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1 Aug 2012

Free Maha tattoo promotion

Someday, something I’ve worked on will be redesigned. I haven’t been a designer long enough to see this happen, but I must admit that just the idea makes me a little sad. As designers, we want our work to live on as long as possible. At Oxide, we try to ignore the current design styles and trends — our hope being that we are creating design as timeless as possible.

We love the idea of something we’ve designed becoming permanent. Unfortunately, very few things in the world of design have the ability to do this. Even the most recognizable of brands update and change their identities on a regular basis to keep up with the trends. …


17 Jul 2012

The reasons I chose Omaha

My last year of college seemed to be mostly about getting class projects done and figuring out what I was going to be doing with my life. But by the time a new semester rolled around, it’s safe to say that I was much more concerned about the fact I had no idea what I was doing with my life then about anything my classes were asking from me. My boyfriend, Jordan Becker (Art Director at SKAR), and I were both graduating at the same time from Iowa State’s graphic design program and were ready to move somewhere together to start living a “real” life out of college. Neither of us liked the idea of both of us looking for jobs all across the country and then having to make a decision based on who got a better job where. So we decided to look for a city that met the key factors we were looking for in where we wanted to live and work. …


5 Jun 2012

Designer Nathan Kirkman joins Oxide

I am excited to announce that Nathan Kirkman has joined the Oxide team as a full-time designer. Nathan is a self-described book nerd who’s spent an inordinate amount of his life in libraries (and interning at McGraw-Hill Education). He’s a graduate of Iowa State University, with a BFA in graphic design and a minor in art history. Nathan couldn’t be a more perfect fit for Oxide.
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25 May 2012

A farewell to Joe

As you may have read in his recent News post, Joe Sparano will be leaving Oxide Design Co. — and, indeed, leaving full-time design — at the end of this month to pursue a different path of problem solving. As a send-off, each of us at the office wanted to share some thoughts about Joe and what he’s meant to us as designers.

Adam Torpin

Sparanoate: “To over-think something.” We occasionally tease Joe about his need to over-think everything, but over-thinking isn’t always a bad thing. When it comes to important life decisions, it’s critical. That’s why I know Joe starting a new chapter in his professional career is the right decision. …


17 May 2012

Joe’s artwork

There was a time before we were designers. Which isn’t really true, because we’ve always been designers. So before our minds could handle the purpose of design, we just made other kinds of things with thought and purpose. …


1 Mar 2012


23 Feb 2012


21 Feb 2012

All about Oxide’s new images

Since we recently launched the third iteration of our website, I’d like to take this opportunity to point out some of the key differences in how we now showcase our logos, print work, and interactive pieces.

On the previous version of our site, all our portfolio pieces were bound to the same dimensions. For the redesign, we set out to find a way to show everything in its ideal size and aspect ratio — meaning that images shouldn’t be constrained to a preset size. Despite necessitating a tricky, ultra-flexible design and a complex back-end to arrange them all, our new images give us significantly more control over how our work is presented. …


16 Feb 2012

Drew Davies listed in GDUSA’s
People to Watch in 2012

I am beyond humbled to announce that I have been featured in Graphic Design: USA magazine’s list of “People to watch in 2012“. GDUSA annually chooses a group of people “who embody the spirit of the creative community” to profile in their January issue.

Their stated criteria: individuals who we have come to know and respect for a combination of talent, leadership, success, newsworthiness, and community service. A list of the past participants reads like a who’s-who of the design world, and it leaves me speechless to be counted among them. …


14 Feb 2012

Oxide’s updated identity

Along with the other changes we made for Oxide’s 10th anniversary, we also updated our identity.

Since Oxide’s inception, the 2-D and 3-D versions of the symbol have been used interchangeably, but with an emphasis on the 3-D/bubble version. People have responded really well to the bubble, so we used it pretty much exclusively — as a small adhesive sticker in the real world, and in faux 3-D for print and online. …