Rick Messer Design

Caleb Opp Photography Website -Finally!

2009-11-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

After a long time, I was able to finish this project for my friend Caleb Opp. Caleb is a talented photographer who has recently dedicated a year to teaching English in South Korea. While there he saw some amazing things and even got Swine Flu! Quite an adventure.

I met Caleb at the Art Institute. Knowing his talent, I was excited when Caleb asked me to do a flash portfolio site for him. I tried some animation techniques I have never attempted before with the "Crows". Fun!
Check out the site at: CalebOpp.com

A Child's Song Website Launched!

2009-11-02T23:23:00.000-08:00

AChildsSong.com
Took some time this October to focus on WordPress and A Child's Song. "ACS" was ready for a new look and a powerful site to be ready for their recent Google grant which will generate a lot of traffic. After some further investigating, I learned that I definitely and proufoundly "heart" WordPress...

Interactive Directories Logo Campaign

2009-11-02T23:14:00.000-08:00

A recent project for Interactive Directories in which several Colorado-based websites were being started that needed continuity while maintaining individual characteristics that related to the subject of each.

Much thanks to Katie Messer (my little sis) for lending a hand to help me meet with the concepts and execution of these logos to meet this aggressive time line. She's terrific! Check out her blog.

Deer Hill Website

2009-11-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

DeerHillExpeditions.com
So this website was a HUGE project that spanned from May to September of this year. Built on WordPress as the CMS, Deer Hill needed also needed some flash elements to help the website standout and avoid appearing to be just a WordPress theme. I had my friend and associate Eric Munoz assist me with the WordPress side of things until I could take the reigns myself. The out come made me, Eric, and our mutual client at Deer Hill all smile:

Deer Hill

2009-11-02T22:39:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so quiet lately. I've been meaning to move my blog to WordPress but I'm wanting to have the blog integrated into my whole website which means redesigning my whole website/portfolio. It's going to be fun, but a large task. I'm looking forward to it. Here's what I've been up to this summer:

This is the logo for Deer Hill Expeditions. We went a lot of different ways before arriving at this solution. There were also lots of different treatments for the final product. This one is the "weathered" look.

"Deer Hill provides outdoor adventures and community service opportunities for young people."

They have a focus on service which provided a lot of interesting styling opportunities. Website is next.

iSchool Band

2009-07-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

Been working hard with Bandfind Inc. to design and develope their latest social network:
iSchool Band

Services include:
Logo Design
icon design
Information Archeticture
xhtml/css
website layout
identity developement

iSchoolBand.com is a social network for high-school marching, and concert bands. It allows students, instructors, boosters, and parents to communicate online and streamline tedious tasks. There is also a common place where users can share sheet music, videos, mp3's, and pictures.
I've collaborated with Bandfind Inc. and I know the level of professionalism and research that has been put into it and I'm excited to see this product take-off!

WebKit's New Website Launched

2009-05-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

WebKit.com

Designed by Yours Truly!

WebKit is a company I've been working with over the past few years. We did a re-design previous to this one since I've been working with them, however we were not able to lend the focus we really wanted to on it until now.

With the arrival of Mercury, WebKit's new php frame work for CMS, Ecommerce, and even social networks, It was the perfect time to rework their website.

Rick Messer Design is now working with WebKit on web projects with this new frame work which is pretty slick!

Please take a look at the new WebKit site and let me know your thoughts!

Montana Trout Lodge Website

2009-05-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Montana Trout Lodge has a new website.

This one was especially fun. Lots of freedom and the opportunity to create a logo to work from. This project is 100% Rick Messer Design from start to finish. There was a strong desire from the client to utilize their photography from around their many river journeys.

Check out the new site! MontanaTroutLodge.com

River City Marine Logo

2009-05-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

I've been working with Winboats Web, a subsidiary of Webkit, who offers incredible POS software and integrated websites for boat dealers. We've had a lot of industry clients as a result of this new branch and this logo is a favorite of much of the design work we've been incorporating into this new branch of industry.
River City Marine is a boat dealer based in Kamloops, BC. This is a famous boating town because of the confluence of rivers in the heart of the city. The thought was to find a mark unique to this client while visually communicating their level of professionalism and hi-end business practices. The three elements you see indicate the general geographic location of the 3 main rivers (From left to right: Kamloops Lake, The North & South Thompson, and Shuswap Lake) in relation to the city of Kamloops.
Both me and the client were very happy with the end result!

Bryce Boyer Invitation - Photo Studio Grand Opening!

2009-05-08T15:07:00.000-07:00

I was so impressed when I saw this new series Bryce Boyer (an amazing photographer right here in Denver) was doing to break-in his new studio. He asked me to lend a hand with the invitation and I was all-too-eager to take a chance to work with such talent. Here's what we came up with:

Front:

Back:

What an honor to be able to work with Bryce. He's been working on his amazing new studio in Sunny Side and is going to be doing a Grand Opening May 22nd for the Art Director's Club of Denver and AIGA's F.A.C. meeting. Bryce's party will take place after the meeting.

Bryce's reputation is very widely known throughout the Editorial world and around the creative Industry in Colorado. Check out his STUFF

Faithful Workouts Website Launched!

2009-04-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

New website launched for Faithful Workouts!
View here: faithfulworkouts.com

Faithful workouts is a ministry dedicated to spiritual, as well as physical fitness.

If you have Direct TV, tune in to channel 378 (NRB) and catch an Episode of Faithful Workouts on Monday mornings!

The new faithful workouts also provides you with weekly uplifting messages if you sign up for the newsletter or twitter. Or check the blog on the homepage.

Thanks to Eric Munoz, and Kevin Starling for their much appreciated collaboration on this project!

Embodymusem Website Launch!

2009-03-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

New Flash Website for Embody Museum.
EmbodyMuseum.com

Music, Cultural Photography, Ancient Artifacts, XML Galleries, page to page animation, Tattoo & body art... awesome client!

Bowling Shirts & Promotional Jumbo Postcards

2009-03-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to design a T-shirt for the Bowling League I'm in at Red Rocks Church. This was super fun and Scott Russomanno the head of the Sports Ministry was nice enough to grant Silver Sponsorship for the donation of my time to design the shirts.

I've never been good at self-advertising, but this was a unique opportunity to design something that 90 people who see me once a week at church would be seeing. I designed some 6x11 postcards to put in a goodies bag that everyone gets along with the T-shirt I designed.

This was an opportunity to do something fun and experiment with some typography/branding/and new styles. I went for a mild amount of humor because I just can't take myself seriously! Love to hear some comments on this!

Meetingwoo.com Launched!

2009-03-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.meetingwoo.com/
I've worked with Meeting Woo over the last year creating their brand and we're proud to announce that we've launched the website today!
Check it out guys I would love to hear your comments!

Bossnupmusic.com Launched!

2009-02-27T10:41:00.000-08:00

Bossnupmusic.com This site was a joint effort. Together with Webkit we turned this motha' out! Take a look!

Faithful Workouts Logo Design

2009-02-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

Created a custom font for this logo. Went through a lot of color changes with this one but we're all very happy with the end result!

Currently working on website.

What do you guys think of this logo design?

Fourelementslandscape.com Launched!

2009-02-12T11:39:00.000-08:00

Chigity. http://www.fourelementslandscape.com/

New Website Launched

2009-02-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

Xanadumedspa.com
Just launched website for client Xanadu Med Spa. Take a look!

Latest Projects

2009-01-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

So I've been up to a lot of different things lately and rather than attempt to up date you all on every one. I thought it would be cool to just make a collage of all the projects I'm currenty/or recently working on.

Ofcourse some of these are mid-process. There are also a few that I can't put on because of non-disclosure agreements.

There you have it!

Basketball

2009-01-24T11:29:00.001-08:00

I played basketball at the local rec center today with some friends. You may not realize this, but basketball is hard... and so is the floor... ouchie.

misprinted type

2008-12-31T15:13:00.000-08:00

I'm sure this guy is well-known but I just happened to stumble upon it and had to post a quick link about it.

http://www.misprintedtype.com/

Check it out.

2007-2008 Top Ten Movies

2008-12-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

#10 In Bruges
Where did this come from? Collin Farrell? Reminiscent of Lock Stock or Snatch. A fun, dramatic plot twister set in Bruges ("It's in Belgium"). That I liked this movie so much was a surprise.

IMDB Page

#9 The Killing of John Lennon
A look inside the mind of Mark Chapman, the man who plotted and executed John Lennon. No lines were written for the actor who played Chapman. Every line came directly from quotes or from his journal. I'm a fan of John Lennon and it was interesting to see the influence his life and death had on people acrossed generations.

IMDB Page

#8 28 Weeks Later
The originial is possibly my favorite movie so it was a given for this movie to make the list. Although with the change of director, much of the flavor of the movie was lost. But it was still scary as crap! And the story did not dissapoint.

IMDB Page

#7 Burn After Reading
I don't want to spoil this movie too much for everyone who hasn't seen it, but suffice it to say that the biggest surprise in the movie is what won me over in my skepticism. This was such a different direction than "No Country", but Coen brothers none the less. I love movies that don't really have much point...

IMDB Page

#6 There Will Be Blood
Whoa! This movie was so not what I was expecting. It completely altered my mood and my emotions and that's what I love about movies. Soundtrack was also very original, but what I love most about this movie was the concept.

IMDB Page

#5 Into The Wild
What an experience. I really feel like this movie came out of nowhere. This was one movie that I will hold on to. Wild sways of emotion and excitement and beautifully shot and scored.

IMDB Page

#4 The Dark Knight
I loved this movie despite Christian Baal's "weird" performance (what's with the voice man? Enough already!), over-shadowed though it was by Ledger's masterpiece of character play. Though I will see every Batman movie that will ever come out, this is one of the greats, rivaled only by Burton's Batman Returns in my opinion.

IMDB Page

#3 No Country For Old Men
Still want to read the book. I've heard great things about it and can't wait to read it one day. No soundtrack? Who does that? The Dang Coen brothers.. This was also my first look at Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem on the big screen and I look forward to many more from them both. It didn't hurt that Tommy Lee Jones rocked as well. A casting choice no doubt inspired by The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005 starring, and directed by Mr. Jones) which I HIGHLY recommend.
Looking forward to 2009 for The Road from the same author, Cormac McCarthy.

IMDB Page

#2 Slumdog Millionare
Unbelievable. If you didn't already know about it, I could give you the synopsis, but that probably wouldn't encourage you to see it any more. But hey, this is Danny Boyle. Boyle has a certain special something about his movies that make you taste desperation and TRULY appreciate what comes on the other side. In Slumdog, poverty and love are two words that linger in your mind as you leave the theater.

IMDB Page

#1 Sunshine
My number 1. Danny Boyle does it again for me. This was a long awaited movie for me though it never played in the states.
With his direction, Boyle moves from beyond the Film medium to straight-up art. This has everything that I love about movies and art. An absolute thrill from start to finish. Again Boyle teams up with John Murphy to paint the most beautiful harmony between sight and sound. The small "screw it, I'm putting this in there because I like it, and I don't care who gets it" is what absolutely did it for me. I found myself saying, I can't believe he did that part that way and I don't think anyone is going to get that! Cillian Murphy won me over again too.

IMDB Page

That's it for the past two years. Looking forward to so many in the years to come! Thanks for reading!

Favourite Coffee Shop in Denver

2008-12-19T18:18:00.000-08:00

Me and Jen went down to the Art Institute Portfolio Review today and saw a bunch of portfolios. A lot of good ones including Megan Beck's who is a photographer worth checking out!

Snapped a shot of the early sunset as I left a relaxing day in Denver in front of Paris on the Platte
my fav coffee shop in Denver. Had a Roast Beef and Horse Radish wrap... mmmm...

iPhone Blogger

2008-12-16T17:37:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to see how blogging looks from the ole iPhone. Not too shabby but I guess you can't upload pix. Hmm..

New Projects

2008-12-15T21:53:00.001-08:00

Boss 'n Up is a Denver Rap label. I'm working on their site with Webkit. Something different for a change. It's been very exciting to take this on.

The client has been very pleased with the design so far as well. I'll be excited when this one goes live. Working on the flash right now and it's looking good & fun!

New Pepsi Logo

2008-12-15T13:50:00.000-08:00

So, I've been out of design school for a little while so I don't know if this has been a big topic yet or not, but I was walking through the store yesterday and saw that Pepsi had changed their logo!?

I really don't know what I think about it. I saw just the regular Pepsi at the store and come to find out this is a total rebrand of Pepsi products.

I don't know why they did this, there are a lot of articles out there that have quotes from big Pepsi players who say it was time for a change, but I can't understand it. This has got to be one of the most recognizable brands in history, and now they want to start over.

I didn't get this at first (because I only saw the original Pepsi at the store) but this is actually supposed to be a series of smiles... Yeah, Diet Pepsi is kinda smiling, Pepsi is totally smiling, and Pepsi Max is straight-up laughing!

Eh. Cute, I guess but man we're messin' with some American history here.

So what do the people say? While I like the new typeface, I can't say that I'm a fan of the new brand. What do you all think?

I Met the Walrus

2008-12-09T13:58:00.001-08:00

CU Aerospace Website Launched

2008-12-04T09:21:00.000-08:00

Recently launched is the CU Aerospace Department website at: http://www.colorado.edu/aerospace/. A project RMD had partnered with 814 inc for. A different design approach yeilded rewarding results. Take a look!

Amazing iPhone Apps

2008-11-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

I heard about this iPhone app from a friend of mine Bryce Boyer who just happens to be an amazing photographer. I absolutely love this app. It's called Camera Bag. And it's great for those of us who have no claim to fame in photography and carry around an iPhone. I was takin' a walk this morning after we had some snow last night and got some interesting/fun pictures with this app.
Is this not the happiest snowman you've ever seen?

Yeah, so I'm not going to win any photography contests. But this was taken with an iPhone. You can adjust your resolution from 600px to 1200px (though processing takes a while for anything above 800). You also have the option of multiple classic photography effects.

That's all for now.

Graphic Design - not a way of life

2008-11-11T21:45:00.000-08:00

More thoughts on this later.
Your Friend,

Rick Messer Design