Hello!
I will be the first to say I have been terrible at keeping up. The usual life happenings and day job obligations over the last year have dented an otherwise thoughtful plan to continue to create. No excuses, just reality.
I was hoping to really get into creating. Things that looked more like stereotypical art. Drawings, mixed media, paintings. As anyone who has created with artful expression will tell you, if your heart isn't in it, no matter how great it is, it will not satisfy you.
The awesome thing about being a "creative" is that, if you listen well, you will hear a few different "voices". No worries, these voices don't have names or even personas. They are little whispers of ideas that can breeze by you if you aren't careful.
But on a particular day back in early May of last year, I was able to capture one of these whispers and it led me down a path of photography. Not an artsy "Humans of New York" or Ansel Adams-style path or anything like that. This path was business photography. Taking pictures for friends of mine who own a local restaurant and bar. Food and drink that deserved to be showcased with an artist's vision and then given the stage of a 40" HDTV to allow all who entered the establishment an opportunity to be swayed into ordering one of the many featured consumables.
I kind of fell in love.
Honestly, it was fun. The photography was fun. The brainstorming sessions to come up with simple marketing messages was fun. Compiling all of the components into a sleek and cinematic "slide", complete with soft fades and vignette style visuals, was fun. It was a project worthy of so much more than a bored graphic designer and a marketing assistant could ever create.
I began to notice other digital signs. Installation placement, content, timing.
I saw many similar, uninteresting, and under-appreciated items that needed much more attention. Attention I could give.
So I made the decision to let my archival ink pens gather a bit of dust, and started to concentrate on making digital signage for small businesses in Minnesota. I even fell into some web-design as well. (why not? compelling visuals are needed everywhere!)
I am currently testing a retail-based digital sign in St. Cloud and creating an actionable restaurant website. It is very rewarding work when you know your creativity will be viewed by hundreds of people a week!
If you just happen to be reading this, and own a small business in the Twin Cities metro area, send me a message, I would love the opportunity to make your business SHINE!
-Joe
