http://aasman.ca/ The latest news from Aasman company (Whitehorse, Yukon). en-ca admin@aasman.ca (Website Feedback) Copyright 2010 Aasman All Rights Reserved Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:00:11 GMT http://aasman.ca/layout/logo.png http://aasman.ca/ http://aasman.ca/blog/an_olympic_experience/ 3 kids under 5 years old 1 Grandpa, armed with Visa card 1 Grandma and 1 mother, there to keep it all together!   My family recently went to Vancouver to take in a day of the “Olympic experience”. Our fabulous local airline offered a day trip that was too good to not take advantage of, so off we flew...   Want to see branding in action? Here’s a sampling of what the right branding can do:   The Bay building, downtown Vancouver. Those massive banners were to advertise the Bay’s exclusive Olympic products. People waited in line for hours to buy a branded hoodie or sweater!   The Bay building again, different side. WOW.   Even Visa was in on the Olympic branding action…   Those red jerseys were everywhere! You couldn’t help but feel the pride that was in the air.   My little boy, Kai, branded from head to toe!   Round Table Mon, 08 Mar 2010 23:00:11 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/upgrade_your_browser_save_a_developer/ One of my tasks in the creation of websites is HTML/CSS development. It plays an important part in the process of design integration before the development in dynamic language. This part of the development involves an essential and boring step: giving the website cross browser-compatibility, especially with Internet Explorer 6 and earlier! Google decided in the last couple of months to stop supporting Internet Explorer 6 in their applications such as Youtube, Gmail and Google Docs. In spite of the fact that some developers have decided to no longer optimize their websites for versions previous to IE7, Aasman continues to support IE6 to keep information accessibility open to everybody. A small number of internet users still use IE6, particularly in companies where the network is managed by a CIO (Chief Information Officer), who often disables the automatic updates of windows. You can find some good reasons to stop using IE6 on this website : http://www.browserupgrade.info/ie6/ You can also add the fact that optimizing your websites for old browsers takes us time and costs you more money... If you are still using Internet Explorer 6, we recommend trying some other popular Internet browsers like Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Safari to get the best possible experience, or to upgrade your browser to a newer version. The current IE version is Internet Explorer 8 and the upgrade is free. Round Table Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:12:57 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/fabulous_february_finds/ Who doesn't like a list of cool websites? It's one of my favourite sections of magazines and blogs. I was never one to be the dead-end of a chain-letter and would like to share with you a collection of Fabulous February Finds – a mix of beautiful illustrations, niche design history, and valuable resources.   1. Olaf Hajek (www.olafhajek.com) is a prolific German illustrator with a impressive list of clients. His hand-painted work is textured and vivid, incorporating fluid shapes, layers of multicoloured dry-brushing, and detailed references to nature that leave my spirit satiated with inspiration. Here's an interview with him about his book "Flowerhead". 2. www.propagandaonline.info is a historical survey of government issued posters in China and written descriptions of their context. The website itself is worth a visit for its witty navigational transitions. Select a decade, and a topic like behaviour, hygiene, safety, or politics, look at the posters and read about what they meant at the time. 3. I'm not even sure how to begin describing what this next site does, but if you love information, comparing global statistics, and you're a visual learner, this site is for you. Plot in your desired factors and track the information across a chosen time-line, geographical location, demographic of your choice, etc, and use the information as you will. www.gapminder.org 4. While working on a Haiti Fundraising project with aasman I stumbled across this useful site. Ever wonder what pantone colour your territorial flag is? Or the country you're designing for? It's not that easy to find out…unless you're looking for a Caribbean Flag, in which case you simple go here and they are all listed alphabetically. If only there was a global one. http://www.caribbeanflags.com/Scripts/cp_CaribbeanFlagPantoneColors.asp 5. Art, theatre, music, and photography all wrapped up in one amazing 3-D panorama experience by photographer Sam Rohn. The Chelsea Hotel in New York is an iconic building that's housed the likes of Leonard Cohen, Mark Twain, Dylan Thomas, Allen Ginsberg, Sid Vicous, Diego Rivera, Rufus Wainwright… and on, and on… since the late 1800s when it was first opened. If you've ever wanted to go there but live hundreds of kilometres away like I do, this is as close as you'll get. Click on either panorama to open an interactive tour of the lobby and ornate stairwell, both laden with art. www.samrohn.com/360-panorama/chelsea-hotel-new-york-city   Round Table Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:34:48 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/the_theory/ I left you hanging there for a couple of weeks, dying to know more. I know...its a theory! — who doesn’t love a good theory? So here’s our Theory of Compelling Communications: Engagement = Evocative Shiny Red Message + Meaningful Core Message or En = (EvSRM) + (MCM), for short. Sort of... Our hypothesis is that the evocative construction we devise (the Shiny Red Message) draws an emotional response from your audience that compels them to examine the rest of your core messaging to satisfy or feed their emotional state. If that in turn is relevant and meaningful to them, then you have them fully engaged. (ahem, now would be an excellent time for a call to action...) The more evocative or provocative you can be, the stronger the engagement, to a point. Proceed tentatively, and you’ll have a lukewarm audience; go too far and you’ll fully engage your audience all right — by generating a negative response to your message. Finding the balance requires a thorough understanding of their needs and perceptions, and the way your brand message relates to those needs and perceptions. If you do get the EvSRM right, it is imperative that you also get the other part of the equation, the Meaningful Core Message, right, or you will have wasted everybody’s time. In order to be meaningful for your intended audience, your messaging must answer their fundamental questions: why should I care? You’ve got my attention, my emotions are up, what’s in it for me? Connection Once you’ve articulated a meaningful, albeit literal, Core Message, how do you go on to devise a compelling Shiny Red Message? You make the connection by articulating something that is evocative, provocative, witty, original, startling, peculiar, intriguing, imaginative, fresh, twisted or uncommon about an aspect of your core message as it relates to your audience or your brand. In effect, you want to shed a little ray of insight onto your audience’s needs. Done well, this shiny red message will go on to compel, oblige, motivate or otherwise move your audience to examine the rest of your message, right down to its meaningful core. Which, because it will be on strategy, well planned, designed, produced, disseminated and managed, will be engaging in all sorts of good ways…   Brand on the Run Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:37:51 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/how_to_throw/ In our industry the best marketing tool we have is our reputation with our existing and previous client base. Word of mouth in a small marketplace like ours is critical for continued success. How this reputation is formed can be brought back to the basic question, are our projects successful? Sounds simple enough, yet there are so many factors that can contribute to why projects sometimes fail – unclear scope, insufficient budget and resources, lack of client trust – just to name a few. Each one of these factors can fall under the umbrella of insufficient front end planning. In fact, insufficient front end planning is one of the main reasons why projects fail. Every project no matter how big or small has five components: initiation, planning, execution, monitoring/controlling and closing. We have all fallen victim to over-excitement on a new project, wanting to jump right into the execution. After all, we are all in this business for the love of the execution part of our projects. However, despite where the excitement might lie, we cannot forget that the initiation and planning phases should account for approximately 40% of the total project. I was sent this sound clip a few months ago and was immediately brought back to my project management studies. The clip links the art of juggling with project management and how too often people learning how to juggle focus on the catching of the balls and fail to realize that it is most important to focus on properly throwing them. When we focus on properly throwing the ball, the catching will take care of itself. The same can be said in project management. When we put the time into getting the initiation and planning processes of projects done correctly and thoroughly, the rest of the project will in theory take care of itself. Let other people focus on catching and, as project managers, let us focus on the art of throwing.   Round Table Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:02:20 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/off_the_ploughed_track/ Ode to inspiring weekends My design teachers told me that it’s good to diversify my sources of inspiration and be in contact with all kinds of art… Following their wise advice, I like to extend my contact to all kinds of people, activities & rhythms, in all kinds of weather, headspaces & revisited environments. I spent most of my weekend in the at-first-unploughed Log Cabin parking lot at the Pass, which could sound at first like a relatively lame (a.k.a. “safe”) plan. But add to the story a massive snow dump forecast, an actual metre of fresh snow, a cooperative snowplougher ready to make a little detour in trade for a brownie, a road temporarily blocked by an avalanche, a bunch of highly motivated and creative people ready to overcome any obstacle for a friend's birthday party, frantic shovels, an oversized party tent, courageous dogs, a mysterious backcountry ice cream recipe, colourful wigs, lovely ski turns, an efficient first aid rescue scenario and a Log Roll for the Hawaiien birthday girl and…(breath)…it all suddenly turns into a giant breath of fresh inspiration for the week ahead. That said, I am definitely saving first prize for creativity to the weather, always surprising us with such different backgrounds and ambiances for every single day we spend out there, winter after winter. It makes our beloved “safe” skiing destination a fun place to "discover again" every time we go. photo credits: Bridget McClarty and Valerie   Round Table Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:12:46 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/being_heather/ The only thing worse than having to fill in for our vacationing Media Buyer is having to fill in for our vacationing Media Buyer slash Office Maven – “maven” meaning Doer Of All Things that keep the office in smooth running order and keep all aasmanites smiling, happy and, most importantly, sugar-fed. Yowza. We knew real quick that one person was not going to fill little Heather’s large shoes. And so... We got Val and Douma on the inner complexities of media booking   Corey on fun-tastic coffee duty   Trevor (aka Grandpa T) on general office merriment provider   Nicolas on cheery customer service supplier   Douma on candy fix dispenser (and ingester)   and Al on mail sorter (sorry Al, but someone’s gotta do it)   And together, as a big round whole, for all our efforts, all we wound up feeling was a big round hole in the middle of our exhausted, barely still beating hearts. Heather is back tomorrow and is hereby denied any and all future vacation requests. Enjoy your tan while you’ve got it, Heather!   Plum worn out, The Being Heather Team   Aasman News Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:53:06 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/shiny_red_message/ What is it that makes some brand communications pieces compelling and others bland, feeble or even invisible? Well, we’ve got a theory for that, based on these three principles: Engagement, Evocation (or sometimes Provocation) and Connection. Engagement Compelling communications pieces are like apples: they’ve got appealing, shiny red exteriors (pantone 485, aasman red of course) to attract attention, tasty and wholesome stuff to sink your teeth into, and a core that represents the essential idea of “apple-ness.” To develop compelling communications, you need to start at the core of the apple, with: a thorough understanding of your own brand values how they relate to your particular audience, and a clear articulation of the specific thing you want to say to them. This is the simple, unvarnished Core Message: the information that your organization needs to communicate to an identified audience. However, this is not necessarily how you want to say it. That’s because compelling communications results when you engage an audience emotionally, not intellectually. It’s about desire, fear and happiness, not numbers, information and rationale (although those can play a role later). And the reason for that, as Terry O’Reilly likes to say, is that you can’t logic your way into someone’s heart. To engage an audience, you must project, ask or state some aspect of your core message in a way that evokes an emotional response. We call that the Shiny Red Message — the SRM. Next time: En = EvSRM + MCM (Theory of Compelling Communications)   Brand on the Run Mon, 18 Jan 2010 17:12:40 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/aasman.ca_2.3/ We’ve successfully launched Aasman.ca revision 2.3! Ok, I’m sure some will have noticed that these new revisions are actually a month old, but I thought I’d speak to them anyhow. As part of our own brand refreshment back in November of 2008, we launched an entirely new website. The site was playful, very red, and received lots of great feedback. So why did we change it? 1 - change is good 2 - we may have traded a little too much usefulness for playfulness 3 - we were using our news page like a blog  …and how? 1 - we accepted change 2 - we streamlined the navigation and terminology, and brought in a handy side bar 3 - we conceded to the need to blog, threw in some comenting tools, added an rss feed, and called it our blog  …and is it working? We think so. Trevor can now find himself on the staff page, Rona has the administration licked with some great new tools under the hood, and I’m resting easy with some definite, verifiable increases in our stats. But the verdict's still out, so you tell me: good, bad, missed the boat? I welcome your comments! Aasman News Tue, 12 Jan 2010 01:10:59 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/alignment_bones_and_brands/ Two months ago, I made a classic mistake while re-arranging lumber in my workshop: I chose a 2-foot stepladder when the job called for a 4-foot ladder. I survived my error in judgment, but came away with a damaged shoulder, broken wrist, and a broken rib — and a whole new appreciation for what it means to align your people, place and practices with your brand. Stay with me here and I’ll explain. As a result of the accident and various complications, I made 8 separate trips to Whitehorse General Hospital. I was greeted by 2 different security personnel, admitted by 4 different front desk staff, was attended to by 4 different admissions nurses and 1 intern, had 4 sets of x-rays taken by 2 different radiographers, had 5 different casts put on by 5 different doctors, and removed by 4 different nurses. I had personal interactions with over 20 different hospital staff from a variety of disciplines over an 8-week period, and all were characterized by a remarkably consistent attitude, one that was: • friendly and considerate • genuinely compassionate • attentive to even my small-ish concerns • professional, but never at the expense of personal I discovered that all these doctors (not just you, Dr. Bob) are real people too, happy to converse about shared interests, family, and personal aspirations. What does this have to do with brand?… An organization’s brand is everything about how it is perceived and experienced by its audience. “Everything” is a sum total that includes the good, bad and ugly things about your people, attitudes, performance, service, reputation and communications. In the case of Whitehorse General Hospital, what I encountered and experienced in all these visits was their brand. Eight years ago, as the hospital approached it’s 100th anniversary, it engaged our firm to “design a logo.” We’re talking about a large organization with roots in a 19th century goldrush, playing a pivotal role in the day-to-day life of the territory, with no logo. Never had one. Fortunately, WGH did have a distinct brand. Given its long and unique history, we saw (by way of research, review and interview) how it had developed in the context of isolation, extremes and self-reliance. Out here on the edge of the frontier, everyone is your neighbour—Yukoners look after each other. At its core, WGH’s brand is centered on a multi-disciplined group of health-care professionals looking after their neighbours. You go to WGH, and you’ll see your neighbours, be cared for by your neighbours, be comforted by your neighbours. This is reflected outside the walls of WGH as well—heck, I see my family doctor not once every year or two, but once every week or two at a local coffee shop. The logo reflects that neighbourly care in the depiction of the Yukon River that runs like a life force through the heart of the community and the heart of the territory, connecting us to one another and to our past, the ubiquitous Yukon crocus that marks the annual spring renewal in the territory, its 3 petals representing the professional, multi-disciplined team approach, and its heliotropic nature—a little dish that follows the sun, focusing its warmth, then folding protectively shut in the evening—a reflection of the warm care provided by Whitehorse General Hospital. As I walked out for the last time three days ago, two different nurses called out “Bye Al–good luck,” as I passed their station. Waving my newly-released left hand to the young woman at the front desk, she flashed me a big smile and an enthusiastic thumbs up while continuing to chat with a caller on the phone. That’s just the kind of thing you come to expect of a neighbour. (ps: Dr Q, I did check out that website and it is amazing!—thanks for that. Also, that last cast? Not a problem, it’s all good now.) Al Brand on the Run Mon, 04 Jan 2010 20:09:25 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/wild_things_and_cardigans/ Today at lunch (to distract myself from all the Christmas presents I have left to buy) I punched “Where the Wild Things Are” into Google. I liked the book as a child and had been struck again watching Spike Jonze’s movie version by the way the story takes children, especially their feelings, seriously. In a rare deviation from standard children’s fare, Jonze’s movie acknowledges the complexity of a child’s emotional world and, even further, embraces that complexity. It struck me as completely right that it should do so and, at the same time, suddenly strange that most kids' movies treat children as simple-minded and in need of constant visual bombardment. So back to my Google search...what turned up was a blog entry on a site that highlights the influences that converged to make the movie Where the Wild Things Are a reality. The entry is called "Mr. Rogers and the Inner Drama of Childhood." It contains a powerful video of the ever-unflappable Mister Rogers addressing the U.S. Senate in 1969. He's attempting to have his then 2-year-old children’s program spared from Nixon’s public broadcasting budget cuts. I was moved as I listened to Rogers speak of his commitment to address children honestly and plainly, to give credence to their feelings and their everyday life situations, without pandering or exaggeration. Apparently so was John O. Pastore, the subcommittee chairman, who says Rogers’ words have given him goose bumps (and the will to find the cash for his brand of programming). I take from my run-in with Mister Rogers today this simple but profound reminder – speaking truth to the heart of your audience is a sure way to create big impacts…or better yet, big goose bumps. Here’s to the man behind the cardigan.     Round Table Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:03:25 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/a_serious_celebration/ ‘Tis the season for ruckus and comical Christmas staff parties but at Aasman, celebration is taken seriously. A Christmas Committee was established in November to ensure the evening’s success. Behind closed doors, the Committee schemed ways to create embarrassing moments that would entertain the office throughout the coming year. Once solidified, the Plan revealed a competitive nature to the 2009 event. Below is an account the festive rivalry involving rocks that curl, cheese that swirls, and music that won’t make you twirl, it’ll make you STOMP! The festive celebrations kicked off–or rather slipped off–with an afternoon at the curling rink. Under the expert direction of Mr. Trevor Sellars, four aasman teams threw rocks, yelled at each other, pushed brooms, lunged, slid, and occasionally fell down. But these folks are not quitters, especially with the main event ahead. Having mastered the art of keeping the sheet clean and working hard to keep the rock true, the four teams left the arena in high spirits. Each went home to secretly ice bruised knees, stretch twisted ligaments, and cultivate confidence for the next activity – a dance off. Back at Mt Mac, the aasman crew brought reinforcements and divided into two teams. Team Flamenco was lead by Annie Pellicano who taught them how to clack their heels with one foot, kick the air with the other, hop forward and clap all at the same time, just like true Andalusian gypsies. Team Gumboot learned from Sophia Marnik how to stomp and slap their rubber boots to create rhythm, just like miners of apartheid South Africa used to do. The moment of truth arrived when each group performed for one another in a dance-off. Everyone participated, which meant no one could judge who won. But it was agreed that everyone deserved a crown and, having worked up an appetite, a very special meal. The table was beautifully garnished for the likes of royalty, and after the Christmas crackers were popped, the guests proceeded to feast like royalty. Cheese fondue swirled in pots on the table and fixings for Raclette filled the spaces in between before filling the bellies of the assembled curling dancers, and one dog. No celebration is complete without a homemade trifle by Emily Bradbury, and so the evening ended on a sweet note. In a measurement survey done the following Monday, participants in the 2009 aasman Christmas event agreed that the evening was a success, seriously. Aasman News Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:10:39 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/if_it_squeaks_does_it_matter/ I’ve met very few clients in the past 35 years that didn’t expect results. Really. Okay there have been more than a few “just wanting a logo” types. You can’t really identify them by the way they wear their hair or by a typical colour of shirt. They don’t walk funny. They’ve all got a good idea though and a few might read like a “Field of Dreams” strategy. They’ve built their ballpark and now they’re ready for the cash paying fans to show up to see the game. Most know that getting results that matter starts with a good plan. It’s like a good physical work out. There’s great payback if you’re committed to get the results. And it doesn’t matter whether your plan is to increase your number of haircuts by 50% or inoculate 90% of the population. Communications without a plan for results (planned and measured) is just noise. What does noise achieve? It’s out there–loud and everywhere–on the radio, our local papers, on the street, in the mail, on your cell phone, in your Facebook page, on your phone bill, on a bizarre myriad of snow and frost covered pointless sandwich board signs on Whitehorse streets, on the phone truck, in the phone book, on every transit bus, and on a growing number of downtown building exteriors. From retail to corporate to social marketing, is it having an impact? is it making change? is it getting results?   Or is it just noise? Round Table Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:23:41 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/check_your_coat/ A few months ago, a client thanked me for facilitating a brand visioning exercise, saying, “I always thought that branding an organization was just a matter of choosing and then putting on a new coat.” I was pleased he had grasped the fundamentals of what we were trying to do, that branding is a matter of reflecting what’s at the heart of an organization, not simply selecting something from a rack of stylish options. After all, your brand is about authenticity. Branding requires you to discern what is true about your organization, why that matters to your audience, and how to communicate those truths in the things you say and do. And yet, it is about the coat, too… Most of us pay at least some attention to the clothes we wear. In general we want them to reflect something about the kinds of people we are, our character, values and personality. Sometimes we want them to say specific things about ourselves: Look at me and know that I am a professional, a cowboy, a vampire…. Stacy and Clinton from TLC’s What Not to Wear tell us that many people get it wrong. So wrong. Instead of creative and trendy, they appear flaky and dated; instead of vibrant and youthful we get tarty and will you pu-lease grow up. The truth is, some people do not care what they wear or how they dress, some dress to project qualities they admire but do not possess, and yet others reflect characteristics quite different from what they intend. It’s not a lot different from the way many organizations treat their brands: • some don’t think about their brand or place any value in branding • some have chosen brand values they admire but cannot emulate – ever • some know what their brand values are, but communicate them with little insight The problem these organizations face is bigger than simply being raided by the fashion police. Rather than Stacy and Clinton, they have to stand up to the scrutiny of their (gasp) audience! If you don’t take care of branding your organization, your audience will brand it for you. And your brand may be “the dis-organization that doesn’t care.” If you simply choose a set of admirable brand values, your audience will spot the fake. Your brand may become “the organization that can’t really be trusted.” If you know your brand values, but mis-communicate them, your audience will be confused. Your brand will be “the organization that…I’m sorry, which one are you again?” Brand articulation is hard work. It requires structure, honesty, deep insight, passion and creativity. And that’s just the start. But the rewards can be immediate and, over time, powerful. I hope to share some of those with you, as well as how we get there and what branding processes and models look like, over the course of the next few months. Or years; it’s a big subject. Speaking of coats, as we subtly segue to us, have a listen to what that old bluegrass master Ralph Stanley had to say about them: Two coats were before me, an old and a new… I’ll tell you the best thing I ever did do, I put off the old coat and put on the new. If you’re unsure about the coat you’re wearing, you know who to call… —Al Aasman   Brand on the Run Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:29:25 GMT http://aasman.ca/blog/interview_with_an_illustrator/ Our own Eleanor Rosenberg has illustrated the recently published The Midnight-Blue Marble, a mystery novel for young adults. We think it’s simply fantastic, and I kicked things off by telling her so.     R: First off, congratulations on a beautiful piece of work. It’s simply fantastic. E: Thank you Rona! R: Is this your first published title? E: No, this is my third with Gumboot Books. They're a publisher in Vancouver. I also self published a Choose-Your-Own Short Story adventure in 2006. That was my first book. R: Give us a quick synopsis of the story, for those who haven't read the novel yet. E: Sure. The story is about a missing diamond that led to the beheading of Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution. The diamond is lost in Vancouver– present day– and the main character, Ailie, and her friends are trying to track it down during a weekend music festival before someone else does, and without compromising their lives. R: Do you share the author Melanie Jackson's passion for all things historical? E: In a way, yes. I was never very good at remembering dates, but I love the nuances and details of the more personal side of a story. I loved researching the French revolution for costumes and antiques that I could use as reference. R: What is the process for illustrating a book like this? Do you read the entire book and then begin the illustrations, or is it a collaborative process? E: Yup. I start by reading a draft of the novel and marking imagery that excites me. I map out who is who and details I need to remember like who has freckles, what colour their hair is, the types of clothes they wear and all that physical description. At the same time I start covering a wall with references, in this case from France circa 1790. Did you know that the roman numeral "4" in the 1700s is four lines, instead of a "V-I"? I find all sorts of random information when researching. What are mutton-sleeves? What does King Louis wear? What were the alleys of London like at the beginning of the 19th century? Anyway, then I sketch out thumbnails in pencil and propose them to the publisher. They give me feedback and off I go! The rest is a secret. R: What was your biggest challenge illustrating The Midnight-Blue Marble? E: Waiting to see the printed book! Living in Whitehorse is great because I feel I can focus on my creative projects, but when the book launched in Vancouver and I hadn't even seen it in physical form, ... that was hard. I was having nightmares about it nightly, but it turned out great and now I have copies all over the place so it was worth the wait! R: Many of the illustrations contain a hint (or more) of gore. Would you say you have a penchant for the macabre, or was it purely the source material that took you in that direction? E: Ha ha ha! Um, the author does have a soft spot for beheadings, but I also revel in it. I think spooky illustrations strengthen the mystery-genre, so I watched some Hitchcock films to get in the mood. R: Favourite illustration and why? E: That's a hard question. I loved doing the detailed swirls of fabric and jewelry on Marie Antoinette. I really like the chapter 1 illustration though. It introduces Ailie who has a skeptical look on her face, funky style and a row of weird clues in front of her. In particular I enjoy the drip of ketchup on the bag of chips...just a touch of sinister foreshadowing, and the clues have more meaning as the story continues. R: Are there any book signings in your future? E: Not really. I was invited to one this weekend at Mac's but I'll be away in Dawson City. BUT, there is an exhibit of the original illustrations at Baked Cafe. We're talking about having some kind of event but I haven't planned it yet. The show goes up Wednesday night! R: And we can all rush out and buy copies for Christmas presents...where? E: Good question Rona! There are lots of places you can buy it. It's in the new arrivals section at Mac's Fireweed, It will be at Baked Cafe starting Thursday morning and you can buy it on Amazon.com, and book stores in Vancouver. You can also buy them directly from me. Just email me to arrange an exchange. They're $10 - $12.99 depending on where you get it. R: Thanks for chatting, E. Always a pleasure to sit down with greatness. Aasman News Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:01:53 GMT