Don't mess with The Maids

If you are in Toronto, do not miss Buddies in Bad Times production of
The Maids by Jean Genet
Running until October 9
(Above photo: Tanja-Tiziana)

My name is Chris

Just a little sketch I found from my design school days...

Ottawa Action

These are four banners I designed for Greenpeace Canada and their recent campaign, Ottawa Action. Below is a photo from the event on Parliament Hill yesterday. More photos here.

(Photo credit: Ben Powless/OttawaAction.ca)

What the Hell's for Dinner?

In conjunction with the Let's Get Sh*t Done Sheet, I'd like to introduce the What the Hell's For Dinner Sheet!

This is a new tool I've created to take the worry out of weekly food planning. Simply print, plan out your week, and place on your fridge for easy reference.

Download your free copy from my website here!

Let's Get Sh*t Done!

October starts this Saturday - what better way to start a new month than with a new Let's Get Sh*t Done Sheet!

This is a *new* version of the former Get Sh*t Done Sheet, a week-by-week personal task management tool I created to make weekly errands and chores less tedious - and more fun!

Download your free copy from my website here! And enjoy!

Update: 10* reasons to work with me

Here are some shots of my new poster that I had printed this week. How delicious are those colours?!
Have a great weekend, friends!

Alphabet print #1

This is the first in a series of alphabet prints that will be available through my site very soon.
Here are a couple proposed layouts:

Custom prints are always available - just send me an email!

Lincoln

These are 2 prints that I created my dear friend Stacey's son, Lincoln. Both feature my sans serif font, Geometrica, and the bottom one is created with Lincoln's favourite words. This was super fun to work on, and I think the framing and placement in Lincoln's room look perfect. Thanks Stacey!

Suzanne Ferguson

This is a logo I created for my friend, web developer and designer Suzanne Ferguson. She creates websites with a streamlined sensibility and a focus on clarity and usability. Suzanne knows how to keep it simple and elegant, and I think this new logo reflects this.
Good luck on all your future projects, Suzanne!

Good morning, afternoon, evening

Mother Nature's impressive display at Lovesick Lake

The weekend is here

Lots of fun stuff coming next week, including some exciting additions to my portfolio...
Have a great weekend everyone!

Collage type love

1 We Sing As One by Jeff Rogers

2 Vogue Cover by Salvador Dali, 1944

3 ABC by Mike Lemanski

4 Lousiana by A. Micah Smith, part of State Mottos Project

5 Prosperity in 2010 by Jessica Walsh

Some of these via Typeverything, others via the internets

Type around T.O: TTC edition

Officemate

Modular awesomeness

Loving this typeface by Moire via FontSeek

Spectacular

-Paula Scher, quoted from the short PBS Arts documentary, Off Book: Type

10* reasons to work with me

In light of Friday's post on crowdsourcing, here are 10 reasons why you should choose me over sites like 99designs.ca.
Have a great week!

Crowdsourcing?

I have been thinking a lot about design crowd-sourcing in the last couple weeks. The impetus was a radio ad I heard for 99designs.ca, a new-ish graphic design marketplace. Essentially, clients create design contests, establish their prize, and a network of designers produce speculative (spec) work, hoping that their design will be chosen. From their site:

A typical contest has dozens of designers competing to produce the best design. The more money you [the client] offer, the more designers you'll attract.

For some reason, I found this really bothersome. Who is this site really for - clients or designers?
And then, in the last few days, a new site popped up: antispec.com. Their mandate:

Spec(ulative) work is a cancer within the design industry and all designers need to understand their role in fighting it.

This site - and the topic of spec work - seems to be dividing designers all over the internets: those in favour and those against. I am still having trouble formulating my stance on this topic (hence, this post). While I am aware of the overall globalization and "democratization" of online media and labour (n.b. the microstock photography industry in the last 10 years, or more recently, Amazon's Mechanical Turk), I can't help but feel a little shafted as a designer. Design contest sites are taking advantage of designers by creating a sweatshop environment (there's always someone who will do the "same" work for less). And by doing this, these sites are devaluing the graphic design industry as a whole.

I just participated in a crowd-sourcing design contest (the Logo for Human Rights), so I feel a little hypocritical saying that all crowd-sourcing is wrong (prominent designers Tina Roth Eisenberg [Swiss Miss] and Erik Spiekermann were even on the judging panel!) I thought my intentions were good at the time, but perhaps I will think twice before entering another contest, even if it is not-for-profit. As they note on antispec.com:

You’re better off contacting a charity and designing their website for free to add to your folio rather than pissing into the wind at a crowdsource website.  

Sadly, I don't think this trend can or will be stopped anytime soon. As designers, we will have to make the best of it. And we will.

CR

Hello September

Summer is coming to a close in Toronto - you can feel autumn knocking at the door.
I will have some new projects to share in the next month or two... stay tuned!