Digital Rain

Digital Rain

In the dark of downtown, on a vacant street, the city's lights bounce off each raindrop to create an array of tiny light bulbs levitating in mid-air. Their reflection off the streets below create an endless river of purples and blues.

I close my eyes, and when I open them I find this little scene was all but a dream; instead, a close-up of an old pair of jeans.

Digital Rain wdsiemer

Helvetica Coffee

Helvetica in the Morning http://design-milk.com/helvetica-in-the-morning/

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Mayan Doomsday

If I had time I would have posted a photo of this week's temperature as scheduled and not 999 degrees or meteorite showers, etc. Etc.

Update: There!

Instagram Response

IGN Article

Instagram Will Own Your Photos

Instagram says it now has the right to sell your photos

In its first big policy shift since Facebook bought the photo-sharing site, Instagram claims the right to sell users' photos without payment or notification. Oh, and there's no way to opt out.

Rube Goldberg

Gravity-Defying Rube Goldberg Video

Lead Singers

Pantone Color of The Year (Emerald)

This was announced a while back, but I wanted to include it on The Sketchpad for archival sake.
Pantone Color of The Year (Emerald)

---FROM THE ARCHIVES---

Color of the Year for 2012: Tangerine Tango

Color of the Year for 2012: Tangerine Tango
Dec. 8, 2012

2012's shade, PANTONE® 17-1463 Tangerine Tango, is a reddish orange shade, described by the brand as "vivacious" and "enticing."

In this image courtesy of Pantone, the color swatch for Pantone's Tangerine Tango is shown. The world doesn't need more gray, and the blues are covered, too. What consumer products need is a jolt, a shot of energy and boldness, all of which comes from Tangerine Tango, the reddish-orange hue that Pantone has picked as its top color for 2012. (AP Photo/Pantone) 

Mr. Potato Head Wall

Mr. Potato Head Vector

By creating Mr. Potato Head as a vector; I am able to print each component separately as a removable wall graphic, so you can piece together your own creation.

Angry Birds

I was wondering if a cheat sheet like this existed...

Behold, The Winning Swipe For Every Level Of Angry Birds

Behold the winning swipe for every level of Angry Birds

Wizard Parking Only

The guys at work made me my own parking space sign...

Past & Future Famous Logos

Fun idea... Past & Future Famous Logos
via FASTSIGNS / StockLogos

Amazing Anamorphic Illusions

Neil Dawson's Horizons

Inspiration - Neil Dawson | Home

ICS Logo

Freelance design--logo

Dirty Keyboard

Will there be a time when physical keyboards are no longer relevant?

Ancient? Not yet. wdsiemer

Same Image / Different Results

An interesting part of maintaining a blog and supplying "free" graphics is the fact that the same image gets used in different ways. Some people/companies have contacted me about using my images like my Obama Gay Pride emblem, and Cincinnati Skyline silhouette; while others just found the image and ran with it.

When I create my images, I personalize (alter) them in a subtle way to determine if I was the original artist. I've seen the skyline included in at least three designs including a billboard. Listermann Brewing contacted me, and created an awesome graphic from the skyline, while Cincinnati Resident Spouse Association used it as an element in their logo.

I've always enjoyed the idea of re-purposing one image for multiple causes--it shows originality and creativity. Artists can express one idea in millions of different ways.

Listermann Brewing

The following text:

This year I've been going to dinner outings and book clubs with the Resident Spouse Association, a support/social group for fellow residency spouses and a ready-made place to find new friends in a new city, plus ones who completely understand the craziness of this stage of life.

The person who used to host a website for the group moved away, so they started a blog in its place - and I got to personalize it from the generic template. We didn't have any kind of logo, so I started by finding a free-use silhouette of the Cincinnati skyline to create an identity, but then I was stumped about where to go with colors... And that's where the pinspiration came in. I love the colors in this photo, fun and vibrant but not too girly (which I sometimes have a tendency toward), plus two of them are in the hospitals' logos so quite fitting!

Don't forget to bring a towel

A recent character I streamlined for Cintas... Remind you of anyone? Anyone want to get high? :)

Solitude

Solitude wdsiemer

Texas Secession

I could go on a rant of why a Texas secession isn't a realistic idea, but it doesn't warrant my valuable time. I get it--made your point...

Do it, Texas! I dare you. :)

Texas Secession Petition

As a point it sounds good, but it makes a lot less sense when you look at the actual details of what a Texas secession would involve.

Goodbye Hostess (Repost)

A re-post from The Sketchpad on Jan. 12, 2012: Goodbye Hostess...

Gold Twinkies | William D. SIEMER II

Twinkies maker Hostess seeks bankruptcy protection

As a kid, me and my mom would sometimes go to the local Hostess store to get some produce, bread, and a box of Hostess snacks. It eventually shut down, followed by the other location, the company filed for bankruptcy in 2004, changed its name to Hostess Brands in 2009, and now filed for bankruptcy once again early in 2012.

Supposedly Twinkies last forever, so hold on to them like gold to see if their value increases over time because Hostess profits sure need to...

Twinkies: Good as gold wdsiemer ii

Don't blame me, I wasted my vote on Roseanne

Phrases we've heard a lot (sort of...)

Don't blame me, I wasted my vote on Roseanne.

I didn't post one thing about politics on facebook, but people decided to unfriend me, call me an idiot, and my family practically disown me. Whatever.

Note: Wow, my monitor at work is so off that I couldn't tell how bad the Photoshop work looked until I got home.

Updated Resume

Not that anyone followed The Sketchpad anyway, but in case you were wondering where I've been...

We sold our business, and I am staying on as a Graphic Designer/Creative Consultant. The transition was smooth for the most part, but the updating of equipment, networks, and archives have been time-consuming and tedious. However, it was all for the best.

We are updated with new workstations/networks running Windows 7/MAC 64-Bit and Adobe CS6, and are using new printing materials. Exciting times, but has also been stressful.

Hopefully, I can get back to the blog with new ideas and updates.

-Will

Babies for Obama

Residue left from my t-shirt

President Obama

We have had our share of anti-Obama sign request, so it was quite the relief to get a project from the official Obama campaign for his rally at UC. I believe society should embrace the positives of the candidate they support over demeaning their opposition. I try to stay silent on politics to avoid conflict with others who like to explain why I'm wrong. (Photo by Brent Cole)

My Skeleton

My Skeleton

A graphical experiment... On the left is a diagram of the skeletal system. On the right is my photograph illustrated with the bones manipulated to appear as an x-ray. May be inaccurate as it was a test.

Little Nemo

Not the fish...

Seeing the Google Doodle today with an animation/illustration of Little Nemo inspired by Winsor McCay's comic, I was reminded of the Little Nemo Nintendo game I used to rent from the local video store.

Cornfield

Corn maze

FASTSIGNS Vehicle Wrap

This was my first real attempt at setting up and printing a full vehicle wrap and perforated vinyl. The challenge was not having a proper vehicle template and modifying the art file to create one seamless wrap of the icons around the vehicle. I learned a lot along the way, and feel next time I could do it better (re-position the stock imagery) and more time-efficient (it took several hours to set up, but I didn't have a lot of RAM on my computer either).

Note: Sorry, we don't have a great store camera either...

The Costs of Logos

The next time you're worried that the few hundred dollars you're paying a good designer for an effective logo is too much, keep some of these in mind... Logo Rebranding Costs

Wendy's New Logo

Figured this one was coming... The Sketchpad Archive

How long before Wendy is rebranded to be hip like Colonel Sanders? I guess being animated made her pretty cool. I like my red-headed sister the old-fashioned way she is. 01/08/11

Wendy's New Logo

Gashouse Guerillas

Concept

Girl Scouts New Cookie Packaging

Before

After

Ford Fusion

Back when I first saw the concept for the new Ford Fusion I right away thought of Aston Martin. I don't know cars all that well, but I guess I was correct in my design assumption.
http://wdsiemer.blogspot.com/2012/01/2013-ford-fusion.html

Printed Stuff

ABC at Oktoberfest Cincinnati

Erin Andrews Cintas

Monster cut-outs

NKU

The guy I work with made this the other day, and now it appears on NKU's front page of its website.

New ebay Logo

Every one is going clean... Daily Mail

Casa Del Agua (Packaging Inspiration)

Casa Del Agua

Logo Chart

Improve your logo design: 20 pro tips and tricks!

Is there a perfect process for a logo design? Leading designers explain how best to organise your workflow to create brilliant marques.