American Illustration 36 Annual
The latest American Illustration Annual arrived and like a kid on Christmas I immediately turned to my pages. The printing is amazing as always. Much thanks to Mark Heflin, American Illustration, MTA Arts and Design, and Iammama.com. Last year was a special year indeed.
Preview: Calendar for Konica Minolta
“January” which is part of a calendar series for Konica Minolta. Kenny Eicher is the AD who’s been a friend of mine forever and it was a thrill for both of us to finally work on a project after all these years. Each month has a full bleed illustration and poem. It’s pretty much a dream project and will share more soon.
Harvard Law Bulletin: Possible Futures
Illustrations for the Harvard Law Bulletin with a series of essays with how the changing world of technology will change the future for lawyers. In many cases, computers will make it possible to free up lawyers to pursue the more interesting parts of law. Ronn Campisi and I have collaborated for many years and always fun when he calls with an in depth assignment. The main gist of the series is law students will soon face a brave new world.
Wall Street Journal: International investing
Illustration for The Wall St Journal about dropping US stocks from your portfolio and embracing international stocks since US stocks are significantly more expensive. The image is basically me doing laundry and dropping a sock which happens every time. Orlie Kraus, AD.
New York Times Dealbook: Taxing for personal data
Illustration for the New York Times Dealbook section: It’s time to tax companies for using our personal data. Corinne Myller, AD. Dealbook is one of my favorite sections and Corinne Myller is one of my favorite art directors. The orange is used as a metaphor for how our interactions on the web have become hot property.
Iammama.com: The Magic of Water
Behind the James Yang Store
As a young illustrator my fantasy included working on select assignments, doing children’s books, and having a studio creating products. The last part of the dream has finally come true with the The James Yang Store.
The store was created with my partner Sean Henry who has Wall Street experience and is in charge of business and manufacturing while I focus on creative. Joining Cafe Press or Society 6 did not appeal because of the lack of control over the final product. I have also never been a fan of aggregate sites where you can get lost among many artists. The two person model is my preferred approach because of the potential for growth and speed which decisions can be made. If partners have the same goals and drive, amazing things can happen. Sean and I are scary compatible when it comes to our plans. Advances with ecommerce and printing have made it possible to turn ideas into products and make them available in days when in the past it took months. We are not reinventing the wheel. We are using the tools available to do things well. Creating products is exhilarating. I’ve been waking up early designing products before working on assignments. Sean and I both brainstorm and then he searches to see if the process and numbers make sense. Many products die because we are not happy with the quality. The experience of creating products has also been a positive influence on my illustration.
Bill Gates has quote we like to keep in mind : “People overestimate what they can do in a year but underestimate what they can do in ten.”
The store has shocked me with how much fun it is to apply my design sense to objects. Hopefully we’ll be around long enough to see if Gate’s quote is true.
