Erica Ruch ~ News » news

…And Onto the Next Season

admin — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 01:59:10 +0000

So, Fall came and went around here. And as of an hour ago there was this outside:

Our first snow of the season! And before Halloween – yikes! But being a snow-lover….I’m actually enjoying it!

Around the office there’s been plenty of exciting updates. I recently finished re-designing the New Noise Santa Barbara website – we moved it over from Joomla! to WordPress, and updated the design. Definitely an update that was due, and it rolled out just in time for the conference on Nov 3-6th! I also rolled out a new splash page for Bess Rogers to announce the single off her latest album Out of the Ocean.

I’m also currently working on a re-design of this site – so stay-tuned for a spiffy new look coming soon!

Then summer arrives

admin — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:10:13 +0000

Red Sox Games, fried pickles, ginger beer….warm-weather pleasures have returned! Last week, peta2 launched their new summer campaign – “Flesh is for Zombies” which I designed the website for. The site features a Whack-Zombie flash game, an awesome infographic designed by my talented co-worker Samantha Sanders, a video, and a variety of other zombie-esque features. Definitely a fun site to design!

I also launched a new splash page for the very talented singer-songwriter, Bess Rogers – to feature her song “We Believe in You” which has been featured recently in a Mott’s commercial.

Recent Work

admin — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 20:03:41 +0000

Here’s a sampling of some websites I’ve designed for PETA recently:

Force-Fed! Say ‘No’ to Foie Gras

A website designed to educate the public about the cruelty to ducks and geese in the foie gras industry. People that take action against the cruelty (via email, leaflets, phone calls, etc…) can submit their actions to be counted on the home page

Hug a Vegetarian Day 2010

peta2 partnered with So-So Happy this year to promote Hug A Vegetarian Day – which is geared towards teens. People are encouraged to pledge the amount of hugs they will give, as well as print out signs and take photos of themselves with the signs and post them to Facebook

Cruelty Free Makeover

People are encouraged to submit photos of themselves to be considered for a makeover featuring only cruelty-free products

Drawing Club – Week 1

admin — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 23:29:28 +0000

I eagerly joined a drawing club started by a friend of mine from Montserrat. 4 weeks, 4 drawings, and each week you mail a drawing to a different person in the club…that means that every week I mail out a drawing, and every week I get a drawing. Nifty idea, huh? So, since I’ve been trying to do much more drawing and painting – this was an excellent opportunity. Here’s the drawing I mailed out this week for the theme “From one place to the other place.” The idea being that the lonely apples destiny is to end up in the “other place”….a.k.a “the ground”.

Creativity Kicks In

admin — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 16:51:29 +0000

Things have been busy around here – teaching at Montserrat College of Art has been a blast – and is really rekindling my creativity! It’s amazing to see what my students produce, and completely inspiring to be back surrounded by such a vast amount art! I’ve been back in my studio painting again recently – after quite a long hiatus during grad school – and I’ve also been drawing regularly again as well. It’s nice to get away from the computer every once in awhile!

Oh, and my new love is my new Canon DSLR. I’ve always been interested in photography – but never felt inspired to make the financial investment. Boy am I inspired now! My bank account isn’t too happy about it, but I am! I’ve been snapping photos around here like a maniac. My animals seem to be the main victims of my newfound-hobby…being that they’re the only subjects that are more than eager to participate in just about anything.

Here’s my handsome pup, Calvin – and his leggy-sister Clementine:

And our newest little man of the house, Frankenstein:

I’ve also gotten around to updating my portfolio with some projects I’ve worked on in the past couple months. Check out the new Jukebox the Ghost website we got up a few weeks ago to commemorate their new album. I also posted some new items to the Design and Interactive galleries so feel free to peruse the new work! AVA2ZJBTR7WN

A summer to be reckoned with!

admin — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:00:13 +0000

Summer is winding down here in New England – and this has, admittedly, been one to remember. I finally finished grad school at Savannah College of Art & Design with a M.A. in Interactive Design and Game Development, and was honored to receive the 2010 Academic Achievement Award!

At the end of June I accepted a full-time position at the PETA Foundation as a Senior Designer. I have been a huge supporter of PETA for many, many years – and this job has essentially shaped up to be a dream fulfilled. Though, I was not necessarily looking to leave full-time freelancing for an in-house position – the opportunity was too good to pass up, and I could not possibly be more happy with my decision! I feel quite at home working with PETA, and I honestly don’t have enough good things to say about my new job!

And as if these happenings weren’t enough – I’m also extremely excited about getting on-board at Montserrat College of Art as Adjunct Faculty in the fall! Montserrat students produce amazingly-inspiring work – and I’m so eager to get into the classroom and see what my students are going to create. Stay-tuned, as I hope to have some awesome student work to share over the next few months!

To top it all off – I’m still doing a limited amount of freelance work as time allows. If you’re looking for help on your web project – please contact me for my availability.

I hope everyone has had a spectacular summer as well!

What Spring Brings

admin — Fri, 21 May 2010 02:46:23 +0000

Spring has definitely hit here in New England – the trees have their leaves again, the temps are in the 70′s, and I even harvested my first radishes and lettuce from my vegetable garden! But the world being in bloom isn’t the only excitement around here – I’m also looking forward to finally finishing my Masters Degree in Interactive Design & Game Development from SCAD – and I’ll be walking across the stage on May 29th to get my degree. All the long nights, and lack of weekend fun for the past couple years have paid off!

Things are also busy here in the studio – I recently launched the new Freelance Whales site, a new splash page for Tokyo Police Club, and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work on the webstore for Team Radio Shack and the webstore for Mellow Johnnys, Lance Armstrong’s bike shop in Austin, TX. I’ll be updating the portfolio shortly with these, and some other tasty new interactive pieces.

In other news, I’m currently working on a program to start offering non-profits that are focused on animal welfare, animal rights, and animal rescue discounted web design services. These causes are extremely important to me and close to my heart – so I feel that this is a good way I can give back and put my skills to positive use. Stay tuned for more details on this program in the next couple months!

Ringing in 2010

admin — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:49:40 +0000

Like many of us – I admit that I’m relieved to have 2009 behind me. I feel extremely lucky that I fared the year keeping consistently busy – which I know is a rarity in this economy – but something about 2010 just feels good.

Since I last wrote (which was way too long ago) – my husband and I have relocated from Austin, TX back to Beverly, MA. Its really great to be back and close to old friends and family. And, though some may be surprised to hear – I couldn’t be happier about returning to the snow!

Work has been exciting since the move. I’ve gone from working in-house at C3 Presents to freelancing again full-time and it feels great! There’s tons of REALLY exciting projects that I’m involved in that I can’t wait to add to the portfolio. I was also very excited to learn that Monsterrat has a new Interactive Media program which I’m eager to see students’ work from! I’m also privileged to be speaking on a panel to Montserrats Interactive Media students and faculty on February 25th.

New work!

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 20:56:41 +0000

As November quickly approaches, I’ve decided to update my portfolio with a couple new projects that have wrapped up recently. The 11th annual Gran Prix of Gloucester took place on October 3 & 4 and this years poster has been added to my Illustration Gallery.

Also, just launched today is the new website for the band, Lucero. To coincide with their new album release “1372 Overton Park” on October 6th – the website underwent a design overhaul that went live today! Check out the preview in my Interactive Gallery.

Keeping Busy!

admin — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 03:21:28 +0000

Work has picked up significantly during 2009 – amidst taking on a full-time position at C3 Presents and still maintaining a steady amount of freelance design, development and illustration work. Grad school is on a summer break until September, so I’m working close with clients to wrap up a couple large projects in the works!

The portfolio has been updated with some new pieces – a couple to note are the new New Noise Santa Barbara site that was launched last week and the poster for the 1st annual Gran Prix of Beverly that takes place next week in Beverly, Massachusetts.