in identity design?

4.) What "rule(s)" do you see being broken most often by other designers?

5.) What "rule" have you broken (if any) in creating a logo with successful results?


You can view the article here.


Jeff Fisher, the Engineer of Creative Identity for the Portland, OR-based firm Jeff Fisher LogoMotives, has worked as a graphic design professional since the late 1970's. In 1995 he shifted the focus of his design work to identity design. He has since received over 475 regional, national and international graphic design awards for his logo and corporate identity efforts and his work has been featured in more than 75 publications on the design of logos, the business of graphic design, and small business marketing.The designer spends a great deal of time writing about aspects of design for industry publications and related web sites. He often speaks to student groups, business organizations and design conferences about the profession. Fisher is a member of the HOW Magazine Editorial Advisory Board and is also on the 2006 HOW Design Conference Advisory Council. His book, “The Savvy Designer's Guide to Success,” was released by HOW Design Books in late 2004. More information about Jeff Fisher LogoMotives is available at http://www.jfisherlogomotives.com

It's A Sugar Frosted World!

Capitalizing on the popularity of Sugar Frosted Goodness(!), I've recently added a new blog to the mix. What SFG has done for illustrators, Sugar Frosted Photos(!) will do for photographers. It's a low-key, collaborative blog where members can post and share their photographs. The site is open to amateur and professionals alike. If the great community that's developed within the ranks of SFG is any indication, it should be a great experience for all involved.

Click on the image below to be directed to the website. Enjoy!

NO!SPEC POSTERS

It was kind of a dreary Sunday afternoon today, so after a great church BBQ, I sat down and whipped up 5 Posters for NO!SPEC.

The mission of NO!SPEC is to educate the public about speculative, or 'spec' work. Their target includes those who use creative services, as well as creative professionals (designers, photographers, illustrators, writers and those in marketing, branding and advertising).

You can view the posters below, but you can check out the site and download them by clicking here.

New Business Cards

Just finished these recently. A simple design, not alot to it, but functional. I'm printing this batch myself as I'm in the process of looking for additional work in other areas and may need to move soon. But they work for the interim, and I'm satisfied.

What do you think?

Blankets, Buttons & Blenders Oh My!

GDUSA Announces Logolounge Trends for 2006

The latest issue of GDUSA contains LogoLounge's 2006 Logo Trends Report. A great insight into the developing psyche of logo development in the past year.

From the article:

You simply can't organize 37,000 logos — the approximate number now on the LogoLounge.com website — and not notice commonalities. Categories. Directions. Insights.

And this year is no exception: There are trends, for better or for worse. We'd prefer for you to be the judge. But what this year's report also delivers is perspective. With the benefit of past years' reports already laid out, it is not necessary to view trends as isolated moments in time. Instead, they can be viewed as organic, growing, morphing and transforming. One trend links to another, and then another. From year to year, there is branching from existing starts as well as shoots that emerge fresh from the ground up. It's all very informative to observe.

Through the LogoLounge reports, you can look forward and backward, too. (Go to www.logolounge.com and look under "Trends" to see all of LogoLounge's past reports.)

Through the website, you can search an enormous database by keyword, designer's name, client name, industry, client category, type of logo and dates to find a few trends of your own, as viewed from your own, personal perspective. And through the LogoLounge books, you can gain even more insights from a collection of 2,000 of the smartest logo designs from the past year, submitted to LogoLounge from all over the world and hand-selected by a team of extremely well-respected identity experts. Books I and II are out now, and Book III will be released in Fall of 2006 by Rockport Publishers.

The goal of LogoLounge is not simply to amass the world's biggest pile of logos (although it is likely that already). Its goal is to offer context with the content, so that you can make sense of it all and perhaps have a better idea of where you would like to go next. The 2006 trends follow.

Check it out.

And to view previous years trends, click here.

Superman Who?

Superhero Hype has recently posted the first installment of a visit to the set of Superman Returns, the latest installment of the Big Screen Superman mythos set to release June 30, 2006.

The introductory paragraph got me to thinking about my own "love affair" of sorts with the iconic figure, and how it's affected my own life. As I've stated in a previous post, I've loved Superman since I was just a kid. My mother still has a storage trunk full of drawings I'd done as a child, most of them were drawings of superheroes, and in particular Superman. I played with the Mego Superman Action figure as a kid, just like the guy in the article, and still have quite a collection of Superman related memorabilia as you can see below.


















I've recently begun collecting the Adventures of Superman DVD box sets, Season 1 and Season 2 are now available. I've really enjoyed watching these episodes from the 50's TV series as it takes me back to my childhood, marveling at the exploits of the small screen superhero. I remember particulary, Summer afternoons at my grandparents house sitting on the floor watching these shows. And yes, they were definitely in reruns by the time I was watching them. ;)

Flash forward a few years to when I had this poster on my wall after the debut of the 1978 Superman movie. I still have fond memories, of seeing this with my father and my little brother. I can still remember the breathless anticipation standing in line for the movie.

Needless to say, I can relate to the writer in the article I mentioned at the top of the page, I'm looking forward to this new movie. I still think the new Superman is a bit young, and a bit scrawny, but I'm excited even still. Especially after having seen the latest trailer for the movie. It'll be great to see how the latest technological advances in film-making will translate to this new film.

The Complete MAD Magazine Cover Gallery Archive

I recently came across this incredible undertaking. It's a treasure trove of cover art from EVERY Mad Magazine ever published, from the debut issue to the most current. Some of these look familiar, I think I recognize them from when I was a kid and my mother said "no" everytime I asked for one, haha.

This is the cover from the 1952 premiere issue:

Joy can be found where you least expect it....

So today for lunch Michelle and I made home-made wraps with some low-carb tortillas, seasoned grilled chicken, lettuce and cheese. They were delicious!

Once I'd completed creating my wrap masterpiece, I grabbed the extra pieces of chicken that were left and put them on my plate with the handy tongs. As I was walking to the table, I glanced down at the plate and saw a word spelled out in the random chicken pieces that I'd just grabbed. Believe me, this was completely random, and completely by accident.

Well, see for yourself, I had to snap a picture....



















The moral of the story? Chicken wraps are a great lunch! And joy.....joy can be found in the most unlikely of places.

Area Of Design Featured Artist: Jeff Andrews

Recently I was chosen to be the featured artist on the website Area Of Design. A pretty good interview, be sure to check it out.

Area of Design is an organization that showcases established and emerging artists, designers, commercial firms, and non profit groups based in the United States.

AOD provides a forum for artists to express themselves and inspire others by encouraging, educating, and nurturing creative talent.

Their mission is to elevate the perception of American art and design to reflect the sophistication, individuality and passion of our creative base.

Click the image below to be directed to the interview.