Mr. & Mrs. Jones - Series Illustration Part II of V

Five Toxic Personalities You Should Avoid
As a personal project, I’ll be doing one illustration per ‘personality’.
This is “Mr. & Mrs. Jones”.
Mr. and Ms. Jones

In a consumer-based society we're programmed to notice when other people have more and - in turn - feel bad about it. Whether it's the coworker with the more expensive car, the neighbor with the bigger house, or the friend with the nicer clothes, keeping up with the Joneses can be a full-time job
if you choose to live that way.

Whether Mr. and Ms. Jones are waving their opulent lifestyles in your face or you just feel unworthy based on your own insecurities, it's best to nip this kind of envy in the bud as soon as possible -- and before you're driven to the edge of sanity.

The happiest people think in terms of what they do have rather than focusing on what they don't have. Food, clothing, and shelter will keep you alive. If you also have a nice family, a loving partner, good friends, and are in good health, you should consider yourself extremely lucky. Being grateful for what you have will boost your self-worth and prevent you from spending money in a quest to show off. You may not know this from the outside, but that coworker with the luxury car may be drowning in debt simply to impress you.

All Images are property of Abigael Orlando and associated clientele.
ANY unauthorized use may result in legal action against the respective parties. All rights reserved 2009.

The One-Upper - Series Illustration Part I of V

One of my favorite free-time hobbies is to surf the interwebs and read the amazing ‘newsworthy’ articles AOL posts as headlines. More often than not, I find myself reading things like The Lies All Men Tell or Dresses For Every Shape. Silly, nonsensical articles like this are surefire ways to spark funny imagery in my mind, which sometimes lead to doodles.

Recently I stumbled onto an article titled Five Toxic Personalities You Should Avoid. As a personal project, I’ll be doing one illustration per ‘personality’. This week I tackled “The One-Upper”.

The One-Upper

You went to Hawaii for your honeymoon but she went to Bali. You went for two weeks but she went for three. You stayed in a four-star hotel, but she stayed in a five-star resort. You get the idea.

One-Uppers delight in making other people feel "less than" by pointing out how their lives are better in every way. It doesn't matter if you are talking about your upcoming vacation or your blender: theirs is superior.

In essence, One-Uppers are braggarts that are afraid of being perceived as small, weak, or insignificant. They engage in constant power plays to give themselves a feeling of satisfaction and superiority. But you shouldn't let them.

The best way to combat a One-Upper is to not play the game. Trying to one-up a One-Upper is impossible, so forget it. The next time you share an accomplishment only to get one-upped, just end the conversation and walk away. After a few abrupt finishes, he or she might just get the hint.

All Images are property of Abigael Orlando and associated clientele.
ANY unauthorized use may result in legal action against the respective parties. All rights reserved 2009.

Noteworthy Blogs - Edition IV

I suggest coffee with the following blogs, simply because you are going to want to start some home projects when you read them. Lately I've been totally addicted to two blogs that have inspired me creatively and functionally. The first is a beautiful decorating blog that has inspired me to take on a few home projects.

Style Estate Blog

The second has been really fun diving into the back pages and I keep checking to see what might be in store everyday. The girl has a knack for the visually stimulating.

bon bon atelier

Happy Reading!

When a Fashion-Loving Designer Goes Golfing

Desktop Freebies

When I was in college, I use to love making senseless desktops in my free time. Soon, my free time seemed to get away from me, and my mindless hobby was cast off into the dark side of my brain. This is a place where I keep information that I don't use or need on a regular basis. Sometimes where I put my keys goes to that dark place too. Either way, I did some mental spring cleaning, and stumbled onto that fun, whimsical habit of mine and decided to revisit it. After about thirty minutes I came up with these totally pointless and silly creations. Please feel free to use any of these. Click on the image to open the full size version.

Bobbing for Apple...

Back in January, Harrah’s NKC hosted an event where they invited guests to play to win an Apple product. I was kind of excited to work with the apple brand style, but then reality hit. Because they were not hosting the event, we could not use anything that Apple produced, but in the same time, we had to produce creative that had Apple brand like qualities. This project just went from fun to hard. I strongly urge anyone to create a campaign on an iconically recognized project, and make it appear to be ‘within’ brand style, without using the actually brand style.

BACKGROUND IMAGE


ICONIC IMAGE

THE WHOLE SHEBANG
Must be 21 or older to gamble or obtain a Total Rewards® card. Know When to Stop Before You Start®
Gambling Problem? Call 1.888.BETS.OFF. ©2009 Harrah's License Company, LLC. All Right Reserved

Noteworthy Blogs - Edition III

These are some blogs I've been turned on to via suggestion. Might I first say a huge thank you to my dear friend, Jayna. We've grown up since pampers together and when it comes to things we know each other can enjoy, we are pretty good about volunteering this information. The first of two is quite humorous, and great ambition in today's economy. Jayna strongly suggests the chronicles under 'antics'. I'd like to quote her words; "Pure comic genius"


The second is a collaborative blog between two people. Quite a funny commentary on two individuals take on the world around them, and equally around us.


Along with this last blog, might I suggest words of warning. When Jayna suggested I visit this site, she said,

"... literally had me laughing out loud uncontrollably at work. Kinda blew my cover that I was actually doing something I was supposed to be paid for or whatever...".

I then visited myself, and while reading particular articles, I too laughed out loud to the degree of proving I was not indeed working. So, please take that in to mind if you are in an environment that looks down on that.

Happy reading!

Photo-Logo-A-Go-Go

So I’m wandering around the interwebs one day, (Facebooking or F’ooking as we like to call it) when I stumble upon a query from a friend asking for some logos. So, being the over ambitious person that I am I came up with a few variations for him, and we finally found one that did justice.
The large logo at the top is the final, and the rejects are below.



TDK Photography

All Images are property of Abigael Orlando and/or associated clientele.
ANY unauthorized use may result in legal action against the respective parties. All rights reserved 2009.

VooDoo ReLaunch

A whole new look, a whole new style, a whole new nightclub; the Voodoo nightclub inside Harrah’s North Kansas City is freshening up its look. You can see the new digs as well as the new marketing creative by yours truly, starting May 9, 2009. Until that day comes, here’s some eye candy to keep your peepers salivating.

U:Move Events

Harrah's welcomes those 21 years of age and older to our casinos.
Know When To Stop Before You Start.®
Gambling Problem? Call 1.888.BETS.OFF. ©2009 Harrah's License Company, LLC.

Noteworthy Blogs Edition II

Get your peepers ready for some visually stimulating, eye-popping, fantastic fun. I’ve got some fun blogs I’ve been surfing. Please make sure to check out some of the backlogs of these pages too, as they are full of Eye Candy!

Oh So Beautiful Paper

Will Staehle

SwissMiss

TDK Photography

Spokes-'People' friend or foe?

We are inundated with brands everyday. A logo here, and catchy tune there, and sometimes with the correct celebrity spokesperson, you don't need a brand. I find it amazing how some spokes-'people' have become so integrated into a brand that you see the product in your mind when you see them. For example, Dennis Haysbert. Who is he? The Allstate guy of course! Some of you may know him from the show '24', or other movies as he has been acting since the late seventies, but to most, he is the voice and face of the Allstate commercials.

What we should first ask is why are some brands so successful at using celebrities as an identity. Sometimes its the soothing voice we are all familiar with, or the look a particular celebrity portrays on or off screen. Other times, it may be something about the following of the celeb. But in all honesty the latter is rarely used, and not nearly as successful. Our good friend Mr. Haysbert has a nice voice. I mean I would personally love to have a book on tape with his voice to listen to. Seriously, I would.



As a challenge to all of you, please pick a celebrity endorsed product and or brand and take that individual out of that brand. Put them in to something that you would rather see them in. If you think Dave from Denny's would have made a better hand soap endorser, then put him there. I would really like to see the way your mind works. Or if you struggle with that idea, try to find something that they would be horrible at. I would personally not buy from a fashion panty collection from Britney Spears, and I don't think she would wear them anyways. To submit your brilliant ideas and see them printed here, email them to abigaelorlando@aol.com. After I receive your submissions, I'll post them here for all to see. Besides, us creative folk gotta give kudos to those around us.