Design. There, I said it.
You know what’s weird? I have a barely controlled urge to start all of these pages with “Check out a few of my” design works/artworks/work works… It’s infuriating. The public deserves better. I have to be a great example for my students! I have to think beyond the obvious!
So, anyway, check out my work. I have experience with branding, web design, packaging, advertising, motion, radio, outdoor signage and campaign design. Probably some more stuff in there, but you get the picture. I also work with JC Productions and Astonished Man Design out of South Arkansas. As an aside, the plan was to add work to this page slowly and talk at length about each upload. But plans seldom work out and as luck would have it, circumstances dictated that I open the floodgates and post the mega-load. There’s always time to add commentary later.
Advertisement Design:
WeatherBarr Windows & Doors
WeatherBarr wanted an ad that would run in a regional magazine called Do South. This particular magazine really stands out as a well designed publication, especially in the realm of its peers on the FREE news stand, nestled among the penny pinchers and the RV trade rags. It’s miles beyond in terms of visual accessibility and great design. I am bragging. One of my former students, Jessica Mays, is the designer of the pub. It looks fantastic! So, I designed the ad to really fit the visual voice of the magazine. It was important.
Selling Without Showing
WeatherBarr didn’t want to necessarily sell a singular product, so much as give a brand impression and tout their longevity in the region. They really have been here a while. So I approached this as an opportunity to show what their windows do without showing the window and simultaneously speak to our region with a truth that everyone that has lived here for more than a few months understands clearly: Arkansas weather is whack.
I wrote the headline and copy which reads:
Withstanding Arkansas
Weather Since 1934
Sunny and warm this morning, with the chance of a blizzard toward evening? Love it or hate it, that’s life in Arkansas. So it’s a good thing you have WeatherBarr windows. Because, no matter how weird the weather outside, you can trust that your WeatherBarr windows will be keeping the temperature nice and steady on the inside.
The Truth of Ad Design
I believe ads have to speak a truth, and as an Arkansas resident, I’ve lived this truth. It’s like Curly from City Slickers, Advertising is about that one thing. And that one thing is truth. Because truth resonates with people, like hearing a comedian peg your life in a bit. It’s funny because it true. In the same way, advertising can connect to viewers. Because of that one thing.
Motion, Writing, and Other Hats
At the end of November 2017 I worked with JC Productions and The Diamond Agency to create an advertisement for the City of El Dorado. It was a project with an incredibly tight turn around time. Our mission was to position El Dorado as a place for all day shopping, eating, and entertainment. My roles were conceptualization, storyboarding, scriptwriting, talent direction, and motion design. When the team is small, you have to wear more hats.
Think…Miss America
We were able to bring on Arkansas’s own 2017 Miss America Savvy Shields and friends to romp and dance through the streets and shops of El Dorado, Arkansas. The concept was that Christmas Spirit (represented by Ms. Shields) arrives in El Dorado, Arkansas and spends a day of fun with her friends. From morning until night she explores the town shopping, dining, dancing, and being entertained. She is amazed at all the holiday cheer in the city. Everywhere she and her friends go on this girls day out they encounter city merchants and citizens whose day is made even brighter by their presence, plus they leave behind a little gift of a Santa’s hat to everyone they meet.
Commercial Success
The commercial was cut for television and web and gained over 100k organically generated views in a short time. It also generated a lot of civic pride in El Dorado which certainly has a beautiful little square and has made a lot of progress in its bid to become the place to go for entertainment in South Arkansas.
Storyboards for the Dinner Concert Scene
In Progress…
If you have an iPad and Apple Pencil try the Inspire App. Also, Sketch Club is a wonderful app. Both have many Photoshop like features and both can export a layered .psd.
Other Work
Motion & Video