Glitterati Communications

That Moment When The Walking Dead Fan Art Happens

2013-03-10T11:59:00.000-03:00

Anyone following my recent exploits on Twitter might have caught on that I'm a recently converted fan of the AMC Tv show, The Walking Dead. There was a short period of time where I thought about this show a liiittttle bit too much. That's pretty much how the piece above came to be. I'm not into making "fan art" and in fact, I don't think I've made anything that I would consider to be fan art since I illustrated an homage to the characters from Street Fighter 2 when I was in high school. That said, I'll take inspiration from where ever I can.

I was getting caught up on the old seasons and seeing how the zombie apocalypse changed the characters over time. I found the dynamic that the characters Shane and Rick had particularly interesting. Both were essentially leaders of the survivors at one point but each had different leadership styles. Shane ruled with an iron fist while Rick was more diplomatic. I identified with Rick a lot. As fathers and husbands, were expected to make tough decisions for our families that have both positive and negative connotations. Sometimes that means doing things that make you appear to be the "bad guy".

Shane started out that way but as time went on it became clear that a lot of his decisions were not for the benefit of the group at all but for his own interests. (Rick's wife). Shane actually was a bad guy. This made me wonder how that scenario might look in real life? Do we really make decisions for the benefit of the people we love? Or do we only make decisions that benefit the people we love if we see a benefit in it for ourselves?

P.S For the record, I still think I'm the Rick of my life story.
– Glitterati Duane

Portfolio Update - Glitterati Communications

2013-01-29T09:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a while, but I finally decided to sit down and get the Glitterati Communications portfolio up to date. I made this portfolio reflective of the type of work that I would like us to do more of in the future. I'd like to explore the fashion industry further with projects for us as well as others. I still have a sweet spot for magazine design and would love to get into designing one for an e-reader or print. In general, I want us to do creative work that is motivated by more than commerce or necessity. I want to do work that excites people and provokes a reaction for better or for worse. People have become very risk averse, most likely due to the financial un-certainty of late but I would argue that this is the time to throw creative caution to the wind, stop following trends and be a leader in your industry. I brought back some old work and added some new projects that I feel attempt to push those boundaries. Please feel free to give it a whirl when you get a chance. Now if if I could only update my Behance portfolio...

Be Glitterati Or Die iPhone Case

2013-01-12T09:47:00.003-04:00

I carried my last phone with me everywhere and had many accidental drops that eventually led to it having all kinds of problems. This time I'm not taking any chances. Here is a Be Glitterati branded iPhone case that I designed to protect my phone from... me.

New Design Work: Lion Hunter Logo

2013-01-04T08:17:00.000-04:00

We recently designed a logo for a project that we're very excited about called, Lion Hunter. Lion Hunter comes from the creator of Curvy Geekery and Clutch Culture and encapsulates a range of the hunter's interests including, style, design, entertainment, lifestyle and fashion. To learn more about the Lion Hunter, visit her den at www.lion-hunter.com.

2012 Highlights for Glitterati Communications

2013-01-02T08:31:00.000-04:00

2012 proved to be an interesting year for me to say the least. I was met with a lot of professional and personal challenges that affected me more than I realized. As the year wrapped up I ended up sick and stressed. 2012 kicked my ass and I wasn't as excited about the new year and the prospect of facing new challenges as I usually am at this time of year. I didn't notice how much I was affected by the stress until the people around me pointed out that something was different with me and luckily I have a great family to help coach me out of this slump and get back on track.

That said, a lot of great things also happened in 2012. The image above is a collage of some of my favorite Glitterati Communications moments from the past year captured on Instagram, including participating in our first craft show, pushing our creative boundaries, expanding the Future Glitterati series, garnering some media attention and a logo re-design. Here's to 2013... Its triumphs AND its challenges.

Kabarett, Kurt Weill's Mahagonny Songspiel and beyond Poster Design

2012-12-05T07:35:00.003-04:00

Our new poster design work for Dalhousie University's Department of Music 2012-13 season.

Reginald Magazine Review

2012-12-01T10:49:00.003-04:00

Reginald Magazine is the latest fashion publication to hit the Halifax Regional Municipality. So far they seem to be doing a lot of things right. They have a focused leader, good design, good stories with people that are relevant to Halifax's fashion scene, a good team of folks behind them and they're doing well in the online social arena. I'm excited to see what's next for them. On another note, the excellent style journal, Fashion East celebrated their first birthday last night. Hopefully, them and the growing list of fashion creatives, writers and retailers in this region can keep the momentum going and establish a true fashion industry on the East Coast.

Glitterati Duane on Tha Underground Radio Show (Edited)

2012-11-26T00:47:00.000-04:00

My interview with Tha Underground radio show with all the other stuff cut out :).

Adams Management Group Logo Design

2012-11-24T17:15:00.000-04:00

Adams Managment Group is a new company that helps businesses with unique science or technology related patents to expand their global presence. To help them better communicate what they do to their perspective clients, we designed a logo and promotional materials for them.

Nick Wooster - Get Dressed Like You Mean It

2012-11-20T22:21:00.001-04:00

I agree with Nick's take on men and uniforms. As a person who spent all of both primary school and high school wearing a uniform I can say that we always found creative ways to wear our uniforms and still express ourselves so the argument that uniforms are restrictive, although valid is also not considering the fun one can have when playing within a certain context. After all, most of the fun in design comes from the restrictions set on a project by the client. Those restrictions often force us to think outside of the box and they ultimately lead to ideas that may have never developed had we been allowed to do whatever we wanted to.

A young Glitterati Duane in his school uniform

Another point that I agree with is that, it was refreshing to not have to agonize over an outfit, but know that I was stepping out of the house looking somewhat put together. Don't get me wrong; Most days, I enjoy digging through my closet and looking for creative and new ways to present myself to the world. I also tend to dress according to my mood, so it's nice to have freedom to be able to do that, but I still miss the days when I didn't have to think about clothes. I just grabbed my white shirt, dress pants, blazer and tie, and was good to go.

The Mill on the Floss Poster Design

2012-11-18T17:16:00.001-04:00

This is our latest poster design for DalTheatre featuring illustration by John Pennoyer. The Mill on the Floss was created by Helen Edmundson and adapted from the novel by George Eliot. This production is directed by Roberta Barker. Purchase tickets for The Mill on the Floss online.

Ghettosocks with DJ Jon Deck - We're Gonna Drink A Lot Of Wine This Year, Boys. (Mixtape)

2012-11-16T01:31:00.001-04:00

That dude Ghettosocks recently released another project with DJ Jon Deck. Dope beats. Dope lyrics. Boom bap shit. Word. Features include, Swamp Thing, Muneshine, Torae, Ambition, Chokeules, Timbuktu, Wordburglar and Jesse Dangerously. The highlights for me are, I'm Loaded, Keep it G, Zanzibar and dude is absolutely snappin on Grapez. Cop or stream We're Gonna Drink A Lot of Wine This Year, Boys.

Glitterati Duane's Instagram Web Profile is Live

2012-11-08T09:19:00.000-04:00

View Glitterati Duane's Instagram profile.

Agartha Audio: Best Of Beat Of The Month

2012-11-07T13:41:00.000-04:00

Every month Digdug of Agartha Audio distributes some of his beats to a mailing list of folks that he calls the "Beat Of The Month Club". We're lucky enough to be on that list but he has decided to get more people in on the dopeness by releasing a compilation of his favorite beats from the series. Download The Best Of Beat Of The Month here.

Best of Beat of the Month by Agartha Audio

Donate to Movember for a Chance to Win a Free Be Glitterati T-shirt

2012-11-02T14:37:00.000-03:00

I was chatting with my boss Glitterati Natasha and she had a great idea. She suggested that we should enter any people that donate to our Movember page into a draw for a free Be Glitterati t-shirt so that's exactly what we're gonna do. Make a donation of $5 or more and you might win some gear. Word. - Glitterati Duane

It's Movember Again

2012-11-01T21:33:00.003-03:00

It's Movember time again and we're on the job for the second year in a row. Most of you who follow the blog will be aware that Glitterati Duane's father recently died of Cancer. His father didn't have Prostate Cancer, the primary focus of Movember but we feel that any help to fight this disease is worthy of our attention. We're accepting team members (male and female) if anyone is interested so please feel free to suit up for our team. If not, please be generous and drop us some change. Every little bit helps and we appreciate it. Shout out to Dave O' for stepping up as team captain this year.

Hood Legend Video

2012-10-29T13:18:00.000-03:00

Every neighborhood basketball court carries the memories of past great players on their worn concrete surfaces. To the people that witnessed them in action, those players will live on forever: As Hood Legends.

This is our first attempt at video production and it was a lot of fun, piecing it together. That being said: Please go easy on us :). Special thanks to Dean "Sizzlin Montana" Jones for repping the brand in the video, Nicholas Maynard for doing the bulk of the camera work and AbCents for the musical dopeness.

Just Do It Origin

2012-10-27T13:27:00.000-03:00

Wieden and Kennedy coined it. We lived it.

Designing the Stop Sign

2012-10-25T22:29:00.000-03:00

I'll be G*d Damned if a lot of my projects don't go exactly like this :). This is an oldy but a goody that the good folks at QBN reminded me of just now.

Lion Hunter X Verena Rizg

2012-10-24T23:23:00.000-03:00

Lion Hunter is the new home for Mo of Curvy Geekery. She's one of my favorite local creatives and bloggers so I expect greatness from whatever she touches. The Lion Hunter recently took sat down with local Renaissance woman Verena Rizg for a brief interview and performance. Visit Lion Hunter for more on Verena and browse around for more dopeness.

Honey Dipped Candles Package Design

2012-10-22T23:30:00.000-03:00

Recent product packaging designed by Glitterati Communications.

Duane “Dewey” Jones Sr. – Past Glitterati

2012-10-19T01:58:00.000-03:00

I recently returned from an unplanned trip to Bermuda. My Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer last year but after radiation treatments was on his way to a speedy recovery. This wouldn’t last long, as his cancer re-emerged and struck other parts of his body. This prompted me to get my recently expired passport up to date and make arrangements for my kids and I to visit him. My passport arrived much earlier than expected and we were able to fly out but shortly after we arrived my father passed away. If my passport came when I initially expected, we would have missed him. I’m thankful to God that I was given that time. Some people, including him, say that he was waiting for us before he would let go of this world. The last words he said to me were, "Are you happy?" and "I love you son". To which I replied, "Yes, and I love you too".

My father was loved by many people as my siblings and I have come to find out. We were approached by streams of people who expressed their appreciation for him and his funeral filled the church and spilled onto Court Street (His old stomping grounds). Unlike my Dad, I was a bit of a nerd growing up. He was always, the coolest guy in the room from my perspective and I sometimes wondered what went wrong with me. He played the keyboard in a band, was really smooth with the ladies and nothing seemed to phase him.

Mom with Pops rockin' the Rick Ross and holding a baby Glitterati Duane

To my surprise, I learned that he wasn’t just a "jobber" moonlighting as a musician, but was somewhat of a local jazz and rock legend. As a teenager he went to school by day and played music at night to help pay bills at home. This continued until his high school principal forced him to decide between music and school. He chose music. As a mostly self-taught pianist he had started to build a reputation for himself in Bermuda and was making connections with some of the island's best emerging rock talents of the time including Michael Curtis Clarke, Dennis Joell, Charles Taylor, Tony Cox, Big Daddy Yates, Artie Simmons, Tiny Ray and Keith Casey. He was also able to play with international artists including but not limited to Diana Ross and the Supremes, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Johnny Nash, Martha and the Vandellas, Wilson Pickett. The guys that my Dad played with in the early days went through a number of band names to reflect changes in times and music and came close to signing a record deal after recording in New York in the 60’s. After their deal fell through due to a bidding war that ended in a stale mate, he and his band mates took their talents to Canada, America and later to Britain where they would go on to tour Europe, the Middle East and Africa playing music. They got kicked out of countries, went through bouts of starvation, groupies, band break ups and lived the rock-n-roll life.

Left to right: Dewey Jones, Michael Curtis Clarke, Charles Taylor Dennis "Humphrey" Joell

My Dad was an anomaly because he seemed to have boundless confidence but he was a humble dude. I never knew that he had accomplished so much because when he returned to Bermuda, long before I was born, he took the responsible route and worked as a taxi driver. He was proud to own two taxis; One that he and my mother had purchased and one that was willed to him by his father. Working as a taxi driver gave him the flexibility to set his own hours so he could continue to play music professionally up until his sickness took that away from him. He often bragged to me about not having to kiss anyone’s ass and work when he felt like it. I used think to myself, “Whatever Daddy”. I reflect on the memories of him telling me that now and I realize that he influenced my interest in entrepreneurship without me even knowing it. I’m even following his example by working a day job and pursuing my passion projects at night.

As an adult, I had a complicated relationship with my father though. My dad was stubborn and I am my father’s son and can be just as stubborn. My dad and I never really had serious issues with each other but there was a distance between us. We were a lot alike and I really enjoyed my talks with him but sometimes I felt like I was talking to an old friend more than a “Dad”. When he got sick; in conversations, he played his typical cool guy role and played down his illness. I assumed that I would have lots of time to talk to him about his early years as a musician, his European tour and share with him why I empathize with him as a father now that I’ve been doing it for a few years. I’m an Artist and I wanted to tell him that I share his love for music and how his love for music is like my love for art. I wanted him to know that I admired him for being able to earn money doing what he loved for so long. I am grateful that I WAS able to have some of those conversations and show him a video of his oldest granddaughter playing the piano before he passed. I hope that those experiences helped him to find peace in the end. I hope that he realized that my siblings and I never stopped loving him and that even though he struggled to verbalize his feelings we knew how proud he was of us and how much he loved us.

Love you Pops

Michael and Dewey picture taken from the book, Curtis, A Tribute to Michael Clarke

Assorted band shots taken from the book, Curtis, A Tribute to Michael Clarke

Glitterati Duane Interviewed on Tha Underground

2012-10-10T00:20:00.003-03:00

Glitterati Duane with his brother Dean

During a recent trip to Bermuda Glitterati Duane was interviewed by JT of Tha Underground Radio show on Power 95 with his brother playing wing man. They chopped it up and discussed hip hop, the importance of branding in music, Glitterati Communications's active projects and the rap phenomenon that is of 2 Chaaaiiiinnzzz. Check out the interview here.

Glitterati Duane holding the Glitterati Power Swag shirt

The Ends Of The Earth Poster Design

2012-10-07T13:53:00.001-03:00

Our latest project for DalTheatre gave us the opportunity to play with image manipulation in a way that we rarely do, using Halifax as our canvas. (No Halifax streets were harmed during the production of this poster :)). For the first production of their 2012-13 season we were also able to use the incredible art work of DalTheathre's Custume Studies lecturer, John Pennoyer which captured the mood of the play perfectly. The play was written by Morris Panych and will be directed by Margot Dionne. The Ends Of The Earth runs from October 17th to October 20th at Dalhousie's David Mack Murray Theatre and looks to be a fun one. Make sure to check it out!

Honey Dipped Candles Logo Design

2012-09-27T13:07:00.003-03:00

This is a logo that we designed for a fabulous Bermuda based candle maker who just happens to be the cousin of our fearless leader, Glitterati Duane. Their candles are hand poured with wax sourced from Bermuda bees. The font that we used was created in-house using the honey comb as a point of reference. We uses green on the font to subtly acknowledge the client's 100% natural and environmentally conscious approach.