Going Green: Steve Simpson

by Susanna Baird

Seizing St. Patrick’s Day as a green-and-gold opportunity, we’ll be profiling a few Irish and Ireland-based Dribbblers over the next week.

Fourteen days.

Dublin had fourteen days to woo Steve Simpson, and Dublin won his heart. The Manchester, England-born designer came to the city in 1990 for a two-week storyboarding gig. The country was coming off a bleak decade, but things were starting to look up.

“Ireland was just starting to emerge from the recession. … Pretty much everybody I met outside the studio was Irish,” Simpson recalled. “Emigration was high and immigration unusual. Being British, I wasn’t sure what sort of welcome I was going to get; tensions were still high in North Ireland.” 

The welcome Simpson got was … welcoming. “Extremely welcoming,” he said. “So much so that after the two weeks was up I couldn’t leave and have been here pretty much ever since.” 

Back in those early days, Simpson’s favorite haunt was Temple Bar, a tourist-friendly, culture-thick, pub-filled area that’s preserved its medieval street pattern. In 1990, the neighborhood was fresh off a supporting role in the Kidman-Cruise melodrama Far and Away. 

“Bits of the set were still evident along cobbled streets,” Simpson remembers. “It really felt like stepping back in time. The local, also named the Temple Bar, held no more than 40 people with a real fire, rickety staircase, and great Guinness.”

Simpson’s since become a family man and lives about 20 minutes outside of Dublin, near the coastal town of Dún Laoghaire. He’ll spend his St. Paddy’s taking in a parade with the kids. Keeping in line with our theme, he offers up a shout-out to his good friend, Irish-American Dribbbler Mike Moran, who Simpson calls “a real gent!”

For his shot spotlight, Simpson chose the book jacket for Derek Brazell and Jo Davies’ “Becoming a Successful Illustrator,” hitting bookstores in May. Like his original Dublin stint, Simpson’s book jacket project lasted two weeks, the tight deadline mitigated by creative freedom. Simpson used the book’s technical constraints — the position of the logos, white vertical band, and size of the title box — as a jumping-off point.

“My first thought was to make the title box into a portfolio case,” he said. “Once I’d added the handle, the hand, arm and figure fell into place quite nicely. I like the fact that we don’t see the head.”

Simpson drew a box around the AVA logo, transforming it into the top of a high-rise, allowing him to create an entire row of buildings and break into the vertical white band. He worked the chapter headings into the design, hand-drawing the text. Finally, he addressed the editor’s concerns about a distracting background by creating it in grayscale, then color overlaying the brown-orange-yellow to tone down the background action.

And he had fun. “This was a really great project to work on,” he said.

Simpson can be found online at stevesimpson.com and on Twitter @stevesimpson.

Going Green: Sheena Oosten

by Susanna Baird

Seizing St. Patrick’s Day as a green-and-gold opportunity, we’ll be profiling a few Irish Dribbblers over the next week.

Sheena Oosten loves her new website.

“I must admit I’m pretty happy and excited to have finished my own portfolio redesign,” she told Dribbble.

We’re happy and excited too, Sheena. We know it’s going to be great: You won the 2012 Eircom Award for Best Non-Profit Website for ChallengeTheGreenway.com. You were short-listed in two categories at the 2012 Irish Web Awards. Tell us more!

“At the risk of sounding like a self-promotional advert, perhaps it’s best if I discuss one of my client projects instead.”

Sheena Sheena Sheena. This is a profile. Of you! An award-winning designer! And have you read our tagline? It’s not “What are you working on but please whatever you do don’t tell us about your website?” Go for it!

“Modern with a touch of vintage/retro design in style, [my site] is a lot like me really,” Oosten said. “It’s also responsive to boot!”

As for the client work, the Castlebar-based designer was tasked with branding a new seafood product line. The client, an established, family-run business, wanted the logo to speak to the family’s tradition but in a modern, forward-thinking way. Oosten drew inspiration from both modern and vintage elements for the final product.

“The strong, traditional typeface, combined with the colors of black/gold fit the gourmet, luxury look the client was aiming for and the high-end market they were hoping to target,” she said. “The end result was a simple, appropriate, and versatile logo that works well across multiple mediums.”

Lovely! Also lovely: County Mayo, where Oosten lives. 

“Castlebar, the capital town of Mayo, is set on the idyllic west coast of Ireland,” she said. “It’s a bustling market town steeped in history, culture, and a buzzing atmosphere. … If only it were a little warmer here, it would be heaven.”

County Mayo is home to perhaps the most important site for the true St. Patrick’s Day pilgrim: Croagh Patrick, considered the holiest mountain in Ireland. Back in 441 AD, the saint himself hiked to the top and hunkered down for 40 days of fasting. Following in his footsteps, Oosten will do the same on the 17^th, minus the fasting bit.

“In honor of our patron saint, on Lá Fhéile Pádraig, you’ll likely find me climbing the mountain for the fifth time, enjoying the day’s festivities and topping it off with a few pints in my local pub.” 

Guinness, right? “I most certainly won’t be downing the so-called ‘black stuff.’ An acquired taste that Guinness is, I’m telling you!”

Oosten finds inspiration from a slew of Dribbblers, including the guys at Focus Lab in Savannah. “Their branding skills are top notch and I love how a lot of their earlier projects have a vintage theme running through them. As you can probably tell I have a soft spot for this style of design.” 

You can find Oosten at sheenaoosten.com and on Twitter @sheenaoosten.

Going Green: Mark Reihill

by Susanna Baird

Seizing St. Patrick’s Day as a green-and-gold opportunity, we’ll be profiling a few Irish Dribbblers over the next week.

Mark Reihill’s latest design project involved dead rabbits, time travel, and juggling.

The Dead Rabbits*: The Belfast-based designer took on a St. Patrick’s Day illustration for The Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, a Manhattan taproom channeling a long-gone New York while popping up on everyone’s Now list.

The Time Travel: The saloon’s “décor and dress pay homage to mid-19^th century New York, like ‘Gangs of New York,’” Reihill told Dribbble. “I wanted my illustration to reflect this.”

The Juggling: To evoke the era, appeal to the bar’s 21^st century clientele, and tend to the St. Patrick’s Day angle, Reihill celebrated the timeless aspects shared by any worthy watering hole. “I wanted to come at it from the bar’s perspective – people drinking, playing music, and having fun,” he said. His colors addressed the St. Paddy’s issue.

“I didn’t want the piece to scream ‘St. Patrick’s Day’ either,” he said. “The subtle (Irish) color palette does most of the work here.”

While we suspect many a reveler at the Dead Rabbit might be screaming “St. Patrick’s Day” come Sunday, Reihill plans to spend a quiet 17th with his wife and new son. Babies have a way of putting a stopper in the carousing, though the family might get out and enjoy Belfast’s afternoon festivities.

Reihill, originally from County Fermanagh, loves Belfast, citing its music scene; The MAC, a new music-theater-art-dance venue; and his favorite bar, The Spaniard, a cosy pub in the Cathedral Quarter, the neighborhood surrounding Belfast Cathedral.

One of Reihill’s favorite Dribbblers, Stanley Chow, designs miles from Belfast, across the Irish Sea and 40 miles inland in Manchester, England. Reihill admires Chow’s ability to transform the basic.

“His work is outstanding. So simple, graphic and visually impressive. With a few simple shapes, Stanley creates breathtaking portraits. Simplicity is the skill – there are a lot of Chow imitators out there, but he is the original and the best.” 

Reihill can be found online at www.markreihill.com, markreihill.tumblr.com, and on Twitter @markreihill.

* The Dead Rabbits were an Irish gang in 19^th century New York, led by pugilist, thug, and crooked statesman John Morrissey. Learn more in “Of Dutchmen and Dead Rabbits” at The Dead Rabbit’s website.

Going Green: Conor O’Driscoll

by Susanna Baird

Seizing St. Patrick’s Day as a green-and-gold opportunity, we’ll be profiling a few Irish Dribbblers over the next week. First up: Conor O’Driscoll.

P-A-D-D-Y. 

Designer Conor O’Driscoll will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day 2013 by typing those letters again and again and again, while drinking any beer but Guinness.

“I will be spending my entire day on Twitter correcting people who refer to it as St. Patty’s Day. It is literally the bane of every Irish person’s life,” O’Driscoll told Dribbble. “Come the 17th, we just go nuts, viciously whacking the keys on our keyboard, typing ‘IT’S PADDY’S DAY NOT PATTY’S DAY.’” 

As for the beer, “if you’re in Ireland and you see somebody drinking Guinness, they are almost certainly just trying to show off to the tourists.”

O’Driscoll spends the other 364 days a year designing, interviewing for The Industry, and curating One Minute With. In his quick-interview series, recently nominated for a .net Award for Side Project of the Year, O’Driscoll pins downs developers and designers, placing them under a microscope for as long as it takes to answer a few great questions.

Tables turned, we set our sights on O’Driscoll. He squirmed. Just a little.

I am currently answering a set of interview questions.Man, this stuff is hard. Why would you guys ever agree to such a thing?

March 12, 2013

In the end he rose brilliantly to the challenge, supplying this interviewer with clever, funny and well-thought-out answers we can only assume are a reflection of a similarly engaging personality and an insider’s appreciation for the squirmy task of interviewing.

O’Driscoll originally hails from Skibbereen, the most southerly town in Ireland, but now lives a few hours outside Cork City, “in what can only be described as the middle of nowhere.” O’Driscoll’s survey of the local scenery charms: “lush, green, rolling hills and a view out over a lovely little bay filled with beautiful, sandy-beached islands.” He finds Cork City friendly, and even has his own little green spot hidden behind a high wall in a shopping district. “I can happily relax there listening to whatever busker is furiously strumming outside and just people-watching.”

The lovely and the friendly aside, O’Driscoll bemoans Cork’s lack of a design scene. Thankfully, he said, there’s Dribbble.

O’Driscoll’s put the site to full use, not only sharing his own work but also digging around in piles of pixels and pulling out approximately 100 Dribbblers to profile on One Minute With. When asked to pick a favorite, O’Driscoll names a designer he admires not only for her work, but also for elevating the game.

“Claire Coullon really is the Goddess of Dribbble,” he said. She “has really taken the ‘What are you working on?’ question on the Dribbble homepage to heart, and continues to show us what she is working on, and not simply what she has worked on.

“She is also the very best at commenting on Dribbble. Every single comment … is chock-full of useful, nicely-worded constructive criticism. … Every now and then, you hear people criticizing Dribbble’s community for how many of the comments … are just ‘Amazing!’ or ‘MAN THAT RETRO VINTAGE SKEUOMORPHIC MINIMAL MODERN FLAT DESIGN IS SO NEAT. … You only need to look at Claire’s comments to discover that there’s hope for all of us yet.”

As for his own Dribbble portfolio, O’Driscoll chose to highlight a shot that supports the one Irish stereotype he finds true. “We’re not all leprechauns, we don’t all have red hair, and we’re not all farmers,” he said. But, “the Irish, for better or for worse, love to drink.”

The image was initially part of a pub-quiz poster but for Dribbble, O’Driscoll animated the bubbles using Photoshop. Oops.

“Turns out Photoshop isn’t ideal for animating things, and I could’ve done it a whole lot faster in Flash, but hey, Dribbble’s for learning, and that was a somewhat valuable lesson to learn.”

Interested in reading more about Paddy vs. Patty? O’Driscoll suggests a visit to paddynotpatty.com. You can find O’Driscoll at conordriscoll.com,  oneminutewith.com, and on Twitter @ConorDesign.

Pay with Stripe

We’re excited to announce that we’re now offering Stripe as a way to make credit card payments for Pro accounts or Jobs on Dribbble. Until now, PayPal had been the only available payment method, and it continues to be an option along with Stripe. If you live outside the United States and have had difficulties making purchases in the past, or if your business has had trouble using a company card, give Stripe a try!

Thanks to Stripe Checkout, we were able to integrate their functionality in to our site with incredible speed and ease. Plus, instead of sending customers to a third-party site to make a payment, Stripe Checkout offers a simple popover box to pay instantly without ever leaving Dribbble. All payment information is securely processed by Stripe, and the results are immediately returned to our servers for processing.

Our new developer Tristan spearheaded the integration, and he was pleasantly surprised with how easily Stripe could be worked in to our existing code and UI. When we told him we’d be mentioning him in this post, he replied, “Aw shucks, Stripe is going to know I have a crush on it.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Timeout with Anna Paschenko

Timeouts are lightning-quick interviews. Five questions to help you get to know the players holding court at Dribbble. Many thanks to Anna for being today’s interviewee.

Who are you? Let us know where you hail from and what you do.

Hi! My name is Anna Paschenko. I was born in Krasnodar (South of Russia) where most of the year the sun shines and nowadays I guess that it’s inside me wherever I’m :) About 10 years ago I moved to Saint-Petersburg where studied at University of Culture and Arts. And currently I still stay here and work as a designer in software company.

What are you working on?

Apart from my daily job I’m always working on small personal projects like icons and illustrations. Every time I’m looking for something new, improving my skills and knowledge. Really love feeling that I move forward and seeing the difference between my old and current projects make me happy!

Choose a favorite shot of yours. Tell us why it’s a favorite.

Actually I love all my works and it’s quite difficult to distinguish them into favorite-categories :) But ok, let’s say that Clothespin is my favorite. I still enjoy this idea. Also it was an important experience working together with my friend and of course, the result exceeded all my expectations.

Tell us about your setup. What tools did you use to create the shot(s)? (e.g. hardware, software, pens, paper, blowtorch, etc.)

I need minimum environment to do my work: iMac and Wacom that’s my creative factory :) The software I prefer are Photoshop and recent time i use Cinema4d, sometimes Illustrator but mostly as supplier program.

Choose a favorite shot from another player. Tell us why you dig it.

It’s yummy Sooshi! And of course it doesn’t mean if i’m russian and like caviar, I enjoy every shot with it :) That’s really amazing work. I’m excited about getsooshi project of Konstantin Datz and Moritz v.V. and hope in some time I’ll be able to make 3d works with the same fantastic quality.

ATX Dribbble Meetup at SXSW

Heading to Austin this weekend? Join Dan Cederholm and the ATX gang for a Texas-sized party during South by Southwest! Saturday March 9th at 8pm at Scholz Garten on San Jacinto in Austin. FREE limited-edition t-shirt designed by Paravel’s Reagan Ray for the first 100 guests. Presented by Dribbble, Paravel, Creative Market, Squarespace, and Happy Cog.

And a very special thanks to Austinites, Greg Storey and Dave Rupert for co-organizing this event with us. It’s going to be a blast!

Four On The Floor

March winds have been blowing for only a few days, but it’s already been a monumental month here at Dribbble, as we just signed two key free agents. It pleases us to no end to announce our first full-time hires, Samuel and Tristan, who will be helping us grow and improve the Dribbble community, site and platform.

Samuel Fine has been contracting with us for several months and after making himself indispensable around here, he now officially takes on the full-time role of Community Manager. From his bio:

“Samuel serves as champion for all Dribbblers, great and small. He works to make your day better by responding to user questions, comments, and concerns via email and social media. He also oversees Dribbble’s Equipment Shop, monthly newsletter, and occasionally contributes to the official blog.

A native of Northern Michigan, Samuel lives in Salem, Massachusetts with his wife Tess and their cat Beans. Off the court, he builds HTML5-powered mobile apps, participates in citizen-science projects, and is equally likely to be found on Steam or at the flea market.”

Tristan Dunn has been contracting for us for the last month, and now will join us as a full-time Developer, working remotely from his native Louisiana. Tristan previously worked with thoughtbot, Meebo, and Google and has already had an enormous impact on our software development efforts. From his bio:

“Tristan is a developer and arguably a tolerable designer. He is from and lives in Louisiana, yet enjoys cold weather more than you might expect.

He’ll be helping make your experience on Dribbble even more enjoyable, and giving Rich a bit more time to dunk.”

BTW, a quick but spirited fist bump of appreciation to you, the Dribbble community: We’re able to make these hires because YOU have supported this operation. We’ve never raised venture capital or other funds—this startup is 100% organic and made possible by your patronage. Thank you for your continued support in helping us grow and sustain this project. Your impact has been profound.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to add two talented folks to the team, bringing our total headcount to a whopping… four. And we’re equally excited about the great things we’ll be building together to help make Dribbble even better. Welcome, Sam and Tristan!

Squarespace Commerce Playoff Replay

Once again, we teamed up with our friends at Squarespace to celebrate a launch of theirs, letting the Dribbble community have some fun and stretch their creative muscle via a Featured Playoff. This time around, it was for Squarespace Commerce, a new way to manage and sell products on the Squarespace platform.

256 rebounds over the last 10 days. As usual, Dribbblers showed immense creativity in answering the challenge.  The winning shots are below, and read more from Squarespace on the results.

Timeout with Ingvard the Terrible

Timeouts are lightning-quick interviews. Five questions to help you get to know the players holding court at Dribbble. Many thanks to Ingvard for being today’s interviewee.

Who are you? Let us know where you hail from and what you do.

Mange hilsner! Many greetings! I am known among vikings, cowering villagers and art directors alike as “Ingvard the Terrible.” Also acceptable are “Lord Ingvard”, “Ingvard the Handsome” and, in some Latin American countries, “Los Pantelones Fuerte” (long story, don’t ask).

From whence do I hail, you ask? Pretty much any village I feel like. As long as there’s gold to be plundered and beautiful womenfolk to expropriate! And a Chili’s.

I was born the last of five mighty sons to a Danish mother and Swedish father. In addition to a youth spent honing my skills as a fearsome warrior and explorer of unknown lands, I also liked to draw a lot.

At first, my artistic endeavors consisted mostly of carving various and sundry runes and dragon motifs into the bones of my fallen enemies. Eventually, I grew interested in children’s literature, so naturally I toned down the blood and gore a bit.

Though I command a large and loyal crew of bloodthirsty warriors, I also render assistance from a small, but loyal band of thralls (slaves, basically; just Google it). Chief among them is a thirty-something, balding and vaguely useful man by the name of Mr. Ashby, who handles much of the trifling business details. And while Mr. Ashby has spent a number of years in the graphic design and illustration field, his talents pale miserably in comparison to his master’s, so it’s hardly worth mentioning. Enough about him….

Among my many influences are Thor, Cnut the Great, Sweyn Forkbeard, and Oprah. Yes, Oprah. Look, if you want lessons on conquering large swaths of other people’s domains and ruling over it with an iron fist, she’s your girl.

Artistically? Oh, uh, Berke Breathed, Bill Waterson, Gary Kelly, Derek Yaniger, Michael Slack, Ben Caldwell, Jon Flaming, Bill Brown, Looney Toons. Pixar inspires me not just visually, but in terms of developing great characters and compelling story lines. They also have a knack for dominating the box office, and ruthless domination, as you may have surmised, is a particular favorite pastime of mine.

My experience is vast and accolades many. I enjoy drawing, sailing the great northern seas, pillaging/plundering, pickled herring on crackers, and tall, frosty mugs of root beer.

What are you working on?

I am currently engaged in a number of different tasks: illustrating a handful of children’s eBooks; designing and illustrating invitation materials for one of my favorite clients; and developing a new line of high-end bear skin cloaks tough enough to withstand the most brutal northern winters, yet luxurious enough to say you’re a warrior who enjoys the finer things in life.

Choose a favorite shot of yours. Tell us why it’s a favorite.

A shot of mine and why it’s my favorite? Other than the fact that it’s mine? Ah. Well. I suppose I’d have to pick the one with Pippi Longstocking. Not necessarily for the shot itself, but because to this day the whole project is one of my absolute favorites. I never attached the full image to the shot for some reason (I assume copious amounts of aquavit were involved), so I’m including it here.

Tell us about your setup. What tools did you use to create the shot(s)? (e.g. hardware, software, pens, paper, blowtorch, etc.)

The process of creating one of my illustrations is an intense and grueling one, certainly not for the faint of heart. Or the French. Once I receive an assignment, I immediately begin the ritual purification process: the day is spent alternating between sitting in the intense heat of a wooden sauna hut, and sprinting across the snow-covered hill and diving into a frozen lake. (During which I may or may not be accompanied by a handful of buxom, blonde Swedish ski instructors. While not crucial to such a ritual, it most certainly does not hurt.)

Once my mind and heart are clear, I summon the glorious, inspirational power of Odin, the Great Father of the Gods Himself to fall upon me. I also summon a pickled herring sandwich and a tall mug of root beer. Concepting makes me hungry.

Then, it’s time to sketch. No, before that, research. Lots of lots of research. I study the clothing styles, architecture, culture and so on relevant to the project at hand. Much time is spent at the foot of the alter of the Magnificent, All-Knowing Oracle known as “the Google.”

Okay, then I sketch. A lot. When I discover the look I want, I refine it, and once approved by the client, the real magic commences.

I searched for many years to find the right medium in which to work, experimenting with everything from acrylics to watercolor, colored pencils to pastels, pen and ink to the blood of my enemies… It wasn’t until I was browsing my local art supply store when I happened upon some scratchboard materials. Figuring it was one medium I had yet to try, I thought, what the Helheim. I instantly fell in love with it (strictly plutonic, however).

Originally I would create the base artwork on scratchboard, then scan it and add color and texture in Photoshop. Eventually, I created some custom brushes that recreate the same look, so now I do everything digital (except for sketching; some things are still best done by hand). The tools of my trade include a Wacom Intuos 4 tablet, an iMac, Adobe Photoshop and an assortment of fine cheeses.

Choose a favorite shot from another player. Tell us why you dig it.

This is a very difficult decision. Dribbble is oozing with incredible talent, so choosing a favorite is like only eating one item at a cheap Chinese buffet. Uh, perhaps this one:

Level 02 02 by Nihad Nasupovic

I love the lighting, the strong sense of depth, the mood. No—wait, maybe this one:

Nashville by Mary Kate McDevitt

I love the whimsical use of typography and color. Odin’s beard, I could go on and on. So much good stuff. Oh, and this one. Because it makes me giggle.

OSX Smelly Cat by Ugur Akdemir