I'm moving!

Since physically moving across town at the beginning of 2009, I've been in the mood to move other things as well. So in this spirit I am announcing that this blog is migrating over to Wordpress. The new blog can be found HERE. Eventually the blog will be integrated into Jakehollomon.com, which is in the works right now. I'll be officially launching my new site very soon.

Channel the Power...

This is what I gotta do...

Quicksperimentation...

It may or may not be surprising to hear that I don't draw everyday. I wish that I could spend a greater percentage of each day with pen in hand but it never seems to work out that way. A good number of days find me corresponding via email, kerning type, processing photos and doing other things pertaining to the operation of a freelance design career. Like any addiction, when I go too long without drawing I become irritable and disoriented. When I get to this point I've got to take out my sketchbook and bust out something completely pointless and totally fun. This is one of those drawings.

Back in the cut...

I'm back in action on my Mac Pro now that I've finally got the DSL hooked up in my new apartment. Coincidentally 55DSL just published my response and a higher rez version of my winning logo remix design on their site: 55DSL - Logo Remix I'm very excited as this is probably the most exposure a piece of my work has ever received. I'm thrilled to break into the world design stage. I will do my best to produce surprising work in 2009 and the years to come.

I've created a Vimeo account to showcase my video work: Micron Hero on Vimeo. The quality is much much better than YouTube. They don't compress their videos into oblivion. Right now my only vid is The Un-Stoppable Binary Bros. but there's much more to come in the future. I've got a few things up my sleeve.

I won!

The winner of the 55DSL x Cut&Paste logo remix competition was announced this week. It just so happens that the winner is none other than yours truly, Jake Hollomon. Below is the link to the winners page, as well as my official response.
55DSL Logo Remix Competition announcement

"It's surreal that I won. I'm honored to be chosen from amongst all of the worldwide entries. For the challenge, I wanted to create an image that would draw the viewer into its complexity, and then reward them for sticking around for a bit. I purposefully avoided any solid shapes, instead, building up the gestalt sense of a solid mass with baroque linework. Once I had my direction I improvised on the theme over the template of the logo. The hands are there to give the piece a human element. They represent the fact that although the output is digital, the thought and work that go into it are very human. Above all though I want to convey a sense of fun, because that's what drew me to the world of graphic communication in the first place.

I'm blown away that I was picked by such a talented and diverse panel of judges. These are juggernauts in their respective fields. As a devout follower of visual culture I have an immense level of respect for these guys. It takes a lot of hard work and raw creativity to get to their level. I tried not to think about the judges too much while designing, because in the end the piece has to appeal to the final panel of judges: the people. That being said, I'm just blown away at this point. These are all creatives of the highest caliber.

I can't wait to see the 55DSL 2010 collection that my piece will be a part of. To see my work around the world is the best thing I could ask for. I'm a clothing junkie to be honest, I can't wait to rock my shirt! I really hope this allows me to do more work within the apparel industry.

I need to thank my Dad for giving me my work ethic and creative eye, Pacific Northwest College of Art for giving me an education, the city of Portland Oregon for giving me continued inspiration and my family (especially my grandparents) for supporting all of my creative endeavors.

Cheers!"

-Jake

It's been a surreal day...

We've got our work cut out for us. It's been a tense day but a good one. There's really not much that can be said besides we're entering a new era as Americans. I hope to play my part to my utmost ability, whatever that part may be.

Cheers America!

Busy with The Dapper Cap...

I've finished up the front illustration w/type treatment for the latest Dapper flyer. This one is to promote a series of thursday evening DJ events that will run through the winter. We're bringing in DJs to spin on thursday nights from 5-9pm. We'll have beer from Widmer Bros. to lubricate the evening. There are sales up to 50% off on most of the hats in the shop. Come by this thursday and grab a beer with the Dapper crew, including myself. Try on some hats perhaps. More details to come.


I've been working with The Dapper Cap for about four months total now. It's been a valuable experience, developing a brand from scratch and then continuing to develop it. In my past branding experiences, I've handed the brand off to another designer at the end. With The Dapper Cap I am the art director, so I can continue to evolve the brand with each new piece of collateral. In the beginning, I designed the identity with flexibility in mind. Quite frankly a brand needs to be flexible in order to survive avoid the economic grim reaper. I picked our colors and logo to be distinct. A brand should be recognizable even without the logo present. In short, I know that year from now when I'm well into my career, I'll look back on The Dapper Cap identity and be proud of the work I produced.

Clear skies ahead...

It's been a busy month so far. Halfway through and I'm moved into my new place. I've been transferring my studio across town, working on Dapper Cap stuff most of the time. Stressful to say the least. On top of the first move I've done in over three year, I'm stricken with that terrible cold that's going around town. Cut&Paste is coming up very soon, March 7th exactly. I've been designing the collateral for the Portland competition. Postcards should be hitting the streets very soon. I'm also finishing up this flyer design for the Dapper Cap's series of DJ nights. Good times for sure.

Wood & Chrome...

Apologies for the lack of updates over the past week. It's been a busy one, with the holiday falling right in the middle of things. On top of work, Sarah and I have been moving into our new place up in North Portland. It's been quite a task getting our belongings moved across town. I'm having trouble sorting through all of my stuff.

We now have significantly more space to stretch out in. It's quite a relief to get out of studio apartments into a spacious two-bedroom flat. We've been combing Craigslist and the local thrift stores for furniture finds. There's a lot of space to fill, but we've settled on a design concept to guide us. Our motif is wood & chrome. Anything that doesn't vibe with this gets the boot. Just today I went to the William Temple House thrift store on NW Glisan and found three of these beautiful mid-century dining chairs for a total of $24. There are some amazing pieces out there for the price of a song.

A continuous source of inspiration is Apartment Therapy. It's a site that documents real folks' living spaces. There are some sublime ideas to be absorbed here. The site features apartment tours of peoples' homes. It's totally voyeuristic and inspirational at the same time. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm nerding out on having so much living space as a blank canvas.

Some drawings from Christmas...

I brought my box of prismacolor markers with me out to my parents' house where I had to stay over the holiday. The markers provide a very bold color treatment, and they have a tendency to bleed through the page. The solvents are so strong that they layer very well without muddying together. This is an experimental set, my favorite is the second one down. I laid down the plaid pattern first with my markers and then disregarded it, drawing observationally right on top. I really enjoy getting away from the controlled environment of the computer.

way too long...

The snow is driving us all a bit crazy...

It's been icy and snowing off and on for over a week now. Snowfall in most areas is well over a foot. I've been stuck inside for days now. One would think this would be a perfect opportunity to get some work done, but it's not coming so easily. The cabin fever is starting to set in. Hopefully things thaw out a bit before New Years Eve.

While stuck inside, I've been experimenting with patterns, both repeating and non-repeating. For a repeating pattern it's as easy as making a concise sketch, scanning it and tiling it in photoshop. For non-repeating I try to develop a set of rules in my head to guide my drawing. With the above example I just drew polygons, playing around with scale and layering. I've been working with patterns for a few years now. Over the past month I've been doing a lot of work for a wrapping paper company (more on that later...) Patterns have factored in heavily. For Christmas Sarah got me Over & Over: A Catalog of Hand-Drawn Patterns. By Mike Perry. It's a must-have for the library of any pattern aficionado. Perry has currated a vast collection of beautiful patterns by a diverse array of contemporary illustrator's and designers. It's really gotten me back into the pattern creation drive. Check it out, as well as the rest of Mike Perry's work. I'm a huge fan.

Snowed in...

It's soggy outside, so I'll stay in...

A week ago, Sarah and I looked at a two-bedroom apartment in North Portland. We decided it fit our criteria, ample space being the number one and aesthetic value being the second. We filled out the application form and paid the fee. The next day we heard from the leasing agent and the place fell into our hands. Saturday rolls around and I'm trying to get some client work off my plate, while slowly boxing up my earthly posessions. No moving takes place on saturday. Sunday hits and we're under the snow, people are sliding all over the place. If you have lived in a place that experiences substantial snow on a regular basis, I'm sure your municipality knows how to cope. Here in Portland we can handle the rain, but when the snow hits we all turn into idiots. People are slip-sliding all over the place like a bad round of bumper cars. Every time it snows here it seems there's a sledding related death, last year there were two. That being said, we haven't gotten a chance to move anything into our new place. I'm choosing to stay inside and get some work done and do some drawing.

Rip City!!

Sunday Snow...

I watch the kitchen while the others watch TV...

It's been too long since I've done some serious observational drawing. Lately I've been using my sketchbook to record thoughts on a certain project, prioritize tasks, thumbnail logo concepts, hand draw type, write down recipes and many other banal life tasks. I'm going to try to dedicate more time to patient observation and recording of my environment. This drawing was done not with my typical Micron pens, but a Staedtler Liquid Point 7 ballpoint pen. It lays down much too much ink for my liking, so I think I'll stick with my Microns when working in my sketchbook.

Testing...

BMX - War

BMX - War, Listen Here

I spend a decent amount of time in front of this here computer screen. As I work I'm constantly in search of new tracks that inspire me to keep at it. This band is a standout that has yet to garner significant hype here in the States. Hailing from Queensland, Australia, this quartet crafts bouncy pop that makes you want to throw on your Walkman and cruise down to 7-11 for a slurpee. Inspired by their music, I threw together this graphic to go with their track on my iTunes. It makes me wish I was in Australia at the beach right now...

BMX on myspace

in the spirit of Hitchcock...

Over the past few years I've been amassing a small library of reference material and clip art. When I go out to thrift shop I've gravitated more towards the bookshelves than the clothing racks. While I'm still on the quest for the perfect fitted shirt, my thrift library has grown. I could write a book about how graphic design is like producing music, and maybe I will. A designer should know the context that his work will be entering into. Like hip-hop, the design world has always sampled past material. With sampling you can subvert the original message into an idea that's entirely new. By juxtapozing a few old ads together, the copy takes on new meaning. It's all about context...