Budding entrepreneur Scott Sussman and Graphic Designer Ron Bercume are delighted to announce the BETA launch of ILiveWithADisability.com (ILWAD.com).

Together they have taken on the fundamental development of the first social networking platform for people with disabilities and their families in 2010. ILWAD.com offers a safe and friendly atmosphere, which provides for a dynamic online support community with the best that both Facebook and Twitter have to offer.

ILWAD.com is the first social networking platform of its kind, empowering the people with disabilities and their loved ones with the tools and resources they need to live a happy and fulfilling life. Unlike mainstream society, at ILWAD.com you are not defined by the limitations of your disability, rather you are defined by what you continue to overcome.

The first RonBercume.com Short Film

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZUmX_yGMDM)

Sussman was diagnosed with Spastic Diplegia, which is a subset of Cerebral Palsy that only affects his lower extremities. As the unveiling of ILWAD.com shows, Sussman does not let his disability hold him back. Growing up Sussman did the best he could to live a normal life, attending the prestigious Hun School of Princeton, where he played three sports: weightlifting, swimming, and rowing. Sussman continued on to the University of Miami where he studied Marketing and Sports Administration.

ILWAD.com offers all of the benefits of larger social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, but in a controlled, monitored, and honest setting. Sussman’s platform offers a place for people with disabilities and their loved ones to discuss sensitive issues that only other members with similar issues could relate with. The online community provides an avenue for self-expression, in which members can share success stories, brainstorm solutions to problems that they face, and share their battle for everlasting happiness.

Registration and membership is open to the general public; however, the community targets people with disabilities, their families, and supporters.

ILWAD.com is the culmination of Sussman’s willingness to fight and overcome the many obstacles society has thrown his way. ILWAD.com serves as a support group, social community, and exchange of free ideas. Sussman believes every American, despite their physical appearance or mental capacity, should have the respect and dignity they deserve.

Media interested in setting up an interview with Scott Sussman or Ron Bercume should contact the RonBercume.com studio at  (518) 524-8719 or ronbercume{at}ronbercume.com.

During an interview for Relix magazine, guitarist Al Schnier was asked to describe moe.

“For those who have never heard their music: “It’s an amalgamation of a wide variety of the history of rock, all regurgitated and recycled through the eyes, ears, hands, whatever of the guys in our band and all of that with a sense of adventure, a sense of humor, also a constant desire to push the envelope. All in this arena of taking chances, improvising live, and making things up on the spot.”

Their musical journey started during the 80′s in Buffalo, New York, and they have now accumulated a rather large following of fans (often referred to as “moe.rons”). The band has changed up band members throughout the years, but in 1999, moe. officially became Al Schnier, Chuck Garvey, Rob Derhak, Vinnie Amico, and Jim Loughlin. They have created about 14 studio albums, a few self releases. Al Schnier also formed a side project band called Al and the Transamericans, which happens to be another band Ron has created a poster design for.

On Tuesday, June 29th, moe. appeared live at The Waterhole in Saranac Lake, New York.

The poster design for the Waterhole show features a photograph of the band containing warm colors and an almost sepia tone. These browns and tans were repeated through the rest of the design in the form of illustrations and textures which give the poster an almost-grungy yet natural feeling. At the top of the poster is the largest element, the band name “moe.”, in stark white. This treatment drives home the fact that moe. as a band is popular enough to need no introduction… Merely seeing the name will pack any venue with legions of devote fans instantly.

With a name as unusual as “moe.” with it’s always lowercase first letter “m” and a period at the end, the band has had some fun creating festival names. The 1999 New Year’s festival was dubbed “moe.lennium”, the band hosts an annual festival at Snow Ridge Ski Area in Turin, NY called “moe.down”, and to kick off the Adirondack Almost Springfest celebration in Lake Placid, NY, the band hosted “snoe.down”.

Aside from playing music for sheer enjoyment, the band also takes part in a variety of fund-raising efforts, including performing shows for tsunami relief, autism, and world hunger. These shows, in conjunction with other participating artists, have raised thousands of dollars.

Ron announces obeyyourlogo.com.

Logo design exists at the intersection of pure creativity and hard-nosed business. Identity is used to communicate brand integrity and to unify a message, taking advantage of both print and web systems. Your logo and core stationery are the foundation of your print system, used to tie together identity and to create marketable collaterals for everyday use.

10 Years, Hundreds of Projects

Ronald pursues a specialized agenda within the creative services sector, collaborating with his clients to maintain aggressive branding efforts. With the resources to execute full-blown corporate campaigns to imaginative logo design, he is personally involved in all stages of the process. Ron has officially announced ObeyYourLogo.com to make our specialized services available to a wider audience for the first time.

Obey Your Designer?

ObeyYourLogo.com is the second “Obey” special project ( ObeyYourPoster.com being the first ) published in anticipation of Ron’s biography “Obey Your Designer“. The biography is due for publishing later this year, and will be available in bookstores, Amazon and RonBercume.com. You can reserve a publisher’s pre-release copy once available by visiting ObeyYourDesigner.com.

Even the best graphic designer can’t clean up an oil spill, or save a negligent corporation.

Almost 2 months since BP’s riser pipe decided to spew millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the busted pipe continues to gush like a stuck pig.

Scientists, government officials, and various other types of experts have yet to find a solution, just as BP has failed to find a band-aid big enough to cover up this environmental (and PR) disaster. How will they fix the pipe? Who’s going to clean up the oil? Is my seafood safe to eat? With exception to special interests and lobbying groups, has anyone asked the dolphins about their feelings on this catastrophe? And how exactly does this relate to graphic design?

As graphic designers, we sometimes have clients come to us with “oil spills” in hopes that we can wave our magic wand and make the problems go away with the clone tool (that’s a photoshop pun for those who are not designers). Well, no matter how much of a rock star graphic designer you think you are, there are some messes that you can’t clean up. There are also some messes you shouldn’t even think about touching, or just like the oil clinging to our feathered Gulf victims, you’ll have a greasy mess that follows you around and drags down your career with the potential to hurt millions or billions of people.

If you haven’t followed me through the multiple oil slick metaphors, I’m talking about ethics in design. The subject is a big deal in a consumer societies, rivaling that of war time propaganda and it’s cultural effects on the lives of ordinary people.

Sometimes, we starving graphic designers have to make a decision between a paycheck and keeping our morals intact.

No one wants to have the millions of deaths caused by cigarettes on their conscience, so why would you use your graphic design skills to create ads for a cigarette company? Sure, you’re not handing that 17 year old kid a lighter, but you would be creating the ad that may entice them to pick up their first pack (which leads 50 years of puffing on those addictive tobacco products, then one day there is nasty cough followed by bad news and a hospital bed. Feeling guilty yet?). I’m sure you can think of at least a dozen industries within 60 seconds that have a major global impact on people, in a not-so-good fashion.

BP currently has its site redirecting at the time of this commentary to a “Gulf of Mexico Response” page that shows updates on how they are dealing with the already out-of-control situation. There are even detailed illustrations of their various efforts to plug the hole that have magically changed week to week, deadline to deadline ( I am assuming modified by a very frustrated graphic designer ).

But you know what?

When this is finally over, and the leak has stopped, and the sea animals are no longer being poisoned after 200 years… people are not going to say, “Remember when BP put up that nice website page that showed us how they were fixing the worst oil leak ever? That was wonderful!” Oh no, it’s much too late for that. If BP even survives the mess they’ve made, people will forever remember them as the jerks who put a smile on while protecting their own special interests ( to put that nicely ) with the monstrous oil leak that hurt the cute dolphins and messed up their precious beaches. You can’t fix that. So if you’re a graphic designer, consider carefully the next client you take on and the consequences of the part you play. Graphic design in modern culture is the front-line catalyst providing for access to the visual and emotional human experience.

Chose your clients carefully. Are they BP, Hugh Hefner or even the Marlborough Man? Don’t be a dolphin killer….

Are they someone you can truly create a message for that inspires positive change in the world, or are they asking you to clean up their oil spill? Self sacrifice does pay off when you can sleep at night and live your life with compassion and thoughtfulness!

Entertain this: The problem is not that the government did not have enough regulation in place. Any government east or west cannot do everything and should not be expected to in my opinion – specifically a government run by the people, as flawed as we all are. The problem is not that good people do not exist within the BP corporation that did not fight for what is right ( maybe just not enough of them ).

Perhaps the problem is that there are too many people within a global bureaucracy basing decisions on what may NOT be ethical or righteous, but because of the status quo and their own “bubble” of special interest. The consequences have been for decades denied, but can no longer be obviously ignored!

Long story short, we are now 40+ days out on any significant resolution. BP is not a new company, trillions have invested into drilling and discovery technology for decades industry wide. Compare the R&D funding for safety and response vs. discovery and production – it does not appear very ethical.

This commentary is dedicated to the lives lost in the explosion, their family and friends ( we have chosen to NOT talk about them within this conversation out of respect until now ). This commentary is dedicated to the lives that will be lost in the coming years due to this catastrophic event, both physically, indirectly and economically.

Grammy-winner Taj Mahal is touring the Hawaiian Islands again in 2010.

Ron has been given the opportunity to head up the print promotional effort. This is the second time Ron has had the opportunity to design posters for Taj Mahal’s Hawaiian Tour shows, the first time being the 2008 Hawaiian Tour.

This particular piece makes its biggest change in the color palette. Instead of the warm gold and red from the 2008 poster, the 2010 design features varying shades of a bright blue. Gone are the angled photos, as the new layout features the band and musicians up front and straight. This new design gives a sense of being bright, straightforward, and cool; which works to significantly contrast it with the old design without too many major changes.

Ron announces obeyyourposter.com.

A site dedicated to showcasing the poster graphic design of Ronald Bercume, as well as offering his services. Ron is a closet-case musician himself, as well as a graphic designer, and has created posters for notable clients within the music industry such as Taj Mahal, Johnny Winter, Leon Russell, Derek Trucks, Gregg Allman and many others.

Ron produced event posters, newspaper ads and radio commercials for the Greg Allman & Friends Hawaii tour, which took place across the Hawaiian Islands in 2007.

Gregg Allman formed the Allman Brothers in Florida in 1969 with his brother, Duane (now ranked the No. 2 greatest rock guitarist by Rolling Stone) and another now-legendary guitarist, Dicky Betts (now ranked No. 61 by Rolling Stone). On their way to creating Southern rock and releasing 16 gold or platinum records, the Allmans also reinvented what twin guitarists could do in a rock band, ignoring the well-worn lead/rhythm template. Gregg Allman was the voice behind these epic jams.

Gregg Allman was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 2006.

He is widely considered one of rock’s great vocalists (not least by the Rolling Stone, which ranks him the No. 70 greatest singer of all time).

Ron listened to more than his fair share of classic rock during his tie-died summer of love in Lake Placid (when he was in high school, in other words), and his habits included liberal doses of the Allmans. He saw the band live when he was in college and was thrilled when he was asked to do promotional artwork for the rock and blues band Gregg Allman and Friends.

Ron’s direct, clear design features Allman relaxed and laid-back against a brick wall. The poster coveys the legendary singer’s down-to-earth and peaceful, yet rugged, persona.

“This is some of my prized work, and that goes for a lot the design work I have provided for artists within the music industry,” said Bercume.

“That project in particular is pretty close to me. I’m proud of it. That’s why I was interested in graphic design in the first place: my love for music.”

Ron and his team are thrilled to announce that Bloodhound Identification has been released to the public.

We strongly believe that the ideas behind Bloodhound ID are both unusually farsighted and fundamentally strong. This is a concept that can’t miss.

Bloodhound will provide businesses with an in-depth array of relevant information about their current, former and future customers. This concept could revolutionize the way you track your customers. Now you may think of many of your customers as nearly random, nameless, or faceless figures. Bloodhound ID will show you all about them.

Bloodhound ID analyzes proprietary data to accurately identify up to 60 percent of your unknown customers, then provides direct marketing and e-mail list management services to take action based on this information.

Bloodhound ID works with your existing payment processor and checkout technology. You do not need to change the way you conduct business: Bloodhound ID integrates with most systems without extensive modification. Depending on the business model and individual customer, Bloodhound ID will analyze proprietary data elements, radius logic, and double-verified demographic correlations to provide you with identifying information about up to 60 percent of your unknown customers.

Promoting Confidence.

Charlotte Aquatics specializes in providing swim lessons for children to promote confidence in and respect for the water.

The redesigned website is used to present the latest news and helpful information for new swimmers, as well as introduce visitors to the staff and other resources. The design of the Charlotte Aquatics website is fresh and clean in design with its turquoise and blue color palette taken from the logo, also designed by Ron.

The navigation is clearly laid out, as is the rest of the information on the site, making for a very user-friendly experience. The pale blue background image is easy on the eyes, as is the sans serif type treatment used for the body text, further promoting a feeling of freshness and comfort within the design.

Friendly and Open.

Charlotte Occupational Therapy is an independent school-based service for children, families, and faculty, which the new website design clearly reflects.

Located in Charlotte, NC, the service is also known as T.O.T.S., or Tringali Occupational Therapy Services. The website allows visitors to learn about the company, their services, and the available resources, as well as providing an easy to use contact form.

The site design is warm and inviting with brown and tan hues, and the photographic slideshow of happy children is friendly and eye-catching. The information is organized and clearly presented in the navigation, and the text is clean and readable with the use of a sans serif typeface. Overall, the design of the website is friendly and open, promoting trust and happiness.

Historically, New Hampshire was the first to declare its independence and adopt its constitution, and then was the ninth and deciding state in accepting the National Constitution as that of a republic. The first American public library was established within the state, and America’s first cog-railroad was made there as well.

Such a rich history certainly played a large role in inspiring the design of the brochure, which features a lot of historical imagery such as stamps, covered bridges, and lighthouses.

The layout also features a range of photography depicting various areas of New Hampshire, showing off the state’s natural beauty. Ron stays true to his style of using clean typography with a friendly script for most of the headlines and a modern typeface for the body copy.

Throughout the brochure, information is offered about the state. Reasons to visit, state benefits, family attractions, and career opportunities are all laid out to share the most important information about New Hampshire. The copy speaks of opportunities, history, and the future for anyone living in or planning to visit the state.

The blue and green color palette of the brochure are taken from the Work New Hampshire state logo, also designed by Ron.

A silhouette of the state containing a cityscape, rolling hills and mountains, and images of several people communicates how much New Hampshire has to offer in a simplified but clear manner. Together, the logo and the brochure represent the state as a place that is fresh and interesting to visit or to become one’s home.

A Homegrown Music Venue.

The Waterhole is a popular venue for the music lovers living in and around Saranac Lake, NY and beyond for decades.

Many bands, large and small, have played there, and they often hold various types of themed parties and celebrations. One such musical event is the “Party on the Patio,” which features a series of bands playing from August 2nd to September 20th of 2008.

Music is the main focus of this poster, as two large speakers make up the majority of the imagery, and an image of the Waterhole building is visible as well. The main color used in the poster is a solid black, which gives the design a large amount of contrast. However, the bird perching on the title text is a dark gray, and is the only element of the poster to be this color. To add visual interest, texture was added to the black sections of the poster by creating a grungy, worn look.

Nature, unity, and wholeness.

In Greek, “Aria” means self; solo; a Greek Goddess. This definition is reflected in Aria Day Spa as a business as well as their logo, as they focus on body, mind, and self relaxation.

The colors used within the logo design include a deep, earthy yellow and its various lighter shades. Within the design is an illustration of a tree which gives a strong visual of the “natural” concept of the art. Having the logo contained within a circle again reinforces the “natural” concept because a circle symbolizes nature, unity, and wholeness.

Taj Mahal is one of several genre-defining rock and blues artists who Ron has helped to promote.

In 2008 the promotional management of Taj Mahal and His Hula Blues Band enlisted the creative services of Ron Bercume to design event posters for their Hawaii 4 Island concert series. Taj Mahal delivered a tour of the Hawaiian Islands as part of a series of shows for which major artists were brought to the islands including Gregg Allman and Friends, Leon Russell, Derek Trucks, Hot Tuna, Johnny Winter and others. Ron was responsible for the print design promotional material for the entire series.

Ron created several designs for the Taj Mahal promotional poster to explore the multifaceted artist. The first poster Ron made shows Mahal in a suit, clean-shaven and holding an electric guitar. Here, Taj is the picture of a urban bluesman. This piece emphasizes Mahal’s role as an American blues titan.

Since his musical debut in 1968, Taj has redefined blues music while producing over 40 albums.

Taj Mahal is a major figure in 20th century music, and Ron continues to be amazed that he had the chance to work for him. Taj Mahal is an internationally acclaimed artist with two Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Blues Album for Shoutin’ in Key (2000) and Senor Blues (1997). In 2006 Taj Mahal won Historical Album of the Year for The Essential Taj Mahal at the Blues Music Awards. Taj’s most recent album, Maestro, was nominated the Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2008 and 2009. The General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts celebrated Taj Mahal’s accomplishments by creating legislature celebrating his music. “An Act Designating Taj Mahal As The Official Blues Artist Of The Commonwealth” was signed into law on February 8, 2006.

Ron’s second Taj Mahal poster shows the singer in a relaxed, sunny setting, holding an acoustic guitar and sporting a large beard and a straw hat, an island feel and for which is representational of the Hula Blues Band. Typographical elements, secondary graphic elements and the color scheme of his second poster shifts it’s emphasis from “blues legend” to “hula blues.”

“It was very humbling working with an artist who has nine Grammy nominations and two awards.”

Ron announces gotheck.com.

A limited selection of his fine-art photography available for immediate download. Both standard user licensing and extended licensing are available for Ron’s royalty-free microstock photography.

The site is published and functional, and will be an ongoing project. We are just starting Gotheck, and expect our selection of stock photography to continue growing in 2010 and beyond.

One of Ron’s many long-term clients is the Waterhole, a live music venue in Saranac Lake, New York.

In addition to the Waterhole, Ron has done design work for dozens of other satisfied clients in the Lake Placid area. Ron was friends with many of his clients before they hired him, and he has made a practice of building lasting relationships with clients who were once complete strangers to him.

As a kid, Ron saw some great shows at the Waterhole (including the Jim/Mojo Nixon gig), and after college the venue became one of his strongest clients, contracting with Ron to design event posters to promote dozens of shows. Ron designed one such piece to promote a funky reggae party featuring the Vermont-based band Twiddle.

“There’s something to be said for happy accidents and instinct, especially after you’ve done a few hundred posters.”

“There’s an expression of movement and depth as a composition. It’s a complicated piece. Twiddle’s music is fast, bold, funky and exciting, so the poster represents that. Also, some of the architecture in it resembles Saranac Lake. It’s a somewhat intuitive process.”

Ron’s Twiddle poster shows his ability to create a layered piece which rewards contemplation, but also clearly conveys essential information: Progressive/Funk/Reggae hits Saranac Lake on Dec. 6 – get ready to dance.

Ron attended high school with future Olympians such as Lowell Bailey, Shani Davis and Apolo Ohno.

Growing up in Lake Placid in the ’90s, the Miracle on Ice and the 1980 Olympics still loomed large. Ron took his formative art classes just a hundred yards or so from the Olympic arena; the high school where he found the nurturing teachers (shout-outs to Ms. Rickard, Mr. Dodd, et al.) who gave him the self-confidence and basic skills he needed to succeed was a beautiful building bordered by the sprawling Olympic arena complex and the Olympic speedskating oval.

In 2008 the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority sought the creative services of Ron Bercume

Ron returned to Lake Placid after college, where he ran a small company, SeeMore Media, while also running the business office of a radio station. Ron’s contacts throughout the Lake Placid community were essential to the continuing success of SeeMore Media. Ron was brought into this particular project by Rick Cassidy – a prominent member of the community who knew Ron from the radio station – when the Olympic Regional Development Authority was looking for an agency to handle the web site design and print marketing materials for the Live Your Own Miracle 1980 Hockey Team Fantasy Camp.

“As visual communicators, we communicate a message through two fundamental variables, image and type, so type has a visual vocabulary, even if it’s subliminal,”

Ron said, explaining that he used a typeface for the poster of a sort which is often used in athletics. “It’s a slab-serif typeface – people have been using ones like it for sports for probably 60 years.” A patriotic color palette of red, white, and blue is used throughout the text, with red calling attention to the most important information. Imagery includes a full color photo of a hockey team, as well as a gold medal to reinforce the historical aspect of the event.

Ron has a lot of pride in this project, but still can’t skate.

The Superharp Legend

Superharp legend and Grammy Award winner James Cotton toured on the Hawaii Rhythm and Blues Mele in 2008.

The poster also mentions James Cotton’s connection to Sonny Boy Williamson and Muddy Waters, making the chance to work on this design exciting for any music lover.

The poster directs the eye to the title “James Cotton” in an uppercase bold serif font, and the secondary focus goes to the two photographs in the center of the poster. The color palette sticks to brown and black, with just lighter variations used in the background. Plenty of white is left to give the poster a brighter feeling and contrast nicely with the dark black and brown text.

In addition to moe., Al & the Transamericans features members of Strangefolk, Okemah and the Gordone Stone Trio.

The poster Ron designed for Al & the Transamericans is a milestone in his career and one of the most important pieces in his poster design portfolio. His close friendships with the people in and around the Adirondacks’ greatest band, Jim, were a large part of what initially got Ron started as an artist focused on the music industry. Ron’s friendship with Jim himself, the visual artist Jim Gunardson, has always been a particular source of inspiration to Ron.

Around the same time he was catching dozens of Jim shows, Ron also saw the great American jam band moe. a handful of times. To be asked to work with moe.’s singer, Al Schnier, to design promotional material for his gig in Saranac Lake was an early highlight of Ron’s career. “The people in those bands are also from small towns in upstate New York, too,” Bercume said. “That’s why they would go out of their way to set up a gig in a little town like Saranac Lake.”

Before Cowboys features Al and Diane Schnier and Vinne Amico of moe, plus a few other collaborators – all of whom are connected to upstate New York.

Bercume found Schnier pleasant to work with, but the singer did have his requests. “He wanted me to really highlight the fact that his wife’s band was also on the bill. He wanted equal billing for both the Transamericans and Before Cowboys.” Consequently, Ron’s design places a great deal of emphasis on the artists’ famous projects.

The Transamericans and Before Cowboys are not well known bands, but moe. and Strangefolk are known to millions.

In addition to his poster design work for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Robert Louis Stevenson Society, the International Colored Gemstone Association (who used his work in a number of different countries), and a variety of other clients, Ron has carved out a considerable niche within the music industry. Ron has worked on promotional campaigns for many types of musicians, and has done a considerable amount of print design work for rock and blues icons such as Gregg Allmann, Derek Trucks, Taj Mahal, Leon Russell, and Johnny Winter. He has also designed posters to promote indie and metal bands and, of course Jim.

The event management behind the Grammy Award winning Derek Trucks Band sought the creative expertise of Ronald Bercume for the band’s 2007 4 Island Hawaii Tour.

Another artist on the 2007 Hawaii Tour series, the Derek Trucks Band is an award winning blues-rock band with a unique style and various influences. The poster design focuses primarily on the full color photo of the band used for brand consistency and the band name in a large serif typeface. To complement the serif type treatment, a bold sans serif typeface is used to draw attention. With the photo being colorful and interesting, a deep blue-green and a golden orange were used for contrast and attention-getting delivery of important information.

Organic palm tree texture is placed in the background for depth, while the texture is light enough that there is still a comfortable amount of white space and legibility.

Derek Trucks has been hailed as one of the greatest slide guitarists since Duane Allman and was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Trucks first attracted the attention of the music industry as a nine-year old child prodigy on the guitar, and by age 12, he’d worked with some of the biggest names in the music scene. He was sitting in with Buddy Guy and an increasing list of other famous musicians, and was also touring with the Allman Brothers Band for a decade before finally becoming an official band member in 1999.

Imagery from the Mountains.

Jones Outfitters, LTD is a business located in Ron’s hometown of Lake Placid, NY.

The printed materials produced include a full-color three fold brochure with imagery from the surrounding Adirondack Mountains and a color palette pulled from the blue and green hues of the photography and logo.

Rock and Roll’s Living Legend.

Russell has played with artists as varied as Jerry Lee Lewis, Joe Cocker, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Elton John, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, The Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, The Rolling Stones and many more.

Singer-songwriter Leon Russell was another musician to tour in Hawaii and have his promotional print media designed by Ron. This particular poster showcases Leon Russell as Rock and Roll’s Living Legend while on the Hawaii tour of 2007. Using a color photo of Leon Russell as the main focus, the next element in the poster’s visual hierarchy would be the musician’s name at the top in a bold serif font and all caps. The serif font appears a few more times, but most of the poster’s text is in a clean sans serif font. An orange-brown color serves as a background and helps the poster pop by contrasting with the mostly black background of the photo.

Todd Bissonette is a full-time photojournalist and stringer for the Associated Press.

He has captured images from high-profile sporting events such as the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and has captured many beautiful shots in and around his hometown of Lake Placid, NY. He is also a wedding and portrait photographer for which Ron designed a set of printed collateral.

The brochure and other printed materials for RTB Photography focus strongly on the photographic work of the client.

To let the photography take main stage, the typography is simple and the color palette sticks to a solid black background and white text. These pieces allow the photography to sell itself by allowing it to be the main feature of every design. “It’s easy to provide for effective graphic design when your client’s work is so jaw-dropping that it sells itself,” says Ron of Todd’s work.

The logo that appears on the printed pieces was also designed by Ron.

The majority of the focus within the logo is on the bold, handwritten signature, and the clean typeface appearing beneath it acts as a compliment and simple description. This one color logo is easily placed on nearly any background color as the design is solid in color. The logo doubles as a signature from the artist and is a clean, unobtrusive addition to his photography when used as a form of identification on any piece.

A very feminine feel.

Located in San Rafael, California, Leslie Marie Interiors provides a range of services for their clientelle.

The logo created for the business showcases a feminine and upper-class focus through the use of an elegant script typeface combined with a grand-looking serif, and organic design elements such as the swoosh on the left. A deep turquoise and rich purple complete the design and reinforce the elegance and femininity. The imagery used in the logo gives an interesting organic visual with respect to the client’s french heritage.

The Leslie Marie Interiors stationery set includes a two-sided business card and a letterhead. The design uses a two color system, the deep turquoise and rich purple from the logo on a white background with illustrative artwork screened in the background.

Conveying Community, Professionalism and Trust.

The Connie UY logo design was created for a real estate agent located in Seattle, Washington.

The blue-hued logo utilizes identifiable imagery from Seattle, such as the cityscape and Space Needle, as well as various silhouetted people – your friends, family and neighbors. The script and serif typefaces combine to convey professionalism and trust, overlapping typographic characters are reminiscent of the client’s trademark signature.

Another poster design provided for a Grammy Award winner and nominee, the simple black and white Johnny Winter poster was created for the Winter Harvest Concert Series held in Saranac Lake, NY. The show received positive feedback from all attendees and the Texas blues legend made a lasting impression on the community.

Winters performed at the Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake and did not leave fans disappointed.

“This poster is not exactly well designed, it was one of my earliest posters out of college, the process was very content and client driven, but it is Johnny – I have to share it,” said Bercume.

The design focuses on the Texas blues legend with a large black and white photograph of him playing the guitar, provided by and requested to be used for the design by the event management. The color palette sticks to the black and white theme from the photography, with all text and elements in black. Both a serif and sans serif typeface are used, with the serif type treatment used for the larger and more important information and the sans serif type coming in as a clean complement with the secondary information.

Winters produced two Grammy Award winning albums by Muddy Waters, “Hard Again” and “I’m Ready.” Additionally, two of Winters own albums received Grammy nominations. Awards aside, Winters played a nine song set with Edgar Winter at the Woodstock Music Festival. In 1988 he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and was published on the cover of the first issue of Guitar World in 1980. Additionally, the Smashing Pumpkins paid tribute to Winters in their hit “Zero.”

Boldness and Trust.

LindeMac Real Estate is located in New Hampshire, and the logo reflects the wooded area the business resides in with its main visual of a tree.

The tree is a mostly solid silhouette that includes some falling leaves to add visual interest. The typography is in all uppercase and exudes a sense of boldness and trust, which are good characteristics for a real estate business. A light green and dark green are the only colors used in the design, which again reflects the wooded New Hampshire location.

A letterhead and two-sided business card make up the simple but strong Lindemac Real Estate stationery set design. The green used in the logo is the only color used throughout the rest of the stationery, and the only visual is the tree in the logo. Utilizing white space to its maximum potential, no other elements are used on the pieces besides the logo and contact information.

Celebrating Sportsmanship.

The Sportsmen’s Celebration is a promotional tribute to National Hunting and Fishing Day held by the Sportsmen’s Foundation. The logo is clearly related to the Sportsmen’s Foundation logo with the use of a bold serif typography treatment.

To communicate the “celebration” aspect of the design, the word “CELEBRATION” within the logo is placed on a textured background that conveys a sense of activity and movement. Imagery includes illustrations of wildlife, flora and fauna included, which further communicates the celebratory nature of the logo by showing what appears to almost be a gathering of animals. Finally, the color palette of natural greens drives home the fact that the Sportsmen’s Foundation (and Celebration) is based around nature.

Included in the printed materials for the Sportsmen’s Celebration are a flyer and stationery. All pieces use the same light and dark greens and typographic treatment from the logo. Imagery includes color photography as well as the illustration art from the logo, all referencing some aspect of the Adirondack Mountains and sportsmen’s activities.

Organic and Flowing.

The Equinology business offers classes for Equine Body Worker certification, which is essentially massage therapy for horses to improve their stamina and disposition, as well as provide comfort to muscle injuries.

The logo reflects these ideas through the use of an organic typeface and flowing illustration. The typeface used is unique, bold, and flows into the illustration of the horse. This horse illustration communicates a sense of movement and flow, which is a key part of Equinology. Color usage includes various shades of medium gray and dark slate gray to accent the design.

Representing research
and diagnostics.

Caninology offers veterinarians and specialists who teach various dog courses certification in canine massage therapy.

With this in mind, the logo imagery was designed to represent the research and diagnostic end of identifying a canine’s underlying physical issues. Typography includes a single serif typeface that is bold and classic in appearance, and it gives the design a feeling of strength and trust.

Too much time spent behind Ron’s drawing table.

The Adirondack Photographers logo was created several years ago for an ongoing project devoted to the photography and photographers of the Adirondack Mountains. The green color palette speaks to a more non-traditional usage of greens that is often used when representing the Adirondack Mountains.

The imagery is humorous with the use of the ape-to-photographer evolution illustration, and was a unique concept and thought process derived from too much time spent behind Ron’s drawing table. Typographic treatment combines a Romanesque and modern sans serif combination for a professional but not too corporate of a feel.

Ron attended high school in Lake Placid and discovered his love for fine art there.

After college, Ron returned to the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York and the community there continued to inspire his artistic ambitions. Shortly after moving back to town, Ron create a poster for the 2006 Lake Placid Film Festival, which had publicly released a call for submissions. This is one of Ron’s early posters, and he took a minimalist, direct approach with the work.

Acclaimed author Russell Banks co-founded the fest and the writer, a major cultural figure, has succeeded in bringing major players in the film industry to the Adirondacks for the festival. The fest has focused on the history, evolution, and future of film; actors and directors such as Robert Downey have attended the event. Like the town, the Lake Placid Film Festival fosters a sense of community. Participants are able to discuss their careers, aspirations, and problems with experienced members of the industry.

The festival is meant to inspire the local community and attendees to pursue their independent films while discovering new, rare, and classic films.

Ron believes that events like the Lake Placid Film Festival are a major part of why life in Lake Placid is so appealing. He hopes to contribute to an art scholarship for students from Lake Placid by the end of 2011.

Featuring the Beautiful Adirondack Mountains.

A range of printed materials was produced for Adirondack Multimedia, which is an advertising design and photography business located within the mountainous region – a special project and collaboration between Todd Bissonette of RTB Photography and Ron’s parent agency SeeMore Media.

Included are a full color three-fold brochure that uses Todd’s photography of the beautiful Adirondack regions, media kit folder design, a range of postcard products that all share a unified corporate identity through the use of branded typography, logo design and stunning photography. All pieces are connected through the blue hues seen throughout the photographic images, as well as matching typography.

Beautiful imagery of the Adirondack Mountains

High Peaks Embroidery is a screen-printing and embroidery business located in the Adirondacks of New York. Ron composed the detailed logo to include an illustration of the beautiful Adirondack Mountains with a palette of various greens and a strong serif type treatment. The logo was used in a variety of printed pieces, including the business’s stationery.

Simple but strong.

Amanda’s Village Motel is located in the Adirondack Mountains, specifically in Ron’s hometown of Saranac Lake, NY.

The logo designed for Amanda’s Village Motel is a simple but strong logotype. Just one font is used within the design, an elegant serif with soft curves. Most of the emphasis within the text is placed on the words “Amanda’s” and “Motel” being that they are the largest pieces of the logo. The word “Village” is smaller, has wide spacing between the letters, and allows the rest of the logo to stand out in contrast. This is a one color design using just a deep green, although the logo’s treatment on the company brochure features it in white with a green outline.

Pulling from the surrounding Adirondack Mountains imagery, the stationery set for Amanda’s Village Motel includes a palette of greens and an illustration of the motel. The brochure includes photographs of the area surrounding Amanda’s Village Motel, as well as the green coloring seen in the stationery. The serif type treatment is used throughout all pieces and conveys a sense of grandness, fitting for anything located in the Adirondacks.

Simply Corporate.

Travel Vortal is a logo design created for the Travel Vortal travel directory search engine website.

The design includes two colors, blue and golden yellow, and it has a corporate sense to it with the sans serif type treatment and simplified travel imagery of a ship, plane, and bus.

Grungy and Urban Appeal.

The black and white printed flyer for True Vision Concepts communicates the urban feel of the apparel store, located in Saranac Lake, NY.

Typography includes a bold san serif typeface with alternating upper and lower case letter forms, and the background imagery is stylized and grungy for an urban appeal. With a one color palette of black, the need to stand out relies on the bold typography and a strong contrast with the mostly white background.

This menacing image may have fascist overtones, but it also functions as a Rorshach test.

Ron often works with his close friends, and an old Adirondack neighbor of his played in the metal band Ten Ton Hammer. “They were awesome,” recalls Bercume. “It was on the level of Tool or Slipknot. It wasn’t like a typical bar band that you may have expected in a small town.”

According to TTH, there is only one relevant genre: pure metal. The band is incluenced by acts like Machine Head, Killswitch Engage, Sevendust, Fear Factory, Slipknot, Soilwork, Ill Nino, Lamb of God, and All That Remains.

This logo is audience-centric and subjective – viewers’ responses to it vary depending on their perspectives and on how close they look.

Ron is particularly proud of the way it plays on typographic elements which come together for what could be interpreted as a acronym, among other things.

Bercume was inspired to design print material and a logo for Ten Ton. The design utilizes a organic approach that is rustic and old-school. The typeface and colors of the design resemble the motifs which define heavy metal. His design has a textured, organic, and hand-drawn feel.

“Tell me that doesn’t look like a hardcore band logo,” remarks Bercume. “It’s scary.” Bercume believes that this subtle, vaguely-menacing image may have fascist overtones, but it also functions as a Rorshach test.

Combining classic and modern styles.

The Gift Basket Fairy is a business located in Austin, Texas that specializes in gift baskets of all kinds. The logo design is a clear source of inspiration for the accompanying stationery set as many elements are used throughout both.

The main focus of the logo is the reverse silhouette image of a fairy enclosed in a round-corner box. The fairy is white while her surroundings are the deep blue used within the rest of the logo. Typography consists of a combination of a classic serif and a clean sans serif for a modern but non-corporate appearance. The lower case “i” within “Gift” is modified so that it uses some of the artwork from the fairy image for added visual interest.

As a one color printed stationery set, the Gift Basket Fairy logo, business card, and letterhead are visually interesting with their use of a detailed illustration and clean typography. The deep blue used throughout the pieces offers contrast with the white background, and the fairy illustration is a strong visual wrapped up in a simple form.

Elegance in Motion.

The logo design for Renoe-Tahoe Equestrian Center is one color with an organic script combined with a classic serif typeface, and a simplified illustration of a moving horse.

The elegant design relates directly to the riding center which is a full-service riding academy and nationally renowned Arabian horse training facility.

To convey the high-end nature of the distributor.

The Summer Grove logo was created by Ron Bercume for a fine foods distributor based in the U.K. that serves northern Europe.

The logo uses a combination of a serifed typeface with a script treatment, iconic illustration to represent the nature of the product, and a soft red and blue color palette.

Clearly Communicating a Natural Concept.

The Natural Vantage logo is part of an entire corporate identity project taken on by Ron. The logo design clearly communicates the “natural” concept through color, imagery, and typography (not to mention the title of the business).

The single color used is a deep green of the type that could be easily found in nature. Imagery includes a bamboo illustration enclosed in a box, and the illustration is repeated on many of the printed pieces designed for the company. With the use of a handwritten script font combined with a clean sans serif, the “natural” concept is driven home with the chosen typography.

Many printed materials were produced for Natural Vantage, including a letterhead, business card, and envelope. The use of the green color palette, the bamboo imagery, and the organic type treatment all clearly communicate the “natural” theme of these pieces. The screened bamboo imagery in the background adds visual interest, and most of the visual focus is on the bamboo illustration taken from the logo.

A feeling of elegance, sophistication and comfort.

Ron designed the Cannon Ridge Therapeutic Riding Center logo with a script typeface and sans serif tag line treatment for a feeling of elegance, sophistication and comfort.

The imagery includes a horse that appears painted for a country feel which is fitting as the center is located in Chesapeak, Virginia.