As you might recall, back in November, Jackson Fish Market launched A Story Before Bed, a project done in conjunction with our Portfolio Center illustration students. You can read about the project here.

On Tuesday, January 5, the folks from A Story Before Bed and Portfolio Center will be helping people make free recordings right from Eagle Eye Books, Atlanta’s Magazine’s “best indie bookstore of 2009.” Eagle Eye invites military families who want to record stories for deployed family members. Some of the illustrators will be at the store for you to meet in person. And of course, a …more

During the recent critiques, students in the sports branding class presented the results of their quarter’s work to some of Atlanta’s best sports marketing minds. The adjudicating panel was made up of representatives from the Atlanta Falcons, the international sports marketing consultancy Helios Partners, The Gwinnett Braves, AT&T, and sports agency Career Sports & Entertainment.

As each project was presented, the panel was floored by the amazing work that addressed both the strategic considerations of design and branding and the ‘look’ of the teams they were designing for, as well as by how distinctively the students resolved the problems for …more

Just announced, awarding in the upcoming CMYK Magazine national student competition (design section, issue #46, due out February 2010):

First up, Erick Montes’s logo, Belmont, which becomes a new branding moniker created for a line of men’s fragrance.

And, the eco-friendly packaging design for light bulbs with a personality… as designer Leilani Silversten alluded, “They literally speak to you from the shelves.”

Wonderfully frivolous and a refreshingly re-envisioned, Four Paws logo emphasizes the company’s interest in both dog and cat products. Designer Rachel Anscher suggested of her imaginative design, “It shows the love pet owners have for their mischievous animals.”

If you’ve …more

Portfolio Center photo graduate John Ellis has posted a couple of entries on his personal blog about his new job working for Jay Maisel. Bookmark this link to keep up with John in New York.

Environmental design, illustration, future magazines design directors, interactive presentations, copywriting and concepting, SOTA site team—1st quarter finishes (Wow, we did it!), art direction, photography critique’ers, photography critique’ee (very happy), last minute frantic note-taking, water colors in the afternoon, breakfast on the stairs, logos on the chilly fall morning, cutting matts, making a package, big smiles and hard work, composition and typography tips-to-pointers, timing the crits, getting ready for the digital presentation… the end of studio week and the the exciting magic of critique week now rounds out a best time at Portfolio Center… CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to all the most amazing students …more

Then there was one.

Competing against more than a dozen candidates who battled it out ‘live’ for over a week in NYC, it came down to the final two on Tuesday. John Ellis and his rival went head to head, vying for the coveted position of assistant to legendary photographer Jay Maisel. John was excited enough just to be among the top contenders, but winning the spot was a dream come true.

He started work yesterday. Congratulations, John!

Click here to read a great interview with Jay by Chris Orwig.

Portfolio Center is teaming up with Georgia Tech for a project called LoveNests, sponsored by MODA. PC photographers pair with GT industrial designers and ask influential Atlanta personalities/icons, “What are you attached to?” The answers to this question must be objects, not people, pets, or ideals, so we get an idea of the kinds of “things” these people love. The photographers will shoot portraits and the designers will create 3-d structures to complement the portraits. All will be exhibited at MODA in time for Valentines Day.

Andrea Dorsey had the honor of shooting former Atlanta mayor and now-Ambassador Andrew Young. …more

Don’t miss the Paste magazine article, The Evolution of the Hipster 2000-2009, shot by Portfolio Center alum Josh Meister. The page has accumulated over a million hits so far!

Big congratulations to Portfolio Center alum Michael Moreau, whose sculptural piece, ‘The Solitary Chair,’ was recently installed in the garden at the New Orleans Public Library.

About the chair, in Michael’s own words:

The Solitary Chair was equally inspired from my compartmental lifestyle in Japan and the International Movement. I designed a large scale cylinder of rolled aluminum with a back “hatch” that allowed access to an enclosed space. Planned as an experiment in the limits of personal space relationships, the chair provoked an internal dialogue with sometimes surprising results.

I always had visions for this piece to find a home out-of-doors, …more