J Gillard Design

Introduction

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

I was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. Later, I moved with my family to Escondido, California where I attended high school. Since then I have lived in San Diego, New Orleans, and now, Austin, Texas, where I have resettled with my wife, Lorin, and our cocker spaniel, Jockamo, following Hurricane Katrina.

I received my Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Orleans with an emphasis on painting. Among the professors in the Fine Arts department were Doyle Gertjejansen and Jim Richard. During my undergraduate studies I became interested in digital design and began learning the primary applications. Those were, at the time, Photoshop, Freehand, Quark, and Pagemaker. Since that time I have continued studying graphic design and the emerging communication design technologies.

Creative Process

"Providing meaning to a mass of unrelated needs, ideas, words and pictures - it is the designer's job to select and fit this material together and make it interesting."

~ Paul Rand

Story is key in my creative process. The story may be a straight forward linear narrative, memories, moods, historical anecdotes, corporate directives, or it may be a story that I am creating. The way a graphic element is handled, the colors chosen, the fonts selected, the photographs used- these all evoke a sympathetic response from the viewer. The viewer is ready to understand but must become interested, engaged, and sold.

I have included a sampling of designs that represent a variety of clients. Additional samples may be requested by contacting me directly, via telephone or email, or by submitting your request via the web site.

Experience

Years of in house design has taught me a great deal about the business end of marketing and design.
I have had the chance to work with some great clients in diverse industries.These have included retail/environmental design for Sea World Adventure Park San Diego®, promotional print material for Bacardi USA®, scenic painting for Disney's California Adventure® Theme Park, signage designs for the Buick® Invitational Golf Tournament in La Jolla, California, and packaging for collectibles based on New Line Cinemas' properties, among others.