THE INITIAL BLOG

Coaster & promotional packaging for Victoire Belgian Beer...

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:21:45 -0400

Coaster & promotional packaging for Victoire Belgian Beer Bar & Bistro - www.victoirebar.com - very fun project and more to come from it.

Love this tree in Highland Park - hundreds of...

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:13:15 -0400

Love this tree in Highland Park - hundreds of “lovers” initials carved in but its historic branches take it all in stride.

Was honored to do a “barn themed” wedding invite set...

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:05:00 -0400

Was honored to do a “barn themed” wedding invite set recently - lessons learned, but came out great.

Spiderman Is My Co-Pilot

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:07:44 -0500

For an upcoming project, a colleague recently asked me how my inspiration from comic books turned into my current creative profession. I thought my answer would be a quick couple of sentences, and then I noticed I was writing a full fledged ode to my childhood as I typed…

Like every little boy, you beg your Mom to get you comic books when you’re a kid and you look at the pictures, throw them in a box and what not, then buy more. At some point I guess you’re supposed to grow out of them but I never did and so I kept collecting them (baseball cards too) and learned to take care of them, asses their growing value, etc. But it was so organic and I never really thought about why I dug them so much. Then I started to realize it was about the artwork, the writing, etc. I had been drawing since I was little but around 11/12 yrs. old I was taking it seriously and I started forming in my head the actions/images/stories I wanted my hands to draw. Like all good geeks, I was no good at sports so this was a great outlet.

My Dad encouraged my drawing, as an architect he had all of the illustration/drafting tools already. We’d go to comic shows, he’d buy top of the line Prismacolor marker sets and inking pens for us to share. He started to feel that magic from his childhood again because of all this. I’d use his drafting table and we’d go to more comic shows where I could meet the artists and we collected original pieces of comic art I still have today.

He eventually got me this great drafting table of my own. We set it up in the basement and I’d draw in the dark with the one single light on, listen to tunes, all while I was supposed to be doing homework. Even as a teenager I collected and drew despite all of the things that take over your life at that time. Marvel Comics published a couple of books that taught perspective, layout, creative direction and more and I studied those feverishly. I was considering applying to a school that taught specifically comic book art and layout. I was getting more into photography at this point too.

It was then later on at college when desktop publishing was really coming along. My Dad bought a Gateway and we then taught ourselves Photoshop and other software that was available. And it went from there.

I owe a lot to my Dad obviously for both intentional and subliminal lessons in layout, design, and creative possibilities. Everything I have created professionally started with the inspiration I found in comic books, their art, their construction, and the experience of bonding with my Father over all of it. I still have the first comic my Mom ever bought me. I still work at that drafting table today, albeit on my mac displays, but still into the night, searching, struggling to visualize what’s in my head.

Needless to say, a few questions turned into a great riff on my formative years, and it felt so good to formally get it down - thanks Julie and thanks Dad.

- T.C. Pellett, 1/5/13

Addy Never Sleeps

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 11:30:35 -0500

“You look tired.” - said everyone I talk to.

It’s probably the bags under the eyes but at least I came by them honestly. Because for our organization (like most volunteer based groups), strategizing, mobilizing, and awards show prep never stops. Luckily, neither does the energy or commitment to good ideas from the incredible event committee we’ve assembled. And being President of an organization like the RAF is the best and most influential “stress” I have ever known. It’s such an exciting time for us.

Over the past few months, I’ve talked to so many people in the creative community that I never have before. All with questions about what the ADDY awards could and should mean to them. Mostly, they wonder if they have a chance to win. My answer is always the same. Absolutely, everyone has a chance to win. Of course, your chance goes up exponentially if you do actually enter your work (deadline is Feb. 8th). There are also several benefits to participating besides the aspect of winning something. We’re poised to have the most diverse amount of entries we’ve ever had so don’t miss your chance to be a part of something.

So where else are we? Well, times change and so have the needs/scope of the RAF membership.Today we represent an incredible amount of professionals from all aspects of the advertising and marketing world as our responsibility to everyone from agencies to freelancers to clients has grown. And we are certainly better for the diversity we have decided to embrace. Realistically, our time could be spent solely on something like the ADDY Awards show, but we always want to do more and we hope you’ve been the recipient of some good interaction on our part whether it’s an RAF event, our growing network, or something like this blog post.

So let’s recap some quick things you should know:

The ADDY Awards - The one event you have 364 days to prepare for: + The Facebook inspiration board and call for entry portals have been very active. We can’t wait to see what you can offer both.

+ The theme, venue, and overall experience will ask; what inspires our diverse creative community?

+ The show will be shorter, we promise, in an effort to make sure you have more time celebrating your work and with your colleagues. It will also remain as interactive as ever, with a few extra ways to contribute, stay tuned.

+ The call for nominations for the Silver Achievement Award is out. This is a chance for you to nominate someone you believe has been a healthy influence on Rochester’s creative professionals and the community at large.

+ Remember that our show is THE local awards platform that promises both professionals and students alike the opportunity to be recognized regionally and nationally. Local gold and silver ADDY award winning entries are automatically eligible entries for the District 2 ADDY awards, winners in that competition can then forward their entries to the National ADDY Awards for consideration. For years, our community has had several agencies, freelancers, and students alike all achieve National ADDY recognition.

+ We have space available in the upcoming bound edition of the official ADDY Showbook as well. This is a unique reference and record of what this incredible creative community is capable of and there are plenty of opportunities for your work and services to be a part of that record. Join in our creative community’s biggest night and every day after that by advertising in the Official 2013 RAF ADDY Awards Showbook. To reserve your space today or if you have any questions, contact us at showbook@rafconnect.org

Like I said, it’s easy to focus on something as big and important as the ADDY Awards but we have more “20 Minutes & A Beer” dates coming up, as well as more “20 Minutes & A Pizza” events for students. We’re working on bringing in more speakers, holding more networking events just for freelancers, a possible film series, and even plans for an “inspired” RAF exhibit. Thank you for the support over the last few months and we have some good ideas for the ones ahead.

FYI - probably going to grab some of this stuff for the bags under the eyes, I’ll let you know how it works out. See you all the night of March 14th, if not before!

Sincerely, Pres. T.C.

Shoot me a message and say hello why don’t ya? = president@rafconnect.org

Everything ADDY = http://rafconnect.org/events/addys/

Originally published via Rochester Advertising Federation’s “RIF RAF” blog on 1/31/13

A Letter to the Editor of Esquire Magazine That Probably Won’t Be Published

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 18:49:25 -0500

Dear Esquire,

I have a question, but we’ll get to that. In your latest issue there was an article featuring actress Megan Fox, “Megan Saves Herself” aiming toward her double edged existence of being beautiful, exposed, etc. and then not wanting all of the negative attention.

I honestly wondered where the title of the piece would lead me and started reading, but I cried foul as soon as page 2. Megan Fox lives in a world I most likely will never know about and the amount of judgement that gets tossed her way has to be a lot of shit to deal with. My problem was this quote after a brief history of her first roles and breakout sexpot imagery via Transformers, “I felt powerless in that image. That devalued me. Because I wasn’t anything. I was an image. I was a pose.”

My question is this. If Esquire Magazine, purveyors of style, taste, and honest opinion, had asked Ms. Fox to pose in pictures that featured her in turtlenecks vs. lingerie as a way to honor her own words, would she agree?

Sincerely, your longtime subscriber,

- T.C. Pellett

Original Article: http://goo.gl/PD6mR

Smooth Splash Cooler: 2.5 Parts Hendricks Gin, 2 Parts OJ,...

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:00:34 -0500

Smooth Splash Cooler:

2.5 Parts Hendricks Gin, 2 Parts OJ, splash of cherry juice, shake with plenty of ice and pour contents in to a rocks glass, finish with some tonic water (or not), garnish with cherry and mint leaf (not pictured). Enjoy.

New. MySpace. Words I never thought would go together much less...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:10:03 -0500

New. MySpace. Words I never thought would go together much less my return to it. But so far, I love it. The display and the flow of information is really refreshing, check it out, and more to come.

Upcoming Party Favor…

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 11:15:12 -0500

Upcoming Party Favor…

I like this, as someone who says “just busy” when...

Sun, 21 Oct 2012 13:20:56 -0400

I like this, as someone who says “just busy” when someone asks how I’ve been, I know I’m guilty of that sometimes less than inspired answer. But where is the line between someone who’s very visible socially yet humble. Maybe only George Clooney knows for sure. The work. The struggle. The pride. It’s all something we forsake at the utterance of “busy.”

What are your thoughts?

Bought this #Moleskine to keep my head straight as Pres....

Tue, 09 Oct 2012 13:18:05 -0400

Bought this #Moleskine to keep my head straight as Pres. Intrigued to see what it looks like next Sept. @rafconnect (Taken with Instagram)

a-MUSE-d

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 09:49:00 -0400

My main site has long been past due on updating. And not even by my usual, “what was I thinking, this is crap,” self doubting design/branding exercises.

I’m not a developer. I understand code like high school Spanish, there’s some familiarity but I’ll never be conversational. So it has always meant a lot of file changes and working with either iWeb or Coda. I had yet to invest in Dreamweaver like most people already have. WordPress was on its way to being my next learn-it-yourself adventure until Adobe Muse emerged from beta testing this year. As I’ve already invested the net worth of a small country into Adobe products, I was more than hopeful of the InDesign meets Dreamweaver idea.

Passion for design and passion for code don’t always exist in the same individual. In a world full of template sites and even the very positive flavors.me, people can easily forget about strategy, design, and functionality. Just because you can have a web site in minutes doesn’t mean you should. So I understand what Adobe is trying to accomplish, they want to build a bridge between some disciplines. Initially the launch of Muse raised some dust as developers complained that their world was being invaded by print designers/wannabe developers. Personally, people just need to get over themselves and of all people, developers should understand change. And designers should realize they need to evolve too.

“You must unlearn, what you have learned.” - Yoda

Currently, people have to be able to do more as an individual. Neither myself, nor my clients, have the time for me to sit in a room somewhere learning code. And as I would love to be able to hire a team of people for a particular project, it’s not always possible.

Enter Muse.

I decided to update my site with a temporary page as an excuse to take the new software out for a spin. With the amount of code I do recognize, and a platform that flows like many Adobe applications I’m already familiar with, my first endeavor went great. In about 2 hours I had everything set and a comfortable workflow.
Here’s a short list of what I liked the most so far:

Web fonts courtesy of TypeKit
Non-flash slideshow widgets
Efficient hot link management
Alerts that tell you how a file may have to be changed before placing
A visual interface that allows you to find what you need quickly
The preview panel
Easy HTML file export
FAQ had everything I needed when I got stuck

I’m sure I’ll discover more in the coming weeks and I’m already looking forward to it.
Have you had experiences with Muse or want to weigh in on the politics of design and code? Let me know if you want to chat.

Here’s the link to the temporary site: www.tcpellett.com

It looks like a lot of people were upset that a company decided...

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 12:08:28 -0400

It looks like a lot of people were upset that a company decided to use one of its most iconic, American products to make a statement about equality. Can a person’s faith and supposed love of all people really be toppled by a cookie? I guess I’m just a little upset in turn that a cookie has more intelligence and understanding than some of the people who may eat it.

lonerangers: Bat-Logos

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 17:37:55 -0400

lonerangers:

Bat-Logos

Tweeter Madness!

Tue, 29 May 2012 09:35:00 -0400

Recently my boss shared with me an OPSEC (Operation Security) guide or “Twitter Smart Card” explaining the do’s and don’ts of using social networks. Apparently it was developed by a “defense solutions” company in Fort Walton Beach, Florida for professional use and via an e-mail chain, was now being shared as a guide for parents and children as well.

The whole reason he shared it was to see me explode in disbelief, which I did. It was clearly developed as an internal company document via their CYA Dept. and should probably not have been passed along as a parental guide.

As a disclaimer, I’m not a parent and I can’t even begin to imagine the pitfalls of trying to raise a child/teenager/young adult in today’s world of cyber bullying, shared content, etc. However, there’s being smart and there’s overreacting. I would imagine that if I did have kids I would try and steer them toward the realities of this world while trying to keep them safe at the same time. Always easier said than done.

Now before the fear that this will erupt into a post on how to raise a/your kid, I promise these are thoughts on the realities of social media and why people use/depend/thrive on it to begin with vs. the “smart card” I was handed.

Social media has brought us another classic case of a previous generation trying to “teach” the next generation about something they have already mastered on their own. The cat is socially out of the bag. And to be fair, the piece did have many very good tips on privacy settings and responsibility.

The problem I had was when it became about content. Here are some “rules” that left me scratching my head.

“Only establish and maintain connections with people you know and trust.”

From a safety perspective this one has its obvious roots, but at a certain point, Twitter can become a fantastic source for direct content that we can learn from and interact with. If monitored, shared, and discussed, I would imagine it’s a real pipeline to a kid’s emerging interests.

“Never post smartphone photos and don’t use your face as a profile photo, instead, use cartoons or avatars.”

Photos are now made to be posted. End of story. If you’re identity has to be that shielded, maybe you shouldn’t be using social media yet. Again, if monitored and talked about, why shouldn’t you teach your child the pros of building a trustworthy, online identity. But hey, I’ve used a superhero or two for my avatar, so remember it’s supposed to be fun, not an edict.

“DO NOT connect to Facebook.”

If you don’t understand why this is completely ridiculous to teach or to hope for in these times, I’m not sure you’re even on the “interwebs” reading this blog post right now.

“Avoid using hashtags in updates to avoid being indexed and associated with a topic.”

That’s the point. Tweeting is a new level of conversation to be indexed and associated with others. Your child will tweet someone or use a #hashtag before they will ever shake a new contact’s hand or call them on the phone.

“DO NOT upload links to personal photos or websites on Twitter.”

Again, you’re missing the point if you adhere to such blanket statement about Twitter. Sharing content means sharing photos and web links. Admittedly the loudest “duh!” I uttered while reading this.

“DO NOT provide personal details regarding your whereabouts and activities in your posts.” & “DO NOT allow Twitter to use your location on mobile devices.”

Always a good idea, no matter how old you are. But your kids can still share this info if they do it with your guidance and a good head on their shoulders. DM the info vs. broadcasting it for starters. More and more apps, media, and social networks rely on location services. Use them wisely as you would for something like Foursquare in combination with Twitter and you can see the positive possibilities.

I realize that in a few years, this post and Twitter itself may have gone the way of the Dodo, but I’ve posted a link to the document itself so you can see the whole piece. Let me know if you have any thoughts on it or if I’ve missed anything, because I’m still learning too. As we all should be. Enjoy

TWITTER

You are not safe.

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:27:29 -0400

You are not safe.

Possible ODDY entry next year.

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:22:07 -0400

Possible ODDY entry next year.

Working for the Parks Dept. means you get some interesting...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:40:00 -0400

Working for the Parks Dept. means you get some interesting projects to work on. Sometimes it’s about Sturgeon. Here’s a early look.

Drinks and fonts I have recently known.

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:16:02 -0400

Drinks and fonts I have recently known.

I first came across this company via the Fast Company Design...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 11:55:00 -0400

I first came across this company via the Fast Company Design Blog (essential reading) as a way to not only be more organized but via a more beautiful interface. I was keeping tabs but never signed up until they offered a 50% deal off any subscription. Admittedly, more organization for my projects is a good idea so I signed up for a whole year at a great price. So stay tuned and let’s see if the user experience is as good as the design.

Talk soon - T.C.