The John Gruber Experience

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Premiere Pro Commercial

BLISS Senior Care Premiere Pro Commercial

Idea and Concept

BLISS is a nonprofit foundation that provides home care for low–income seniors. I am currently their web/graphic designer and online marketing. I have full rights to use their logo and marketing materials. The commercial is going to be used for social media marketing for BLISS.

Target Audience

Family Caretakers and, to a lessor degree, investors

Tools Used to Create Design

  • Adobe Character Animator
  • Premiere Pro
  • Garage Band

Key Tools and Techniques Used 

Instead of paying for actors, Adobe Character Animator was used to create puppets. The puppets were then controlled using facial recognition and computer keyboard.

Once a composition had the logo animated, the main composition’s 3D animation was challenging. Unlike 3D tools, After Effects’ 3D tools and views don’t work the same as standard 3D software. Most notably was the missing “perspective” view. Although there were custom views, they were not as functional as a perspective view. Having the camera track on a path was also difficult. I had to make a stroke, manipulate it in 3D space, copy the shape’s path and then past that path on the camera’s path.

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After Effects GDS Logo

Gruber Design Studio Logo Animation

Idea and Concept


The idea was to have an animated logo that utilized 3D space in After Effects.

Tools Used to Create Design

  • 3D space
  • Convert Illustrator strokes to shapes
  • Trim Path

Key Tools and Techniques Used 

Having used Flash, Motion and 3D modeling tools for years, I was very familiar with keyframes and animation but had not done so in After Effects (Really hadn’t worked in After Effects at all). How After Effects 3D tools manipulated 3D space and how to mask a line took time to master. I had to import the logo Illustrator file and, once imported convert the layers into shapes. The Illustrator file couldn’t have any sublayers so all sub items had to be put in their own layer (AI layer panel option “Release to layers”).  Also, it was noted that all AI strokes must have the stroke aligned to center. Otherwise, the converted stroke couldn’t be used as a path. Once converted to a shape, the path could have the Trim Path (add dropdown menu next to shape name) applied and the path and visibility animated. 

Once a composition had the logo animated, the main composition’s 3D animation was challenging. Unlike 3D tools, After Effects’ 3D tools and views don’t work the same as standard 3D software. Most notably was the missing “perspective” view. Although there were custom views, they were not as functional as a perspective view. Having the camera track on a path was also difficult. I had to make a stroke, manipulate it in 3D space, copy the shape’s path and then past that path on the camera’s path.

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InDesign Identity Package

GDS Identity Package
GDS Identity Package

Gruber Design Studio Identity Package

Idea and Concept

Gruber Design Studio needed a professional look to distance itself from its developer origins. 

Challenge

To create a fashion forward look for tech.

Target Audience

  • Corporate and Tech Startups
  • Software/Tech Development needing a professional aesthetically appealing persona

Tools Used

  • Character Styles
  • Paragraph Styles
  • Master Pages
  • Spot Colors: Black, PANTONE P 118-7 U

Techniques

Created several character, paragraph and object styles

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Feature Print

Illustrator Rady School Billboard

Rady School of Management Billboard Layout
Although Rady School Of Business Management is part of UCSD, they are trying to establish their own identity. Using Rady’s unique building along with the tagline, the billboard would capture the attention of I5 freeway travelers.
Rady School of Management Billboard Layout

Rady School of Management Billboard

Idea and Concept

Although Rady School Of Business Management is part of UCSD, they are trying to establish their own identity. Using Rady’s unique building along with the tagline, the billboard would capture the attention of I5 freeway travelers.

Target Audience

  • Educated 18—40-year-old
  • Perspective Graduate Business Degree students
  • Perspective UCSD Undergraduate students looking for a business minor
  • Parents of Students

Tools Used to Create Design

  • Freehand Gradient 
  • Gradient Mesh Tool
  • Clipping Masks
  • Pen Tool
  • Rectangle Tool
  • Eyedropper Tool

Key Tools and Techniques Used 

Finding a picture of the Rady Wells Fargo Building in Wiki Commons, I traced the building. While in outline mode, I selected the actual colors from the image to use in the gradient.  Although not traced, I took other pictures to use for reference in areas block by trees.

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Photoshop James Bond Book Cover Design

Graphic design layout for a James Bond book cover
This project was a book cover. The title was “The Secret Kitchenette.” In some circles, a “kitchen” could be slang for a lab. So a kitchenette was a codename for a small mobile nuclear lab that eluded MI6 due to its mobility. The subtitle of “Now Serving the Nuclear Option” hints at this storyline.
Graphic design layout for a James Bond book cover
Graphic design layout for a James Bond book back cover

The Secret Kitchenette​ Book Cover

Idea and Concept


This project was a book cover. Unlike the other projects before, the subject matter was assigned. The title designated to me was “The Secret Kitchenette.” I didn’t want to do any of the apparent genres, such as horror. The James Bond spy novel was decided at the theme. Using the pen name of Ian Fleming, I came up with a whole backstory for the novel. Fleming was known for exciting titles such as Moonraker and Goldeneye that were code names for dastardly weapons of the super–villains so this title could fit. In some circles, a “kitchen” could be slang for a lab. So a kitchenette could be a codename for a small mobile nuclear lab that eluded MI6 due to its mobility. The subtitle of “Now Serving the Nuclear Option” hints at this storyline. 

Challenges

After several free use images, I couldn’t find an image of a “Bond Girl” for the side of the cover. Using Daz3D, I created a 3D model in the right pose for the cover.

Tools Used

  • Masking
  • Smart Objects
  • Smart Filters

Key Tools and Techniques Used 

3D Object and 3D modeling and green screening

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Photoshop Illumina Print Ad

Infographic for Iumina showing how unlocking the genome can help the honey bees
Illumina has a new branding as a friendly, warm, humanitarian company saving the world from cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease. This graphic will embody that message with visual storytelling communicating the good done by Genome Sequencing.

Info graphic for Illumina

Idea and Concept


Illumina (https://www.illumina.com) is trying to makeover its image—and the genetic engineering industry itself—as a friendly, warm, humanitarian company saving the world from cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease. This graphic will embody that message with visual storytelling communicating the good done by Genome Sequencing.

Target Audience

  • Educated 30—40-year-old
  • Moderate leaning politics
  • Gender-neutral

Tools Used to Create Design

  • Masking
  • Adjustment layers
  • Smart Objects
  • Smart Filters
  • Non Destructive Dodging and Burning
  • Layer Clipping
  • Layer Effects
  • Warp Transform

Key Tools and Techniques Used

The project used three images from creative commons: the girl blowing on the flower, a bee, and the DNA Strand. The girl is used to associate with Illumina’s current branding, which also uses a little girl and a flower. The DNA Strand’s color was changed to match Illumina’s logo color. It also had to be warped transformed. The girl was the most challenging. The file did not fill the page, so the image had leaves added above her head. The image had to be flipped horizontally and lighted with a smart blur applied to remove imperfections in her skin and to remove jpeg artifacts. The entire image had two dodge & burn layers (50% grey overlay) to allow nondestructive dodging and burning. Finally, the image had an overlay color layer of Illumina’s logo color to give warming to the entire piece.

Infographic for Iumina showing how unlocking the genome can help the honey bees
Illumina has a new branding as a friendly, warm, humanitarian company saving the world from cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease. This graphic will embody that message with visual storytelling communicating the good done by Genome Sequencing.

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