When Steve Jobs passed away on October 5th, like most designers I was watching my Twitter stream the entire evening. Parked in front of the computer watching tweets go by, dominated with news, stories and tributes to Jobs. I popped open Illustrator and created a little Sad Mac icon … my own little tribute. Nothing original, obviously, but my own little version.

I ended up sending the icon to Newsweek magazine which was used it in their Steve Jobs commemorative issue, which just landed on my doorstep. My little Mac sits at the center of the inside front cover, on full black. A perfect spot for the little tribute, now seen by people worldwide.

Last week I had the pleasure to sit down with my friends Ryan and Stephen for a big interview session on their show TV Party. This was the first time I’ve ever been on the radio. Awesome time, really laid back and we talked for an hour and a half on all my projects, design thoughts and other rad topics. Here you go:

The reason I’m excited to put this online is because it’s local. CKDU is an independent radio station here in town and Ryan has been a good friend of mine for years, so he brought up some funny stories involving some local static I caused over the years. Most of these stories never made it online until now. So funny.

Big thanks to those guys for having me on their show. Big heap of fun. And Stephen, if you read this shoot me your Twitter link and I’ll hook ya up!

I have gotten reports that the issue of Wired featuring some of my illustrations is now out in Europe. I was hired by the kind folks at Wired last month to design some original type pieces for use in their article about the mighty Quora. Other then the direction “Make the letters look big and flashy”, I was allowed to come up with whatever I wanted. I experimented a bit with line work and halftones, something I haven’t really done before now. Shown here is the 2-page spread (top) as well as two drop caps designed for the article.

My original version had crazy vibrant colors, and I have to tip my hat to Wired for making the suggestion of pulling the tones back a bit. It added some realism to the design and made everything come together. Wired are fantastic clients, always enthusiastic and fun to work with.

This issue should be out now in Europe and hitting the shelves here in North America real soon.

That’s right, Advanced Photoshop Magazine #77 will feature a Signalnoise design on it’s cover worldwide. The kind folks over at the magazine contacted me about using my revised Tron Legacy poster for the cover, which could not have come at a better time considering the film is due out in a mere few weeks.

My original design appears to be reversible, like a raincoat, as the cover features my poster upside-down and works quite well with the type. I never would have expected that. Additionally I was included in the feature article ’40 Expert Secrets Revealed’ where I talk about some process and technique stuff. I can’t wait to pick up this issue myself to read up on the other participants.

Advanced Photoshop #77 will be hitting newsstands worldwide very soon, be sure to grab yours!

I’m really excited to announce the release of my Signalnoise Source group of Photoshop and Illustrator files now available for purchase in the Signalnoise Store. This project was originally supposed to be available through the order of a DVD, but I wanted to cut out the production cost and wait time of orders. So, I shifted things to a download for more instant usability.

The purpose of my releasing these source files is simple, to show people how I work. I field many questions from designers via my broadcast, Twitter and email regarding process, so now you can have a look inside the files and even play with the elements yourself. All of the layers, modes and effects are intact so you can really get a sense of how these images are built by exploring each element. And if you used any of these files to create something of your own, why not upload your creation to the newly formed Signalnoise Flickr group.

You can place an order for the Photoshop and Illustrator files over at the Signalnoise Store, each Photoshop file is 150dpi at 1200 x 1500. Once you place the order you will be able to instantly download the corresponding ZIP file. You will be ready to open these files up and start experimenting and creating right away.

Now the stern bit. Because I would like to do more of these in the future, please treat these files with respect. By “respect”, I mean the following:

• Do not use these files or any elements for commercial work.
• Do not resell any of these files or elements.
• Do not distribute these files. They are for you, nobody else.
• Do not print these files and sell them.

I can’t stress it enough to abide by these simple rules. These files are made available to folks who would like a deeper understanding of Photoshop and Illustrator, how I arrange elements to achieve the effects I do, and for a launchpad for personal experimentation and visual exploration. In short, I want people to learn from these files and have fun using that knowledge to create, not use my hard work in hopes of making a buck. So, by purchasing and downloading these Photoshop and Illustrator files you are agreeing with these 4 points. Cool?

So, swing on over to the Signalnoise Store and place an order as you normally would. But instead of receiving something in the mail, you will get an instant download. Hope you have lots of fun playing with the elements I’m making available, and remember to post your creations to the newly formed Signalnoise Flickr group. Lets get this giant collaboration going, kids.

I’m really excited to announce that the awesome team over at Armada Skis have launched their 2010/11 product line, which includes a set of skis I designed. Shown above are my Halo: AR Series skis now available through Armada or other ski product distributors. Here’s some product information straight from Armada:

“Creative application of EST Park Rocker to a park-specific chassis creates the next generation ski for carving between transitions, buttering off them, and floating beyond them. Stable under foot and loose and buttery at the tip and tails, the Halo slaughters the park. Patented.”

This is the first time I have attempted to design something like this, and it was a lot of fun and quite the challenge. Being used to creating posters that typically have normal proportions, having to change up my process to allow for something so long and thin was certainly a different ordeal. Lots of fun was had, and the gang at Armada were great to work with.

Swing by Armada’s website to check out the skis, as well as my artist profile.

• Just finished hanging all my art at Resistor Gallery.

• Canvas prints all hung up.

• The "Cleopatron" art show poster printed to canvas.

• "La Femme" printed to canvas.

• Every table had a pile of little freebies, including stickers and cards.

• A great crowd to hang out with.

• Here's me and pal Nicolas Girard, Goodmorningstranger.com. Metalheads unite.

• Skratch Bastid provided the tunes for the entire evening. He put on an amazing show.

On April 25th at Resistor Gallery in Toronto I had my very first art show entitled Broadcast: The art of James White where I displayed 13 of my works. It was a great time preparing all of the little things that come along with such an endeavor, and I’m happy to say I hit no snags along the way. The folks at Resistor, namely Kim and Ron were excellent to deal with and I owe them both a huge thanks for making this such a great experience.

In order to make my posters a bit different for this unique occasion, I decided to get the designs printed to canvas. They were printed in Toronto and shipped directly to the gallery, so I didn’t actually see them until I arrived and set about hanging them. A rather reckless method of going about this thing, but I was ecstatic when I saw the quality of printing. I had never seen my work on canvas and the texture breathed new life into my work, not at all what I was expecting.

The doors opened at 7pm and I was very happy to see a constantly changing crowd as the night went on. I saw the faces of old friends and industry colleagues, and had the pleasure of meeting a tonne of new people who came by. All in all, a wonderful evening which found me quite overwhelmed with support. Thanks so much to everyone who made the time to come by, it is greatly appreciated!

I would like to pass on a big thank-you to Nick Campbell, the Grey Scale Gorilla. Nick was nice enough to create the excellent retro Signalnoise logo animation which looped on the television screens all evening, it looked like something out of the 70s. You rock, Nick! Check it out:

Another massive thank-you to the ever-talented Skratch Bastid for providing the killer jams throughout the evening. He kept the mood and atmosphere super fun with his musical stylings, as well as put on one hell of a turntable show later on. He even catered to my one ridiculous request by playing some Iron Maiden. Nobody can stop you, Skratch!

Last but not least, big thanks to my pal Chris Toms for snapping a tonne of photos throughout the evening, some of which you will see in this post. Thanks Chris!

If you missed the opening reception, my work will remain on display until May 25th at Resistor Gallery, 284 College Street in Toronto.

The next couple of weeks are going to be really busy and exciting as I prepare for a couple of events, both of which are happening on the same day.

As you can see by the poster above, I will be having my first official art show on April 25th at Resistor Gallery in Toronto. Check out the Facebook event page. I’m excited to showcase somewhere between 12 and 15 of my art pieces printed to canvas. I’ve never done canvas prints before, and will only be doing one of each for the show. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. The show is called Broadcast, same name as my online design discussions. Here are the details:

Broadcast: The art of James White
April 25 – 28, 2010
Opening reception: April 25, 7pm
Resistor Gallery, 284 College Street, 2nd floor (see map)
Toronto

On top of that, the art show will be taking place on the first day of FITC Toronto where I will also be doing a presentation entitled ‘Back to the Future’ on the morning of April 25th at 10am. My talk will involve some inspirational designs from the past and present, a showcase of my work, a short technical section where I walk through one of my process, some of the online tools I use to get my work out there, and a small advice section for aspiring designers. It will be a great time, I hope you can make it.

I’m looking forward to these two Signalnoise events, and have been for the past few months as I made the necessary preparations. The Broadcast poster above will also be available once I get some posters printed in the next week or so.

Looking forward to meeting all those who attend :) See you soon, Toronto!

In addition: FITC Toronto is also holding a gallery opening entitled Barricade at Function 13 on April 25th featuring the work of James Paterson, James Braithwaite and Jeremy Felker, 156 Augusta Avenue. Two cool events on the same night, Toronto!