As the identity designer Jeff Fisher says, “If I don’t toot my own horn, no one else will“, so in this article I am going to toot my own horn and show some of the achievements I have achieved recently. It just goes to show what you can achieve in just 9 months of being a design blogger.
The Best of Logo Lounge 5
Earlier this year I was contacted by Logo Lounge, offering me a free membership (usually $100) to their website, so of course I signed up and when I did, I also submitted some of my logo designs to their database. I never really thought anything of it until last week I got contacted by Logo Lounge letting me know that 2 of my logos are going to be published in their next book The Best of Logo Lounge 5. You can see these two logos above.
Featured Artist for Nokia
I have just been asked by Nokia to design a pair of headphones (the styling, not the actual product) for a new music site being launched by Nokia called Music Almighty however details are on the down low at the moment but stay tuned.
Enviro Shopping Bag For Walgreen’s Pharmacy
Walgreens is a massive pharmaceutical chain in the USA with over 7000 stores and I was recently commissioned to create a design for one of their ‘enviro’ bags. I am still awaiting word if it is going to be used on the Walgreen’s bags or with another similar but smaller company… exciting none the less where ever it gets printed.
Design Graphics Magazine Design Competition Commendation
Earlier this year as part of our university course we had to enter the Design Graphics Magazine Cover Design Competition. The results were released a couple of weeks ago and I made it onto the commendation list which means my work is now published in the Art & Design Education Resource Guide 2008 which gets distributed around Australia to every design college and university and goes on sale in newsagents. You can see my cover design to the left and the book on the right.
My Work Appearing In These Books
I have been contacted a few times over this year asking to submit some of my designs into graphic design books so I thought I may as well and what do you know, it paid off. You can check out some of my work in these books coming in 2009:
- Graphic Design Down Under (ISBN: 978-3939998099) - Euro 14.95
- Logo 2 (ISBN: 978-3-939998-17-4) - Euro 19.95
- Best Package Design (ISBN: 978-3939998099) - Euro 19.95
- Graphic Design 2 (ISBN: 978-3939998099) - Euro 19.95
- Label Design (ISBN: 978-3939998099) - Euro 19.95
- Art & Design Education Resource Guide 2008 - $19.95 (out now)
PhotoshopUserTV, Kelby Training & Layers Magazine
Just last week I got a recommendation from PhotoshopUserTV (mentioned at 36m 40s) which is a an internet based TV program which is sponsored by such big names as NAPP, iStockPhoto, Epson and Adobe. From that little spot, I got the job of doing a logo design class for Kelby Training and also the opportunity to write an article for Layers Magazine or PhotoshopUserTV (my choice), so stay tuned for that also.
Interviews
I can not count the number of interviews I have given over the past few months, both to students via email and also on other blogs but these are some interviews I have had over the past few months.
The top 3 links below were only published this week so they are tingling with freshness.
- Creative Blogger Interview with Alex CharChar from RetinArt. Alex also did the creative pencil shavings image above.
- Jacob Cass Interview: “Design really comes down to passion.” on Design Interviews
- Interview with Jacob Cass on Adubzeedo (posting in the next few days)
- Graphic Design Interview with Jacob Cass on JCD
- Interview with Jacob Cass on InkBlog
- How I Raised $5000 in Sponsorship on Group Writing Projects
- Web / Graphic Designer Group Interview on Vandelay Design
Live University Lecture to India
Last week I did a live lecture to a graphic design University class in India via webcam. I spoke about logo design, branding and blogging and I also answered questions from the students (mainly aged 18-19). I actually tried recording the lecture however it was very disjointed as we had to swap from Skype to MSN twice due to connection problems, so unfortunately I can not show you the video but it went well none the less. They even want me back again.
Photoshop For Right Brainers Book Cover Design
I was asked by by John Wiley & Sons if I would like to be a featured designer for their design contest trying to come up with a front cover design for their new book Photoshop For Right Brainers by Al Ward.
Even though I am against spec work, I was offered 4 books worth up to a maximum of $600 to be one of the featured designers. I would like to know what people think of me being a featured artist, condoning a design competition - keeping in mind that $600 worth of books is on the line. I am still yet to confirm if I will participate.
Subscribers / Stats
Just Creative Design now has a total of 167 posts, 19 pages and 4600 comments. On average each article has 27 comments.
We have received over 1,200,000 Unique Visitors, and over 17,000,000 hits using up 3900GB of data since we started.
I suppose getting 7000+ subscribers in 9 months is a worthy achievement also, even if it just a number.
Future Plans
As you may know, I love travelling and adventure and have been to over 30 countries already but this time I am going to see more of Australia. In a few weeks, me and a few university mates are hiring a camper van to travel to the middle of of Australia to see Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) which should be a good 2700km road trip. I am looking for a few guest articles for my time away so if you are keen, please contact me.
I also plan to go back to Canada in 2010 for 4 months for a working holiday skiing the slopes which I am looking forward to also (and saving for).
A Big Thank You
A big thank you to all of the generous people who have donated $6000+ worth of prizes to Just Creative Design and myself over the past 9 months. Donations have included such things as an electric guitar, logo designs, memberships and so fourth. I will be having another huge competition soon, so keep your eyes peeled and if you want to get a prize donation in early, you know where to contact me.
I also want to thank all of the commentators and readers that make up Just Creative Design as it is those that make Just Creative Design a better place.
Well there you have it, my horn has been tooted.
© This article is copyright of Just Creative Design and should not be found elsewhere.
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