At the end of January 2012, Chalk was approached by Chick-fil-A with an
interesting task – transform the mundane ceiling of a 300’ x 98’ dining
tent into a truly remarkable setting using 80,000 recycled Chick-fil-A
Styrofoam cups.

At Chalk, we like to take on projects that we consider to be one of a kind,
and this was definitely our biggest challenge to date. By using environmentally
friendly LED lights and hot glue we were able to create an assortment of chandelier
like pieces that hung together in a fun and organic way. In addition to the ceiling
installation we also constructed a number of glowing towers to fill out the sides
of the room.

We loved being able to create a beautiful and recycled use for so many cups that
would otherwise be thrown away.

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A really fun project came across our plate to create a sculpture for the LA Marathon
made completely out of running shoes from the brand KSWISS. Like most things we do
here at CHALK, this was a first for us, and we had to figure it out as we went. It
was fun to cut apart the shoes and using shoelaces we were able to render the details
of the design- a runner crossing the finish line.

Chalk + K-Swiss LA Marathon from Chalk LA on Vimeo.

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As a young graffiti artist, i was truly fascinated by the spray paint can. I wanted to know everything
I could about how it worked, how I could use it, and spent a lot of my free time at night doing research
on the buildings of my town. In college, during my experimental painting class, I was challenged to
reinvent the canvas. I immediately got the idea to cut open the scrap spray paint cans i had lying around
and construct a metal quilt to paint on. A few cuts and splattered paint later I opened up my first spray
paint can. The first glimpse of the inside of a spray paint can was breathtaking. The color and texture
swirled on the thin metal square needed no artistic addition of mine, it was perfect as is. So i riveted
them together in no particular order and the first canscape was born. It would be years until I made
another one despite compliments of friends, I had not realized the full potential of my artistic experiment
until years later.

In 2010 I left advertising full time to pursue my artistic career. I had always thought about my spray paint
experiment and through the years i had occasionally cut my scrap paint cans and saved the panels. At this
point I wanted to go full steam ahead in pursuing the idea but needed supplies. That’s when I started
collecting cans from other artists and places where graffiti lived. Working with the I.C.U. walls in
Venice Beach, I started collecting the cans they were throwing away. At this point it became an obsession
and I just wanted to get more and more cans. I poured myself into creating a process that could turn dead
spray cans into usable art materials. Now that I had more materials to work with, I started experimenting
more, creating all that I could with these parts. I went bigger, trying to match color and create spectrums,
accidentally discovered that when I twisted the can on the saw the top looked like a flower. So I started
making bouquets and other organically inspired works. The evolution of the work was rapidly occurring,
and I had no idea what to call it. After working in advertising so long, I know that powerful ideas need
powerful names, and after lots of thought, cut fingers and knuckles, CANLOVE was the only way I could
describe what I was doing. It stemmed from my long-time obsession with a can of spray paint and new
obsession what treasure lay inside.

After doing some traveling, I noticed that every place I painted, there were numerous spray paint cans
littering the ground. Over the years I had always seen that, but now I saw it in a different light, I saw
potential. Since I started CANLOVE as a non-profit art program in 2010, I wanted to share with others
the magic I found with spray paint, and to inspire their own creativity to maybe look at something in a
different way or see potential is something nobody else does.

For the last 2 years the response has been overwhelmingly positive. With the help of my good friend
Paul Ramirez, we continue to refine our process, and experiment with new ideas, and consistently
pushing our limits of what is possible. All we know is that the more cans we get, the more good
things we can do. So please check out the website, and think about CANLOVE the next time you
need a cool gift for that special person in your life.

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NEFF: Briefly describe what you do please.

DOME: I’m a graphic designer / website developer. I design everything from business cards & letterhead, to brand logos to corporate websites. I design brand elements a lot and layout websites,  usually I chop and code too, but not always.


NEFF: What would you say your biggest influence has been in your work?

DOME: For my design work I have been really inspired by countless thousands of regular people all over the world, browsing the internet I am blown away by designs I see online on a daily basis. Some specific influences though would include web designers Fabio Sasso, Nick La and Soh Tanaka, and artists Shepard Fairey, Sam Florez and countless street and graffiti artists. I would say all these people inspire me, it’s hard to say what has influenced me the most. A lot of the time the circumstances of the project really influence the end result, which is unfortunate sometimes, like as in a client’s personal taste or something like that.


NEFF: What would you like to do more of if given the opportunity?

DOME: Make art. I can’t go a day without spending a few hours working on my own creativity, and still I feel like I neglect it. To be honest if I never designed another website or logo in my life it wouldn’t bother me a bit, I do what I do because it’s the closest thing to art that I can actually get paid for.


NEFF: I know that you have traveled quite a bit, has that given you any new insights into your creative approach or style.

DOME: Good question. I think that traveling and creativity appeal to the same area of the senses, like the feelings you get when you explore a new place, excitement and inspiration, are the same as those you feel when you are inspired by a piece of art or design. Plus the era we live in, with the internet and rapid air transportation, make for an environment that’s condusive to traveling. When I’m abroad my senses are heightened, and my awareness is more keen; I think it’s some natural reaction to change. New experiences inspire, not just art, but the motivation to work hard and keep persisting. If I get overwhelemed with work or sick to death of staring at the computer, getting away to a foriegn place is the perfect remedy.


NEFF: What is your favorite color?

DOME: I dont have one.


NEFF: Describe your perfect day.

DOME: Hmm, Ok. I’ve become more of an early riser than I ever was in the past, so I’m up around 7am for coffee and breakfast, anywhere warm and outside. I like checking the email and my favorite blog feeds for an hour or so and doodle out ideas and notes. I’ve got a dog so I i’d take him out for a long hike. Early afternoon is the best time for lunch and a couple beers. Wrap up the afternoon / evening doing art of any kind, and wrap up the night with a good book on ancient history, Vedic mythology or western esoterism

NEFF: I noticed you draw a lot, how do you feel drawing is fundamental in your work.

DOME: I love drawing, I went through a stage when I didn’t but now I’m stuck. I hope on a daily basis to get much better at it. I’m not the biggest fan of my own drawing, which gives me the motivation to get better. So I’m pretty much always wanting to just ‘do’ anything creative, drawing is the easiest means to that end. Plus I have been taking more and more drawings and applying them to my design work, adding hand drawn elements to websites and stuff.

NEFF: Can you tell me a little bit about what you are working on now.

DOME: Yea lately i’ve been doing some contracting with a company here in Los Angeles, they own a lot of content based websites which are endlessly in need of upgrade and repair, both in design and functionality. For them I solely design, which is great, I layout a lot of page designs, and I’ve been introducing more illustrative elements into their sites, sometimes sites with a lot of content and traffic can grow stale or cold, i’ve been doing my best to inject some life into them. Along with that I take care of some more personal clients, people I work with in the Santa Monica area on special projects. Most of my freelance work has become branding small companies and professionals with logos, websites, letterhead, flyers, pamphlets; that kind of thing. I’ve also been trying to update my own portfolio write in my journal.


NEFF: Any shout outs?

DOME: Thanks Jenny for taking such good care of me while I envelop myself in my computer.


http://www.domeprojects.com

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Chiquita Banana has been a classic brand, a picture perfect banana with its little blue sticker.
I was fortunate to be able to help create a campaign for the brand that gave it a refreshing jump
into the fun category. By creating a comprehensive brand experience, complete with microsite,
games, and design tools, we were able to give banana lovers some really fun things to brighten
their day. The face of the campaign was literally faces on the little stickers, from clowns to
luchadors, these stickers were giving people yet another reason to love Chiquita. Our goal was
to hopefully move the brand a couple notches closer to cool, and I think we did just that.

Check it out for yourself:

http://www.eatachiquita.com


For some more information on the work, please check out my interview in Design Related:

http://www.designrelated.com/news/feature_view?id=47

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Sony Playstation came out with a limited edition “Madden” PSP. This blue PSP was all
about football, and to talk about it we thought how we could position it to literally
be in line with football. Our campaign hit hard in out of home media. We targeted
sports bars, sports stores, and anywhere that played football on their television,
and gave them a unique TV frame that was the Blue PSP. Although subtle, it really
got peoples attention while not detracting from the football watching experience.

The most fun though was the one of a kind mural we executed for the Vegas giant PSP
billboard. This psp sits on top of a 4 story theatre with a large mural space directly
below it.  Our concept was that “A real fan would do anything to get one”. So we came
up with the idea of dozens of football fans clammoring to get it. The artist we hired
was MEAR ONE from Los Angeles. Working together, we constructed a scaled wall and had
him actually spraypaint the art so it would look more realistic once we blew it up on
the wall. The results were stunning.


http://mearone.com/

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For years I have been handling the branding and identity work for my friend Dillon Maurer.
Formerly Intellekt of Intellekt and Dirty Digits, now Dillon, is an extroardinary wordsmith,
poet, performer, and gourmet chef. For his newest album “Studies in Hunger” with Paten Locke,
we thought it would be a cool idea to create a nasty, locked refridgerator that contained 
nothing but condiments and rotten food. Exactly what you are eating when you are broke and
hungry. The album is terrific and I’m glad that I can support such an amazing artist.
Do yourself a favor, check him out and grab a copy and a shirt too while your at it.

http://www.dillonmaurer.net

And for mouth watering tasty treats, check out his food blog with veggie recipes for days.

http://www.dillonatethat.com

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As part of an ongoing campaign to spread awareness about getting tested for HIV,
we created a series of television commercials and a website that highlighted the
beauty of knowing your status. Working with the Barnstormers, led by David Ellis,
we took over 4 square blocks in Philadelphia with the most amazing, colorful artwork.
We covered everything from sidewalks, to walls, streets, cars, buses, with words
and ornamental designs. Shooting everything in a time-lapse fashion, the work
literally looked like it was spreading and growing around the city on its own.
I had a blast getting to help create the art alongside some amazingly talented artists.

http://www.thebarnstormers.org/

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The unique concept of The Garage Master was an owner gift for a limited time when someone purchased a VW. The color of the guitar was coordinated to the color of your new VW. We created a full package that included a custom case, shoulder strap, and special cord that allowed you to shred your new guitar right out of your VDub.

Now that Rocks.

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The Volkswagen Garage was created to help brand wanted to amplify their
prescence in different eventsthey were a part of throughout the year.
These events ranged from music centered like BONNAROO or actual VW
enthusiast events such as Waterfest.

The garage was built out of real wood, complete with garage door and moved
around the country from event to event. Inside were fun things to do like
Slot Car Racing, a Ping-Pong table, basketball hoop, and a couple hammocks.
Also authenticity was in order so numerous odds and ends that would
ultimately be found in you or your parents garage.

Also as a part of the VW Garage Events, was the Volkswagen Carfessional.
This State of the art Rabbit was retrofitted with am interactive video
recording system. Our hope was the folks at all of these events may have
an opinion or two on the Volkswagen brand, and we needed to listen to what
these caring individuals had to say. Our Cognitive anthropologist Dr. Keller
whimsically guided you through the ride, prompting you and your friends to
share with the car, confidentially Riders then received a photo in their
email as a souvenir.

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Spraypaint on Canvas
24″x36″ Each
Series of 3. Penguin has sold.

Email me for prices.
dj@neffink.com

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Please shoot me an email if you are interested in purchasing these or any of my work. Thank you

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Coca-Cola decided they wanted to launch a new product, a completely zero calorie cola,
called Coke Zero. I was working for the agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky at the time and
was just starting out as an intern. They gave me a shot to come up with a look for the
campaign and sure enough the “chill” was born. The Chill is the representation of what
happens when the body is relaxed, but the mind is firing on all cylinders. Sort of an
active frost.  The campaign tagline was “Everybody Chill” and that really gave the
design a focus. This design was then translated into all types of media, billboards,
print ads, and web.

You can still see the website here:

Coke Zero Launch Website

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The most fun for me was getting to go into the pits and study the cars themselves up close. I learned
a lot about the design aspect to the sport and got to meet the legend Michael Waltrip.

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