1 — The misses and I are both beyond pumped to see our wedding invitation suite included in this year’s Communication Arts Design Annual. A high enough honor as it is, but it’s doubly rewarding to have the inclusion be for something so personal.

2 — Also excited to have several logomarks featured in a couple new Rockport publications. Congratulations to United Infrastructure Group for the inclusion in LogoLounge’s Master Library – Shapes & Symbols, and congratulations to GreenlitScripts, Charleston Naturally, Charleston Peace One Day, and Overboard for being selected for Letterhead & Logo Design 12. Both books bring the ruckus – an amazing array of talent to be in the company of.

3 — Thanks to Charleston Magazine and writer Lauren Brooks Johnson for the Graphic USA shout…

“To truly sense the underground vibe of a city, you must eat, drink, and do as the hip locals eat, drink, and do. So who better to guide you through the country’s urban centers than the hippest of the crew? The publishers of this collection asked 25 top graphic designers to disclose their hometowns’ best places to indulge, imbibe, and pique your interest. Its contributors infuse the artsy book with personality, both through their first-person entries and their fresh designs for each chapter. Former Charleston staffer Jay Fletcher takes readers on a jaunt through Holy City faves: Trattoria Lucca, Out of Hand, Pecha Kucha, and Redux, to name a few.”

(Also really cool to be in the same Cmag issue as some other Charleston creative powerhouse pals, like Nathan Durfee, Robert Prioleau, Michael Moran, and the gals over at Stitch.)

4 — I’ve been continuously pumped to have work featured on several of my favorite design blogs over the past couple months. Thanks to Fabien Barrel for the huge shout on Graphic Exchange, Brand New for the Celadon inclusion, Communication Arts for the Celadon Exhibit, Print Magazine for naming an oldie but goodie as their “Image of the Day,” and Design Work Life for the hat trick – ONE TWO THREE. Also honored to show up on fantastical design duo Eight Hour Day’s blog, “The Best Thing I Saw Today,” and to see the Poogan’s Porch website snag a Best Design award. To finish it up, the wifey has been beaming over her cameo on 100 Layer Cake.

5 — Always a fun break from reality to be your own client on a project. I was pumped to be asked to contribute my take on an album cover for this year’s Thirty Three and a Third Art Show. Some pretty awesome stuff from some pretty talented designers this year, so be sure to take the full gallery for a spin.

6 — I’ve succumbed to the peer pressure. I now be Tweetin’ and Dribbblin’. Follow along to keep up with the latest.

7 — Finally got around to redoing my 4-year-old business card design. The new jam is letterpress on one side, rubber stamp on the other, delicious throughout.

8 — Last, but without a doubt not least – the coolest news of all. Over 1,500 For the Love of Andrea shirts have been sold, and the entire effort (shirt sales, fund raising events, etc.) has currently raised over $75,000 with no signs of slowing. To top it all off, Andrea’s getting better by the day. Fipping unreal. It’s amazing to play even a tiny role in such an unbelievably good cause. To get the latest on Andrea’s story or to buy a shirt, head over to fortheloveofandrea.com.

Shortly after the accident, a mutual friend in Chicago got in touch looking for some tips on screen printing t-shirts, and a quick five inspirational minutes later I was on board to help craft something a little more customized.

The shirts are printed on “Black Heather” American Apparel 50/50 tees, and were generously turned around quickly by King Screen in Atlanta. Now available for purchase and shipping here, with all proceeds going directly to Andrea and her family.

GOLD

Charleston Peace One Day

Dean Watersports

Big Chef Little Chef

JFD Type Tee

SILVER

College of Charleston Illustrations

BRONZE

Charleston Yoga Marathon

“The most prestigious competition for creativity in graphic design. Since 1959, Communication Arts has published the best in visual communications from around the world. To find the best work, CA sponsors creative competitions that recognize the finest talent in the industry. Winners are selected by juries of their peers and published in our must-have annuals.”

A huge thanks to CA and congratulations to GreenlitScripts on being one of 16 logomarks chosen for this year’s book.

Brand! VOL.3 collected the highest level of brand identity launched anywhere in the world between January 2009 and February 2010, including new brand identity, the repositioning, revitalizing and design of existing brand, brand extension.

Brand! VOL.3 is the global resource for visual examples and case studies on effective brand transformations. Works came from multiple industries, including government and culture, fashion, technology and education, food catering, industry, and so on. Featuring over 400 outstanding brand identities and 2800 pictures from more than 30 countries, including the Brand Hong Kong, ADC YOUNG GUNS, and Sochi 2014. Top design offices featured include Alan Chan, Duffy & Partners, Landor, and hafelinger + wagner design.

Congrats to Charleston Naturally, New For Baby, Charleston Peace One Day, and GreenlitScripts. Brand! VOL. 3 (published in China and currently only available in Asia) goes on sale in Europe and North America this September. A few more images from the book can be found here.

When I was recently invited to speak about illustration and graphic design to the entire 5th grade class (180 students) at Summerville Elementary School, I’ll admit I had pipe dreams of offering that same tiny spark to somebody in the audience. I fear, however, that I gave no such inspiration.

The students clapped and sat poised with wide eyes and open ears as I took the floor, where I proceeded to babble about logos and posters and logos and clients and logos for about 20 minutes. Beads of sweat formed (those who know me know that I don’t deal well with attention, even from 10-year-olds) and I decided to abruptly change gears and lighten my load by turning the whole thing into a Q&A session. “Do you get nervous when you get big jobs,” one student asked. “Not nearly as nervous as I am right now, standing up here in front of you,” I responded.

Things quickly started looking up though. My forehead went from glossy back to matte and I was truly impressed with how thoughtful some of their questions were. Questions like “was it difficult switching from illustration to design” actually stumped me a bit, and made me think “I dunno… was it?” Of course there were some softball questions as well. One of my favorites was when a student asked my age, and I somehow instigated a screaming debate amongst the group as to whether 31 is young or old, with half the room yelling “YOUNG!” and the other half chanting “OLD!” Sounded a lot like the conversation I have in my own head on the subject.

All in all it was a great experience. I talked about some stuff I probably shouldn’t have, like how you have to draw naked people in art school (“ewwwwwwwwwwwwwww,” the kids bellowed), but I think I may have managed to utter a couple things they could relate to, and I’m hopeful that at least one future artist out there will always remember “the day that sweaty guy came to school.”