Chad O'Malley · Illustration & Design

Who am I?

Hello, I'm Chad O'Malley and welcome to my site. I got into all this creative business ever since the first time I doodled a dinosaur in pre-school. I still draw silly things, but now I have a college degree backing that fact up!

I'm currently based in Hinckley, OH. Having graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, I'm now applying my love of art at the Cleveland-based design firm, Insivia.

I find graphic design to be a fascinating process, something similar to a puzzle, and I'm never one to turn down a good challenge. Design is a riddle that requires not just a strong sense of creativity, but also a general knowledge of the current fads and interests. What I specifically enjoy working on, though, are illustrations. It's here that I can craft whole new worlds for people to dive into as well as gain inspiration from.

You can see some select pieces of my work below, and if you want to see my most recent projects please visit my new portfolio at Cargo. I hope you enjoy what you see.

What do I do?

Advertisements

A good advertisement not only gets the point of the product across, but never sacrifices its creative intent in doing so. I'm particularly keen on using vibrant colors with a minimalistic approach. I find there to be too much clutter in advertisements today with the true message of the piece being obscured.

Ideas were first conceived by hand as thumbnails and expanded upon digitally. Adobe Photoshop used to tighten up hues and then applied to Adobe InDesign for layout and copy.
Campaign

Campaigns require a designer to not only understand their target audience, but craft an overarching theme throughout all of the work. For 'Snowshow '09,' the decision was made by a team to represent the mix of music and ski events in the eyes' of the participants (as displayed through snow goggles). This theme ran across all forms of media including print, ambient marketing, and brochures.

One of the biggest goals was to instill a sense of fun in the outdoors marketing, yet not become an eyesore across the resort. Applications such as ski lift posters and seat coverings helped remind visitors of the upcoming event as well mesh more naturally with the surrounding area.
Corporate Identity

One of my favorite pieces to design are logos for companies. A logo is the face of a business and must accurately reflect their personality and ideals, and all this is needed in a simple, yet elegant, design. Logos also give the designer a great deal of power in that they are creating the image for the company. I'm a huge fan of both illustrative and type-based logos.

However, identity is not just the logo, but the presentation of the business to others. With this in mind, unique applications of promotional pieces are a must. For a Chipotle: Mexican Grill presentation folder, the decision was made to wrap the tortilla-textured annual report in the sleeves of the display to simulate the company's signature wrapping of burritos in tinfoil.
Design Applications

There is more to advertising than just printed material and a strong point-of-purchase display can truly draw customers in. I really enjoy working with natural material, so wood great to use. There is a unique contrast between the stone and metal corridors of a store with the wooden, organic-feel of a display that I find incredibly appealing.

Likewise, books and brochures are extremely important elements for any designer's skill set. To be able to accurately follow through with a general theme across multiple pages is invaluable and shows a client you understand how to spread information out in a readable fashion. I take pride in this fact and have even taken the time to learn Quark for companies who prefer the program.
Digital Illustrations

Illustration is my creative endeavor that seems to warrant the majority of my freelance gigs. There is just something incredible in creating whole new characters and worlds for viewers to enter. Most of the artwork I do is crafted digitally with a hand-drawn sketch preceding it. I create all of my artwork in Photoshop with the use of my Wacom Intuos tablet.

Depending on requirements for the job, I go about rendering the pieces in different ways. From realistic shading to a stylized effect and even a retro-throwback, I enjoy working with a variety of techniques to suit my clients' needs.
Professor Beasly's Beastly Bestiary

I'm currently working on my first children's book, titled, Professor Beasly's Beastly Bestiary: An Alphabet of Monsters! It features a collection of ghouls and beasts from around the world accompanied by an alliteration and short description of each creature. Perfect for the parent who was into D&D as a youth, and now wants to share these interests with their own kids.
Vector & Web Design

Vector art has an exceptionally modern feel to it and integrates nicely into web design. I enjoy trying to find any way possible to incorporate some vector elements into a website layout. Likewise, web design is becoming an increasingly important part of my job. I find an admiration towards both the clean and elegant, along with the busy and engaging when approaching web design.