Justin Cline

I JUST stumbled upon a great find! Composition is a local boutique store serving up some fresh stuff for creatives. It looks like they have some great items, the likes of which you’d be able to find at places like veer.com. With items like Pantone Mugs, rePurposed messenger bags, a great design book selection, and some über nice contemporary furniture; this is definitely a place to check out. I love seeing this sort of shop, and local to boot!

A side note, they have a really slick site. Semi-transparent png overlays and expanding horizontal sections make this a treat among eCommerce sites. Seeing how much care they took in their online precence… I can’t wait to drop by the store. Check them out at www.shopcomposition.com.

Well, I’ve done it. I purchased my first home and have relocated myself and Ryu Graphix to the RiNo district of Denver.

RiNo (River North Art District) seems very cool so far. I’ve mostly been dealing with moving and getting everything situated, but I’m hoping to wander around a bit over the weekend. After a look at their site I can see I’m in some good company (I knew I liked the place for some reason!)

Moving myself and my design studio has been a breeze so far (aside from 2 weeks without internet… gotta love forced vacations). I’ll be posting some photos up in the next week or so. Just wanted to say a big hello to the FireClay Lofts and RiNo Art District!

I just wrapped up the layout for the Denver Roller Doll’s 2009 Calendar. Entitled ‘School of Hard Knocks’, the calendar will not only showcase the skaters, but also help to educate people on the rules.

I myself have been to a few bouts, and tried to figure out what these girls are doing?! How do they score, why did it stop, what’s with this Dumptruck guy? Hopefully this calendar will answer some of these questions.

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A quick update on the October mustache for charity! It’s going well, and although I’m getting prety tired of this thing… I’m actually getting used to it (I can look in the mirror now).

Check out my profile here if you’d like to support me and my quest to raise some money to help at-risk youth: http://www.mustache4cash.org/users/386. Every little bit will help, and this is the final week.

To commemorate our journey, we took a group shot today. That, plus about an hour in Photoshop and we have the image below. Hope you enjoy! Write a comment if you dig it, or stop by my profile and share some monetary love! Happy Friday.

(Click for larger size)

Ok, I bit the bullet and bought the Photomatix HDR software. I’ve learned how to do the HDR conversion in photoshop and they turned out really stunning. But, I couldn’t leave well enough alone.

I read countless reviews when first learning about HDR, and found that most people recommended the Photomatix software, but similar results could be achieved with Photoshop. Not wanting to pony up the $99 price tag, I told myself I was content with Photoshop.

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Ryu Graphix and I are finishing up initial branding of Bright Media Group. Working with them closely we developed their new identity, consulted on interior design of their new office space, and will be wrapping up with branding collateral.

I’m going to briefly go into the creative and initial concepts, as well as the final logo.

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Just a quick post about some new event sites we just launched. Ryu Graphix and I worked with Breakthrough Management Group International to create some very simple, eye catching sites for events they have coming up. These are based off the same template, and allow for a city skyline images to be used, as well as multiple dates if needed. Take a peek if you’re board and let me know what you think:

BMGI: Recession Proof Your Business
BMGI: Chief Innovation Officer

A quick recap from the Manifest Hope show at the Andenken Gallery and an adjacent warehouse during the Democratic National Convention.

This was truly an inspiring art showing. I genuinely feel moved, more than I have by politics anyway in the past — it was very cool seeing so many younger people getting involved and showing their support. Yes, we can!

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I just wanted to post a quick link to a great rant from this week.

The Denver Egotist: All I Want Is A Decent Creative Brief

Amen brother, amen.

This article got me thinking about my own creative brief, and how to make it better suit my needs. I wanted ask you guys out there:

• What are some of the most beneficial questions on your creative briefs?
• Do you have a unique one per the project? Logo design vs Web design, etc…
• Do you custom tailor one to suit your needs? Do mom and pop logo designs get the same brief that full on corporate branding clients get?

I’ve been kicking around making some modular forms to have clients fill out. A constant component with interchangeable parts that pertain to the work. Feel free to comment with your thoughts, I’d love to hear some opinions and insight out there.

If you don’t have the pleasure of living in Denver, you’ve probably missed the Denver Water campaign. I hate to admit that the first time I took notice of it, I wasn’t cruising the streets… but perusing the pages of a design annual (I’m guessing HOW/Print or Communication Arts). I always love when Denver or Boulder makes it on the design map, but Sukle has knocked this one out of the park!

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