http://www.departika.com/blog/index/ This is the the one and only Departika blog en corey@departika.com Copyright 2008 2008-10-09T15:24:00-06:00 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/415931326/ http://www.departika.com/blog/new_at_departika/#When:15:24:00Z We have been keeping pretty busy over here working with great clients, having fun and fitting in a bit of ping-pong. Below are just a couple things we’ve been working on lately in case your interested. Agent Nation Agent Nation is launching to the public in early 2009 as the premier site for real estate professionals. We are conducting the information architecture, user interface design in collaboration with Liquidus Tech for back-end development. Princeton Capital Advisors Located in Madison WI, we are building the brand from the ground up, including the identity, identity elements, web design and web development. Horizon Shutters Based in Kansas City, Horizon Shutters has been the leading online resource for shutter sales since 1997. We are overhauling the front and back-end of the website and are currently wrapping up the planning phase. Ribbies Clippies We just finished developing exclusive pattern designs for the Ribbies Clippies new product line sold in Target stores. Signal Point Signalpointinvest.com launched last week for the great team over at Walnut Cap. Mediaslap We are now offering freebies on our blog and adding new items periodically. Keep an eye out for a free set of fresh desktops and iphone backgrounds early next week. We are also looking for writers to contribute Photoshop related articles for a bit of change in return. Head over for more info. Something New We are now utilizing our new CMS and are already working it into our latest projects. What does this mean for our clients? Websites with robust tools, easy administration, reduced maintenance cost and faster development time. All baked in with our custom design, expertise and client service. More info on this soon. On an office note Erica now works remote from her new home in Wisconsin Skye took second in a tennis tournament last week Katie is back in action 4 days a week Jason is writing new Mediaslap post Dan is killing everyone in ping pong Maria is rocking and rolling Neil is in deep in code mode I spilled my coffee...again We have been keeping pretty busy over here working with great clients, having fun and fitting in a bit of ping-pong. Below are just a couple things we’ve been working on lately in case your interested. Agent Nation Agent Nation is launching to the public in early 2009 as the premier site for real estate professionals. We are conducting the information architecture, user interface design in collaboration with Liquidus Tech for back-end development. Princeton Capital Advisors Located in Madison WI, we are building the brand from the ground up, including the identity, identity elements, web design and web development. Horizon Shutters Based in Kansas City, Horizon Shutters has been the leading online resource for shutter sales since 1997. We are overhauling the front and back-end of the website and are currently wrapping up the planning phase. Ribbies Clippies We just finished developing exclusive pattern designs for the Ribbies Clippies new product line sold in Target stores. Signal Point Signalpointinvest.com launched last week for the great team over at Walnut Cap. Mediaslap We are now offering freebies on our blog and adding new items periodically. Keep an eye out for a free set of fresh desktops and iphone backgrounds early next week. We are also looking for writers to contribute Photoshop related articles for a bit of change in return. Head over for more info. Something New We are now utilizing our new CMS and are already working it into our latest projects. What does this mean for our clients? Websites with robust tools, easy administration, reduced maintenance cost and faster development time. All baked in with our custom design, expertise and client service. More info on this soon. On an office note Erica now works remote from her new home in Wisconsin Skye took second in a tennis tournament last week Katie is back in action 4 days a week Jason is writing new Mediaslap post Dan is killing everyone in ping pong Maria is rocking and rolling Neil is in deep in code mode I spilled my coffee...again Departika News 2008-10-09T15:24:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/new_at_departika/#When:15:24:00Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/402893194/ http://www.departika.com/blog/shes_crafty/#When:14:46:00Z I read this snippet in Print Magazine about Jessica Helfand’s new book, “Scrapbooking: An American History”. Helfand is a writer for the Design Observer and has written many books surrounding the subject of graphic design. This particular book was inspired by her critical blog post about scrapbooking and the profound reaction to it (I recommend reading the post). It made me think about… I read this snippet in Print Magazine about Jessica Helfand’s new book, “Scrapbooking: An American History”. Helfand is a writer for the Design Observer and has written many books surrounding the subject of graphic design. This particular book was inspired by her critical blog post about scrapbooking and the profound reaction to it (I recommend reading the post). It made me think about my own history surrounding scrapbooking, and how part of our business at Departika has evolved into producing products that many crafters and scrapbookers use. In 2001, I was asked by an entrepreneur to design a logo for her new business. Being a graphic designer, this is a typical request but, her kind of business surprised me. It was going to be called “Premiere Scrapbook Events”. Scrapbooking is huge now, but at that time I thought, “there are enough people who scrapbook that they get together and have events??”. Apparently there were, because she would hold these events and people from all over the Midwest would flock to them. Soon, I began to see scrapbooking stores pop up all over town. I discovered that this wasn’t a bunch of old ladies cutting out newspaper clippings of their grandson’s local championship-winning basketball team and pasting them in a photo book. These stores are full of design resources—great paper that would normally be hard to find, and some products that I would usually search for at a hardware or office store. I started using some of this stuff in my designs. In the same way that I started using the crafty resources for relevant designs, scrapbookers started to use designers’ resources—this resource being the Photoshop brush. Jason, one of the Departika partners, noticed this several years back after posting free brushes on his blog, Designfruit. Not only were graphic designers using them to enhance their designs, scrapbookers were using them to decorate their photos, and requesting to use them on products for resale geared towards other crafty-types. Once again, I was amazed by the popularity of scrapbooking, and the amount of people out there who were looking for, and willing to buy these design resources. I could go on and on about this subject—all the different facets of scrapbooking, how we have tapped into this market, the evolution of scrapbooking and the tools they use—but I won’t, because this would become an incredibly long post. Perhaps that is why Jessica Helfand wrote a book about the subject.  Art and Design 2008-10-06T14:46:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/shes_crafty/#When:14:46:00Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/409666287/ http://www.departika.com/blog/new_stuff_at_mediaslap/#When:21:51:00Z We recently added a few new Photoshop brush sets and our blog is now up over at Mediaslap. Jason posted our first video tutorial and it’s a great view for those new to Photoshop brush usage. It is also worth watching by anyone in the creative industry for the sheer entertainment value. Have a look for yourself. We recently added a few new Photoshop brush sets and our blog is now up over at Mediaslap. Jason posted our first video tutorial and it’s a great view for those new to Photoshop brush usage. It is also worth watching by anyone in the creative industry for the sheer entertainment value. Have a look for yourself. Art and Design, Departika News 2008-10-02T21:51:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/new_stuff_at_mediaslap/#When:21:51:00Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/395575162/ http://www.departika.com/blog/white_flight_headline_gone_wrong/#When:20:15:01Z I saw this well-placed billboard the other day, and couldn’t believe it. What an ignorant ad! It reminded me how important research is, and how significant cultural awareness is in the design and advertising field. The headline reads, “White Flight” next to a photo of some pretty, white butterflies. The headline definitely got my attention, and evoked an emotional response (as a good headline should), but not the kind that will make me want to drive to Branson to look at a palace full of butterflies. For those who don’t know, “white flight” is a term used to describe the event of… I saw this well-placed billboard the other day, and couldn’t believe it. What an ignorant ad! It reminded me how important research is, and how significant cultural awareness is in the design and advertising field. The headline reads, “White Flight” next to a photo of some pretty, white butterflies. The headline definitely got my attention, and evoked an emotional response (as a good headline should), but not the kind that will make me want to drive to Branson to look at a palace full of butterflies. For those who don’t know, “white flight” is a term used to describe the event of middle and upper class whites leaving the cities to avoid living amongst the African Americans who were moving in. I understand that sometimes good advertising headlines will make cultural references, but this is the wrong one—with a negative connotation. Did the writer of this headline not know what white flight is? Did they just like the way the two words rhyme, and thought, “Ooh, what a great way to reference this great photo of white butterflies.”? We must listen and learn about so many different subjects in order to communicate properly, or persuade our audience to buy our product or service. So, headline writers of the world...designers...communicators, try not to be this unaware and lazy—I promise that I will try my best to do the same. The Industry 2008-09-17T20:15:01-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/white_flight_headline_gone_wrong/#When:20:15:01Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/370015903/ http://www.departika.com/blog/expressions_of_an_el_salvador_experience/#When:13:43:00Z We are pleased to welcome our good friends Dave and Jenny McGee Expressions of an El Salvador Experience exhibit at the next First Friday Art Walk. The exhibit will feature Dave’s photography and Jenny’s Childscape and selected El Salvador series paintings.  The main event will be at the Randy Bacon Studio and we will be displaying their work here as well. All proceeds benefit the McGee family’s work with Enlace in El Salvador through 2010. Don’t miss this.  We are pleased to welcome our good friends Dave and Jenny McGee Expressions of an El Salvador Experience exhibit at the next First Friday Art Walk. The exhibit will feature Dave’s photography and Jenny’s Childscape and selected El Salvador series paintings.  The main event will be at the Randy Bacon Studio and we will be displaying their work here as well. All proceeds benefit the McGee family’s work with Enlace in El Salvador through 2010. Don’t miss this. Expressions of an El Salvador Experience by Dave and Jenny McGee Paintings and Photographs 2002 - 2008 Friday September 5th, 6 - 9 PM Randy Bacon Gallery and Departika Daveandjenny.org 2008-08-20T13:43:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/expressions_of_an_el_salvador_experience/#When:13:43:00Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/365878134/ http://www.departika.com/blog/new_photoshop_brush_setsx/#When:17:04:01Z Three new Photoshop brush sets are available at Mediaslap and we are pleased to add Jenny McGee and Raycollide to the Mediaslap designer roster. These unique designs add premium flare to any creative design, photography or scrapbooking project. Three new Photoshop brush sets are available at Mediaslap and we are pleased to add Jenny McGee and Raycollide to the Mediaslap designer roster. These unique designs add premium flare to any creative design, photography or scrapbooking project. Bird Nerd From El Salvador Jenny McGee provides a stellar set that is inspired by the birds, foliage and culture of Central America. Get theme here. Swirl Strokes Raycollide offers an assortment of interesting swirls, strokes, and hand drawn lines. Get theme here. Stitchy Circles Jason Gaylor was inspired by quilt patterns and circular borders, intricate, retro, ribbon-like vines wrap around complex circle patterns. Get them here. 2008-08-15T17:04:01-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/new_photoshop_brush_setsx/#When:17:04:01Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/358752709/ http://www.departika.com/blog/easy_graffiti_photoshop_brushes/#When:20:13:00Z Easy Graffiti is a new Photoshop brush set created by designer Alabaster Jones that is now available at Mediaslap. Over the years graffiti has transformed its reputation as an act of rebellion and vandalism to urban works of fine art. With this new set you can let your adolescent desire to hit up walls and subway cars shine through. Easy Graffiti Photohop brushes are the safe and legal way to tag your next design project. The Easy Graffiti set contains 22 high resolution brushes to add to your Photoshop brush library. We look forward to providing more brushes from Alabaster in the coming months. View the new set here. Easy Graffiti is a new Photoshop brush set created by designer Alabaster Jones that is now available at Mediaslap. Over the years graffiti has transformed its reputation as an act of rebellion and vandalism to urban works of fine art. With this new set you can let your adolescent desire to hit up walls and subway cars shine through. Easy Graffiti Photohop brushes are the safe and legal way to tag your next design project. The Easy Graffiti set contains 22 high resolution brushes to add to your Photoshop brush library. We look forward to providing more brushes from Alabaster in the coming months. View the new set here. Art and Design, The Industry, Departika News, Stuff We Like 2008-08-07T20:13:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/easy_graffiti_photoshop_brushes/#When:20:13:00Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/357488035/ http://www.departika.com/blog/new_from_departika/#When:16:18:00Z As most know, we do not put all our work in our online portfolio. Here are a few things we recently completed. We have also been working on Mediaslap.com and launched the artist online submission form and other additions. Enjoy. As most know, we do not put all our work in our online portfolio. Here are a few things we recently completed. We have also been working on Mediaslap.com and launched the artist online submission form and other additions. Enjoy.  Encounter 2008 This brochure was produced for the organization Souled Out in Scotland to promote their Encounter Event. The concept surrounded the theme that the Christian community has made a mess of things with rules and stipulations instead of focusing on the more important aspects of the personal religious experiences.  Strongtooth This project entailed design for the Strongtooth Inc. site. Strongtooth is located in New York and they develop proprietary technologies. We also conducted identity and interface design for a new product currently in beta testing that is sure to shake things up. More on that later. Multiplicity Zero Zero is this years Multiplicity Church Planting Event in Houston Texas. We produced an integrated campaign for the event including collateral, print ads, web graphics, and other promotional materials. Homemade Hillbilly Jam DVD and CD Packaging Homemade Hillbilly Jam is documentary concerning how Scottish-Irish immigrants came to be known as “hillbillies”. The concept and illustration was driven by the name and the focus of the documentary surrounding the uber talented Bileu family and their music. More info is at Mayapple Records Green Circle Shopping Center Green Circle is a LEED certified green building project. We created a clean interface to educate the audiences on the unique aspects of the building and created a flash feature for users to learn the specifics of the project and the partners involved.  Departika News 2008-08-04T16:18:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/new_from_departika/#When:16:18:00Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/329215333/ http://www.departika.com/blog/medislapcom_is_live/#When:21:01:00Z We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest project, Mediaslap—an online resource for buying and selling Photoshop brushes. We will be expanding the site on the fly including artist submission tools, new brushes and new features that provide value for the contributing artists and designers. If you are interested in submitting your brushes you can find the info here. Head over to www.mediaslap.com, check it out, download brushes, tell us what you think and enjoy. We are pleased to announce the launch of our latest project, Mediaslap—an online resource for buying and selling Photoshop brushes. We will be expanding the site on the fly including artist submission tools, new brushes and new features that provide value for the contributing artists and designers. If you are interested in submitting your brushes you can find the info here. Head over to www.mediaslap.com, check it out, download brushes, tell us what you think and enjoy.  Art and Design, Departika News 2008-07-07T21:01:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/medislapcom_is_live/#When:21:01:00Z http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/departika/bjca/~3/306170773/ http://www.departika.com/blog/summertime_apparel_sale/#When:13:00:00Z As summertime makes itself more known with each passing day, we understand your natural instinct is to rip off your clothes and prance around in your under garments. This is not a good idea, trust us. We urge you to resist the temptation and instead purchase one of our discounted shirts that have been proven to lower your body temperature.* For a limited time all of our apparel is on sale at up to 40% off the regular price. Did someone say Father’s Day? While your perusing around looking at great shirts, go check out the seven new Departika posters; expressing such feelings as love, hate, and flirtation with robots. * Our t-shirts have not been proven to lower body temperature. But it’s possible. As summertime makes itself more known with each passing day, we understand your natural instinct is to rip off your clothes and prance around in your under garments. This is not a good idea, trust us. We urge you to resist the temptation and instead purchase one of our discounted shirts that have been proven to lower your body temperature.* For a limited time all of our apparel is on sale at up to 40% off the regular price. Did someone say Father’s Day? While your perusing around looking at great shirts, go check out the seven new Departika posters; expressing such feelings as love, hate, and flirtation with robots. * Our t-shirts have not been proven to lower body temperature. But it’s possible. Departika News 2008-06-11T13:00:00-06:00 http://www.departika.com/blog/summertime_apparel_sale/#When:13:00:00Z