Creative Rodeo was recently asked to complete a redesign of Successful Farming’s specialty publication, Ageless Iron Almanac.
Ageless Iron is published six times a year and is read by people who collect, restore, repair, refurbish, and love old farm equipment—they are the agricultural equivalent of hot rod restorers and motor heads. The content ranges from profiles of recently restored tractors to tips and tricks that guide you through your own restoration. The magazine is intended for serious collectors and casual fans alike.
A colleague of my wife was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer of an unknown primary. She is 36 years old, married with two children, and currently undergoing treatment at the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City.
On August 13, a Family Benefit Event that involved food, drink, and music was held in support of their mission to beat this disease; friends, family members, coworkers, and colleagues were asked to support by means of a donation—either in the form of an item or funds—for both a live and silent auction.
I felt Creative Rodeo could donate something worthwhile and after weeks of contemplating on an item or service to contribute I came up with the idea of the above poster. Cowboy Wisdom—as it is titled—is 19” x 25”, screen printed, and was pieced together using some of my favorite cowboy quotes and life lessons. In a weird way, the poster is meant to act as a cheerleader and a reminder that even though life might kick us around a little, the least we can do is smile and kick back.
Cowboy Wisdom was one of over a hundred items donated for auction. 450-500 people attended the benefit which raised close to $55,000 in support of this woman and her cause.
SIDENOTE: I need to thank Jon Pearson at 8|7 Central for doing such a great job on the screen printing for this poster. He put up with my questions, constant emails, and unrealistic deadline and the printed piece was truly remarkable.
This project is difficult to explain. The below are sketches done for Lowe’s. They are done as a service to show how a room re-design will look in the end. Think of them as something you might see from an interior designer to convey a change in wall color, furniture, accessories, etc.
Anyway, they took some time and I thought, by golly! I’d better share them at least. These illustrations were completed by using pencil on paper and then colored digitally.
There are some dreadful commercials on TV right now. Whether they are tasteless, farcical, annoying, or tactless, these commercials showcase the desperation being felt as advertisers try to coerce down-economy consumers into spending their hard earned cash. As budgets dwindle, money for consumer market research gets cut and risky ideas for commercials don’t go through traditional checks and balances which causes companies and advertisers to miss the mark with their ads. Case in point: The Miller Lite Man Up! Commercials.
For some odd reason “proselytize” has become my favorite word-of-the-moment. I must have used it in conversation ten times this week already; the word seems to pop from my mouth like a verbal tick or hiccup.
Maybe it’s because I’m doing so much proselytizing. After-all, isn’t that what owning a business involves—especially a design business? Tirelessly championing yourself to potential clients, showing them the value you bring to their communication needs, and converting the masses to the idea that good design propels and amplifies the brand.
See? I can’t help myself. So, in the spirit of proselytizing Creative Rodeo, here are some tenants I try to live by when approaching potential clients, interacting with other design professionals, or approaching the design process.
We at the Rodeo were completely thrown aback at the sheer, awesome simplicity—not to mention POWER—of the typography in this video. The lyrics are personal and one can identify with the situation but the animation is so straightforward that it makes the heart-break humorous. Also, we laughed, out loud, when it came to the “Fuck you!” part.
The case of Forward Growth Strategies (FGS) is not unlike the case of every other small company in America. They have a product or service; they wish to sell that product or service; and they are passionate believers in the game-changing, world-bending status of that product or service. Also, not unlike every other small company in America, they are unsure how to go about spreading the gospel of said product or service. FGS approached Creative Rodeo with the need to redesign their current identity.
A reminder that truly bonkers cinema is still alive, possible and releasable in our market-tested age, this utterly crackpot Belgian animation bounces around with a hyperactive dementia that somehow never flags.
Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar continue to lark around with a bunch of store-bought toy farm animals, manipulated for their stop-motion purposes. The dizzy adventures start with a talking horse called Cheval, a forgotten birthday, a gargantuan consignment of bricks… and things just get weirder.
There is absolutely no curbing of these leapfrog imaginations, or conforming of the story to a familiar arc. The figurine heroes, among them a group of cameoing mad scientists excitably pulling levers to control a giant, snowball-flinging penguin, have such sharply defined personalities that they set the whole certifiable agenda, which comes from an odder place than the wildest eccentricities of Nick Park.
Not long ago, I asked a gentleman what he did for a living. He responded, “I’m in marketing but I really do innovation.” When asked to expand on his response I received a vague description in which he used words like “creativity” and “imagination” and “leading-edge.” He had described innovation but not how he goes about innovating or how this makes a connection to marketing. I noted this and the conversation quickly changed subjects.
In President Obama’s Jan. 25 State of the Union Address “innovation” turned up quite a bit. He said we need to “out-innovate” the rest of the world. He also wanted to go about “encouraging American innovation.” He tied it to education, clean energy, and transportation and used innovation examples like the internet, Edison, and the Wright brothers to further expand the idea of America’s history of innovation.
In a recent commercial Nissan touts “Innovation for family, innovation for all” to describe their Quest model minivan. It comes with the usual features found in today’s minivans—power sliding doors, advanced climate control, DVD player, and an efficient engine. All of which are very nice but hardly comparable to the Wright’s first powered flight.
