Angrvadil, a fantasy book I recently illustrated, will be launched in Norway in April by the Norwegian publisher Saga Book. Adapted into modern Norwegian by Edvard Eikill, it is the epic story of a family of heroes who inherit a magic sword, battle sorcerers and monsters, and win fame, love, and fortune. It was a fascinating project to work on, and I wound up learning even more about Norse mythology, which is always a plus in my book.

Our local Pecha Kucha Night chapter displays local artwork at each event, usually three to six local artists in exhibition. Our most recent event was meant to be Bemidji-centric, so we put out a call for artists to produce work in tribute to our town's world-famous statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. If you have not heard of these, then man, you're missing out.

I started working with QA Cafe a couple of years ago. QA Cafe is a software studio based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and basically, they create testing applications for networking hardware. Think it sounds dry and intricate? Think again. QA Cafe was founded by Joe McEachern, who got into this line of work in the '90s when he was a graduate student at UNH and working for UNH's innovative InterOperability Lab. Being a smaller studio, QA Cafe does not limit themselves to their existing product and customer base, and regularly asks themselves, "hey, wouldn't it be cool if...?"

This blog has hit a minor lull recently, and aside from the usual holiday travels for which I take time off, there is another reason. On Wednesday, January 18, 2012 I will be having an opening for a solo show – something I haven't really done in over 5 years. The show is called Visions of the Norse Myths, and it is comprised of artwork from a few different projects I've done over the last few years, all of which relate directly to Norse mythology. 

It's that time of year again. My own holiday celebrations have become quite involved as of late, mainly due to to the usual family travels and visits one must do. So I am already in the spirit. I was thinking it would be cool to do some sort of freebie Christmas graphic, like other design studios do, but then I decided that the pressure was too high. And who among us likes Christmas Failure? So instead, I put together a New Year's graphic. It's a fun, letterpress-inspired lyric sheet of Auld Lange Syne, and you all can download a JPG file of it by right-clicking this link.

Earlier this year I had the great fortune to work with the Harmony Co-op, a thriving, local farm-to-table grocer. To understand Harmony's success, you first have to understand Bemidji. This town is a regional hub. It's located in northern Minnesota, almost equidistant between Fargo, Duluth, and Brainerd. Bemidji's economy is largely made up of small businesses, mom-and-pop shops, and other local enterprises. As is happening across the country, consumers' interest in fresh, local, and organic foods is growing exponentially, and the nearest Trader Joe's is hours away... (click 'read more' to continue)

What makes a good infographic? Well, obviously it has to communicate. Communication is central to graphic design, which is why I subscribe to Ohio State's nomenclature and prefer to think of it as "visual communication design." I read an article last week condemning infographics as a whole for not providing more accurate or thorough data, and that's not the point. Infographics are meant to be seen quickly, with the most important chunk of information understood within moments. They should also have a second, maybe even a third tier of information that provides more clarity the deeper you dig. But they're not meant to replace spreadsheets, or peer-reviewed articles. They're meant to increase awareness and affect understanding. They also must look nice, but above that, their style should be relevant to the data being shown.