leighton hubbell

Blissfully unaware. That’s what I’d like to call it. Not ignorant, not naïve, just unaware. I’ve been a designer for a lot of years and have had my work online since 2004, so I know the risks. Or, so I thought.

It really wasn’t until the recent Logogarden.com debacle where I had 21 logo designs pinched, that this problem reared its ugly head. My work has been stolen – a lot.

Now, I’ve had work lifted here and there over the years. Some overly inspired logo designs appearing in various logo forum sites and I’ve been pretty swift to address it. Plus, I’ve had the benefit of having others warn me of work they have seen that looks a little too similar – but, this is different. Never this widespread and never this brazen.

Until now, there hasn’t been the search technology available out there to find this stuff. And now, with the release of the Google reverse image search, it’s a whole new ball game.

To be clear, I know enough not to just post work rampantly throughout the Internet. I am very select about where the work goes and what sites they will appear. In addition, I always try to label the work with either my domain name or logo mark on each image. And internally, I make sure that I keep folders of the collections, and what their image dimensions are, in the event of someone copying the files.

Even though I take all these precautions (I know what you’re thinking, they’re really not that much), it’s still the Wild West out there. Most people have no idea (nor do they care) that ALL the images floating around out there on the web were created by somebody, and they are not ripe for the pickens whenever you feel the need.

How did we get here?

The online portfolio – it’s as simple as that. And even more than that, the online presence you need to get visibility in our modern business world.

In the old days, the way to get your work in front of the folks that need it was to advertise. Whether you made cold calls, paid for sourcebook ads, did mailings, got in with creative directors to show your book or dropped promotional pieces – it was all in hopes of a call back for the next great assignment. Back then, it was who you knew. Word of mouth was always your friend and reputation was everything.

You can’t just have a website anymore. To really get noticed there needs to be a presence on portfolio sites, directories, forums, social networking sites, inspiration sites, your own or company blog and whatever else you can think of. The keyword here is visible.

With all that there needs to be content, lots of it. And there seems to be this insatiable appetite for newer and newer content all the time. You can’t have work that is 6 months to a year old on your profile! We want new. We want more. We want it now.

This kind of mentality seems to have fueled another phenomenon – if I can’t get noticed with enough of my own work, I’ll just borrow yours.

Plagiarism has been around forever, but it’s never been this easy to access good work. And to soothe many a thief’s conscience, it’s done fairly anonymously.

Think about it. In the last four years, we’ve had a huge surge of growth in the logo design industry.

Logo design went from a rather obscure sub-set of graphic design, into a vogue little vocation in almost no time flat. Anyone with some time, software and a laptop is cranking out their own little identities.

The established identity designers, like myself, have a classical education in design and illustration and do this professionally. Many of the new generation are either self-taught, or are coming from a web design perspective. And some, are hobbyists – ones that tinker with design in their free time, while they keep the day job.

I blame this rash of theft in our industry on the global economy. I know that is very fashionable these days to pass the blame, but hear me out.

Right about the time the economy takes a digger, several new business models appear on the logo design horizon. First, you have what I like to call the overstock or brand-in-a-box sites. These in their purest form, are sites that help you sell those nifty, misunderstood and never approved logo concepts you’ve got lying around on your hard drive. For the potential client, they get a ready-made logo and possibly a matching domain name, for one tidy little price.

In the beginning, they were doing just that. But, after everyone saw that there was possible money to be made, other designers started to make up these fictitious brands to fill up their lack of inventory – and interest increased. No more pesky clients getting in the way. We’re making money!

Then, you’ve got the crowdsourcing sites.

The business model that puts up a contest to get as many logo concepts as the client can bear to see, and the only one that gets paid in the end is the winner. If you’re lucky.

When the odds are stacked up against you like that and money is tight, people do drastic things. Things they probably wouldn’t attempt without anonymity.

The interesting thing with these two new opportunities created in logo design, was the amount of spillover that appeared back on sites like Logopond.com. In an effort to get cross-promotion traffic to their contests and box brands, designers were posting work on the critique sites begging for likes and floats. And they told two friends – and so on, and so on.

Then, the boom started.

Tweets. Links. Inspirational blog posts. Many, in so much hurry to post the logos, didn’t bother to give credit to the designer.

Everyone’s a logo designer, or so they are trying. It’s amazing. These pesky little pictograms with type are a lot harder to produce than they look. And with a massive glut on the internet, even harder to come up with something original.

It ain’t that easy, is it? Easy money never is.

But there’s a new one on the horizon.

And just like Hollywood, the profiteers come out of hiding. We can’t possibly come up with something new. We’ve got to take a formula and do it over and over again. This time, we’ll tap into a ‘team’ of designers and crank out a massive icon library for our customers to select from! Yeah, it’ll be great. They’ll pick their own colors, their own fonts. We’ll be rich!

But, how do you possibly stock a website with 10,000 icons without tapping a team of hundreds of designers? You can’t. Certainly not without covering old grounds. How much would that even cost? That’s the sad part, probably not as much as you would think.

And, that’s where our story turns to logo pilfering.

The truth is, we’ve got people willing to ask for 200 logos for $250.00 on Elance.com. Even sadder, we’ve got people willing to do it for less than that.

Someone was willing to go through the Logolounge.com database and steal hundreds of logo designs from hard working designers, design firms and agencies, probably because they didn’t have enough time or resources to actually do the work for the price quoted. And they didn’t have the talent, nor the training.

One thing I don’t get, is why do we have to lowball so much? I know that $50.00 in some countries is quite a bit of money, but on the other hand, isn’t $500.00? Why not try for those jobs and up the standards? Eventually, if we try hard enough, those sub-$100 jobs will be a thing of the past.

One would only hope. But, you have to take a stand somewhere.

So, what’s the harm?

There’s plenty.

It’s one of the biggest misconceptions on the Internet. Most people just do the old right-click and copy it over to the hard drive. They never even bother to find out where the image came from. They might rename it so they don’t ‘feel dirty’ about it, because deep down inside they know it’s wrong. And, no one ever thinks they’ll get caught.

Sure, if there’s some genuine interest in your work and it appears on a blog, be sure and let them know you are thankful and remind them to post a link to your site. But, if it’s obviously for their own benefit and it’s led to believe they did the work, be sure and show your displeasure and get it removed.

People work very hard every day to create this work and by doing that and not recognizing the person who created it, you’re taking food off of their table. I work hard to create a brand for my business and do quality work for my clients. When you mess with my work, you mess with my brand and you mess with my business.

Showing design work in my portfolio on my own website is not a digital buffet for which anyone can choose to use anything at their leisure. This is my job. This is how I make my living. Expect me to be upset.

Think about that the next time you do an image search. I hope you adjust your habits and give credit where it’s due and above all, pay it forward.

So, how can you protect yourself from your own logo pilfering?

• Keep track of your images. Have a naming convention that you can easily keep going and where they were posted.
• Use metadata in your images. Include metadata, creation and copyright data information when saving in Photoshop or Adobe Bridge.
• File for copyrights on your images. You can file for copyrights in groups of images, too and save some money.
• Be careful where you post your work. Only submit to sites that you know or trust.
• Be a good neighbor. If you see a familiar image that looks overly inspired, contact the original designer if you know who it is. If not, Tweet it.
• Scan the image servers. Use Google Reverse Image Search or Tineye.com to see if anyone’s using your work.
• Cease & Desist letters – Get a copy of a DMCA form and have it ready if you need to send it.
• Consider digital tracking software. Services like Digimarc can label, watermark and track your digital library.
• Turn off image links on your website. Although not a big solution, it can certainly deter the casual infringer.
• Label your work. Let the pilferer know that they are borrowing your work should it end up beyond your reach.

_­If you’re into logo design there’s a new book out that you need to get your hands on. I just got my copy this week. It’s Smashing Logo Design by Gareth Hardy.

Not only is the volume full of some of the latest and greatest work from contemporary logo designers from around the world, it is also a great resource on everything from sketching and concept development, to software tips and business development.

I’ve owned my share of logo design books and most of them have some very inspirational work that grace the pages, but this one is a bit different. It’s not only showing nice work, it’s showing you how to create it and market the work, too.

A few months ago, Gareth contacted me about contributing to the book and I of course said, “Yes!”.  In addition to work from me, he also got contributions from a wide range of very talented designers from all experience levels to pitch in. The list is truly a who’s who of current logo design talent with lots of interesting insights on a range of tips and business issues. As you can see, very good company, indeed.

I was asked to contribute a handful of logos from my own work, and write about my experience in self-promotion, the evolution of the logo design business and the effects of the internet on our industry. It was great to see it all there in print at the end. Much thanks to the great editorial staff for sifting through what I wrote and keeping the good stuff! ;)

Overall, I thought Gareth and the folks at Wiley & Sons did a great job with the book. I highly recommend you get yourself a copy.

There often comes a time in any type of project relationship that you decide, sometimes sub-consciously, what your role will be. Are you the leader, or the expert? Or are you the taskmaster, or even the worker bee? Sometimes there’s even a combination of roles.

Accepting your role is often difficult to grasp once it’s been established, especially if it’s not the role you wanted or started out with. You may be wondering, “How did I get here, and why did I let this happen?”

It really depends on how you set the tone from the start, and it’s no different with a client/designer relationship either.

A few years ago, when I was just starting my design studio, I had taken on a rather promising client in the gourmet food category. In a traditional agency, their business would have been rather small, but for me it was a good chunk of income and a great opportunity.

How I got the business was a lesson in itself.

I had attained the connection from a client I had worked with in my former agency job. She had left her marketing VP position to go out on her own and eventually joined up with this new venture to help as marketing director and get it off the ground. When we had worked together in the past, I had no idea we would ever work side-by-side in this capacity, or even become friends.

So, going to meet with the former client, now marketing director and her partner, the new company owner for the first time, I was a bit intimidated. Part of me was wondering if I was up to the task of such a client. They had a very high taste level and the gourmet food category was something that I had very little experience. And part of me was anxious to get the business, especially since this income would set me off in a good direction.

In essence, my bit of self-doubt and anxiety couldn’t help but spill over into the now blossoming client relationship. Did they notice that, or did I manage to shield them from my nervous thoughts? They were impressed enough to hire me, though. It was up to me to take it from there.

Now, you have to wonder what their expectations and work-style are like. Not everyone shows their colors in a couple of meetings. Do they expect to drive the creative work and have you making changes at their every whim? Or are they wanting some guidance through the project and need a creative partner to help them through the process?

Do they want a decorator or a designer? Make that decision for them.

My defining moment working with them came when we were in the process completing their corporate identity and selecting colors for the first 9 label designs to appear on their line of sauces. Color, I am told, is one of my biggest strengths as a graphic designer. But, after 12 rounds (yes, 12 rounds – you do the math) of color comps, I was starting to wonder if I knew what I was doing.

They were wallpapering their office with page after page of technicolor uncertainty and all the while tinkering and suggesting, desperately trying to make a decision on the perfect hues.

Then, they asked, “What do you think? Can we try another round with these adjustments?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. In the back of my mind, I thought if I didn’t say something now I would just be their decorator. Pushing pixels whenever the wind shifted. Completely drifting into a design black hole and hating the work.

It was here that I went from decorator to designer.

So, before I realized what I was saying, I said it, “We’re going off a cliff here”.

Uh oh, I thought, it’s out now.

“I’ve run out of bullets. Spent. I frankly don’t know where to take this now,” I said.

Wow. From there I decided to go with it. Business be damned. If they wanted my honest opinion, I was going to say it.

I think there is a perfectly good solution in the work shown here. We just need to agree which group it is. We’re not going to find it in another round.

Somehow, I was relieved and now glad I said my piece.

Well, fortunately this made an impact and they decided to take a break on the call and get back with me later in the day. At this point, I didn’t know what they would do, but for some reason I had a feeling that this wasn’t a deal breaker for the business.

Sure enough, they called back with a decision. They went with the work from the second round of color. It was good, because I was exhausted.

Sheepishly, they apologized for all the additional work and agreed that they were over-analyzing and needed to have a little more trust in my recommendations.

Go figure.

To sum up, my relationship with that client completely changed after that day – for the better. I was much more open to making my recommendations with purpose and there was an improved respect level that carried on with several projects beyond our original.

The marketing director has since moved on from that company and still works with me to this day, ten years later. And we’re great friends.

Sometimes it pays to speak up and swim upstream a little. You never know what may be out there.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a defining moment in your client relationships you’d like to share?

Greeting me in the mail this week was the first edition of LogoNest, an inspirational collection of logo design culled from the popular website of the same name. Awhile back, I was asked to be a contributing writer to the volume for which I was quite flattered (you know, being a DESIGNER and all) and maybe a little tentative. Frankly, I thought I was just putting a few words together to help out the book. Little did I know, my piece would end up right up front for all to see, right there in print.

I did my very best, so please be kind. :)

Overall, I thought it came out very nice. I dig the very impactful and distinct, orange cover and mailing package. The pacing was nicely planned and the page layouts were well done. It was a great first-edition effort.

What made this book different is their premise of ‘The book from logo designers for logo designers’. So, it seems only fitting that they included a nice collection of work with some great articles from notable logo designers from all over the world. Designers like Steve Zelle of Processed Identity, Tim Lapetino of Hexanine, logo designer and blogger, Jacob Cass, Gareth Hardy and others.

Here is an excerpt from my article, The Power of a Good Logo:

To read the rest of the story, you can order your own copy of the limited-edition LogoNest 01 from the website.

I want to thank Alen, Sinisa and everyone at LogoNest for the opportunity to help out. We all look forward to LogoNest 02.

Just had my latest interview posted on The Logo Mix logo design blog. Check out some of my latest work and learn a few new things about me and my design process. Hope you enjoy it. Read the post.

Here we are. The half-way point. I always thought I might get here, but had no idea how the journey might play out. Somehow in my heart I new I had a couple hundred ideas in there somewhere, but didn’t realize what it would take to get them out in a concentrated dose.

To say this whole idea has been a challenge would be an understatement. For all the times I’ve wanted to blow it off and move on, somehow my inner grown-up keeps telling me it’ll be good for me to press on – much like broccoli. These days, especially in the last few months with work projects coming in more frequently, I’ve felt on the edge of burnout. But like any of us creative folk, all it takes is conquering a testy and difficult concept and conveying it well and you’re back in the saddle again. What a junkie I am.

I thought in this update I would post a few of the more popular icons of the last 3 months and throw in some notes from the journal I’ve been keeping of the project. Enjoy.

April 2012

This was a rough month. A significant dip in the amount of posts (18). Finding myself falling behind a bit, but there were some good posts in there. It was especially difficult during the latter part of the month as I visited some family back East. It was hard to fit in a morning post and maintain the work. I found myself redoing a few of the icons as I didn’t like the original design.

Haven’t written a blog post on any of my regular blogs in some time. Just don’t have the time or energy. This is a good excuse, though.

May 2012

Starting to discover I can’t do the morning posts and get work done, too. So, I switched to late evening/afternoon sessions. I’m finding that with all the icon training, my productivity is much faster with work assignments and has helped with illustration gigs, too.

Some pretty cool work getting produced this month. Discovered around the second week of May that I was running way behind schedule to make the 300 mark at the end of 2012. To the tune of about 18 icons behind! Holy cow. Major freak out here.

Up to this point, I hadn’t been keeping track of where exactly I should be each week. I knew I hadn’t posted absolutely every single day, but obviously I had no idea. Wow.

Spent a couple of weeks working hard to catch up. 19 posts in 7 days overwhelmed the feed. May posted 35 icons, but still not totally caught up. April really screwed up May.

You can really tell when people like an icon. Sometimes they even surprise me with what is embraced. Stuff I wasn’t really sure about gets kudos. Who knew?

June 2012

June was alright for posts with 21. Not great, but not falling behind too much. The styles are kind of all over the place, but some background shapes are becoming favorites. Trying to stay off the puns, but every once in awhile you just can’t help it. The elusive halfway point is looming at 150. If I were right on schedule, it should have been posted on 6/22, but it didn’t happen. Still about 7 icons behind, but hey, that’s not 18 right?

It’s been hard with work assignments picking up very significantly. Trying to juggle lots of work and summer vacation for the kids is a lot to ask.

Been working a lot of nights lately and not sure how I feel about it yet. Busy is good, but a bit afraid of burnout. The work hasn’t really suffered because of it, with some cool stuff to post on the portfolio site. It’s good to have too much content, I guess.

There you have it. Overall, a pretty good collection of the gamut covered so far. Who knows what number 225 will bring? Thanks for following along. Tell a friend.

So, here we are at no. 75 of the 300 Random icons design challenge. I know it doesn’t sound like much of a milestone, but it is for me. This makes me officially one-quarter of the way to the finish line. And, I’m happy to say that I’m pretty much on schedule to complete the challenge by the end of the year as promised.

If you’ve been following along for any amount of time, I’m sure you’ve seen some interesting trends showing up through the work. There have been some style experiments, shape experiments – some concepts were spot on and some were near misses. But, that’s all part of the process and I’m laying it all out there for you to see. Since we’re at a particular milestone, I thought I would give my readers (you know who you are) a brief update on how it’s going behind the scenes and what I’ve learned about myself and the process so far.

For my own records of this experience, I’ve decided to keep a binder of all the posted work and a file of the development work. Some versions I’ve designed didn’t make the cut, were more or less half-baked or I just couldn’t get them to work – so I didn’t post them. There are many.

Secondly, I’ve been keeping a log of each month and any interesting issues that have come up. For instance, I found that in January I was busting out concepts right and left with a surplus of 5-6 completed icons on deck and ready to post. I was feeling pretty good and thought that maybe this wouldn’t be that hard.

Well, let’s just say it hasn’t always been that easy. Many times, I’ve got one in the sketchbook and found some time during the day to put it together, only to post it very late in the day. Not so great for consistent blogging, right? Hey, I’m trying.

As far as two-word concepts, there are plenty in the surplus, and I’m always adding to it. My sketchbook is brimming with words, but not always visual ideas. On occasion, I go back and doodle something to work with it. This is a nice approach, with much less pressure, but doesn’t always get me the best idea out there – much like any commercial project, I guess.

A neat thing that has been fun is my kids are often asking what the icon of the day is and find great fun in ‘helping me out’ with ideas. I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve posted a few of theirs – hey, they were cool concepts. I get little Post-it notes in my office with their scribbles almost weekly.

Other things I’m finding out about myself on this project:

• I’m sketching a lot more, which is good and nothing energizes like a new sketchbook.
• Posting consistently helps me from overworking the idea and keeping it simple.
• Being consistent with a style is a constant battle, as I have several. It’s not always good to mix and match.
• I’m getting faster and more efficient.
• Experimentation of new styles is fun and challenging.
• There is considerable work in using good contrast with easy-to-read icons and branching out with new color palettes.
• I’m not a big fan of working on Saturday mornings to post work.
• Trying not to let my work suffer either commercially or with the icon project, due to scheduling conflicts – and I don’t want to have to work all the time to accommodate it.
• My iPhone makes a pretty good, down and dirty scanner for sketches. Just email it to yourself.

There you go. Here’s to the next 75, right? Thanks for following along.

After giving this personal design goal a lot of thought, doing it the way I was doing it didn’t seem right.

It didn’t seem right to bury this blog with the constant stream of icon designs and completely ignore the regular content. It was like it didn’t exist anymore. So, I decided that the smart thing to do was start 300 Random icons as its own blog. Now, all the work will be posted and categorized right there for easy browsing and commentary.

I certainly hope you like it. And feel free to come back often.

So here we go. It’s now 2012 and the start of another new year. What better way to begin this next 12 months than a personal design challenge and goal to create some new work and perhaps grow a bit creatively? I can’t think of any. Perhaps I’m a bit cloudy still from the holidays.

To be honest, I’ve been rather impressed and a bit envious of some of the work that my fellow designers and illustrators have put forth in the last couple of years. Some really cool stuff has come out of their personal projects, and I’m feeling like I need something that will force me to work a little harder and expand my horizons. And, who knows, I may develop some new styles, techniques and workflows in the process. You know – learn stuff.

By posting it on this blog, I’ll hopefully be held more accountable for keeping it going and it should be a nice way to see how the project progresses.

I’m not saying all the work will be stellar and some of it may even suck, but it will be all part of the journey and hopefully will help make me a better creative person.

So, what exactly are you going to be doing?

Icons. Essentially, icons that will be communicating a concept with a very simple and clean visual solution. These won’t be icons that you will use for your average website for things like ‘print’ or ‘payment’. I am focusing on taking two keyword phrases (Ex. orange juice) that are all familiar to us and creating an icon that communicates that idea. They might be one-color or many, simple or illustrative in whatever style I may see fit.

They are not meant to work together as a set, but just an exercise in making the visual communicate clearly. As mentioned in the title, they will be random concepts and really could be anything. Some may be basic and some may have a little humor, I just don’t know yet. That’s the cool part of trying something like this.

Can some of these icons work as logo designs? Sure. And some of my icon design could even be considered illustration, depending on the work style.

Why 300 of them?

I picked 300 to try and design and post them often. That way, it would force me to keep with it, but not have to post every single day. I do enjoy my family and weekends.

When are you starting?

I’m starting January 1st, 2012 and continuing until I hit 300 icon designs, whenever that happens, but during the 2012 calendar year.

There you go. Stay tuned for the first installment and wish me luck. I think I’m going to need it.

This weekend, I just finished reading the Walter Isaacson book entitled, Steve Jobs (2011, Simon & Schuster). It truly was a fascinating read about a very complex and interesting man. Love him or hate him, Steve Jobs was one of the most influential people of our times.

Aside from the blog chatter and industry lore, I really didn’t know that much about him, which is one of the main reasons I decided to read the book. This is even coming from someone like myself who’s worked with Apple computers since the late 1980′s. With such candid interviews and thorough research gleaned directly from the source by Isaacson, I found a lot of interesting parallels in my own life experiences as both a creative person and one that works a lot with technology every day.

As we all know, the influence of iTunes on the music industry has made a huge impact on the way we purchase and listen to music. When iTunes was being conceived, there was a lot of file sharing and content piracy going on with Napster and many of their counterparts. That situation is not unlike the growing problem of online intellectual property theft going on in and out of the graphic design industry as well.

As I read about the problem at Apple and the delicate ethics and issues surrounding music and intellectual property, I thought I would share this excerpt:

At this point Jobs could have decided simply to indulge piracy. Free music meant more valuable iPods. Yet because he really like music, and the artists who made it, he was opposed to what he saw as the theft of creative products. As he later told me:

From the earliest days at Apple, I realized that we thrived when we created intellectual property. If people copied or stole our software, we’d be out of business. If it weren’t protected, there’d be no incentive for us to make new software or product designs. If protection of intellectual property begins to disappear, creative companies will disappear or never get started. But there’s a simpler reason: It’s wrong to steal. It hurts other people. And it hurts your character.

Well said, Steve. I hope others starting out in the creative field will read that and let it really sink in.

Now, it’s no secret that Steve Jobs was an often ruthless business man. But, after reading this memoir I found him just as passionate about creating great products and often deciding to take the high road to set the right business tone. They were as he put it, at the crossing of humanities and technology.

It’s not often you hear of a CEO at a major company like Apple making this sort of decision on something like others’ intellectual property. And if you decide to read the book yourself, you will realize why. Often times, paybacks can be a b*tch.

The book is not small (571 pages), but I found it read pretty fast with lots of interesting tidbits about the ‘hows and whys’ of the technology industry and its history. Even if you’re not that into Apple, it’s definitely worth the read.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of being interviewed for one of the up and coming logo design inspiration sites and blogs, The Logo Mix. It’s nice to be recognized in the logo design industry as a guy that spills his guts about the process and somehow makes it interesting, eh? Anyway, I’m always happy to give back. Please give it a read.

Here’s a print campaign we did for client Chinablue, a creator of Shanghai-influenced, gourmet stir-frys, dressings and sauces. It went primarily to the trade publications, but didn’t necessarily need to look like it. This campaign included custom photography of each specific dish, beautifully shot and styled by food photographer, Laurie Vogt. Copywriting by Ellen Shakespeare.

Just received word today that a total of 13 of my recent logo designs will be appearing in the upcoming 2011 publication of Trademarks USA, by David E. Carter. This is especially exciting because the new volume will be published exclusively online through Amazon, Google Editions and Apple’s iBookstore.This means that instead of a standard hard or softcover edition, they will only be viewable digitally. I am very interested in how this works out. The iPad, Kindle, Nook and the many other soon to be released eBook readers have really changed the publishing world and how we view our content. Apparently, Amazon states that for every 100 softcover books sold, 115 Kindle versions are sold as well. We shall see.

In any case, I am honored to have my work included in this latest edition from David E. Carter. For the last 15 years, his books have dominated the best-seller lists for the category of graphic design and advertising. His compilations of outstanding creative work are among the industry standard.

Very excited to announce my logo work’s inclusion in the debut volume of iheartlogos. This inaugural logo design competition is unique in the fact that the competitors are judges and vice versa.

It’s a very different approach to a design competition and the only one of its kind. These five winners were selected among the many other entries by some very talented logo designers and firms from around the world. I am honored to be among the first to get published in this debut volume.

My selections appear on pages 170, 187, 209, 211 and 227, respectively. You can order yours here.

Just posted today is my interview by Duane Kinsey, of Melbourne, Australia’s Logobird for his design studio’s blog. Some very interesting questions were asked about my design process, working with clients and how to overcome project challenges in the corporate identity discipline. I tried my best to answer them completely and I hope you get some interesting information out of it.

Well, here they are. The icon work from my 300 Random Icons project are now available from my new online store on Society6.com. Take a look through the selections and find one (or two) that you like and place your order. Each print features the 300 Random Icons logo and their corresponding name and number. Prints, framed prints and canvas prints are available in assorted sizes. Enjoy!

Here we go. This is the first of my ‘post-game’ analysis posts of the work I created for the 300 Random Icons design challenge. Upon looking back, it was a tough gig. I really never thought it would be as hard and as rewarding as it turned out to be. Sure, I’ve done some pretty gnarly projects in my day with plenty of component parts, each with their own niggling little details, but never so many for so long. Which is why this project was special.

I didn’t have to do it. I actually wanted to do it – which is different, and refreshing.

One of the cool things about it being posted on my own blog is I can flip through all of the work, just like anyone else and really look at it thoroughly and objectively see how far I’ve come in the last 12 months. Of course, as I said in the beginning, they weren’t all going to be gems. Some of them would be pretty cool, some of them I might even rock, but there are also some that will genuinely suck. Which is why I am taking the time to analyze the work and see if I could make it better. That’s how you learn – from your mistakes.

So please, take the time and examine what I’ve posted and let me know what you think. The work that ended up as my favorites, or duds for that matter, may not be yours. And that’s cool. I’d like to hear your feedback. Here goes.

These top ten icons are in no particular order. They’re just my favorite designs from the collection. To be honest, there were a lot more than these ten that could have made the cut, but alas there are only ten spots and we can’t go on forever.

• No. 69 | Tree Farm – I dig this one because of its simple shapes and fun look to the tree farmer. I believe this is the icon that started me using the half-arched background.
• No. 169 | Never Forget – The icon seemed to be the overall feeling of our nation as we try to heal from the emotional wounds of 9/11.
• No. 194 | Corner Kingdom – A simple and clean concept for a infrequently used phrase.
• No. 121 | Virtual Memory – This one is fun for me. It gave me a chance to use an often used visual for memory (the elephant), in a new and unexpected way.
• No. 137 | Time Crunch – Crowding the clock face really worked for me here. I was pretty happy with the result of this solution.
• No. 138 | Shoulder Purse – This one is an example of taking something expected and twisting it around to make it completely different. A prime reason to do this exercise.
• No. 291 | Itchy Sweater – I tried to illustrate this icon with a clean style, but it was obviously not working and I bagged it. Suddenly, I got inspired when I found some brush work I had done for another project.
• No. 224 | Major Cool – I had the urge to design an icon with a popsicle in it. This odd idea is the result.
• No. 110 | News Media – With the way certain events have been portrayed in the media this year, a pretty small fish being hoisted on a heavy-duty hook and tackle seemed appropriate.
• No. 152 | Off Season – My personal jab at the highly over-compensated pro football players that are off-the-clock, livin’ it up and not in the gym.

There they are. Take a look and let me know which ones are your favorites. I’d like to hear it.

A fun, little time lapse video of the creation of one of the 300 Random icons. 300 Random Icons is a personal design challenge to create and design 300 random icon concepts within 2012. This one happens to be no. 213, created on September 24th. Approximate total drawing time is about an hour.

This particular icon is based on a loose sketch from my personal sketchbook. Usually I scan the sketch and use it in Adobe Illustrator as a template. This time around I rendered it without a scan. Enjoy.

You can check out the actual blog entry here.

Well, we’re firmly planted in 2013, and the 300 Random icons design challenge has been completed inside my self-imposed deadline. Woohoo! So, what’s next you say? Are you going to do some other 300 Random challenges, maybe a poster or a book? What? What? Did Oprah call?

Well, no. No Oprah.

The truth is, I’m not sure yet. To be honest, I’m still reeling from the fact that I don’t have to stay up late every night cranking out new icons for the blog – which is nice. And, my brain’s enjoying the recovery at the moment.

After chatting with some of my friends over the holiday about next steps with the blog, I’ve decided to do a little post-game analysis on the work. You know, really look at the stuff and see what shakes out. Just from a cursory glance I can think of a handful of blog posts that might cover anything from reader favorites to stylization to background shapes. Could be interesting?

So, check back periodically and put in your two cents. I’d like to hear it.

Entry no. 300, Finish Line of the 300 Random icon design challenge.

The last and final icon design installment of the 300 random and conceptual icons I’ve designed throughout 2012. Thanks so much for those that decided to follow along. It’s been quite a journey. Stay tuned for new developments with this body of work. And, Happy New Year!

Entry no. 299, Sketch Book of the 300 Random icon design challenge.

Another installment of the 300 random and conceptual icons I will be designing throughout 2012. Feel free to follow along.

Entry no. 298, Personal Growth of the 300 Random icon design challenge.

Another installment of the 300 random and conceptual icons I will be designing throughout 2012. Feel free to follow along.

Entry no. 297, Patiently Waiting of the 300 Random icon design challenge.

Another installment of the 300 random and conceptual icons I will be designing throughout 2012. Feel free to follow along.

Entry no. 296, Next Day of the 300 Random icon design challenge.

Another installment of the 300 random and conceptual icons I will be designing throughout 2012. Feel free to follow along.

Entry no. 295, Last Day of the 300 Random icon design challenge.

Another installment of the 300 random and conceptual icons I will be designing throughout 2012. Feel free to follow along.