Music: NAAST – Mauvais Garçon

Included: Travel mug, Le Masque, Punk Rock, Goddamn Octopus!, REMinisce, Cetacide, PixelTV, ROBOTO

Logos:

One of my first projects at TWCS was to design a variety of logo solutions for TWCS materials. These included their .com, .tv, on-air HD, and TWCS2 logos. To my knowledge, only the TWCS2 was actually implemented.  The catch was that I was not allowed to modify, redesign, or cover the original TWCS logo. All had to be “broadcast-friendly”, meaning they would hold up when used as a logo gem during programming, and yet still look decent at higher resolutions for print and web. I also translated the main TWCS logo into 3D for a selection of static and motion pieces.

Goal: Design/redesign TWCS logos for various outlets

Programs used: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator

Scope: 3 weeks

Web site:

This was the most serious project I had, as I was redesigning an in-progress web site. In actuality, it was more of a reskin, as I was not allowed to change layout or content. I originally submitted a total redesign, which was shot down. Instead, I incorporated the direction of the redesign over the current site. I was also working with the web design firm (not in-house) to ensure that they would be able to implement my design before the deadline. In the end, the design was poorly implemented, but the site never went live anyway.

Goal: Reskin in-production TWCS web site

Programs used: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator

Scope: 6 weeks

The idea is that this is a mug possessing its own power supply and heating element, thus able to keep your coffee warm for longer than the average mug (til dinner, as the claim states). I had a lot of fun creating the conceptual drawings of internal parts and circuitry. I figured it should probably look like your average travel mug on the outside, or people would hesitate to buy it (But will it fit in my cup holder?). Modeling the outside was a breeze. The inside…well, the inside sucked. I never got the lighting right for those shots either. And the spark could have been done way differently, but at the time I had negligible experience with Mograph, so I just used shaders.

Role: Modeling, design, animation

Goal: Create a convincing, realistic, concept product, and produce two compelling ads for it; one print, one motion.

Programs used: Cinema 4D, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects

Scope: 3 weeks

Assembled out of cardboard, acrylic paint, and a lot of tape, plus a borrowed love seat. We braved the cold Rochester October morning to set it up, and stayed to watch the entire day. We interviewed students periodically to get their impression, and Mr. Sagmeister himself even came by.

The idea behind the installation was to use heavily skewed type to force the user to sit and relax in our very comfortable couch. From the bottom up, the “poster” features progressively vertically stretched messages, each requiring a more extreme angle for visibility. The issue we didn’t predict, however, was that the type was legible if you simply stood behind the couch. Still, we had plenty of visitors, many of whom sat to look at the piece.

Text reads (from bottom to top): “Please have a seat.” “No, really, we insist.” “There, now isn’t this nice?”

This project also turned out to be a lesson in securing display space. I ended up sparking a dialogue in the bureaucracy that was staging the event on campus, by pushing my pitch to use the particular space. It turned into a long, long chain of emails discussing liability, the event, using funding for facilities management aid, and the like. In the end, a system was set up for projects to request outdoor space, as well as use grant funding to pay for facilities management workers to help put up and take down displays.

Role: Created original concept, worked on design iterations, created a pitch for and secured display space, helped create final installation piece

Goal: To meet Mr. Sagmeister’s challenge, and create an engaging and unique installation, which would be visible and approachable given its location of choice.

Programs Stuff used: Adobe Illustrator, cardboard, tape, paint, a handful of Xacto blades, a slightly used couch, and a delicious pizza the night of assembly.

Scope: 4 weeks

Process PDF

I’m not sure really what to say about this one. It speaks for itself pretty well I think. If I could do it again, I’d leave more time for sound and credits, and less time for fruitless experiments.

Role: Modeling, animating, editing

Goal: To create a horror-inspired short piece in 3D, and to tell a simple story without words or complicated visuals.

Programs used: Cinema 4D, After Effects

Scope: 4 weeks

Process PDF

Designed and screen printed with acrylic ink by yours truly, on a pretty nice cardstock. Let me tell you, do NOT use acrylic gloss medium on a silk screen. It doesn’t come out no matter what you try.

Three colors: Slate, cyan, and gloss

Printed in sheets of twelve, double-sided. Hand cut to size.

There isn’t really any process work to speak of for this project. I have plenty of sketches, but they don’t communicate a lot more than the final design. Many of the revisions and details were made on the fly, and just seemed to make sense. I was willing to fully commit to each change, as I just wanted to go with my gut in terms of communication and look and feel.

The labels include:

Knothole – Basically my signature blend at this point. I’ve revised the content a few times, and spent a handful of roasts creating a balanced and tasty  Mocha Java-style coffee blend. The name’s derivation is a secret, “just in case” I want to make money or something on it. The first label is not shown, but was a hand-drawn piece on the same tobacco-laden craft paper. The second iteration of the blend saw a revision in the label, and a stronger emphasis on a brand. The K I first drew by hand, then translated in Illustrator, adding the wood texture to reflect the namesake. I used the craft paper again to give emphasis to the classic origin of the blend – the oldest known style in the world – as well as to add more texture and interest in the label itself. I’m sure I’ll make some more revisions in the future, as I further develop my new favorite coffee.

Cascadas – Spanish and Portuguese for “waterfalls,” the name reflects the Guatemalan and Brazilian water-process decafs used in the blend. It’s very smooth, lightly fruity, with a subtle hint of milk chocolate. Perfect for tearing my decaf-drinking family members away from the evil donut-chain coffee. I wanted to brand this one as a more upscale item, while preserving a bit of the latin influence. Typeface selection was key, in my mind, as the overall design was to be very simple and refined. The only unfortunate drawback was during printing, when I apparently ran out of color ink, and there was some quality loss to the prints. Regardless, I feel the label communicates what was intended, and I am happy with the product.

That’s all for now (some post, right?), but I expect to add at least two or three more in the future. I really love roasting nowadays, and I love handing out my coffee for feedback, so I will definitely be designing new labels soon.

Photos courtesy of Tyler Rhinehart.

Music: Punk Rock by Mogwai

Role: Animation

Goal: Select an audio clip to use in a kinetic typography piece, and communicate what is being said in a visual manner.

Programs used: After Effects

Scope: 4 weeks

Seastainable is a mini-site created primarily to work with VR imaging in Flash. The content of the site is based on my own interest in sustainable fishing practices, and I really learned a lot about seafood in the process. All of the information gathered came from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch.

Role: Image creation, optimization, site design, some programming

Goals: Create a functional VR-based site, provide user with useful information

Programs used: Adobe Flash and Photoshop

Scope: 6 weeks

Fall 2009

Just a quick note: My site was recently defaced by some jerk hackers, and I’m still in recovery mode. Some parts of the site are busted, and I’m working on recovering those functions. For now, my shadowbox galleries are disabled, but I’m hoping to have them restored soon. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

I am a new media designer, social media lover, project manager, and coffee nerd. I graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2010 with a BFA in New Media Design, and I’m currently working on a MS in Information Management, and a CAS in Information Innovation (Social Media) at Syracuse University’s iSchool. Feel free to wander around my site here, check out my work, or my blog.

I really like coffee. It’s a passion, not just a hobby, and I use it for more than a morning wake-up. I started a project this year called Counter Talk, to connect with others via social media, meet over a cuppa joe, to share and inspire each other. I provide the coffee, you provide your passion, I write the story, and we all win!

I’m in the market for an internship, in UX design, or in social media strategy. I’d really like to explore both, equally, but I have more experience with social media at this point. Don’t worry, I won’t let that stop me from learning and trying my best to be awesome. If you’re interested, perhaps check out my resume (PDF).

You…you want more? Alright, well, I’m on twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+ as well. Satisfied?

Steve Rhinehart

(315) 281-9376

stephen.rhinehart@gmail.com

I must give props to Jason Eberle for helping with the code on this site, and to Anthony Rotolo for the image above. It’s the best current shot there is of me, doing what I love to do.