Updated NYC coat hanger design...and table?!

In the original design, the graphic for the subway would be placed on the wall directly. This would require drilling into the wall to apply the hooks. The updated design above places the subway on a Manhattan shaped board, which contains pre-drilled holes for the hooks. I think this method is preferable.
I do like the idea of a subway map graphic that can be directly applied to a wall, but that seems to be a different product.
Should every stop by drilled on the map?
Offering hooks that are the shape of famous monuments would be fun. Prospects:
- Empire St. building
- Chrysler building
- Washington Sq. Park arch
- Grant's Tomb
- Cloisters
- Columbia Univ. library or alma mater statue
- Belvedere Castle in Central Park

Other monuments?

This object could also serve as a table. I'd imagine fewer holes would be preferable if this were the desired use. In that case, the table would come with plugs that fill in the holes. The monuments would then go upright on top of the table.

New York City subway coat hangar by SS

The image on the left is of a coat hanger that was in today's Times. This image inspired me to think of how a New Yorker may do it.

Should event posters list show prices?

I've enjoyed designing the Gotham Comedy posters for the last 6 months, yet I thought one piece of important information was missing: the show prices. I had originally included these in the design, but they were scrapped.
A few weeks ago, I broached the topic with the decision makers. I suggested to them that we add prices to the posters that are displayed on both sides of the front door along the sidewalk because:
- People like to know prices, including people who like comedy.
- Comedy clubs have a so-so reputation. There always seem to be hidden charges, drink minimums, etc. This allows you to pull back the curtain and be more transparent.
- As far as i can tell, Gotham's prices are reasonable. We should be promoting that.

This week the posters go up out front of the club with prices listed. (Please see the poster above; previous posters listed no pricing information.) We'll see what happens. Let's see if passerbyes react to seeing the prices.

Schneider Society for Children unveils logo by Solarek Studio

The Schneider Society, a fundraising group dedicated to helping North Shore LIJ's Schneider Children's Hospital, asked the Solarek Studio to design a logo for the organization. We are honored to be involved.

The logo is two s's placed together in a mirrored reflection. This forms a heart, representing the organization' dedication to the care of children.

"Jason did a great job of creating a meaningful logo which helps exemplify the mission of our charity," said Dan Fanelli, Founder/Co-Executive Director of Schneider Society. "This will surely be an enormous help in our efforts with Schneider Children's Hospital and we look forward to working with Solarek Studio in the future."

.................

Solarek Studio encourages you to support the children's hospital via the Schneider Society. Please visit:

http://support.northshorelij.com/site/PageServer?pagename=SCH_Society

New York City Journal by Solarek Studio

This new journal is part of our Wordsworth travel products collection
Journals - please click here
T-shirts - please click here

Solarek Studio's Dubai T-shirt Featured in Middle Eastern Magazine

If you're flying to Dubai or around the Emirates this month, please look for the editorial mention about Solarek Studio in Jazeera Airway's inflight magazine. (Click here to view the article on Jazeera's website in English.) The April 2009 print issue gives a full page to our Dubai t-shirt. (The attached image shows their website in Arabic, as well as the printed page layout showing Wordsworth on the right side page.)

We currently offer New York and Dubai designs on regular and v-neck American Apparel tees. You're also welcome to request a custom design for any city or country by writing me. (I personally do the designs, and love doing them.)

Buy Dubai t-shirt - click here

Please check out our Wordsworth website site where you can browse and shop online:
http://www.wordsworthdesigns.com

HOW magazine article on business enhancement

Good article on how design companies can hone their business offerings:
http://www.howdesign.com/article/buildbetterbrand/

Tool to track credit card debt by applying sticker on card

I came up with Credit Card Tracker based upon something my dad was doing: he was taping piece of paper with the interest rate written on them on the back of his credit cards. Credit Card Tracker turns this into an easy to apply sticker.

I have also been experimenting with a paper sleeve in which you store your credit card, and write the APR, month, etc. on the outside of the sleeve. With the sleeve, you can separate the card and the information, thereby you can avoid letting waiters see your notes (if that makes you uncomfortable; it's not for me). You can also keep track of past balances and APRs by looking at past sleeves.

There apparently is a need to cut our debt with some sort of tool like these. The New York Times said in an article:

The typical American carries a $9,000 credit card balance from month to month. Say this card charges an annual 18 percent interest rate and allows paying as little as 2 percent of the balance each month. Even if no more charges are made on the card and the minimum payments is made on time every month, it would take 47 years to pay it off, according to the National Foundation of Credit Counselors. By then, total payments would be $32,994, including $23,994 in interest.

The full article can be found by clicking here

Apartment Apparel t-shirts written up on The Real Deal, CityFile, and Curbed.com websites

We're happy to share that The Real Deal magazine wrote about a Solarek Studio product on its home page today. The Real Deal, whose print magazine and website cover the New York real estate market, features Solarek's Apartment Apparel line.
Our products were then picked up and posted on Curbed.com and CityFile.
Above please find some screen shots from these websites.
Below please find the article from The Real Deal.
Our items can be found here: http://newyorkcityapartments.spreadshirt.com/us/US/Shop/

Thank you,

Jason
...............................

March, 04, 2009
Wear your home hunt on your sleeve
By Jovana Rizzo
The Real Deal

In addition to listing your apartment with brokers or on Craigslist, you can now advertise your real estate search on your chest.
East Village graphic designer Jason Solarek has created T-shirts and buttons with the phrases "I need an apartment to rent" and "I have an apartment for rent," giving people an opportunity to facilitate real estate transactions during an ordinary day.
Solarek, the creative director of advertising agency Solarek Studios, came up with the idea for the shirts because he kept running into people who were talking about trying to find, or get rid of, apartments. He launched the shirts on his Web site last week.
"A lot of people are always asking friends [about apartments], or mention things in passing. There are a lot of missed opportunities to be able to exchange information," Solarek said, adding that his T-shirts could inspire conversation between people in real estate limbo.
The shirts come in male, female and v-neck versions, and are priced at $25 to $27. Whether people wear the shirts for fashion or to actually advertise their apartments remains to be seen.
Paul Purcell, co-founder of Charles Rutenberg in New York, said sellers obviously still need a broker's services to sell homes, but "it forces us to think in different ways," whether it's advertising on a T-shirt or on Facebook. In November, one man took selling his apartment into his own hands by walking around the city with a cardboard ad, yelling "apartment for sale!"
And even if the shirts don't help someone find an apartment, Solarek says they are appropriate for the city's obsession with real estate.
"In New York, the first thing people say to each other is 'Hi, nice to meet you, how much do you pay for your apartment? Or do you have an apartment for rent? Or I have an apartment for rent," Solarek said. "I think that the shirt is apropos for the time and a tongue in cheek representation of our New York real estate mindset."

Gotham Comedy Club poster update

This image shows two Gotham posters that we designed. The one on the left is one of the originals from October, and the one on the right is a more recent design. The difference: we've moved to using color pictures to make the poster more compelling to encourage attendance and purchases. The color layouts are slightly more work, but worth it. The image also show the photos that were used to make the poster. When I make the posters, I seek to close in on the comedian's face and eyes, which I think draws people in. To catch a show at Gotham Comedy Club, please visit their website - please click here.

Gotham Comedy Club chooses Solarek Studio to design posters for the front of the New York City club

Gotham Comedy Club chose us to design the posters for the front of their club. Since October, we have designed over 20 posters for the club. We design two poster types for them: one large poster showcasing one show/person, and one poster showing what is coming up for the month (usually four different acts). Check out a show at Gotham: www.GothamComedyClub.com

Pickard China, the oldest manufacturer of tableware in the United States, selects the Solarek Studio to design website

We designed this new website for Pickard China, the manufacturer of the White House's tableware and Air Force One's tableware. You're invited to view Pickard's site by clicking here.

LCR in Connecticut chooses Solarek to design retail website selling home goods

LCR Collection, which has two stores in Connecticut (Westport and West Hartford), selected us to design, build, and maintain their website. These are the initial designs. Please visit their website at: www.lcrcollection.com/

Institutional Investor chooses Solarek Studio to design Sovereign Funds Roundtable logo

Institutional Investor, the New York-based financial meetings company, asked the Solarek Studio to design a logo for their new group Sovereign Funds Roundtables. We added the stars to the logo to represent the nations involved in SWFs, as well as the exclusivity of the funds. They chose the 2nd logo from the top.

Council on Foreign Relations selects Solarek Studio to design website for 2008 Election

The Council on Foreign Relations, the New York-based political think tank, selected the Solarek Studio to design its 2008 election website. These are two designs that were presented. The designs include: a new, improved navigation system, columns for RSS feeds at the top, video playback spots, template features, and social networking features. Solarek also designed the Council's Campaign 2008 Election logo.

Foreign Affairs website design: FA magazine chooses Solarek Studio to design 2008 election home pages

Foreign Affairs, a magazine devoted to international relations that is published by the Council on Foreign Relations, selected the Solarek Studio to design an updated home page. The magazine also asked for three home page designs for the updated site that promoted essays by presidential candidates in the magazine. Designs included home page layouts for Obama-Romney, McCain-Clinton, and Edwards-Giuliani.

"The Solarek Studio has great insights into how magazines and other periodicals can best present themselves on the Web," says Tom Davey, Website Director at the Council on Foreign Relations. "Even a journal as traditional as Foreign Affairs has benefited."

MARHedge and TraderForum marketing: Institutional Investors two organizations select Solarek Studio to design promotional postcards for conferences

MARHedge and TraderForum, two of Institutional Investors conference groups, asked the Solarek Studio to design postcards promoting their conferences.

Institutional Investor magazine: II chooses Solarek Studio to design Pinnacle magazine, a collection of the best articles from II

Institutional Investor, a New York-based financial conferences organization, chose the Solarek Studio to design its new investment magazine. Called Pinnacle, the publication will showcase the best articles from across Institutional Investor's 12 membership groups. Solarek designed the magazine's logo and layout.

"We're very pleased with the magazine layout design for Pinnacle delivered by Solarek Studio," says Mark Fortune of Institutional Investor. "They quickly grasped the essence of the look and feel we were trying to achieve and in a timely way-and that's important. It provided us with several variation on the theme from which to choose."

More information about Institutional Investor can be found at:
www.iimemberships.com

View original SS e-news announcement

Tableware Today magazine design: Amy Stavis of Tableware Today chooses Solarek Studio to design magazine

Amy Stavis, editor of Tableware Today, selected the Solarek Studio to design the primary components of the magazine. These include: the table of contents, templates for the magazine's columns, calendar of events page, and more.

View more layouts created for Tableware Today magazine

Classic Entertainment Group (CEG) logo: CEG asked the Solarek Studio to design its casting and product placement logo

Classic Entertainment Group, a New York-based casting and product placement company, unveiled its Solarek Studio-designed logo last week at the MTV Video Music Awards. The logo can be seen behind Ludacris on the red carpet. View Classic Entertainment Group's website

View original SS e-news announcement

Solarek Studio Redesigns Website of Long Island Home Goods Company

Marel Gifts chose us to redesign their website, which sells over 50 premium brands. Products include fine tableware, crystal, gifts, and more. Please visit their site at: marelgifs.com

Cafe a Go Go Theater Show Selects Solarek Studio to Create Marketing Materials

I created these materials for the New York-based theater Cafe a Go Go in 2005. I designed newspaper ads, postcards, posters, press kits and any supporting marketing materials.

Tony n' Tina's Wedding Chooses Solarek Studio to Create Marketing Materials

Since 2003, the producers of Tony n' Tina's Wedding have hired me to design their promotional materials, including their website and some of their print materials. This even included a billboard on the New Jersey turnpike.

Visit the Tony and Tina site we designed and maintain: http://www.tonylovestina.com