A funny Process

Al Hovland was my first professional employer. He was a partner in an advertising agency in Fargo, ND. Recently, he asked me to create a new mark for his company. What's interesting about this isn't so much the logo, but rather the process.

When we discussed the look and feel of the logo, he said he wanted something classy and respectful. His tagline was "Creative Marketing Solutions". Using my recent exposure to branding, I probed further. I asked what three words would describe himself. He mentioned, "humorous, creative, unique". I then suggested we should look at some ideas that reinforce those words. He agreed.

While I worked I realized the answer was to simply recreate our conversation visually... start with a respectful logo and "edit" it into a creative one. I'm amazed at how much this mark reflects Al's personality.

Old Fashioned Calling Card

My friend and former employer asked me to design a calling card for him and his wife. I'm posting it here but don't get any ideas... I've changed their personal information.

Pleased with the design, I showed it to my wife. Now she wants me to design a personal calling card for her. She rattled off all of the times she could have used one when meeting new people at church and around town this past year. I guess this old idea is new again.

Back to Square One

I have been creating logos for a long time, but never understood the full concept of branding... until now. Recently, I've been getting an education in the subject and now see all of the mistakes I've made with my own company.

Since returning from Russia, I've been redesigning my company name, logo, stationery and website. Here is a sneak peek. When my new site is live, I'll post a full explanation and rational for the major shift. In the meantime, let me know what you think of the look.

More Comics

Please forgive me for not posting in some time. Life has been chaotic for the last few weeks. Who ever said two children are easier than one never had two children. Even though I seem to complain, it's Leah who does all of the heavy lifting. She has been amazing. I am humbled by her and all of the mothers out there who constantly give of themselves.

Business life has been busy as well. I just came off a hectic week-long project for Target and a complete redesign of my own business... more on that later.

And for those who thought I may never draw another comic book page again (including myself), here's a recent page. This image will be used for a campaign pitch that will draw upon the "24" TV show theme.



On a personal level, I'm working on another story with writer Ben Avery called "Thrall". Hopefully when this first chapter is finished, it will be posted on Zondervan's Z Graphic Novels website.

From Russia with Love

We did it! We've finally made it home with our new son, Ivan Konstantin Schwartzrock.

Nothing has been easy about this adoption but thank God above, we're home safe and sound in this beautiful country we Americans can so easily take for granted. When the plane touched ground in New York on Saturday, October 6th, Ivan officially became a U.S. citizen. We still have more paperwork to fill out, but the first big hurdle has been crossed. The rest is easy... like love and nurture him so that he can grow up into a healthy, mentally-stable adult who adds value to the world and not become the next roof-top killer. Like I said, the rest is easy. (:

Below are some pictures from our second trip. This one is the outside of his orphange. If you click on the picture to see a larger version, you'll notice it looks pretty bad from the outside. Inside, the rooms are clean and the orphanage is well managed. More importantly, the ladies who care for these children do so with love.





Here's a picture of Leah holding Ivan as we "escape"! The day before we sat in court and received the right to take custody. Here we're on our way to the airport.


After leaving Murmansk, we needed to spend a few days in Moscow where we had to get paperwork from the American embassy. Here's a picture of Ivan's first bath as a member of our family.


Moscow has some very beautiful buildings and architecture. It's not cheap, however. This is a picture of Ivan and I going for a strole after dropping $150 on a breakfast for 4 adults and 2 children at a coffee shop. Yikes!



Many, many thanks to all of you who have prayed and supported us over the last several weeks. Thank you very much.

Advertising

I advertised heavily the first few years after starting BlackRock Graphics... with absolutely no tangible success. But recently I've decided to give it another chance with posting my portfolio on www.PortalInteractive.net. It's basically the same images from my www.BlackRockGraphics.com site. The difference this time is I'm only paying for digital access (no print). I believe very strongly that the internet is the best way to be found and to find others. It's a powerful tool.

Video Games

This is something new for me. I've been illustrating new themes for basic game engines like Frogger, Tetris and card games. These small jobs fit nicely in between larger projects and they are a lot of fun to create.