The Concept of this typeface, was to blend and breed together the miniscule with majuscule family of letters, to create completely new letterforms for a unicase font. This poster is showing how messy, painful, and hilarious this process was, while still emphasizing mixing of the characters.

Alan grew up on a fruit farm in Grimsby, the gateway to Niagara, and always helped out on the farm. Designing this stamp series, first day cover, and promotional item based on his unique area of Canada was a way of helping through design.

Everybody needs a countdown leader. To complete, simply start from 10, click the viewmaster to change to the next slide each second. AndÉVoila! 10 seconds of your life that you ain’t getting back.

Squeeze a pimp. This is what you get: a production house leader for a “questionable” type of “film” company.

The idea of Hot and Flaky is to not be instantly obvious as something that’s gay, but something that’s classy and smart. Its high quality and it’s expensive, but doesn’t look pretentious. Then if one investigates, they are met with a pleasant surprise and a smile. The design is simple, and pared down to the essentials where any more or less in it just wouldn’t give the desired effect.

In developing a brand for the locol organization it was found that branding is in fact contrary to many of the beliefs of locol. This problem was addressed in the visual style, sometimes with irony and sometimes with innovation. The first project of locol was to create a way for people toorganize in their community. One of the major problems when working with other is scheduling. Community members will be able to see all current project and will be able to help out if they choose. The most important part of locol is the people who participate, their work is the purpose. This first survey was a paper survey that asked a number of questions, both in German and English, about participation in local events. When the person finishes the survey they plant it in the garden and add to the collection of opinions.

A show about the life of an artist and not so much about the art they make, we worked backwards. From the final product, “unpainting” the artistic process which an artist lives everyday of their life. Backwards from the product, through the process, to the artists behind the canvas. Completed in conjunction with Breck Campbell.

This diagram shows the different steps needed to go on an exchange from York University, in Canada, to Weimar University, in Germany. There are four or more dimensions at play here. First of all the diagram references time through the pattern of the main colored lines. Each week is given a set of 7 boxes. Secondly, the diagram maps the actual geographic location of the different events. The third level of information is presented by the icons. Each icon refers to a different modes of transportation. The fourth level of information is the two geographical bodies; Eastern Canada and Western Europe. This emphasizes the change of continents.

This print promo material is for a film that describes life as copies of itself at different levels of complexity and scale. Working with this scaling of topics in the film, I used these topics to the scales of media the campaign would be utilizing. I matched the smallest level (DNA) with the smallest piece: the flyer. Second I put cellular automata within the poster. Third, the idea of a full human as a collective rather than individual within a massive 2 meter subway column wrap. Lastly, hive-mind: linking of all humans through collective unconscious, stretching the full length of a city bus.

My book has a very simple concept as heart: Sit down with a tape recorder, talk about my book with people. The book while on the surface may appear to be about the book, is actually a very incisive look at process, and the structure of conversation. The book frustrates the reader who flips through, or tries to read too quickly. It reveals itself only to the patient reader who stops to think, and the great sense of accomplishment in deciphering its hidden meanings is reward for the reader’s patience.

A woodworker from the Niagra Ontario region needed to showcase his works. The approach for the experience was to develop an intuitive invisible interface. We also created a dynamic back-end which can be updated externally to flash. Each different section of the site changes the logo background and adapts to the context of the woodworking piece.

The ultimate slap in the face to all writers: An infinite number of monkeys on an infinite number of typewriters, would eventually take writing lessons and become great authors. Our title sequence follows that evolution to the beat of writing a cappella. For the rest of the package we closely detailed the evolutionary process from monkey to writer. We see a transformation take place from the bumper open, through 3 transitions used in each segment, and completion of the process with some writing in the out bumper. Completed in conjunction with Breck Campbell.

There are various aspects of this map which help it function much better than previous versions. From using building codes instead of numbers, to giving a true images of the height variations on campus, this map allows both spatial and conceptual understanding. The approach to way-finding was decided upon by mapping main paths taken by pedestrians on campus. Signs were divided into two categories: prompts and nodes. A prompt simply pushes the user forward, it defines a direction with the destination being the closest node. Each node is in a central area where both map and surroundings can be seen simultaneously.

Hive, the motion short film. The images of Alan Smith, with the voice of spoken word poet Ian Kamau accompanied by the sound of DJ Food.

A conceptual conference which seeks to envision the future of Language. Over seven days, thinkers in many different industries come together and share their perspectives on language. This conference was proposed based on ideas formulated over the period of 2004-2005. The progress of the conference follows the progress of language: From printed literature, to personal information management, to open copyrights, to distributed networks, to visualization of integrated data, and finally thoughts on emergence of new forms of thought.

Working with a team of 8 designers, 2 editors, and several writers, this piece was art directed by Alan under the theme of Anatomy. The magazines cover is it’s skin, and through progressively deeper segments of departments, features, gallery, the magazine is sliced deeper and deeper, sub-dermal, skeletal muscle, bone. Classical typography mixed with dynamic conceptual layouts speak to the viewer in a direct way.

Two local Toronto fashion designers needed a web presence to showcase their new pieces for the season. We took it one step further and created a simple website and allowed them to update it dynamically. As the user rips the fabric, photos appear and slowly develop. This allows for unexpected composition, and multiple image viewing through a fun exploratory interface.

A product which provides new tools for making decisions through comparative analysis, seeking to provide an alternate model for voter participation through online networks. Voters inform party policy, and parties present platforms to potential supporters. Each of the major parties are allowed to put forward a limited number of issues. These issues then make up the core criteria of The Undecided. The parties are required to take a stance on each issue, which affords side-by-side comparison for undecided voters.

An engaging print piece must grab the viewers attention and hold it with a compelling story. The story has been separated into four distinct processes: Sensors, Cluster Hub, The Operations Center, and Applications. The first two sections profile the EIS hardware; how easy it is to install, and how it works. The third stages speaks about the software and where the information is stored. The final stage focuses on the end-user advantages of the technology.

O’s by the water is an art gallery and store which caters to two distinct audiences; local customers of the small town of Port Colborne, and the traveling art connoisseur. Peggy O’Hara shares works and stories from masters in the areas of craft, art, and design. The brochure takes these 3 areas and melds them together to create a holistic vision of creativity. One of the driving principles of this piece was to use the medium of brochures as an informational piece but let it live on as a keepsake poster. The brochure is the introduction to the various stories which travel through O’s.

GeoSpace planetarium is proposing to build the world’s most exciting planetarium facility in downtown Toronto. To help explain the idea to investors we created an 80 page document with two main divisions: Sky & Ground. The first section is full emotional visions of the possibilities of a green planetarium where the sky's the limit, and the second contains comprehensive financial projections to get this vision off the ground. We wrote the copy, illustrated the ideas, visualized the data, and helped this project move to the next level.