Alright; I’m finally starting to put my work up, but I’m going to slowly work backwards…
[but if you're really hard up, there's a sample of more stuff at sjfbarnett.carbonmade.com. don't say I didn't try]
I’m happy to say my latest project has finally gone live. The Wu Xing Martial Arts studio opened it’s own doors this summer and required not just a website, but a complete brand identity.
After working with another studio, the partnership of Sifu Ali Siadatan and Shellie Siadatan decided it was time to expand their horizons and open Wu Xing Martial Arts, a multi-disciplinary studio that uses the 5-animal system of kung fu [Dragon, Leopard, Snake, Tiger and Crane] within its teachings and practices. Courses include academic, practical and spiritual sessions.
What the Siadatans had to start with was a new logo and a great vision for their studio. From there, we formed the brand id. After much discussion about what the Studio wanted to be and what they wanted to offer, it became clear that the Siadatans are purists and deeply passionate about their work. They’re not merely offering courses, but a way of life. Take the time to learn from them while following the methods of the 5 animals, and you can truly be on your way to becoming whole. So the brand BECOME was born.
After much consideration of what type of imagery would be best suited for the Studio [hundreds of image concepts were exhausted], it appeared that a hybrid of the students and the animals would best encompass the idea of becoming.
Working with photos specifically shot for the series, I began the painstaking task of creating truly hybrid images. Each figure is a collage of many different photos with tonnes of retouching [this is why I love the capabilities of a tool like Photoshop]. What resulted was a series of 5 Hybrid creatures that works as the brand champion for the Studio. Used in both print and web, these images represent what Wu Xing Martial Arts is about.
I love this guy’s face:
Sample of before and after:
Next steps were creating a web presence for Wu Xing, a place not only where you could quickly find out what the studio has to offer in terms of courses, but a real community where the instructors and pupils can learn and interact.
Sifu Ali is a deeply spiritual man and has much to offer his students. His desire to share knowledge requires a place to put it all, so the site includes a Media Centre where you can find articles, podcasts, blog posts and video clips.
Development credit goes to Jorge Villalobos, who’s site production skills—especially in WordPress—are amazing. The site wireframes I assembled in Photoshop were nicely translated into a seamless WP site that is easily editable on every page by the Siadatans [he also added some lovely liquid bits]. This is a nice contrast to what they had originally envisioned: a flash site with too many editing limitations. Now Sifu Ali can write to his heart’s content whenever he wants with immediate results.
The site is shiny and fresh, and is currently being populated with content written by the Siadatans. It may not be full just yet, but check it out to learn about the courses, instructors, schedules, and what Wu Xing truly means. So go get your Bruce Lee on [oh, and make sure to schedule an appointment with Shellie for fab massage therapy].
http://northpublik.ca/personalwork/
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