You Can't Miss: 48 Hour Magazine

On magcultue blog, I found out about 48Hour magazine. A group of people are going to release a theme on May 7, take submissions until May 8, and on May 9 a magazine will be wrapped up and sent to the printer (there will be an online and print version). I really want to do this!!! I know I'm strapped for time, but this would be a great experience! The idea is to test the limit of the tools we have today – can a magazine be written, photographed, illustrated, edited and shipped all in two days?  I bet it can :) Check out how you can participate here.

Response: Mini Portfolios

Mini-portfolios. Yikes.

I truly am excited about mini-portfolios, but my concern is time. I'm concerned that I won't have the proper amount of time to create mini-portfolios that will sell me work and ultimately me. It was nice to finally see the various portfolios yesterday in class. I saw several things in a mini that I liked, but I think I saw more things that I don't like. Sometimes defining what you don't like is just as important as what you do like. My list of 'don'ts' includes: complete lamination, spiral binding and spice. I want a classy look and feel, so I definitely need classy binding. I'm sure the things on my dislike list could be done in a classy way...maybe not. I think I'm going to just print a few to see if what I go with is something that I really like. If  I do that, I won't be completely locked into something and can update my stuff if it gets out dated or I fall out of love with my mini-portfolio design.

Critique: ST Illustration

I'm learning that I enjoy creating illustrations. This is the illustration that is running in the 4/29 ST dept in Vox. The story is about the Mid-Mo Coffee Party, a group that meets in coffee shops and discusses political things. I created an illustration earlier this semester for the April Fools issue (if you recall, it is an illustration of a whoopie coushin). I really enjoy creating illustrations. There is a great freedom with illustrations – you can create almost anything!

You Can't Miss: Cool stuff and random thoughts

I've mentioned Anorak before. It is a lovely magazine for children. This week I can across an interview with Cathy Olmedillas, the editor and founder of the magazine, on stackmagazines.com. The interview goes into how the magazine came to be,  advertisements within the independent magazine and even how the magazine had taken advantage of new technology (hint: iPhone and iPad). Olmedillas talked about how the new technology is great to boost the magazine's presence in the US  and Australia (Anorak is a UK magazine), but even though digital versions of the magazine will be available, she is certain that the print version will never go away. There is too much of a physical experience for them to ever go away. Check out the interview here. Also, in the article, the writer mentioned a couple places that Anorak had already been featured. One spot is Gwynneth Paltrow's newsletter GOOP (which you should also check out because she writes about some cool stuff, plus had come neat navigation icons). 

p.s. I baked cookies this afternoon, I have a theory: women had stronger arms before technology came along ... using a wooden spoon to mix batter is just as good of a work out, if not better, than lifting weights.

Response: Portfolio Site

I'm so proud of everyone who show their website yesterday. They all look fabulous. I've recently scrapped mine multiple times. I just can't quite get to a design that is me. I almost wish we would have done a personal branding exercise for ourselves. Here is the most recent screen shot of my portfolio site. It's not me. Green and black? No. What was I thinking!? I didn't realize how hard this would be.

Jan said something interesting in class yesterday: when you invite someone to your website, you are inviting them into your home. Well, let's just say that this is not my home. It would be extremely misleading of me to have this design as my site. I'm playing around with some other ideas. The framework is basically the same architecture just different curtains. I feel like I'm in a bit of an identity crisis with the portfolio site. I was it to reflect my personality and my design so badly, and I just want to get it done! 

Critique: CookOut

The prototypes are soooo close to being complete. My absolute favorite spread of mine is the grill kit feature. It turned out quite nice. The feature is the top 10 things that you'll need when grilling, so keep them together in a portable container so you can grab and go grill :) I had originally planned on cutting out images from the Creative Library, but I couldn't find decent images for a couple of the products. It was a nightmare searching through the library to find just the right shot of individual products. The Monday before we presented to John, I called in a favor from a friend. She graciously took time Tuesday to use her made photography skills and shoot an image of the products in a caddy. The outcome: the fabulous photo you see here! And how wonderful is it that my roommate has all of the grill products featured!?!? Who wold have thought that in my house is a silicone basting brush and a bendable neck lighter torch? Plus, our back deck came in handy :)

You Can't Miss: Questions

Last week we discussed our creative thinking process. This week I came across a blog that interviews graphic artists and illustrators a set list of questions about their favorite artist tools. You can check it out at The Tools Artists Use. The site if pretty cool because they have indexes sorted b artist name, date interview was published and even a word cloud of what tools were featured! Here is the list of questions they use:

- What are some of your favorite drawing tools (pens, pencils, markers, drawing tablet, all of the above)?

- If you prefer pens, is there any particular brand, color, or type of ink you like best?

- How do you like your color? Watercolor? Acrylics? Oil? Colored pencils? Markers?

- Is there any particular type of notebook or drawing pad you prefer? Or does any scrap of decent-sized paper work in a pinch?

- Have you ever tried a new pen (or paper, etc) from reading about it, or seeing the results in another artist’s work?

- If you create purely-digital art, what are the software programs you use? Is one used more than another?

- If you work both digitally and non-digitally, which do you find yourself doing more? Is there a reason you would prefer one of the other? Is it because of the tools available in either space?

- I asked about post-processing on a computer, but do you think the computer is a helpful tool for making art? Whether it’’s looking for inspiration online, or using it to build a weblog to promote yourself and your art, do you think a computer is necessary, helpful, or a distraction (or all of the above)?

Response: LBB

Here are two of my LLB logos that I've been working on. It was interesting getting feedback from her in class on Tuesday. It was nice to hear feedback on each individual logo. It was interesting to hear her comments on everyone else's as well. Everyone's logos are very different, but there were some elements that were similar. Some designers used the bird imagery, but they used it all in different ways. It was really neat to see.

Critique: Happiness

This is my final cover concept for the happiness feature. This story was another compilation of smaller stories, so the visuals for this leaned more toward the conceptual. The feature design was a play off of Candy Land. I wanted to portray a land of happiness that is colorful like the game. This week I've been working on CookOut features and departments like crazy. I'd  post some of my favorite designs, but I don't want to spoil the presentation tomorrow...

You Can't Miss: Fire & Knives (again)

Oh my goodness! When I got back to Columbia after break, I had a nice package waiting for me...it was from London. A friend of mine surprised me with ordering Fire&Knives for me!!! Wow! It is so cool! It is smaller than standard size with perfect binding, the paper smells great, the illustrations are fantastic, the writing is lovely – I don't know that I've ever really read a magazine cover to cover.

Something extra sweet
When I was at HyVee the other night, I saw these adorable illustrations on cake mix and icing boxes :)

Response: Paper

I was so excited about receiving paper samples in class on Tuesday. Paper will never go away. There is something exciting about it – it is tangible, colorful, and there are so many different types. I was given an invitation to a friend's wedding. It is beautifully designed and beautifully printed. It was printed on a letterpress. This shows the importance of good paper selection. The invitation was printed on a very heavy card stock paper. It is probably the thickness of a restaurant coaster. When printed, the type and images made deep impressions on the paper. It's so cool to run your finger over the type!

Critique: Short Talk and More

This is my short talk design from 4/1, April Fools Day. I drew a whoopie cushion. I really feel that I'm improving on the time it take to pull together a department page. The production of this page was seamless. That is cool because this was during our double production week.

Inspiring Sights

Found Typography