Make your Mark - Befriending poster

Long time no blog. So my latest project, now out and about Shetland, the new poster promoting the benefits of volunteering for Shetland Befriending Scheme. As I've done before see a few snaps of the design process - great fun - and the final result.

First ideas

Proposal ONE

Proposal TWO

Nine finalist

And the winner is

... then my index finger became famous worlwide.

Go for Gold! - Befriending Scheme's new campaign

The 2012 Olympics are almost here and Shetland Befriending Scheme has chosen the eternal flame to promote their recruitment campaign. When I received the briefing to start the design process, there was a tiny note saying "fire writing?" as to suggesting that this could be a possibility. Never did I think I would be able to follow that road (crazy! I know, fire fonts, I'll never get that right) and looking back to the design process, all early sketches have the motto in some sort of bold-classic font away from the torch. To help me thumbnail and explore colours I used for the first time Paper by FiftyThree App. The app is a very basic notebook with simple tools for drawing and taking notes, this helped me focus on working ideas instead of wasting time drawing a detailed final image.
A few images from the process and the final image below.

First doodles

Exploring colours - Orange/Black/White

Flame writing? Too complicated

Developing the idea

Free hand try, the breakthrough

Finding my feet

Exploring poster layout

Process comparison

Poster final version

The final image - Nice fire typography!

Album covers reimagined; Spinetta mini-tribute

A self initiated project continuing from the Handmade Design Class 2011 with Jono Sandilands. Started with some potato prints and eventually turned into reworking some album covers. At the time I chose some of Luis Alberto Spinetta's albums and halfway thru the process news broke that he had contracted cancer and early this year he passed away. The two album covers I reimagined are Artaud -1973- and Alma de diamante (Diamond soul) -1980- You can check them out in Spotify by clicking here Artaud and Alma de diamante and in fact if you have Spotify I recomend you give Spinetta's extensive discography a try

Playing with food - Potato diamond stamps

Test potato print

Playing with sissors - Alma de diamante, process

Alma de diamante, Spinetta Jade - 1980

Artaud, Pescado Rabioso - 1973

If you go along Bonhoga today

Today is the first day of a fantastic new exhibition at Bonhoga Gallery, the 60's photographs of local legend Dennis Coutts. I was along last night for the opening and couldn't help buying one of the hand printed masterpieces, a sign of age me thinks. I also need to blog that downstairs at the cafe you'll be able to enjoy and satisfy your retails needs with the last stop of the travelling exhib "Brushes - Bloomer & Beto". You can read about it in previous entries of this blog. The art was all created on an iPod touch just like some of David Hockney's pieces on his latest show A bigger picture.

This year I will ... - New befriending poster and freebies!

Happy 2012 there!
Back to work and to kick off the year another collaboration with Shetland Befriending Scheme. This new promotional material it's aimed at capturing those great post festive aspirations by hinting ways to achieve them elusive new year resolutions. Below you can download the poster in wallpaper format for iPod/iPhone and iPad versions!
Enjoy!

iPhone/iPod version - Click on image to download

iPad version - Click on image to download

Photo safari

Spending a few days in Hamburg and experiencing some of the visual overload big cities inevitably offer. Instagram is working overtime trying to capture it all!
As this may be my last blog of 2011 I would like to wish everyone a happy Xmas/Hanuka/party of your choice and all the best for 2012!

Instagraming

A friend once told me 11 months are enough, why can't we simply get rid of December. So while I blog waiting for the year to go away here's me hoping I do a lot more drawing/blogging in 2012. Meantime I have renewed my hate/hate relationship with photography thanks to Instagram and ... is it still December?

Inside The Black Hole!

 If you ever wonder what is like to produce high quality music on live radio then this amateur footage should clear some of your doubts.
Have a great weekend

Recycling and beyond

The Black Hole - black label, a photo by silkeybeto on Flickr.

Remember this one? Well never got used so The Balck Hole producer said "can you change the date on it?" and ...
... meanwhile, I kept coming across this things my friend Pablo calls space invaders - QR codes that is - and I wanted to try that too. I have to say never seen them on Shetland adds yet so we don't know if there is too much use to it. Time will tell. Fancy scanning the Black Hole's QR code on the screen? get your smartphone ready!

Jono is at the craft fair

Jono's Top Toys of the 80s set of cards, a photo by silkeybeto on Flickr.

There is only one place to visit this weekend and that is the Clickimin Centre. Please make sure you visit Jedi master Jono http://www.jonosandilands.com/ at his new purpose built stand

Lots of new prints like my new favourite Top toys of the 80s festive cards, and also the ones we produced with Co:Lab for Mind your head back in May. A good chance to do x-mas shopping and help a good cause too.

Parkour in the streets of Lerwick

The second program of The Black Hole hit the airwaves today and for this edition Amy and myself met the guys from Northern Focus Parkour for a wee introduction to one of the coolest ... sports? activities? martial arts? you decide. Shetland's street culture is alive and kicking/jumping.

The Black Hole - Black label

The Black Hole - black label, a photo by silkeybeto on Flickr.

Fast approaching our second show and to promote it a wee homage to Jack Daniel's. Classic we thinks

Time to listen (and look)

I have to admit it was kind of nice downloading the podcast for the radio program we started doing last week. But as I listened to it on my iPad I couldn't help looking at the logo I put together a couple of weeks ago and finding tiny little things I could improve. Here is a few snapshots of how the logo looks in iTunes and make sure you get the podcast HERE

The Black Hole has landed!

The Black Hole finally started today in radio Shetland. For the first show Amy and myself prepared a video review of Blowup, and interactive exhibition up at Bonhoga gallery for the next month.

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Blow Up review from Beto Jet-O on Vimeo.

The Black Hole prepares

The black Hole poster, a photo by silkeybeto on Flickr.

A week to go till the program goes on air and you should now come across this poster all over Shetland -maybe?- If not click on the image.
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Adventures in font

Autumn is back and it's time to find time for a night class. Luckily for me Jono has put together a follow up to last year's Graphic design class and I was lucky enough to secure a space in it. The approach this year is Handmade design and on week one we had a great exercise working with type and fonts. Here's some of the results.

Info about the class HERE












This winter I have been invited to take part in a comedy radio show. Since I like playing with fonts I put together some name based logos. The main one was chosen to represent the show and on the side you can see some of the alternatives. Number 2 was my personal favourite so is good I'm quite detached with my work - typed while tears wash the keyboard Sniff Sniff -
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give a little GET A LOT - Befriending poster

give a little GET A LOT - Befrinding poster Aug 2012, a photo by silkeybeto on Flickr.

Happy SEPTEMBER you all! just back from a great holiday around the Highlands. Noticeably little blogging activity recently. Inexcusable! So ... yet another addition to the voluntary work I have been doing since 2008 for one of Shetland's most successful charitable organisations.