Play off games elevate the excitement in the air. Our boss, at DRB Partner’s, is heading up to see game #5 in San Francisco. Leaving the creative team in the office to work. Geeeeee, that’s not right! If I can’t be there, I still wanted to feel I was part of the excitement. So I threw together a poster design to post around the office. So much energy, I just need to channel it. So, here’s my outlet, a poster design. Got stuck in a meeting so I didn’t have a chance to print it out for the boss to hold up at the game.

There is so much talent and inspiration out there. Where? Everywhere! The web is a great place to find new places where the creative juices flow. Today, on one on my mindless surfing adventures I landed Ammo Magazine.  In there own words they’re addicted to illustration. Check it Out!

Things are busy here at our Advertising Agency in San Jose, CA. Imagine what it was like for Designers, Illustrators and Artist back in the great depression. Closest I can come to that vision is the “Dot Com Bomb. And when things get rough, seems like the first to feel it are the artist. The WPA was a great program to help those who needed work.

The program built many public buildings, projects and roads and operated large arts, drama, media and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing and housing. I’ve always heard of the great poster designs produced in stunning silk screen, wood cuts and lithography. I always love the Silkscreen posters. I admire them greatly. I found a great resource online at the LIbrary of Congress. I was delighted to find a 1939 Calendar with whimsical illustrations.

March has to be my favorite design, but they all are great. We can learn a lot by studing the simplicity of these images. Take that knowledge and apply it to our designs.

What a great day I experienced this past weekend. Call it all part of “the Chico Experience.” It had been years since I stepped foot on the campus of California State University, Chico. I was there for a celebration of 40 years of Graphic Design. Many alumni showed up to join in the celebration. There where a few people I recognized right off the bat. There were other’s that I couldn’t place the face even after I read their name badge. But this was not a reunion of the Graphic Design class of 1984. It was a look back at 40 years of successfully launching many careers into the crazy world of Visual Communication. The day wouldn’t have been complete with out a lecture from the one-and-only Gregg Berryman (Notes on Graphic Design and Visual Communication). I don’t think it surprises anyone that Professor Berryman is still teaching. His passion for design has always been infectious. It is part of his his legacy. I was very happy to see Professor George Turnbull. The wisdom and experience George shared in class has been very influential in my career and person growth.

There is so much design in the world–good and bad. I’m always looking to find great graphic design in history. It is inspiring to see work from the 30s-40-50s and beyond. I recently came across the work of Jim Flora. What a treasure! Lots of album covers from the 50s that are described as mischievous and diabolic. I haven’t decided what my favorite piece is. Jim Flora seemed to have been very prolific. Each design is as captivating as the next. So far I like “Mambo For Cats ” RCA Victor release in 1955. All I can say is “cool man”. Check out other cover designs from that era. Many thanks to jimflora.com for preserving his legacy for all to enjoy.

With little to no fanfare, I’ve launch a new website for my personal portfolio. I’m trying to remember when I first ventured into web design, it must of been circa 1995. Us the word “circa” and you’re stepping into the wayback machine. I’ve been in the design and advertising industry for about 25 years. I’ve been wondering when I built my first website. I went to wayback machine internet archive to see what I could find. Must of been some where around 1996. Pictured is Meadows Design Groups first website, nothing fancy.

You couldn’t do much back then. The internet started finding its way into the public interest in late 1994. Our first ventures where hand coded simple layouts. We lusted for a WYSIWYG program like Deamweaver. I tested the waters with one or two personal sites. I recall going to a two day Adobe web conference in San Francisco where they gave us (future web designers) copies of their new program — Pagemill. Pagemill released in late 1995. Couldn’t do much in that program. But it was a start.  Back then we thought an animated gif was something to marvel…LOL. Amazing how we continue to have to evolve with an ever changing industry. Heck, that’s what keeps us young. Staying passionate about what we do.

Mdgdesign.com, Meadows Design Group is long gone, but not forgotten. Today, I’m Creative Director for DRB Partners, Advertising Design and Public Relations in San Jose/Silicon Valley, California. Where I continue to design for the web as well as print. Our design services include: Website design, online advertising, eMarketing, and traditional print.

Just found out that Chico State’s Design Departments is celebrating it’s 40th year. Well, it was 26 years ago that I left the campus life to return to San Jose and launch my career in design– That was 1984. I’m also excited to here that they have invited alumni to visit, and upload samples of their work to an online gallery (Chico State Graphic Design – Designer Submissions). It’s a blast to see some familiar names.I’m Looking forward to mingling with old classmates.

I submitted some of my work and even did my homework assignment – A 40 year poster. Here is my design: