About

Jacob Cass PortraitHi, my name is Jacob Cass and I am the founder of ‘Just Creative Design’. On this website you will find my personal graphic design portfolio (My design services are currently available for hire), as well as a blog on the main subject of graphic design which provides free graphic design tips, articles & resources on all subjects of design, ranging from, but not limited to; print design, logo design, web design, branding, typography, advertising & more.

I am self-employed (part-time) as a graphic designer, specialising in the fields of corporate identity (logo) design, web design, print design and branding with the majority of my time spent designing and implementing marketing promotions for small businesses such as logos, websites, letterhead, business cards, packaging and more.

In January 2010, I moved from Sydney, Australia to New York City, USA to begin full time work at Carrot Creative, a new media marketing agency specialising in media strategy, design & development. It’s an honour to work alongside such talent in the office & a privilege to be able to work with some of the world’s most vaunted brands… Pepsi, MTV, Crayola, NFL, The Onion, MBL just to name a few. Although this is a full time job, I still manage to do freelance design on the side… commitment or addiction, whose to know? If interested, you can read about how I scored the job (via Twitter) at Carrot Creative.

The Carrot Creative office is located in Dumbo, the digital district of New York. You can see a snapshot of our street below with the Manhattan Bridge & Empire State Building in the background.

Dumbo, NYC - Photo by Pablo Marques

Where I work: Dumbo, Brooklyn, New York City, USA. © Photo by Pablo Marques

THE BACKGROUND

I hold a Bachelor of Visual Communication (Graphic Design Major) from The University of Newcastle, Sydney, Australia. Although I am just 22 years of age, I’ve have had multitude of experience, gaining my first freelance design job at the age of 16 – since then I have never turned back…

My life is design, I love it and I surround myself in it every day.

I am:

1. Passionate (I absolutely love what I do)

2. Enthusiastic (I want to learn)

3. Sceptical (I think critically)

4. Focused (I have the right attitude)

I also love to travel and have had the pleasure of exploring 32 countries so far (country list here) of which I have spent 1 year as an exchange student living, working, and studying in Gothenburg, Sweden.

When I’m not looking at a computer screen you will find me on the beach, traveling, or listening to music – maybe even all at once. You can check out some more pictures and stories of my travels here: Fiji, Europe, Australia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan & New Zealand.

THE BLOG

Just Creative Design was launched in November 2007 as my design business and also as a graphic design blog. The blog focuses on all areas of design and creativity, ranging from but not limited to; graphic design, logo design, web design, advertising, branding, typography, designers, blogging, resources, my work, photography, colour, marketing, social media, user experience and more. Quite varied, however the underlying focus is design!

THE BUSINESS

Just Creative Design is a growing graphic design company serving unique people like yourself and businesses across the world.

Based in New York City (though founded in Sydney, Australia), I strive to give my clients the most superior and cost efficient solutions in this vastly competitive market. I specialise in areas such as logo design, corporate identity design, branding, web design, print design (ie. letterhead, business cards, posters, CD covers, book covers, etc.) and also dwell into many other areas such as photography and art.

I believe that quality is the one article of trade which cannot be compromised and this is clearly seen in my work, giving my clients the satisfaction they deserve. Don’t just take my word for it, read some of my client’s testimonials.

OTHER WEBSITES

Apart from this website, I also run two other websites:

  • Logo Of The Day
    Logo Of The Day is a high-profile logo design award scheme that rewards the best professional logos and trademarks designed throughout the world. All suggested logos are screened by myself & Jeff Fisher to ensure this. Logo Of The Day is also a place to come for logo design inspiration… daily! It is also a place to discuss, share & rate logo design!
  • Logo Designer Blog
    Logo Designer Blog is a blog focused purely on branding, logo & identity design. It is a place for logo design discussion, inspiration, tips and resources (and then some) provided by myself and the many contributors to the site. Please feel free to submit an article to the site.

CLIENTS & TESTIMONIALS

Previous Just Creative Design customers have come from many different industries and backgrounds and working with them has developed my experience in many ways.

Previous clients have come from over 5 continents and include places such as USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Jamaica, Malaysia and The Philippines.

Don’t just take my word for it, why don’t you read some of their testimonials or have a look at my portfolio?

EDUCATION

As previously mentioned, I hold a Bachelor of Visual Communication (Graphic Design Major) from The University of Newcastle, Sydney, Australia.

Subjects Studied: Advanced English, Design & Technology, Business Studies, Information Technology, Design Elements, Design Professional Studies, Illustration and Ideas, Contexts of Design & Technology, The Design Process, Design Issues, Professional Practice For Designers, Visual Communication Imaging, Media Production, Visual Communication Forms and Functions, Photomedia, Graphic Design, Studio Photography, Experimental Drawing, Photo Imaging, New Media, Audio and Video Production, Visual Communication Technology Principles 1 & 2, Typography, Design for Advertising, Animation and Multimedia.

2004 – Design Elements Certificate II. – TAFE College

RECOGNITION & AWARDS

Awards

Although not a motivation, I been fortunate enough to have been recognised for my work. Below is a small sample.

Published Work

My work & writing can also be seen on numerous leading websites:

Smashing Magazine, DesignTaxi, VectorTuts, Layers Magazine, Freelance Switch, Logo Moose, FavUp, Creative Pool, David Airey, Freelance Folder, Creaticca, Most Inspired, Creative Curio, Line25, My Ink Blog, Design Informer, CSS Collection, Daily Slurp, CSS Based, LoopPress, Logo Pond, W3C Sites, CSS Leak, CSS Clip, BlogPond, Layers TV, CSS Creme, Design Flavr, Logo From Dreams, Web Designer Depot, Inspiredology, The Design Inspiration, and many more.

Judging Roles

I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the panel on a number of award judging panels.

  • Upcoming judge for the Annual Design Awards 2010 along such greats as David Carson and more. Product categories include Logo Design, Poster/Billboard Design, Website Design, Marketing Campaign, Product Packaging Design, Movie Poster Design , Music CD/Album Cover Design & Book Cover Design. Update Jan 24th 2010: I’ve decided to withdraw from this judging panel due to a conflict of interests.
  • Video judge for Hewlett Packard’s ‘Design With A Twist’ video design competition. (2009)
  • Logo design “Judge Of The Month” for the Logo From Dreams logo awards.  (March 2010)
  • Graphic design judge for the Project Never Competition judging “the best rejected designs”. (2009-2010)
  • Web design judge for The CSS Awards judging “the best websites in the world”. (2009-2010)
  • Logo design judge for The Logo Of The Day logo award scheme. (2008-Current)

Achievements & Press

Exhibitions

Although most of my work is designed for clients, I do some personal work too, that of which has been displayed at the places below.

Events Attended

To keep up to date and to be inspired by others, I attend regular design & social media based lectures and events. Below are some of the major events attended.

  • Social Media Week 2010 Official Closing (By Invite Only) – Manhattan, New York (February 2010)
  • Crowdsourcing & Disruption: A Panel Discussion On The Shifting Economics of Design and Communication – Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York (March 2010)
  • Digital Somethings: VIP Social Media Week Event (By Invite Only) – Manhattan, New York (February 2010)
  • Navigating The Labyrinth: Unimark International & The New York Subway System – Manhattan, New York (February 2010)
  • Digital Dumbo #13 & #14 – Brooklyn, New York (January / February 2010)
  • MoMoBK Inaugural Event: NY Apps, So Hot Right Now – Brooklyn, New York (January 2010)
  • Top Secret Digital Dumbo #12 – Brooklyn, New York (January 2010)
  • agIdeas 2009 – Melbourne, Australia
  • Semi Permanent 2009 – Sydney, Australia
  • Semi Permanent 2008 – Sydney, Australia

Speaking Engagements

I’m always up for passing on my knowledge and although I do this mostly through my blogs, I have also done live lectures to students & professionals alike. Below are some recent speaking engagements that I have been involved in.

INTERVIEWS

If you would like to find out more about me, here are some interviews that I have partaken in online.

SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

I am very social on the Internet and I am a member of many online communities of which you can find some below.

  • Google Buzz – Do you use Gmail? Add me here to join discussions in live time & to follow my articles and twitter updates.
  • Twitter – Follow me here to receive many design related resources & links. By far the most active place I am on the web. Updated multiple times a day.
  • Facebook – Join me here to stay connected & receive links I share. The second most active place I am on the web. Updated multiple times a day.
  • LinkedIn – Add me here to boost up your business networking profile. I highly recommend you set up a LinkedIn profile if you haven’t got one.
  • Just Creative Design Facebook Fanpage – Join the fan club to get updates via Facebook on new articles I post on Just Creative Design.
  • Logo Of The Day Facebook Fanpage – Join the fan club to get updates via Facebook on new logos I post on Logo Of The Day. Updated daily.
  • Logo Of The Day Twitter – Join this if you prefer only to get Logo Of The Day updates, rather than all my other Twitter links. Updated daily.
  • Just Creative Design Facebook Group – Join this group to promote your own articles or business.
  • Just Creative Design LinkedIn Group – Join this group to promote your own articles, ask questions and to discuss the business of design.
  • StumbleUpon – Add me here to see what websites I deem worthy of a thumbs up.
  • Delicious – Add me here to see links I think I’ll need to come back to later. Updated daily.
  • Digg – Add me here to see what sites I Digg.
  • Vimeo – Add me here to get updated whenever I make a video.
  • FourSquare – Add me to here to see where I go in real life and tips I provide in those places. Probably only useful for those in the New York area.

You can keep track of most of the above profiles at JacobCass.com.

SHORT BIOJacob Cass Stretching

2010 – Moved from Sydney, Australia to NYC to work for the design studio, Carrot Creative where I am still located. Lectured at various Universities and colleges across USA. Work  selected for numerous more books / magazines. Judged several award programs.

2009 – Started the website Logo Designer Blog. Got featured on the front cover of Layers Magazine. Graduated from University. Work featured in numerous design books & magazines. Got onto front page of the Newcastle Herald Newspaper. Won several more awards. Got offered a job in NYC and took it. Judged a number of competitions including one for Hewlett Packard. Traveled to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan & New Zealand and road tripped across 22 states of USA.

2008 – Commenced second year of University. In June, traveled to 14 countries across Western Europe and Asia. In October went on a 4300km road trip around Australia. Won several design awards including Wolda’s ‘Best of Continent’ and ‘Best of Australia’. Raised USD$1620 for charity through this blog. Started the website Logo Of The Day in November.

2007 - Returned from Sweden, moved to Newcastle and started studying at Newcastle University. Won several Youth Design Awards. Started Just Creative Design in November. Took a cruise around the Pacific Ocean and Fiji.

2006 - Lived, studied & worked in Gothenburg, Sweden for 11 months.

2005 – Received my Higher School Certificate within the top 10% of my state. My major work was redesigning my high school’s website and the final mark was in the top 1% of the State.

2004 - Studied Design & IT. Completed Design Elements Cert II. course at TAFE college.

2003 – Began studying design at high school. Got my first freelance job designing a website.

2000 - I become aware of the Internet and published my first website at age 12.

1990 - Moved to Sydney, Australia.

1987 - Born in Queensland, Australia.

CONTACT ME

Feel free to contact me for anything at all whether it be a question, a quote or a friendly hello.