I recently had the opportunity to illustrate and design the national poster for a Canadian book and magazine festival! The process involved balancing the feedback of all regional festival managers to produce a final met with common approval.

One major consideration during development was the use of this artwork by regional designers across Canada to create print collateral of various dimensions, including playbills, ads, flyers, and postcards. It would also be manipulated digitally for use on regional websites and social media. To that end, I provided many elements on transparent backgrounds for increased design flexibility.

Upon request a custom version of the Saskatoon poster was created, which involved adjusting the layout to accommodate some event-specific copy so as not to obscure any of the 70 characters featured, and also creating some further design elements.

The final, unaltered artwork can be seen here.

Various spots pulled from artwork and supplied for use by regional designers

It's been a great few months for many reasons, not the least of which being Nina and I's engagement! I'd painted a set of nesting dolls and presented them, with a ring on the crown of the smallest doll. She happily said Yes :)

World Pride is taking place in Toronto this year, and our friend Yury Ruzhyev is performing his incredible one-man Cabaret show during the festivities. I worked with him to create some promos. Looking forward to the show!

In May I had the opportunity to work on a VERY tight turnaround for the Wall Street Journal. The subject was regulations in place to reduce instances of individuals 'double-dipping' in American pension plans.

I've completed some illustrations that won't be published until August/Sept -- here is a sneak peak until then.

The Word on the Street

Misc June 2014