Food Photography that Pays!

Well after spending the past two years cooking and taking pictures of food for my blog, Chef Fresco, I finally got a gig to get paid to do it. Maestro's Bar and Bistro was in need of some food shots and they looked to yours truly to handle it. Below are a few of my favorites.

GPS Ad for AAA

Thought I'd do a quick post showing an ad I designed for AAA. The goal for this ad was to show all of the Charlotte-area AAA locations. The higher-ups (the one's with all the great ideas) first wanted to an ad with a giant map showing (in detail) two counties complete with roads and street names, all 12 branch office locations, their addresses, their phone numbers, and a small snippet describing physical landmarks near the location. But it did not stop there... they also wanted a coupon for their Car Care Centers, a guarantee message, and a ginormous headline announcing the twelve locations. I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a challenge. Luckily after trying the best I could to accommodate this multitude of information in a clean, designerly manor they realized it was too much. After some re-thinking I convinced them to try a more conceptual ad showing all the locations on GPS screen (something auto-related, like AAA) with all the little bubbles popping up on the screen giving the reader a since AAA surrounded the area. Then if the reader wanted additional location information I drove them to visit the website for more information on the exact whereabouts.

The trickiest part if this ad was recreating the GPS screen accurately in Photoshop. It took some time but 200 layers later I felt like it looked pretty realistic.

Couple Designs

Just thought I'd drop a quick update of a couple designs I've completed in the past few days. My good buddy Rich needed an invitation for his rehearsal dinner BBQ. I whipped up a southern-styled square invite that screams pork butt.

The other image is a promo offer I created for AAA's Show Your Card & Save program. The ad was placed in a Blue Cross Blue Shields 5k race program. The director of this program wanted to put together a generic AAA piece that touted the standard service benefits. I was able to convince her to narrow the ad down to one, pertinent message that would resonate well with the running audience. I also created a fantastic runner with joint pain illustration. That's all for now. The hyperlinks go to the full size on Flickr.

AAA Membership Card Renderings

So when I first came to work at AAA Carolinas the cards renderings that were being used in the creative were awful. I don't what they were thinking! I know the previous designer... and if by chance you ever read this Justin, please don't take offense. Anyway, a couple months back it was requested that I change an expiration date. I decided to re-render them all together. All of this was done in Photoshop and I feel like they came out pretty well. I even used some rad smoke brushes on this Panthers version. I did a whole bunch of different views but I'll only share this one perspective. This is two posts now in one week... I'm on a roll!

AAA Fan Cruise Logos

So I have decided that I suck at posting my design work. On the off chance that I do post something you'll be in for a real treat. That's my new mantra for this blog. No more apologies, just post when I find the time and feel like it. AAA has been buzzing with all types of big ideas followed by lack of budget but at least I feel like I'm working on a big project in the beginning. AAA Vacations latest ambition was to create a fresh new marketing campaign for their 2011 Carolina Panthers Fan Cruise. It does not look like this will be a very wide spread campaign but none the less I put 100 percent into the logo ideas. So here they are.

I had to incorporate a lot of stuff into one logo. They wanted the AAA logo, a football feel, the Carolina Panthers logo, a cruise element, a Bahamas feel and a lot of color. Well I could not accomplish all of these into one without it looking like total crap so I gave them a variety, each with their own strengths. The first image is the version they decided to go with while the others are alternate options I provided them with. I'm pleased with their final selection. I feel the mark has a strong football feel and will appeal well to the target audience.

Enerdyne Power Systems Website

I recently completed a web design project for a local NC company, Enerdyne Power Systems. Enerdyne is a energy company that utilizes the methane gas emitted from decomposing trash to generate power. Methane gasses emitted from our landfills are collected, then converted to natural gas to power generators and offset energy utilized by the landfill itself or surrounding industries. Enerdyne wanted a site that would give them a cutting edge look and feel while also organizing all their past projects, photos and awards in a easily navigable concise site. The look and feel of the site was inspired from some previous work I had done for their trade show materials. I wanted the two to feel consistent—a staple in creating a well designed brand.

QSI Logo Design

Time for another logo design. I've been so swamped lately—which is why I have not been posting anything at all! With planning a wedding, buying a house and trying to balance a full plate of freelance along with a full-time job is not easy. I finished up this QSI logo a couple of weeks ago for a local Security Systems company that also specialized in home networking. The client was looking to shorten the name to QSI rather than Quantum Security Innovations. They looked to me to harness their services and give the old identity a face lift. Below are samples from the logo designs and stationary suite.











Here are some of the versions that did not make the cut.