This work is specifically for their third show, 8-Bits of Destiny III, which calls upon the nostalgia of another third installment in video game history that is pretty well known; Super Mario Bros. 3! The logo is reminiscent of the Super Mario Bros. 3 logo, while still being it’s own, and ties in nicely to the overall theme of the posters and website. The twist of course, is that rather than the trademark racoon tail and ears, Mario is sporting an octopus hat and tentacle arms, in honor of 8-Bits of Destiny’s mascot, 8-Bit the Octopus! Big thanks to Maddi Bisset, one of the show’s artists, for her work on the digital inks and colors over Michael’s sketching.

Of course, we had to add our own little twists as well, so we added in some really cool pixelated drop shadows, and gave the whole concept a pixelated texture. This evokes the style of the 8-bit era, but adds more richness and depth to the overall design.

This year’s 8-Bits of Destiny is shaping up to be the best yet. We hope to see everyone there, November 5th to 19th, 2011, at Gamedeals Gastown (332 Water Street). Check out www.8bitsofdestiny.com for more details on the show.

If you’re a new business in the lower mainland, you can’t pass up this offer! For a limited time, AWS Creative is offering a special design package for new clients! For the low project price of $1500.00 you get a Logo Design, Business Card Design (500 Double-sided, full color cards), and custom WordPress Website Design! That’s over $2500 for only $1500!

But act fast! We’re only taking 15 orders for this AWESOME deal. Don’t miss out!

AWS Creative provides awe-inspiring graphic design for small businesses and individuals with a need to stand out above the crowd. Whether you’re in a creative industry, such as film or theatre, or you’ve got an awesome product that you know people will love, AWS is here to help you develop a brand image that will resonate with your clients!

And don’t forget to mention if you’re a member of the Burnaby Board of Trade to get a 10% discount on all services!

Starting with the website, we retrofitted an existing theme to fit the needs of ACTivist, keeping the cost of producing the website to a minimum.  The hard part was creating a fluid and interesting way of presenting the different shows, allowing them to have their own space, but to come together as one piece, just as they will on stage. Short and Sweet is a collection of three plays on the subject of human rights. Each has it’s own tone and theme, but there is an overall message about human rights. In the end, using a portfolio based theme was the best way of presenting the different shows, both graphically and from an interface perspective.

Each of the shows also has it’s own design identity, but they share a design aesthetic with the overall show and ACTivist Theatre’s identity. Using different colors choices, and the amazing work from of The Jelley Photographic, we were able to create a series of images that speak to each of the shows own voices, but work in unison to create an overall feeling for the night.

AWS Creative is proud of the work we’ve done in collaborating with these artists, but we’re even more proud of being a part of this amazing night of theatre with a profound message about human rights and the world we live in. You can buy tickets to ACTivist Theatre Collective‘s shows from their website, and support these artists in a truly noble endeavour.

Amanda Konkin founded Nik Nok Media in January 2011 as an outlet for producing interesting, creative and cost efficient productions that transcend traditional modes of artistic creation. Nik Nok Media develops projects across media platforms and aims to integrate aspects of theatre, film, and digital media in interesting ways.

AWS Creative was hired to create the corporate identity for Nik Nok Media, and we couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. The folks at Nik Nok were looking for something fun and inviting, but still had that professional edge, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what we’re all about at AWS Creative. From the bright vibrant colors, to the bubbly and effervescent design, Nik Nok Media allowed us to let loose and really earn that “Creative” we tack on to the end of our moniker.

Not only have we worked with them to develop their own website and branding, but we’ve also had the pleasure to work on several projects to date, including The Matrix Rebooted and How I Learned to Drive. Nik Nok Media is an endless source of creative inspiration, and we look forward to working with them on all of their projects in the future!

Metropolis Comics and Toys, in Burnaby, BC, is one of our oldest clients, and one of our favorites. Over the years we’ve tried out several different formats for their website, but lately, owner Jonny Botsch, has been having the most success online with their Facebook page. With that in mind we came up with a design that does away with all the frills and extras of a full website and reduced it down to a one page interactive online brochure. This would be the first of what AWS Creative would dub the “Social Media Homepage”. Focusing on Facebook interaction, the site now streams the Facebook page directly on www.metropolis-comics.com.

There’s no longer a need to direct customers to a lengthy Facebook URL. Just go to the store’s official website, and you’re there. You can like the page, see who else is a fan of it and comment, right there on the homepage. It’s all integrated seamlessly.

AWS Creative would like to thank Metropolis Comics and Toys for being the first to try out this new style of website. If you’d like more info on the Social Media Homepage, check out our Services page.

Along with the website redesign comes a few other changes to AWS Creative, as a whole. New logo, new colors and a new perspective. Or rather a more focused perspective. We’re newly rededicated to bringing businesses and individuals the very best in graphic design and creative services that make their business more awesome. To do that, we’re adding some new services that we’ll be explaining more about in the coming days, but just as a sneak peak, here’s a short list of the new services we’re rolling out, as well as what you’ve come to expect from AWS Creative.

Services

• Brand Identity
• Web Design
• WordPress Design
• Illustration

New Services

• Digital Video Services
• Social Media Consultation and Management
• and last but certainly not least, Printing Services!

That’s some pretty exciting stuff for us, and we’ll be giving you more details on each of those new services soon, so stay tuned to the site.

We’d also like to take a minute to thank all of our customers, friends and colleagues. Moving into this next phase of our business is going to be very exciting, and what makes it all worth it is working with all of you! You’re inspirational, motivational and aspirational, and without you all, AWS Creative wouldn’t be where it is today, ready to expand services and bring you even more AWESOME.

Thanks,
Michael J. Cohen

We recreated the logo and amended it to match the title, The Matrix Rebooted. That was the easy part. Then came the website. We landed on a simple concept; data streams falling in the background like a waterfall, similar to the trademark code streams from the original film. And in a first for AWS Creative, we developed motion graphics and titles for the short film, adding that extra touch of movie magic. Check out the video below!

Metro BC Heating Services came to AWS Creative to create a new logo for their business. They were looking for something that shouted British Columbia, but simple and modern. The logo we delivered is inspired by the beautiful mountainous coast of BC, and the setting sun in the west. We’re pretty proud of it, and we recommend Metro BC Heating Services for all your HVAC needs.

The approach all started with the logo, and the church’s slogan, “Your Church on the Corner”. From the beginning, it needed to be friendly, approachable and easy to read for a variety of users at many different computer skill levels. To achieve this, we used a mix of both colors and soft grays, avoiding straight black and white. This keeps the contrast down, softening the entire image, creating a more friendly and comfortable atmosphere to the site.

Furthering the user friendly atmosphere, we kept the layout simple, using a featured post section, along with two columns, and the ever present sidebar. This makes finding the information you need quick and easy, and the featured post adds a bit more focus to the stories St Alban’s wants to share with the community.

On that note, we also added links to Facebook and Twitter, and set up both social media platforms to update whenever new posts are added to the site, allowing people of all ages to stay informed using the latest technology.

The main design element is the rounded corners. Avoiding sharp angles as much as possible, the site flows from one section to the next, never abrupt or jarring. It also resonates with the slogan, “Your Church on the Corner”, creating shapes reminiscent of streets and maps. In one version of the logo, the lines come together to serve a dual purpose, forming both a map to the church and the image of a cross.

The result is a warm and inviting website that is easy to browse and return to on a regular basis.

Let’s start by jumping in the Way Back Machine and heading all the way back to November 2009. The fine folks over at Fancore Podcast called me up with a small request: a complete overhaul of their website! Previously, Fancore Pirate Radio was just a podcast, with the occasional news piece or comic review, but the Fancore Crew had greater ambitions, and that’s why they had called.

The news site called for a huge upgrade to the system, including a few new tricks I had yet to master. First and foremost, it was changing from a podcast/blog to a news site, which meant completely redesigning the whole flow of the site. Instead of a main blog column, the frontpage now sports 3 columns (soon to be 6) for each of the main categories of news and reviews. But along with that, there now needed to be a place for several blog icons, as several of the Fancore writing staff wanted their own space to voice their opinions. For that we added the nice graphical column along the left side, with awesome blog icons for each writer.

And of course, the podcast wasn’t going anywhere, so that needed to be included as well. Previously the podcast was the main focus of the site, so when you got to the frontpage, it was the first and foremost thing you wanted to see. Now, the podcast is still there, but alongside so much other content, we needed a way for it to stand out. We decided to go with a dynamic header area for this, using images rather than words to indicate when a new podcast has been uploaded.

Overall, the new site has allowed for more content to be viewed in a single glance, allowing users of all kinds to find the information they’re looking for quickly and easily. If you’re into movies, comics or anything genre, check out Fancore Daily.