dave will design - graphic designer | illustrator | poster artist

New for 2012: Forrest Gump Limited Edition Print

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:49:00 +0000

(Clicking to enlarge is highly recommended!)

A poster always looks its best with a
classic black frame and white mount combo!

So 2011 was crazy for me and ended on a huge high as got married, went on honeymoon, moved house and celebrated Christmas all in the same month! Apparently its 2012 already and I've realised it's been a while since my last poster release but I am glad to reveal my latest design... based on the classic movie... Forrest Gump!!!

Released in 1994, Forrest Gump is an iconic piece of storytelling that is just as good today as it was 18 years ago.

After watching it recently it dawned on my how varied Forrest's life was. He had more jobs than I've had hot dinners and I knew there was a poster in there somewhere, the problem was figuring out an idea to bring it all together.

Eventually it seemed obvious... Forrest was an exceptional guy with a fine array of talents and the best thing is, they all begin with the letter 'F'! Who could forget Forrest the football player who couldn't stop running or the famous moment that Forrest flashes his buttocks at the white house. So here it is for all to see, 'The Finest Features of Forrest Gump' available as a 24 x18" limited edition print run of 50, all signed and numbered. As always, once this batch has gone, thats it, there will

Please use the buy it now button below to make your purchase and feel free to leave a comment while you are at it!

A Post about Posters...

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:32:00 +0000

A few weeks back I posted my latest piece of original artwork, a movie poster based on the excellent film 'Jurassic Park' to celebrate it's re-release in UK cinemas. The poster was limited to a run of 25 and were available to buy. They started selling well and I was really pleased the design was so well received. Some would say it was a Roooooar-ing success (sorry!)

Then, within a few days of the poster hitting my site I received an email from a lady who claimed to be acting on behalf of Universal Studios, informing me that I must remove the poster immediately or she would be in touch to take the matter further. At first I thought it was spam, the email had mistakenly been sent to another Dave Williams who forwarded it on to me after finding me on twitter. Surely one of the biggest movie studios in the world wouldnt make such a school boy error? (My email address is even listed on my blog so its quite hard to get wrong.) Unfortunately, it was genuine, and a couple of emails later I began to realise that this was no joke.

A copy of page 1 of the Cease & Desist letter
I received from Universal Studios

Apparently my poster design had infringed the Jurassic Park license and the letter was in fact a Cease & Desist order. When I asked for a more specific explanation as to which bit of it infringed the copyright, they wouldn't tell me. All they said was that I needed to remove it and quickly otherwise legal action could be taken.

I'm a graphic designer by profession and I would hate for anyone to copy my work, especially if they made money from it, but this to me is slightly different. I always make sure that my movie posters are 100% original. Sure, they are based on an existing idea (the movie itself) but I ensure that I never use the logo or any of the branding from the movie. I also never use photography of the characters or any photographic images, screenshots or printed material from the film. In fact, the only link to the actual movie the poster is based on is the name of the movie itself and a list of the actors who starred in the movie. As far as I understood, that was not infringing any copyright.

My work is a tribute to some of my favourite movies and Im really amazed that other people like the designs enough to want a copy for themselves. For that reason I often make a small batch available to buy, never more than 50 prints of each design and I hardly make any money from the whole operation. By the time you factor in print costs, packing and postage, purchasing postal tubes, bubble wrap, brown tape, labels, marker pens, Royal Mail loosing my packages and the time it takes to design the work itself theres definitely no room for profit!

There seems to be a real grey area when it comes to selling fan art. Other artists design and sell their work as a full time business, some sell their work but remove the movies credits, others purposefully design posters that dont mention the name of the movie while some artists just use the movie as inspiration for their work so there is no direct link at all.

I simply want to know what is and what isnt acceptable.

I dont want to have to stop producing fan art as its something I love but at the same time, Im in no position to be risking legal action for the sake of a hobby! If anyone can shed any light on the subject or share information from their own experiences I would really love to hear from you, feel free to leave a comment below. Hopefully we can clear this up once and for all!

Join me Beyond the Marquee!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:49:00 +0000

Regular readers of my blog will remember a brilliant interview I shared on here by Steve Czarnecki (if you missed it, check it our here), one of the guys responsible for some of the best posters to come out of Pixar/Disney in the past few years. Steve currently works in the creative print department at Disney but also has experience in the world of TV and movies for many years. In this time he has built up an impressive list of contacts in the movie industry and has decided he wants to share some of this knowledge and experience with the world!

Today see's the release of Beyond the Marquee, a website created by Steve and his friend Jon Donahue that aims to give readers an insight into the magical world of movies. Steve has collated an exciting list of colleagues and friends from the industry who are working together with the aim of sharing news and behind the scenes scoops on subjects including TV, Movie News & Reviews, Soundtracks and loads more. He has very kindly asked me to get involved as the 'Beyond the Marquee's' resident movie poster blogger! So from now on I will be posting regular movie poster news over at Beyond the Marquee and I would love it if you joined me! The aim is to share news, discuss designs and generally spend time highlitghting some of the best (and worst) work out there from both professionals and amateurs alike. Ill also try and give some insight into my own work and how some of my designs come together.

So please, head over to Beyond the Marquee and get involved, leave a comment and enjoy what is sure to be a great adventure!

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Poster Exclusive

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:38:00 +0000

With only a week to go until the release of 'Tinker Tailor Solider Spy' in cinemas I've decided to produce my own alternative movie poster to celebrate one of the most anticipated movies of 2011. As spy movies are all about intrigue and mystery, I decided to add a subtle visual mystery of my own to the design. Hopefully if you look closely you will see what I mean, but it may not be too obvious at first glance!

The guys over at heyuguys.co.uk have an exclusive preview of the 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' poster on their website since Friday afternoon but you can now it below by scolling down the page.

The plan is to release a limited batch of prints (either 10,25 or 50), hand signed and numbered, but it all depends on if there is a demand for it, so if you are interested, leave a comment here, drop me a tweet @davewi11 or leave a comment on the post over at heyuguys.co.uk.

For more info on the film itself, check out www.tinker-tailor-soldier-spy.com

EDIT: After a fair bit of interest I have decided to get 25 posters printed at the usual spec (24x18") so to pre-order your copy use the Buy It Now button below!

EDIT 2: To be in with a chance to win a free print just leave a comment below saying who your favourite fictional spy of all time is and why. It could be James Bond, Inspector Gadget or even Johnny English! Ill pick a winner at random from the comments below!

Super 8 Minimalist Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:19:00 +0000

Super 8 is one of the most eagerly anticipated movies of the summer here in the UK. Written and produced by J.J. Abrams, (the creator of Lost) and directed by Steven Spielberg (a living legend) it is due for release in the UK on August 5th.

In 1979, a group of friends who witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local sheriff's deputy tries to uncover the truth.

The 14 x 30 inch print uses vintage super 8 film reels to promote the movie title and sits on a background of distressed steel as a reference to the heavy duty train crash that is central to the movies story line. Click on the image above to see it in full, or check out the trailer below to see more of one of this summers biggest blockbusters!

'I Choose Chaos' Official Movie Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 10:40:00 +0000

A little bit of awesome news I should have shared a while back!

Recently, I was contacted by Stefano Gallo, a movie producer & actor from Canada who asked if I would be interested in producing the official poster for his new movie, 'I Choose Chaos'. It was a brilliant experience to work on a real life, official movie poster and Stefano was a great guy to work with.

The actual process was a lot different from the usual way in which I design my movie posters. Firstly, the actors had already taken part in a photoshoot so all of the character images I had to work with were supplied. This can often present a challenge when coming up with ideas as it can be quite restrictive, but Stefano was really open to my ideas and suggestions and we ended up with something that we were both really happy with.

Secondly, a lot of my work is based on iconic movies or well known characters; it was a completely new experience for me to watch a movie from scratch with no preconceptions and then design something based on my own take on the films themes and style. Once again, Stefano was a great help in giving me feedback, guidance on his own ideas and ensuring that the time difference and distance was never an issue. The final design combines the subtle horror theme of the movie with a feeling of class and American style.

Check out 'I Choose Chaos' on IMDB here and keep an eye out for more of Stefano's work in the future.

Marvel Series 3: Captain America: The First Avenger

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:04:00 +0000

Part 3 of the Marvel series is now available!

Once again, this 24x18 inch print will be limited to a run of only 10 copies, signed and numbered. The poster is based on the story of the brand new Captain America movie due to hit cinemas in the UK on July 29th.

The design is based on the world famous American flag and uses this 2 colour theme to display the difference between good and evil. Captain America is seen in blue, joined by Bucky, Peggy Carter and a number of other iconic heroes who are fighting against the evil HYDRA group. The red strips show the bad guys of the movie, including the Red Skull, Dr. Arnim Zola and Adolf Hitler as well as numerous other moments from the movie.

The poster has been designed as part of the Marvel Series set, so those who own a copy of the Thor & X-Men prints will find that the white boarders are identical, the credits line up and the base of the movie titles will also align. This really helps when displaying the posters as a set.

You can pre- order your copy below using the buy it now button.EDIT: the captain america print is now sold out.

Please note: Delivery may take up to 3 weeks.

'Heroes give Hope' Charity Print

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:46:00 +0000

Click to enlarge

The guys over at the Big Toy Auction site are running an auction in conjunction with the aid charity Convoy of Hope to raise money for the people of Japan affected by the recent disasters. They very kindly asked me if I could donate one of my prints.

Even the Hoff makes an appearance

The theme of the auction is titled 'Heroes give Hope' and all of the lots are comic book/cartoon/retro geek related items. Items include limited edition toys, action figures, posters and original artists sketches.

Based on the theme, I decided to design a brand new print. This piece of art is seriously limited edition, it is a 1 off poster that will never be reprinted. The print is made from 72 iconic heroes that combine together with the Japanese flag to display an image of hope. Characters include Luke Skywalker, Buzz Lightyear, Bruce Lee and Hulk Hogan.

The auction starts on the 10th July but bids can be made before then by going to the BigToyAuction site here:

http://www.proxibid.com/asp/catalog.asp?aid=37915&gl=500#500

The guys over at BigToyAuction said this about the auction:

Hulk Hogan and the Hulk get to know each other

"You Don't Need Super Powers to Be a Hero! Simply by donating and Bidding on the toys you love you have the chance to be a Hero to the victims of the Sendai Earthquake. Bid Early. Bid Often. Be a Hero! "

So check out the site and help raise some money for a brilliant cause!

p.s Special bonus points to anyone who can leave a comment naming all 72 characters seen on the 'Heroes give Hope' print! Click on the image above to see it larger.

EDIT: The poster has now sold. It raised $120 for the charity which is just superb, thanks to all who helped promote the auction and a big thank you to those who bid on the lot!

Marvel Series 2: X-Men First Class

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Sat, 28 May 2011 16:45:00 +0000

The Marvel series is finally here! Just like the Thor poster, this 24x18 inch print will be limited to a run of only 10 copies, signed and numbered. The poster is based on the themes of the upcoming X-Men reboot (released June 3rd in the UK).

The design is inspired by the world of 60's advertising posters through the use of block colours, angled lines and geometric shapes. It hints at some of the movies themes including friendship and betrayal, set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The shadows cast by the two friends depicts an 'X' as a warning towards what the future holds for the world of mutants.

The background image is a modern take on a top secret document that showed the circular range capability of the Cuban missiles. The circular shapes are also iconic of the magnetic fields of Magneto and the telepathy of Professor X.

The poster has been designed as part of a set, so those who own a copy of the Thor poster will find that the white boarders are identical, the credits line up and the base of the movie titles will also align. This really helps when displaying the posters as a set.

EDIT: Amazingly, the poster has already sold out in a record time of 2.5 hours! Thanks to all who have bought a print. For those who didnt quite make it, be sure to check out the Back to the Future 2 print here and the Back to the Future 3 print here. I still have a couple of prints of each left.

Sponsor Tim

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:20:00 +0000

My buddy Tim is running the Edinburgh marathon this Sunday for an awesome cause, the Bowel Cancer UK charity. He probably won't win the race, but you should sponsor him anyway. He is so close to his total so please, if you have a bit of spare change you wont miss, pop over to his 'Just Giving' page below and share the love.

Thanks.

http://www.justgiving.com/Tim--Hawkins

Sitting is killing you

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 17 May 2011 10:43:00 +0000

Interesting read on the subject of sitting down all day, something us designers cant really get away from...

Via: Medical Billing And Coding

Marvel Series 1: THOR Movie Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:03:00 +0000

In recent years Marvel Studios have been responsible for some of the best superhero movies at the cinema. Spiderman, X-Men, Blade and IronMan are just some of the names that have helped build Marvel's reputation as the kings of the comic book franchise. The next few years will see the release of a number of Marvel films as the release of Thor (in UK cinemas tomorrow) will be followed by X-Men First Class, Captain America, The Avengers and a brand new Spiderman.

To celebrate the release of this new batch of Marvel movies I have decided to release a set of posters, one for each of the next 5 Marvel films, starting with Thor. This 24x18 inch poster will be limited to a run of only 10 copies, signed and numbered. Each future Marvel poster print will also be limited to a run of 10, so overall only 50 posters will be produced, spanning five films.

The Thor poster combines the superheroes iconic hammer with the Nordic legends famous lightning bolt to create a stylish, minimalist feel to the work. The colours are inspired by the Swedish flag as a subtle reference to the Nordic origins of Thor.

You can pre-order your poster via the Buy It Now button below. Again, there will be a short delay between ordering and delivery as I wait for prints back from the printer.
Please note, all Thor prints are now sold out. Keep checking the blog for the next in the series.
Thanks

Back to the Future 3 Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:43:00 +0000

Finally, I am glad to reveal the design for the new Back to the Future 3 poster. Once again the print will be limited to a run of 50, all hand signed and numbered. The poster is still in the process of being tested for colour at the printers but you can pre-order your copy below.

All posters are 24x18 inches in size so will sit perfectly next to any other posters you may have already purchased from my site. If you havent already seen them, you can check out my Back to the Future poster here... http://tinyurl.com/28y6ya5 and the BTTF2 poster here..http://tinyurl.com/47u7n94

PLEASE NOTE: There will be a delay of a week or two while I wait to get the prints back from the printer, so if you order now, please expect a short wait.

Dave Will Interview: Steve Czarnecki

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:50:00 +0000

Selling my movie posters online has introduced me to a wide range of great people from all over the globe. Steve Czarnecki is one of those great people who I have been fortunate enough to meet with and its fair to say he has possibly the coolest job on earth! I recently had a chat with Steve and asked him about how life is at the Creative Print department of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California.

Tell us about yourself Steve and your current day job.

Sure thing Dave, well, my name is Steve Czarnecki, I’m 38yrs young, live in Los Angeles California, am a father of 2 and a husband of 1! I work at the historic Walt Disney Studios in Burbank California, the same studio where Walt Disney himself worked and produced some of the most famous live-action and animated films in movie history. My day job is being a part of the amazing collective of the studios creative print marketing team.
It’s out of this division that most of the memorable print campaigns for the Disney & PIXAR films are created. What comes out of our little group ends up making it’s place in the world of promotions, marketing and advertising for the films the studio releases both domestically and internationally.

How did you get into working in the creative print department?

I snuck onto the lot one afternoon with a tour group and set up a makeshift office in an abandoned part of the marketing building and after awhile people thought that I worked there, so then…ok, I’m just kidding. I’ve been working for Disney since the early 90’s back in South Florida with various divisions from the local Promotions and Marketing offices for Disney pictures, the theme parks up in Orlando and even Radio Disney. I came out to California in the end of 2000 to produce a TV show for ABC/Disney and since then had tried to get a job AT the studio, back with Promotions & Marketing.
Unfortunately the timing was always off on any trying to get a foot in the door on the West Coast. There were hiring freezes or they’d end up moving someone up the ranks from within, so the opportunities kept passing me by. So I continued to be a Producer on TV shows.
FINALLY, 7 years later, one of my contacts at the studio got me into a temporary freelance gig in the National Marketing & Promotions division for a few months. I worked my ass off to dazzle them with great marketing & promotional ideas, as well as just networking with everyone I came in contact with. Eventually I learned of a permanent position opening soon upstairs in Creative Print, so I applied. Sept 2007 I found my new home and an enormous sense of accomplishment that I had finally gotten back into Disney full-time and surrounded by something that I’ve always loved. About that timeI had just gotten married, bought a house and was expecting my 1st child, a steady dream job with benefits was a welcome thing across the board.

Do you have previous experience in the design industry?

Not in the design industry, but I’ve always had artistic talent. Since I was a kid I was always told that I was a good artist and loved doing free-hand illustration. I won many an award for my art at various state fairs, local newspaper and national contests. In Junior High I went to an art school part time during the week, which was tremendous fun and eventually I was offered a scholarship to go to a new private school of the arts for High School in Miami.

Well that must have been an exciting time of your life?

Steve with the guys & girls from Toy Story

Well is would have, but actually I turned it down, crazy right!?!?! But I felt I had good reason, I had recently discovered my NEW love & passion; TV Production. I had gotten involved with the school’s internal TV station delivering the morning announcements (as the weatherman) and just embraced it, even thought I might pursue a career in meteorology. So I stayed with the majority of my peers and went for the last 3 grades to the regular high school where I joined on as part of the Video Yearbook team. By my senior year I was the Editor in Chief and knew that TV was my future. I went on to attend assorted local colleges in the South Florida area for TV (and Film), while juggling part time assistant manager jobs with the Warner Brothers Studio store and Blockbuster Video.

So at this point you were veering away from art and towards TV whole-heartedly then?

Sorry I’ve gone off on my own tangent from your question didn’t I? Even though TV was my focus, at my core was the artist in me who made sure I utilized my artistic skills into making homemade posters, storyboards, set-designs, etc for all my video related projects thru the years. All good ideas in TV & Film usually start out as a sketch or drawing, so I knew that no matter what I did or where I went, I’d be drawing and designing something!

What does an average day in your dept involve? (If that exists?)

Good question. Well between live-action and animation we have anywhere from 15-20 projects a year we work on, not just for that year’s film, but for movies coming out a year, sometimes even 2 years out. That being said there are usually at least 2-3 films being worked on, on any given day. We may be designing a logo for a film, or building exploratory comps for the one sheet teaser and final one-sheet for the film, an in-theater standee, outdoor locations, coming up with clever tag/copy lines, etc. Depending on the size, scope (and budget) of the movie we can knock out a good 50-75 solid comps a week, and this can go on for weeks until we get a really honed in really good direction for the campaign. Of course it’s then is up to filmmakers and studio executives to give it the thumbs up or down,or pepper us with some alternative ideas to get it where they want it. Even then once we think we’re locked we still have to get talent approvals, we’re working with outdoor agencies to find locations to put our campaigns up, we are always working on some angle of making the magic we do get out into the world.

How early do you start on a project?

Not long after we learn about a film being green-lit because the studio wants something they can tease early out to shareholders, at Comic-Con, or the Up Fronts. A lot of times though we’re working really early on, before we get a script and more times than not before filming has begun on the movie. So we’re just sketching and drawing and pulling resources from on-line and photo image sites, whatever we need to, just to start the ball rolling. Once we have a script to read and get ideas to start from and the film starts shooting that helps bring those ideas to life even more. Once the Unit Photography starts coming in, we’re hot to trot. But even after spending hours sifting thru set photography sometimes there’s a particular look or story that we’re trying to sell that didn’t happen on-set, so we have to do our own shoots to get that vibe and feel with the actors and position them in a fun and creative way. We have those photo shoots about once a month so we’re shooting all the principle cast of film on-set or at special shoots offset. These new shots are then made into useable key art that is used not just for us to add in with backgrounds and logos to make our marketing campaign, but by others in the company as well.

That’s interesting, who else besides the Motion Picture group uses your departments art and photography?

Oh, almost everyone! For instance our Music division for album covers, Consumer Products for toy packaging, Publicity for magazine covers, articles and exclusives, the Theme Parks for certain ride tie ins to Special Events for the World Premieres. It’s amazing to see where our art and photography ends up.

What’s the most memorable photo-shoot you’ve been on?

Steve meets The Muppets

You know we’ve done tons of shoots on-location and off for movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Alice in Wonderland, John Carter of Mars, TRON Legacy, but my most memorable shoot was just recently when we got to do a special shoot on a sound-stage with the Muppets. I was so jazzed to be right there with the actual on-screen puppets, to see the details on these complex characters up close and learn from their puppeteers and handlers who have been involved with the Muppets from back in the days of Jim Henson. I learned all sorts of secrets, stories, behind the scenes politics, etc. It was a 10-hour shoot that I wish could have gone another 10. I had so much fun. That for me being that close to them, it was as impressive as anyone would imagine being on set
with Johnny Depp could be.

When you come up with ideas for one sheets do you have to literally illustrate/design them yourself or do you then get others to work up designs based on your ideas?

It can depend on the workload at the time, but everyone contributes. We will have a dept meeting each week and go over the release schedule and then hone in on what we’re working on presently and just invite ideas to be thrown out. Sometimes it’s just verbal off the cuff brainstorming, throwing out copy line ideas, other times we come to the table with sketches or just draw and scribble up ideas in the moment, then we take the really great one’s go back to our desks and start creating (either drawing, or on the computer). Back to your question, there are times we have a special sketch artist come in and do a bunch of explorations for us. Sometimes it’s easier to see early on with some really good drawn concepts if an idea can work once we have photography to eventually match it. And
sometimes those concepts are taken to the photo shoot so we can pose and match the actors to the illustrated comp.

How many people work at the creative print department?

We have about 10 people on staff, and 4 freelancers who work in-house with us almost on a full-time basis. We really are like a family, we are all so laid back constantly making puns, telling jokes, we go out at lunch together…it’s an amazing group of people to work with.

Do you work closely with other Disney/Pixar divisions? When it comes to a film (i.e Toy Story 3) is it you guys, or the guys from Pixar who decides what goes on the poster?

With Pixar (as well as Walt Disney Feature Animation) we work very close with John Lasseter and his incredible team from very early on. Animation is a lot different than live-action so the process is a little slower in some areas. We normally don’t get a script to read and work off of, but they are very good at getting us in the work animatic edits of the film, sketches, backgrounds and poses to get us started. Many of the basic elements of design and exploration are the same, from sketching up concepts to the initial layout and eventual execution of ideas. My boss is up at Pixar almost 2-3 times a month, doing video conferencing once a week and on the phone or in some sort of animation meeting at least once a day. We’re lucky when it comes to sequels like CARS, we were able to build some very early comps for CARS 2 because we had so many great images to pull from, from the 1st film to create our ideas around. Obviously once the new looks and higher rez renderings started coming in, we’d replace our temp images with the real deal. And even then, sometimes, just like with the live actors, we want certain poses and angles done to convey a look, and if they aren’t given to us, we have to go back to animation and ask them to create them for us. That can set us back a week or so depending on the workload for the designers and animators. To answer your question on who decides what goes on the poster, it still all comes out of our group, but it’s always John Lasseter who has the final say over Pixar and Disney Feature Animation projects. He loves what we do and we love that he allows us to have fun and explore some unique and different approaches to the art and logos we create. Obviously there countless numbers of hard working people working on these films for years, so we want to do our best to create a piece of art that they can be proud to hang in their office or home and say “I was a part of that!”

Is it just one-sheets that you produce or do you cover other types or marketing? (i.e. billboards, bus stop ads, web banners, bus adverts)

We do it all, in-theater one sheets & standees, billboards, bus shelters, sides of buildings, bus sides/backs, mall kiosks and anything print. Web banners are done thru the Internet division, but they may use our art for it.

Can you let us in on your departments design process? Do you get to see the movie before its released so you can come up with ideas?

I may have answered some of this earlier, but yes, we normally do get to see the film as early as 6-months to a year before release. Honestly though, by the time we are seeing the works in progress we are normally done and have sold the campaign thru. We are working on the concepts far in advance, before the final scripts are done, sometimes before casting is complete, and most of the time months before the cameras have started rolling on it. I mean it’s March 2011 right now and we’re working on building the campaign for things coming out between Thanksgiving of this year and late 2012 to give you an idea of the range.

Is it down to you guys to come up with slogans for the movies or are they already decided?

Most of the time the copy and tag lines come from us internally, but every once in awhile we hire on some incredibly talented copy-writers, people who have come up with slogans and tag lines for movies, TV shows, consumer products and more. It’s all they do and they excel at it, so if we can’t find something that works, they almost always do. It’s one of my favorite parts of the job, as soon as a script comes in I just dissect it and break it down to characters, locations, memorable lines of dialogue and anything else to try and find one clever line that can sell the concept. The VP and myself are both the one’s coming up with sometimes the most clever, yet sometimes most ridiculous and over the top puns, because some movies just call for it. But we laugh so much at the stuff we come up with and lots of times come up with the exact same lines, just slightly phrased differently. My favorite one thus far that I came up with, which came close to the final rounds of “Princess and the Frog” was THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOAD.

Do the films campaigns you work on so early ever end up changing after filming begins or, as you get closer to the release?

Tron Legacy Poster

Sometimes, but rarely. If anything we make something extra to compliment what’s already done, but there’s been instances where we’ve had a change in upper management and the new guy (or girl) will want to make some changes to a few things, or swap out the logo, but I can’t think of a campaign we’ve ever had to completely scrap and start all over…at least not yet. I do have to admit, what’s fun is seeing the early versions of the works in progress of the films we are working on and then eventually seeing it once it’s released onto the world. Animation seems to be the one that changes the most because they are always tightening the story, swapping out voices and adding last minute details and imagery that we don’t always get to see before it’s finally released. With live-action, it’s more so editorial changes or we finally get to see what the hell was supposed to be on the green-screen behind the actors during the work in progress. I saw a work print of TRON Legacy a year to the day before it was released in the US, and what they did effects wise to that movie in 12 months was just gorgeous on a technological level. From a film that had almost nothing but green screen and wire framed animation at that screening a year before, I was blown away at what I saw when it was finally completed.

Earlier you mentioned Steve that your dept create what seems like hundreds of these exploratory comps for posters, yet we only see a teaser poster and final one-sheet, so what happens to all those other ideas?

It’s sad. There are so many great directions and concepts that are created, but yeah, in the end one or two make it out there. All the unused concepts are just kept in books and stored away. It’s a tough process to compress down to a select few designs, but luckily there is life in outdoor and in-theater that expand outside the movie poster. We do share our concepts and ideas with our International Creative Print team as well as Home Entertainment, so sometimes a few good ideas that don’t make it in our initial domestic theatrical campaign get a second chance for foreign posters and of course as DVD covers.

In your time there what’s been one of the more memorable campaigns your dept has done?

I think TRON Legacy thus far in my almost 4 years in this dept has been my favorite. I've been a huge TRON fan all my life, I've even owned the original arcade game for almost 25 years, so to have had the chance to add to the campaign for the sequel was just a fan-boy dream come true! I mean we had such an amazing journey on creating this world and the filmmakers were so generous in their resources and let us come up with some really fun designs and the art just sold itself. I mean go look up Tron Legacy on impawards.com and just look at the beautiful art we created; it’s just such a clean look. We all had fun coming up with that film’s marketing and visual print direction. Alice in Wonderland was pretty amazing too; the characters were just so rich and stellar that the art really sold that film thru from start to finish. I think with both TRON and Alice we had terrific to worlds to build on, and if you look back we even had to create triptychs (3 posters that together create one scene) for the 2 campaigns because there was just too much art for a single one-sheet. My boss, John Sabel, the EVP of the Creative Print team has a dream of always wanting to create art that will be good enough that people will want to steal it. On those campaigns we got the most reports of stolen bus shelters, theater banners and posters. Mission Accomplished!!!

Do you have a favorite movie poster you haven’t worked on?

I’m a fan of Drew Struzan, he’s a friend of mine and I just love his style. My favorite movie of all time is Back to the Future, so I have those one-sheets hung up at home, along with others. Personally I love to swap out movie posters in my house, I currently have up some classics like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the Black Hole, Flight of the Navigator, the teaser for the 1st Pirates of the Caribbean and the TRON Legacy payoff one sheet. By the way, I always found this ironic, so early on in my life I was working for Disney movie promotions as well as Blockbuster, so I loved Disney and would end up keeping boxes & tubes of movie posters and banners from the studio’s films from the early 90’s till like 2007. So it’s so awesome that I’m now working in the dept with some of the same design team who created decades of iconic movie posters that I’ve horded in bedrooms and garages in my houses between Florida and California. Of course now I’ve gotten rid of most of them because I have access to them everyday and it seems redundant to go home to and store there.

If you could pick any movie ever to produce a poster for what would it be?

Wow, that’s a tough one. EVER!?!?! I’m going to optimistically say whatever motion picture project I one day sell to the studio of my own.

Is your office as cool as Pixars? Do you have secret rooms, scooters, slides and themed rooms??

Sadly, No. Other than lots of movie posters and large 8ft tall by 4ft wide white boards that some of the coolest conceptual designs for movie posters rotate onto each week, we’re pretty sterile. If you didn’t know we created motion-picture art here, you couldn’t tell us apart from legal accounting or franchise developments offices. I think I may have the most outlandish desk with all my action figures, toys, lunch boxes and photos of my family on it. Until my boss starts saying it looks like a Flea Market, then I tone it back a bit. But my wife loves that most of my collection lives outside our house!!!

What of your work while being there in creative print are you most proud of?

1) An in-theater display for Toy Story 3 that looked like an action-figure package and allowed you to get inside and pose like you were a toy. I used to love watching people piling inside to take a picture on their camera phones. John Lasseter loved it so much that he wanted one put into the atrium of Pixar, which was a pretty cool email to read when that request came in.

2) A one-sheet poster for “Archiving the Archives”. It was a 30-minute documentary to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the Walt Disney Archives. For it, I took an old image of Walt Disney, an existing image of some of the shelves in the Archives full of vintage Disney props and artifacts, and married them both together. I came up with a fun copy-line, aged it a little bit to look like it was a photo taken during the 60’s and that was it. It was simple, but what I loved most about it was I made a poster with Walt Disney as the star. It premiered on the studio lot in the Summer of 2010, and the posters hung in the light boxes of the theater, it was quite the honor. About a month later I was in headquarters of the Walt Disney Company in the office of the Vice President of Corporate Communications and
there on his wall, amidst a bunch of vintage posters from throughout the companies rich history hung mine. THAT was a very cool day!
I’m told they may release it soon on DVD and plan on using the art for the cover, how great is that?

3) My proudest accomplishment to date was the “TRON’ORAIL”. It was an idea I came up with about 15 months before TRON Legacy was released while we were working on that campaign. I was starring at a picture of the light-cycle on my desktop and thinking how could we do something fun in the real world with it. I have a lot of toys on and around my desk because I believe that creativity should surround itself with creativity, and I narrowed in on…a toy Monorail from Disneyworld! I jumped on Photoshop and whipped up a quick design that wrapped a Monorail in art, making it look like a vehicle from the Grid. I showed it to my boss and he loved it! He took it to the Disney synergy folk who work with the theme parks and sold the idea to them! About a week later, while having dinner with my wife I was explaining the concept to a friend and the name just popped right into my head. I worked fast to make sure I kept branding it as the TRONORAIL. It debuted at Walt Disney World on the EPCOT line in March of the next year and I’m told as of April 2011 is still up
and wrapped around the Coral Monorail. I’ve worked on plenty of TV show’s that have aired around the nation, but to create something that got put into the real world, into a DISNEY theme-park, to be seen by millions of people (or more) in a years time, to accomplish something that Imagineers work their whole lives to do, well that’s a dream come true.

Huge thanks to Steve for taking time out to answer all of my questions.

Vote for my tee on threadless

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Please take 1 minute to vote for my bttf2 design on threadless, I'll owe you one!
Thanks
Dave

DaveWill Opens at Big Cartel

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:45:00 +0000

DaveWill is proud to announce our first ever online store selling our range of movie posters is now live over at http://davewilldesign.bigcartel.com.

Feel free to pop over and let us know what you think!

Back to the Future 2 Posters have arrived!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 16:12:00 +0000

For those who have already ordered or are thinking of ordering a BTTF2 poster, Im pleased to say they have now arrived so are ready to be posted out!

Im only printing 50 and half have gone already. You can get yours here... http://davewilliamsdesigns.blogspot.com/2011/03/back-to-future-2-poster.html

Back to the Future 2 Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:30:00 +0000

Because I had so much fun designing this Back to the Future poster, I decided to do it again! This brand new design is based on the best sequel ever made... Back to the Future 2.

The poster again pays homage to the style of Saul Bass and is made up of various iconic images from the movie. Futuristic products such as hover boards, Nike 2015 sneakers and the time machine itself all make an appearance. The poster will again be sold as a limited edition piece with only 50 being produced. Once they are sold out, that's it, no re-prints, guaranteed.

The BTTF2 poster sits perfectly with the original BTTF poster

All posters are 24x18 inches in size so will sit perfectly next to any other posters you may have already purchased from my site.

To order your copy simply use the paypal buy it now button below. Postage and packing is included in the price, just select your location from the drop down menu.

The Best Movie Trilogy Of All Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 11:53:00 +0000

Over at design forums there is a heated debate raging as to which is the best movie trilogy of all time. My top 3 would be as follows:

1. Lord of the Rings

2. The Bourne films

3. Back to the Future

(I would love to put BTTF at number 1, but for me the third film really lets it down)

So, in honour of this Im giving away 1 free, signed Back to the Future 'Saul Bass' style poster. All you have to do is leave a comment below (along with your email address or twitter ID) telling us what your top 3 trilogies are and we will pick a winner at random at the end of the week.

The more creative the comment the better!

Thanks for visiting.

Print finishing techniques

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 12:33:00 +0000

I'm in the middle of a design job at the moment that requires a special print finish so Ive been doing plenty of research on the internet into methods used in the design industry.
I came across this great little free ebook that highlights some of the most popular finishing techniques and so I thought Id share it with my readers. I hope you find it as useful as I did.

Tuesday's Top 7 Tips: Standing out from the crowd

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:50:00 +0000

Thousands of new designers graduate each summer, yet job opportunities are few and far between. The industry is over-saturated with freelancers and studios fighting to get noticed, so what can you do to stand out from the crowd?

It may seem obvious, but the internet is one of the most powerful tools the world has ever known. Many designers under estimate its value and the positive effect it can have on their career. It is ideal to aid you in getting that dream job or introduce you to that perfect client. A combination of careful planning, dedication and hard work can really make a difference to your career, so here are my top 7 websites to help you make waves on the web.

Facebook

What about it? That's kinda obvious isnt it? Well that depends on exactly how you use it. We might all have a facebook page for ourselves, but do we have one for our design alter-ego? By setting up a new account for your work you can keep your work and private lives separate. Once you have a new account its simple to set up a fan page that you can add work samples to, share links, add clients as friends and get involved in discussions. You can see my DaveWill Design facebook page here.

Twitter

The mini-networking site is rapidly growing from strength to strength and is ideal to make contact with like minded people in the design industry. You can setup your own design account within 5 minutes, add a bespoke background and include some contact details so your twitter page acts as a living business card. Twitter is full of great people sharing links, discussing work, giving/receiving feedback on work and a brilliant place to make new contacts. Its a perfect platform to grow your profile and add to your contact list. You can see the Dave Will Design twitter page here.

Behance

The Behance Network is the world's leading platform for creative professionals to gain exposure and get hired. By uploading your work to the Behance gallery you have the ideal platform to show off your work and gain some exposure. In return, you can search the site to be inspired by the work of others and build contacts with fellow designers and studios by leaving comments on their work. Check out my Behance page here.

Design Forums

Internet forums are a well established community for people to share a wide variety of information. There are loads of design related forums on the internet but one stands out above the rest. Design Forums is a busy, vibrant community of users that is a brilliant place to make a name for yourself and build up your contact list. The forum has a wide range of threads and regular users come from a wide range of backgrounds including graphic design, illustration, CAD, web design, copywriting, product design, motion designers, animators and typographers. Here you can link to your various social networks and websites and get your work noticed.

5oup

5oup an online community for emerging artists and designers. If you are a designer without a personal website then this is a great place to show off your work in a simple manner. The process of uploading a design is very simple and each page gives you enough space to add a description to your work or leave a comment. Sharing the link to your 5oup page is a great way to share your work with other designers, studios and potential employers. If you fancy taking a look at my 5oup page you can do so here.

Portfolio Site

Having your own website is essential if you want to be taken seriously as a designer. It provides you with a platform to show off your work to a massive audience. It also acts as an easy way to send your work samples to a potential employer.

If you cant design your own site I would recommend using the portfolio sites above to share your work or employ a web designer to create a portfolio site on your behalf. My own website davewilldesign.com is currently under construction, but I cant wait to get it finished!

Blogs

My final tip to help you get noticed in the design industry is to start a blog. The possibilities of blogging are endless. You can share your work, ideas, concepts, thoughts, rough sketches, links, images, inspiration... the list goes on and on.

By getting involved in the blogging community you can also strike up friendships and contacts that could prove invaluable in the future. Regularly visiting other blogs to leave comments is also a great way of getting noticed as you engage with fellow designers and add something back to the community. To see my own blog, erm... stay exactly where you are!

Mining for fonts

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:19:00 +0000

Good quality free fonts are like gold dust. It can often take hours to sift through all of the rubbish on the internet to find that one hidden nugget. Fortunately for you, Ive already done all the hard work.

So here is my list of the best free fonts available on the web. Most are only free to use for personal use but its always worth checking the t&c's when downloading to see what the restrictions are.

Bebas available from font squirrel

Modern / Good for headlines

Blackout available from the league of movable type

Alternative / Works well on music posters

Chantilly available from font-zone

Contemporary / Good for body copy

Clumsy available from kylesteed

Fun / Perfect for festive invites

Deibi available from freetypography

Handwritting / Looks good when used in large point size

Expressway available from abstract fonts

Modern Sans Serif / Free alternative to Akzidenz

Grandesign Neue available from abstract fonts

Serif font / Similar to what Umbro use for the England team branding

Carto Gothic available from fontex

Modern Sans Serif / Nice body copy, suitable for contemporary headlines

Grobold available from da font

Cartoony font / Good for kids posters and parties

Hitchcock available from Typographica

Hand cut / Iconic font based on Hitchcock credits

League Gothic available from font squirrel

Modern / Looks good in caps for big headlines

Leger available from acid fonts

Contemporary / Stylish font looks good when used sparingly

Lobster available from font squirrel

Script / Retro font that evokes thoughts of ice cream

Museo available from exljbris font foundry

Modern / Popular free font available in 3 weights

Reklame Script available from da font

Handwritten / Natural font that works well in many environments

Single Sleeve available from da font

Headline / Strong font, good for music related work

St.Nicholas available from urban fonts

Festive / Perfect font for those hand designed Christmas cards

TypoSlab Serif available from font ex

Typewriting / Classic font that can work as both a modern and retro type

Know any other great free fonts? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Jennifer Jones Couture Business Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Just thought I'd share this business card design I did a few weeks back for local business Jennifer Jones Couture. Jennifer runs an internet business that specialises in selling glamourous fashion to a wide customer base. She promotes stylish labels including Lipsy, Liquorish, Rise, TFNC London and AX Paris.

Jennifer's brief was simple, she wanted something stylish that included her own name and her logo. It needed to be clean, free of clutter and to the point. The choice of purple (#6D469C) as a colour reflects the luxurious nature of her product and the script font (Brock Script) exudes an air of class and style.

You can 'like' Jennifer's facebook page here to see more details.

Dave Will Interview: Tom Stutt

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Staring in the 6th edition of 'Dave Will Interview:' is the Bristol based self-taught designer Tom Stutt. Tom has a passion for business cards and has recently set up www.lovebusinesscards.com which is a gallery site featuring the best business cards in the industry.

Hi Tom, thanks for making the time for a quick chat. First question, how would you describe your work in 140 characters?

I'd describe my work as pleasing. If my client is happy then so am I.

How long would you say you have been a designer for?

Ive not been designing for very long. Its been about a year now and Im loving it. Im currently designing freelance.

Did you study design at school/college/uni? what importance do you place on qualifications and certificiates?

Im currently studying towards a BSc (Hons) in Technology with The Open University. I have recently gained a Diploma in Design and Innovation. I think its good to study as you do learn alot of techniques and styles along the way.

Mac or PC?

Im using PC at the moment and will probably use PC next time I purchase a new computer. I would like a Mac but the price is too much at the moment.

Whats the best piece of work you have ever produced and why?

As Im still fairly new to design I would say that the best piece of work ive produced is the sweet shop website I did for Sweetie Pie (www.sweetiepiesweets.co.uk). This was quite a big website for me as it was the first e-commerce website I had done.

If you werent a graphic designer, what would you be?

My day job is in IT so if I didnt design freelance then it would just be IT related work.

If you could work with any client in the world who would it be and why?

Sweetie Pie Website by Tom Stutt

I would like to work with large companies such as Adidas or Nike as designing for sports products can mean producing some really creative stuff and could be quite fun but I do like working with small local business'. Also working with football clubs would be quite cool.

Helvetica. Overused or best font ever?

I like Helvetica. I wouldnt say that its overused but I wouldnt say its the best font ever. It is a nice font though.

Cancer Research Web Design by Tom

What do you think employers look for in a designer? Experience or quality of work?

I would like to think that they would look for quality of work but I think experience is more of a bonus for them. If I was an employer it would be 50/50 for me.

If you could go back in time and give yourself 3 tips, what would they be?

Well, im learning my tips now but I would say work hard, keep going and get yourself known.

How important in your opinion is social networking? (Twitter, Facebook etc) Do you use it? Do you find it beneficial?

Very important. It gives you the oppertunity to get out there, get known and also get to know other people doing the same as you. You are able to stay in touch with what is happening and they are a great free tool for advertising yourself. I use Twitter and Facebook, but Twitter is what I use the most (@tomstuttdesign).

Which design related websites do you visit on a regular basis?

I mostly visit Design Forums (www.designforums.co.uk), and another of my projects Love Business Cards (www.lovebusinesscards.com).

Is the customer / client always right?

Yes and No. I suppose if they are paying for something then you should give them what they want but you always have to remember that its your name being associated with the work, so if your really not happy to do something then dont do it.

What are your aims for the future?

I would love to be freelance full time in a few years and work with loads of different agencies around the world. That would be the best job in the world.

A big thanks to Tom for taking the time to have a chat with me. To see more of his work visit www.tomstuttdesign.co.uk. For more info on his business card site, or to submit your own designs visit www.lovebusinesscards.com and why not follow Tom on twitter @tomstuttdesign.

Starbucks "Look! No words" re-brand

noreply@blogger.com (Dave Williams) — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:20:00 +0000

Starbucks have unveiled a rebrand of their world famous logo, aiming to join a stellar list of brands that are so recognisable there is no need for words. Along with the likes of Apple, Shell and Nike, Starbucks has decided to drop the text from their logo, hoping that their iconic mermaid will do all the talking. The rebrand is planned to launch next March, just in time for the 40th anniversary of the coffee shop.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultzc explained the decision. He said...

"This new evolution of the logo does two things that are very important: It embraces and respects our heritage, and at the same time evolves us to a point where we feel it's more suitable for the future... The new interpretation of the logo, at its core, is the exact same essence of the Starbucks experience. And that is the love we have for our coffee, the relationship we have with our partners, and the connection we build with our customers. What I think we've done is we've allowed her to come out of the circle in a way that I think gives us the freedom and flexibility to think beyond coffee."

So what do you think? Can Starbucks pull this off or is it the new Gap logo v2? And what do Starbucks have planned for the future? By the sounds of it they have more than just coffee in mind. Feel free to leave a comment below.