HOP & JAUNT TEAR UP the BIG APPLE!

Everything has been a blur since we’ve returned to sweet home Alabama after our trip to New York City this summer. Alyson and I have been steadily busy doing work for our clients at HOP & JAUNT Creative Design. Here are couple you may have seen within the travel community recently.

This was a custom blog designed for Spencer Spellman of The Traveling Philosopher fame. We met Spence in New York at TBEX10 and decided to meet up again down in Mobile, Alabama. He wanted a great looking site to accompany his great writing. I really love the custom Twitter, RSS and Stumble Upon badges we did. Check out Spencer’s site when you get a chance. He has some entertaining articles, and each includes a bit of southern charm and wit.

HOP & JAUNT did this custom logo and header for Matt Long of Landlopers.com . The circular mark of the Landlopers logo represents a path leading into the distance between two mountain peaks. Its sleek, simple and iconic (which makes my graphic design senses tingle). Check out Matt’s site too, cause he has a lot of great advice for getting around the globe without breaking the bank.

So, what else is new from the desks of the traveling designers. We’ve done blogs, websites, ebooks and now…perhaps theater.

When Alyson and I were in NYC we saw a Broadway play. The set and costume designs inspired me to use our trip photos to create a mock-broadway production of our trip. Check out some of the images from the soon-to-be Off-Off-Off Broadway play, “HOP & JAUNT TEAR UP the BIG APPLE”.

We arrive in New York City!

We rented an apartment for the week.

We took a trip to the top of the Rockefeller Building and watched the sunset and the city’s lights come on.

We advanced down Wall Street.

On Independence Day we visited Liberty Isle and Ellis Island.

For the long ride home, we caught the Crescent Line back to Birmingham.

Common Pick-Pocket Schemes

WE LOVE TO TRAVEL! We love meeting new people, learning about other cultures, trying new foods and hearing new types of music. It’s part of what makes this world so great. We’ve also been fortunate enough to make some really good friends in the places we’ve visited. People in general seem to be warm, friendly and helpful; however, on the rare occasion you may cross paths with a “ne’er do well scoundrel“.

I was thinking (and laughing) the other day about the time I was pick-pocketed in Colombia. It was funny to me that when I was being robbed I had absolutely no idea. And later when I did discover my missing money I instantly knew the exact moment when it had happened. Those pesky pick-pockets are true masters of their craft. I even met a man who had both pockets picked while his hands were still in them.

I got to talking with other travelers about their experiences. This inspired me to create a helpful little infographic blog illustrating some common pickpocket schemes. So, for all you travelers and wanderers out there, here are some things to look out for.

The Point and Grab:

This method was made known to me by my South African chum, Otto.

In this two man operation, the victim is momentarily distracted by the first thief while the second thief grabs their goods. This method usually works best in crowded tourist areas, but it’s also useful for stealing your friend’s french fries.

A. The mark (or targeted person) is attempting to take a photograph of a friend, landmark, or event.
B. Thief #1 diverts the mark’s attention by tapping on their shoulder.
C. The 2nd thief stands close by to make the grab.

A. The mark turns to see who has been nudging him.
B. Thief #1 has already begun walking away unassumingly.
C. Thief #2 springs into action and grabs the mark’s camera while they are distracted.

A. Thief #2 then runs and attempts to disappear into the crowd.
B. The victim is surprised and hesitates long enough for the thief to make a get-away.
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Hop & Jaunt’s Funky Travel Store Now Open!!

Hi everyone!!

We’ve just launched our travel gear store! It’s been a creative outlet and fun side project for us and we wanted to share what we’ve made with you.

Alien Attack! Be Prepared With A Cool Tee

You will probably notice right off the bat, with the aliens and retro model shots, that this is not a typical travel store. The truth is this is our playground that we want to invite you in. While traveling we were disappointed with both the overall quality and lack of originality in the destination souvenir t-shirts. So while out roaming about, we began sketching ideas for shirts we wished we could have gotten. This site is where we will be showcasing the designs.

The store is a work in progress, we still have a sketchbook full of ideas and designs to put in. But we’re eager to get the feedback from our fellow traveler what they think! We are creating a contest (posted shortly) for our fellow travel bloggers where we will be giving away the TBEX 10 NY shirt. The rules will be quite simple, submit your top 5 unique things to do while in New York and from the entries we will choose the top five we think are the best, then we will have a poll on our facebook page for everyone to vote on the #1 top 5 unique things to do in NY!

TBEX 10 NY Shirt To Rock The City In

We’re working out the details and will post the official contest on our blog today.

Aly & John in: “Pirates of the Paria” (a graphic blog episode)

Excerpt from Travelouge April 1st, 2010

We were now somewhere in the middle of the Gulf of Paria. Alyson and I were both uneasy. Neither of us had stopped scanning the horizon since we had entered the “Boca del Serpiente” Channel just before sunrise. The Paria is a small body of water separating the isle of Trinidad from the Venezuelan mainland, and it’s notorious for pirate attacks. Passage through the gulf can only be made through the two separate channels leading in and out of the Paria. Entry from the south via the Mouth of the Serpent and from the north by the Mouth of the Dragon.

“In the mouth of the snake and out the mouth of the dragon.”

A route we would rather have avoided, but weather conditions dictated that we had to sail today…and this was the quickest passage. Sometimes it is hard to decide who to fear more…man or Mother Nature. Hopefully, if all went well we would be passing out of the “Boca del Dragon” Channel in a couple of hours.

The winds had been picking up steadily since day break. A 20 knot breeze out of the southeast kept us on a broad reach making between 6-8 knots. Despite the increasing winds, we carried on under full genoa and main. We were anxious to put the Paria and its rumors of pirates to our stern.
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New Design Sneak Preview!

This is a screen shot from the new design we are working on for our site. The concept is a fusion of our two interests, work, and passion. We will have a home page where you can choose between our featured articles, go to our travel blog, go to our design agency, or browse our travel inspired t-shirt and travel gear store! Here are a few screenshots from what we are working on.

Let us know what you think, we’re still working out some of the kinks so before we say “I Do”. Are there any objections to this union of the new design and Hop & Jaunt? If so,  speak now or forever hold your peace!

Home page with links to the 3 different sections, featured slider, flickr photos

The Blog Home Page

The post page

The main portfolio page with rotating images from different projects

This is the basic lay-out of our indivisual category portfolio page

This is the idea of the design so far, we’ve got a few kinks still to work out but if you have any suggestions let us know we still have a little time to change!

To leave a comment click on the title of this post, and scroll to the bottom of the article.

Amazing Knockers

Cartagena is home to some amazing knockers. Though plastic surgery is almost a national pastime here, we are not talking about the girls today. Sorry boys. Also known as “The Door To The Americas,” Cartagena boasts some of the most beautiful architecture in the Americas. Once you’ve strolled through the romantic streets of the old city you’ll understand why it’s been designated a world heritage site since 1984. We have walked these streets almost everyday since being in Colombia and still never tire of seeing something new in a building or plaza that we missed the last time around. The details that adorn the buildings and streets are what keep it so interesting. So today we will start with some of the details of the city that have fascinated us and from there pan out to the overall city and sights. I hope you find these knockers as fascinating as we did.

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Aly & John in “Island of Fire” a Graphic Blog Episode

Excerpt from Travelouge May 20, 2009

It was growing dark outside.  I could visibly see the fading light through the thatched roof of the hut where we were being held.  It had been quiet now for several hours.

Alyson sat across from me on the sandy floor.  Her concern shown in the terrified expression on her face.  Even in the dimly lit hut I could see it.  I had been wrestling with the bindings on my arms ever since we had been captured the day before.  (more…)