Changethethought™

Well, I have been candid in the past about how my work sometimes is overly-influenced by other designers (the irony of the image I chose for that post and this incident was not lost on me). In an ever-increasingly globally digital creative environment it is something that I think happens to a lot of us. Sometimes you have to push away from the machine and pick up the pencil.

However, I was a little personally outraged when I saw this particular LRG shirt for sale at Karmaloop. I personally don’t really know very much about LRG, although I did buy a t-shirt of theirs a few years back at a boutique. Apparently their logo is a circular arrow pointing down, almost the inverse of my logo except that mine is a 3 quarter circle turned upward and the arrow is split down the middle. It’s not exactly a new or highly original logo treatment, but when I designed mine (over 5 years ago now), it was meant to symbolize the constancy of change. Again, ironically there is just so happens to be an article in the upcoming issue of Computer Arts describing what my logo stands for.

Regardless, I am not so sure that really gives LRG the right to just flat out lift a poster design I did to promote myself close to two years ago now. Here is the original post to Changethethought when I released my first poster series for sale. Being influenced by someone or bearing a similarity in styles to another designer or artist is one thing, straight taking an existing design, barely altering it and then calling it your own is another thing entirely. And I am positive after comparing my now 2-year-old, copyrighted and globally distributed poster design with this LRG t-shirt that is exactly what LRG did to me. Even the way I pulled all of the colors used in my original poster and placed them in circles at the bottom was handled the same on the LRG t-shirt. I was just kind of shocked when I stumbled upon it while shopping at Karmaloop. I really would like an explanation from LRG. I would also like to know if there is anything I can do legally to resolve the matter. I am guessing not, since I am the little guy but at least I have this blog where I can tell you about it. If I were you, I’d think twice about buying anything from LRG for a while, if not forever.

I design apparel graphics for all kinds of big brands and have been working almost exclusively on apparel graphics the last two months. I would have been happy to discuss designing some graphics for LRG and even consider altering some of my graphics if the price were right and it made sense for both my brand and theirs. Instead of contacting me, I guess LRG felt like it was fine to just go ahead and take without asking. Do me a favor if you feel so inclined, and send LRG an email telling them what you think. And if any of you know how to get in touch with their creative department, please email me and let me know how to get in touch with them. I’d very much like to speak to them myself.

UPDATE:
Just out of curiosity, I decided to recreate the LRG design using the design taken from my poster. You can see this depicted in the last image at the top of this post. The top left corner shows the original treatment from my poster. To the right you can see LRG’s design. In the bottom left my poster graphic has been flipped horizontally and then slightly warped by ’squeezing’ the image and pulling in the edges. In the bottom right the warped image of my poster has been multiplied over LRG’s t-shirt graphic. Can you even tell which is which?

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, LRG, Posters, Rip Off, t-shirts

We are currently ready for the next phase of Changethethought and are seeking to partner with a developer for relaunch of our website. We have a reasonable budget for the project but want to put a new and different kind of blog on the web as well as extending the look and reach of our creative portfolio. We will be contacting potential developers to work with privately as well. However, we feel there is a unique opportunity here to ask our audience, who are comprised of some of the brightest minds in the creative industry if they would like to work with us on the new site. We can guarantee a high level of exposure as well as the promise of producing something that will be noticed for years to come. We intend to continue running the website on the Wordpress platform but are seeking to work with someone who can integrate key commands and jQuery into our new design. We will help drive the design but see this relationship as a creative partnership. You will have insight into the creative process and design as well as developing the final site. This is a chance to try something new that you haven’t had the chance to do for your corporate clients. Our website is the single most important aspect of our growth and is of the utmost importance to us. If you or someone you know might be right for this project please email us through our contact section. Please note, we are not asking for free work here. This is a paying project.

written by Christopher | tags: Blogs, Changethethought, Ctt News, Jobs, Projects, Web Design

I have been working on an ongoing project featuring some of my favorite type faces using random platitudes to give the type a message to communicate thereby helping bring out the personality that is unique to each face. The series is titled ‘Random Platitude 2010 Type Specimen Posters’. I haven’t printed them as of yet and borrowed the technique of over laying the designs onto a template folded-poster background in order to create the illusion of physicality. It’s something I borrowed from Stefan Lucut and a technique I employ on all my designs since I rarely have any time to photograph them nor do I have access as of yet to decent photography equipment. I will most likely be making more of these and am planning to print some in the near future. I have recently completed some big projects for some big brands and I will be posting those soon as well. Big plans in the works for Changethethought in 2010.

You can view the rest of the posters in the PRINT section of the site.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Platitudes, Posters, Typography

I have officially resigned my position as Art Director at Cactus Communications in Denver. My Creative Director and I decided it was time for me to do what has needed to be done and amicably part ways to allow me to begin focusing all of my attention on Changethethought. The nearly 4 years I spent at Cactus has been one of the best times I have ever had in the creative industry. I leave behind some very close friends and people I respect very highly. I will miss them every day as I start out on this new venture. They have been amazingly supportive of my efforts to launch Changethethought as a design studio and I will continue to seek their advice as I start out on my own.

I will begin working on remodeling my studio next week where I will now be running Changethethought. I have a few small creative client projects planned already for 2010. We will also be launching a new website this spring. The new website will be much more robust than the current version offering much more in terms of content and usability. We will also now be able to focus much more quality time on delivering better content. Soon we will be seeking more authors for the blog.

We have full capabilities as a design studio and are currently seeking project work. If you are interested in hiring us for your next project please send an email to hire(at)changethethought.com. We will be focusing our efforts on 3 branches, creative inspiration, creative merchandising and creative services. We will also be focused on enriching the creative community in Denver and are already involved in working toward planning and hosting events in 2010.

We are also currently seeking sponsorship for the next version of the site. Please contact us if you would like to see our current analytics and are interested in supporting us. Cheers to 2010.

written by Christopher | tags: , Cactus, Changethethought, Denver, Graphic Design

I just wanted to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of my friends and readers in the U.S. and across the globe. Thank you so very much for your support this year. It has meant so much. I hope to give you all much much more this next year and it has been a real pleasure and blessing receiving all of the emails from so many amazing and creative people from all over the world. Enjoy some time with your family and give your mind a break so you are ready to make new and wonderful things after the holiday season. You deserve it.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Christmas, Holiday

My letterpressed holographic foil stamped on black Plike card stock business cards are now up for viewing in the print section. I apologize, I am not a photographer but you have to trust me when I say they look much better in person. So far everyone I have handed one too has been excited to receive it. They were printed by local Denver vintage letterpress studio Foils and Dies. Thank you to Rob for helping me achieve the colors from the Changethethought website in physical reality. The holographic foil has a long wavelength so when held up to a light source you can really see an amazing array of color.

written by Christopher | tags: Business Cards, Changethethought, Ctt News, Foils and Dies

2010 is going to bring some serious changes to Changethethought. I am currently concepting new ideas and strategies for the next phase of the website. Currently I have decided there will be 3 major sections of the website. The sections will be the blog, the studio and the store. Each section will be a site within a site. The store will most likely be very simple and mirror the current Merchline website. There will be sponsored advertising on the new site as well but I am going to filter the advertising to keep it relevant for the audience. I want to avoid having anything on the site that isn’t something useful for the readers. I have tried to avoid advertising in the past but the site has grown too much and I need extra support to keep developing Changethethought further and offering more to the readers.

The studio site will include the collective portfolio of both myself and other Changethethought creative members. You will also be able to view minimized portfolios of Changethethought authors and contributors.

The store (in time) will also offer up goods from Changethethought authors and contributors, so hopefully everyone involved can benefit if they so choose.

It is really not terribly difficult arranging boxes and selecting fonts when designing a website, but what really counts is content. The reason the content counts is because that is the value offered back to the readers.

With that in mind I would very much like to ask all of you what you would like to see on the next version of Changethethought. Some of the current ideas involve the main curated blog feed, an image only feed, a user generated feed, a section for interviews with other artists and designers, a non art/design side blog news feed, a link list, a featured artist/designer banner section, a recommended product/fashion section and potentially a forum. Larger images will remain but there will most likely be an expanded option that allows for longer posts and more in depth reads. The links will remain on the main page though, so you won’t have to expand the post to inject the inspiration vein quickly and directly.

Please leave a comment and tell me what you would like to see on the new version of the site. I want this to be something different that helps everyone. I want to make this a community. I want it to be a first of it’s kind where inspiration, a creative service cloud network and products are all provided in one spot. I am looking for ideas from people who matter most. You. And I thank you so much for the support that has brought Changethethought this far.

written by Christopher | tags: , Changethethought, New Blog, New Site

I am a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick. I am also a huge fan of his landmark achievement in film that in my opinion has never been matched, 2001: A Space Odyssey. I am also a fan of Kubrick’s favorite font, Futura. Tonight while watching that movie with my computer in my lap (like any good multitasking American) I thought it might be fun to knock out some posters celebrating 3 of my great loves with 3 different posters. I realized in the process just how remarkable the movie really is that it can be represented through such minimal symbology. Anyway, it was a fun little exercise and you can see the other 2 posters in the print section of the site. I am not sure I could print a run of these without getting in trouble but I will probably print some just to hang around my home.

written by Christopher | tags: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Graphic Design, Posters, Stanley Kubrick

Well, it’s time for my first vacation in something like two years. I will be traveling to Sunderland on Friday evening to attend the Think Tank show at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art. I will be in Newcastle for a couple days after that and then on to Barcelona for 5 days, then Berlin for a few days and maybe Hamburg or provincial Northern Germany. I will be traveling with my wife. I hope to rekindle some romantic fires and find some new inspiration. I have some big plans upon my return. I will be redesigning then hiring someone to redevelop and then relaunch the blog. I have an account now with Media Temple as well, who will be sponsoring the hosting for Changethethought now. I will be moving over to their servers when I return from my Holiday.

I want to say thank you for all of the sincerely amazing submissions that have been rolling in lately. I have seen some amazing things and beg you to keep them coming. Many more of the posts now are coming from user submissions and I hope that number continues to rise. I also wanted to apologize for any unanswered emails or forgotten posts. I have been overwhelmingly busy this year between my work for Cactus, my new house and Changethethought. I am doing things I love right now though and that is all that matters. I work with some really wonderful people who make me laugh everyday, and I have been surrounded by and speaking with some truely talented and inspiring people this year. All of this is a real blessing.

I have added some new Editors to the site in the last few days and hopefully there will be a few posts while I am away. It is a full time job posting as many things to this site as I do, so I don’t expect that from my Editors. That is my job. Expect that job to resume full throttle upon my return and thank you so much for your support. Keep those submissions coming and stay tuned for more.

You can download a wallpaper for your iPhone of the above logo treatment (minus the type at the bottom) right here. Just click and hold on your iPhone and save the image. See and speak with you again in two weeks.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Ctt News, Holiday, vacation

I will be in Sunderland, England (north country) for an exhibition at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art this Friday. The show is part of North East England’s annual design festival. I am really excited to be a part of the show this year and just had to be there in person. If you are in or around Newcastle or Manchester, hop on a train or bus and try to make it out to say hello. I will be flying into Newcastle this Friday at 5pm and hauling ass to make it to the gallery around 6:30 or 7. I hope to see and meet you there.

More about the show:
Britain’s leading think tanks collaborate with leading designers to imagine how we might create a better nation.

‘Think Tank’ is part of the Design Event 09 (DE09), the North East’s annual design festival, www.design-event.co.uk.

The preview evening is part of the DE09 Sunderland Launch Night. A bus will be available to take people to the different venues. To book a place on on the bus or find out more visit  www.design-event.co.uk.

written by Christopher | tags: Graphic Design, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Think Tank

I just put 2 new posters in the print section of the site. They were both created by recycling some old graphics. I am trying to get back to my schooling a little bit and simplify my approach to my graphic design work. I am still working on some new illustrations as well. I also just had some really nice business cards printed last week that were letterpressed with holographic foil. The design of the cards is very simple but the the subtle combination of the black rubberized paper and foil really turned out much nicer than I had even expected. I will post some pictures next week. Stay tuned for more. There are a lot of plans in the works yet this year and Changethethought will most likely look much different next year. I also wanted to thank all of the people who have been sending in emails of their work. There has been some really amazing people emailing in lately and that has been really exciting. Thank you.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought News, Graphic Design, Posters

Insound has teamed up with renowned hand-style typographer and illustrator Mike Perry to create 10 designs for classic indie, punk and post-punk bands spanning the last few decades. The end result is 10 tee shirts, matching posters and tote bags.

Insound contacted Changethethought and has offered to give away a t-shirt to one of our readers. The shirt, which you can see above, is for the classic lo-fi indie rock pioneers ‘Beat Happening - Olympia Zine Sunshine’. All you have to do is visit this page at Insound and enter to win. The winner will be announced next Thursday September 24th.

Free stuff. You can’t miss.

written by Christopher | tags: Beat Happening, Contests, Fashion, Insound, Mike Perry

I am still trying to work out some new ideas for illustration. I have been drawing up a storm lately and finishing the coloring of the graphite drawings in Photoshop. I have gotten some interesting results lately and you can check them out in the illustration section.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Ctt News, Drawing, Illustration

Next week on Wednesday June 24th, the official Bike to Work day here in Colorado, Denver-based advertising agency Cactus (for whom I work as an Art Director) is throwing its inaugural Bike From Work Bash . I can personally guarantee a seriously kick ass throwdown the likes of which will be stuff of legend forever recorded in the mythical annals of Denver lore. You have to seize any available opportunity to use the word ‘annals’.

There will be Illegal Pete’s burritos, Breckenridge beer, Amp energy drinks (and Amp Energy girls), a live DJ (my good friend Tom Metz), bike stunts by Yellow Designs, bike valet service from Bike Denver along with security provided by the Denver Roller Dolls. I also designed the materials for the event, although it was a collective effort with my Creative Director Norm Shearer, Art Director Matt Chiabotti and Copywriter Lee Perlman (he’s the crazy guy in the helmet in the video above). Consequently, Indyink will have have larger 2-color screenprinted Bike from Work posters available at the event as well. As far of the event overall is involved, it was a big team of us at Cactus who put our heads together to pull this off and we poured the love in all the way to the top.

There will be also be a ‘Revenge of the Nerds-style’ tricycle relay race. The race is being hosted by Ad2 Denver and will benefit Wish for Wheels, a non-profit organization dedicated to supplying bikes for kindergarten students. Relay teams will consist of 5 members and the cost per entry is $100. There will be prizes given to teams with the most creative uniforms and tricycles. Maybe a team of luchadores?

You really can’t miss. There is going to be stunts, food, drinks, pretty people, money going to charity and you can rub elbows with the local creative and advertising people. I will be there for the duration of the party helping set up and break down (I am in it to win it). So, if we have yet to meet, stop by and say hello. It’s going to be a lot of fun.

The mayor said he wasn’t coming but that’s just an added reason to turn the volume all the way up to 11. Especially after turning down the best invitation ever.

written by Christopher | tags: Advertising, Bike from Work Bash, Cactus, Denver, Events

I want to personally apologize for the site misbehaving periodically for the last couple of weeks. The current traffic numbers have become to high for my host to handle under my current plan and consequently they have been shutting me down until I upgrade. Unfortunately the cost is now about 5 times higher now than when I started the site and I am looking for a better host. Currently the site is averaging around 200GB of exchange/bandwidth a month and growing each and every month. My current plan allowed for 20GB.

So the conundrum arises. I am now on the market for a new host. Changethethought has grown enormously over the last year and is now reaching a very large audience. So I need a host who can handle a growing site and would be interested in potentially marketing their services through the site. I have tried hard to keep the site ‘ad free’ but the expense of running it is starting to worry my wife and I. I didn’t really realize just how crazy this was going to get. Good problem to have I guess but now I have to find a new way to handle it. Any and all suggestions welcome and thank you for visiting. New and better things are on the horizon.

I am currently considering Media Temple but am still not sure.

written by Christopher | tags: Ctt News, Hosting Services, New Host, Site Down

I was browsing through some of my older work today and for some reason it struck me just how much my work bears influence from things I have seen. I spend so much time looking at other creative work that sometimes I feel over saturated by it. You start to pick and choose and push and pull the elements that you think people want to see and what you think will gain favor. Unfortunately, without even realizing it, the end result is that I end up producing work that resembles things I have seen and like much too closely.

A lot of times I will kick off working on something by gathering inspiration and then starting out. After I have started on something, I cast aside the inspirational resources and work until I feel I am done. After that, I usually never look to the inspirational sources again and trash them. Its not until much later that I will sometimes stumble across something on the net or in print, that I realize just how close some of my work turns out looking like whatever I looked at before I started working. I have always had a powerful memory and I used that memory to get through classes as a pre-med/chiropractic major for the first couple years in college. I switched over to design later in my studies. It’s a great thing to have, but sometimes I think it hurts me because I take a mental note of something and am able to recreate something I have seen very quickly and easily (just from memory).

So I end up being a junk man, a collector of influences and images with no real original or individually recognizable feature. I am growing as a creative and a designer just by continually working, but in order to reach something that is really my own, I need to push away from my current process and do something completely different. One of my greatest influences in the past was Shepard Fairey (Obey Giant). Although I still have a lot of respect for Shepard and always will, I am not sure anymore if I agree with appropriating imagery and inspiration. I think the real objective of an artist and a designer (creative not commercial), is to reach something that truely represents you as an individual and carve out your own space.

As a result of this questioning and searching, I will be cleaning house. I am going to be slowly casting out things in my portfolio that I think too closely resemble things I have seen. I will no longer be appropriating imagery or collaging appropriated imagery into my work. I will still be blogging like a mad man, but I am pushing away from the computer when I start working on my personal art and design work. I am picking back up the pencil and starting there. Hopefully, a change will begin to emerge in my work that I have been seeking and my real identity as a creative will begin to finally emerge. That is my end goal. This won’t happen overnight. It will be a slow process but in time I think my creative work will take on a completely different aesthetic that belongs entirely to me.

I have never hidden myself from public scrutiny on this blog. I wanted it to be something different. I wanted it to be something that helped me grow as an individual, artist and designer, but also share that growth and inspiration with my peers and the world. I think of it like a conversation I am having with a very large audience. It helps me to state my intentions and bear my flaws and mistakes. I just want to hit the reset button on some of the things I have done and turn over a new leaf.

As a result of this epiphany, I will be culling down my print and design work and casting out the things I think don’t represent my new ethos. And eventually, I will most likely pull my work from the site, and continue Changethethought as a source of creative inspiration while housing my studio work elsewhere (Changethethought studio, if you will). I am no where near what I hope to achieve as a designer and artist and I hope committing to this new model will push me where I want to go faster.

Again, thank you for visiting the blog and being a part (even if it’s just spectating) of my growth and journey as an artist and designer. I won’t bore you with my inner-struggles anymore. Back to design porn.

written by Christopher | tags: changing, convictions, Ctt News, reinvention

Well, I am in it to win it with the American dream now as I have purchased a new home here in Denver, Colorado complete with adjacent art gallery and studio (yes, there is literally an art gallery in my back yard). Needless to say, I am on the hunt for projects to help me hold down the fort. I will also be working towards putting together some design/typography related art shows next year at the gallery as soon as I have it up to speed. It’s high time to bring the international design scene to Denver. There is a hunger here for it and I am ready to load up the plate.

I recently completed a large series of comps for Ride Snowboards and I am currently seeking more project work in the snow/skate sports market. I am also just looking for new freelance project work in general. Have a look at the recent work for Ride and please contact me via hire(at)changethethought.com if you are interested in discussing using or collaborating with Changethethought for your next project.

Here endeth the self-promotional plug (gotta feed the family).

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, freelance, Graphic Design, snowboards

Changethethought will be a little slow for the next week. I am moving into a new house and will not have internet on my property the following week. I will still be posting during the day though. So think more 3-5 posts a day as opposed to the normal 8-10. I will be back in full swing the week after, once I have established a connection.

Don’t worry though, I will still be doing all I can to bring the news next week. This weekend will however be slower than usual. Thank you so much for all the support lately. The blog has been receiving a huge volume of traffic the past few weeks and that has been great thing to watch happen. I promise once I am settled that I will come back stronger than ever and keep trowling the internet to find every scrap of interesting material I can find.

written by Christopher | tags: Ctt News, First House (Yeah), Moving, Reduced Posts