Vegas Weddings Feature

So, our magazine featured a story about getting married in Las Vegas. The story is aimed at the locals, so we’re talking about real, actual wedding plans here, not just getting married while completely sloshed to a person you just met, by Elvis at the chapel in the back of the casino. But, let’s be honest…getting married in Vegas has certain connotations. And with the wealth of weird little chapels around here, I couldn’t help but make this layout just a little kitschy. I also got to print one of my photographs, which is very exciting! The photo was taken at the world famous chapel, Wee Kirk O’ the Heather, the “Original Las Vegas Wedding Chapel”.

I processed the photo to make it look a little retro. Then I used that giant gaudy diamond image on the second page.

I’m seriously giddy that my bosses allowed me to make it look like this. I laugh every time I see it.

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Currently listening to Animals by Pink Floyd

Yup.

New Magazine Design!!!

Yay!!! Did I mention my job kicks ass?! I love my job. Since I started Casino Connection, I have been promoted from ad designer to art director, which has revealed the amazing opportunity to redesign an *ENTIRE* magazine. With the help of many magazines* and people**, I have almost completed this process. The whole project has been…wow…thrilling and educational. Of course design is always changing and I’ll probably be modifying this a little with each issue, but for the most part, the new look is settled.

See new cover above. I have redesigned the logo, the cover format and chosen new fonts. Also, how great is this: the kickoff issue of our new design features Bugsy Siegel, great mob boss of Las Vegas. Mob stories are exciting; how can you not be drawn into a magazine with a halftone patterned photo of a violent-yet-charming dead badass? Resistance is futile. So I got lucky there.

Below is old cover, how the magazine looked when I started.

This issue drives me esp. crazy. Goodbye forever, weird cover.

Below is the layout for the mob story featured in our March Issue. The story actually downplays the romanticism of the mob’s role in Vegas. But no worries, I designed it emphasize the sensationalism, but hopefully in a subtle way. I wanted to use a gun on the cover for a while. Thankfully I got over that.

I LOVE huge letters on flat colored backgrounds, always delicious! I overlapped the letters on purpose which looks a little funny cause the letters are supposed to look like neon signs, but I like it. Plus, how classy and stalwart is Our Friend Helvetica? Helvetica’s like a string of pearls, it will never go out of style.

Here’s a super contrasty photo of Bugsy Siegel. I purposely obscured his face so that he represents the typical mobster, with the mobster hat and suit and shoes. That’s a Rolls Royce he’s leaning on,but you really can’t tell there.

I tried to keep the designey elements to a minimum here to help keep the yellow strong and powerful. I like the combo of black and yellow…seems a little dangerous and that’s why I chose it for this layout.

Including several Las Vegas gangsters in one of my designs is truly a highlight of my career thus far!

The last image was taken from the extensive collection of Mr.’Vintage Vegas’ on Flickr, who was kind enough to help me out today.

The photo is actually a gorgeous color photo, but I just couldn’t justify introducing a color photo in the last bit of the layout when everything else is two color.

BTW, two color design is soo fun. I love it.

It’s getting printed on Monday, yay!

* Thanks for the killer magazine design inspiration, the likes of amazingly designed magazines Paste, Good, Business Week, Esquire, Rolling Stone & Sports Illustrated. I have to thank those magazines because I was going over and over them everyday to find new ways to think about magazine layout.

**Great thing about Roger & Becky, whom I work for, is that they entertain wild ideas about what I like and actually seem to encourage them, so I thank them. I usually go with the craziest idea I think of for a design, and Roger & Becky humor me. Thanks to Greg Jones, who’s a great editor, a respectable man and a super fun guy, and Christina, our funny & happy new ad designer, as well as everyone else in the office who have all been super supportive on my projects. Thanks also to the constant encouragement from friends & family, which means so much.

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Currently listening to: Before the Dawn Heals Us by M83

Yup.

DJ Vegas Brochure Design

My friend Kobbe is one of the DJs in DJ Vegas and asked me to make a tri-fold brochure for his company’s services. Here is the design. Top, Outside; Bottom, Inside

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Currently listening to The Wall by Pink Floyd // Run Like Hell

Yup.

Some New Design Projects

**UPDATE** Here is my final, third book cover design.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few more freelance projects come my way. Among other things, I’m working on a book cover right now. Here are three possible book covers. Going to submit them to the client tonight. Hopefully they will like one.

BONUS: Can you tell which book is in the second cover?

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Currently listening to You Are Free by Cat Power.

Yup.

Goodbye David Byrne, Hello More Puppies

So, I’ve always wanted to be super-hip and educated and to be able to say that I read David Byrne’s blog. Cause not only is Byrne a kickass musician (of a few genres), he’s also garnered a huge amount of respect for his actions and ideas regarding the distribution of music, DRM, and other important industry issues.

Here’s the thing: although I’ve been subscribed to his blog for over a year, I’ve never read it. Not once. As soon as I try to delve into his enlightened, and, I’m sure, well-thought out blog entries, in an attempt to make myself a more informed and educated individual, inevitably my mind goes white and a pinball starts ricocheting inside the perimeters of my brain and I just shut down. Then go over to see if Cute Overload has posted any new puppies.

I was reading this article the other day, on the Internet, of course, about how the Internet used to be for smart nerds who wanted knowledge, but now it’s become something more dumb than all the other media combined. But…but…I can’t read David Byrne…not when there are puppies there.

I know, I’m ashamed of myself, too.

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Currently listening to Stop Making Sense by The Talking Heads

Yup.