Between Classes

This blog originates in the brain space between senior projects in graphic design and my linguistics class. There's something really contrasting about design and phonology. The math part of my brain is clashing with the art part. It's not exactly my favorite part of the day. But I understand it's important to be able to transition between thinking with both sides of the brain. It's just difficult to care about "complimentary distribution" and "aspirated phonemes" when I have a portfolio to work on.

I'm also freaking out about Will Hyde of Superfad (founder in part of both The Stranger and Digital Kitchen), coming to speak tonight for the Design Speaker Series. Every video on their site is pure eye candy. Can't wait to hear the story and inspiration behind the design.

superfad.com

Today is all about inspiration. Check out my tumblr to see what I think is great.

Imaginary Things

(P.S. the image on the side is a cut of the senior design lab, including my (messy) desk!)

Watching: Friends
Reading: Various Design Blogs
Listening: A Lecture

Frying Pans

After refraining from cooking anything on the burner for the last couple of months due to our incredibly old, flaking, teflon pans (the only usable piece of cookware being a miniature one-egg pan) I finally, FINALLY bought a new one.
I can cook once more!

Sure I felt a bit like a character from Tangled when I walked onto the bus with my groceries in one hand and a frying pan in the other, but I can now enjoy cooking free of little black chemical particles floating around in my food.
Plus, PLUS it is sparkly and has pretty petals on the bottom!


It may not seem like much, but April is the month of small victories.

Watching: Friends
Reading: Doubled Flowering (Yasusada)
Listening: Bullet Proof (La Roux)

Sleepy-Sleepy

No blog last night. I planned to close my eyes for a minute, but that minute turned into an hour, and that hour turned into all night.

I feel like I don't have much to say, other than you constantly realize things about yourself.

Yesterday I realized I make bad decisions regarding weather appropriate clothing. I wore thin little flats peppered with decorative holes in them. The signature Bellingham rain/wind/cold just seeped right in. When asked what I was thinking all I could say was:
"Well...it wasn't raining in my room when I was getting dressed!"

Today I realized that I have a terrible habit of borrowing a piece of clothing from someone, entering that piece of clothing into my weekly wardrobe, and then never wanting to give it back.

Solutions to these problems:
1. I've left my flats at my friends house, hopefully not allowing me to put them on during the rainy season.
2. I'm creating a pile of clothing to give back to their rightful owners. Except maybe this black tank top. I really like this tank top.

Problems with my solutions:
-While leaving my flats at my friend's I had to borrow some boots to get home. Now I don't want to give back those boots.

Not much on the design front, but that better change as this week progresses.

Watching: America's Next Top Model
Reading: Doubled Flowering (Yasusada)
Listening: Friday (Stuck in my head... NOT happy about it)

Seattle

Every time I find myself back in Seattle I know it's the place I want to be next. It just feels simple, right. Walking around downtown today with a package in one hand and a Starbuck's iced tea in the other felt natural, exciting, and so incredibly different from where I'm at right now.
I want the city. I want fifteen Starbucks in a square mile, a Chipotle, a Jamba Juice. I want parks under the bridge, frisbee at Gasworks Park. I want to ride The Ducks.

But before that I have a hell of a lot of work to do.


Today I picked up my portfolio from Paperhaus. I don't know why, when I heard the name Paperhaus I imagined a spiffed up Office Max. True to it's name-hood the store was a slick, utilitarian, fashion-ized, Netherlandish office supply store for designers. I felt half at home, and half worried I was going to turn the corner and end up lost in Ikea.

The picking process was short. I knew what I wanted. Something simple; either black or wood. The smiling sales woman smuggly brought me a black bamboo cover, and I was sold immediately. Usually I know, right away, if I love something. Shopping isn't as much a chore as it is a giant game of speed dating. I knew, even while looking at a few other designs, that this was going to be my portfolio.
Nerd that I am I kept thinking back to Harry Potter. The wand chooses the wizard. This portfolio chose me. And I was stuck, suddenly, in it's expensive-handmade-chicago-post-grip.

11x17 landscape black bamboo with aluminum interior



I think I'm in love.

Watching: Friends
Reading: Doubled Flowering (Yasusada)
Listening: ET (Katy Perry)

At Mammoth Caves

In Seattle visiting Kristina Horner. I was settled downstairs in my onsie, about to consume copious amounts of champagne and watch Avatar (of the last air bender variety) when I realized my commitment to blog every day in April. So, I commandered Tinas iPad and started typing this very message.

On the design front very little work has been done, unless you count laughing at Google's April Fool's joke on Helvetica lovers everywhere. Hopefully next week I can spend more hours in the studio than I did last week (which was virtually none), but for now I'm still coasting on the glorious lack of commitment that comes with the first week of classes.

As a wrap up of this blog entry I'd just like to mention how awesomely underapprciated rainbows (in both their single and double forms) are. Rainbows on bouncy balls, rainbows on footie pajamas, and of course rainbows in the sky.



Reading: Yasusada
Listening: Cee Lo Green
Watching: The Colbert Report

Blog Every Day in April

Starting on a new blog post has recently felt sort of like trying to get to the gym. It takes sooo much effort to make it there, but once you get into it you realize how fantastic it feels, and how good it is for you.

That, along with Kristina Horner, is why I'm doing Blog Every Day in April.
A better idea might be "Go to the Gym Every Day in April", but baby steps. Baby steps.

It's also rather convenient considering that during April I actually have something to blog about (well, more so than my normal life, which is sorta cool, I guess...). April 30th is this little thing called Reality Check put on by the Seattle Chapter of AIGA (the professional association for design). Professionals from around the area will be there to review my in-process-portfolio. People exchange business cards, get jobs, and make careers at this event.

Basically I'm terrified out of my mind.

I essentially have 30 days to put together as much finished work as I can.

My current project:
Design the actual literary journal that goes with the below promo piece for a fictitious magazine I invented:

(the slip-case slides off to reveal the design underneath, then the box is opened and promo products are enclosed)



Hi April, let's see how this month goes.

Watching: Friends
Reading: Doubled Flowering (Yasusada)
Listening: Mumford and Sons (Little Lion Man)

More Concrete

Here we go, stills from the film shoot in the craziest broken down place I've ever been.

I'm itching to go back and do something high fashion.

But till then capturing the actors in motion was fantastic.

(click on the thumbnails to see full sizes)

Watching: Glee
Reading: No time for reading, only time to write!
Listening: Metric

Last Sentence Written: “Well I am most definitely not even going to think about pretending to be your sex slave. I mean-“