Phil E. Eichinger is an actor, model, that has been in many commercials such as NHL “Opening Night”, NHL ” Rival” and the Triple Play OK Cable commercial. On top of commercials, he has done a load of TV shows such as Flight Of The Conchords, Soaps, Law and Order SVU and much more. Phil didn’t have a website and when I asked him if he wanted one he jumped right on the idea and agreed.

Where we started

When I first talked to Phil – he wanted his website to ‘pop’. He wanted bright colors and something to get the attention of whoever it viewing the website. Below are a few samples I cooked up to get an idea of what he was really looking for. These were meant to act as the header to his website.

When I showed him that he said the colors are there, but he wanted more. I then asked him to send me a head shot that I can use for a background on the site. He sent me this:

I removed the background for starters and then with some Photoshop techniques I was able to get Phil to have black and white spots.

When that was finished, I created a watercolor effect.

Phil loved the concept of it so I went ahead and added a background to it and started working on the layout.

With more work I ended the final images like so:

Phil wanted his layout to be extremely easy to read and not to have a lot going into it.

His website can be found here: Phil E. Eichinger
The website is still being constructed and edited.

When I was contacted by Bill, he had asked me to design him a custom Blackberry Theme which I did. After that was finished, I starting talking to Bill regarding other needs he had and he mentioned he was writing a reference guide and would need a logo for it. Since then, I have designed Bill’s logo for his new book based around a comp he had sent to me.

Below is a brief statement from Bill regarding his reference guide.

The Cardiac Catherization Laboratory Quick Reference Guide will be geared towards a cardiovascular professional who work in the specialized area of medicine.
The pocket guide will cover medical procedures, specialty products and medicine dosages and information which are used in Cardiac Catherization Laboratory. It will be used by cardiologists, medical students, nurses and technicians alike. I am currently working on electronic versions for the Blackberry and Apple platforms, in addition, I hope to locate a publisher who will publish a book version of the guide.

The guide will be for sale in about 4-6 months at www.cathlabguide.com.

Bill had asked me to create him a template for his website which is what I am currently working on.

I had talked briefly talked about a few project I had to start off the new year. BluPoint USA was one of them – that I had finished last month. Due to some issues, the time had to be cut and their pur CSS site turned into a table site. It loads much slower – but it was something they needed and time wasn’t there. I was asked to redesign their layout into a more update layout that with better tabs for links. We had also talked about new flash but that was later dropped due to budget restraints. Below is an image of their old layout verses their new one. If you would like to take a peek at their website, please visit http://www.blupointusa.com.

Click to enlarge

For those who are watching me on facebook you know that I had asked you to visit heli-works.com and bookmark the URL. As of right now the website is their old website. Their new layout and website is in the works and is currently being coded and filled in with content. Below are various logo designed I did for Heli-Works with a brief description on a few of them of why I did it, and what the outcome was.

What is Heli-Works?

Heli-Works is an offshore support to the oil industry. They are a bell helicopter service center. In other words, they rebuild helicopters.

Current Logo

Before we get started here is their current logo.

Their current logo doesn’t really scream what they do. I was asked to design a logo what is for upbeat, helicopter friendly, but also keep it “within the family”.

Logo Design(s)

Now for the design concept for their new logo. Below area  few logos that got dumped because they didn’t like it or it just didn’t fit their style.

This design features a ‘helicopter blade’ spinning around their company name. The manager’s at Heli-Works wanted something more – something different.

I took an image of one of their helicopters, cut it out of the background, and made it black. They still wanted to see more as they were not really happy with this one.

This set of logos replicates the blade of the helicopter spinning. They werent really looking for something like this. Back to the drawing board.

I went with a different approach to the blades of a helicopter.

Maybe full circles was something they were looking for. Well, they never really answered me on this one.

I went back to the blade spinning effect when I got a comment about it. They said they liked it, but wanted something more. They wanted an H to be involved somewhere.

New Logo

This is their new logo. It incorporated three blades and an H.

Please subscribe to my blog to get an update on their website layout.

I had used Therese as my wedding videographer when I got marred in April of 2008. From the way she did business to the way our video came out, I knew Therese meant business. She was also voted to be one of the top videographers in NJ. I visted Therese’s website and noticed she was trying to run a video blog with WordPress. When I visited her blog I noticed she was using the standard/default wordpress theme with no color to match her website. I contact Therese immediately and this is what I came up with.

The Norm

WordPress is a very powerful tool for those who are interested in blogging. I use WordPress and I absolutely love it. You are able to customized just about everything on your website from the color, to the layout, to the plugins. On a fresh install of wordpress, you get your default theme (which is pictured to the left) and nothing more but one standard post and comment. It is extremely plain and very unattractive. Therese’s blog looked identical to the default blog with a lot of large black boxed throughout the left side of it. Those boxes were the videos she had. I came in and changed a lot of it, see below.

The Update

After contacting Therese, I found out her main objective for her blog was to host video and share it with other brides and grooms. It was also a way to share her editing skill for anyone who is looking for a videographer for their wedding. After a lot of thought I knew there had to be something different in her blog. I didn’t want there to be large video boxes throughout the entire her entire website so I thought small, widescreen, boxes would work best. When that widescreen box is pressed, instead of it loading the post, it fades out the background and plays the video on there on the site without the viewer doing nothing more but grab some popcorn and watch.  Her new blog can be seen by going to http://www.tfarrowfilms.com. I look forward working with Therese in the near future on more projects she has lined up.

If you are running a wordpress blog, or video blog, and need some updating, send me over a quote. While you at it, make sure to see what others are saying.

I do believe this will be my first post of the new year so before I go into what is changing, please allow me to wish you all a happy new year. To my readers in 2009, I thank you. To all of my upcoming 2010 readers, welcome! It is now to time let you know where I have been, what I have been up to, and where I decide to go.

At the end of 2009, I got a few jobs. One being from BluPoint USA. This company was named something else before I was asked to change their logo on all of their sites. Unfortunately, their in house graphic designer did their logo for them. They freelanced me to update their logo through out their website – which I did in under three hours (Did I tell you I work fast?). As I was talking to them, it came to my attention that they are looking to update their look on their current website. As of right now, there website could be seen at http://www.blupointusa.com – or look at the image below. Their new website needed to be something different. He wanted a new layout, with new navigation tabs, and a new flash. I am currently working on this project still but their new website layout could also be seen below or played around with here.

click to enlarge

Also at the end of 2009, the same owner from BluPoint USA asked me to do a total redesign of another company he owns which is called BLSTelecom.This website needs a lot of TLC as their current website is made with all images and not one ounce of CSS. Finding this website on google is impossible – unless you type in blstelecom. This new website will have a total redesign which will include some really cool flash and a lot of SEO!

The videographer I used for my wedding could use a blog makeover. Therese Farrow films is by far a great videographer, so if you are getting married and need a wonderful videographer check out her website. Her blog on the other hand needs help and since it was done in Wordpress (as you can tell from the theme), I figured I would shoot her an email and ask if she wants me to work on it.

On top of these websites that need to be completed, I will continue to work on my Blackberry Themes and tutorials to share with my readers.

Most designers have their own website, or a company. They also design their own logo and try to make a logo around the name of their website. While I was studding graphic design in school, my teacher told all of us to create a logo that represents us and who we are. That is where my logo came from. The MG are not only my initials, but they represent who I am am a designer – bold, flashy, and colorful. So lets answer this question, what makes a good logo?

Feel free to comment with your opinions!

1) The very first thing your logo should do is draw attention and be memorable. However, drawing attention can be a good thing and an extremely bad thing. Take the McDonald’s logo on the right, this logo was designed and introduced in 1968 by a man named Jim Schindler. This logo that we all know so much has brought everyone into a McDonald’s across the country for years upon years. Not only do we know this logo  for their fast service (sometimes), terrible burgers (more times than others), and clean restaurants (OK, I’m just kidding), but we know this logo because when we see it, we know there is a McDonald’s coming up – which is why this logo is also memorable. If we are hungry, we pull into the parking lot, get out of the car and order food (or go through the drive-up window).

Having a logo that draws a attention is a great thing, but what happens when it is done all wrong!?

After doing a quick search on Google for “terrible logos“, I quickly found these (click image for full view).
Now I have been to a dentist before, I hate it – who does not. A logo for a dentist, lets face it, could be tricky. There is just so much you can do to represent a dentist, but the designer of this logo, when a little too far. Finally, the logo on the far right. Granted, this is really not a logo since a logo represents a company. However, the name of this company is called Kids Exchange. But why group is all together? That does not sound right … AT ALL!

I have given you an example of a good logo, and three examples of bad one’s. Do the right thing!

2) That brings me to my next point on what makes a good logo. Your logo should be a logo that can fit into today’s world, but also last the next 15-30 years. When you create a logo, you ‘brand’ yourself. Taken from Wikipedia: “A brand is a name or trademark connected with a product or producer. Brands have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy.” It does not matter if you spend 10 minutes on designing your logo, or 10 days, your logo must be able to withhold the marketplace for quite some time. A logo identifies a business or organization so it would be counterproductive to change it because it did not wear well over time. Companies that have invested vast amounts of money, time, and effort to establish their “brand” do not change it frequently for a reason. Make sure your logo will be “timeless” .

3) A good logo must also print on multiple media’s. When you think about your logo, you need to think about everything you will print it on. Business cards, letter heads, invoices, websites, billboards, signs, and maybe some client belongs. If you want to print your logo on a bull point pen, but also print it on a 20 foot by 5 foot billboard, you need to make sure your logo has the correct shape, size, color, and flow.

That would do it for what makes a good logo. The next time you open up Photoshop or Illustrator, I hope you think about these three easy tips.

Shopping in the stores that are closest to you may be fun and rewarding when you find a good deal, but I have never seen a shirt that represents what I truly am – a graphic designer. Just like the list I made for web designers, here is a list for the graphic designer in all of us. This is a very short list, compared to what else is out there. Make sure to click on the picture to be taken to the website to purchase the shirt.

You are here
But I Can Fix That In Photoshop:

I Dream In CMYK:

Got Design?

Think Outside The Box:

Graphic Designer By Day
Superhero By Night

Oh, Crop

Eat. Sleep. Graphic Design.

I Heart (love) Graphic Design

Ctrl – Z

I Design

This is my Brush

Photoshop
distorting the truth since 1988

So there you have it. Some of the best t-shirts for graphic designers. Some of these are womans, so if you are a man, change it.
Make sure you subscribe to my website.

When it comes to t-shirts, not many designers know what to buy or what actually is out there. I put together a small list of awesome t-shirt designs for the web designer in you. I also put together a list for graphic designers. This is a very short list, compared to what else is out there. These are just a few shirts that I thought were awesome. Make sure to click on the shirt to be taken to the website if you want to purchase it.

aJax Loading T-Shirt:

Web Designer
Will Work for Beer:

#000000 is the new black:

You don’t scare me,
I’m a web designer:

404:

Make Web
Not War:

Don’t Question Your Designer:

Trust me – I’m a
Webmaster:

I Love Web Design:

Webmaster:

World’s Hottest Web Designer:

So there you have it. Some of the best t-shirts for web designers. Some of these are womans, so if you are a man, change it.
Make sure you subscribe to my website.

The owner/CEO of this company found my website while searching a popular Blackberry website. When he came across the website, we emailed me and asked for a business card, logo, and website. After speaking to Robert on the phone, it was obvious he does LED and FiberOptic work. Within 10 minutes of talking to him I thought of a logo for him. I thought of making a logo with dots, or LEDs, and give them a shine. Originally, they were blue, but changed them to a purple/pink since that are colors within the company.

Once that was completed, I thought it needed more. I then added a directional glow to each LED.

Robert loved the idea and design already. I remind you, this was within 10 hours of originally talking with Robert. Robert slept of the idea and concept for a few night and then asked me if I could add a motherboard/circuit behind the LEDs. But he also wanted a different looking LED. For some these are called SMDs, for others, newer LEDs.

Once that was completed, I added the company name, and did a few shine effects to the wording.

The website will be worked on in a few weeks/months since it is not a huge priority for Robert.

Make sure you subscribe to my thread to get all of the updates.