1,000 Ways to Love The Earth (and my job!)

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http://1000waystolovetheearth.wordpress.com/

Awhile back, I was approached by children's singer DARIA about working with her and another talented artist, Farah Aria on some collateral for an Earth Day album she was producing. Daria is wonderful to work with and I knew anything she brought my way would be amazing.

The concept was simple and yet so incredible at the same time. Daria was going to produce a completely green CD to giveaway. For the first 1,000 people who sent her a way they love the earth, she would send them her songs, FREE, to download.

My role was to primarily assist in the design of the cover art for the album. But, as it just so happened, while all 3 of us were hashing out ideas, the campaign grew to include not only the cover art, but the design and building of a blog, liner notes, fliers and icons and banners for promotional use. Not to mention:
- submissions by followers all over the world
- an online forum for others to visit, read the submissions and be inspired themselves
- giveaways of not only the CD, but of green posters featuring the album art designed by Farah
- interactive liner notes that include video links and how-tos on creating your own recycled musical instruments
- A handful of amazing, established partners, and so much more!

I was constantly amazed and in awe of these 2 awesome women. Their ideas, their knowledge and their undying energy for this campaign was unreal. Every day brought a new idea, a solution to something we had been working on and ever more ways to love and protect the earth.

And at this point, it should also be pointed out that this campaign is also a testament to the power on online communication. Both Daria and I live on the East Coast - although not very close to each other. Farah is on the West Coast. The three of us all run professional businesses, are all creative in our own right and have a deep respect for each other. Time zones, locations. None of that mattered in this project and there was never a problem. To top it off, the majority of the promotional work advertising this campaign is being done online only. So far we have had an overwhelming response from around the world and we can't wait to share what we've been sent with the rest of you!

I couldn't have asked for a better campaign to work on or two other creative women to work with. I'll be posting more articles about this campaign, so stay tuned! In the meantime, read, enjoy and don't forget to let us kn ow how you love the earth!

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Stepping Out Of My Comfort Zone.

A few months back, children's singer DARIA, asked me for some help in generating the art for her groundhog day projects. She wanted something special and fun - just like her music. Whereas she loved the artwork that I used for her cd cover, she was thinking of something a little more unique.

She proposed that I draw the illustrations she was looking for and I wasn't sure what to say. I grew up dreaming of becoming an animator, but my days of drawing cartoons and made up characters seemed so far away.

I was interested though and so we both agreed that an attempt would be made. I would send my rough sketches to her and if she felt I was going in the right direction, then computer generated illustrations would be done.

Working with DARIA is always stress free and I think that helped in easing any fear I had about my ability. I had an incredible time working on these pieces and I can see traits in all of these drawings that I recognize from my style years ago. And it feels good.

I'm not about to run out and put ILLUSTRATOR on my resume, but sometimes working outside of one's comfort zone can be exhilarating and definitely rewarding. This experience taught me a little something about myself that's been hiding for awhile. I look forward to the next new thing that comes my way with even more excitement now!

It's amazing Mr. Groundhog didn't see his shadow this year! Look how fat I made him:)

Check out DARIA and look for all her
fun monthly projects - including art by yours truly!

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Print, Print and more Print!

Vinyl Banner designed by Madcow Designs
Outside vinyl with grommits for ease of use to hang

Over the years, I have designed for and printed on a lot of different types of mediums. And whereas some designers will carve out a niche for themselves in a certain print field, I like to leave my studio open to the ability to handle just about anything a client approaches me about.

But, because Graphic Design seems to be such an elusive profession to describe, sometimes when a person approaches me and says "well, what else can you do?" I'm not sure how to answer. A fellow designer and good friend of mine, Nicola Black, likes to say "If it can be printed, than I can more than likely design it"

And honestly, that is a perfect answer. I have created designs for items that range from your typical print ad to specialty stickers to temperature sensitve water bottle labels to vinyl floor decals. In fact, I've come full circle from being a glass decaler while in college to designing the decals that are now being used.

The list of printed items is incredible and some of the more common items that I have worked on include:
Ads (both printed and online)
Fliers
Posters
Postcards
Rack Cards
Billboards
Catalogs
Brochures
Business Cards
Spec Sheets
Stickers
TShirts
Banners
CD packaging
Menus
Invites (and boy does that cover a lot from weddings and baby showers to birthdays and Corportate events!)
Greeting Cards
Price Guides
Direct mail
POPs
Pocket Folders
Magazines

Whew...I could go on, but I think you get the point. So, if there is a special project you'd like to discuss, just contact me! I would love to work with you.

Dr. Sketchy South Jersey T Shirt
Design by Madcow Designs

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It's a bird...Its a plane!

Recently I posted a cow tip of the week on my FB fanpage that got me quite a few inquiries.

Due to the changing of seasons, I suggested a good usage of time and a nice way to keep things on schedule was to start your month off right by remember to do your backups. And now as the holiday season approaches, I thought I would repost here some of my suggestions:

Depending on the size and amount of files you have, there are several options for off site storage.

You can always back up onto a thumb drive/removable drive and then keep that drive at another location. This works for those whose work files reside in a different location then their residence.

Then there are quite a few very nice "cloud" options as well.
Two of the better ones:
1. Dropbox https://www.dropbox.com/
Backups a folder you designate, and you can share among your computers.
Basic plan is free and gives you 2gb to use.

2. Carbonite http://www.carbonite.com/en/default.aspx
Does an online backup of your documents and settings folder.
$55 per yr.

Other cloud services to consider:
https://www.sugarsync.com/
http://mozy.com/
http://www.zumodrive.com/
http://www.box.net/

As you get busier and busier for the holiday, wouldn't one less thing to worry about be great? And, just in case you are wondering, we archive all jobs here, which ensures a quick turnaround time on reprints and offers you peace of mind.

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My Kardonne Experience

Original Sketch ©Joe Kardonne

As many of you know, I am the director for the South Jersey Branch of Dr. Sketchy's. We have many talented, and interesting people, attend every month. One of our most loyal monkeys is an artist by the name of Jim Penland.

A whole book could not begin to describe Jim. I won't even attempt too begin too in this blog. What I will say is that he is extremely influential as an artist and having met him has been a highlight of my creative career.

At the beginning of the summer, Jim went around and asked some fellow artists to participate in a retrospective show he is calling "The Kardonne Experience". Joe Kardonne was one of Jim's greatest friends and co-founder of Ocean City's Fine Arts League. It goes without saying that he was one of Ocean City's most prominent artists, but when he died he left all his paintings to the league in an effort to support and sustain the very organization he helped found..

Joe developed his style while working alongside renowned artists at The Art Students League in NY. He studied with greats such as B. Robinson, Thomas H. Benton, Jackson Pollack and numerous others. He was a prolific artist who worked constantly and when he passed away at the age of 94, he left 2 wet paintings in his studio.

Jim's idea was for everyone to take one of Joe's sketches and to reinterpret them in their own way. Feeling JIm's energy and enthusiasm for this project, I picked 3 of Joe's pieces in the hopes I would be able to participate. I was excited to get back to my fine arts roots and had my paints and canvases ready to go. It felt good to freely paint and the sound of the brush against the canvas was meditative.

I really enjoyed myself. Sadly I hated what I had done. It wasn't bad for the first painting in over...well, let's just say, in quite a few years. But, I didn't feel it was worthy of having Joe's name associated with it. Nor did it really reflect my artistic self as much as I would have liked.

Not to be discouraged I sat down and started to research Joe some more. Maybe there was something that I had missed. Something that would speak to me and point me in the direction I should be taking with his work. This is when I discovered that Joe himself had, at one point, formed his own Advertising Agency and found much success in the commercial art field. I now felt that reworking one of his pieces digitally wouldn't be such a bad thing. Actually, it just made sense. I scanned Joe's original, dropped it into photoshop, and away I went!

Upon intial viewing, one might say this is as much an homage to Toulouse-Lautrec's Moulin Rouge as it is to Joe. But I implore you to research Joe yourself. Look at his works, talk to the people who knew him and you'll understand that everything done has been done for a reason....albeit, maybe tongue in cheek.

But, honestly, in the end, none of that really matters. Both Jim and Joe's purposes have been met. Joe continues to influence fellow artists and Jim opened up a whole new generation to Kardonne's work. My only regret is that I never got to meet Joe in person, but I should had fun learning about him! Besides, working on this project has brought me closer to understanding myself.

I thank Jim for asking me to participate and feel honored that he also asked that my piece be shown in the retrospective that started this past Sunday, the 12th of September. Right now the work can be seen in person at The Artist's Consortium in Millville. And I recently found out that the piece will again be hung during the 2011 Nov/Dec showing at the River Renaissance Center for the Arts.

Enjoy! I know I did.

Kardonne Interpretation ©2010 Madcow Designs LLC

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Moo Review - Letterpressing!

©2010 Madcow Designs LLC

Ask any designer, and they will all agree...we have tons of ideas constantly milling around in our heads. For me, these ideas typically pop up when I'm working on a client job. It usually happens during the research phase of the project...and usually has nothing to do with the job at hand. Just something sparked an idea, and well, who can really explain how a creative brain works?

So, in the past few years, I've become accustomed to immediately jotting down these ideas into a binder I keep right next to my computer. When I have a few minutes to myself and am looking for something new to work on, I'll look in there. I'll admit, when I go back some ideas are completely ridiculous. Other times, they stand out and make me delve into a research phase for my own interests.

One such project I had on the table for a while was a thank you card. When a job comes to fruition, I like to thank all those involved – the client who hired me, any assistants/secretaries, etc., along with the printer. Personally, I like sending a nice hand-written thank you...oh how my mother would be so proud!

But in all honesty, I hated buying store bought cards. It just seemed so silly to do so, but writing thank you on the invoice just wasn't what I was looking for either.

For awhile now I've been obsessed with Letterpressing, and decided what better job to test the waters, then with a personal one? So, I put out a tweet to my followers – many designers themselves – to gauge input on some of the places I had been researching. To my surprise, and delight, I got a reply from a local printer – Colleen from Cleanwash Letterpress (web: www.cleanwashletterpress.com blog: www.cleanwashletterpress.com/blog twitter: @cleanwash)

Even better was that I found out many of the designers I follow, and respect, have dealt with this print shop in the past, enjoyed their experience and have since returned for other jobs. That says a lot about a vendor and really solidified my choice of who to work with.

It also helped that after the tweet, we initiated a conversation via email. Colleen's replies were informative, respectful and above all else, honest. At this stage I was getting very excited. She sent me paper samples and I sent her a pdf proof. I always like to preface a print job with a lo-res pdf for the printer to review. Each vendor has their own specs and comfort level. I wanted to make sure what I was designing would work on her presses and she was comfortable with how I had set up the file.

Again, I had reached out to fellow designers, had done my research and had seen samples. Still, I anxiously awaited the delivery of my finals and was thrilled the day the Fedex man rolled up.

As a designer, presentation of the final product is part and parcel with what we do. Needless to say I was impressed when I tore open the box to find my printed cards neatly packed away in their own laundry bag. What a nice touch! Trust me when I say its little things like that that not only make the vendor look good but make you remember them for the next time.

Colleen did such a wonderful print job, but I will also remember her for her honesty, her helpfulness and overall just how wonderful an experience I had. I definitely will be printing more through her and will (and have already) referred her services to anyone looking for a letterpress printer.

If you can't wait to receive one of these beautiful cards yourself, you can purchase your own set at our online store.

Design was inspired by our love of the Hawaiian Culture.
BW is simple and elegant..and matches cows very well:)
Outside: Thank You; Inside: Blank

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Moo Review - Working with a New Print Vendor

Close Up: Front of binder; spine detail

One of the hardest things I have to do as a designer is turn my files over to a printer. That sounds just silly don't you think? I mean, how else is the job suppose to get finished right?

Well, bear with me on this people and think about it for a minute. A designer's job is to help you achieve a solution to your design dilemma. This solution is achieved through time spent researching you, your product, your brand, your competitors, your target audience, etc, working on comps and mustering all our creative energy and focusing it on providing you with the best possible solution - one that will solve your problem, make you look good and attract an audience.

It doesn't matter if we have been working on the job one day or one-hundred days, turning this, our hard work, over to a third party is down right scary! They might not envision the job the same as we do, they might not really understand just how many hours were put in or how proud we are of the final result. At least to a designer who has to relinquish control over a job that they have closely guarded, this is how it seems.

So, finding trusted and reliable third party vendors is something all designers strive towards. Trust me, when designers get together, we trade notes on vendors we have worked with and what the results have been. Nothing makes our job shine more than a great print job and nothing makes our job easier then when we get to work with professionals.

In the many years I have been a designer, I have had the privilege to work one on one with quite a few vendors. The great ones find a place within my rolodex and get recommended time and time again. But lately I have been involved with jobs that have required print techniques or supplies that I have never encountered before. This is both scary and exciting at the same time. Meeting new vendors and working with new techniques is great. Not knowing what to expect in the final stage of printing is, well, not so great.

A while back I received a request from one of my clients that was old hat, but came with a new twist. They were looking to get a simple binder done for a promo we were working on together.

Not having done a job like this in some years now, I had to reach out to all new contacts. One such contact, Larry Joseph at Salespak, went above and beyond the simple quote being inquired about. He followed up the initial contact with a phone call and suggestions on how to make the binder presentation way more powerful and for not much more cost-wise. His company offers a new way on how custom binders are being produced. After discussing the job's parameters with me, he felt that this new option would look better and be more durable. Samples in the mail followed shortly and the client and I both agreed - this was the way to go.


Timidly I released the files to be printed. Yes, their samples were good. Yes, reviews of them were positive. Yes they provided clear and detailed specs. And yes we would get a printed proof to review. All of that still does not assuage a designer's fears. I have seen print proofs that were gorgeous but the final run not as stellar as you would have thought for whatever reason.

Because of the quantity of the run, the job was delivered directly to the client. Nervously I awaited confirmation that the job had been received. Not only was the job turned around in a timely manner, but the client was thrilled. It is their feeling the design looks so good that samples of our work will be used by the vendor to help promote this new and exciting way of creating custom binders. They also would like to create a few more jobs utilizing this process as they feel it really makes their product stand out from the rest.

A happy client and a new trustworthy, reliable, helpful vendor...what more could I ask for?

Close-Up Shots To Indicate Finishing Features:

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Gallery Event with Madcow Designs!

Wow. We have so many new and exciting things going on over here that we don't even know where to start. But since we have limited time today, we're going to give you a quick update on one project that we are especially excited about.

As some of you may know, I design all the promo material for the South Jersey Branch of Dr. Sketchy's. Its a very interesting, yet difficult job. I am given free reign to do whatever I want. Sometimes I have a model pic and a theme to work with, other times not. And as daunting of a challenge as this may sound, I really look forward to it each and every month. It affords me the opportunity to really stretch my creative legs and delve into areas that interest me, but I might never get a chance to work with again.

Its extremely challenging, and after the printed pieces are done and handed out, there is a feeling of a job well done. But since there is always another job right around the corner, I never really have time to dwell on just how awesome a particular font choice was, or how the colors really worked out incredibly well and evoked just the right emotion I was looking to achieve.

This is all about to change though! A local gallery venue is hosting a South Jersey Dr. Sketchy exhibit for the whole month of June. The event is open to all the monkeys (artists) that attend the South Jersey session, be them painters, printmakers or sculptors. I have also been asked to participate as well.

Gee. I never really thought of putting any of my printed pieces in a show before so I can't tell you how exciting this is!! I had one monkey tell me that they look at the promo as just another artist's rendering of how they see the model and what the session evokes for them. Again, I never really thought of it that way, but how cool is that???

Currently I am busy working on framing and mounting all the pieces for the show (along with designing the promos and marketing the event as well). The other day I took a step back and honestly, I was amazed. To see all the pieces lined up and displayed really took my breath away. I am honored to be part of this gallery event and to be the designer for the South Jersey Branch. I must admit, there are pieces in this grouping that are some of my absolutely favorite pieces I have done in my whole career. And its all because I push myself. I want to try new styles and techniques. I love researching the ideas behind the themes and looking into other areas I might never have ever thought about in my career.

I would like to take the time now to invite you to come view my work along with those of the monkeys that regularly attend the events. There is going to be an opening reception on Friday, June 4th from 6-9pm and I would love to see you all there!


For more information, contact us at info(at)madcow-designs(dot)com or check out the event listing on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4143991&id=126188558055#!/event.php?eid=112706985433733&ref=ts


Samples of promo material created by Madcow Designs LLC in order to help promote and bring awareness to the South Jersey Branch of Dr. Sketchy's. Designs ©2009-2010 Madcow Designs LLC

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No Warning Necessary.

I bet when you saw the images associated with today's blog you thought "Oh, this is going to be all about package design."

And you would be right...if today just wasn't so darn nice out. Or if I hadn't noticed one little fact about the pictured items.

You see, I got my start in graphic design by being a package designer. For the first 8 years of my career, that was my main focus and I LOVED it. I concentrated on package design whilst in school and couldn't stop myself from redesigning and rebuilding even the most common household packages. Can I tell you just how pleased my mom was when she would open the bathroom medicine cabinet to find all her beloved brands repackaged in Madcow Designs originals? Trust me, I'm a trip to have around.

Anyway. Even though my main concentration has shifted slightly from packaging, I'm still intrigued by it. And when I found the pictured lacing pin packages I was thrilled. Originally I intended on writing a whole blog dedicated to the design and production of each piece.

Then, as I was gathering my thoughts, I noticed 2 things. One, today is 68 degrees and sunny. A first after a many snowy and rainy day here in South Jersey which is thus causing me to want to be outside. And two, there is one significant item missing from these packages and it made me smile. Obviously people that lived during the time these packages were designed were way smarter than us. They could make it through life without someone telling them that salt was bad for them. Trans fat most likely wasn't even a term and they knew better than to eat paste. THESE PACKAGES SPORT NO WARNING LABELS.



That's right kids. No dire warnings about throwing these pins at others, leaving them lying around in cribes or swallowing them. One package doesn't even have instructions. The person that bought this item knows what they are for and won't be reattaching their shingles with them or giving them to the cat to play with...although technically they could be used for light woodworking. They must have had hardier turkeys back in the day.

According to a quick search online, the E.H. Tate Co (makers of both items pictured) was bought out by The Newell Company in 1969. It does not say whether or not the Tate name was incorporated into the Newell name, but for the sake of it being Friday and me being silly, I'm going to say thus: Thank you E.H. Tate and Company for producing 2 lovely packages that have withstood the test of time (and several kitchens) and for realizing that the American populace was intelligent enough to know what to do and not to do with your lacing pins.

In conclusion, I am left wondering what exactly happened around 1969 to cause the winds of change to blow in on consumer packaging and dumb everything down? Can we blame it on Nixon? The Vietnam war? Or hippies? Whatever the true reason maybe, I might never know. Until then I'm off to go enjoy the outside as soon as I velcro up my shoes, wash my hands with antibacterial cleanser and grab my bicycle helmet.

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Introvert or Extrovert?

Those words get thrown around a lot and in the field of business, being labeled an introvert can be damaging. But should it be?

I've been having this discussion with a few of my fellow colleagues lately and have given it much consideration. You see, I would be one labeled as an introvert.

So, what does that mean? I don't want to talk to you? That the mere thought of speaking in front of large crowds makes me run and hide under the bed? That I would rather scoop out my eyes with a rusty spoon rather than participate in any sort of social gathering?

Au contraire!

It seems that the general consensus of the masses is that introverts are shy awkward creatures likened to a nervous chiuaua. That we are full of anxiety and have no social skills to rely on. Where in fact that is a total misconception.

Introverts do enjoy the company of others and love participating in lively discussions. We just might not jump in right away because we are taking our time to mull over what has been said and are formulating a response that we feel would be intelligent and well thought out. We reflect inward to make sure what we are saying truly represents our thoughts and feelings and are not just paying lip service to the most favored opinion.

Introverts think before they act and because we process most of our emotions, thoughts and observations internally, we find our energy from within. We recharge by being alone again with our thoughts and personal activities - typically things we can do solo.

But, what in essence happens is our personality comes across as odd or abnormal. Because most introverts don't see the need to participate in "water cooler" talk or telling jokes to large crowds, less of ourselves are revealed publicly. Other, more extroverted people take this as an offense or that we have no interest in them. And this can be detrimental to ones' business.

Potential clients can see an introvert as a sign of someone who might not be competent or who doesn't know much of what they are doing. And where there is validity to hiring someone that you will personally get along with, don't count those introverts out just yet!

One of our strongest traits is research and analyzation. We like to find the answers to problems and enjoy thinking, exploring and delving into the concepts behind ideas. When handed a job, the first step I take is researching the client behind the project. I study the notes from our meeting and create a list of associated colors, words and images that all relate. Everything that goes into my design is thought out and has meaning.

We operate best when left to ourselves. Working in one's own office, be it from a home-based operation, or a single office amongst many, we have total concentration on the task at hand. Social interaction doesn't distract us, we don't feel the need to go find what everyone else is doing. We are intense and passionate, abstract ideas are sought after as we look inward for answers to projects we are involved in.

And I could go on. The traits associated to introverts are all fantastic ones to be held by a self employed creative: responsible, flexible, studious, smart, able to maintain long term relationships and creative out of the box thinkers. But this post wasn't written with the intent to justify myself. My work should stand as a testimate to the job I am capable of. Instead I felt the need to make others aware that what you might see as a quirk, is in essence a fantastic trait to have in a designer.

So, the next time you see me, say Hi. I'll only be more than glad to talk to you:)

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Our Work With Dr. Sketchy's South Jersey

©2009 Madcow Designs LLC

We here at Madcow Designs have so much fun working on the promos each month for Dr. Sketchy's South Jersey. Most people would think that being your own client would be a dream come true, but it is actually the opposite. We force oursleves to work outside our comfort zone in an effort to experience styles of work that we might not otherwise have delved into. It can be hard and frustrating at points, but in the end, it is very satisfying and we know that we walked away with a creative experience that will only benefit us and our clients.

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