JASON BOYTE DESIGNS Graphic Design, Web Design, Illustration and Content Strategy and Development

Carey Head, Bang Bang and The Comet Empire at Hotel Utah

JB — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:39:09 +0000

Hi, I thought I’d share this one while it was hot off the presses — maybe you’ll want to see this great lineup at the San Francisco institution, Hotel Utah. It’s a great little place that has been around forever. It’s also the site of some great memories, as some of my musician friends had residencies here. Go check it out!

Cretacolor launch

JB — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:37:36 +0000

Hi Guys. Been so busy with the holidays, Getting the little kiddo into daycare and projects that I haven’t been good about keeping up with updates. Anyway, I’ve launched several cool projects as of late. One I’m particularly proud of is Cretacolor. Cretacolor makes fine art pencils and other art supplies.

This is a testament to the power of WordPress. Lots of cool stuff in this one, including multiple languages, tons of widget-friendly sidebars, and all the flexibility you’d expect from WordPress.

Take a look at the project page here.

R.I.P. Helen Frankenthaler

JB — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:44:41 +0000

We lost a great one. R.I.P. Helen Frankenthaler. You can read more at the New York Times.

Happy Holidays!

JB — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:36:00 +0000

Hello everyone, and I hope you are all in the midst of a wonderful holiday season. What a year this has been! Personally, of course the arrival of Jonas has been the biggest thing to happen to us. What a joyful ball of energy that guy is! And so many great projects this year. I know I am woefully behind on updating my projects on this site, but I will promise to do that soon. Really cool branding projects for First World SF and West Coast Specialty Coating as well as some great websites for Cretacolor (Austria) and Park Place Wines (East Hampton, NY).

2012 is already shaping up to be fantastic. Jonas is off to daycare next week and my list of projects looks really fun. Can’t wait to sink my teeth into them! I hope you all have a wonderful, HEALTHY, happy and prosperous new year!

Are you a Facebooker?

JB — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:43:05 +0000

Are you a facebooker? Well, stop playing Angry Birds for two seconds and be sure to “Like” my Facebook page! New Facebook friends get 15% off their first project. Not bad at all, I’d say.

Award from CA Dept. of Public Health

JB — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 04:39:57 +0000

I’m very pleased to announce that I recently won an award for my Spanish-language poster promoting preventative flu measures. Many thanks! Very proud to support such a good cause, too.

Low-Brow, High Yield Photography

JB — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 05:31:39 +0000

Photography. How I have such respect for real photographers who sit poised precariously to catch the right shot in the right light; who lurk in darkrooms for hours upon end; and who ultimately throw out rolls and rolls of film because all the myriad of variables necessary didn’t connect to make a shot work.

Me, I’m not that guy. I have a pretty sweet digital camera that I use for work that can really get the job done, but what I use more than anything is my iPhone. It’s HANDY. It’s EASY. It allows you two very important things in creative pursuits: 1) spontaneity and 2) the ability to mess up. You don’t have to keep crappy photos. You delete them. You can take photos of odd things at odd angles just because there is something unique about the composition. It gives you FREEDOM.

I take photos of signs, buildings, cracks in the sidewalk. It drives my wife crazy sometimes when we’re walking and I stop again and again. Still, I’ve created more than one piece from a composition I found in the natural environment.

Instagr.am is a great tool to take, treat on the fly, and share tool. Download it and follow me if you’d like.

Jonas Flynn Boyte-Montealegre

JB — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 20:44:28 +0000

For those of you who may not know, my life recently became much more rich and rewarding. My wife and I had a beautiful, engaged, healthy and happy little boy in February. If you are a client, you have been patient with me as I took care of lots of projects before going on my paternity leave, and I really appreciate your understanding.

Life with Jonas is so very much more than I expected — more challenging in a lot of ways (sleep deprivation is no joke) but so much more fulfilling. Instead of being sapped of inspiration, he gives me more than I know what to do with. His morning smile is better than any coffee (and if you know my love of and addiction to coffee, you know that this is serious) and time with him is the happiest of my day.

To all you fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day! I had a great first, and look forward to many many more.

New Jason Boyte Designs Website

JB — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 01:37:58 +0000

Hi and welcome to my new website. I finally updated it after four years. Eternity, I know.

Every time I mentioned I wanted to update my site, people said, “Why? Your site is great.” So I put it off in favor of client work, letting it nag away at me. And I loved my old website — it was slick, bright and it highlighted San Francisco, my favorite spot on Earth. That said, it was getting old. It was done early when social media was just starting to get its legs and before its many uses were uncovered. Also, I felt that the work I wanted to present just wasn’t presented as well as it could be, and wasn’t making use of all the latest and greatest best practices and technology.

I often advise my clients to not be afraid to get rid of things that they may be fond of and that may have worked well for them at one time but don’t work any longer. It is too easy to hold onto something because of nostalgia, because you think it’s cool, or even because you worked really hard on it at one time. So, with that said, I am pleased to show you my new site, where my projects and my thoughts take the forefront. Content determines design. That’s what I say to my clients all the time, and now I’m holding true to my own advice.

Please take a look around, please feel free to drop me a note and please feel free to follow my thoughts on Twitter, Facebook and RSS.

With appreciation,

Jason