New ways to mock-up old projects

I go through occasional bursts of preparing older projects for display on my website, always driven by one thing or another, usually a job application or AIGA get together (assuming any of my old friends or acquaintances decide to see what I’ve been up to lately). The question always comes up: how to present them?

Most of my personal projects were never printed or put into production of any kind, they were just exercises for the most part, and even if they were printed, my photography skills are only now starting to come around. Like the World Champ poster I made one night when I was thinking about Tony Martin wearing the rainbow jersey during the Tour de France. It was just a dash to get an idea onto the computer. It was never printed but I still thought of it as a “poster.”

I nearly forgot about the Moonhead poster I made in 2013 until a couple nights ago when I was digging through files. That one actually had a purpose, a group exhibition, but I donated the only print (which cost over $45 at Kinkos believe it or not) to the organizers. It went to a good home at least.

These old projects are good candidates for mocking-up in Photoshop. It’s funny to see a span of skills represented in a single image, like the ones above. I didn’t know enough about Photoshop the year I made that calendar poster to even come close to mocking it up with such subtle tones and custom-drawn drop shadows. Now I do, and it helps give these old projects a modest presentation after years of waiting patiently on my hard drive.