sepoct2007preview

Interactive Annual 13

September/October 2007 Sixteen Dollars www.commarts.com

Swanson Studio

glassy to shimmery to bubbly, as if water, too, has feelings.

“Beyond his skills and aesthetics, Marcus brings extra qualities— compassion and emotion—to whatever he’s shooting,” says Held.

“Clients appreciate that, and remain loyal, not only for his photographic talent, but for his qualities as a person who is also fun and easy to be around.” No big ego or fanfare about him, either.

But if Swanson heralds anything, it’s his staff. He says, “I may make the image, but its success depends on all the meticulous support around it. Everything has to be thought out and working properly.” Everyone connected with the studio plays a part, from producer Katie Simon’s scheduling to bookkeeper Chelsea Huffman’s calculations. “I appreciate the contribution of each person, whether it’s a freelance assistant, an art director or an athlete.”

The Revolutions Project illustrates his regard. Begun two years ago as Swanson’s final personal piece from his old studio space, it pays tribute to all the relationships that had been a part of it.

Tiny portraits of people and their families and pets fill a large circle. Every so often, he adds more. “We all get one revolution of the Earth each day,” he says. “I love the mental image of riding the planet together with all these wonderful people who are so inspirational to me.” CA This page: Cancer series, Hazel. “Shot for Northwest Cancer Specialists together with designer friend Byron Jacobs, in thanks for chemo treatment and care he received from them. Byron died a year later. To me, the legacy he left with this project far outweighs any contribution he made in advertising and it was an honor to be a part of it.”

Snowboarding Series 1, personal work. “A small group of friends built a kicker out-of-bounds on Mt. Hood, Oregon, and spent the day hitting the jump. Awesome.”

Right: PR and point-of-purchase for Nike/Bausch & Lomb. “Brian Roberts of the Orioles wearing Nike Maxsight sports contacts. The challenge was to illustrate the athlete, the context of their sport and give the image a sense of vision.” Kirk Birmingham, creative director; Nike Maxsight, client.

Nike Vision catalog and point-of-purchase. “I love playing with light on different materials. The more shiny and sparkly the better.” Kirk Birmingham, creative director.

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Communication Arts

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Exhibit 2

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Lexus promotional brochure

“We have worked on a variety of projects for Team One, Lexus’ ad agency. They return to us for our proven ability to understand the Lexus brand and support the agency’s strategic vision,” said executive creative director Tom Saputo.

“With the 2007 Lexus es receiving rave industry reviews, Lexus wanted a promotional piece for the consumer introduction. David Hochman approached Lexus with the valet parking guide concept. Having some wonderful copy to work with, we pulled the concept together by visually researching 100+ years of history on parking in America. We wanted the piece to reflect a time when valet parking was something really special. Our choice of paper, color, type and image style might have been a little scary for some clients, but Lexus has always been willing to take risks. This piece is a perfect example of how not being ‘safe’ can have a big impact.”

Kelly Niland, art director/designer; David Hochman, writer; Tommy Steele, design director; Team One Advertising, ad agency; Saputo Design (Westlake Village, CA), design firm.

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Canada Post stamp

“Canada Post chose to launch a stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada, and the contributions of all Canadian graphic designers to our country’s economy, culture and national identity–50 years of designing Canada,” said art director David Coates, fgdc. “The challenge was to develop a stamp that would communicate the intrinsic nature of graphic design to the general public, and satisfy the demanding eye of thousands of designers across the country and around the world. Our intent was to create an icon that represents the Canadian graphic design community using type as image. The beaver seemed a natural, as it was used on Canada’s very first stamp designed by Sir Sanford Fleming. The typeface Cartier, was originally designed by gdc Fellow Carl Dair as a gift to Canada on its centenary. The gdc logo was designed in 1967

by Jacques Émile Charette. Canada Post issued the stamp August 16, 2006.”

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Rod Roodenburg, MGDC, creative director; Len-Nard Yambot, graphic designer; Ion Branding + Design (Vancouver, Canada), design firm; Liz Wong, Canada Post/Postes Canada, client.

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Purex poster

“Since the dawn of the washing machine, advertising man (and woman) has tried to dismantle the dirty shirt/clean shirt paradox of the detergent industry.” writer Mike Roe said. “Fortunately, new Purex faced the challenge with an open mind. They realized that no one cares about a clean shirt. But a dirty one? Well, that’s where the fun begins.”

Frank Dattalo, art director; Frank Dattalo/Mike Roe, creative directors; Marty Orzio, executive creative director; Steve Nozicka, photographer; Energy BBDO (Chicago, IL), ad agency.

Communication Arts

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interactive annual 13: information

kuler “Interacting with this site took me back in time to my first box of crayons. Fascinating. Mesmerizing. You knew you were about to create something great. And this one won’t get you in trouble for coloring all over the walls.”

—Jeff Benjamin

Overview: Developed as a complement to Adobe’s Creative Suite software, this online application allows users to create, edit and share color themes with a community of users. Quick loading and easy to use, kuler can also export the created themes for use in desktop applications.

• Developed using beta software • Dynamic generation of color themes • Tagging and other community features • Integration with rss feeds

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http://kuler.adobe.com

“A great collaborative tool.”

—Liz Castro

Creator’s Comments: “We wanted this to be a meaningful tool for everyone, so the process for creating new themes or building upon existing themes had to provide relevant context for anyone working with color in any format. Our biggest challenge was figuring out a fluid workflow for the theme creation tool since it would be pivotal in generating interest and building a community of theme creators.

“A lot of thinking and prototyping went into this state of the application. We wanted the themes integrated into the overall experience; we also wanted them to be playful and helpful at the same time. The solution had to balance the need to showcase themes without overdoing it with too much color all at once. We also wanted to build a platform where people could shop for color combos, then collect them easily for reference and comparison.

“We experimented with interactions for the drag-and-drop functionality between swatches and slider and color wheel feedback until the relationships between all of the elements in the creation tool seemed obvious and intuitive. The tray along the bottom provides visitors with a drag-and-drop ‘bin’ for themes that they pick up throughout the kuler experience, making it easy for people to save themes for later reference or simply compare themes from different parts of the application.

“Initially, there were a lot of concepts generated for the overall experience where the themes were intentionally small so that the amount of colors on the screen wouldn’t be overpowering. But at a small size they seemed secondary to the rest of the content (like comments and tags) when they

should have been predominant. That was when we tried the exact opposite strategy. We played with multiple iterations of ‘branding’ the interface with themes before settling on the large theme previews along the top of the page.

Clicking on one launches a full screen takeover so it can be viewed without any distractions. The interface is intentionally muted so there’s no visual competition.

“It was during the prototype and testing process that Tara, one of our producers, began using the application to help select yarn colors for her knitting projects. That’s when I realized how useful this tool could be not just for designers but for anyone being creative with color.”

—Michael Kemper

Danny Riddell, executive creative director Michael Kemper, art director Britt Miura, interface designer Luigi Rosso/Tim Strickland, technical leads Teri Pettit/Ty Voliter, programmers Ketan Anjaria/Wes Gorgichuk/Lanny McNie, Flash programmers Beau Ambur, technology director Tara Beaton/Nora Calvillo/Evelyn Chan/Terry Hemphill/Sami Iwata, producers Mike Lucaccini, executive producer Lydia Varmazis, executive director Diana Hu/Colin Toomey/Trina Wai, quality assurance Metaliq, project design and development Adobe EMT, client Communication Arts

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fresh

Nate Williams

© Sid Lee

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Buenos Aires, Argentina, Seattle, Washington, and www.n8w.com.

Location:

I left my job as an art director to pursue illustration fulltime in October 2003.

Duration:

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Staff: I am represented by Magnet Reps (www.magnetreps.com).

Life, history, science, people, travel, Wikipedia and the University of Utah.

Education:

For the last few years, I have had a strong interest in the Latin culture, not so much from reading up on it and going to museums, but from a more visceral standpoint—of walking down the street, eating the food, being in new places and appreciating subtleties. I have lived in Chile and Costa Rica, traveled to Uruguay, Panama and Spain, and now live in Argentina.

Cultural Influences:

I brainstorm outside my apartment—park benches, subways, buses, trains, coffee shops, etc. I mostly listen to podcasts on military history, brainfoodpodcast.com or Democracynow.org. Once I come up with an idea, I head back to my apartment and start creating. Usually I listen to reggae/dub or jazz. I have a couple of huge magnet walls with photos, art and sketches for inspiration. My dog Guinea, a cute little Boxer, is always by my side.

Environment:

Experience and appreciate life, people, health and variety.

Philosophy:

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