Chicago River Panorama

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:17:20 -0600

This photo is actually 3 photos stitched together using Photoshop's Photo Merge automation. There are better programs out there for doing this but for stitching together a couple of photos it works just fine.

Transit

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:07:08 -0600

Random iphone photo

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 21:43:44 -0600

Sketches, Part Quatre

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:40:17 -0600

Random sampling of sketches

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 21:21:49 -0600

Just looking for something to post... this is a row from Poster 4 of head sketches.

Playing with Photoshop (iPhone App)

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:40:30 -0600

These are several examples of photos taken with an iPhone 3GS and enhanced with the Photoshop app. After playing around with several photos and settings I found the Vignette Blur to be the 'go to' setting. The trick is slightly desaturate the photo before using the blur. Tight shots on a subject and wide landscapes seem to work best.

Tree branches

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:17:31 -0600

Sketches, Part Trois

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:47:41 -0600

Sketches, Part Quatre is well underway.

Boy in box

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:39:07 -0600

The idea for this sketch popped into my head on the way to work. Maybe it's because my son has been getting into a bunch of stuff lately. For whatever reason, this is pretty much what I had in my head. I scanned it in (the scanner has been streaking lately, going to have to scan it in again) and quickly colored it in Photoshop.

Off The Street Club

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:37:14 -0600

Visit the site and help get a kid off the streets of West Chicago today.

Agency: EuroRSCG Chicago

Role: ACD

Date: 9/2009

Wingardium Leviosa (or not)

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:26:09 -0600

The family and I took our muggle butts down to the Museum of Science and Industry today to check out the Harry Potter exhibit. No cameras were allowed within the exhibit but there were a few photo opportunities in the main areas of the museum. The exhibit is a bit pricey, $25 per adult for about 45 minutes from start to finish. However, the props were amazing, everything from the first movie to Half-Blood Prince. Quidditch uniforms, dress robes, ball gowns, creatures... everything from the movies in fine detail. I especially liked the fake book jacket cover designs for Ron Weasley's favorite Quidditch teams. You could tell the designer(s) had a fun time coming up with authentic looking programs. Another area I enjoyed was Hagrid's hut. It definitely felt like you could have been hanging with Hagrid talking about dragons. All in all, we had a good time. The boy is a too young to appreciate the fine craftmanship but hopefully the exhibit will come back around when he gets older and is more familiar with the books and movies.

Valspar, Love Our Style Website

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:49:03 -0600

Valspar, Love Our Style is a new campaign aimed at newlyweds and the problems they face as their styles collide. The website is a playful resource that provides inspiration and helpful tools for an easy transition from the single life to cohabitation. Users can take a style quiz, download a painting guide, and share their collective styles on Facebook. There is even a photo contest in which a lucky winner is chosen each week for a free color consultation from Valspar and Beehive Studios.

As the creative lead, I wanted to create a fun, enjoyable experience that encourages users to find information for their first painting project together. The client was really receptive to our ideas and is really happy with the way the site turned out.

Find your style!

Agency: EuroRSCG Chicago

Role: ACD

Date: 8/2009

Random: Street Robot

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:01:28 -0600

NMF3

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:48:41 -0600

Unique Opportunity

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:44:35 -0600

In the week leading to Super Bowl 43 (2009), a story began appearing on the news wires about a chicken wing shortage in America and its impact on the Super Bowl. The report cited the shortage was a result of a plant closing in Texas as well as a higher demand for wings due to the Super Bowl. Those impacted were restaurant owners who had to pay more for wings in bulk and the consumer, who had the higher costs passed on to them.

During this same period, we (Euro RSCG Chicago) were brainstorming on how to promote Kraft's new Ranch Salad Dressing, which was to launch in late Feb '09 after the Super Bowl but before March Madness. We had put together a proposal of several different integrated programs that would help Kraft promote their new dressing, which according to taste results, was their best ranch ever. The night before we shared our proposal with the client we added on more idea at the last minute... that somehow Kraft was responsible for the chicken wing shortage.

Within moments of receiving the proposal the client had us start work on an official press release which claimed due to extenuating circumstances Kraft may have contributed to the shortage of chicken wings. The timeliness of the press release and the up coming Super Bowl only 4 days away, creative options were at a minimum. The only way to go was to go viral. The medium, YouTube.

With no time and a limited budget we hit the ground running. On the first day, together with Foundation, we sent film crews all over Chicago to get faux interviews and b-roll while another team did casting and set design. On the second day, we filmed the studio shots, edited all the footage, added graphics and in the early morning of Jan 31, 2009 we posted the clip to YouTube.

Once it was all said and done the video had about 300,000 hits on YouTube. Traffic came from blogs, Facebook postings and users looking for actual news stories about the wing shortage. More importantly, the client allowed us to move quickly and take advantage of a real news story and turn it to our advantage...and sell more ranch.

Watch video: America in Crisis

Agency: EurorsRSCG Chicago

Role: ACD

Date: 1/2009