One of the first projects I devoted time to after leaving Disney, almost a year ago, was to finally finish and release my Magic In Type – Castle letterpress poster. It was a project I had started many months earlier, but I could never devote enough time to get it to the finish line. I was very excited to finally be able to work during real daytime hours and make it happen.

Skip forward a few weeks to when I had a crate full of freshly pressed prints on the floor of my studio, and it was time to let the world know about it. I, of course, had this dream that I would post one tweet about my posters and the world would be completely amazed by what I had done. Word would spread like wildfire and I would sell out in mere minutes. I did tweet about it, and posted on facebook, and I had a reasonably good response to that… but reality was setting in that I would need to dig a little deeper to make it work.

I decided I would do a little online advertising in the niche areas that might be interested. Disney fans & typography geeks don’t really run in the same circles, so I focused on the area I was most familiar… Disney Parks fan sites.

To make a long story just the tiniest bit longer, I found that advertising on the sites I frequented most was a complete mess. There is a myriad of sites that were possibilities, but they were all covered with boring, vaguely-targeted text ads or flashy, noisy, annoying animation ads, and in most cases, both. It all felt like somebody was handing out a box full of megaphones and telling everyone to stand in the same room and yell their message. With everybody trying to scream the loudest, everyone gets lost in the noise.

It was around this same time I read an interview with a business hero of mine named Jim Coudal. In the interview Jim talks about being frustrated with the state of online advertising in a specific demographic where he wanted to market a new product. He got annoyed and did what any self respecting entrepreneur would do. He decided he could do it better, and with that he launched The Deck.

His story just hit home with me at the right time. I started forming plans to fix what I think is broken about advertising on the sites I love.

After several months of planning and working out the technical details, I’m very happy to announce the launch of the latest J. Blackbird venture…

Maingate Ads – A new ad network reaching out to theme park fans, travelers, memorabilia hounds and amusement industry buffs.

Beginning July 1, 2010 we’ll be serving simple, beautiful and perfectly targeted ads on an impressive lineup of websites. We’ve been so fortunate that our message has struck a chord with website publishers and advertisers alike. We’ll start reasonably small, but we’ve already got some big plans for the road ahead.

If you run or know of a website that’s interested in carrying Maingate Ads, or if you’d like to find out about purchasing ad space, drop us a line.

Betaloft

First, I’ll let you know about the launch of one of my own projects. The re-branding and site design of an absolutely killer coworking facility in Salt Lake City called Betaloft.

If you work independently and, like me, often find yourself talking to your dog during the work day, Betaloft provides a wonderful way to keep your sanity and meet cool people. There really is nothing like the spark of creativity and inspiration that comes from face-to-face time with other humans.

I could go on for hours, but I’ll let you check out the site for more about all that.

Jessica Hische

I was first introduced to Jessica’s work when I ran across her Viney Alphabet in my feed reader. I became an instant fan.

She’s launched a new site full of hand-lettering goodness, and a store full of drool-worthy goods. A must see for type fans of all ages.

On a side note, don’t miss Jessica’s Daily Drop Cap for more beautiful lettering.

Ligature, Loop & Stem

This new site has a small, but wonderful, catalog of type related goods. They’ve just released a white version of their wildly popular Ampersand Test Print that I can’t help but love.

…and just look at that site. lovely.

Teuxdeux

A brand new web app by swissmiss that puts a slick designy spin on the todo app. I love the way it looks, and I’ll spend the next week or so giving it a try.

Mighty

Design hero of mine Jason Santa Maria resolved to work on “stuff that matters”, and he’s launched a studio to do just that. Meet Mighty.

I, and the rest of the web/design universe, will be watching closely for the stream of wonderfulness that is sure to emerge from this little studio.

Prep & Landing

Last, but not least, a beautiful bit of animation hit the airwaves this week. I was skeptical when I heard about it, but last night I watched it on Hulu while I worked. Disney’s Prep & Landing very quickly seated itself as a Christmas classic with me. It’s a creative little story with a ton of heart that will be played right alongside Christmas Vacation and A Charlie Brown Christmas.

If you haven’t seen it… get over to Hulu and check it out.

So I guess that’s about it. I wish the very best to everyone launching something new, something they care about. It’s a difficult but wonderful thing.

Now… back to work.