Changethethought

I’ve been here for years. But yes, Changethethought.com will be making a return in the year 2016. An entirely new site design is on its way. I will also be acknowledging a more roundabout manner of content that will more holistically acknowledge the life and times of a post millennium creative. So much has changed. I’ve tried and failed at running a studio, and in several iterations. And I’ve chosen to come home back to where it all began. Changethethought.com is and always has been one of the best things I’ve ever done. In the past 5 years I’ve become a father twice over. And now more than ever I worry about the future. And I think this website has a role to play and a voice to be heard and shared. It’s time to shift focus back to where it belongs and plug this sucker back in. Much has changed since I unexpectedly fell silent in 2013. But I believe 2016 might be the absolute perfect time to begin anew. Call it a feeling.

I’ve since been reinventing myself as a Creative Director, Art Director, Director, Animator, Designer, Illustrator, Brand(er) and Writer again via a new personal experimental playground here: The Changethethought Studio

I’ve teased a relaunch of this website before but this is not a tease. The fury will be coming again soon and this time I intend to light a fire much brighter than what burned before. Thank you for your past support and I hope you can stay the course with me in the future. I chose the name of this site for a reason. And I intend to work towards fulfilling the promise the name makes. I’ll be speaking with you all again very soon.

Expect daily posts and a robust on demand storefront featuring lots of design-centric, politically loud-mouthed and typographically observant merchandise.

Watch this space.

Christopher Cox
Changethethought Founder and Administrator

written by Christopher | tags: 2016, announcement, Changethethought, Christopher Cox, Relaunch

I just wanted to send out a note of condolence and love to anyone effected by the terrible incident last night here in Colorado. A shooter opened fire in a crowded theater in a suburb of Denver last night killing 12 and wounding several others. Our personal friends and family members are safe from harm, but we do have close friends working at several of the local hospitals that took in numerous victims of the incident last night. Several of the wounded were children and parents. An act such as this is totally unthinkable and it’s impossible to take measure of it’s meaning or purpose.

All of us at the Changethethought studio extend our deepest sympathies and send love to the innocent people forever scarred by this terrible event.

We’ve had a hard summer this year here in Colorado with so many already suffering from the extensive fire damage that has ravaged our state. It’s hard not to feel like this is salt in an already open wound. We ask that you stay vigilant and know that we are a community and are as much responsible for each other as we are for ourselves. We love this beautiful state and the wonderful people who populate it and our hearts are with you today.

written by Christopher | tags: Aurora Batman Shooting, Changethethought, Colorado News

We just wanted to post a brief message regarding some internal news at the Changethethought studio. We are planning on releasing a lot of screen printed posters over the coming months and will be stocking our store pretty heavily over this next year. We will be sending invites out to selected illustrators and designers that have been posted to the blog to participate in themed group poster shows and releases soon.

So we are currently looking for a reliable US-based screen printer or screen printing company to handle our upcoming projects. We prefer someone who has access to a mechanical screen press since we will be doing a lot of larger format prints (24×36 inches) and the illustrations we plan on printing will be extremely detailed. So we need ultra-tight screens and consistent quality throughout the run. We hope to foster an ongoing relationship with the printer we select since we will be doing a lot of printing from here on out.

Please contact me personally at chris(at)changethethought.com if you are interested in referring a screen printer.

Also we have one more brief note to mention. We recently joined Instagram and you can follow us @changethethought.

We are also again accepting and actively seeking projects for the Changethethought production studio in branding, identity, graphic design, illustration and motion. We recently paired the studio down to a smaller boutique and can once again accept smaller budgeted projects. Contact us if you have a project you would like to discuss with our studio.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Changethethought Studio, Ctt News, Screen Printing

Well this is long long overdue but I am sure many of you have noticed the blog has slowed a bit lately. The reason being is that at the start of March we launched a new venture with some old friends. Over the past two years we opened an actual creative studio under the Changethethought name and managed to work on a lot of projects for some very exciting clients. In order to take things to the next level we combined our studio with the amazing talents at Friends of Mine. Changethethought will be shifting back more toward non client-based projects like art prints, posters, exhibitions, group shows, events, etc. We’ll be looking to collaborate a lot more with other artists under this new venture and are working on plans to completely overhaul the website and how it serves the creative community.

So far we have been insanely busy with our projects through Friends of Mine. Our focus is primarily motion design, animation, 3d and illustration but we are also looking to work on print, branding and digital projects. We’ve worked for some big agencies over the past few months as well as several agencies in our home base city of Denver, Colorado. It’s been a real thrill to work alongside some of the best motion designers in the state and we will be opening a new office in July close to downtown Denver. You can check out our 2012 reel above and we recently launched a new Friends of Mine website.

Keep any eye out and please keep us in mind for any projects you might find our capabilities suitable for. And expect several changes over the next 2 years with Changethethought. We will be releasing several new prints over the coming months and are looking for new artists to collaborate with.

written by Christopher | tags: Animation, Changethethought, Denver, Friends of Mine, motion design

Well this is it. The big year according to many cosmic calendars. It was a wild year for us at Changethethought. This was really the year the business of the studio got officially underway. We did a lot of work this year and will be carrying several projects over into 2012. We traveled, met lots of new people and had the opportunity to work with some absolutely wonderful human beings. We feel very lucky and very blessed.

I myself added a new member to my family. My son Liam Charles. He has since become the new love of my life. For all the fear I harbored over many years of marriage at becoming a parent, I have found all of it to be totally unfounded. My son is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. Seeing him smile, grow and learn is one of the greatest joys of my life. It’s given me renewed purpose and has pushed me even harder toward success. It’s also made me look at my wife with fresh eyes and realize just how fortunate I am to share a life and love with her.

2012 is going to be an important year for Changethethought. We will be adding some new people to our team and taking on even bigger and more exciting projects this year. We will also be working toward releasing more posters and breathing new life into the blog as well. Of course none of this would have ever been possible without the support I have received from my partners, the amazing people who have worked for us, my family and extended family and of course all of you that have read this blog over the years. Thank you to everyone and lets all hope that 2012 will not be the end of anything but the beginning and awakening of something entirely new, unexpected and utterly amazing.

Happy New Year from Changethethought to you.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Holiday, New Year, studio

Well I am sure you have noticed that my blogging pace has slowed quite a bit these past few months. The reason being is that about 20 months ago I launched the Changethethought production studio. In the past year we have completed around 50 or so motion design, 3D, illustration and graphic design related projects. Our focus so far has tended to be motion and 3D but we are still delivering a lot of illustration and graphic design based projects for print. We are still very much just starting out with this new venture but we’ve managed to work with some exciting agencies and clients already. Our best projects so far are currently in the pipeline so please keep an eye on our portfolio as it will be changing often.

You can view our new site and reel here: changethethought.tv

Thanks so much as always for supporting Changethethought and expect a lot of new things to happen in the coming months.

written by Christopher | tags: 3d, Changethethought, Illustration, motion design, studio

I finally bought myself a Cintiq. It’s awesome. That’s all I have to say about that. I have been experimenting with creating my own brushes and have settled on a little pack that allows me to generate some imagery that feels like it’s been inked even when viewed up close as a printed piece. Being able to draw directly onto the screen and into the computer takes a little getting used to. It’s taken me about 3 weeks to adjust but I have settled in now and it’s totally changed how I illustrate. Now I don’t think I could live without it.

I just did this the other day and thought it turned out kinda neat. Thought I’d share it with you.

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Changethethought, Cintiq, Illustration

Indyink will be hosting a little poster exhibition this Friday here in Denver. The theme of the exhibit is ‘2012’. I will be exhibiting the above silkscreened poster at the show which will also be available for purchase. Originally I thought about taking the whole thing really seriously and making some thought provoking conspiracy theory-inspired piece before realizing it would be a lot more fun and probably memorable to just call shenanigans on the whole 2012 thing. The poster made my wife laugh and I figure if it’s good for anything at least it was good for that. I managed to squeeze Nostradamus, a Crystal Skull, Mayan sacrifice, Mayan numerals and alien abduction all into one piece so there is that at least.

I am going to try to make the show possibly with my baby son in tow, so please stop by, grab a beer and say hello. Thank you to Indyink for inviting me to take part.

2012: Poster Apocalypse
INDYINK
Address: 84 S. Broadway • Denver, CO
Phone: 720.937.9722
Time: 11AM-6PM MON-SAT

written by Christopher | tags: 2012, Changethethought, Indyink, Poster, Silkscreen

I have been a big fan of illustrator Martin Ansin for some time now. For the uninitiated, Martin is a Monteviedo, Uruguay based illustrator  who has been cranking out some amazing work for both commercial clients and the famed Alamo Drafthouse. His most recent print completes the Mondo director’s series for Guillermo del Toro depicting Ansin’s rendition of the director’s first film ‘Cronos’ and drops tomorrow morning. So it seemed like a perfect time to ask him a few questions about his life, inspirations, location and signature style that poster fans can’t quite seem to get enough of (myself included). It’s our first interview here at Changethethought and hopefully one of many. We have several of his prints hanging in our studio so we couldn’t wait to catch up with him and hear all about how he does the amazing thing he does.

Click more to read our full Q&A session about Martin’s life, times and work along with some images of his amazing work. Be sure to click the images as they are much larger than normal to see the amazing detail in his work. Continue reading »

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Illustration, interview, Martin Ansin, Uruguay

We have been getting pretty crazy about updating our studio Flickrfolio lately. In the past 2-3 weeks we’ve posted a grip of new work on almost a daily basis. I have personally been working on several new ongoing self-initiated illustration projects just to stretch my legs a little. I’ve been diving deep into psychedelic art lately and some of the work definitely reflects that. So keep an eye out because we are using Flickr as our place to just dump whatever it is we might be up to for the hell of it.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Ctt News, Flickr, Illustration, Posters

Studio Changethethought is currently seeking 2 unpaid internships lasting 12 weeks. Internship positions are open to both part and full time as well as students and recent grads. Interns will be working closely with the Creative Directors and Executive Producer and will be expected to jump in and perform. Possible employment within Changethethought will be given consideration at the end of 12 weeks.

Motion Design Intern:
Skills necessary for this position are a solid understanding of Photoshop, After Effects and Illustrator. A working and/or strong knowledge of Cinema 4D is also a plus. Any additional skills such as filmmaking, Maya, editing (final cut), illustration, or other ninja abilities also receive a gold star. Design aesthetic and a solid understanding of typography will also earn extra points.

Producer Intern:
Our Executive Producer is also seeking an intern. Appropriate skills include any and all office software (strong Excel, Powerpoint skills), project management software (one or more: Visio/Fasttrack/Basecamp/etc). Any knowledge or ambition toward interactive, video production, advertising, media, writing, shooting, etc. will also be strongly considered. We are a creative studio and expect an appreciation for creative thinking with all of the people who are associated with producing under our roof.

Please email your resumé or information about yourself to: hire@changethethought.com

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Employment, Interns, motion design

I just wanted to say Happy New Year to all of you out there and thank you for following our blog this year. 2011 is going to be a year to remember for both myself and my partners who recently helped me start the Changethethought Studio. It will mark our first official year as a studio and who know what we will end up working on. We already have some exciting projects lined up for the new year and we hope to line up many more. My son will be born in February so this will definitely be a year I will remember for the rest of my life. Both myself and everyone else at Changethethought hope that this year will be a great one for both you, your friends and your families. We appreciate your support more than we have words to express. We love you all and wish for an amazing 2011.The Denver Egotist was kind enough to ask me to take part in an interview where I spoke about what both myself and the rest of us at Changethethought learned this year. You can read it here. Happy New Year everyone.

written by Christopher | tags: , Changethethought, New Years

Changethethought will be exhibiting the above piece this Friday, December 3rd at the Illiterate Gallery for a show entitled ‘Mile High on the Map”. We printed 5 Giclée’s and one is framed. The framed piece will sell for $150 while the unframed will be available for $100 each. All prints are signed and numbered. We are excited to be a part of the show and hope to be exhibiting more work in the upcoming year at Illiterate. You can see a detailed image of our print at our Flickr-folio. Our piece is a bit of a puff surrealist pop art bit about  two of our favorite quintessentially weird iconic Denver public art sculptures. You can also see the first pass of the graphite drawing used as the foundation for the piece before it was finished digitally.

The show starts at 6pm this Friday and runs until 11pm. Be there or be square.

Exhibiting Artists:
BLUE BEANIE / CHRIS COX / HILARY CLARCQ / SANDRA FETTINGIS / JOUVELT / KRIS FRY / RUBEN GAUCIN / MIKE GRAVES / ANDREW HOFFMAN / AUSTIN LANE / SCOT LEFAVOR / SANDER LINDEKE / ROB MACK / MARKHAM MAES / NIGEL PENHALE / STEVEN PROCHYRA / ADAM SIKORSKI / ANDI TODARO / DARIUS VALE / JOSH WILLS

written by Christopher | tags: Art, Changethethought, Denver, Illiterate Gallery

It took a while but I finally got around to updating our studio Flickrfolio with a whole lotta work from the past 4-5 years. We still have a lot more to add but it’s fairly up to date with some illustrations we’ve been working on for various art shows happening this next month. You can peep our efforts here at the official Changethethought Flickr stream. We’ve been trying to up our illustration skills to some extent in hopes of procuring more illustration commissions. Hopefully there’s something in our folio that you dig and if you don’t, that’s o.k. too.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Flickr, Graphic Design, Illustration

Alright, this may seem like an odd request but I am currently in the running as a contestant on a very interesting reality television show about the power of social networking. I need to beef up on my Facebook friends for the show. So if you could be so kind and click here, I would be happy to be your pal. If it makes you feel a little better about the deal, the Changethethought RSS is fed through my Facebook page which gives you one more option for consuming the information. I appreciate your support and I am going to be asking your help if I make it on the show. That’s all I can say about it now but as soon as I know more you will too.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Facebook, Reality Show, Social Networking

So today is my birthday. My wife is gone in Brasil. She’s actually flying to Rio tonight to spend the next few days there. It’s kind of a lonely birthday and it’s my last before becoming a father in February. So I guess it’s a bit of a benchmark, but one I am experiencing alone so it’s hard not to be a little contemplative. So much has happened already this year that it has been hard to stay on top of everything. I left my job as an Art Director after 4 years at Cactus. I then embarked on the crazy startup phase of officially opening the Changethethought production studio for business. It took nearly 3 months to finally completely finish remodeling the studio which aside from one granite countertop and sink was done entirely by me and my initial business partner. Not long after I found out my wife was pregnant. Then only 3 short weeks ago my new and amazingly talented partner Mike Slane informed me he was moving out from San Diego to join me after working the last two years for Shilo.

So now here we are, crunching it as hard as we can go day-by-day to get the studio off the ground and support our families. It’s been tough so far and we both know it is going to take time to build our list of clients and begin introducing ourselves and our work to agencies. We are new to all of this so we are still feeling our way but we are not new to producing creative. We know what we are capable of in that arena.

So after all of these changes, it’s almost impossible to imagine where I will be and what will be happening 1 year from today. I know I will be a dad and I know I will be a husband. Aside from that, who knows. The best part of starting a new business is that each day is a new adventure and that continues to be rewarding.

Thank you all for tuning into the blog for one more year and for all of your support. What I really want for my birthday is a new project to work on but meeting the people I have met through this blog and communicating with such a richly talented and passionate audience has been the best present I could ever ask for.

Expect much more this next year. We are only just beginning what Changethethought will one day become.

written by Christopher | tags: Birthday, Changethethought, Ctt Studio, News

We are thrilled to announce that motion designer, animator and filmmaker Mike Slane has joined the team as Creative Director at Changethethought. He will be partnering with Christopher Cox and Elysia Syriac to help round out the Changethethought creative studio with capabilities in motion, 3D and broadcast. Mike recently relocated to Denver from California after working as an Associate Creative Director for Shilo. He has worked for agencies such as Exopolis and Motion Theory in the past and has completed projects for clients like Sprint, Campbells, Reebok, HP, Gatorade and Jack Daniels to name a few.

This is going to mean a lot of new and exciting things will be coming out of the Changethethought creative studio in the very near future. We couldn’t be more pleased to have such an amazing talent with us here in Denver. Mike is one of those rare individuals who is not just an amazing talent but also a family man and incredibly nice person.

His leadership role at Changethethought is all part of our plan to negate our physical geography while amplifying our global digital creative footprint. We firmly believe we can service top shelf clients here in Denver with a focus on design, and we intend to do so in the coming months.

For inquiries in how to contract Changethethought for your next project please visit Cttcreative.com to view our portfolio or email us at hire[at]changethethought.com.

written by Christopher | tags: Changethethought, Cttcreative, Denver, Mike Slane

I am currently at a 2 day workshop hosted by Boulder Digital Works. I have to thank the New Denver Ad Club profusely for allowing me the opportunity to be here. It means a lot to me. There are some very exciting people from within the advertising and creative industry here including the top creative minds from agencies like Modernista, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Goodby Silverstein, etc. We are putting our heads together to try to figure out this new landscape and understand what exactly it means for the creative industry. Thus far and not surprisingly, there are no tried and true answers. Especially after the massive change in the last 18 months brought on by a technological windfall with gadgets like iPhones and iPads that are quite literally changing our lives minute-by-minute.

So far, I have met some really exciting people here. I feel like I am coming in at a weird angle where I have worked in the ad industry but also come from the creative-to-creative community side that a lot of people within the ad industry don’t consider. I spoke with a group this morning about tribalism and people moving into tribes within the digital landscape. I found that interesting. Currently I am about to listen to the head of UI at AKQA.

I will do a followup when the conference is done, but it should come as no surprise that this world we live and play in is changing dramatically and the agency/client model is struggling to keep up or even understand the changes. My question is and has been for a while, whether or not the agency model is even relevant anymore and if it can even find a way to sustain itself. Stay tuned.

written by Christopher | tags: BDW, Boulder Digital Works, Changethethought, Workshop