Don’t you hate when you’re taking a leisurely swim in your shirt, pants, and shoes, when suddenly you’re stalked by predatory sharks of the credit card variety? That’s the very scene I just got done illustrating and animating for Unitus Community Credit Union (a Portland, Oregon based credit union). This was a very fun project where I worked closely with Unitus’ head graphic designer, Bill Caddell, to create a quirky, yet ominous world of predatory credit card sharks. To view the animation click here. Be sure to turn the sound on (sound by Andrew Cecka).

I plan on doing a more in-depth post later on detailing the process (storyboarding, sketching, and so on). But for now, enjoy. And no, Unitus does not have a branded Coast Guard-style helicopter.

I wanted to draw people’s attention to an important event happening in Portland this week (Thursday, January 21). It’s a concert called Songs for Haiti, held at the Aladdin Theater in SE Portland. The concert features some of Portland’s musicians Thomas Lauderdale (bandleader of Pink Martini), Cool Nutz, Portland Cello Project, Storm Large, Grammy-nominated pianist Janice Sroggins, and more.

I’ve had the pleasure of creating some newspaper and flash banner ads promoting the event. As you can see from the fancy graphic I designed, 100% of money raised goes to Mercy Corps. You get to have a great evening, and help out the relief effort in Haiti. How cool is that?

More info available at Aladdin Theater’s website here.

Sometimes people say to me, “Josh, you create awesome designs and fun illustrations. But why should I pay for custom work? Isn’t it just eye candy?” Here’s a simple response to that question: “See video below”. It’s an excellent example of the enormous influential power that effective “fun” design has on human behavior. Imagine the stairway traffic as a metaphor for increased business? Whether you’re a start-up company looking to grow your business, or a non-profit looking to spur social change, the importance of effective, thought-out, researched design cannot be overstated!

For some reason I just got the urge to go buy a Jetta.