A quick post today to wish you all happy Halloween from ASYLUMseventy7
Click here to see more illustration, art and design by ASYLUMseventy7
You know you’re a graphic designer when…
October 28, 2010 By 1 Comment
Just a few signs you may be a graphic designer and not just a loony! Sourced from around the wonderful world wide internetty web type thing! [1] [2] [3]
- You organize your CD collection according to the Pantone chart.
- You’ve destroyed a great design idea/concept because the client thought they know best.
- You’re up ’til 5am because you came up with the best idea ever while brushing your teeth.
- Activating your entire font collection makes your computer crash – and you’re running OSX.
- You see Apple products and you are like “OMG… IT’S SHINY!!!”
- Your blood pressure increases drastically when you see someone using the Comic Sans font.
- You HATE Comic Sans (just to be really sure!)
- You like Helvetica but you think it is absolutely unnecessary to use it everywhere.
- Just by the mere sight of Drop Shadow, Lens Flare and Bevel effect, you have a nervous breakdown.
- You see a typeface in a Logo and you go, “What if…..”
- If you lay your eyes on a board sign, you immediately start to wonder, “Is that Helvetica or Arial?”
- You get excited when a non-designer asks you to explain your works and eventually get bugged trying to make him understand.
- You have subscribed to nearly 50 RSS feeds.
- You know all the shortcuts by heart and can work in Photoshop blindfolded.
- Your Bookmark collection is begging for mercy.
- You get seriously MAD when someone uses Typeface and Font interchangeably.
- You get totally pissed when you realize the free Photoshop brushes you downloaded are less than 1000px in size.
- You’ve learned your lesson and stopped using the word ‘Final’ in any file name when saving.
- You see HTML and CSS like Neo sees the Matrix.
- When you look at an Album art, all you see are Grunge Photoshop Brushes (you notice the album art a few minutes later).
- You giggle whenever you use the colours F0CCED, EFF0FF and 44DDDD.
- You maintain a grid system for your refrigerator magnets.
- You sit at work for eight hours straight just looking at your monitor, waiting for a spark of inspiration that doesn’t come.
- You know Lorem Ipsum by heart.
- Looking at a menu makes you go “hmmm, ITC Baskerville italic” rather than “mmmm, lunch!”
- “cmd + Z is the first thing you think of when you drop something.
Feel free to add your own in the comments section below 
Trail of Creativity
October 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Formed in 2007 Trail were soon judged one of London’s hottest new acts at a performance in Hyde Park’s Wireless festival. The London 5-piece then went on to win a Capital FM 95.8 competition and raise £20,000 towards their album through fan investments, and in 2009 flew to Los Angeles to record their debut with acclaimed producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More / Maroon 5).
To the rest of the world. Artwork by ASYLUMseventy7
“Full of catchy hooks and haunting melodies, held together by sumptuous production” - Music Week Magazine
“Played with exuberance and confidence… this is how bands get noticed” - Clash (live gig review) Read the full review here
“Strong stuff Indeed” – Kerrang! Read the full review here
City (single) Artwork by ASYLUMseventy7
Trail’s blend of “Mid-Atlantic” Indie Rock has moved crowds the world over including the prestigious Viper Room in Los Angeles as well as Greenwich’s O2 Indigo arena. Themselves having been long time guests at the infamous Bloodlust Ball (Hampton Court), Trail are delighted to now be launching their vamp-themed new single “Killing Sun” – mixed by Sean Beavan (Nine Inch Nails) and preparing a set of ghoulish party classics that will raise Hell on the dance floor.
Hear more from Trail at…
Read the Testimonial for ASYLUMseventy7 by Trail here
Nightvision get committed to creativity!
October 15, 2010 By 1 Comment
Rock band Nightvision talk about the process of getting committed to creativity!
When Nightvision were signed by Rocksector Records and started work on their debut album ‘As The Lights Go Down’ they also started the search for someone to design and produce the artwork needed for the CD project.
We have known Mark at ASYLUMSeventy7 both as a musician and also as someone with the creative flair and imagination we needed for Nightvision’s first studio produced work. It was especially important that all aspects of this project were as good as we could get for the band’s first release on the Rocksector label. It was also vital that the design work was completed on time to reach the printers in time for the album general release and official launch gig and Mark met all the deadlines that were agreed.
Mark initially met the band, talked at length through their ideas and most importantly listened to the music and really took the time to understand the sense and feel of the album content. He put his own unique interpretation into the design and produced the ideas that led to the final superb design that has received great comments from everyone that now owns the album.
Nightvision are happy to recommend Mark Leary at ASYLUMseventy7 to anyone who wants to work alongside a professional who is willing to listen to your ideas and flexible enough to make changes along the way to achieve brilliant artwork designs that not only look great but will help promote your music. Thanks Mark.
Bob Wallis
Nightvision Manager
NIGHTVISION
NIGHTVISION MYSPACE
See more CD artwork by ASYLUMseventy7 and get in contact to discus your project
Do you really need a logo?
October 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
So, you’re on the hunt for a logo – but do you really need one?
The answer is easy:
- Whether it’s for your band, your business, or your personal web presence, if you need to stand out from the crowd, a well designed, informative logo can help.
- A logo forms the unique visual representation of your company/band/agency/label throughout all your marketing and advertising efforts.
- A logo gives your business/band and its promotional materials a uniform, consistent look.
- A well-designed, eye-catching logo acts as the authentic face of your business/band and shows that your business is professional, trustworthy and credible.
- Your logo illustrates the theme, style or ethos of the business/band it represents. A picture is worth 1,000 words!
So the real question is “do you have a strong logo and branding?”
Get committed to creative art, illustration and design!
Get a logo for £40! (offer closes in 48 hours)
October 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Want a unique, memorable, and easily recognisable logo that communicates your brand in a single glance?
For the next 48 hours, I’m offering you a logo for just £40! This is a huge saving compared with the usual price of up to £250.
Here’s the deal:
- For £40, you’ll get a hi-res logo that’s suitable for use on everything from business cards to your Twitter avatar.
- Hit the Paypal button below to reserve your logo.
- I’ll come back to you right away with a briefing template, fill it out and we’ll get started.
- I’ll aim to delver your logo within 7 days, and carry out any requested revisions within 3 days after that.
- That means you could be using a consistent brand image across all your marketing assets in just 10 days!
It as simple as that, but as the offer is only open for 48 hours, you’ll need to reserve yours now, or miss out
HURRY! Offer closed
12.00pm on Sat 9th October
The legals…
- See my FAQ for standard terms.
- ASYLUMseventy7 reserves the right to decline an order and refund payment in full.
- Offer price covers one set of revisions.
Completely committed tours
October 6, 2010 By 1 Comment
I’ve just had an email from Nathan Clark, head guy at Complete Tours (the UK’s only company that can organize your full tour – a “One Stop Shop for all your touring needs.” They can supply you with Transport, Back-line, Accommodation, Merchandise and much much more.)
As well as the usual festivals – Download, Sonisphere, Bloodstock – Complete Tours are currently sorting out the tour needs of Breed77, Mark Little and have confirmed they are helping out on the “Taste Of Chaos“ tour coming up with Disturbed, Papa Roach, Buck cherry and Halestorm!
ASYLUMseventy7 has worked with Complete Tours on many occasions including on their ID, promo and branding:
Read what Complete Tours has to say about ASYLUMseventy7
The Blood of the Realm
October 5, 2010 By 3 Comments
This year (1/6/2010) saw the release of Eibon la Furies new album “the Blood of the Realm” on Code666 records! Artwork/design and logo by ASYLUMseventy7.
Lord Eibon Blackwood speaks…
I have been aware of Mark and ASYLUMseventy7 for a number of years, through Marks’ own association playing with bands and his art work within the scene. With Eibon la Furies we were looking for an artist we knew we could work with and who would see the style we hoped to achieve. The first work with Mark was to design the Eibon la Furies crest. At the initial stages an amount of ideas were passed between Mark and myself, always pushing forward to the excellent design that you now see adorning Eibon la Furies merchandise and albums. Working with Mark has always been an incredibly easy process for myself and the band because he sees our vision, takes that vision and weaves a little magic to make it even better than the original concept. I think it’s a case of getting it right at the concept stage and this is where we usually throw all of the ideas into the proverbial pot with Mark then producing rough sketches and from here we’ve always quickly identified and started to hone down to that final piece. The debut album for Code666 records is a six-panel digi-pack with full artwork by ASYLUMseventy7. The brief was to explore opulence and decay, and of course the Eibon la Furies crest had to be prominent. Again the process was organic as the original concept was quickly worked upon with Mark and the whole piece was completed well within schedule. This next year will see Eibon la Furies working on the second album, ‘The Immoral Compass’, with a much more expanded artistic feel and once again we are happy to be working with Mark and ASYLUMseventy7. The atmosphere we both work under is always professional, creative and ultimately inspiring so long may the association between Eibon la Furies and ASYLUMseventy7 continue!
Lord Eibon Blackwood (Eibon la Furies)
Eibon La Furies got committed to Creative art and design! you can too.
Check out Eibon la furies music >> here. New T-shirts and hoodies available NOW NOW NOW!!!
See the testimonials about ASYLUMseventy7 from Lord Eibon and others >> here
Get committed to creative captioning – October
October 1, 2010 By 1 Comment
ASYLUMseventy7 caption competition. Running on the 1st of each month. Prize varies each time and could include… Studio time, props, prints or merchandise etc
Rules…
One winner per competition
Studio time prizes expire after 6 months
My decision is final
Not exchangeable for any monetary value
Winners notified via Facebook
Abusive or excessively unpleasant comments will be removed
Get committed to creative captioning!!
The winner of September’s is Brian Selway !! 
congratulations!
October
Thanks to Helena Atsuko for letting me use this picture
Model Mayhem – http://www.modelmayhem.com/heleneatsuko
Website – http://www.helene-atsuko.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/heleneatsuko
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Helene-Atsuko/284439622165
Get your portrait taken by ASYLUMseventy7