CREATION, INSPIRATION, & VISION for the arts

06steps to getting your CREATIVITY FLOWING

brand identity tips

PHOTOGRAPHER of the YEARMeet D.D.w Reed who takes photography to a whole new level with the outdoors. +

IS ADOBE INDESIGN THE NEXT BIG THING?

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USA $14.99 CANADA $17.99

DECEMBER 2011 - Vol. 117

WHO'S IN THE ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

THIS DECEMBER?PAPER VS. COMPUTER go see on page 13

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Unlocking Time Why time? What made you pick such a tricky subject? I believe the key to time is learning how to unlock the past. Time has always been an obsession with me, maybe it is be-cause I feel like it controls me, from the time I get up in the morning to the time I hit my head on my pillow, sleeping.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE You’re going to be seeing Katrina Sutton’s work a lot more,

mark our words. We found her enchanting art an inspiration and her enthusiasm contagious. INTERVIEW BY KEVIN PARKS

GETTING TO KNOW THE ARTISTNAME Katrina Sutton at www.katrinasutton.com loCATIoN Old Salt Lake City, Utah in the US of A DEGREE BFA, Emphasis in Graphic Design at UVU oCCUPATIoN Graphic Design // Photomanipulator SKIllS Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, and Corel INTERESTS Reading, playing the violin & piano, go-ing to renaissance fairs, cooking, traveling, watching my children, and going to plays and seeing movies.

ABoUT I am a designer as well as a graphic artist because it appeals to me in a way that does not limit my artistic expression to one defining element but to multiple defining elements. In a sense, it allows me to venture outside the box to include other mediums. In all, it gives me a feeling of fulfillment when I finish an assignment, a thrill when I figure out a solution, and enjoyment in the final creation.

Unlocking Time II Why are you obsessed about clocks and keys? As I have mentioned before in my other piece, believing the key to time is learning how to unlock the past is something that I would love to accomplish. Like time traveling & going back in time. Maybe changing my stars, my predictable fut- ure destiny into something else. A mate to my first piece.

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[ artist spotlight ]

Free Falling This one is very surreal and dark. What were the effects you were going for on this particular piece? In this piece, it is about taking a leap of faith, embracing the unfamiliar of everyday life unguarded and without judgment. I believe I have accomplished in conveying, jumping into the unknown and the effect I was going for is to give you some-thing to think about rather just looking at a pretty picture.

Shattered Dreams Why did you pick a subject about broken dreams to create? I would like to believe that anyone can accomplish their dreams and achieve anything in all facts of life if they put their everlasting being and soul into it. But unfortunately, not everyone is capable of getting to that point. So I decided to do a masterpiece on dreams that have been shattered by unforeseen in-fluences, lost loves, and pressures of the world and all that remains is pain and disbelief trapped forever in a cycle that seems unbreakable.

* GO TO WWW.KATRINASUTToN.CoM TO SEE MORE OF KATRINA SUTTON’S WORK UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL.

Lost Objects Forgotten Where do lost objects end up going? I’ve always wanted to know that answer so I created a place where lost and forgotten objects go, a safehaven of course, in a tree that has seen the beginning and end of time. It is a constant reminder of what the past used to be and how the future will be. I couldn't have done a better job.

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WANT To PUT AN ARTIST INTo THE SPoTlIGHT FoR IMAGINE? Go to our website imagine.com/artistspotlight and explain why that person's artwork should be shown here for all. Go ahead and answer our questions while you are there on our site and do not forget to show us the artwork.

DESIGNING A BRAND IDENTITY So, you're stuck. You don't know how to get past the clichès or expand your horizon on making your logo identity a timeless icon among the sea of the many. Here are 6 steps of making and setting your logo apart from the rest and in the process, gaining new skills. BY TYRONE GIBSON

RESEARCH Research good design, ideas & art. This will help you begin thinking of the visual brand for your logo and eventually your identity. If you do not have a name, brainstorm. Go look at magazines, books, blogs. Anything that gets your creativity flowing and your thinking process going. Just remember, inspiration is just inspiration, don't mimic your inspiration for that becomes imita-tion and is not worthy of you or your client's time or money.

YOUR AUDIENCE Do not worry if your creative brief changes as you start creating your logo identity. It happens. So, when working on a creative brief, come up with a brand promise. Ask key questions. What type of audience are you trying to reach? Think of the statistics as well when you are processing this. Also, what type of company are you portraying? You will start to think of other ques-tions as you continue working on the complete identity package.

THE LOGO Don't ever skip the first two steps. They will push you further and you won't end up with a poorly design logo in the final end. What do you do first? The first thing you need are thumbnails. Create as many as you want to get the idea out. Next are roughs. You're just refining the best thumbnails in bigger sketches. Be more specific about the shapes, layout, typefaces, and/or imagery. Recreate on the computer which allows you to explore variations.

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GOT AN IDEA? Got an idea?

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YES

thumbnails

emails

blogs

phoneBRAND ToUCH-PoINTS

HAVE YOU CREATED A CREATIVE BRIEF?

DID YOU DESIGN YOUR LOGO YET?

brand vision audience statistics

YES NO STEPS

NO

ARE YOU SURE?

ONE WAY STREET

[ design ]

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PACK. & STAT. So, when you begin creating your stationary or packaging, think of a way to do something unique & unique. What type of a business card are you going to design and create? Instead of a simple clean letterhead, how about a good old postcard? Don't worry if it is diff- erent. That is what gets people's attention. In packaging, anything goes. Do not forget the rules you created. It can be a tag, on a shirt, on a bag. Have fun as you create.

STYLE GUIDE Before creating the whole package of your identity, think of a guide of some sort. Your logos always need guidelines and rules when they are in use on a product or photograph. Ask yourself, how small can it be? What about a color palette? Color palettes are very important when determining what it looks like on a background. While you create your style guide, you'll start thinking of new solutions in helping your logo looking good for a long time.

FINISHING TOUCH Once you have finished your logo identity system, go and figure out what type of paper you will print on or use. Consider if you want it to be smoothed, textured, glossy, or matted. This can make or break your project and can even effect your budget if you don't get it the first time. So, go ahead and do a test print first before making your final decision. On your packaging, make sure it meshes well with the stationary or it looks unfinished.

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compositions

* Congratulations!

DID YOU DESIGN YOUR LOGO YET?

DID YOU START YOUR APPLICATIONS?

DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE FINISHED?

DID YOU COMPLETE A STYLE GUIDE?

inspiration brainstorming competition

VS.

HAVE YOU DONE RESEARCH?

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color palette

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stationary packaging interactive

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From the Majestic Coast of Oregon and the Shining Sea to the Lusturous Forests of Greenery, Oregon is a nature wonderland of hidden treasures and gleaming landscapes that Photographer of the Year, D.D. Reed captured with an artistic eye.

By Kim Castleberry Photography by D.D. Reed

Hidden Treasures

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Hidden Treasures

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As a child, D.D Reed would travel to Oregon during summertime. Oh, how she always looked forward to summer because that was when she could

explore her natural playground with excitement and enjoyment. The pivotal moment of being able to capture that thrill and discovery was when she got a brand new camera for her birthday. That was when she discovered she had a talent for capturing the unknown, looking at things in a different perspective that other people wouldn’t have notice in the first place.  So from that day forward, she was almost obsessed of getting that moment, the perfect moment, exploring earth’s beauty with awe and inspiration walking on the shores or hiking through the forests. It all had a magnetic effect on her and one morning she did it. Looking down, instead of seeing one main image, she broke it up into several pieces. Instead of seeing the shore, she saw millions of tiny multicolored stones in the sand. Instead of seeing the forest, she saw thousands of different colored leaves. She was compelled to photographed it all.  I want to be able to look back on my images again and again so I can get that feeling I had the first time,” Reed said. “ It is rejuvenating to be in nature, to be a part of it.” She described it to me that is was almost an addiction, an uplifting feeling of being able to capture seconds of moments at a time. She was making history of her all, being able to do it through her lens. Experiencing hearing the roar of the ocean, the call of the seagulls, to the chirping in the trees, it filled her with creative inspiration, constantly refilling as she traveled the world. But always, she would return to Oregon, for it was the place she discovered her talent.  A self taught photographer, she learned how to make the best of her time in the field and keeping up through the changes in imaging technology. She says it isn’t easy dealing with the digital side of photography, but learning new things is what makes it a thrilling job. It is almost like a puzzle figuring it all out, but then I get this aha moment when I am able to solve it. Reed believes that compelling outdoor and landscape imagery will alwayas combine some kind of personal connection to nature and skillful technique. “It seems to be a form of grace,” she goes on, “it is an act of will.” Staying Fresh To be able to keep her photography fresh and exciting, Reed will put herself in continual new situations that keep her feeling connected, such as being part of the polar bear club and diving into the deep blue sea in the middle of winter or

traveling through the wild as much as possible to relive all of the sensations that inspired her in the first place. Her favorite time is at sunset, where the air grows quiet and the breeze is settling down for the day. It is a singing in her soul, constantly recharging her from within. To Reed, the will to get away from city life, with just a simple camera in tow, is very essential to being a great photographer.  For those who are budding photographers, Reed urges that you should set high standards on images that are personally moving and take the camera with you everywhere, not just when you plan to. That is what she does frequently for you never know when there is shot worthy moment going to happen. It is all that is needed in that one split second decision. Like they say, make every moment count. Your Equipment is everything in getting that perfect shot. But don’t expect high quality additions to guarantee beautiful images, even the most homely cameras have given stunning photos. It is all do to being to have the eye for it. Her advice is taking pictures in everyday settings like objects from your home or just go on a walk and take pictures of random things. It will help you learn to understand the settings and exposures of lighting at all times of the day. So when the time you are standing at the tip of a mountain or the bottom of a canyon, check for that magical moment of composition and focus. It makes all the difference in gaining skills. As skills evolve and the eye gets use to what sees around you.

A

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”

Thomas Merton

Tide Pools, Lighting, and

WeatherRocky shores are a defining

feature of the high dramatic 360-mile long coastlines of Oregon.

The many tidepools, cliffs, rocks, and submerged reefs support

an ecologically rich and diverse ecosystem at the boundary of the

land and sea along 161 miles of Oregon’s coastal shorelines. The rocky shore areas, particularly the

rocky intertidal habitat, attract thousands of visitors annually. Rocky

shores are thus resources of high ecologic, economic, and social values to a wide range of stakeholders from local communities to agencies and

citizens of the world at large.

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You need to look for, Redd suggests going back to those original pictures you took when you first began using your camera. Don’t forget to define and hone in your own style. It refines a photographer’s interests when you start having familiar settings. Reed continues in one breath. “It has to speak to your soul. Without your soul, there is despair in the world and all you see is ugliness. I don’t get how people can live like that so I look for the positive in my images, the beauty.” Reed talks about rejection as well. Learning to accept criticism and rejection is a way of growing and getting better as a photographer. But when you get published for the first time, it is exciting to see your work displayed in a magazine looked by others. I think there’s a beginning when you’re learning and growing, which, of course, has its charms. Soon, you’ll begin sharing your work more and more with the world. It is a continous cycle in the learning process. I mean, you’ll never stop learning and eventually you’ll grow used to it all. And that is when the spark can fade and the excitement will dim. So keep jolting yourself with the unexpected and it remain by sharing with those in society about what you’re passionate about.   The way how images are shared, whether by selling art prints, gallery exhibits, print media or showcasing work on the web, doesn’t matter. What’s important is sharing and communicating, which Reed adds, “is just human nature. Without it we would simply not evolve and grow.” A Digital Revolution In the last couple of years, shooting film was no longer an option or practical to Reed. Film was fading and everybody is living in the now decade where they wanted done as soon as possible or getting that digital look that everyone seemed awe by being able to alter your images by removing objects or even adding them in. The entire photo-buying world, outside of some galleries, had switched to digital workflows so she had to get with the program. She felt encouraged because, after all, principles hadn’t changed simply because light now fell on an electronic sensor instead of film emulsion. She did see a good point. The weight of her backpack wasn’t significantly as heavy as it used to be, she didn’t have to worry about her film being exposed or damaged. But even more significantly, shooting digital allowed her to work more quickly in the field.   Reed learned fast shooting with large format film because each time she tripped the shutter it cost her at least $5. So in economically hard times after the recession, she was forced to accurately predict her results or go broke. And she didn’t want that to happen. No, she did not. She wanted it be a fantastic experience.

”It has to speak to your soul. WIthout your soul,

there is despair in the world and all you see is

ugliness.”

The Octopus Tree, also known as The Council Tree is located a few hundred feet from Cape Meares Lighthouse on the Oregon Coast.

The Octopus Tree is a Sitka Spruce shaped like an upside down Octopus.

No one knows its actual age because that would require chopping down the tree to count the rings. However, The Octopus tree is believed to be hundreds of years old dating back to when the Indians lived in the area. In fact, there are rumors that the Octopus Tree was shaped like an octopus by the Indians to hold their canoes with their dead in it. So, the Octopus tree could have been an old burial site.

The Friends of Cape Meares Lighthouse and Wildlife Refuge donated a sign next to the Octopus Tree. The sign reads: The Forces that shaped this unique Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) have been debated for many years. Whether natural events or possible Native Americans were the cause remains a mystery.

Wide Lense or Zoom?

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 “People just assume that they have a digital camera they can be photographers as well. But you really need to research and talk to fellow photographers, take classes, anything to get to that professional level. Once you accomplish any or all of these things, you can predict in an instant, not only exposure and depth of field, but the strength adn uniqueness of subject matter and its composition,” she says, “ all without picking up their camera.”  The fact is that photographers rather than taking hours on developing their film can now proof their work immediately with digital capture. You don’t have to wait weeks to get photos back to see the results. With just a button and a screen you can automatically check to see if you got the right shot. Reed believes there’s no experience, and a lot of time is consumed, or wasted, if you’re not able to previsualize a shot. You have to be an expert at it or just go home, or research it out.

 “I don’t get a thrill in making photos after the fact, explains reed. “If I am not capable of capturing a high percent of the magic when I hit the shutter, I usually find the postproduction doesn’t appreciably help when I’m trying to convey. Because in my mind, it is my very edit. I don;t have to go through the incredibly time-consuming tak of editing down thousands and thousands of images. Large-format film taught to qucikly think and carefully plan about what i wanted to express in the first place by pulling my technical capacity off.” A Travel Wonderland Reed is a huge of fan of making checklists before she goes off on a photo trip because it saves her time and time again which makes the transition from office to wilderness as smooth as possible. She also keeps organize files on a databased updated at the end of every trip. She records everything, from mileage, expenses,

image sales and notes documenting special moments or events. It is best to keep it updated constantly or else there can be trouble in the end of losing everything.  So traveling the wonderments of Oregon is just as exciting the first time and it won’t be the last either. This time she captured the beauty of Oregon, the lighthouses that line up and down the rocky coasts. She captured the soul of Oregon, the creatures that mark the shores from the tips of the starfish to the nose of the seals. And the one last thing she capture was the structure of Oregon, the beginning of the shores and coasts to the endless greenery of the forests. So many hidden treasures, so little discoveries, so little time. This is the joy and embody of the northwest of America. So the next time you want to explore, go to Oregon. I promise you, it won’t be a disappointment.

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Sneaking up on the Native CreaturesI see too many people whose “strategy” seems to be to keep getting closer to a bird/animal until they scare the bird or animal away. Frankly, that does neither the bird/animal nor the photographer any good. If animals have “bad” experiences in a particular place, they are not going to keep coming there. When we try to approach too closely, not only do we endanger the subjects, but it does us no good, either. At best, it may yield a picture of a bird or animal’s rear end, because, if we are scaring them away, certainly, they are not going to flee flying or running toward us.Thus, this is a case where, what is good for the species is also best for the photographer. Again, I really do try to respect their comfort zone. When I do so, they stay around. They behave as they normally would, and I get great photo opportunities that I would not get if I tried to move too close and cause stress for them.

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“Each image tells a story and stories are meant to be shared. They are

full of emotion. I want to share what I have seen and done with others, especially those who can’t go and see it for

themselves.”

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“Each image tells a story and stories are meant to be shared. They are

full of emotion. I want to share what I have seen and done with others, especially those who can’t go and see it for

themselves.”

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“I want to be able to look back on my images again and again so I can get that feeling I had the first

time. It is rejuvenating to be in nature, to be a part of it.”

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“I want to be able to look back on my images again and again so I can get that feeling I had the first

time. It is rejuvenating to be in nature, to be a part of it.”

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