This printed mailer was recently sent out to residents of Knox County (up here in Northeast Missouri). It measures 8.5 x 11 inches and was mailed flat. Talk about massive impact! I hope the size, message and layout are the perfect combination to get people to the grand opening on April 14!

The branding was followed through in this mailer by using the colors from the logo, the same typeface and complementary visual elements (rounded corners, clean icons and small triangle pointers). I mentioned this before – but working with Knox Community Center has been a great experience in creating a cohesive set of visual material – everything from color choice, logo, website, and (very soon) letterhead, envelope and business cards.

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.

One of the most important reasons to hire a professional designer is for that expertise in communicating visually and cohesively. The goal in your next project should be to communicate your message as simply as possible.

One of my favorite quotes on design was actually said by a jazz bassist – Charles Mingus. He says, “Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” That quote is printed on the back of our business cards and we keep that idea front and center in all of our projects.

Fee free to contact us if you have a project in mind where we can help you make the complicated simple.

From inception to realization

Previously, I shared the logo that Creative Improv designed for Knox County Community Center. Well today, I’m happy to share the brand new website that we designed and developed for them! Check it out here! It was really fun having the chance to design everything from a logo to a website. Next up, we are working on stationery and a few brochures.

The new website!

For the web nerds

The website is built using WordPress and HTML5 and CSS3. The CSS3 effects include navigation arrows that slide in on hover and the footer Facebook button fades in on hover. Other CSS3 effects include the orange buttons with border-radius and gradients applied.

It seems that Google Local Business Listing has fallen under the radar, at least in my sphere of influence. So I wanted to share some advice to anyone who runs a small business or provides a marketable service.

What is it? Google Local Business Listing is a way to get your business on Google Maps and subsequently Google search results…for free.

Why is this important? When someone searches for your product or service along with your city, your business will show up, top ‘o the list.

Localized. As I mentioned above, you get free local advertising on Google. When folks search a keyword plus your city, local businesses are displayed above  the regular search results.

Build Street Cred. Whether you sell cheeseburgers or wedding dresses, Google Local Business Listings is one big way to build your street cred. How? Customers can write reviews of your product or service for others to see. Don’t be shy about asking customers to write a review for you on Google. We’re not. This is also an incentive to provide top notch service and products to your customers, because you may receive bad reviews too!

How much does it cost? Nothing is free these days… but this sure is and…

It works! At least for us. We’ve got two clients so far by using Google Local Business Listings. Google has begun sending out periodic stats on how many hits you receive from your listing as well! Now, you might be asking….

How do I sign up? Go here and login with your Google account and simply fill a few things out!

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where are you from? What do you do for a living?

My family and I reside in Kirksville, MO where I work as a full-time graphic artist. In my freelance time, I contribute and license photos and illustrations through a stock agency. When I’m not working on a stock art project, I enjoy creating photo illustrations for contests, personal projects or clients.

Do you have any formal training?

I graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. I studied art and took several classes in printmaking and graphic design. My formal training provided a solid foundation of art fundamentals, however my work experience has allowed me to discover and learn so much more.

Describe your workspace.

The wall art for my home office includes a mix of my work, Aubrey Beardsley prints and Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, which hangs above my desk. In the painting, I picture myself as the guy at the counter, enjoying a coffee and the peace of the moment. My typical work tools include; Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, my WACOM table and a coffee.

Describe your creative process. What steps do you normally follow?

All projects involve an idea phase, where I am thinking of a concept and direction for a project. After deciding on a concept, there is planning, sketches and then execution of the project.

I recently created a walkthrough of one of my photo illustrations that outlines the process I use for creating my work. You can read more here.

Work hard. Always have a project, this will develop your creative experience and sharpen your software skills.

What motivates you?

My motivation comes from a desire to create. I want to make something that I enjoy and make it better than I could make it before. I am a curious person with a lot of interests and experimenting with a variety of media and applications is refreshing.

What is your advice to others just starting in your field?

Work hard. Always have a project, this will develop your creative experience and sharpen your software skills.

What do you do to market yourself and/or your business?

I maintain a portfolio site and blog at JamieC.com. I post recent work and links to my various social media pages. I also maintain a Youtube channel where I post videos that show the process of my photo illustration work.

Who are your heroes in your field?

Bert Monroy has been a source of inspiration for many years. I’ve had the opportunity to meet Bert at Photoshop World and I’ve watched and read a lot of his training that is available. Bert’s love for work, attention to detail and passion for light is admired.

What do you do in your spare time?

I have a close family and we spend a lot of time together.

Can you share a few of your favorite pieces and give a bit of background for each?

“Pen & Path – Isolated Adventures”
This is a photo illustration I created for a Photoshop design challenge. The challenge was to use a tool, menu item or anything from Photoshop and make a Blu-ray cover based on that theme. I chose to use the pen tool and paths, and then related the classic tortoise and hare characters to those items.

“Dark Matters”
I photographed a series of stock photos of an assassin model and I wanted to feature one of the images from the series in a photo illustration. The result depicts a woman facing off against a werewolf around his lair.

“The Dibbuk Box”
This is a book cover I designed for a client. The book is based on my client’s experience owning a haunted Jewish wine cabinet. I photographed the dibbuk box and few of the elements, the remaining images are stock photography.

In the next few days, I will be posting the very first blog post in an ongoing series called Conversations with a Creative. Who is a creative? In my eyes, it is anyone from a writer to a fine artist. Anyone who works in a creative field or who needs to think creatively to do what they love.

My goal with these posts is twofold: First, I want to feature creative colleagues of mine. I want to do this because I often learn something new and gain inspiration or knowledge from working with them. Second, I want this to be an ongoing, written record of the creative people I encounter. Also – what better way to say ‘thanks’ to those colleagues for being an inspiration to me?

So in the next few days, look for the first in the series. It will feature a graphic artist who creates inspiring photo-illustrations.

2011 was a great year for Creative Improv in many ways. We connected with so many folks to complete some awesome projects. We also grew our business thanks to you: our friends, fans and clients. Without further ado, here is what Creative Improv was up to in 2011:

• We created 5 logos
• We created 10 websites
• We created 7 HTML emails
• We created 1 motion graphics piece (featured at a large trade show)
• We grew Creative Improv by 18% this year (and 48% from our first year in business)
• We connected with 24 clients on projects big and small

If you are reading this, THANK YOU. I mean it.

Thank you to the people who ‘like’ us on facebook. Thank you to the 24+ folks who contacted us this year to partner with us on a creative project. Thank you for taking an interest in what Michael and I are up to at Creative Improv.

Thanks and Happy New Year!

A few months ago we were asked to help create a brand presence for the community center being built in Edina, MO. I was thrilled to help out and see what I could bring to the table.

In our first meeting, we began brainstorming ideas for what the logo should portray. The most important question that we tackled was to come up with some adjectives to describe what the community center is all about. The thing that really made our light bulbs turn on was the phrase ‘center of the community’ and ‘coming together’. The key here was to keep talking and honing in on what this community center is all about.

A while back, we had the idea to create a short ad that would showcase a few completed websites and have a quick call to action at the end. Here’s a quick tip if you own a business or provide a service: when advertising your business, always assume we know nothing about it and try to tell us what it’s about in less than 30 seconds. This is called your ‘elevator pitch’.

Here’s an example: I’m sometimes amazed when folks that I know well don’t know much about what Creative Improv is or what we do (of course, on the flip-side, I’m sometimes blown away that people know everything about Creative Improv). Always sharing your ‘story’ via social media, in conversation, etc will ensure that your friends know exactly what you and your business are all about.

Craig Allen asked us to develop a new logo, stationery set and website for his social media marketing business. The website is concisely one-page and features custom features throughout. This project included a brand new logo and color palette that were integrated through the web and stationery.