Going Off Grid: Why Prien Lake Park Matters

I spent the better part of Saturday out at Prien Lake Park. If you haven't been out to the park in a while then you really should take some time to visit. What the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury has done with this park is remarkable.

I had every intention of just taking off my shoes, putting on my straw and hat and just chilling with a moleskine sketchbook , but after some time at the park I realized that it was important for me to share my experience with my readers. So I grabbed my camera and took a stroll around the park to capture some of the activities.

Trust me when I tell you that we've never had a park like this before in our area. The first thing that I love about it is that even though it had a healthy crowd I still had plenty of room to myself. As a person that works under the cloud of a constant deadline getting away and getting "off grid," away from folks and phones, is important. When you work in the creative industries you need time to get away from all that noise and pressure and just let your mind get quiet so the juice can flow. This park is a great resource for that. It's a way to get out of doors and be alone, without being alone.

The park has some other great things to offer as well. Should you want to bring your work outside this is a fantastic place to do it. There are plenty of places to hold up, all with a beautiful view of the lake. And here's the coolest thing of all...the entire park offers a wireless internet connection. You just can't beat that.

So, why does all this matter? Well, if you're like me then you need to get away from the grind every now and then and this park provides a beautiful, spacious place to do that.
I read this t-shirt the other day that said "how can I think outside of the box when they won't even let me out?" Damn. Ain't that the truth. My point is this; being creative on the fly, at 100 mph, Monday through Friday...well, it can wear on you. It wears on your spirit, on your brain and time just keeps buzzin' on by. You look back and you realize that not only has time passed but you can't remember when you actually pushed yourself creatively. No new information is coming in and even when there is it's hard to find time to process it. Having a place to go and get away from all of the pulling and hauling is absolutely essential. It's more important than learning the next cool design trick.

Use this RIGHT NOW!
My advice to my fellow creatives and future creatives? Block out a few hours one Saturday or Sunday. Grab a sandwhich, some snacks and a beer or two and put them in a lunch box. Grab a notebook and a sketchbook. Go to Prien Lake Park...and when you get there...take your shoes off.

"50 Slides or Less" or "Why I Cut 100 Slides From My Presentation"

Last year I was asked to give a presentation to the graduating design students at Sowela Technical College. I had never given a presentation before, but I thought "I have a lot to say," and I really wanted to share some of my inside knowledge with the students. I thought that it would be really useful for them to get a peak at the way things really work in our small market.

My presentation ended up being around 144 slides (I am now ashamed to admit that) and it was bloated with information (check out the sample). There was a handful of students that managed to stay awake through the entire presentation. Of that number several of them came up and thanked me for sharing and you could tell that they got something out of it. On the other hand, once the lights came on, I noticed a few that had actually went to sleep.

I'd messed up.

I fell into the trap that most presenters fall into; I was depending on the slides to do the job for me, instead of supporting me. I had created a really detailed "slideument." This is a term that I'm hearing more and more these days. A slideument is basically your handout (all details included) up on the screen...and you read from it (I'm putting myself to sleep just thinking about it).

I revisited the whole concept of presenting and discovered a wonderful blog (and now book) titled Presentation Zen. My eyes were definitely opened.

The key thing that I learned is that the slides are simply there to support YOU as the presenter, to help YOU emphasize your point. They need to be simple and striking, but ultimately it is YOU who must do the work. Your audience is there to hear what you have to say and your slide deck is there as an extension of you.

The deck can look nice. It can have style. But ultimately the point is to get your high-concept across without putting your audience asleep.

So, with my newfound knowledge, I made another attempt at boiling back my presentation. I ended up with 44 slides. It was a major improvement. Now the deck doesn't stand alone. It needs me as much as I need it, but I believe that when you view the deck alone the high-concepts still manage to get through.

You are a creative being.
You are not alone.

Take a peek at my new slide deck below. Let me know what you think. -O

| View | Upload your own

Logos on Demand

So, today I was working on a time sensitive project and I got in a jam for a logo. Nothing new. So, I did what I always do...I called my bros over at Signs Now of Lake Charles.

Now, I have to take a side road here and talk about the Signs Now crew. Scott Bowers is the man in charge over there. Scott has a special knack for getting things done. The man has a good crew working with him over there. When you need it done fast and right, Scott and his team will do everything possible to make it happen. They've pulled me out of pinch on more than one occasion.

We've ended up with a pretty cool relationship. He calls me from time to time when he needs some graphic assistance (which is rare since he's got a jammin' designer over there) and I do the same. But the most common thing that we share (besides local ad-gossip and information) are logos.

For the most part this consists of logos for local companies. Having a source for that is more valuable than I can even express. If you've worked as a designer for any time at all then you've probably experienced the joy of scanning in a beat up business card and recreating a logo. Don't get me wrong; knowing how to do that and doing it often gives a budding designer their salt. I mean how else do you learn how use your design tools?Well, that's all well and good, but in a situation where time is short you gotta have another source in your arsenal.

Use this RIGHT NOW!
So, I'm finally back to my original point (aren't you glad). I call Scott and he tunes me in to a jewel of a website. It's called Best Brands of the World and when you need a logo it's the bomb. Just type the name of the logo you're looking for into the search engine and WHAMO! You get a list of choices to download. Follow the steps listed on the site and in the time it takes to "click" you'll have a nice, clean, vector logo to work with.

So, no more rebuilding from a pixelated version swiped from a Google image search. Go figure.

Getting Above Average Speakers

I've been real lucky since coming on as programs chair for AAF Lake Charles. Of the many jobs you could get on the AAF board, programs is the one that if you don't do it everyone will definitely notice. Things started out good for me though. I managed to get a good speaker on my first shot; Robert Campbell of 808, inc. (you really have to check out 808's site...Robert and the 808 team are jammin' creatives). If you missed his program then you may remember him as the guy who did that great "don't suck" video for our 20th Annual Addy Awards.

Simply asking Robert if he'd seen any presenters that he was impressed with started me down a trail of bread crumbs that landed us some pretty entertaining and educational speakers. Tracking down great speakers takes a lot of research (and bargaining), but it's also been very rewarding. I've been staying in communication with our past presenters, and by following the information trail that each leaves I've stumbled into a whole different marketing perspective. And what I've also noticed is that staying in communication with our past speakers has been the key to finding our next great one.

I'd encourage each of you to do yourself a favor and make plans to attend the Tuesday, April 8th AAF Lake Charles luncheon. I really believe that everyone who attends this AAF meeting will leave with the sense that they really went to something special.

Providing great programs is a local AAF chapter's first and (in my opinion) most important job. I take it seriously. I'm working hard to make sure you have them. Remember...I want your membership in AAF Lake Charles to be worth something to you. -O

Do THIS!
Don't forget to take the survey, gang! This is your chance to give me your input on what you want to see in your local AAF programs.

Use this RIGHT NOW!
Want to get a peek at our next speaker's presentation style? Click on the Parker Brand below, then click on our speaker's video interview on his home page. You'll be glad you did.

Big, Simple...Easy?

So here's the skinny. I'm a graphic designer, or at least I try to be. But most of my experience comes from working in the sign industry. I always felt that a sign was the first, best face of a business. I worked real hard to give my clients the best sign design and fabrication that I could offer.

Most of my experience with signs was spent in the small town of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Natchitoches has a really well defined historic district that operated under very strict guidelines. This forced me to keep the signs that I produced for businesses in that district small, clean and simple (a couple of examples to the left). I found it to be pretty easy and enjoyable. The signs were always crafted to harmonize with the landscape, yet still stand out and get the business noticed.

Once I made the jump from signs to ad agency I noticed a real change in the way I started designing. My work became busier and more cluttered. I added and added and added until every design was full. I learned a lot about my tools during this phase, but the longer I remained in the advertising industry, the more I realized that our profession was really adding to the clutter to the social landscape.

There is a real strong movement towards cleaning things up. You see it in the ultra slick, clean and functional designs of 2.0 websites. In slideware presentations the trend is to boil them down to 20 slides or less, most of them having less than 9 words each or no words at all.

We're bombarded with messages everyday, every direction, every medium. It's all just litter. Really. Mental clutter. Visual clutter. Audio clutter. Text clutter. There are just to many messages. On the flip, this clutter causes the human mind to focus in on things that are simple in image and in message. Just today I noticed an AIG ad in a magazine that I stopped on. Now, I have no particular interest in AIG, but out of all the pages in the magazine that ad was the only page that made me stop. Why? Because it had room to breath, a strong image and a simple message. Was it great? Not particularly. Did I stop? Absolutely.

So, here's my big struggle; how can I design advertising that is effective without adding to the clutter? I would love to design ads that are nice and clean, designs that compliment the landscape and still pack enough punch to get the message through. It's not an easy thing...at least not for me. I don't think I'm a smart enough designer.

But I'm going to try. I struggle with keeping my designs lean. I know that simple ads stand out in sharp, crisp contrast to the ultra jam packed. The AIG ad demonstrates that pretty clearly. But even knowing this, it is still hard to leave a design alone. There is that feeling that you just haven't done enough for your client if you don't add one more little thing.

Use this RIGHT NOW!
Get a copy of the Tao Te Ching (any copy will do), or check it out online. Read it from front to back. Put it away. Then, one day, pick it up and read it again. Pay particular attention to Chapter 22, which says:
"Have little and receive
Have much and be confused
Therefore the sages hold to the one as an example for the world
Without flaunting themselves – and so are seen clearly
Without presuming themselves – and so are distinguished
Without praising themselves – and so have merit
Without boasting about themselves – and so are lasting"

The Buzz on Blogging

This past Tuesday we (AAF Lake Charles) had the opportunity to hear a wonderful presentation entitled "Top 10 Strategic Marketing Benefits of Blogging," presented by Paul Chaney. I must admit that before Paul's presentation most of us were pretty ignorant of the power of blogging. I personally follow several different blogs, but I never considered starting one myself until recently. After hearing what Paul had to say I'm convinced that, in some instances, a blog is even more effective than a full-blown website. Looking back at my web browsing habits, I'm finding that I tend to go to someones website and if I'm at all interested in getting more info then I immediately start looking for their blog.

Having Paul come and speak to our club was a great choice and I personally feel very lucky to have had him. After he left, several club members stayed around to talk about ways they could use blogs in their own professions, then yesterday I received two new blogs from a couple of my clients who attended. Apparently they found his presentation extremely useful. It really says something when you see attendees leave a presentation and then go back to their office and immediately apply what they've learned. To me, that is what our AAF Lake Charles programs are all about.

I really want our members to leave with the sense that they've learned something, that their professional lives have been enriched. I want their membership to be worth something. We've been really lucky to have had a line-up of slam dunk speakers...and now we can add Paul Chaney to that growing list.

Use this RIGHT NOW!
If you'd like to hear more from Paul you can check out his blog, or if you'd like to see his presentation you can go to Slideshare.




I'd recommend doing both. You'll be better for it and if you've ever thought about starting a blog then you can put the information into use TODAY! You can't beat that. -O

Making a mess with brushes

Photoshop. How many times do we use it every single day? I get sick to death of seeing the effects, fades, bevels, blends, filters, etc. You can really tear up a nice piece with an overuse of the software. However, sometimes it is necessary. There are definitely design visions that couldn't come to life without it. One thing that I find useful is creating my own brushes. Photoshop comes with a healthy set on it's own, but after you've used them for a while you'll start to see them in use all over the place.
Making your own set of brushes can be fun and extremely useful. I like to start by taking picture of interesting shapes, marks or textures that I see in my day to day travels. Having a small digital camera on you at all times is key. One night as I was sitting with my kids at Sonic (having a delicious Java Chiller) I noticed some really interesting rust, oil and water stains on the concrete, in the parking next to us. I grabbed my digital camera and took some quick shots. Later that evening I brought the images into photoshop and worked up a really cool set of brushes.
They've worked out great for projects that require a bit of distressing and they give those projects a unique, organic element that can only be duplicated with that brush set. The brush set allows me to add a bit of sauce to a piece that otherwise may be pretty stagnant, and I can do that on the fly now that the brushes are created. That's important to me.
Shortly after I did that I had a project come up for one of my clients that called for a bit of distressing. After I did the initial design I pulled the brushes and and made quick work of adding some really cool effects to the piece.

Use this RIGHT NOW!
Anytime time you get the chance to do something different then do it. Setting yourself apart is what will get you noticed (don't light yourself on fire or run naked through a Wal-Mart...that's the kind of different that you don't want). I'd tell you how to make the brushes yourself, but why would I do that when you can go to Howcast.com and watch a video about it.

SIDE NOTE: Howcast.com is the BOMB when it comes to design tips. There are plenty of them and the user interface is easy to use.

Once you've taken a look at that then you can download the set of brushes I created from my Sonic photos by clicking on the Parker Brand below. Enjoy them! -O

A Blessing from the Parker Brand

So, I've decided to start blogging. All I really want to do is create an info source (a local one at that) for young designers and creative professionals. I believe that there are a lot of folks out there that have deep wells of creative energy and talent who go unnoticed. I've seen it time and time again. An individual arrives on the job with the proper pedigree, but can't jump in and do the work. Another type of individual arrives and doesn't necessarily have buckets of talent, but they can jump in and put their human energy into a project and bring it to life quickly. What is this energy and where does it come from? Well, that's what the Parker Brand is all about...understanding the secrets of "on the fly" creativity, the "juice." Some have it. Some don't. Sometimes it just shows up for a moment. I'll try to capture it so we can all use it. So, check in from time to time...and let the Parker Brand bring you blessings! -O

Use this RIGHT NOW!
I've been posting my work on Behance for a while now. This is a great resource to see the work of other creative professionals, but more than that it's a way to get your work out there in cyberspace...for FREE! It's worth your time to check it out and sign up. So, check out my profile then sign up for one of your own.