BRIAN RODDA lives in Abbotsford, BC where he works as a graphic designer in the marketing and signage industry. He's had a foot in both the world of images and of words for most of his life. Brian sold his first work in 1972, in the form of a weekly comic, while in the tenth grade. It was to the local paper (The Chilliwack Progress). "The comic was more words than images as it consisted of a cartoon guy reading a newspaper accompanied by a list of twenty-five captions that got updated week after week."
Brian continues to work from his home office, and volunteers on the Tech Team at Northview Community Church as a videographer. Between the kids and grandkids, he feels blessed to have them all living in the area.
My journey into the world of commercial art has taken me through many disciplines, from newspaper/magazine advertising, print design, corporate and product branding, and signage.
SIGNAGE: Yes, I was one of those guys swinging brush-loads of paint before digital technology swept the industry in the mid 1980s. I pull an old brush out from time to time to keep my hand-lettering skills alive.
WEB: Along with the digital age came the need for website design. I created my very first site in 1995 when a good real estate client inquired about one. Since I’d already been immersed in a wide range of software, I decided to take the plunge. With an HTML manual as thick as a Vancouver phone book (remember those things?), I buried myself in study and practise until able to write a functioning site. For the past five years or so, I’ve been switching all of my web clients to a platform called SquareSpace. The sites are very robust and offer the invaluable ability to scale with any variety desktop or mobile device.
WRITING: Most people in the advertising design trade need to write copy. I think I was pretty good at it, but lacked formal training in grammar and sentence/paragraph structure. So starting in 2005, I involved myself in writing groups that would help me gain the knowledge and confidence I needed to bolster my literary skill. Along the way I discovered a true passion for fiction writing, as you’ll see once you explore the rest of my site.
VIDEO: I've also done a significant amount of video projects. You can check them out on my YouTube Channel.
RANGE OF SKILLS: The benefit of having such a diverse range of skills allows me to offer *one-stop shopping* for the harried business owner. And this is the role I’ve been serving with my Fraser Valley clients over the past four decades.
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Below is a small sample of the logo designs I've created over the past four decades. Here are a few recent ones…
