New Campaign Launched with NCADD

Last month, I finished the campaign I have been working on in conjunction with NCADD (National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependency). Using the Sappi ‘Ideas that Matter’ grant, posters and brochures were printed and distributed to NCADD affiliate offices throughout the country. They’ll be used in rehabs, detoxes, recovery centers, counseling offices, EAP offices, college campuses and more!

The project reflects the design and mission of stop and start over, and is titled ‘Hope, Help & Healing. To view the materials visit NCADD’s site where the pdf’s are posted. YAY!

Grant Proposal Time!

What’s new with the project? I’ve just submitted a grant application to Sappi, for their ‘Ideas that matter’ initiative. They award monetary grants to designers to help them implement projects that serve the causes that are closest to their hearts.

I have aligned myself with a non-profit for the grant, the NCADD (National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence). They are an organization with a team of great people, passionate about what they do. And they have affiliates nation-wide.

The idea is to continue the mission of stopandstartover, this time executing it through a series of posters and brochures. Notification of whether or not you get the grant isn’t until August, so I’ll keep you posted!

Phew! …and Next Steps

So the presentation last night went great! It’s easy to talk about something I’m so passionate about. It came from the heart, and that came accross. The panel gave great feedback. Milton Glaser told me what I was doing was important – the marriage of design and worthy cause (he said it more eloquently – i was on cloud nine so it’s hard to recall word-for-word). That was pretty cool.

So, the site still has a few bugs I need to work out before I officially blog about it on other sites and send out a press release. I encourage everyone to REGISTER on the discussion board and start posting questions and answers. Also, submit stories and book and movie recommendations!

Thank you to everyone for all your help and support

Thesis Presentation Day!

So… tomorrow is the BIG day. I present my project to the committee. I’ve done the preparation, the visuals, the rehearsing, and am ready! At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

Stop and Start Over is so important to me, and I’ve worked so hard on it over the past year. I think this will come accross in my presentation. I also look forward to telling a room full of people that I am an alcoholic and addict (in recovery). It will certainly grab their attention.

So tomorrow night at 6:10 everyone send good thoughts. During the day I’ll try and stay calm, do some yoga, go to a meeting, breathe. Onward!

What’s in a Tag Line?

As the process of finalizing everything nears, one of my advisors doesn’t like my current tagline: “helping you through recovery.”

So, I’ve spent all day second guessing my choice. His suggestion is “will help you through recovery.” My feeling is that this tagline makes a claim that can’t be guaranteed. There are so many paths to recovery, who am I to say that mine will be helpful to everyone? I’m not an expert; just a drunk addict in recovery, putting my voice out there. Some may hear it, others not.

Other suggestions include “helping through recovery” (sounds like an incomplete sentance to me), and “help with recovery.” Tonight I will present all 4 options to my advisor, and choose one by tomorrow, when collateral has to be sent off to the printer.

Any thoughts? Wish me luck!

Artwork for the Project

Today I met with De la Vega at his shop in the East Village to talk about my thesis and see if he might be interested in lending his artwork to the project. I was super nervous, not having any idea of who he is as a person. He puts out a larger-than-life persona; the hat, the hip glasses, i was intimidated at first.

Turns out he is fking INCREDIBLE. His view on the world and the place his art plays in it is so aligned with what i believe to be true. He said there is too much negativity and he wants to put out something positive. When I explained my project, he was very interested in the meetings; he knew about the nearby workshop that I consider my home group, so we talked for a while about recovery. It was great.

I have so much respect and admiration for De La Vega. I already loved his work. And the fact he has given me permission to use it in the project (YAY!) is yet another sign that this is meant to happen.

Draft of Final Pitch Book…

…was submitted today. I feel pretty good about the content, but the design still needs some work.

My biggest fear in the beginning was that I was going to step on the toes of AA. I feel confident that I presented my project in a way that upholds the traditions. So much work is going in to all of this! But I feel confident that Stop and start over will make a mark in the world of recovery. Even a small one will do

I definitely need a meeting. It’s really keeping me going right now. It reminds me to be grateful, and not become all consumed with school.

Upward and onward!