I'm working on a few projects right now, including some case studies.



One thing I've been focusing on is a new ad campaign for Duron Paints & Wallcoverings (a division of The Sherwin-Williams Company). I've also tried revamping the logo and I'm working on a few slogans. "Paint in color" seems to be my favorite at the moment. Having "Paints & Wallcoverings" as part of the logo might not be necessary as they have an established brand identity with commercial clients. The idea with the "little boxes" design study is to test the idea of using "drab" paint swatches contrasted with bright vibrant colors while trying to create motion within the space. It's a work in progress, but the Flash potential is great. One thought is to create a paint game or tool using Shockwave to take people from "drab to fab" in no time flat. (This same tool could be applied across a broad range of brands and using in various other applications, including in-store kiosks.)

The hope/focus is to build on the brand and make Duron a designer's must-have. Designers appreciate good design, clean logos and a cohesive brand strategy. Duron does not have that. As a part of Sherwin-Williams, it might be a better option to market the Duron brand as the "green" division in order to capitalize on the current wave of eco-centric consumer interest.

As I've stated for many years now, if you look at economic downturns or slowdowns in market growth, you'll notice a trend after the initial shock of the lowered sales revenues and market adjustments: advertising and design budgets generally increase. Most companies understand that the best time to invest in smart, focused and brand-developing advertising is when the market is souring. There is never a more important time than an economic slowdown to prove to customers your company's value and to create or enhance a need. Aside from having a solid product or service, advertising and design is the most fundamentally important thing any company can invest in order to whether the storm while increasing brand loyalty and exposure.


We're also working on developing the branding for a new campaign strategy and design firm. The idea is to capitalize on the growing emphasis of campaigning through the web. The idea behind the above design directions is to no only think about potential slogans and their marketing potential, but also convey a non-partisan approach to campaign website design, administration and strategy. We're playing with color, but I'm a big fan of Pantone 412-406. Especially when it's paired with minty 351 or cool blue 3105. I'm liking 1767 pink this week too.

Labels: Advertising, Case Study, design, Duron, JSDS, Justin Schuck, Marketing

I just want to let you in on a well-known secret. I have, along with others, gone over and over on the various design directions for my main photography website, JustinSchuck.com — where this blog is hosted. I'm a consummate perfectionist with a revisionist streak. Here now are some screen shots (in chronological order) of my design evolutions.

The design below was originally designed as a placeholder. Theoretically there was going to be a flash version of the site where the boxes moved around on mouseover and the images would change up and have lots of funky transitions. After about 6 months or more of the placeholder, I started making updates and expansions which leads us to the next design.



So this was the last real evolution of the design still visible on the vintage (legacy) site still hosted on the main server. I eventually reached the point of frustration and admitted that the site wasn't going to change much and I made some adjustments to typeface and the structure of the site.



Before I settled on the semi-permanent design direction above I started working on several new design directions at once. The next four designs were worked on simultaneously. You can clearly tell which design directions received the most attention. You may also note the temporary name change. At the time we were starting this project we were also taking on financial partners to build what could have been "The Justin Schuck Gallery & Studio." There were several designs in this direction, including full identity and letterhead designs.



Again, playing with typeface and trying to think how I wanted my brand represented, I worked towards the following design, but I was really unhappy with it. The "logo" appearing below was also used for marketing materials and display items, some of which I still use today, although not often. We were still going back and forth as to what the new company should be called, ultimately Justin Schuck Photography was the most appropriate.



I was going back and forth on a daily basis as to whether or not I should use my "tag" signature, which I still really like to this day and hope to find some way to use it. But who knows, it's the alt-rocker in me. The following design is a better example of logical navigation occurring "above the fold" as it were. This design was also the first time all four cities appeared in a design. The four cities were later incorporated into the "vintage" design and still appear there today.



This is a progression of the above design. The navigation would animate and "light up" the tab color. This also recalls design elements of my acclaimed original JustinSchuck.com which functioned solely as a personal website. That design is buried somewhere on a CD in storage. Anyhow, back to the design below... I really liked this design, but there was something holding me back from implementing the design. I think the biggest barrier to it's implementation was navigation partially obscured below the fold on a 640x480 template. I honestly can't remember.



What was most likely the death knell for the site above is the design below. It's one of those epiphany designs that occur between the hours of first darkness and first light. I remember working on the design for at least three days straight before making additional changes as evidenced in the following design.



I love the picture of the kids below and seeing this again reminds me that I need to put together a serious gallery of all my work for the last 12 years. There's some really good stuff in there if I do say so myself. Back to designs...

I changed the background to gray, put telephone numbers and email at the top which would allow for navigation going down the side. This is also when our company tag line became "Photography for the way you live.™" which is still pending. We also developed a working click-through for the Online Previews service. It was great to see the design come so far. This really was my favorite, but after some server-side testing, some focus groups and a changing design team, this too was abandoned.



This little piece was for our other-branded sites as part of a broader internet ranking strategy for our Dubai sites. It was an extremely effective campaign – perhaps too effective – but was eventually taken down due to the closing of our full-time Dubai operations earlier this year.



After no real progress had been made, and with the current design at the time reaching five years of age, I finally threw the following design up on the site. The "vintage" site is such a mess, especially with so many revisions and so many hands touching it. The code is all kinds of fouled up, and I consider myself as one of the most organized and obsessive-compulsive HTML coders on the planet. The only reason the vintage site is still live is so I don't have to create another temporary site that would likely become semi-permanent.




I really like where the most current site design is going, and it serves as the inspiration of the next site. Hopefully some time soon we will have the new site design templates posted. Because seriously, I've had way too much JustinSchuck.com. (That's why I've transfered "the power" over the new design direction over to my lovely Andrea.)

Labels: Advertising, Art, Case Study, design, Dubai, Identity, Justin Schuck, Photo, photography

I will leave the commentary to others.

Labels: Bush Administration, George W. Bush, Iraq, U.S. Military, Video, War

Democratic Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine is being talked about in political circles as "at the top of [Obama's Vice Presidential candidate] short list." While this might be good fodder for the Wolf Blitzers and Mike Barnicles of the world, I don't think it's smart talk.

I have said for many months, close to a year now, that the only Virginian that fills perceived gaps in Obama's resume is Jim Webb, but I acknowledge that his previous statements on women would be a sharp affront to Clinton and her supporters -- and myself for that matter. But the selection of Webb would certainly make Obama seem more earthy, manly and appealing to a broader range of Americans.

If I were advising Obama, I would give the following advice: Pick a white man from the south. If John Edwards were a politically valuable asset, he'd be at the top of the list, but he proved in 2004 that he isn't the person to compensate for problems at the top of the ticket, and his never having been reelected doesn't make him more appealing. I still think Janet Napolitano is a sensible choice, but she isn't reassuring.

FAIR WARNING: I'm going to be extremely superficial. I hate Gov. Kaine's eyebrows. I hate his how his smile always appears forced and the way his eyebrows arch when he's thinking. He's not an attractive candidate, but I guess Obama is attractive enough for both of them.

I think that the best way to demonstrate how you want to change politics is to change politics. I think Sen. Chuck Hagel would make a good choice. I think Colin Powell would be a smart move, but Alma would likely interfere again. I even think Newt Gingrich would be a wild choice, but it would demonstrate a fundamental understanding that America will always be somewhere in the middle. The Democratic Party would be in a self-hating, never-ending turmoil if Obama chose someone outside of their party to run with the senator. The move would likely depress turnout among the most liberal constituencies and it's that tendency among left-aisle politics that screws up a good thing election cycle after election cycle.

But it's not my choice, it's Obama's choice and only he knows what he's looking to fill. But this lowly pundit thinks a candidate who brings voters not already in the senator's column would be a bigger value to the ticket. Selecting Gov. Kaine might enable the senator to think he's got Virginia wrapped up. And the truth is, it won't.

Labels: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, Colin Powell, Editorial, Hillary Clinton, Jim Webb, Newt Gingrich, Tim Kaine

As I said in my article [Regardless, the polls won't matter] I am not convinced that any amount of science can be applied to politics and polling, yet there are many profitable firms that deign to know the heart of America.

The latest two polls from Gallup/USA Today prove my point. They both say the exact same thing. Nothing. The Friday-Sunday poll of likely voters shows McCain up by 4 points at 49% to Obama's 45%. The same poll was conducted of registered voters still has McCain trailing by 3 points with the split at 47% to 44%.

Again, this poll means and tells us nothing. No poll should even be thought to matter until one month after the Republican convention comes to a close in September. The American electorate needs time to digest the candidate's vice presidential running mates, finish watching the Olympics, and be really ready to focus on the November election.

Americans still don't know what they want because they haven't seen what the final model looks like and the big shows are still a month away.

Labels: 2008 Election, Barack Obama, John McCain, Polling

I'm in a self-congratulatory mood today. I'm almost done with the non-stop paint-a-thon at my mom's house. (Pictures to follow soon). But I wanted to thank my designer Andrea for appreciating some of my work. It feels good to get rave approval from a fellow designer. It was certainly unexpected.

Thank you! I'm humbled.

Labels: Art, Blog, business, design, Justin Schuck

Here's a sneak peek at some things I've been working on.

Labels: Charity, design, politics

I had a few too many moments the other day. I needed a break from the 1346 active projects I have going on right now, not the least of which is painting.