Grin and "Bear" It... at the Wishing Well!

The 2011 NBA lockout slowed things down for the Jazz, but not for the Jazz Bear. Working for the Utah Jazz in the Energy Solutions Arena, I had the opportunity to frequently work with the funny, furry mascot. One of his many projects I had the pleasure to work on was this in-game mascot sketch that was shown on the Jumbotron during the game. One of my talented coworkers, Paul Garrett, asked me to create the a cartoony-style stage for this video. The Bear borrowed the idea from an old Benny Hill routine, and he brought in the Sacramento Kings mascot, "Slamson," and an attractive young lady to co-star in the video. Paul directed, filmed and edited the sketch. He shot the whole thing in front of an empty green screen and I created from scratch the colorful "stage" and props, using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. I can't say that the Jazz's win against the Kings that night was because of the video, but I can "wish."

Making a big deal for the kids

For the annual "Bring Your Child to Work Day" at Mountain America, I had the opportunity to create original graphics that would appeal to the kids and show the parents that it was an important event for the company.

Working with the HR department's theme of "Working Together," I designed the posters, invitations, signs, handouts and activity books to have the bold character of old WWII campaigns, but with a youthful, contemporary style. The project went well and was very well received, but don't take my word for it, listen to an unsolicited testimonial:

I have had the pleasure of working with Noel on multiple projects in the past, and in my most recent experience, he exceeded my expectations again! I was in charge of coordinating this year’s Bring Your Child to Work Day at MACU. During my initial meeting with Noel to discuss the scope of the project (including creating a theme w/logo, children invitations, MAC announcements, posters, participant activity books, bingo game, etc.) he was very open to my ideas. He listened carefully, asked clarifying questions, offered his expertise, and showed a genuine level of interest and excitement about the project.

Throughout the few weeks of planning and preparation, he consistently provided me status updates and would forward ideas and mock-ups to me for feedback and approval. Not only does Noel have a very pleasant, easy-going attitude, he is a creative genius! For example, I would suggest an idea to him for a puzzle or game for the workbook, he would not only add his signature touch to it, but he would take it home to his kids and ask them to test the game or puzzle. He was truly committed to making sure the activity book would be engaging and fun for kids of all ages!

Even when deadlines changed or progress “bumps” happened, Noel was positive and had a “can do” attitude. I knew some of the changes were going to create a crunch for him, but as always, he came through with quality work and on time. We would not have been able to pull this project together without Noel’s dedication, positive attitude, and commitment to product excellence. Noel Hilden again provided me with a true Signature Experience!

Thanks, it was a fun project!

What makes you smile?

For many of us, the idea of making personal improvements would make us happier. Perhaps, even give us a new reason to smile. But the insurance companies say these kinds of procedures are not necessary and won't pay for them. So what can you do? We could save up, put it on a credit card...or take out a signature loan. That's where the idea of "Lifestyle Lending" came from.

I was asked to help Mountain America's Lifestyle Lending department put together marketing materials that were placed in dentist's, orthodontist's, doctor's and ophthalmologist's offices. But that wasn't the extent of their market; they were also lending for veterinary services (because if my dog isn't healthy, my family ISN'T smiling!), hot tubs, kitchens, high-end mattresses, computers and more.

The approach of "A New Reason to Smile" with the picture of a pretty lady with perfect teeth was the perfect approach. Other small images of happy families with different reasons to smile added to the campaign. A direct mail campaign was also included and it generated a terrific response. At last review, the campaign had done very well, and had given the Lifestyle Lending department their own "reason to smile."

Playing with full-size cars

When I was just a boy, I loved to draw cars...and I got pretty good at it too. (And it's kind of funny, but so does my son, and he can draw cars much better than I did at his age.) It was fun to draw the custom cars like the Barris television show creations and coming up with my own funky designs.

So I guess it's not much of a stretch to go from those childhood sketches to vehicle graphics, is it?

Mountain America purchased a shiny new Ford Expedition to be used at events, so why not wrap it with a logo, art and marketing? I received diagrams for the body that I used as a template to create the designs, which I made in Illustrator. The vinyl wrap was produced and applied by FerrariColor in Salt Lake City. I was extremely pleased what a good job they did. Pictured above is actually my second version of the wrap--the first was removed after some body work had to be done.

There is one thing about a wrapped vehicle though; it's IMPOSSIBLE to be inconspicuous, so you have to be on your best behavior at all times while driving it!

Three pointer=Flashy LED ring!

Sponsoring Utah Jazz's Three-Pointer Instant Replay earned Mountain America ten seconds of flashy graphics in the Energy Solutions Arena--and that bright, colorful animation came from me! During some games, that exposure was multiplied even more with basket after basket!

We found out that the motion graphics needed to be created in Adobe After Effects, so I got the software and learned as I went. I created the artwork in Adobe Illustrator and imported it into the timeline, adding the animation and everyone was excited to see how it turned out.

It's really interesting working on graphics on a regular-sized computer monitor, knowing that the final presentation is going to be three feet tall and the circumference of the arena. But it's really awesome when you see it full size, flashing and rolling while the fans go crazy after the Jazz sink another three point shot.

In all, I created four different LED ring and Jumbotron graphics for the Jazz games, and two for the Salt Lake ReAL soccer stadium.

"Have a great summer. C-U next year!" (FREE!)

My kids started their elementary school years at Nibley Park Elementary in Salt Lake City. It's a good school that served the needs of all kinds of students from all walks of life and almost every economic level. Creating a free yearbook...for ALL the students...just seemed like the right thing to do. It was an honor (and fun!) to donate my time to it for four years.

Nibley Park's free yearbook started when the PTA saw that a generic book was being sold for ten bucks each...and not many of the students could really afford it. The solution? The PTA had earned enough from their activities and memberships to be able to produce a black and white yearbook, with a two-color cover, for everyone.

I had been taking pictures at school events and we were able to gather photos from the teachers, so in a mad crunch, I was able to put together the book and get it to the printers; which were able to deliver the books on the last day of school. Everyone was able to pass around their yearbooks for autographs... it was great fun.

In the three years that followed, the children loved to ham it up for the cameras and looked forward to the end of the year: Free Yearbook Day.

Can't Stop Yelling "Bingo!" at Yellow Cars...

"Hi, my name is Noel and I yell 'BINGO' when I see a yellow car..."
(Hi Noel, it's okay. We're all friends here. Go ahead...)

Okay, just a little diversion and a little confession... Even when my daughter isn't riding in the car with me, I'm still watching for those yellow cars or trucks.

It started just a few months ago. Whenever I had to take the girls somewhere, my youngest would call out "BINGO!" at the yellow vehicles. She said the neighbor girl had made up the game, so I started playing along. Simple enough rules, first one to spot the yellow car calls it out. My daughter likes to pick out EVERY vehicle, including the tractors on the side of the road, but that seems like cheating to me...

(We understand. Go on...)

Then it happened: we were at Lagoon, the local amusement park, stopped at the top of the Ferris Wheel and I heard another girl picking out BINGOs in the parking lot. This was bigger than the neighbor girl. Sure enough, you can find it on the Web and there's even a Facebook page for "Shouting BINGO when you see a yellow car!" Of course, I became a fan...because I can't stop...yelling at yellow cars!

(Well Noel, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery. Group hug!)