The one thing I didn’t do during this whole time is properly brand my own company and produce a proper website for Hotcakes New Media. Over the course of the year, I’ve had time to think about where I’d like to take Hotcakes, considering the market in Ottawa and my competition. As a result, I’ve rebranded Hotcakes as a Creative Company, first and foremost, with a production division. Part of the new branding was trying to come up with a company image that I felt reflected my personality as well as the type of work we produce. The result is a funky, brightly coloured, young and fresh company image that stands out in the dull Ottawa marketplace.

The reason for the rebranding is two-fold: First, because I just wasn’t getting the work I needed to sustain a livable income with my current branding (which was all about promoting production, yet didn’t have the work to back it up), and second, because I saw a gap in the market between marketing companies and production companies. There are NO creative agencies in Ottawa! (or none that I could find) That means searching for “Ottawa creative company” in Google puts my website on page one.

So what exactly did I do? I’ve completely redesigned the looks and the content of the main Hotcakes website (found at http://www.hotcakesnewmedia.com). The new Hotcakes site is simple, and clearly showcases us as a creative company. It’s about giving people confidence in who we are, what we’ve done, and what we can do for them. I’ve also developed a new site specific for production (found at http://www.hotcakesproduction.com). The new production website follows the same structure and looks as the main site, but clearly shows exactly what kind of production work we do, and goes into more detail on those individual work items. It’s designed mostly to catch Google keywords, optimize my ranking, and link people back to the main site. Finally, I created the Ottawa Video Production Blog (found at http://www.ottawavideoproduction.ca/blog). The blog, again, is a technique used to increase visibility within the community, as well as within Google. Search engine ranks go up dramatically when fresh content is posted on a regular basis, and a blog allows us to do that. It also adds specific keywords that might not normally show up, and increases content dramatically. It IS good to toot your own horn.

I’ve also been hard at work building a physical and electronic booklet to mail and email to potential clients. I need to spread the word about Hotcakes, and not rely entirely on people seeking me out. I will soon be actively seeking new clients, sending promotional materials, and advertising as much as possible to maximize the way people find me.

Yes, Hotcakes may have turned one… but without a BIG push and some important new clients, Hotcakes will not see year two. So I better get back to work now.

A7

I’m back! And this week I have my t-shirt entry for the DBH 10k contest. This t-shirt design is based on the poster and DVD cover for the short film REAL by David Jaeggin. The story is about a man who sees the ghost of his father 2 years after he was killed in a car accident. The design creates a sense of wonderment about what is real and what isn’t, and makes us wonder if we really are alone. The artwork is deliberately dark, sketchy and “grungy” at the bottom to mirror the dark graveyard and subject matter, but gradually becomes cleaner, softer and more open at the top, to give a sense of hope.

The full poster and DVD cover image is below.

A7

This is my first official printed tee. It is a commissioned work for a school musical based on Mamma Mia and other music from the 70s. The design was created to mimic a 70s retro style (stars and fonts), and printed with gold and blue metallic inks on orange American Apparel tees in various shapes and sizes (mens, womens, and kids). Below you will find the full picture of the shirt, along with a test vintage-look shirt I requested for myself, and a poor quality version of the shirt.

The story on the poor quality version goes like this…

I had originally designed the shirt with yellow stars and gold “star zooms”. I sent the 5 color design files to the t-shirt printer. They have 4 color presses and 8 color presses. Their 8 color press was broken, so they had to outsource the work to another company (because my design was more than 4 colors). Unfortunately, it turned out the other company was awful at screen printing. Once they got the work back from the outsourced company, they didn’t want to put their name on it and send me bad shirts, so they offered to reprint them all on their working 4 color press instead. That meant I had to change the design from 5 colors to 4. The final design you see in the good quality shirt is the updated 4 color design. The bad quality shirt shows the original colors, but you can clearly see that the ink is inconsistent and the edges are uneven and misprinted. Good call on not sending me the crappy shirts.

Hope you enjoyed the little story, and like the design.

A7 is (a golden star)

Good Quality Full View:

Vintage-look version:

Bad quality version:

I finally made a bit of time to work on a design that was in my head. It’s just a fun, simple design based on the phrase “the sky looks angry”. I can imagine an angry cloud in the sky, throwing lightning bolts at the innocent bystanders below.

This shirt is being submitted to a different site this time, called Teextile. I will update this post as soon as voting is open.

A7 is (tired of the rain)

Although I am still working on building up Hotcakes New Media, I have been paying attention to the job market in Ottawa; More specifically, I am watching for the few Interaction Designer positions that pop up in this area. Since my main Hotcakes cash cow is now all but going under, business has been a little slow (which allowed me to work on finishing the basement). Since a little extra money, networking, and career advancement never hurt, I’ve recently submitted an application that required me to put together a PDF of my portfolio.

I thought it would be interesting to show the portfolio to you, my loyal readers.  So here it is!

I’ve attached the PDF version of the portfolio to this post. The file is 1.5Mb and is 4 pages long.

My portfolio

Let me know what you think.

A7

After seeing what a drastic change my design choices (furniture, lighting, accents, paint, etc) made on the house, I decided some “before and after” pictures would best show just how drastic the changes were. Let’s get started.

Entrance:

Let’s start with one that’s not too drastic. The entrance was painted gray, artwork put up, and the side window has an etched frosting (which you can’t see in the pic).

Living room:

Slightly more of a change on this one. Artwork is up, area rug down, and furniture in place. The Arco lamp and cubes steal the show.

Dining room:

Now we’re seeing even more change. Large mirror hung, table and series 7 chairs in place, room divider visible, and of course, the hand-made custom chandelier.

Kitchen:

Now this is a drastic change. Walls painted with a faux-finish ragged glaze in deep red, lighting installed over kitchen island, black glass appliances in place, counter stools, and under cabinet accent lighting (not visible in this picture).

Upstairs hallway:

I put this picture up to act as a buffer between the last drastic picture, and the next drastic picture. Not much change here, but some minor design changes (I heart Blik!) liven up the niche.

Master bedroom:

Perhaps the “piece de resistance” is our master bedroom. This was certainly the room with the most work involved. Carpeting was removed, dark hardwood installed, wall painted green, lighting installed, wood blinds installed, and earthy accents in the comforter, pillows and chair (not visible).

So that’s enough of the “before and after” pics. More random pics below for your enjoyment.

Ensuite!

Main bathroom (featureing Keith Haring artwork)

Another view of the dining area, showing the room separator.

My office… still awaiting my blinds as you can see.

I’ll post a few more pics later, including a better shot of the etched lace frosted glass in the entrance, and the over-counter lighting in the kitchen.

EDIT: Pictures posted below.

This is the frosted entrance window.

A nicer shot of the custom chandelier we built.

The Arco Lamp.

This is the kitchen lighting in action.

A7

It was interesting to see the house so bare without any of our design decisions in place yet. But you might be wondering what design decisions we made? Well here’s the list of upgrades and colour choices we made.

Our design center meetings and choices have been completed for some time now, and due to how fast it all took place, I didn’t have the time to discuss any of it on this site. I’ve been meaning to write something about it to start a discussion on our choices, so here it is!

First, it’s important to explain that the floor plan is very open concept. That’s specifically what drew me to our model of home in the first place. I really like having modular open areas that can be sectioned off without the use of walls. As such, the entrance from the front door immediately opens up into our full main floor, including the kitchen, dining room, and living room, with no walls. An island will separate the kitchen and dining room. We will be placing an airy open shelving unit (square stacked cubes) between the living and dining room. The entrance and powder room will have a rustic (rough and unevely cut) medium grey tile on the floor. The rest of the first floor will be a seemless hardwood floor (all the way into the kitchen too), finished in a slightly faded medium red oak. The modern (square) styled stair railing will be finished in the same way.

The kitchen is where most of the upgrades came in because it is one of the most important areas for me. You all know I love to cook, so I wanted this to be a dream kitchen. The cupboards and pantry are going to be finished in a flat biscuit (off-white) laminate with straight and simple stainless steel handles. This is complimented with the upgraded black Quartz countertop. The Quartz countertop in black will provide a deep rich shine and gloss, as well as a unique modern squared edge. The sink will also be clad in black, and undermounted with a single-hole faucet to compliment the simple and elegant look. The backsplash has been completely removed so we can paint it a deep red. The island, also finished with the Quartz countertop, has large pot drawers, and is flanked by speakers built into the ceiling. Finally, the crowning jewel are the Floating Glass appliances from Jenn-Air; The appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher) are black, with a full slightly curved tempered glass covering the entire front. This creates a stunning deep gloss and mirror-like finish. The side-by-side fridge features a water and ice dispenser. The dishwasher features a dirt-sensing mechanism that automatically sets the appropriate cleaning options. And the piece-de-resistance, the slide-in dual-fuel range, features a gas cooktop with built in grill for indoor BBQ year round.

Upstairs, the master bedroom also has speakers in the ceiling. It also has an ensuite with clear glass shower, and a roman tub surrounded by an earthy rustic tile. The counter is white with black flakes, and the doors are a flat medium brown wood. The main bathroom has a dark blue countertop and the shower is surrounded by a very light blue tile with a bamboo texture.

That just about describes all the main design decisions to date. It will be really interesting to see all these choices come together in real life. Have any comments? Let me know.

A7

(bonus picture… the inside of the house under construction)

UPDATE (Sept 29):

Here’s the latest picture of the house.

This past Tuesday, I headed out to most of the tattoo shops on Rideau street to get some quotes and look for the artist who will be doing my tattoo. Every shop I went to commented on how much they liked my designs, so that’s a good sign. The two top artists I found, Pandy from Future Skin and Rich from Silverline Tattoo, both made the same recommendation. They suggested I use some of the purple from design #4 and incorporate it into design #3. Since both these artists’ portfolios were amazing, I valued their opinion and went back to the drawing board. The end result is a tattoo that has all the elements I was looking for. I am extremely pleased with the results. Here is the final design I will be getting shortly:

And in case you want to know what it’s going to look like on me, here’s a Photoshop example of what it’s going to look like. (please ignore the really sleepy look I have… it was the only photo I had from that angle with my arm exposed. )

Now I’m stuck deciding between two great artists to do my work. Pandy is clearly the best tattoo artist in Ottawa, but he also charges the most. Rich had a fantastic portfolio or work and drawings, and a great personality, but not much tribal work in his portfolio (though his level of detail is amazing, so I don’t doubt he could do it).

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

A7

Want to help?

Below are four different versions of the tattoo that I’m considering getting. If you would be so kind as to reply to this post and let me know which version you like best, it would be much appreciated.

Version 1: Bold and colourful

Version 2: Light and subtle

Version 3: Vivid and strong

Version 4: Bold and balanced

Thanks for the help folks! I appreciate it!

A7

I know, it has been a while since I’ve posted. It’s hard to find the time to post when I don’t have a place to call “my own” and I’m constantly bouncing from one place to the next. Combine that with work, travelling, new tattoo designs (more on that in a bit), video art planning (more on that in a future post), house planning, and other random things, and it leaves me with no time left to write a decent article. In fact, I should be working right now, so let’s get right down to it shall we? The topic of today’s post? Tattoo designs I’m working on, and why I enjoy designing tattoo art.

Tattoo designs vary greatly in style and purpose. Some people are content picking something off a wall, and others get generic words or symbols that represent something important to them. For some, it’s about tradition or culture; In Samoan society, the tattooing ceremonies for young chiefs, typically conducted at the time of puberty, were part of their ascendance to a leadership role. The permanent marks left by the tattoo artists would forever celebrate their endurance and dedication to cultural traditions.

For me, designing a tattoo (usually fairly tribal in nature) is about the the interplay of lines and negative space into the body. In a way, it symbolizes the weaving of life’s experiences into me. But more importantly, it’s about finding a design that “feels” right for a particular part of a body for a particular person. Although I’m not a spiritual person (at least not in the traditional “catholic” sense), there is a certain spirituality that comes from designing a tattoo. It needs to represent the aura and energy of a person, and flow in such a way as to express the individual’s style and personality. I can’t explain how I design a tattoo; It comes from within, like a “vision” of sorts that I get from knowing the person intimately. That’s why I only design tattoos for myself and people close to me (wife and sister). It’s a long process of drawing, designing, erasing and starting over, in order to get the vision from my head on to paper.

I recently finished a tattoo design for MC. She wanted a music theme, so my challenge was to incorporate a musical element into a design that flows for her and the area she would get it in (upper back). Here’s what it looks like:

I’ve also recently begun working on my half-sleeve style shoulder tattoo. The main reason for this post, aside from the theory and ideas behind how I design tattoos, is to show the work in progress of my tattoo designs and give you a glimpse into the process. Unfortunately, I no longer have the original designs I worked on for the past several years, only the one final design I have settled on. The first image is the completed pencil drawing. From there the image is scanned into the computer, trimmed and cleaned up for contrast, and each element of the tattoo is carefully cut out and re-drawn digitally so I have full control over borders and colors. The second image shows the work in progress (with about 20 hours of work so far, and about another 20 hours to go).

So there you have it. Now you have a bit of an understanding on how I design tattoos, the process I follow, and the work involved. I hope you’ve enjoyed my first design article on this site. I’ll update this post with two more “work in progress” designs as I continue to work on the design over the next couple of weeks.

A7

Edit 1: Here is the latest updatewith the top section done. I’m getting there!