Happy New Year everybody! I wanted to start out 2011 with a clean, refreshing design. The January poster for Harley’s Lounge represents this with special attention paid to the white space (a.k.a. negative space) between elements. This gives it a very well balanced and inviting look. The design is framed by a dual border of yellow on the outside and dark gray on the inside. The light khaki background has a subtle noise texture added.

An abstract guitar graphic is located in the lower right corner and overlaps both borders, though because it is the same shade of gray as the inner border, it seems to be connected.

The color scheme is very simple. It consists of dark gray which is used for the title and the band names, and yellowish-green which is used for the dates and small print. I used two fonts for this design. NevisonCasD was used for the title because its hand-written style ties together with the curves of the abstract guitar graphic. Kabel Bk BT was used for everything else. The copy is left justified and presented in all caps for increased readability.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

The December poster for Harley’s Lounge is designed to help you get into the spirit of the holiday season. Besides the festive wreath near the title, it features a blue sky and off-white snow banks with a few snow-laden coniferous trees scattered about. The placement of the trees was entirely inspired by Bob Ross, the famous painter. The red treble cleft with red ribbon represents the gift of music that is being offered by Harley’s Lounge this month.

The single font used throughout the design is Staccato222 BT. I used this font for its rounded, hand-drawn character more than it’s readability. To increase the readability, I used colors that strongly contrast against the background. Off-white with red shadow for the title, yellow for the sub-title and the dates, and off-white for the band names show up nicely over the dark blue background. Dark gray for the small text at the bottom works well over the off-white background. All of the copy is right justified and is sized and colored to lead the eyes from top to bottom.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

As the seasons change, it’s a good time to reflect back on the pleasant Autumn weather we’ve had this year. In the November poster for Harley’s Lounge, I wanted to pay tribute to the end of Autumn by using faded, discolored leaves. They poke in from the top and both sides to create a pseudo border. It also incorporates a subtle hint of what’s to come with a pure white background. Am I California dreaming? Maybe.

The color scheme consists of dark gray and rusty orange for the copy and faded yellow, orange, red, and brown for the leaves. The single font used throughout the design is SquireD. The copy is centered and is sized to lead the eyes from top to bottom.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

The October poster for Harley’s Lounge was inspired by The Twilight Zone. The intro scene to the television series featured a dark background with stars shining and various objects floating by as if they belonged in the depths of space. The poster includes a view of our galaxy from afar as the backdrop with the information floating about. Notice the apostrophe in “Harley’s” is also the tip of a comet hurtling through the cosmos with reckless abandon.

Only one font, Gogo BigL was used for this poster. It is a modern looking, blocky, sans-serif font. Various shades of red were employed for the band names and dates while the title and details are white and gray respectfully.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

The September poster for Harley’s Lounge features a photo of an old Polaroid camera at the top. This camera represents those special moments in life that can be captured instantly, but will eventually fade away to be replaced by others. The camera sits on a wooden shelf and is peaking out from underneath a dark, grimy texture with the overall effect resembling old film that wasn’t stored properly or maybe a photo that was just pulled from a fire.

Only one font, Zurich LtXCn BT was used for this poster. It is a clean looking, easy-to-read font that contrasts with the dirty, grungy background. The title and the band names are green, the dates and details are purple. These aren’t just flat colors though, because I’ve employed a subtle gradient on them to make them stand out more.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

The August poster for Harley’s Lounge features the Mayan calendar both as the center piece as well as the background. In the center, it is covered by white splatter which makes the title easier to read. For the background, I used a gray, brushed metal texture. Also, the large Mayan calendar in the background is offset to the lower left with blend mode set to luminosity and opacity set to 14% so the brushed metal texture comes through.

Three different fonts were used for this design. Most of the copy, including the dates and band names use AlternateGothic2 BT while the month uses AmerType Md BT and the title uses Action Is, Shaded JL.

Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

The July poster for Harley’s Lounge incorporates a military-industrial style in honor of my brother who recently re-enlisted in the service. The font used is Stencil BT for that “military crate” look. The color scheme for the copy is based on camouflage and includes various greens, rust brown and gray. A light drop shadow helps set the copy apart from the background.

The background consists of faded green schematics that look like they’ve just been pulled out of the glove box of an old jeep. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

For the June poster design, I used a close-up photo of some old barn wood for the background. I love the rugged look of the wood. It has such a great, weathered character and so much depth. I added a little flare and contrast with three brightly colored gears. The way the gears overlap each other combined with the bright colors almost make it look like a bouquet of flowers.

I wanted the words to look somewhat hand drawn, but very legible. I kept the font colors very light with white, blue, and gray. Two fonts were used, one for the title, and the other for everything else. Both have rough edges and irregularities that give them a hand drawn effect.

Also, drop shadows help set the copy apart from the background and improve readability. The final design is an interesting mix of historical character and energetic vigor. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

I just thought I’d let you know about a few changes I’ve made to this site (middleearmedia.com) lately. Nothing too drastic really, but I’d like to document the evolution here. Just some minor stylistic changes and progressive enhancements here and there. Most importantly, I redesigned my portfolio. I’ll get into more about that in a minute, but first let me tell you about…

Changes to header and sidebar graphics

Subtle changes were made to the header and sidebar graphics. In the header, I changed the font for my tag line and also made it all caps.

Also, I added a new version of my logo in the empty white space underneath the tag line. I’m not totally happy with this because it seems too busy, but this is the way it will look for now anyway.

I’m very satisfied with the new background graphic for the sidebar headings which are now all caps. This is basically an extension of the brushed metal texture with a bit of depth added.

Text shadow added to titles

And finally, a text shadow was added to both the main headings and sidebar headings. This shadow really brings copy out from the background on the sidebar in particular.

Most modern browsers can now render the CSS 3 tag text-shadow. This change is a progressive enhancement, and as such, will render only if your browser is capable. If not, it looks exactly the same as it used to look.

Portfolio Updated

I’ve implemented a tabbed navigation system. This makes it easier to find what you’re looking for. The default tab when the page loads is Web Design, where you can see large images under each title.

Either the name or the image can be clicked to expand a section underneath with a smaller image or logo, a URL if applicable, and information about the project including Client, Date, Tasks, etc.

Additional tabs include Graphic Design, Audio, and Other. Again, content here is displayed as a name and image that are click-able to expand more details. Although there is some content in these tabs, I am still in the process of adding more.

Please leave a comment below and let me know if you like the new look and what you like about it, or what you don’t like and any suggestions.

Thanks.

For the May poster design, I used a photo of the rocks at Presque Isle on the shore of Lake Superior for the background. By laying a close-up image of the rocks over the clear blue sky, I achieved an effect similar to satellite imagery of clouds.

I chose a sans serif font for readability. The final design is very vibrant and shows the natural beauty of Marquette in May. Harley’s Lounge is one of the few venues in Marquette that supports local music and I am proud to design their monthly posters.

Check out the Current Poster