Graphic Design – Graphic Zen

Meridian Moves Logo Project

October 21, 2024September 6, 2019 by Rudy Vaughn

Super excited to reveal the new logo we designed for the Meridian Moves initiative, which is managed through the Meridian Library District. Meridian Moves is a city-wide health and wellness initiative, to encourage folks to move more.

The logo is designed to represent the physical and active movement of the citizens of Meridian. It was a great experience collaborating with the project committee at the Meridian Library District. If you live in Meridian and haven’t been to the main library branch on Cherry Lane, you should definitely stop in. It’s so full of people and energy that I’m excited to see where they take the Meridian Moves project.

TallBoy and Daisy J

October 21, 2024November 9, 2016 by Rudy Vaughn

Just finished up a new logo for a blogger and adventure traveler: TallBoy and DaisyJ. This couple travels the U.S. and internationally on exciting mountain bike tours, and Daisy J loves to write about it. In her words,

Years ago when I was working long hours and filling my time with work hours instead of ‘anything other then work’ I found that I worried more, felt worn out and daily could feel my light within diminishing. I was not of much value to myself or anyone else. When I found time to stop and get quiet I heard a sweet, soft voice whisper, “Be true to yourself. Write more, express more, be adventurous and above all love more.”

My job was to create a new logo for her upcoming blog, something that showcased her love for the outdoors and mountain biking. Fun project, awesome client.

The Font Wall: I Love Typography

September 13, 2016September 12, 2016 by Rudy Vaughn

I am a font junkie, and I make no apologies for that.
http://ilovetypography.com/the-font-wall/

We’re Only Just Beginning To Understand How Color Impacts Users

August 25, 2016August 24, 2016 by Rudy Vaughn

https://www.fastcodesign.com/3063124/evidence/were-only-just-beginning-to-understand-how-color-impacts-users

The Iron Maidens

October 17, 2024May 11, 2016 by Rudy Vaughn

Last year we created a logo for Rock Canyon Amphitheater in Twin Falls, Idaho. This year we got to create a poster for one of their upcoming events, for an Iron Maiden tribute band. Now, you may be thinking, “Why would I go see an Iron Maiden tribute band?” I thought of a few different ways that I could describe the band to you, and the one that kept shouting loudest was a younger version of myself, say early 20’s. That version of me was shouting, “THIS IS SO COOL! THIS IS A BAND OF TALENTED HOT CHICKS THAT PLAY IRON MAIDEN!! HOW COOL IS THAT?!? Indeed, it is cool. The Iron Maidens can shred with the best of them, and on June 25 the city of Twin Falls will be rockin’. So if you’d like to treat your younger self to an Iron Maidens concert, I suggest that you get yourself over to www.rockcanyonamphitheater.com for tickets and more info. And if you want to check out the poster for the event, it’s there to the left, because I know that you read this before you looked at the poster, right?

Graphic Design: Meridian Writes Program Medal

May 3, 2016December 10, 2015 by Rudy Vaughn

Projects sometimes come with no set of guidelines or creative brief. I can be free to explore and develop concepts without feeling like I’m straying from a set of rules. That’s cool. This was the case with a recent project from the Meridian Library District, and their Meridian Writes program.

This program was created to highlight the talent and work from Meridian authors. Authors who live in the Meridian city limits or library boundary district can submit work for review by library staff. The staff will select three finalists and then ask select members of the Meridian community to choose a winner.

I initially started creating a traditional “medal” award type of graphic, complete with gold or silver accents and somewhere in the process I thought, “Why does it have to be round like a coin?” So after thinking about some shapes, I decided to go with something different, yet still “roundish”. For the center graphic, I experimented with different type styles and images, including a tree and the calligraphy nib you see here. I decided to add the digital-like element as part of the calligraphy pen to represent the fact that we now live in a digital age where books are often created and read via computer and tablet or phone, yet the art of writing began and still continues with putting pen to paper.

Of the five designs submitted, the Library choose the one you see here. I hope the participants of this new program continue to work and enjoy their creative craft, much like graphic designers do. 🙂

Album Art #2: Destroyer

January 31, 2016October 29, 2015 by Rudy Vaughn

Continuing with (IMO) great and iconic album covers, I present to you Destroyer from “the hottest band in the land” KISS.

Destroyer came on the heels of their worldwide hit KISS ALIVE!, which was the biggest selling live album in history. Knowing that the follow up album to this had to be every bit as good, an artist was sought out to produce the album cover.

Enter Ken Kelly. Born in 1946, Ken was always interested in art as a kid, but didn’t pursue it as a career until he left the Marines in 1968, after a four-year term. Back in New York he sought the guidance of fantasy artist Frank Frazetta, who took him on as an apprentice and helped guide his early work.

In 1969, Ken landed a book cover project and has worked for every major publishing house since, including working on a series for fantasy writer Robert E. Howard.

For the Destroyer cover, Ken was faced with a tight deadline and many revisions, one for the first cover version being “too violent”, (it was the mid-seventies). The second happened as he was almost finished and was asked to start over and paint the band in their new costumes. According to all involved, Ken was a professional and took these challenges in stride with no complaints.

Growing up in the mid-seventies I can say that this was one of my first record purchases, and made me very popular at school, as the cover was so visually striking.

Ken also painted a follow up album cover for KISS, Love Gun, which is very unique and identifiable in its own right. He continues to work today and his website can be found at www.kenkellyfantasyart.com.

Album Art #1: Whipped Cream and Other Delights

January 31, 2016February 25, 2015 by Rudy Vaughn

One of the things that has always been on my design bucket list is to design an album cover. Not just any album cover, an iconic album cover.

Besides design, one of my other passions is music. I played drums in a few bands in my teenage years up to my thirties. And when I was a kid, one of the album covers that got me interested in music was Herb Alpert’s Whipped Cream & Other Delights (shown here from my vinyl collection). I’m sure that I’m not alone when I say that it wasn’t the music that first drew me in; it was the cover. Who was that girl? Why was she covered in whipped cream? (And be honest guys, you stared at that cover wishing the whipped cream would somehow fall off in certain areas)!

Ahem, okay. Putting my design hat back on, this cover was designed by the photographer Peter Whorf and was shot in his converted garage studio. The model was Dolores Erickson, a fashion model and actress with several big name credits to her portfolio. Dolores is now a successful painter. In addition to Dolores, I love the color and the cool curved lettering of this album.

Back before iTunes, Spotify and the like, you either heard a song on the radio, at a friend’s house or party, or you were at a record store looking at album covers. And if the cover was good enough to grab your attention it prompted you to buy it. At least that’s what happened to me. Once I got the record home and put it on, there was this experience of listening, looking at the cover and maybe reading the liner notes. Many people are rediscovering that today, and I think there still is a place for good album art.

Once I actually got around to listening to this album, I liked it, and so did about 6 million other folks, because that was how many records that were sold. And even though it was released almost 50 years ago, you still hear music from this album today on the radio, tv and movies. Not sure if you’ve ever heard any of the music from this album? Check out this rare video below of Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass.

A cool album like this and an iconic cover…that would be fun to work on.

To read a great interview with Dolores about her experience being the star of this cover, click here.

Meridian Chamber of Commerce Logo

December 22, 2023January 21, 2015 by Rudy Vaughn

I’m extremely proud that Graphic Zen was chosen to create the new brand identity for the Meridian Chamber of Commerce. The project was very rewarding to work on, as I live and work in the Meridian community, and love my city. After initial concepts were created about 4 months ago, and in conjunction with direction from the logo selection committee, the final design is presented below:

The Chamber wanted to incorporate bold, dynamic colors, to reflect the change in the organization, and the “M” shape reflects the diversity and agility of the new Chamber. Additionally, the “ID” in Meridian is highlighted to identify the Chamber’s location in Meridian, Idaho, as opposed to the other Meridian cities in the United States.

The cityscape below the name was designed to honor the Chamber’s past, as a small agricultural community, acknowledge the present as we see new growth and change coming to our city, and the faded layer in the background represents the vision of the future of the city. It’s not used as a primary part of the logo – it was designed as an additional element to use when size and space permits. As an unexpected surprise, I see that the City of Meridian Police Department is utilizing the cityscape artwork as part of their branding for their police vehicles.

The logo was launched to the Chamber membership on January 20th at their noon luncheon. Very humbled and honored to be selected to create something for a great Chamber and great city.

Cliff Marks Jr. Photography

November 2, 2015February 19, 2013 by Rudy Vaughn

We recently had the chance to create a fun ad design for a fellow creative, Cliff Marks Jr. Photography. Cliff is the exclusive photographer for the Treasure Valley Children’s Theater and this fun shot of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ that we used for the ad is perfect to show the fun side of photography. Cliff Marks Jr. Photography provides individual and family portraits, fashion, senior portraits, personal and professional headshots (Cliff got to photo the Romney campaign when they were in Idaho). Cliff also takes some wonderful natural and action/sports images, which you can check out by visiting his Facebook page at facebook.com/cliffmarksjrphotography. Thanks for allowing us to create this ad for you Cliff!

Stand Up America

November 2, 2015December 8, 2012 by Rudy Vaughn

Are you ready to Stand Up America?

On December 7, 2012 one of our clients, Derrick Boles began a journey of more than 1800 miles. Derrick and his Stand Up America campaign is an inspiring journey. Using an Elliptigo cycle, Derrick will ride from San Diego to New Orleans, with stops along the way to promote “the underdogs”, the non-profits, organizations and individuals that make a difference in their community. Often these “underdogs” are limited in funds, volunteers, and resources, yet they continue to provide, mentor, and make that difference.

After building the website for Stand Up America, Graphic Zen continues to provide ongoing support to Derrick by uploading videos to his site from his YouTube Channel. If you are interested, we encourage you to follow Derrick’s journey, and if you really want to help – consider making a donation to Stand Up America.

As Derrick says: Take the challenge, make the change and Stand Up America.

Leadership 1st for America

March 27, 2012 by Rudy Vaughn

Very happy to announce our working partnership with Derrick Boles and the L.E.A.D.E.R.S.H.I.P. 1st for America organization. Leadership 1st’s mission is to engage, empower, educate and mobilize community based organizations through training, technical assistance and fund raising opportunities. We recently completed the first phase of their fundraising division, located at www.leadership1st.org. We’re now working on new logo designs for another division, Game Time International and hope to have those up soon for your viewing pleasure. 😉

Share The Scents Website

September 22, 2015August 23, 2011 by Rudy Vaughn

Just finished up a website for Independent Scentsy Consultant, Lisa Nelson. This site will be used by Lisa as a marketing and lead generation tool for prospective consultants and customers. This was a great site to work on because it educated us about the fantastic products and the story of the Scentsy company. You can read more about it by visiting Lisa’s site – check out the site here. Want us to design a site for your Scentsy business? Contact us!

Design inspiration

February 26, 2011February 26, 2011 by Rudy Vaughn

Was asked by a friend the other day over coffee how we get ideas for clients, or what is the process that leads us to create a design for the client. This quote below from Paul Rand is a great summary and description of what I sometimes call ‘creating order out of chaos.’

“The designer does not, as a rule, begin with a preconceived idea. His idea is the result of subjective and objective thought, and the design a product of the idea. In order, therefore, to achieve an honest and effective solution he necessarily passes thought some sort of mental process … Consciously or not, he analyzes, interprets, translates … He improvises, invents new techniques and combinations. He coordinates and integrates his material so that he may restate his problem in terms of ideas, pictures, forms, and shapes. He unifies, simplifies, eliminates superfluities. He symbolizes … abstract from his material by association and analogy. He intensifies and reinforces his symbol with appropriate accessories to achieve clarity and interest. He draws upon instinct and intuition. He considers the spectator, his feelings and predilections.” ~ Paul Rand

Or we could sum it up in one sentence from Michelangelo, “I am still learning.”