The spread includes several fun and less commercial graphic design, illustration, typography and art projects including self promotional work, gig and rock posters, toy and sculpture design, t-shirts, skate decks and more. In addition to art the spread also includes a brief write up about Patrick Carter Design including history, influences and inspiration. In an effort to get as much art in as possible, the write up was edited down a bit (which was awesome because the layout looked killer and who wants to read me babbling anyways?). But just for the hell of it (and to add some girth to the blog post), here is the raw unedited version of the interview below:

1. What inspires you to create?

Inspiration comes in many forms, such as art and design books, posters, blogs and most of all other designers and artists. When I see other folks doing great work in the different fields, whether it be design for print, web, illustration, photography, drawing, painting, or whatever the case might be I get inspired to take a crack at it and make something cool too.

2. Biggest influence?

My first exposure to visual design was surf magazine layout and advertisements. I would flip through and think, “Man that looks killer!” and I started trying to figure out how I could do something like that for a living. My biggest direct influences now are other designers and illustrators. There is so much talent out there and it is interesting to see what approach they take. I have different influences for different things. For example a couple of my biggest local influences for illustration are poster masterminds Halftone Def Studios and Jason Harms of Livewire Tattoo. I have also been following Oregon designer Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co. for quite a while. In terms of business and an all around design mentor, Kurtis Loftus has influenced me a ton. The time I spent with his group taught me the hands on skills I needed to run a design studio.

3. Goals and ambitions?

My life-long goal has been to have my own company doing what I love. I was lucky enough to have that become a reality full-time in July of 2010, so I’m still just soaking it in, working hard and enjoying the hustle. A new goal is having a satellite office in Costa Rica where I can work 4-6 weeks a year. I have already found the place and everything, now it is just a matter of pulling the trigger and working out any hurdles like phone and internet connection issues.

I can’t say thanks enough to Tye, Aaron and Kayla over at VOID for considering the work of PCD for the magazine. The publication is an awesome thing for our North Florida community and continues to “fill the void” more and more with every issue. It seems to have been a huge success so far with the community rallying around in support of the magazine so I’m looking forward to seeing many more action packed issues for years to come.

Related links:
Inside the World of Board Graphics Facebook Page
Charlotte West interviews Robynne Raye for Print Magazine
More info from Barnes and Noble

Here’s a link to the original post about I’m Board, the Jacksonville skateboard design and illustration show.

The Always Summer Weekend got underway Friday, September 30 at the AT&T building in Downtown Jacksonville, with speaker Aaron Draplin of Draplin Design Co. (DDC). Prior to the event, I knew Aaron was an incredible design talent and sidesplitting copywriter, but I had no idea the level of entertainment and education that was about to unfold. It was such a privilege to have him here for many reasons. Aaron is a premiere performer and currently one of the most highly sought-after speakers — and with good reason. His acclaimed presentation, “Tall Tales from a Large Man” is brilliant and a must-see. Many claimed it was the best speaker event they had been to, and I have to wholeheartedly agree. Not only did he travel all of the way from Portland to be with us, but he came straight to Jacksonville from his presentation in Philadelphia the night before—a marathon of entertainment.

Aaron brought the audience through the full range of emotions, pinpointing moments of introspection with many laughs and even some tears. He shared personal stories about life-changing events, clients, projects and conquests that were so raw, real and incredible that they could only be presented in person. He was a catalyst for personal and professional epiphanies for everyone in attendance, and I have no doubt that he positively impacted the creative culture for graphic designers in North Florida forever.

Aaron was unbelievably authentic and quickly became part of our design community, even during the short period of time he was here. While battling harsh, unforgiving deadlines resulting from a challenging travel schedule, he found time to do some serious Southern junking, Jacksonville style with local designers Levi Ratliff, Jonathan Lawrence and Brian Nelson. He even swung by the 3rd Annual Always Summer Poster Show on his way out to see what Jacksonville was bringing to the graphic design table. Overall, it was an amazing, valuable experience for many in our AIGA Jacksonville chapter, and one that I, personally, will never forget.

The show took place at Thief in the Knight gallery in Downtown Jacksonville. Special thanks to gallery operator Richard Reichstadter for all of the help, and for letting us wreak havoc at the gallery for a bit. The space was a perfect fit. With a rustic feel, brick walls, plenty of space and excellent lighting, the show was bound to be a success from the beginning. Even the humid Jacksonville weather cooperated and gave us a nice, cool evening.

The night certainly couldn’t have been such a blast without the assistance of musical masterminds Dennis Eusebio (DJ Squints), Varick Rosete (DJ Vulture) and Ian Latchmansingh (DJ Mowgli) who set the tone for the night. What’s even more awesome is that they are all designers, making the underlying goal — getting the city’s creative community to come together for a kick-ass event — possible.

Each year one person is given the people’s choice design award. The concept reflects the casual vibe of the event and allows everyone to cast their vote, with no formalized judging or overly serious, nerve-racking stakes. Three winners received prize packages that included design books, posters, fun summer-related toys and more. We had some really great posters this year, and the voting was close. In the end, Bryant Hardwick took top prize for his “Beatles–Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” poster, which was well illustrated, with beautiful colors, textures and composition. Second place went to Jenny Bello and Lauren Hussey took home third. Click here to check out more posters from this year’s show.

In the end, the Always Summer Weekend was inspiring and rejuvenating. Not only did we get to hear the refreshing, encouraging and inspiring words of Aaron Draplin, but we were also allowed creative liberties with a client-free design “project” for the poster show and saw the diverse design approaches of nearly 100 Jacksonville designers and artists. The combination of these events made for a really fun, action-packed, design-heavy weekend.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this weekend possible. We have an amazing creative community here in Northeast Florida, and it’s weekends like these that prove that. Always Summer keeps getting bigger, better and more inspiring, so be ready for next year. It will be here before you know it!

Here’s a look at my submission to the show:

The evening kicked off with a cocktail hour at the prestigious Markland House at Flagler College, which was beautifully decorated and equally as welcoming. Flagler College provided exquisite catering, a fine beer and wine selection and excellent service. Afterward, we walked over to the Student Center which was an architectural masterpiece of its own. Event organizer and AIGA Jacksonville Vice President, Karen Kurycki, kicked things off by introducing Mr. Frank Martinez, Esq. Frank spoke about a wide array of information and pointers for creatives at all levels of their career. He spoke about font licensing (in which he has written most of the dialogue), inspiration vs. stealing, copyrights, trademarks, limitations and exceptions to copyright laws.

As a relatively new owner of a small business, I found this speaker to be highly informative and a joy to listen to. The event was a fresh breath of unique programming content that addressed something many members have been asking about for a long time. Frank was even kind enough to join us for dinner at Cortesses Bistro in Historic St. Augustine for even more action-packed conversation and excellent food and drinks.

I’d recommend Frank as a speaker for any event in which the legalities of creative industry were a concern because attendees walked away with clear and concise information regarding intellectual property of every kind. When was the last time you paid $10 (free for students) for over two hours of legal consultation? I would like to thank Frank, Professor Luciana Gassett of Flagler College, AIGA Jacksonville (namely Karen Kurycki) and the attendees who had valuable questions and knowledge to add to the conversation!

As creatives, we are communicators by nature and sometimes in the routine of daily work life we tend to lose the interaction that we crave. Whether it be the redundancy of collaborating with the same groups of people or lacking collaboration all together, The Morning Leak gives a breath of fresh air in chatting about projects, concepts and design processes outside of the daily drain.

With the success of this event, we’ve decided to open it up to anyone interested in sharing a current or recently completed project. Keep in mind that the event isn’t limited to graphic designers, in fact, we encourage creative thinkers from every field to participate.

Part of the strength of the experience is based on the chance to see the way different functions operate, and how the pieces of the puzzle come together through collaboration. We have seen projects from photographers, videographers, web developers, animators and more. We look forward to seeing what you can bring to the table!

Due to the time constraints of the morning event, presenters will be limited to 6 people, but of course everyone is invited to observe.

Email membership@aigajacksonville.org to be put on the list to share a project. Act quickly because spots are limited!

Come and find out what your fellow creatives are working on that’s cool and exciting, and join in on the discussion by bringing some of your own stuff! The next event is Wednesday, May 12 from 7:30 AM to 9 AM at Panera St. Johns Town Center. Thanks for those who have participated in the past and we really look forward to seeing what new projects will be shared in the future!

Update: Read more about these skateboard deck designs being recently published in a new book.

Thanks everyone for the support. Made the death in the family much easier!

Music was key to this AIGA Jax bash, as the playlist was generated and compiled by local designers’ selections. Each poster entry was paired to a favorite summer song and designed to its likeness (or loose interpretation in some cases). The DJ booth was alive with energy featuring Joey Marchy of urbanjacksonville.info and DJ Squints (Dennis Eusibio) of Thought and Theory. Not only did they seamlessly play all of the songs from the posters and an incredible display of their own tastes and talents, but also managed to VJ a visual show of summer themed delights.

If the sights and sounds of Always Summer Poster Show + Mix Tape weren’t thrilling enough, the food and drink were sure to win you over. With local Bold City Brewery favorite “Duke’s Brown Cold Nosed Ale” running the show, guests also had a selection of wines, soft drinks and more available. Native Sun Natural Foods Store provided delicious and healthy black bean and chicken quesadillas and multiple varieties of their famous wraps including a vegetarian selection. When combined these refreshments pleased even the savviest critics: design, art, food or otherwise.

As an interactive touch to the event, attendees were encouraged to vote for their favorite poster to take the acclaimed Jax Choice design award. Designers faced off for the chance at 3 price packs containing many books, posters from Dog and Pony and one from yours truly, design goodies, and creatively packaged in summer beach and pool gear, which always comes in handy ’round these parts. It’s no surprise that 1st prize went to vector illustration and poster design master Levi Ratliff of Halftone Def Studios, 2nd prize went to Brittany Norris and 3rd place to Ben Windsor. It’s also worth mentioning that AIGA Jacksonville President Varick Rosete initially took both 2nd and 3rd prize, but nobly forfeited his winnings to the next two participants with the highest votes. There were so many excellent poster designs and it was a very tight race making us lucky to be able to narrow it down to 3 with the help of out guests.

AIGA Jacksonville was please to see so many new and old faces at the event. It was truly an eclectic mix of creatives (and creative lovers alike). Be sure to join us for Art Walk on October 7 for an encore presentation of the event. We would like to thank graphic designers and attendees for making it such a fantastic time and encourage you to join us more often!

More Information:
My Flickr | Photos from Tmann | Join AIGA | Learn More About AIGA Jacksonville

Here’s a bit about Courtny from his site: I am a graphic designer focused on delivering beautiful and practical solutions. I have experience in a broad range of design disciplines: print, 3D, video, as well as web. My current passion is emerging information technologies, user interface design, as well as communication architecture. I work and play in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The interview is no longer published, but you can read it here:

What spurred you to begin your career in design? Friends, family, or an undying childhood passion?

Honestly, I am very fortunate by means of how certain I have always been in what I want to do with my career. Early on, I knew I wanted to be a graphic designer even though essentially I really didn’t even know what that meant. I knew I wanted to create. Armed with the advantage of a tangible goal, I have always emphasized nearly all of my working efforts toward that general goal. The passion and desire to be a successful designer needs to be undying though, because without the ambition to move forward a designer can quickly find their career or creative fervor to be stagnant. That being said, my current goal of being a “Design Thinker” are a far cry from my 4 year old aspirations to be simply an artist. I found it difficult to find influence anywhere other than intrinsically early on.

I didn’t know any designers growing up, so it really was an outbound effort to see what it meant to be a creative professional. I found less than motivational feedback when explaining to my teachers my dreams and ambitions. All too often it was followed up by “You know that is a really competitive industry” or something like, “So you’re saying you want to just draw pictures?” which I tried not to find too discouraging. Without the internet at the time it was much more difficult to get abstract info about any given field. Luckily family was always supportive and an honest voice in motivating me to pursue the long seeded goal.

Looking at your portfolio, one cannot help but notice your affinity towards vibrant color and the usage of collage. Do you find that your design prowess is leaning towards a particular style?

Anyone really will adhere to a certain style when they enter the field. My first exposure to design in the sense that I regard it, was Surfing Magazine publication layout and advertisements, surfing/skating videos and tattoo art from Jason Harms at http://livewiretattoo.com. Naturally, in executing initial designs and layouts I would tend to lean toward techniques and style I had seen and become enamored with before. In trying to emulate these style I had seen before and knew well, I was able to perfect my technical capabilities. Having these styles and inspirations to adhere to gave me a way to practice using software and become familiar with what compositions worked and did not.

I really emphasize trying to have a diversified skill set. I think in many ways this can be noted as a disadvantage (Lack of focus on a particular strength) but I have so much love for the whole design process including photography, web development, copywriting, and any production type scenarios otherwise. Out of a desire to learn something new, I really try and change the work on my desktop up pretty often. I do love a bright colored, tastefully designed look with an emphasis on illustration and typography. That would be my ideal “Design on Steroids” look so to speak. With consideration to all of those elements: color, composition, type and image, you’re bound to get a great result.

What is your workspace like (environment, inspirational decor, etc.)?

I really love to have inspirational surroundings. I like hanging pictures and prints, displaying art toys, skatedecks, books and and other 3D items of interest. Some of my best influential surrounding are local poster illustrators Halftone Def Studios (http://halftonedef.com), Dog and Pony Showprints (http://dogandponyshowprints.com), and legendary fine artist Dave Kinsey (http://kinseyvisual.com). Having plenty of books around for reference is great too. To see some great bookshelves check out Emprnt (http://emprnt.com).

Here is an image of my home office:

http://tinyurl.com/pcarteroffice

What are some of your research resources?

Inspiration comes from all over. One really good site for web design is called designmeltdown.com. I have subscriptions to several stock photography sites, and this can be used for reference if I am going to illustrate a project. Stock photography also helps at times to develop concepts if I am in a crunch. Recently, I have been into collecting vinyl design toys, but I’m not sure how much that is beneficial to my design. Other than that, design books, poster books, random Google searches, etc. Anywhere which the designer is successful in inspiring themselves is truly the best for them.

How do you (generally) approach a project? For some it is difficult to begin, and other’s creativity flows easily. How do you cope with the need for on–demand creativity in such a fast paced career?

It tends to vary from project to project, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. It usually begins with a creating a creative brief in conjunction with meeting with the client. It’s essential to get all of the information needed, because there are so many variations of opinion, and it’s really hard to nail someone down on what they want as a look or a feel. Usually it helps to get keywords from your client so you can refer back to them throughout the process and make sure you remain on point. After you have gathered the info, thumbnails are a great way to organize your thoughts. This is a time when any idea is truly a good idea. Just throw it all out on the table and see what makes sense. 10 – 15 thumbnails will usually get you to a good concept. A good concept is essential to any successful project, because without it you may just be making something look pretty without having a message, and that isn’t really doing the job to the best extent. Once you have a solid concept and game plan, you can move about your computer pretty easily. This also helps cut wasted time out of your process, because you are functioning with a true goal in mind.

You are avidly involved with the Jacksonville AIGA. How has your involvement there provided connections, opportunities, and experiences that you could not have received otherwise? Personally, how has design shaped your life and what have been some of the defining moments in your young career?

For fun, what do you enjoy doing when not getting a pixel sunburn? Life has many facets and surely design is a small fraction of yours.

Among our audience will surely be student designer’s. What is the single biggest piece of advice you can offer to those wishing to make a career and lifestyle around design and visual communication?

I would say always refer back to the basics. Things like good use of positive and negative space, always mind your margins, be conscious of good color choices, and typography (DON’T USE PAPYRUS!!!). Make sure your resolution is always crisp, and that you are proud of the product you are putting out. Sometimes I think of a designer that I admire and wonder what they would think about what I have done with the space on the page. It truly is a blank canvas, and the possibilities are endless. It just depend on how far you are willing to go with it. Never stop learning. Never stop pushing yourself to go further, and never be scared to experiment. So long as you experiment doesn’t turn into an eye sore because there wasn’t enough thought put into it. The best advice I can give, is never give up. Great designers didn’t become great by settling for mediocrity.