Rocky Tilney

The Cadillac CTS-V Wagon is not a Country Squire. From the outside it is pure, seething evil. Its stance is aggressive, almost sinister. It’s matte black wheels look like they were forged out of pure coal. On the inside, it was a different story; a story full of contradictions. The dash was elegant with chrome [...]

Robots designed for my client, Continental Diamond Products.

We’ve heard it all a million times, “Our children have so much to teach us.” And it’s true. Recently I was showing my 20-month old son, Carter, a short video on my mobile phone. The video contained a close up of him sitting on his grandfathers lap in their backyard. In this particular clip, Carter [...]

I have always been impressed with the visual simplicity of necktie instructions. The illustrator always seems to provide just the right amount of detail and omit what isn’t necessary. These particular examples from  Bows ‘N Ties offers simplicity and clarity. With these illustrations I learned how to tie a Double Windsor from my iPhone while [...]

A few years ago, the AIGA produced this simple PDF booklet that helps designers and their clients understand the value of design. I often find myself referring back to it as a reminder of the value I provide clients. In any case, it’s a great example of simple elegance providing a powerful message and progressing the notion [...]

I’m reposting this here because I think it is a valuable tool for those who own or manage Facebook Fan Pages. Enjoy! Did you know that your Facebook Fan page image can be up to 200px wide by 600px tall?! By having an image this size on your Fan Page you can add more detail [...]

Everyone has a right to protect their intellectual property, but I was quite surprised and a bit puzzled when I saw a full-page ad for Little Trees Car-Freshner in the September issue of Graphic Design USA. The ad displayed 5 Little Tree designs and contained the following copy: “This is privately owned property. So is [...]

People buy into cultures, not brands yet, we focus so much of our efforts on building brands. Being in design, I see this nearly everyday. Normally, the client wants a brand image that satisfies their vision of the brand, not the customers. Can a brand stand on it’s own merits without  a culture infused by it’s [...]

Remember the movie Short Circuit from the mid-80’s? An experimental robot (#5) gets electrocuted and becomes “intelligent”. It escapes from the Army base where it was designed and instead of destroying everything in its path, it looks for “inputs”. “Number 5 needs more inpuuuuts!” Often times we focus on inputs. We read far more than [...]

In my business, I come across many images that need some work. In other words, they don’t exude confidence or even competence. Sometimes I make this snap judgement when someone passes me a business card or I stumble across a website. I realize that this isn’t a fair way to judge the quality of a [...]