Eat your heart out
Nov 9, 2009
Filed under:
Graphic Design, Projects, School, typography
HopeFear Photographs
Here are some photographs of the hopefear project. The exhibit was up for a week and a half in the Library at BYU-Idaho.
More info about this project can be found here and here. Thanks!
Oct 24, 2009
Filed under:
Graphic Design, Process, Projects, School
The Hopefear Project
The hopefear project started months ago and now it is done. Still, I feel like it isn’t done.
When I reached the day of reckoning on this project, I pulled all the data obtain on my questionnaire and it totaled 100 people exactly. People from all over the world. That seemed perfect. My hope to get a handful of photos, poems, songs, and other ‘expression’ about hope and or fear was hardly realized and so I canned my plans for that aspect of the design. Funny thing happened though . . .
Oct 23, 2009
Filed under:
Illustration
I may not be an illustrator
Specialization is for insects.
Illustration done with ink, marker and graphite.
Okay, okay, so specialization is also for me. I may specialize in graphic design, but that doesn’t mean that I have to ignore other kinds of art. Nope, not me. I have been known to write a little music, snap some photographs, cook some tasty meals, shoot and edit some shorts, write a little here and there and even pull out the ole drawing supplies. Why do I do this? Because it makes me a better graphic designer. See, specialization.
I was looking through some old stuff and found this pig illustration I did 2 years or so ago. I rather like it—so I am posting it. If anyone is interested in a print, let me know and we can arrange for a nice high quality giclee.
Book Arts
A simple book I designed and built.
This is a book.
I am in a book arts class and I am learning some really cool things. This is the first completed project for the class. It’s called a long stitch. The examples we observed in class looked like this, and this is the style that most of the students did. But me? I don’t really like leather. So I found some corrugated plastic at my local sign shop and achieved a completely different aesthetic.
I rather like it. More images after the jump.
Sep 24, 2009
Filed under:
Art, books, School, typography
Advanced Typography
The Fall 2009 semester has begun and I think this is going to be a good one. Oh, and I’m already sleep deprived.
A thousand-year-old manuscript.
The Fall semester here at Brigham Young University-Idaho starts a little late, on the 10th of September this year. But things are in full swing and I am feeling the burn. I am taking Advanced Typography, Color Photography, Book Arts, History of Design and Illustration, and an Old Testament class. All of these are great, really. The big love of my heart? Advanced Typography.
Sep 10, 2009
Filed under:
Creativity, News
Hey @VeerUpdate!
You’ll never win if you don’t enter!
My entry for Veer's first Take a Picture creative contest
I just won a $200 subscription to Veer’s new marketplace! I was one of five winners for the “big and blue” contest. I ran outside with some sidewalk chalk and went to work, snapped a photo and voila! Check out this contest and join in!
Aug 31, 2009
Filed under:
books, reviews, typography
An Essay on Typography
Gill’s approach to the changes that came with the Industrial Revolution may give us some ideas about how to curb the flux of the information age
Eric Gill's An Essay on Typography. The first edition was written in 1931.
This summer has been filled with some really great reading. About two weeks ago I finished Eric Gill’s, An essay on Typography. This lovely (and quick!) read was written in 1931.
Eric Gill is a very opinionated man, and throughout the book, he speaks much about type, printing, punch-cutting, paper, ink and more as it related to the industrial revolution. I was fascinated with how his concerns and opinions about the changing world relate to our changing world. Today, we are facing globalization, advances in technology, offshoring/outsourcing and so on. Gill’s essay is right in line with some of the challenges that today’s creative professional face.
Jul 18, 2009
Filed under:
News
Brand New Sketchbook
In case you weren’t aware, there is a fantastic blog from Under Consideration called Brand New.
Under Consideration's fancy Brand New logo sketchbook, complete with quotes! (photo from Under Consideration)
This week I got a little somethin’ in the mail! Under Consideration has this super neat blog, Brand New, all about brands and logos. They asked people to submit their thoughts on the importance of sketching in the logo design process. My quote was one of the thirty selected for their book!
Take a look after the jump!
May 26, 2009
Filed under:
Graphic Design, Projects, School, typography
May 20, 2009
Filed under:
Art, Creativity, School
Painting with Produce
An exploration of textures
Cantalope
In my 3D Graphic Design class (as in package and environment design), we have been given a number of “exploration” assignments. This one was to be an exploration of textures.
May 16, 2009
Filed under:
books, reviews, typography
Stop Stealing Sheep
A review of Stop Stealing Sheep & Find Out How Type Works by Erik Spiekermann and E.M Ginger. Read it. Seriously.
I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for about a year and I’ve done nothing with it other than look at the pretty pictures (of which there are many). Yesterday, I was on a long drive and I brought it along, thinking I would simply start the book. To my surprise, I digested the entire volume in about two hours. This is not to say that Spiekermann and Ginger’s book is no more than a pamphlet; no, it is a really great little book that (almost) everyone should read.
May 11, 2009
Filed under:
Graphic Design, News, Projects
News update
I have been busy at work and somewhat separated from my portfolio and blog. I have some things to add, I just need to buckle down and do it.
So lately, I’ve been taking some really great classes. Information design and 3D graphic design to name a few. These are really keeping me flat out and I am really enjoying it. One of the projects I am working on in my Info Design class is a research/design project which I am calling OnePostcard (read on!).
Apr 1, 2009
Filed under:
Graphic Design, tutorials
Tutorial: Accordion-fold portfolio
A neat little binding that lets you show it like a book or all at once. A great project to hone your craftsmanship.
I made this accordion-fold portfolio a while ago and got some good response. This binding worked perfect for a portfolio and could be the right choice in a number of applications. I’ve had a few people ask me how I made it. I’ll do my best to explain it. If you aren’t looking to build a portfolio, per say, this might be a good primer and it is an excellent way to improve your craftsmanship.
Mar 18, 2009
Filed under:
Freelance, Graphic Design
In-house or out-source?
Why hire in? Why hire out? And why I prefer the out-source way.
I have been ‘designing graphics’ now for the past eight-or-so years, and professionally since 2005. I’ve worked in a variety of circumstances from in-house at a startup leading the creative team, to freelancing and heading up a handful of projects for a handful of clients at one time. Each method has its strengths and weaknesses and it would be foolish to say that one is better than the other for a company or a creative team. It comes down to preference and ultimately, the needs of everyone involved.
Mar 14, 2009
Filed under:
Creativity, Freelance, Graphic Design
A Limberer Mind
Take a break from doing what everyone else is telling you to do and do something for yourself.
Everyday, I wake up and go to work, open my email and my task management software and begin whittling away at the projects in the que. I love my work and am constantly striving to improve the quality of my work and my own capacity to create. One technique that helps me keep my creative mind limber is to turn off the que and do something for myself.
Feb 25, 2009
Filed under:
Creativity, Freelance, Graphic Design
Holistic Creativity
How specialization can limit a specialty
These days, all my creative energy is funneled toward one very specific vein of creativity: visual. As a graphic designer, I am always looking (and paying close attention) at art, design, textures, type, color, patterns, advertisements, opening credits and nearly everything visual. But this isn’t the end of my creative observation, nor is graphic design the end of my creative expression.
I’ve said it before, there is a lot of value in doing one thing and doing it well. Still, doing that one thing may start to suffer if it really is the only thing you do. As a creative professional—even one with a specialty—it is essential to allow one’s self to absorb more than that one thing to which one specializes in (whew!). I guess what I am trying to say is that creative energy (if you will) flows from so many places; it would be foolish to aimlessly create without letting that influence seep in.