JoSF

Archive for the ‘Web Design’ Category



Kyle Raines’ Website


Friday, May 14th, 2010

As some of you know I offer 3D design in my arsenal of creativity. But, the programs used to create 3D media graphics (primarily Maya and 3D StudioMax) are extremely time consuming to operate. Luckily for me, my band’s lead guitarist, “Agile” Kyle, is a budding 3D artist. He is finishing up his practicum at the Center for Digital Imaging and Arts at Boston University and needed some help building a website to showcase his portfolio. I obliged him.

We developed a tongue-in-cheek theme for the site. The term “3D,” which is used in our respective industries to refer to Pixar-like animations, is so often confused with anaglyphs or those old school red and blue glasses. We took that conundrum and ran with it. His branding is Helvetica with cyan and magenta offset on the left and right respectively. To top it off, I penned a slogan with a double meaning that still makes me smirk: “viewed best in 3D.”

Kyle knows some HTML and had access to the Adobe CS4 suite and Dreamweaver, but was quite busy with some contracts, so I designed a mock-up that could be created fairly quickly. The site speaks for itself. It is loose, it is loud and it makes the 3D art world what it really should be, a lot of fun.


Pure Home Collections


Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Late last summer I was approached by a furniture storeowner, AnnMarie, who was going through the motions of branching out into not only selling furniture, but also manufacturing it. Due to the high exchange rate and long shipping waits (not to mention the increased chance of damage) the foreign furniture market had become an ever-increasing headache for her.

She had a name and a general idea of what she wanted, however the line was evolving on a daily basis; and a certain elasticity was needed for the branding project. One of her employees created an early version of a logo, which I used to help direct my designs.

Original logo

A few months ago the time came to begin developing the catalog of pieces to be offered in the line. As predicted, the modus operandi of the line had evolved. It was time to create the final, polished identity. I began with the previous logotype as my base. A pair of concentric boxes framing a lowercase “pure” and uppercase “HOME.” I decided to not use the “roof” over the “H” as it was too playful for what the line had become. I chose to work with the Apple standard font, Optima at first because it seemed to reflect the not quite sans, not quite serif feel of the company. Optima has some wonderful qualities: a clean sans-serif with the stems and extenders made of some truly wonderful concave strokes. The clients loved it at first sight. I had my foundation. I had my font. Time to start the pencil moving.

I tried several different things at first. Both AnnMarie and Vikki had worked hard to source their parts and labor from the US and, specifically, from green companies. So, of course, I had some organic thoughts at first.

Sketches for Pure Home branding

My final design consisted of the double box to frame “Pure Home” as used before. I took the first two letters of the company name to create “pH,” which as you chemistry folks will know is a measure of acids and bases. A balanced pH and happy medium is good for everyone and everything.

Final logo design with typeface

I have since continued developing the catalog page-by-page. I have begun development on a website for the line. The project will be a continuing one, as we grow into market displays, signage, advertising and more.