This digital journal has turned into an annual update as of late, but I really enjoy taking the time to process the previous year’s passing.

A continuation of 2020, much of 2021 was spent hunkered down and focusing inward. Compared to the helpless confusion felt the previous year, it felt good to have tools like vaccines and rapid tests to enable travel again by June; safely visiting places that mattered most to me. Spending time with close friends again was re-energizing, and felt much more meaningful after time apart.

I bought a house, spoke at SIGGRAPH, worked on a film premiere event for Billie Eilish, and launched the fully refreshed Brilliant! Jackpot in Las Vegas after a 19-month delay.

Here are a few highlights from 2021:

Vivid Coffee

Speaking of branding, my friends at Vivid Coffee expanded into their new brick-and-mortar this year near Church Street in Burlington, VT. I had the pleasure of designing the exterior signage, menu, and front window accents, along with packaging updates, including the launch of an instant coffee. We've got loads more planned for 2022.

Pre-Visualization - under NDA

A continuation of a secret ongoing client project, due to launch to the public sometime in the near future. I’ve been part of a team working on real-time graphics and a new playback platform for large-scale integration. The creation of a custom pre-visualization environment led to the production phase of this long-term project.

Vaccine Clinics

Seeing vaccines begin to roll out in early March inspired my partner, Jessica, and me to volunteer at some local vaccine clinics. Blessedly, this also got us vaccinated early. It felt great to give back to the local community and help protect Portland!

I bought a dang house!

Probably the most important project from this year; I bought a house! Jessica and I have been renovating a 1953 mid-century bungalow in SE Portland. Only one family has lived in the home since 1960, so there was a lot of deferred maintenance tackled in the first six months of ownership. Growing up, my parents built many homes from the ground up. I've always wanted to work on a home of my own with my Dad, so it's been a dream come true to have them visit to work on the house with us. Some impactful cosmetic upgrades are on the horizon, and we're paying homage to our favorite historical era this house came from through our restoration and decor.

Mabrie x Hueman Mural Update

I remotely collaborated with Hueman on a commission called GLOW for Dr. Mabrie's office in 2020. Since then, they've been excited to continue deploying new visual projections. I created five new looks, including an update for Día de Muertos and a holiday snow effect to keep things festive. Permanent augmented murals like this are exciting for me! Once there's infrastructure, the art can be updated or changed over time. It's been a treat to work with this client and keep the visuals up to date and fresh. More about the project here.

Presentation at Vancouver Archives - Shining a Light on Faded Ads

I had the pleasure of presenting Light Capsules for the Vancouver Archives alongside my ongoing collaborator, Matt Cohen, from Winnipeg. It’s been a treat to share the progress of this personal project! I have high hopes for new Light Capsules updates next year.

Maine for Sean's Wedding

First flight since March 2020! It was nice to spend time with my close childhood friends after not visiting my hometown for sixteen months. I was honored to be a groomsman at Sean and Cheryl's pandemic-delayed wedding celebration.

Emerge - Immersive Presentation Room

I made an immersive presentation room for Emerge through my artist representative, HELO. The goal was to increase the quality and bring some wow! to their investor presentations. I enjoyed the process of conceptualizing, building, and finalizing this 180-degree immersive space.

The Embrace with Hueman x 333Arts in Jack London Square, Oakland

The hits with Hueman keep coming! This time we collaborated on an AR mural in Jack London Square. Thanks to 333 Arts for the support and the Rotary Clubs of Oakland for making this possible. I created the AR component using Photoshop, Blender, and Spark AR. Hueman created this piece as a reminder that no one person is on an island - that every individual action impacts the community as a whole. That drove creative direction for the AR animation; figures moving towards each other in a welcoming way, allowing the viewer to feel represented in the silhouette's embrace.

Road Trip to LA + Vegas for Brilliant! Jackpot Install

We thought it would be fun to take a road trip to Vegas to install Brilliant! Jackpot. We drove from Portland to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Los Vegas, and back. We left LA quickly in May 2020 when we moved Jessica up to Portland, so it was a treat to spend the first week catching up with friends who didn't get a proper goodbye.

Next on our road trip agenda was safely bringing our team together (bravo, once again, to rapid tests!) for a smooth, successful installation. This new update adds multiple timelines, which allowed me to expand the soundtrack, take more creative risks, and explore different themes from lesser-known stories of Vegas’ history. This is the version of Brilliant! I dreamed of it at the start of Brilliant!'s conception, and I’m thrilled it’s finally live!

On our way back to Portland we picked up a large-format printer from the late Dr. Ken Jones' wife, Margie. I'm honored I can create art with this beautiful printer and that I'll carry on his legacy through my augmented restoration.

SIGGRAPH Presentation

For years I've wanted to present at SIGGRAPH, and I am honored I was able to speak there thanks to the folks at Intel. I discussed my use of technology in my art and dove into augmented restoration techniques.

Billie Eilish Premier

One of the most rewarding and exciting projects I worked on this year was the very fast-paced premier for Billie Eilish's concert experience, Happier than Ever, streaming on Disney+. I worked with Little Cinema as an Experiential Consultant and Director. I managed design production for neon elements, main stage motion graphics, LED video tunnel photobooth, and exit projections. Alongside the incredible group of producers, we created a magical, Disney-esque Hollywood drive-through experience. Watching Billie herself drive through our experience was one hell of a treat.

National Trust - CAHP Conference 2021

The Canadian National Trust invited me to present on a panel. It was an honor to discuss the importance of ghost signs, various restoration methods, and the augmented work I've explored for the past six years.

Concept Work with VTProDesign - NDA

I can't say much about this, but I was honored to work on experiential concepts and designs with VTProDesign. Check out some of their other projects if you want to see why I'm so stoked.

Brilliant! Jackpot Billboard Projection

In honor of the launch of Brilliant! Jackpot, I got back to my mobile projection roots and reimagined several vintage Las Vegas roadside billboard designs — bringing them to life in a new way on this perfect spot just outside of the city. Recognize any? Special thanks to the Moapa Band of Paiutes for permission and the use of their land, Kacee from Lamar Advertising for location scouting assistance, Technology West Group for the projector, and Jessica for still photography. Made using Adobe CC + MadMapper.

Higher Ground Lobby Projections

A full-circle project! I developed this projection for Higher Ground's lobby—a music venue in Burlington, Vermont—with Michael Jager and the team at Solidarity of Unbridled Labour. Our goal was to freshen up the experience and align the space with their new branding. I was able to carry out system mapping remotely with the help of the Higher Ground staff and integrated the design team's animated and motion visuals. It was rewarding on a couple of levels for me; first, I had the opportunity to work with Michael Jager again, as my design career began as an intern at JDK Design post-college. Second, Higher Ground was one of my favorite music venues when I lived in Burlington, so working with them on elevating the lobby experience was a nostalgic treat!

Sofia Farewell

It's been difficult to say goodbye to my cat, Sofia, who adopted me as a friendly neighborhood stray in Vermont. She was always more like a roommate and pal than a pet to me and everyone who ever lived with her. When I moved west in 2014, she moved in with my parents in Maine and quickly became a full-fledged family member. (Her younger self would be ashamed at how domesticated she became.) She was the absolute best cat and it has been really hard to say goodbye. She was a joy to be around and lived all nine of her lives many times over.

Since Brilliant’s launch almost four years ago, I added an easter egg during the post-credits of her shadow in the lower right corner of the marquee. It started as an homage to the boneyard cats, but I'm so glad she’ll live on immortalized as a part of my show. Love you, little lady.

Brilliant! Jackpot Launch

Proud to close out 2021 with the launch of the new version of Brilliant! Jackpot, which expands the original show and adds an element of chance. Tickets are on sale at neonmuseum.org/visit/brilliant

2022

A few conversations into January and I can already feel that this is going to be a monumental year.

Big life events are on the horizon! I’m excited to put my artistic skills to use for my sister’s wedding later this year. Light Capsules has long been a side-burnered project and I’m finally taking the time to give the effort it deserves. While continuing to renovate our home (atomic basement lounge! garage studio conversion!) I'm also setting aside the first weekend of every month to get out of town in some way.

Overall, I’m giving a stronger focus this year to selectively pursuing client projects. I truly love embracing the chaos of a quick turnaround; something about stressful deadlines and the right team of talented people can lead to the most satisfying results. However, as all independent creatives know, scopes can spiral out of hand and that’s when a fun fast project loses its luster and becomes chaos in it’s own right. Politely declining work is difficult for me, but making a conscious effort to say yes to projects that are a good fit is the key for a successful 2022.

My mantra for 2022 is Refocus, Balance, Thrive.

Embracing a harmonious balance of client work, art explorations, and personal life is something I will seek through setting boundaries, saying yes to the right projects with clearly defined goals, and actually blocking out time for art & life as I would for any work.

Stay healthy & be kind,
—Craig

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Looking for the rest of my blog? I'm starting to finally transition off of a tumblr-powered blog. In the meantime, view the old posts here: blog.craigwinslow.com