Project Blog

• Faduchi + SpringFling 2011

  Jul 8, 2011

  For 2 years in a row now, Faduchi Group has been a sponsor for a local Volkswagen enthusiast car show called SpringFling. This is definitely something that Josh enjoys more, but we are happy to support the 'local scene'. Anyway, as usual, Todd has to put his 'spin' on it. Here's a picture of the guys and Josh's car and then Todd's spin.

  

  

• Lady GaGa's New Artwork? I Think Not!

  Jun 3, 2011

  

  To start off this post, all's I gotta say is Alphonse Mucha peeps!

  Mucha was the king of illustration in his day, and "his day" was in the 1800's. His work is what artists these days still wish they could accomplish. Mucha started trends in the art design world from 1887-1930 which still resonate in the graphic design world...kind of like what The Beatles did to rock and roll music. Mucha was born in 1860 in Ivancice, Moravia, which is near the city of Brno in the modern Czech Republic. Yea, thought you would know where that was…just clarifying. He did some drawing and art pieces early on, but wasn't too inspired until he went to Paris. French people are filled with passion so I've heard, I think it might have been the nude female models he always illustrating...just saying'. So Mucha, who was very poor in Paris, lived off of lentils and water while pitching his craft (sounds like a couple designers I know) landed a pretty good gig. On January 1, 1895, he presented his amazing illustrative style to the citizens of Paris for a supposed one time project. Over his Christmas holidays he created a poster for Sarah Bernhardt's play, Gismonda. The poster was the declaration of his new art style. It had vibrant colours, tons of details, fully symmetrical, bla bla bla it was totally awesome!

  Everyone in Paris was talking about Mucha, the guy was like Bieber…over night success! 

  Mucha created thousands of art pieces similar to the one below, thousands of paintings and over a dozen iconic murals. Mucha died in 1939 and sadly his art at that point was "outdated". What would he say if he saw the majority of illustrations these days?

  Mucha was was interviewed in his later years and stated "People ask who I got inspired by and how I made my way to the top. I reply, I am a crazy person, how could someone like me do anything less?"

  Mucha along with a handful of artistic rockstars started the graphic design movement. They all may not of thought so, but really we would be nowhere without them. To read more about Alphonse Mucha and see his amazing art, visit www.muchafoundation.org

• Faduchi iPhone Wallpapers

  Mar 22, 2011

  Pretty up your iPhone homescreen with some 'Faduchiness' ("It's your name + ness"). Todd makes the desktop wallpapers as one of his 'creative outlets' and we are finally offering that for your iphone. Download and enjoy!

  

  

• "...simple, photos"

  Jan 30, 2011

  Once upon a time when I got married (Ok, only 7 years ago...but things have changed quite a bit)) there was no such thing as a digital wedding photographer, In fact... it was frowned upon.

  Digital? For a wedding? BLASPHEME!!

  Well the times have changed and if photos are not digital, they're not great. But In this post we are not just talking about a digital wedding photo, we are talking about one of our featured photographers Jayme VanGeest. This beautiful gal has graced us with her fine images just recently in the last two years. Each image is framed perfectly and composed gracefully. There is a lot of care thrown into each image (trust me...this I know) from the moment the shoot is booked to the printing of her custom books. There is prep behind each shot, creativity on location, hours of choosing, colouring and compositing images. Not every photographer puts this much time and care into their images. Jayme has established her self as a professional wedding photographer, but does many more great shoots including family portraits, glamour shots and engagement photos. I've displayed three of my favourites below.

  

  

  

  You may say there are many photographers out there to choose from and you are correct...but this is the only girl I've seen capture true love and beauty and make it look so easy. This quality I speak of comes at a great price too, I haven't met a person yet that's been disappointed.

  Visit the site HERE, and if you know of someone getting hitched, wanting a family portrait or just simply wanting to look awesome...call Jayme.

  To keep it simple, photos by Jayme VanGeest are awesome.

• NationWares Motion Graphics

  Dec 16, 2010

  We had the pleasure of working with NationWares and BottledMedia to create a video explaining the process of what NationWares actually does. This amazing organization equips people around the world to create their own business, create revenue and most importantly...provide a new exciting life for their families. Watch for the motion graphics done by yours truly...but after watching visit www.nationwares.com and help support those who need it most!

  Click HERE to watch!

  

• Strategize, Connect...Success!

  Oct 20, 2010

  

  Imagine that you want to get $5 from your mom so you can run down to the nearest convenience store and get some junk food.

  How would you go about it? What would you say to her? Pretty simple proposition, you know your mom really well. You know what makes her laugh, her favourite music, where she stands on marriage, eaten a few meals together, made her furious with your relationship with your siblings, got her to do you laundry for you for 20 years, and after all that she still loves you.

  The point - You know what to say and do in order to have that $5 inside of a minute, it just depends on how long it takes her to find her purse. Now imagine that you want 10,000 women aged 35-54 to give you $5 to buy their kids a product. Is this a tougher proposition? Absolutely. The only reason it??s a harder proposition is that you don't know what to say and do to make it happen. And more often than not it's because you are thinking of how to get 10,000 women aged 35-54 to connect with what cost $5 instead of connecting with the women.

  What if you knew that these 10,000 women shared a lot in common with your mom and you thought of them as her. Now everything changes because you know what makes your mom laugh, feel good, spend money and you know what she wants from a product. Effective advertising simply comes from thinking of a single, ideal person within your target audience(s), regardless of who the group is or if you know someone in that group. Plan and work hard to know your audience as a collection of real individuals, and you'll quickly see how connecting with the buyer on a personal level works incredibly.

  PS. My mother is of Jewish decent, so I only ever got around $4.25

• Faduchi Group - Rockin' Design

  Sep 22, 2010

  Faduchi Group is basically run by musicians as much as it is run by designers. Josh and Todd have been playing/performing professionally since they were very young. When they started in design, most of the focus was on musical arts. Faduchi started helping artists that couldn't afford the regular "Good Design" costs by discounting their rates so no matter what... the artist was satisfied and could get the quality they wanted. We've worked with artists like Switchfoot, Alex J Robinson, Jacob Moon, Raphael Saadiq, Johnny Confidence, Tami Neilson, Kelita, Motor Ghost and many more. We still give great deals for artists to this day...and love every opportunity we get to work with them.

  If you are an artist, or know of one...send them our way and we'll rock their design world!

  For more on the design side of what we've done for the artists...check out our "Designing for Music" blog HERE

  

• Alex J. Robinson - Girly Girl

  Sep 21, 2010

  Todd Neilson from Faduchi Group was proud to have the part of Director/Creative on this video for Alex J. Robinson called "Girly Girl". Todd came up with the concept for the video and directed it with Chris Stacey and Jesse Hunt. The idea was to take a girl singing into her mirror at home, or driving in her beat up car into thoughts of being a star and totally famous. The song proves that this kind of life style is not what the girl is really after and shows part way through that she is really a down to earth and a fun lovin' girl! Alex J. Robinson does in fact love dressing glam and getting all dolled up...but only for really important occasions!

  Take a look!

  

• FG Sponsors Oktoberfest 2010

  Sep 21, 2010

  Faduchi Group does a lot of car stuff. Really, there are two major companies that influence Josh's life...Apple & Volkswagen.

  Springfling and now Oktoberfest are two local Volkswagen enthusiast shows/get-togethers that Faduchi Group sponsors. Providing logos, banner designs, advertisement posters/flyers, etc.

  Check out the e-flyery below by clicking on the image ... and come join us for some vw lovin good times!

  

  

• LOGO Contest WINNER!

  Jul 30, 2010

  Thank you all for submitting! Our winner for this contest was justmomentsphotography.com Congratulations to Nathan & Tash Hakeem!

• Switchfoot Tshirt Designs

  Jul 18, 2010

  Was able to design shirts for Switchfoot...Um yes please. Ok, honest truth I bugged the heck out of them until they let me. Was a total pleasure, built about 10 designs for them. Here are the selected images chosen, hope to see them soon on the site www.switchfoot.com - Todd

  

  

  

  

• FREE Faduchi Group Wallpapers

  Jul 15, 2010

  Check out our FREE Faduchi Group wallpapers! Feel free to download and plaster it on your machine...or anyones machine for that matter!

  Options are below, have fun!

  

  Say Faduchi: 2560x1440, 1600x1200, 1440x900, 1024x768

  Faduchi Storm: 2560x1440, 1600x1200, 1440x900, 1024x768

  No Limits: 2560x1440, 1600x1200, 1440x900, 1024x768

  Avatars: 2560x1440, 1600x1200, 1440x900, 1024x768

• God Rocks! My World - Design Nomination

  Jun 17, 2010

  God Rocks! My World was released in April of 2010.

  A great album with the focus to energize kids with great morals and values through song. Creator Bruce Stacey approached Faduchi Group with a request to show names and lyrics of the songs on the album through graphics on the cover. Songs like "Rocket To My Heart", "Lovin' You Round The Clock", "Rainbow" and "Shining Stars" are portrayed on the cover of the album in a illustrated/water-colour 60's vibe. We used a Peter Max approach to this artwork...a psychedelic, bright and crazy look that not only grown ups appreciate, but kids to enjoy too.

  The album was recognized by the Gospel Music Awards this year and has been nominated for Best Album Artwork.

  Faduchi is excited to be acknowledged for their art!

  

• Twenty $ Logos

  Jun 17, 2010

  Logo design in today’s world is totally underrated. People do not understand how important a good logo is and how valuable it is to their business and this is why we are going to outline some very important facts telling you exactly why logo design should not cost $20 and why your logo is not something you should take lightly.

  

  The design process of a professional logo designer usually consists of a Design Brief, taking time with the client and understanding exactly what their company stands for. Research is also important, knowing what is out there is not a bad thing. Even being inspired by other logos is important.

  People seem to strive for brand new ideas, but when it comes down to it...familiarity is sometimes the key.

  Sketching & Conceptualizing is next. We can develop the logo design concept(s) around the brief and research we have just collected. At this point we know the direction and what the client needs, this leaves us free to roam our creative gateways.

  For a creative personality, getting sidetracked is more than easy...so reflection in this creative process is necessity. We'll take breaks throughout the design process, walk, play an instrument, have a bite. This lets our ideas mature and lets them get renewed enthusiasm and receive feedback. It's not often designers disagrees with themselves on their logo, so taking time to reflect and view it as the client would is major.

  The presentation of the logos are also important. With a logo you always strive for meaning and some kind of direction. Some explanation on why things are in certain areas and so forth.Every client is different, so this is not a general pitch either...it's a mandatory custom presentation every time. Then when the logo is chosen, we celebrate! No balloons and confetti...just a feeling of excitement knowing we just helped someone achieve a goal, created something from nothing, made a connection.

  That's why it's so important to not only invest money into a logo, but to invest in a great designer. The saddest part of a bad design deal is that you don't know it's bad until it's halfway over.

  $20 bucks sounds good budget wise, but really…should you present your business to the world for the price of a Latte and pumpkin scone?

  So keep this process close to your heart, if you don't see the prep we invest into our logos in other designers...run like mad!

• Music ate my homework!

  May 10, 2010

  The minute I turned on my iTunes this morning at work, Radiohead Kid A came on. Once I heard it I had to do some kind of art project to it. I didn't have a lot of time so I put aside 15 minutes for this little graphic jaunt.

  With only a limited amount of time I still managed to come up with something fitting for the moment. This piece is rustic, vintage....and a little fiery. A mixture of stock elements I have in my library and a great album to help it along.

  One of my favourite things to do to break up a busy day. -Todd

  

• QuattroCMS is born

  Apr 15, 2010

  

  Quattro CMS is now launched!?

  Faduchi Group now owns and operates a brand new CMS (Content Management System) like NO OTHER! Sure, you got Wordpress and others...but they don't come close. From $25.99 per month to $99.99 per month the capabilities are endless! Here's what the CMS can do for your website.

  • All copy on the site can be changed by the user (You) Add and manage photo galleries Add and manage video galleries
  • News feeds Events feeds Create feeds Built in blog (Ability to add media including photos, video, documents and links)
  • E.store
  • Add and manage products within your E.store
  • Affiliate programs
  • Ability to manage more than one site within your CMS
  • Newsletter management
  • Add users, manage settings and More!

  What you see is a list of what we have now, but as we move forward we keep building it to make it bigger and better. If you need something specific, let us know and we'll have it done for you. Clients like jacobmoon.com and oakvilledowntown.com are running off of it and loving how it changed the way they used to do things.

  _{"Before I was having to edit the HTML in one program, save it to a folder, open it and drag it over to the FTP site in another program, then do it all over again if there was a little typo or design flaw. Now the CMS has made it a one-click solution, with no layout complications or font issues. It's saved hours of my day, that I am happy to get back. Thanks, Faduchi Group!" -Jacob Moon}

  There ain't nothing we can't do. Unless it's illegal. Give us a call!

• If this is design...I quit!

  Apr 1, 2010

  

  How often do you see the same texture, the same vector, and the same font? (Dare I mention Papyrus?) What is happening here?

  "Designers" must think we don't notice these things. This is a true sign of what kind of quality designer you have on your hands. "You get what you pay for" Is such a good statement when you think about it. Have you ever heard this before..."I have a friend that's a designer, he'll do stuff for cheap"? Hmm, Cheap? Meaning what?

  In this case payment should be a huge issue. Unless of course you want your logo, flyer or website to be ripped off from someone else's source files? That is when "You get what you paid for" comes in, instead of quality design that is worth the money. Why not pay well for something that's truly your own? Overused fonts, reused brushes, vectors and textures, this is for an amateur or a friend of your uncles who knows how to "Design things". This is a warning to all people...Be careful with the cheap designers, because they will cost you more than a professional in the long run. Maybe not in dollars...but in your businesses integrity.

  Side Note: To all the designers of uncles out there....please stop using papyrus!

• Red Dirt...Car?

  Jan 2, 2010

  Tami Neilson, a Canadian who has lived in Auckland for the past three years, claimed the Tui for her album, Red Dirt Angel, released in April 2008. The way the nominees were promoted was having their album plastered on a brand new car driven around town until the award ceremony where Neilson took home the award for Best Country Album.

  Tami has since won Best Country Album again for 2010. We won't take all the credit for the album...seeing we only designed it!