Justin Cline

Welcome to the Future

ryugraphix — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:20:34 +0000

* Pssst, yes you can turn that guy up in the banner off, see if you can find the ‘x’

You brought your jet pack right? Yeah, I don’t have mine yet either. What we do have, is a brand new site. Looking toward the future, I’m joining the ranks of better art direction on the web (hopefully).

After gushing about Santa Maria, Dustin Curtis, and Gregory Wood… I’m ready to take the plunge. I’ll be doing away with the random “hey I think this is cool” posts and leaving those for the twitter followers. I’ll be instead shooting for more well-rounded posts, that focus more on content. *gulp* Writing has never been my strong suit and getting better was the main reason for starting a blog anyway.

I’m pushing this “art direction” nonsense to the rest of the site too, I’ve made some changes to the portfolio. Following Elliot Jay Stocks lead (a bit too closely at times, but don’t worry, it’s just a launchpad and I’ll find my own way) I’ve ditched the sidebars and given the content the spotlight. I’m hoping this less ADD “oh my there’s so many great things to click on” approach will let people focus on the portfolio item. I’ll be working on crafting more case studies so the content will be engaging.

With that though, the portfolio will be fairly sparse until I can go back and write for each one.

Anyway, this is a quick first post and welcome to the new site. If you’d like to ~~check out the old one, click here. I’ll be leaving it (at least the blog) up~~ I’m having some issues with the mod_rewrite of a Wordpress inside a Wordpress, we’ll have to wait.

PS. I’m using #grid on the site if you’re so inclined to be nerdy and check it out.

Abide Coffee Liqueur

ryugraphix — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:20:54 +0000

After reading an eHow article about making your own coffee liqueur, I became excited about doing a joint holiday gift/self promotion.

First step in the research stage was bottling, seeing as that would be the biggest hurdle. After determining this was feasible, I ordered supplies, and set out to Frankenstein a few recipes together to develop my own special blend.

Design

I decided to go with a Lebowski theme, seeing as he’s such a fan of White Russians. After developing a logo and simple icon, I moved onto packaging and a fan site. I decided on a 2 part label to save on printing costs; building in a lower strip to act as the bottle top sealer. I also laid out a special section to individually number each of the 24 bottles. The web site was a simple one pager; built to deliver additional messaging and point to both contact information and a Facebook fan page.

The HAIR Foundation

ryugraphix — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:43:49 +0000

Mustache 4 Cash is a fantastic local charity, designed to get people engaged in a fun way to raise awareness and donate to help at-risk youth. They benefit Byrne Urban Scholars and Colorado Youth at Risk by challenging people to either grow a mustache or color their hair for the month of October.

Myself and a group of other growers participated last year and were able to raise almost $800. Some of the feedback we got, was that the site really didn’t tell you much about what the money was for. The main mustache4cash site is more designed to get people to sign up, rather than donate.

the HAIR Foundation

This year — we decided to develop more of a marketing campaign, hopefully drawing more people in and making it easy to find the information they needed. I developed a quick team logo, a simple 1-page site, and custom business cards.

The Logo

The original inspiration for the team name was another local charity, the AIR Foundation. Our HAIR doesn’t actually stand for anything, it’s just fun to capitalize. The logo is simple, and the slab serif felt right for the type of site we were creating.

The Site

The goal was to give everyone a more directed gateway to send their possible donors to. While giving more upfront information on the benefits, personifying the team and giving current stats. We wanted to add a bit of whimsical mustaching fun as well. Head to the website.

The Cards

This is where things take a turn down. With the help of our copy writing friends, we kicked around a few ideas for the print campaign. Attempting to tie in the grower’s mustache, a fake one on the card and directions to go donate (while keeping them generic enough for the whole team) we came up with some “gems.” Keep in mind, we aren’t giving them TO kids… we’re just raising money FOR them.

(Update: I’m going to hold off until after the month to post the cards. If you’re local and want to see before, you’d better find a member of the HAIR Foundation and ask ‘em)

Check out the site at www.hair-foundation.com and take a peek. If the fundraiser is still going on, feel free to kick some $ to that Justin character.

Artcrank Website

ryugraphix — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 07:57:46 +0000

I was brought in by the talented Lifter Baron to help with the development of the Artcrank site. He had completed the design and needed a Wordpress ninja to help get it live.

Working closely with him on this one, we were able to really stretch what Wordpress is designed for, and it turned out well.

PS. If you’re able to check out one of the events, it’s a great place to get some very affordable artwork.

DRD 2009 Calendar

ryugraphix — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:03:51 +0000

I can personally attest, that when you attend your first roller derby bout, the rules and scoring can be a bit… confusing. Although if I didn’t grow up playing soccer, I’d be in the same boat there (“so why does he get to use his hands then? and what’s this “off-sides” thing?”).

Working with Angela Death and Disco from the DRDs, we set out to create a calendar that made derby more approachable and enjoyable. We described a unique rule each month with a combination of copy, photos, illustrations, and even official league ref hand signals.

I had a blast working with the massive amount of assets and über tight time-frame. We were able to create something both educating and fantastic.

Denver Creative Co-Op Logo

ryugraphix — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 21:52:49 +0000

I’ve had the pleasure of working with owner Dan Plym on the branding project for his creative space, the Denver Creative Co-Op Studio. It’s been a treat seeing this place grow from an old storage building—to a space for photographers to shoot at—and now, blowing up to be a venue for all kinds of events.

Dan brought me in because we have worked on a number of other projects before and he thought I’d do his new space justice. I created a simple, organic logo mark based on the acronym of the place. I felt this encompassed the idea of the space; because for it to flourish, the DCCS would need be organically built from it’s members and patrons.

The DCCS started as a photography space because of its ample room, but has since grown well beyond that. With help of two participating artists—Eli Hardy and Chase Goll, Plym has created something rather unique. It has been host to a ton of art openings, fashion shows, and even Beta night club after-hours parties.

This is definitely one to watch… with a full time sponsorship by Breckenridge Brewery, a screen printer on-site and plans to open up a store. If you’re in the neighborhood, swing by, they usually have a rotating graffiti mural on the building and you maybe able to check out the space.

Denver Creative Co-Op Studio – 425 Lincoln St, Denver CO 80203

For more information, contact Chase: chase@denvercreativecoopstudio.com - 720-837-0348

BCOR Group Ride

ryugraphix — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:25:34 +0000

I developed a community site for BCOR’s group bike ride, built on the Wordpress platform. The main goal was to real utilize social media to keep the riders informed and interacting.

Social Media

This site has it all! Well, almost… no Facebook group… yet. A twitter feed up top keeping riders informed of route changes or stops. A Flickr stream of various ride photos pulling in the sidebar. Even an option to post ride maps from MapMyRide on the individual ride pages. Each post also had options to easily share the info with your friends via Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Email.

The Fitness Gallery

ryugraphix — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 07:16:39 +0000

Anthony wanted to create a small boutique gym that also served as an art gallery; I worked closely with him to help turn his dream into a reality. Starting up in the very up and coming Highlands area of Denver, he already had some great design from the restaurants and shops surrounding him.

Brand Design

When designing the branding, I wanted to try to effectively combine the ‘upscale’ feeling of a boutique while making it approachable for everyone. I created a custom simplistic, rounded font for the logo and working with the Fitness Gallery we created that balance we were looking for.

Collateral

The project evolved to include many pieces of support collateral ranging from fliers, newspaper/magazine ads, business cards, coupons and a full website.

Diablo Media Branding

ryugraphix — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:53:53 +0000

When my friends at Diablo Media decided that they needed branding that would push them above the competition, they brought me in.

I learned a bit about the company and what they wanted to do. After researching a bit of the “competition” it was clear these guys could really succeed. Many of the other companies in their space, reminded me of Initech/Initrode from Office Space with their names and lack-luster logos. Since Diablo had one hell of a standout name, we developed the identity to carry it.

The “connected dots” were showing up in branding at the time, I used that symbol for connection and added a bit of flare — literally. Pushing that concept into something a bit more dynamic, lead us to the flames. The type also seemed to have the same feeling… an almost sterile sans-serif, but with a little “evil” flavor.

Diablo attend regular online ad conventions, so I’ve been able to work with them on various print collateral. We’ve also worked together in developing their corporate site and I’ve continued to collaborate with them on advertising projects for their vendors. These guys really do stand out though, it’s great hearing stories about when people meet them… “OH! You guys are the Diablo guys! We’ve heard of you!”