Say Hello to SneakerDry!

EXTRA EXTRA, Read all about it! SneakerDry keeps feet dry!

Back in June some friends and I debuted a new project. SneakerDry is an innovative product that every runner can use. How many times have you gone running and come home with soaking wet shoes? I can't count the times that on my run I encountered that unexpected monsoon, open fire hydrant, or puddle that looked especially splashy, only to return home with drenched, smelly shoes.

Don't Fret! SneakerDry is here to help. Before, it might take days for my shoes to fully dry out before I could run in them again. I dare not put them in the dryer--who know what shape they'd shrink into... Now there's a new solution. Just shove a few sheets of my trusty SneakerDry into my shoes and before I know it, I'm ready to go! And don't worry about paper waste; SneakerDry is completely recyclable!

SneakerDry first hit the scene in June as the program for the race program for the Front Runners New York, Lesbian and Gay Pride Run 2010. It was a big hit, providing useful information about the race, sponsors, and runners before the race, and then saving shoes afterwards.

The product is still evolving as we develop ways that you can customize it for your own particular race and as we get it ready to sell in stores. Please feel free to contact me or Damian, SneakerDry owner/founder, if you're interested in using it at one of your functions at Damian@SneakerDry.com. The website is currently under development, where you'll be able to purchase SneakerDry, as well as, upload your own artwork to make your own custom SneakerDry.

I've contributed all the artwork for SneakerDry. Everything from the logo, info graphics, to the layout for the Pride Run. It's been a super fun project to work on, combining my interests in running and design.

Because of the popularity of the newspaper during the 50s, I've been relying on it for as my influence. I picked up one of those great Taschen Icons books (50s Fashion: Vintage Fashion and Beauty Ads) and thinking of (one of my favorite movies) The Incredibles for inspiration. I'm really happy with the result--a logo that can stand independently and work as the header for our paper. I used the typeface Las Vegas by the type foundry House Industries and allowed it to dictate the shapes I used for the rest of the logo.

The most fun part for me were the graphics to describe how to use SneakerDry. It was a real challenge to simply the step and come up with images to represent the concepts. The best part was stretching to draw in a style I'm not accustomed to. I love the little runner man at the end of the steps. I'm hoping the project allows me to create some more similar work. I've already gotten to draw a little biker man for the project, as those bikers have to deal with the same problem.


There's definitely more to come on this project. Please contact me if you're a race director and are interested in using SneakerDry at one of your events.

And remember, Dry Feet are Happy Feet!!

Illustration & Graphic Design Explosion!

So many things to blog, so little time. I've been procrastinating on posting so many different things. I'm months behind! This, I just had to share because I'm sooo excited. Sign-ups have begun at Long Island University Brooklyn Campus, where I will be teaching in the spring. I can't wait.

:)

Front Runners New York Lesbian and Gay Pride Run 2010

June is New York City Gay Pride Month and June 26th - 27th was Gay Pride weekend; and what a weekend it was! Once again this year, I was asked by Gabriel "Gabby" Celis the Race Director of the Front Runners New York Pride Run to design the logo, advertising and t-shirt (and program, which I'll discuss in another post) for the Pride Run, a 5 mile race through scenic Central Park.

This year was just as crazy an experience as last, working with the Front Runners New York (FRNY) as I created a dozen different variations of the ad for newspapers, magazines, and the web and was at the whim of the crazy sponsors who couldn't make up their mind if they, in fact, wanted to be sponsors, or not.

Despite all aforementioned craziness, everything turned out great! I heard rave reviews from Front Runners, sponsors, and publishers, alike, on all the ads.


The real standout from the event was the race t-shirt. President of Front Runners, Rob Lennon, pushed the team to support getting a super-slick tech t-shirt for this year's race. It was a risky move, as lots of money can be lost on a high-ticket item by the club if the race isn't well attended, but it really paid off. I was able to create a really nice design to match the quality of the shirt and it was a success. Everyone loved the shirt and for the first time, they actually, completely, ran out of shirts before the race. I was told on numerous occasions racers offered to pay for an additional shirt, because they loved it so much.


Of course, people will always say nice things to the designer, who is also their friend, but the proof was on race day when an unprecedented number of runners showed up, ready to run, in the race t-shirt. It was amazing to see so many people wearing my shirt at the same time. I know this is going to be a shirt I'm going to see for years running through the park.


Imagery for the Pride Run is always difficult. There are a number of contributing factors that make the process a little extra special. The ad almost came as a "free pass" as the club decided to use an existing image I had created (see post on FRNY Annual Report 2010). The main difficulty is that the club is so darn welcoming! The ad needs to appeal to so many people -- fast, slow, women, men, butch, fem, fabulous, gay, straight, questioning, and everything in between!


The t-shirt is extra difficult, as well, as we want it to represent Front Runners, as well as not scare off anyone who might be a little skittish around the subject of sexuality (not to mention, the shirt was some pretty funky colors to start with -- who wears neon green??). With input from the FRNY Board, a perfect balance was achieved; a larger than life rainbow radiating over New York city and the park. It just so happens that the concentric semi-circles perfectly match the stripes of the adidas shirt. Could things work out more perfectly. I love it when these things just fall into place. With a little splash of FRNY orange here and there to make everything pop, viola!


As far as the race itself, things went pretty well for me, too. It was a hot and humid day for a race in the park with 73° weather and 71% humidity, but I managed to have a decent race. As always, I went out too fast (5:05 first mile) but then was able to (or had to) slow down to finish with a 5:20 average pace and a PR of 26:44. Of course I'm happy with any PR I can get, but I had set a goal of a 5:15 pace for the race. So, I guess I'll just have to try again next year.

In the overall results I placed 11th and finished as the first Front Runner, winning the Steve Gerben Award. You can find the full results on the New York Road Runners website, as well as some great pictures.

Overall, it was a great race and a great weekend. After the race (and before the race), I spent lots of time with Front Runners celebrating. Sunday was the Gay Pride March as well as more celebrating. It was truly a great weekend, and I'll remember it every time I see one of those great race t-shirts. :)


For more information on Front Runners New York, visit their website, and maybe I'll see you at a run!


Special thanks to Da Ping Luo, Ted Paszek, and NYRR for photographs.

Super Family

You could say this was a Super-fun piece to create. A friend of mine asked me to create a family portrait for his partner for his birthday. The whole thing was very hush, hush, as it was a surprise.

Their family consists of their two, twin (adorable!) sons and them. The only instructions I was given was make it big (3'x5'), so it would fit their large wall, make it focus on the boys, and to do something fun. It was also hinted that the birthday boy had a thing for comics, which is why they thought of me as the creator of this piece.

With that in mind, I was a little nervous about creating something they'd like. That much freedom gives a lot of places to mess up, but I was assured they trusted me, and didn't even want to see sketches before I began the final piece. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, though, and I just prayed they'd enjoy the idea.



I was nervous throughout the creation of the whole thing cause of issues of size, using watercolor (a very unforgiving media), and not to mention I had to get four likenesses! You could say the whole piece just "flew" by, though, once I got started. For fun, I decided to take some pictures as I worked. Half way through, I decided it would be fun to turn them into an animation. As I wasn't planning this, I have to apologize for the lack of clothing in some of the stills. Now you know the perks of working from home...

It was a really fun piece to work on. I'm so happy to have had the opportunity. I was also lucky enough to be able to visit the piece at it's new home.

Letter from a Long Lost Lover...

Dear Blog,
Sorry, it has been so long since I have written you. I have been very busy and have much to share. I promise to keep in better touch. Hope you are doing well. I miss you.

Sincerely,
John