Who you gonna call?

My Gap Inc. team has changed a lot in the past year. And with that change came the departure of a few amazing people, who I'm still really proud to call my friends.

Each time someone has left our the team, we've put together personalized gifts reflecting each person's quirks and team jokes. I Photoshopped the team — formerly known as The DMC (Digital Marketing & Communications) — as Ghostbusters to reflect our fun, weird, experimental, ass-kicking nature, and also celebrate the wonderful Tighe P. Flatley, our favorite Kevin.

It was a quick Photoshop job, but I still love it.

Burning Man jumps the shark

As soon as the phrase "Burning Man has jumped the shark" started being thrown around earlier this year, an image of the man on waterskis popped into my head, and I campaigned for SF Bay Guardian editor / Burning Man author Steven T. Jones to write a cover story.

I felt like a collage lent itself really well to the surreal image I had in mind, as well as the basic logistics of the festival itself — people and art appearing in and then eventually disappearing from the desert, leaving no trace.

I scoured a small collection of magazines for a mix of desert and ocean hues, and tore those pages into smaller pieces that focused on color and pattern, leaving behind only a hint of the original image. I then arranged those pieces on my living room floor. Instead of gluing them down for a more manicured look, I let the pieces curl and create depth and shadows.

After photographing the physical collage, I used Photoshop to insert images from Burning Mans past into the desert portion. I also used the software to add a man on skis, and a shark for him to jump over, à la Fonzie.

Collage using torn magazines, AP file photos, and clip art.

Nude beaches

For the SF Bay Guardian's 40th annual Nude Beaches issue, I decided to transform an iconic nude image — Michelangelo's David — into a nude beachgoing bro.

I used Photoshop to transform the statue into a sand sculpture, and added modern neon props and colorful light leaks resembling an Instagram filter for a cover that's both a humorous allusion to an iconic work of art, and a parody on hipster culture.

I had SO MUCH FUN transforming iconic works of art in Photoshop ... despite the fact that putting a beer can in David's hand may be one of the most despicable things I've ever done.

WARNING: Past Nude Beaches cover photos, displayed at the end of this post, contain full-frontal nudity and are not safe for work.

Below are the cover photos from the past two years, both photographed by Matthew Reamer. (WARNING: NSFW!)

For the 2013 issue, I decided to experiment with nude typography. I gathered a group of friends (and friends of friends) to spell out the word "NUDE" on San Francisco's Baker Beach (the nude-friendly end, obviously), then used Photoshop to superimpose "BEACHES" on the sand below them.

The 2012 issue featured a photo of three people hanging out (literally) (sorry) at Baker Beach. It was the first time in the Guardian's history we were allowed to feature a penis on the cover, and we took full advantage. The cover photo attracted attention from Jezebel, whose online commenters also applauded us for featuring beautiful, real bodies.

Fun fact: The 2012 nude beaches shoot was the first photo shoot I ever coordinated for the SF Bay Guardian.

Vacation rush

I recently returned to work after spending two wonderful weeks in Italy and France. I ate to my heart's content, swam in the Mediterranean, read three books, and drank a lot of wine. But to get to that state of relaxation, I had to frantically work ahead before I left.

Thankfully someone took over layout and art request duties during my absence, but I didn't want to leave without putting together two covers that would run during my absence.

The first cover (which ran second) was for a story about defining the brogrammer and exploring diversity in tech. Since the article's concept was still developing, I wanted to come up with a cover image that was on-point, but still universal enough to capture the changing direction of the piece.

Hence: the cloud heads. The cloud-head concept works in three ways:
1. Most tech workers literally work in the cloud.
2. Brogrammers have their "heads in the clouds" and are out of touch with most peoples' realities of life in San Francisco.
3. The vast majority of tech workers are white males.

I put the cloud heads in front of a mechanical-looking SF skyline. (Thank you, Photoshop filters.) I think I nailed it.

This next cover, which ran the first week I was gone, was for a replacement story that I ended up putting together at the very last minute.

We originally planned to run a feature on SF General hospital that week, and I had commissioned a beautiful illustration for the cover far in advance. However, the writer determined that she needed more time for the piece, so it was shelved in favor of a story on Recology's shady practices. (The SF General cover hits stands tomorrow, so stay tuned!)

The Recology story was originally pitched as being purely about compost, and I decided this would be a good opportunity to write on a banana — a growing desire produced by Jason Polan's Instagram feed.

When the piece became more elaborate, I incorporated all waste bins — compost, recycling and garbage — in a background resembling the look of an online game, in order to fit with the story's updated headline.

Stamps for Pride

I put together these fantasy stamps of queer icons for the SF Bay Guardian's queer issue.

See the online slideshow version here.

2014 AAN Awards

Today I found out I'm a finalist in the Association of Alternative Newsmedia's 2014 awards for cover design!!! Check me out.

Below are the three SF Bay Guardian covers I submitted for the entry.

In all of these designs, I relied heavily on physically making (with paper, an X-Acto knife, paint, gemstones) or staging (board-game pieces, my own fist), then photographing the elements and adding some digital touches in Photoshop.

I haven't seen the other finalists' work (the website has not yet been updated with design submissions), but I'm hoping this hands-on approach gives me an edge.

Send winning vibes my way! (But honestly, I'm super stoked on being a finalist. Still pinching myself!)

Airbnb cover for the SF Bay Guardian, Aug. 7, 2013

Foreclosures cover for the SF Bay Guardian, Sept. 4, 2013

Queer gaming cover for the SF Bay Guardian, Oct. 23, 2013

The treat sheet

I love this cover. It popped out of the stands. It's fun, summery, sweet, and really makes you want an ice cream cone. AND it was easy to make.

Step 1: Find adorable photo of little girl eating an ice cream cone on your photo subscription service; realize that you have to find a way to use this image.

Step 2: Purchase a delectable ice cream cone from a local company that you want to feature in an upcoming food issue. (In this case, it's two scoops of lemon cookie and strawberry ice creams on a waffle cone from Three Twins — still highly recommended.)

Step 3: Hold cone, and have a partner photograph it.

Step 4: Eat ice cream. (My favorite part.)

Step 5: Use Photoshop to substitute the original boring ice cream cone with a photo of your delicious, locally made, publication-reviewed ice cream.

Step 6: Add a pink background, a snazzy headline font (yes, that's sail), and a subhead in a colorful geometric shape.

Boom!

Two views of the waterfront

I created a dual cover for last week's endorsements issue, teasing both the SF Bay Guardian's endorsements for the June 2014 election, and a news story on the fight over Prop. B and the future of San Francisco's waterfront.

Photoshop, you're my favorite.

Save the planet: Take 2

Here's an alternative typography treatment I put together for the SF Bay Guardian's April 16 cover. This version features a pattern of common energy-draining devices, which emphasize technology's harmful effect on Earth's resources.

We ended up going a different route to avoid looking too similar to the previous week's Careers + Ed cover, which also featured large black type against a white background. But I'm hoping to use this same idea — a pattern emerging from a white background to form letters — again soon.

Stay tuned. And, er, unplug. Save the planet, remember?

Save the planet: Work less

"This goal of slowing down and spending less time at work — as radical as it may sound — was at the center of mainstream American political discourse for much of our history, considered by thinkers of all ideological stripes to be the natural endpoint of technological development. It was mostly forgotten here in the 1940s, strangely so, even as worker productivity increased dramatically. But it's worth remembering now that we understand the environmental consequences of our growth-based economic system. Our current approach isn't good for the health of the planet and its creatures, and it's not good for the happiness and productivity of overworked Americans, so perhaps it's time to revisit this once-popular idea."

Read more here. Or even better, unplug, and go outside. For the planet, and for yourself.

Om Nom o'clock

Putting this issue together, I was constantly hungry. Fuel your cravings here.

Circular food for the win!

Photo collage

As a part of research for her March 26 cover story, news editor Rebecca Bowe walked around the Tenderloin with photographer Mike Koozmin and talked with a few members of the homeless population there. Though few were willing to be photographed, the portraits Koozmin captured were striking, including one of "Mike," which I decided to use in a collage on the cover.

There were concerns about simply using the man's photograph on the cover, with editors feeling that the close-up, emotional portrait might both exploit his grief and make him a poster child for San Francisco's homeless population — to a much greater degree than it would if his photo appeared inside the paper.

The distortion of the collage allowed us to protect some of his privacy, while preserving the emotional impact on the cover. Plus ... I've been wanting to use this photo collage technique for a WHILE, and I think the effect is striking with this story. Read the article here.

Tenants take action

This cover concept stemmed from a bad piece of clip-art I saw. While the basic idea is the same — a circle of hands around a home — I had a lot of fun transforming that concept into something both beautiful and relevant.

The hand outline conveys individual openness and vulnerability, while the multicolored, transparent layering conveys unity, diversity, and strength in numbers — in addition to providing a fun, colorful visual element.

Using a multiunit building helps focus the discussion on tenants instead of owners, and the architecture is reminiscent of San Francisco homes.

And yes, I used the font sail again. I think we can all agree it's perfect.

Read the cover story here.

Q's back.

And so is 8-bit. I want to make this background every week.

Put on Qbert's album, close your eyes, and imagine yourself running (not walking) through the original Super Mario Bros. game.

Trust me, it's the best kind of Thursday pick-me-up.

Sail

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I was obsessed with the font Sail?

Here's another example: the cover I designed teasing the SF Bay Guardian's July 2013 article on the America's Cup, comparing sailing culture in the U.S. with sailing culture in New Zealand.

Go ahead and get lost in the curves of that beautiful typography against a background of sail forms.

Photoshop is awesome

Here's proof:

Read the incredibly scary article here.