SCHWARTZROCK GRAPHIC ARTS

Journal Cover

2008-07-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

Remember the Four Horsemen of Revelation drawing I did a number of years ago? What made that assignment challenging was the need for each horse and rider to be used separately but also work well as a single composition. Dayspring had a similar need for their new "tween" journal cover. Each of these five characters was designed as a group and built independently to be used by themselves inside the book. I also was able to create my own type... which I love to do.

Being Challenged

2008-07-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

Recently, a favorite art director of mine, John Eastman, and I were working together against a tight deadline. John requested an illustration and I provided the one below. In the back of my mind I thought it was a little cartoony for the subject matter but I liked it over all.

John also liked it but asked me to push it a little further. He wanted to see more depth in the composition. He was right. The second illustration was the result and we both liked it much better.

You don't hear artists raving about art directors very often, but honest and quality relationships make a world of difference in this business. Treasure it when you find them.

Fresh Start Logo

2008-07-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Recently my church consolidated all of their recovery ministries under one umbrella. They asked me to create a mark for "Fresh Start"... a fitting name. The idea of sprouting seed seemed to me to be a perfect metaphor. And since it seems that all church logos need a fish or a cross in them, I made the "t" in the word start do extra duty. Hey, it was low hanging fruit.

Alzheimer's Flash Cards

2008-06-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

I just finished these illustrations for a series of Alzheimer care flash cards. I have a difficult time defining the difference between my logo/icon work and the kind of illustration I do. What would you consider these images: icons or illustrations?

From the Archives

2008-06-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

I was recently paging through some old work of mine and came across this unused logo. It was created sometime around 1993 for a floral shop in the Foshay tower, downtown Minneapolis. The client chose a different mark from the selection we presented... and I liked that mark as well. I consider this one, however, to be one of my all-time favorites. I just love the delicate lines.

Icons vrs. Logos

2008-06-09T07:49:00.000-07:00

For me, icons are much more difficult to create than a single logo. The difficulty isn't so much with any one image, but rather, rendering each so that they look like they are part of the same family. The subject matter for each icon can vary greatly, but the style in which they are rendered must remain the same.

Poster

2008-06-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

Here's a recent image created for a poster. The end client is a large beverage manufacturer and distributer. The art director wanted it to capture the feeling of the old Russian WWII posters. Luckily, red is also the client's color.

Best Laid Plans...

2008-05-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

An art director requested a couple drawings for a Christmas lintecular ornament. Lintecular is that funny plastic that when moved up and down, you can see a different image. The art director's idea was to have the baby Jesus with his arms out wide in the manager. The alternative image would have Jesus on the cross, with his arms out wide. I added emphasis by having the cross wood an element in the manger scene as well as keeping some of the cloth folds the same. I thought it was a wonderful idea. The plan was scrapped yesterday by the marketing department.

Hush Hush

2008-05-15T07:52:00.001-07:00

This year I've been fortunate to work on some high-profile projects. Target has graciously allowed me to work on some small, but fun elements promoting their movie tie-in products for Speed Racer, Hulk and most recently Clone Wars. Several other clients have requested me to agree to non-disclosure agreements as well.

So as much as I would love to show you the work, I'll leave you with this fun piece instead... but I won't say who it was for! (:

Illustrator Wizardry

2008-05-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

For most of my career, I've been a Macromedia Freehand devotee. Even though Illustrator has been an industry favorite, I remained stubbornly committed to Freehand. Not long after Freehand was bought by Adobe and subsequently discontinued, I realized I simply must make the switch. Now, having made the transition almost a year ago, I'm in love with Illustrator. I especially love the transparency and dropshadow capabilities. To achieve those results in Freehand, I needed to import elements from Photoshop... time consuming and awkward. I also love knowing that Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign are siblings. The transitions are seamless.

Logos Galore

2008-04-30T13:06:00.003-07:00

As you know, I've been uploading logos to www.LogoLounge.com. Bill Gardner made my day recently when he called to say that some of these marks will find their way into his next book collection, Logo Lounge 5.

To celebrate, I designed a digital poster of nearly 200 logos and icons created mostly from the last 7 years of my now 20-year career. If you would like a PDF of the 11" x 17" poster, please email me and I'll shoot you the file as soon as possible.

Limited Color

2008-04-28T12:34:00.001-07:00

Here's an image I just finished intended to be letterpressed. If you're not familiar with the letterpress process, visit www.StudioOnFire.com to see some lovely examples. Letterpress printing is very tactile and very beautiful to feel and see.

I don't handle printing much anymore, but when I was a graphic designer years ago, we would regularly select colored paper and print Pantone inks. After we started using Epson printers (with white paper) to mock-up projects for client approval, and 4-color printing became much more economical, our design solutions evolved into ever increasingly 4-color process designs printed on white stock. Today, where full color is everywhere, I think it's interesting that limiting your designs to one or two colors actually allows your work to stand out in the crowd.

Moose Heads

2008-04-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

To follow up an earlier post, the Moose Head Hunt was held last night at the B.A.N.K. restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. Nearly 30 Moorhead State University design alumni showed up to reconnect with old friends and pay tribute to "Moose", Professor Phil Mousseau. Those in attendance were, Karen Schwarz, Amy Crews, Bret Hummel, Michael Byzewski, Susan Hofmeister, John Tschohl, Cory and Jessica Docken, Chris Cornejo, Jeff Johnson, Cedric Hohnstadt, Mark Lofthus, Travis Olson, Jon and Amber Erickson, Brent Gale, Eric Vermilyea, Jason Rysavy, Karl Peters, Nicki McCracken and Charles Youel, Scott Thares, Sarah (Nelson) and Jon Forss, Barry McCullough, Roland Eidahl, Sandy Mousseau, along with my wife, Leah and I.

I was struck by how much impact one person can have in this world. This group was just a fraction of the talented designers that came through Phil's program... and yet these alumni are some of the most talented and successful designers in the Twin Cities.

Click on the photos for a larger view.

These photos were from my own camera. Sandy Mousseau shot many more and when I receive them, I'll update this post with selected images from her.

Two Birds with One Illustration

2008-04-15T13:01:00.001-07:00

Von Glitschka (Vonster.com) asked me to design "something" using one of his texture designs. I believe the point was to use the illustration/design as an example of how his textures can be used in commercial graphic design. Von is one of the best illustrative designers in the U.S. so I wanted very much to find an appropriate project to showcase his cool texture. Luckily, a new client of mine asked for a fresh Christmas design to be used in their new holiday bag collection. I was able to incorporate "Thorn Blossom" into the border treatment. Click on the image below to get a much closer look at the detail.

Missed The Mark

2008-04-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

I was asked to produce one idea for a new investment company. From all of my questioning, I thought I had a bead on what the client wanted and needed... and I delivered this idea. The watering can, I thought, was a great metaphor for the tender care needed to grow investments. The client didn't agree.

Variety

2008-04-10T05:46:00.000-07:00

As I've been going through my archive looking for logos to submit to LogoLounge (see older post), I came across these six ideas I presented for a company called Mosaic Builders. I can't help but notice the variety of styles I incorporated. As I've evolved from primarily a graphic designer to primarily an illustrator, I'm finding my solutions for logos now are more illustrative in nature.

Isn't it funny that not having a style is advantageous as a graphic designer, but harmful as an illustrator?

Macy's Girl

2008-04-09T14:08:00.000-07:00

Here's an illustration I just finished for an animation proposal for the department store giant.

Moose Head Hunt

2008-04-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

I didn't hang out much during college. I was in such a hurry to get out into the work force, I missed out on the great experience of collaborating with the other design students. I deeply regret that mistake.

As part of my company "re-boot", I've been making an effort to reconnect with classmates from Minnesota State University-Moorhead. These reunions have been so fun I have been spearheading the effort to do this on a much larger scale... a real reunion of all alumni from Phil Moosseau's design program (Moose Heads for short). Here's the invite.

Logo Lounge

2008-03-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

As a logo designer, I purchase logo books as a source for creative inspiration. Recently, I've been excited by the Logo Lounge series of books. Being a little dense, I didn't notice that the books are an extension of their www.LogoLounge.com website. It's now a database of over 70,000 marks that can be accessed much like you do stock photography... the only difference being these marks are not for sale. I've since joined and uploaded over 200 logos and icons of my own. Membership does cost $100 to view or submit marks, but for designers like me, this site and subsequent books are a valuable source for inspiration.

IT Hero

2008-03-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

This was a quick illustration I did recently. My client wanted a geeky IT character looking something like a super hero. This is my solution for a compromise between geek and hero.

Bicycle Shop

2008-03-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

Last week I was able to work on a logo for a new bicycle shop. The client, Jeremy Baker, is a veteran of bike repair and sales. As we talked about his new business, I was amazed at how clearly he understood what he wanted and why. The concept of a pulse rate was ideal for him... both in representing physical health/energy and as something that would stand out in the competitive marketplace. I tried my best to deliver that idea in a bold mark that would work well with the many different applications to active wear and signage.

Silver Lining

2008-03-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

In an earlier post, I unveiled a logo for a new branding company named 3.2.1.

Recently we noticed a local competitor had a similar rocket shape in their mark. The difference in the whole look and feel of the logos are considerably different, but we didn't want to give even the remote impression that we copied someone else. So, I went to work refining our mark... and I'm glad I did. Even though I was very happy with the earlier mark, this one is much better.

Logos as a focus

2008-03-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

I love to work on a variety of projects, but I think my strongest gift is crafting logos. Most creative agencies have talented designers... as talented as they are, they are not illustrators. So, from time to time, there is a need for a logo or icon with a more "organic" feel. Filling that need is where I see my niche.

Here's two recent examples for Ascent Marketing out of Boulder, Colorado.

Whew!

2008-02-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

Here's a piece I've been working on for some time... and today it was finally approved. This final version is quite a bit different from the original version. It evolved in each revision stage. A heavily-revised project usually doesn't end up being a portfolio piece, but this one is an exception... partly due to the competent art direction from Design Center's Scott Di Girolamo.

This image will wrap around the front cover and onto the inside front cover.

Something different

2008-02-05T10:23:00.001-08:00

I've noticed that I haven't published a blog in over a month. January has been a busy month with a lot of work from Target. I've been helping to create various elements for their Speed Racer and Hulk movie promotions... which I can't show until after the movies come out later this year. While we wait, here's a recent project that has been fun.

I was asked recently to create some illustrations with icons of recyclable items for a publication promoting Dakota County's recycling program. The initial cover image (above) was the first hurdle. Once we got approval on this image, I moved onto the chapter illustrations below which focus on categories of recycling. Scott Shore, owner of Lure Design (www.LureDesign.net) gave me some great art direction and will finish the pages with his graphic design details.