9 Surf Studios

Case Study: Exhibitor Magazine illustration

2012-02-18T02:42:00.000-05:00

Here I outline the process I used from planning to completion of a two spread illustration I recently did for Exhibitor Magazine. The multi-part machine is a metaphor for the rebranding process Medtronic and their subsidiaries went through in regard to how they present themselves in the marketplace and trade shows. The illustration was particularly challenging in that there were several stages in the machine which all had to coordinate with each other in sequence and coincide with where they fell in the story. All while avoiding the magazine gutters, bleeds and tight-fitting text. Equal to the challenge was concepting what each segment of the machine should look like. Too much detail would take away from the symbolic nature of each stage of the process. Too little detail would make the illustration less interesting. The following is a glimpse of how I did it (click each image to get a closer look):

Finished illustration rendered in Photoshop

Exact drawing in Illustrator of all components done in grayscale (my method of working - no color until the composition is set)

Rough planning sketch drawn in pieces then scanned and composed together in Photoshop and placed in a layout. Each component of the machine was drawn separately several times until the right view was created. Then each was brought together in the layout and the pipeline that connects them was added last when all the components were set in the right place.

Giclees - I'm lovin' paper!

2012-01-25T02:13:00.004-05:00

Recently, I've started something new. As much as I love working in the digital environment for my clients, I have a renewed interest in getting works down on paper; both my own and other artists and photographers work in the form of museum quality giclee prints. This image is part of a series of images used on the 9 Surf Editions website and advertising campaign. I wanted to emphasize my approach to the process - keep it as hands on as possibly, in the tradition of the old engravers.

The Press Room

2012-01-25T01:44:00.003-05:00

A logo recently designed for The Press Room in downtown Asbury Park,NJ, the hottest and coolest new bar/music venue with deep roots in the venerable history and contemporary scene of rock n' roll.

Happy Holidays & Merry Xmas!

2011-12-20T14:07:00.001-05:00

Wishing all Happy Holidays and a hope-filled New Year!
--> click on the image to see it larger

Super Bowl 2014 Host Committee logo design

2011-10-14T23:09:00.002-04:00

Source Communications commissioned me to design the logo for the Super Bowl 2014 Host Committee campaign. Super Bowl 2014 will be held in New York–New Jersey in the MetLife (Meadowlands) Stadium. The host committee is a select group of 22 people and organizations who help organize the many different aspects of hosting an event of this scale. When the logo and campaign was completed, there was a press release in late September in New York City where all the major news organizations reported on the campaign. Included in the reporting was an analysis of the logo. It was a lot of fun to read the reporting, especially when it included critiques of the logo! Google "Super Bowl 2014 logo"

PAGEPLANE, Chuck Green

2011-10-14T22:35:00.004-04:00

I came across Chuck Green's blog called PAGEPLANE recently. He had posted an item about me and as I was checking it out, I read other posts and was surprised I hadn't heard of his blog already. I found it to be a great resource for all folks in and around the design and visual communications industry. Really interesting posts of people doing inspiring work. If you are not familiar with it, he's been reporting for nearly six years. Thank you Chuck, excellent work! Be sure to check it out: http://www.pageplane.com

Hands off! Or on?

2011-10-05T23:43:00.004-04:00

A full page editorial feature image about the growth of technology and the global economy.

The economy then and now

2011-10-05T23:16:00.005-04:00

While doing a search, I came across this image which I did for US News & World Report in 2000 at the height of the tech economy. The article reported on the changes and challenges due to rapidly changing technologies. Ironic that it was done just before the tech market crash considering that we are in dangerous economic times again.

Alberta Venture magazine

2011-09-05T16:25:00.000-04:00

For Alberta Venture magazine - The Venture 100, a special issue of the top 100 companies. A different take on the design of the 100 which is used often on magazine covers. Click on the image and see the texturing up close.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular

2011-08-11T16:32:00.000-04:00

Who remembers Crazy Eddie's "Christmas in August" commercials? I grew up with them when I was young. Well I guess he wasn't so crazy after all because starting this August, Christmas is being advertised all over Times Square - The Radio City Christmas Spectacular that is. Putting a show on this grand is a big undertaking. The branding for the show begins a year in advance. I had the privilege of working with Jay Cooper and the folks over at SpotCo, the agency working with MSG (owners of Radio City), to create this year's logo. The preliminary design process and review was intense and produced some good work. Hopefully in future posts I will share some of the alternates

OBG Management

2011-08-07T12:58:00.001-04:00

A cover illustration for OBG Management magazine for Quantum HealthCom about Vitamin D and Osteoporosis

Pearson Connected Mathematics covers

2011-07-28T13:21:00.000-04:00

Recently I came across this image which is a component of one of the illustrations I did for a series of math textbook covers for Pearson not to long ago. I had forgotten about it and found it as I was doing a search. I thought it would be fun to post since it reminds me of the days at amusement parks during the summer. I live pretty close to one and have spent my share of time in the bumper cars. Anyone venture an educated guess as to what the equation means?

The Stiletto 500

2011-06-25T01:49:00.005-04:00

Big Brothers Big Sisters of New Hampshire needed an attention getting poster image for a fundraising event where all the participants will run a foot race wearing ultra high heel stilettos. Turning a stiletto into a pumped up (pun intended) race car was great fun! Another fun collaboration with Creative Director Marty Lapham of Fin Brand Positioning.

Pensions & Investments

2011-06-25T01:35:00.003-04:00

I love marrying the classical genres with a modern textural look. This cover for an annual issue called the P&I 1000 does just that. Click on the image to get a closer look!

Rural Telecom

2011-06-25T01:29:00.003-04:00

Ferro + Ferro commissioned a cover for Rural Telecom magazine about Smart Grids that connect technologies and communications for homes and businesses in rural areas. Above is the final image, below are rough sketches prepared in development of the idea.

The Great Martin String Swap

2011-06-25T00:46:00.004-04:00

A promotional typographic illustration commissioned by Spark for their client CJ Martin & Co., the guitar maker. The idea is to maintain the classic sensibility and history of the company and marry it with modern execution. I used an image of their guitar as well as wood textures, inlays and other materials and shapes that allude to guitars and flavor of the music industry. Click on the image to see it larger.

State Farm

2011-06-25T00:34:00.001-04:00

A classic insignia design with a modern message. One of a series of exploratory designs for a proposed State Farm auto insurance campaign.

Library Journal

2011-06-25T00:16:00.003-04:00

A bit of a different typographic approach, this special issue cover for Library Journal displays the title to reflect features about new landmark libraries that are noted for design, sustainable and green technologies incorporated into their architecture

Northrup Grumman

2011-06-25T00:03:00.003-04:00

How many ways can you knock out a missile? Northrup Grumman commissioned me to illustrate their complex missile defense system from ground ops to missile kill. It's an amazing orchestration of technologies. I chose a new way to portray the entire battlefield from missile command to satellites and how they communicate with each other. Rather than a traditional landscape, I merged the idea with an infographic approach showing land, sea, air and space as layers in ascending order and distance from the command center. Blue lines represent communications with the command center, green represents communication with members of the battlefield, red represents the sources which could perform the resulting enemy missile kill. The image is used as a primary display in major tradeshows, technology animations, and print collateral.

State Farm typeface design and wordmark system

2011-03-23T00:36:00.008-04:00

You've probably seen it around town on signage, or on TV during an NFL game. I was commissioned by Creative Director Gary Alfredson of DDB Chicago to design a new typeface for the State Farm brand identity. The mandate was to create an open, friendly, contemporary and progressive look. Shown along with the main wordmark are other examples of how the brand extends to other parts of the company's services. Feedback on the design since being in the field is that it has helped infuse new life into the venerable company also exemplified in their new TV commercials.

Typeface design is more about structure, subtleties and letter combinations than the effects and impact of my other typographic work - equally satisfying when developed successfully with measurable results for the client.

The series shown together

2011-03-23T00:09:00.001-04:00

I've posted these individually over the past 3 years, but I thought it would be interesting to show the series together. Concepting and detailing these image is a labor of love to be sure. The small size doesn't do them justice though - these images work best at large poster size

New York Times

2011-02-19T19:16:00.000-05:00

Art Director Minh Uong at the New York Times commissioned me to create a cover for the Sunday Education Life section. The visual challenge was to come up with a solution which presented the university genre, but emphasized the "you" part of "U" since the feature was a series of essays written by students about their experiences in college.

Bud Light Bowl 2011

2011-01-27T23:46:00.008-05:00

I was commissioned by the Shaw Company in St. Louis to design the logo for the Bud Light Bowl, a Budweiser promotional event held in Texas around the time of the Super Bowl. It was great fun working with Greg Litwicki at Shaw, who despite having an in depth client review process and legal scrutiny (the nature of the beast with these logos), gave me much creative leeway in the development process with pretty cool results. Shown below the final logo are several of the preliminary designs

Website design experiment

2011-01-27T21:59:00.006-05:00

http://www.9surf.com/typographics/

This is my take on an anti digital age website for 9 Surf (if there ever was such a thing!). My admiration for paper and classical design is front and center. Unfortunately, my limited ability to code a website is front and center, too. But that's not my thing - there are many good coders out there. My intrigue is creating a site with a particular look, then building is so it functions well with a minimum of technology. After all, it browses fine on all platforms including mobile.

Alberta Venture magazine

2011-01-27T21:45:00.003-05:00

Art Director Kim Larson contacted me to design the cover which claims that if you buy this issue, it will be the best investment you'll ever make. The design brief: give it a little attitude and flare without being audacious.

MultiChannel Merchant

2011-01-04T00:59:00.003-05:00

These two images are from a recent cover design for MultiChannel Merchant magazine. The first is the tight design build in black and white. I work this way first because I don't want to be influenced by color in the early stages. If the design works in b&w, it will work that much better in color. This also serves as the proof stage to check size, proportions, spelling, etc., before going to final. The second image shows the fully rendered piece with color, texture, dimension, shading etc.

Happy Holidays...

2010-12-12T18:20:00.006-05:00

..and a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Savor Dining Club

2010-12-11T01:19:00.004-05:00

As someone who loves the art of food and dining, I was right at home designing the brand to launch and market the Savor Dining Club on the New Jersey shore. It was a top to bottom effort, from brand ID to marketing materials, advertising and website. SDC offered restaurants an avenue of exclusive marketing while diners received percentage discounts at the participating restaurants. Despite the fact that there was no marketing program in the area with this kind of sophisticated and integrated offering and tremendous cost savings, it wasn't enough to weather the bad economy, and SDC had to close it's doors as the industry took a heavy hit.

Killer VARS

2010-11-28T01:36:00.004-05:00

A cover illustration for a special issue of Accounting Technology magazine, a Source Media publication

Paperless

2010-11-28T01:20:00.003-05:00

An image commissioned for a magazine feature about banks and financial institutions going paperless. Shown along with the final piece is the initial rough concept sketch.

2010-11-14T22:18:00.006-05:00

IVD (In Vitro Diagnostics) Technology Magazine, a UBM/Canon publication, commissioned me for a distinctive anniversary logo for their 15th year of publication. I wanted to capture the technology in a contemporary, warm and celebratory way without alluding directly to specific science.

Wise Crunch Crew

2010-11-14T21:05:00.007-05:00

Source Communications commissioned me to do a logo for their client Wise for a cross promotion of Wise products and the New York Jets football team. Because of the requirements of the various reproduction sizes (including a 60-foot display), the logo had to be created in vector (top image). The bottom image represents a test version of the logo in true 3D

Baylor University

2010-11-14T10:26:00.004-05:00

This image was created for Baylor University. Their publication featured a story about Extended Learning Groups (ELGs) where students of diverse backgrounds and studies live and study together in groups. Studies have found that these students learn and assimilate more while enjoying a fuller college experience.

National Engineer's Week

2010-11-14T10:12:00.005-05:00

I've done several posters for Engineer's Week with Hugh Moore of Hugh Moore & Associates. This is the first one I did for Girl's Day, a special event during Engineer's Week where the variety of engineering careers are presented to girls who are considering college studies. The texture of the images makes up the girl in the poster while presenting a visual reference to every kind of engineering. This sort of image works great large. That's the downside of a computer monitor.

From the Gallery, 1

2010-11-14T01:12:00.006-05:00

This is an piece I did for the Wharton School of Business when the tech boom was at its pre-collapse height in 2000. Interesting how things have changed - or have they?

self portrait

2010-11-14T01:03:00.000-05:00

National Engineer's Week

2010-11-07T23:30:00.001-05:00

Hugh Moore of Hugh Moore & Associates commissioned me to do this poster image to represent the 60th Anniversary of National Engineer's Week. It was quite a rearch and design undertaking since the image needed to cover the gamut of engineering fields, convey the anniversary as well as appeal to an audience with a wide age range

Women's health

2010-11-07T23:16:00.003-05:00

Mary Ellen Niatis, Creative Director at Quadrant HealthCom, commissioned me for this illustration about endometriosis for the cover of SRM magazine (Sexuality, Reproduction & Menopause). The goal was to create an image that gave an overview of the story and evoked the right feeling without being too clinical

Logos

2010-11-07T22:29:00.006-05:00

It's a fascinating process taking a message, title, brand name, idea, etc. and bringing it to life as a logo or typographic treatment. Here is a sampling of a few I've done for a variety of clients.

gizmo

2010-10-29T00:34:00.016-04:00

One of the influences on my typographic work is the interplay between letterform and architecture. I did this piece for the shear fun of it - a case study in creating an unusual design, imagining what it could look like 12 feet wide on the side of a building or marquee, then bringing it to life unhindered by actual costs of building, labor and materials. Don't wake me from this dream!

Thrive Magazine

2010-02-04T03:24:00.013-05:00

Art Director Letizia Albamonte of Pace Communications, commissioned this image for Thrive Magazine, a Syngenta publication, to tell the story about business planning in the agriculture industry. Here I show a concept sketch and the final image. On my roughs, even though the sketch elements are clear, it's not uncommon for me to label them in case the creative team plans to show them to their clients. Mostly, this helps everyone be onboard early with the concepts and direction of the image.

500 x 2

2009-10-15T21:07:00.004-04:00

A material difference: I'm having fun swapping out materials and textures to create different looks with my 3D design work. I do lots of work with numbers, so this experimental image takes my regular work to a whole new "dimension"

Ride

2009-10-12T13:19:00.005-04:00

Always trying something new. I have been working on the design and rendering of logos in 3D space to round out my studio's offering in the typographic arena. There are times when the design has to take on a lifelike appearance. Suitable for print and animation. Here are a couple of examples showing the design and rendering using different finishes. Of course that's one of the great things about 3D - the ability to edit, change texture, and rotate the view.

Hasbro Trivial Pursuit DVD game

2009-08-03T23:01:00.005-04:00

One of a series of images created for Hasbro's Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture DVD game. This is a more developed version of the original art which was produced in red monochrome to match the color of one of the six gameboard pie colors.

DBRS

2009-07-03T18:50:00.006-04:00

Lynn Chin of Vector 7 in Toronto, Canada asked me to create an overarching image for collateral for their client DBRS, an international ratings firm. It's horizontal format lends itself to a mural-like display. The image was created in very high resolution to be suitable for all possible size applications. Click on the image to see it larger.

CMP Media - Business

2009-05-31T12:13:00.005-04:00

Another one from the e-commerce archives - a fun take on business

Oracle

2009-05-30T02:33:00.005-04:00

When computers began going mainstream, I was busy illustrating the concepts, technology, and business of the emerging markets. Here's an image that was done for a magazine feature about Oracle.

On Wall Street Magazine cover

2009-05-26T23:17:00.005-04:00

Mike Vella, art director of On Wall Street magazine asked me to create an unusual hybrid of the dollar sign and question mark symbols for their annual salary compensation issue. Intersecting the two symbols on separate 3d planes added to the idea that there is more to the story than what's on the surface, i.e., the salaries in different segments in the financial industry, and the supporting theme of how they are effected by the current economy.

Syngenta illustration

2009-05-26T23:04:00.007-04:00

This image was commissioned by art director Shay Sprinkles of Pace Communications for their client Syngenta for a feature article about profitable practices in agriculture in our current economy. The completed image is shown with the initial rough sketch.

Medicus Life Brands

2009-05-12T01:28:00.005-04:00

I created this concept/informational image for Nick Manganiello, Creative Director for Medicus Life Brands. Their client, Auxilium, needed to show how their medication Xiaflex works. It's made to treat a rare disease called Dupuytrens which restricts finger flexibility by contracting the tendons and muscle fibers, mainly in the last two fingers

Conceive Magazine cover

2009-05-12T01:19:00.007-04:00

Art Director Patrick Greenish of Conceive Magazine commissioned me for a cover of one of their flagship issues. The challenge was to make a bold iconic cover with the right sensibility and appeal to an audience in infant and conception mode. Some of the simplest things are the most challenging - the "50" had to be just right

Smithfield Meats packaging labels

2009-05-02T12:53:00.009-04:00

Pat Powell of Lawler Ballard Van Durand needed new label designs for two of Smithfield Meats' products. They wanted a classic design look with a contemporary feeling, a look that brings lasting value to their packaging.

The Female Patient

2009-05-02T12:38:00.006-04:00

Pat Fopma, Art Director of The Female Patient commissioned me for a conceptual cover image about healthcare and risks during pregnancy

Pearson CME Project math textbook cover series

2009-04-01T13:00:00.007-04:00

I worked with Carolyn Lock and Hope Morley of Pearson to develop a logo identity, design format and illustrations for a series of four covers for math textbooks for middle and high school called the CME Project. The series won two awards at the 2009 New York Book Expo: first place in the Middle/High School Series Books category and second place in the Middle/High School Series Cover category.

PaneBelle Pizza & Bread Dough Co. logo and package design

2009-03-31T19:45:00.003-04:00

I worked with Creative Director Marty Lapham of Fin Brand Positioning to create a retail package for PaneBelle Pizza and Bread Dough Company. He wanted a natural, established look to reflect the quality of their product which is available in organic White, Whole Wheat, and Multigrain. Fin Brand Positioning is an innovative and creative company which works with a range of clients within the retail, business, educational, cultural, medical industries. See their work at http://www.fingenuity.com

NYTTF League logo

2009-03-29T11:05:00.017-04:00

An avid tournament table tennis player, I was right at home creating this illustrated logo to promote a league tournament for New York Table Tennis Foundation director Robert Chen. Robert is a professional coach trained by coaches from the Chinese National Team, the best in the world. NYTTF is a large club in Manhattan's Chinatown featuring play levels from beginner to world class. So, if you are in New York and are looking to play table tennis, check out http://www.nyttf.com

Time Magazine illustration

2009-03-28T18:05:00.012-04:00

Creating images for healthcare clients is an integral part of my work. I am regularly commissioned by pharmaceutical and biotech companies, healthcare organizations, and publishers. This piece was done for Time Magazine as one of a series of images on women's health issues

WellCorps International packaging

2009-03-28T12:45:00.002-04:00

Tony Rich, CEO of WellCorps International, commissioned me to design the logos and illustrate the packaging for their duo of daily nutrient products, WellCapAM and PM. WellCorps invests years or research and into the development of their products which are made of the finest natural nutrients and foods placed in capsule form. The company's goal is to educate and support well being as well as have a positive environmental impact

Engineer's Week Girl's Day

2009-03-27T17:34:00.011-04:00

Hugh Moore of Huge Moore & Associates commissioned me for a poster image for National Engineers Week Foundation Girl's Day. The event's purpose is to attract high school girls to consider a career in one of many engineering fields. The poster shows the world of engineering of everyday things found in a girl's purse.

Heartland Brewery

2009-03-27T10:53:00.007-04:00

Jon Bloostein, owner of Heartland Brewery in New York City commissioned me to update and develop new labels for his in house brews. Tom's challenge was to work with existing imagery used in successful ad campaigns and give it a fresh, new look reminiscent of the beer label genre.