October 21, 2014

Southern Exposure on Gooseberry Mesa

Gooseberry Mesa - Hurricane, Utah

It’s un-officially desert season in Utah, and as such, we took advantage of the weekend and fled the Wasatch in search of red rock and campfire shenanigans. Which, as it turns out, they dish out in spades up on Gooseberry Mesa.

Fillmore Beaver, Utah Gooseberry Mesa - Hurricane, Utah PA180188 PA180245 PA170055

If you enjoyed this post, check out my Ode to Fall.


October 16, 2014

Show Your Work : SCPW Mood Board (Part 1)

Pinterest Mood Board

Above: Pinterest Mood Board for SCPW

A few months back I committed to showing my work. Well it’s safe to say that I failed miserably, however I am quite excited about a project I’ve been working on for the past few weeks and decided it would be a good time to start sharing my process again.

The project is an identity system for SCPW and in the initial brief, we established that we wanted the brand to have a very mid-century utility aesthetic, inspired by union seals and power & light companies before they had goofy names like Xfinity, Cinergy, Verizon, etc… It’s always helpful when the client comes to the table with a strong idea of what they want as it provides some solid constraints from the get-go making the designers job much easier.

Often the first step of an identity project is to get a concept in place, however, since we established this in the creative brief I can jump right into the research phase. During the research or inspiration phase, I like to create a mood board that reflects the look and feel I’m after. Pinterest is an excellent tool for this, and allows you to work in the open, which helps keep lazy designers honest and own their inspiration.

Once I have a good grasp on the visual I’m after, the next step is to create a couple dozen rough thumbnail sized sketches based off the mood board. Once I have narrowed these roughs down to a solid two or three directions, I’ll not look at the mood board again until after the identity comes into it’s own. We’ll cover the roughs stage more thoroughly in the second part of this process series, so for now, head over and check out the mood board for SCPW on Pinterest.

Continue Reading Part 2


October 15, 2014

Bill Murray on Doing Good Work & Howard Stern

I think the only reason I’ve had the career life that I’ve had is that someone told me some secrets early on about living. You can do the very best you can when you’re very, very relaxed, no matter what it is or what your job is, the more relaxed you are the better you are. That’s sort of why I got into acting. I realized the more fun I had, the better I did it. And I thought, that’s a job I could be proud of. It’s changed my life learning that, and it’s made me better at what I do.

Bill Murray via Trent Walton

The otherwise aloof Bill Murray has been out-and-about lately promoting his new movie St. Vincent. He has some very wise words about doing good work. I heard him on Howard Stern recently where he echoed his above sentiment. Basically he’s built his career on his own terms, opting out of otherwise lucrative roles and ventures where he wouldn’t have had a voice or the freedom to own it and make it his.

Listen to Bill Murray’s interview with Howard Stern, as well as read more about owning your work.


October 6, 2014

Strawberry Narrows Forever

Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail

The fact that this trail exists and as of last Saturday I had never ridden it is a testament to the sheer abundance of world-class bike access we have in Utah. The Strawberry Narrows trail is worth every bit of the drive from Park City and features epic scenery complete with alpine lakes, golden aspen groves, and sprawling mountain vistas. Combine with man’s best riding buddy, a favorite adventure companion, and trail brews and you have the makings for one helluva way to spend an idyllic fall Saturday afternoon. Home Depot can shove it for all I care.

Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail Strawberry Narrows Bike Trail

All images captured with the Olympus E-P5. Read also: My Ode to Fall.


September 29, 2014

Ode to Fall

Park City Fall Mountain Biking

I’ve always been a four-season kind of guy. While some people may consider year-round 75 & sunny as perfect weather, such meteorological monotony is not for me. In the words of John Ruskin, “there is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” With that said, perhaps my favorite of the seasons is fall. Something about the crisp reprieve from the heat of the summer, paired with golden light and leafy color show earns the season a special place in my heart. Here’s to thin mountain air, warm camp fires, whiskey, cider, and pipe smoke, harvest dinners, and hay rides. So breakout the flannel, fall is here.

Fall Park City Utah Fall Park City Utah

Read More


September 29, 2014

The North Face: Alex Honnold – El Sendero Luminoso

Dude’s ability level is so far beyond my comprehension that watching him free solo this giant rock makes me sick to my stomach. However it is one of the most beautiful and soulful climbing videos I’ve ever seen. Honnold’s got boulder sized balls and graphene nerves.


September 24, 2014

Jeff Tweedy On Doing What You Love

The process, the doing of the thing, the thing that you love, that’s got to stay the core of it. That’s got to stay the main reason that you’re doing it. That’s got to be the sustaining part of it. All the other stuff, if you’re wanting to make a living, I don’t know…

Jeff Tweedy from Sound Opinions

The above is more of a train-of-thought than a quote, but I whole-heartedly agree with the sentiment. Doing what you love is a great way to gain personal fulfillment, however, if you rely on your passions as a means to gain alternate value, than you’re setting yourself up for failure. Not to say that it can’t or won’t happen… but even the Beatles never set out to be the Beatles. Instead they were just four dudes who loved to play music and found a way to make it happen.

Additionally, Tweedy, Jeff’s latest collaboration with his son Spencer, just released their first album Sukierae, and it’s phenomenal. Show your support and give it a listen or purchase.

Read More: Why You Shouldn’t Follow Your Passion