…and a new website pour moí!

It's been quite a while since I've posted anything here, so here's a light dusting of some newer BENjoyment. Did I just say... wow. and he ooozes with creativity... time for a break: www.bengrefsrud.carbonmade.com

My Grand Finale! ...but only at msnbc.com...

As I depart from my short lived but greatly beneficial time with msnbc.com and head for MSN to assist with the redesign of their Health & Fitness and Lifestyles sections, I leave a significant trail of greatness that I, myself am very proud of. My goals at msnbc.com had changed many times because I had constantly surpassed what I thought myself capable of. When I first started work there, I had hoped to get one of my illustrations live on the site and hopefully even on a section front. That happened with my second attempted illustration. After that, I strived for 3, then 7, then 14, and have left with 23 illustrations published live on msnbc.com, with a handful of pre-supplied illustrations to be used in the future. Every one of them, thus far has reached the section cover and two of them had reached the front cover of msnbc.com, which is extremely rare for illustrations, as it is a photo driven world we live in. What I recently found out makes this last statement seem like childs play. A couple of days ago, I was informed that one of my illustrations (my very first one, in fact) had made the FRONT COVER of MSN.com! I was told that it was live for "a long time", which I'm not sure how long that means, but sounds great nonetheless. When I had discussed with this person and researched exactly what this meant, I had found that, 1) MSN.com is the #1 WEBPAGE in the ENTIRE WORLD, mainly because it is the default home page on many internet browsers and English is the most common language. (Even still, the MSN sites of other languages/countries generally take the English homepage and customize it to suit their needs, leaving some articles and replacing others. This means that my work may have even been on foreign sites!) And #2: Ultimately, it is true that my artwork has been seen by hundreds of millions of people, worldwide! What's more, it was not simply an icon or something that only myself and a select few people know about, but it was "art", and therefore had my name credited next to it! That is well beyond anything I could have hoped for. I have had a chance to showcase a variety of different styles, as well as 2 animated using Flash!
Below is the last of my list of illustrations that have gone live on msnbc.com:

23) Posted on 11-23-07
15 festive stay-slim treats

22) Posted on 11-21-07
Perfect getaways go to the dogs

21) Posted on 11-21-07
Looking for love at the airport

20) Posted on 11-19-07
Working through a chronic illness

19) Posted on 11-15-07
Don’t be the turkey this Thanksgiving

18) Posted on 11-12-07
Honey, I was just looking! In defense of ogling

And in case you didn't see it...

My most recent illustration, the one on Generation X, was posted on the Front Cover of msnbc.com today. This was my second cover illustration and coincidentally, the other cover stage that I did was on Generation Y. I guess I should get started on my Baby Boomers piece before i miss my boat...

¡Cuatro Más!

Here are four more illustrations to add to my collection of online editorial illustrations for msnbc.com. I've been getting a chance to do more of these lately because I've basically been "The Art Department". The rest of the department is so busy trying to get our new site redesign up and running, that all things creative and illustrative have fallen on my shoulders -- and I couldn't be happier!

Posted on Thursday, November 8:
Following the style of a few of my previous illustrations is a story in the Business section on how Generation-X'ers are not preparing for retirement quite as well as they should.

Posted on Tuesday, November 6:
Another fast turnaround and simplistic approach to a story in the Travel section on why people like to pack "everything AND the kitchen sink" in their carry-on luggage.

Posted on Monday, November 5:
A completely different style than I've done before, having not been "drawn" so much as "pieced together", is a story in the Business section on why women tend to call in sick more often than men.

Posted on Thursday, November 1:
One the fastest illustrations I've done, having gotten it at the last minute, is a story in the Travel section on travelers who tend to listen to their headphones too loud, among other things.

Online illos thus far ...and a newbie!

Greetings and salutations once again!

I have for you today, a list of my editorial illustrations that have gone live on msnbc.com. I figured that since I've reached my "Baker's Dozen", it's time to recap. You'll note also that today, I have a new illustration posted. Enjoy!

13) 10-26-07
Cheating on your doc with a naturopath?

12) 10-25-07
Freaky flights: Should you greet the gremlin?

11) 10-18-07
Airlines that care? Waiting for take-off

10) 10-14-07
Job perks galore for twentysomethings

9) 10-11-07
A Mickey Mouse idea

8) 10-8-07
Tariff trouble: Fliers beware

7) 10-2-07
When shopping and spending go too far

6) 9-30-07
Reconciling religious beliefs with work

5) 8-20-07
Blacklisted: 4 travel companies people avoid

4) 8-2-07
Love me, love my goo?

3) 7-18-07
Here's a secret: Gossip may be good for you

2) 6-26-07
The myth of the weekend warrior

1) 5-15-07
Road rage can churn in the calmest of hearts

Lots o' new goodies!

Hello again!

I have not posted in a while, and have since had a number of new posts up on msnbc.com. As usual, the posts that I normally point out are my illustrations, because they have my name mentioned. However, I also do the occasional headers, icons, and various sized teases and site graphics.

Since my last post, I've created a monster - in more ways than one! Today, I posted a gremlin! There's even a glimse of him, if you look quick, on the cover! A few days ago, I posted an illustration that, many people that I work with and otherwise deem my best work yet, in a style that I've gotten people urging me to do more in! And a few days before that, I had a fun illustration that I did for the business section make the FRONT COVER! It was up for most of the day - which is a long time for the front cover, and got me lots of great feedback. Of course it's not up on the cover now, but this is the illustration that went up.

All in all, I'd have to say personally, that I think these last 3 have been some of my better work thus far!

Enjoy!

As promised... Part 1

As promised, here is the link to my most recent post on msnbc.com. It is an illustration for a story on how Disney is now involved in training and prepping airline employees and making their presence known. It's pretty interesting and entertaining. Check it out!