So I'm having Urban Bbq company right now. Never had it or heard of it, but its worth it. The layout of the restaurant, the design of the menus and uniforms and of course the food make this a winner. They don't need me, but I gave them a card anyway(then I took my cornbread).

Now I'm in the Dentist's Office seaching for relief. I probably didn't mention it, but I am so very afraid of drills and hooks for my mouth. The sounds they make are the soundtrack to my nightmares. At no point during a dental visit, will you be able to claim cool and the inadvertent squirming caused by the offshore mining going on in your grill makes you question EXACTLY how thorough you are. But I'm here now, so that I might rest later. I'm tired and starving. I've been up all night dumping Ibuprofen and rinsing with Peppermint Oil. I can't do that again tonight. I've got meetings.
First things first, when I walked in the office I grabbed the Office Managers business card. For the Medical Field, the card is poorly spaced information wise, the font choice is questionable, it is driven by the photo of the card owner and muddled with a logo that gets busier when you shrink it. This is the woman I have to pitch my business barter concept. She isn't here.
As Iook around the office, I become even more confident that I can close some type of deal here. From the in-house signs to the vendor provided educational material, there is a severe wobble. I feel I can establish consistency throughout the office. I can see a cool color palette, custom icons for print and web, staff and area photos to embellish in house signs, screensavers and more. At times like this I feel like I've always been a designer, but I'm just realizing it now. My mind has always been this analytical. I just wrote it off as general geekiness. Go figure.
The doc is here, so it's metal in the mouth time. Later.

the benzocaine kid....

Alright, so I got the Gaza strip going on in my gums and not a dollar in the bank. As a matter of fact, both of my banks claim I owe them for being poor, but that's another blog I'll probably never post. Anyway, the pain is here, and I'm rapidly outgrowing my home remedies (peppermint oil, dental gum, salt water, not sleeping, benzocaine soaked q-tips, etc.). I know I need a root canal, posts, and a crown. I can probably scheme up enough money for an extraction. I made the appointment out of desperation and pain induced shock. I had a wisdom tooth removed at Angel Dental Care and I remembered two things. 1. They snatched my negative enamel out in 4.5 minutes + devoid of reckless tugging and 2. they were badly in need of a new logo. My plan? I would like to and am seriously pursuing, a barter situation where I swap out an identity system for dental work. Unsure if it's a stroke of genius, the last sign that I've lost my mind, or just the status quo of the self-employed in the land of the fee and the home of foreclosure. Either way this is what I came up with.



This was the first angel I drafted. I didn't like the pose for a logo, but I knew it would serve purpose all over a fine tailored t-shirt.....probably bamboo or organic cotton.

Explanation.....

I'm not making any new money, but I'm learning new programs. I am respectfully approaching Flash, After Effects, and Fireworks now that I've transitioned into web design. I say this as a disclaimer to my 4 followers. Sorry for any lapses in blogging. It's for the cause and not just because.

This is the 'Ikea' style t-shirt ad that I did for my brother (he's a technician for Trumpf). This is pure vector flexing. Hats off to the pen tool and my Back playlist on youtube.

Yeah, complicated right. I didn't design this, but I did redraft the the text though. I am not a fan of Livetrace results, so I use the pen tool religiously.



This is the original downloaded from the web.

Fw: big-will-flyer-2.jpg

Assignment for my partner, Oscar Perez, Jr.

competition is none

So for the past 2-3 months I have been frantically trying to reorganize HDS to move into the future. Revising my marketing plan and recalculating my target markets wasn't enough. I knew I had to change my outlook on business and how I was conducting it, if I ever wanted this movement to survive.
For a long time, I have been against competition. My reasons are simple. 2 people create 1 life (or more). It takes 2 parties to transact business. It takes at least 2 people to compete. Life begets life. Business begets business. Competition begets elimination. I have always tried to hi-light the life in business and vice versa. Competition, in many of its forms, inspires a sense of self-centeredness that most likely extends back to infancy. A me, me, me factor. Rather than it be about the greatness of a particular act, an act is immediately measured against another persons experience in an attempt to assess the difference in worth between the two (or more). There is only one "winner" in these scenarios and greed is transmogrified into determination and drive. I never chose to compete. I always chose to compel. As a missionary, I'd be spot on, but as a businessman sometimes I feel like an open bar on skid row.
In 09, I have no choice but to compete. I can no longer sustain this movement with little fish the big design firms throw back. I can't even strength train those fish for the future. Their eyes are too small. They lack the foresight. No,I have to offer products comparable to my competition and charge prices in the same range. I have always studied their strategies, but never chose to adopt them. I no longer have a choice. This economic climate can be described as nothing less than a fight for survival. When competition becomes a fight, it sheds the leisures of sport and dawns the obligation of the living to preserve life. Design is my life and I will survive (you might be thinking disco clip, I'm thinking soundbyte from '300').

So I'm doin what I've never done before. I'm having a coffee and muffin @ the local Dunkin Donuts. I don't eat in but this gives me a chance to use the mobile blog.

So I had a little hiatus. My customers appreciate my willingness to NOT blog in favor of investing 150% into their projects. I'm going to take this time out to give a hats off to Bigfoot Sneakers, Muse Annex, Starquality Entourage & Hollagraphics Marketing, as well as positive ex. I still got meetings, but I'll be back like the governor of Cali!

There's nothing like stumbling around a page of HTML trying to do something...anything, and coming up with nothing. As you can probably deduce from my first post, I'm not the web guy. After becoming one with Photoshop and Illustrator, I had no idea that Dreamweaver would be such a rude awakening. I actually learned multimedia on Macromedia's Director, but I never really got comfortable with the concept of code. I had just learned how to turn a computer on,so programming was not high on my list of priorities. It still isn't. Neither is learning to swim, but it may save my life. Web related products are in demand and draw a higher rate than my printed services. My understanding of this medium is critical to the survival of HDS. So, study I will........

I realize I talk a lot. I'm trying to write more than I speak, but people do not have time to read all of that. So, here's a recent design. I call it a thought card. It's function is to provoke thought, more so than promote business. I gave them out during Black History Month, but if you're not in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia), you probably didn't get one. It's all vector art printed on 16 pt cardstock with UV on the art side and matte finish on the info side. I also use the cards to teach clients the power of marketing and art direction. What does it make you think about?

With my birthday celebration (pause to cough)...well under way, I'm feeling more connected to the web than ever before. After watching an interview with Talib Kweli & Hi Tek and a prompt from my proper peer, Ayesha Callahan, I set up a twitter account for Hollagraphics. Woohoo! Yet another channel to discharge this nervous energy through. Aaaaahhhhh! I even have a couple of followers. Makes sense because I'm following people now. Quite a few people. It's kind of ill, ill meaning "cool", that based on my interests, I can use my PC as a bounty hunter to satisfy my curiosities. I still investigate personally, but now I have agents tailing my targets and doing stakeouts! Up to the minute updates via RSS feeds make me more Big brother like (Que the evil laugh, light reverb, pan left). Actually, they make me a sharper individual because I don't follow fools or foolishness. To be granted access to the opinions and perspectives of your friends, family, peers, contemporaries, and icons/idols gives you more to reference as you write your page in the Book of Life. I, personally, enjoy uncovering the similarities in people and their lives, no matter how radically they may differ. I feel we are all stars serving a term in the flesh. Starstruck is never a condition I have suffered from. People amaze me. These lives and times are the mystery. Sounds like the start to a wack script or something. In any case, I like to hear about how businesspeople deal with business problems. In person, an individual might not be so forthcoming with advice and tutelage whereas, online they are in discriminant. Competition is what competition is and some people are more passionate about profit versus how they make it. I can understand that. I don't follow those people. I watch them. Other people are so good at what they do, that they can only talk about themselves and their experiences. I read them. There are still others that actually teach by being genuine. I spend time with them. Which category are you in? Its been a pleasure spending time with you on my birthday.

Today I completed my 34th revolution around the sun. Compared to an infant, I am ancient. Compared to this planet, I am an instant. Let me tell it, I am waaaaaaaaaaaay older than my age, but my spirit is eternally youthful and my soul is infinite. I draw off of those resources and not the physical. The physical is built and destroyed, while you are reborn in the mind. I have celebrated many a birthday that can't be marked on a calender. This is not to take anything from my parents. They were/are gateways nonetheless.
Happy B-day messages starting chiming across my blackberry around 11:45 last night. My Elizabeth High School peoples are definitely on Facebook. Justin Roman (Afteryellowred), Tirzah K. , and Phil Lynch all sent me love yesterday. My mother and big brother called this morning, but when I do sleep it is a minor coma so, no connection. My mother did text me and that was an accomplishment (she's not one to press a button 3 times to produce one letter). Its not only the thought that counts, its being thought of.
I never understood why people lie about their age. That's so disrespectful to your experiences here on Earth. I try to learn and grow daily. Understanding isn't generally instantaneous. It is accompanied by trial and error which are separated by time. For me to pyschologically adjust my years in speech (it can't be changed in reality) would be an unconscious attempt at stunting my maturity. When I truly reflect on my experiences, I feel like I'm too old to lie about important things and not old enough to start falling apart.
At HDS, we're thinkers. We talk sh*t with a lot of thought behind it, beside it and in front of it. If we were immature, our actions could be misdirected and our future could be compromised. Because we acknowledge the reality of ourselves, we conduct ourselves like the adults (not grown ups) that we are. A common quote around here is "Time is God's currency. It is difficult to save, so invest it wisely." -D. G. Wooten II I live by that. Does it make sense to you?

A common start to these blogs will be: a time and specific meeting with my Vice President. We meet frequently throughout the week and balance 4 separate entities (Graphic Design, Real Estate, Travel, and Natural Products). Beyond all this she maintains a Business Consultant position in a Fortune 500 company and still finds time to be the most awesome + supportive wife a moody multi-media starvin artist could get to commit. With that being said.......
12:00 Late Breakfast Meeting with my VP @ Ihop. We always wait 20-30 mins when we're here. Its the only 'real restaurant' around our area. We always discuss putting them out of business with our own venture. We're actually dead serious until we get to the part of the discussion that covers capital. Then things generally go silent and we go back to critiquing (complaining) over our respective meals. Something to consider for business owners. Often times the competition is in your lobby, assessing your weakness and waiting for that window of opportunity. Raise the bar. Make them jump higher.

4am I had a meeting with the Vice President of HDS. This was after I spent hours tinkering with this blog and waging war on the mouse dancing in my kitchen. (I know I am dangerously naive for saying mouse instead of mice, because they are rarely alone, I just don't like to feed them that ultra magnetism. I don't want to attract them with my thoughts. There will be a separate post on "Murdering mice in your life-metaphorical and literal" in the future....)
The VP gave kudos on the blog and website + wanted to know "What's next?" "Marketing and Promotion" was the instinctual response. I would've said it, but I was overwhelmed with thoughts of distinction. 'Overwhelmed' is a blatant exaggeration. I was exhausted and the new set of thoughts was sucking up the fumes that were keeping my engine running. Distinction. I thought before we can promote either of these properly, we have to partition the public perception (say that 3 times fast) to accept the site as professional and the blog as life with a professional backdrop.
Overall, the HDS business model is different. We bring the life back(?) into business. Even when we're practicing professionalism, we're very organic when interacting with clients and the community-at-large (local, domestic + global). Organic? No, we don't feed everyone spinach salads while wearing three piece bamboo suits. We, well, I would like to but it wouldn't improve the overall product. Warm, anti-alienating, informative interviews however, draw clients and the community towards and into our world. In our world, business and life are inseparable and interchangeable like space and time. Neither can exist without the other, nor are either to be taken lightly. In my mind, profit and understanding are identical. They are bound by philosophy which is the foundation to my style of design.
Some of this philosophy spills over onto the site (check the 'contact' page on the site. We are definitely trying to make you laugh while bringing awareness to a particular client condition) and may raise a brow. If it does, we probably don't want you as a client and you most likely wont consider us as a service vendor. We are cool with that arrangement. It is balanced. However, the blog is life with a professional backdrop, so anything can post there. Tutorials, project reports, recipes, music, events, you-know-what-really-grinds-my-gears sort of rants, and/or but not limited to idle blogging. Don't judge our work ethic or our professionalism by our blog. Appreciate our transparency and value that integrity because we accept the truth but we exist for change.
Is this an effective distinction?

This is our first newsletter. This is still developmental so feedback is critical. You got some? Well give it up.



Next we have the Hollagraphics.com flyer. It's square, but we're not. We are hopelessly addicted to design, however. That's awesome for our clients and horrible for anyone that can't grasp the worth of the craft and its impact on business behaviors (not to mention, our loved ones who can't seem to get a hold us because we're busy getting busy). More often than not, I create on impulse. This flyer is the result of deciding not to fixate on personal debt, but rather to accentuate one's worth.Though it was rushed (45 mins from scratch-including uploading to go to print and a PB&J on wheat...)and it is structurally questionable (alignment issues and awkward spaces) the motivating factor that led up to its conception is still sound. I would rather design than be depressed.

Its been an exciting week for Hollagraphics Design Services (HDS). After years of burning midnight oil, impersonating a technician (cable and environmental) and crafting some of the lamest rants to justify my procrastination.....we launched our site (www.hollagraphics.com) and a blog (www.hollagraphics.blogspot.com). Woohoo! I'd like to thank the good folks at MediaLab, Blogger and my proper peer (my peoples) Jay Baker for all the support during and beyond the build. I'd also like to thank Honda Financial Services for giving me an extension on my car note. Those monies help expedite the process and was greatly appreciated. Of course, now I'm 2 months behind on my payments and a grand away from having $20 to my name. My name? Wholihane. I am HDS' voice of reason, raising, and reaching. That phrasing will be explained over time. What's important now is that you get a clear visual of a small business fighting for its life against the undertow of a powerful Recession. Yes, our eyes get blacker, but our hearts get bigger and beat harder. We've been knocked down but we always get up before the three count, smiling with blood on our teeth and made rigid by adrenaline based ambitions. We breathe deep with broken ribs because we know the brain needs oxygen and the mind wins the war. We never leave the ring. It is always with us. We learn from losing, so we have never lost. How do you define success?