20 Tweetable Truths about Magazine Media 2012

I love magazines. They helped me to cultivate my own design aesthetic by finding what I find visually appealing and digesting the proper way (or improper way) of executing those designs.

They are great to grab when you are going on a flight or road trip -- or when you need some viewing material while in the seated position. They are my go-to when I need to be visually stimulated or ingest complete and utter nonsense because my brain needs a break from the more intelligent stuff.

So, if you are a magazine reader like me, you may also enjoy this quick 3 minute youtube video.

"Magazines drive web search more than any other medium. More than internet advertising and twice that of social media."

Blog Header

When I first created my blog header, I was aiming for something simple. After looking through all the blogs I've bookmarked over the years, the ones with a large volume of followers had a very sleek, clean design. Given this, I chose to add just a cream textured blog background to compliment my header. During the brief blog crit, Amy said the overall design was nice but the header looked a little sparse. By simply adding a colored background to the header, I think it punched it up and gave it a better feel. Throughout the semester, I've found I often focus too much attention on the foreground and don't give enough attention to the background. Another lesson learned.

Recipe

Glad you all enjoyed the dessert I brought in on Saturday! There are a ton of variations you can make of those things. In the past, I've mostly made Oreo Truffles which have a much different consistency than the ones I brought to class. This is the recipe for the ones you all had which taste more like cake. My favorite combination is red velvet cake with white chocolate coating. Enjoy!

Austin

When I am fortunate enough to travel somewhere, there's always this moment in the airplane when I'm high up above and about to land in a new city -- or when I'm in the middle of nowhere on a long road trip -- when I feel inspired. It's the realization of how big the world is, how much left I have to explore, how many people I still have to meet, and how much I still hope to accomplish. 

One of my favorite places to travel within the U.S. so far has been Austin, TX. I absolutely love the culture and atmosphere. I love going from place to place knowing that I'll encounter live music. You really can't beat it. And I love the mix of people. I'm heading back for the third time in January. Here's just a couple of pictures I took during my last visit. 

The Artist is Present

Just curious if anyone else has seen "The Artist is Present", a documentary about Marina Abramovic. She is a Serbian performance artist and art-world icon who uses her own body as a vehicle...as art. I remember being so fascinated by the film which focuses on Marina as she prepares for a restrospective of her work at MOMA. Marina is as seductive in her story-telling/artistry as they say.

 

Pay it forward

I love the idea of paying it forward. And when you can be a part of one of these moments, no matter how brief or small, I feel inspired.

There are about 25 people in my office. We sponsored a family of three (mom and two kids) as part of the UB Neighbors in Need holiday giving drive. I offered to be the lead coordinator, so over the past few weeks, we've been collecting money and shopping for presents. I was amazed at people's generosity when it came to giving their money and time. There was no pressure to be a participant but every single person stepped up. One co-worker spent several evenings shopping for the family and would come in each day with yet another thoughtful gift. The picture doesn't do it justice but we had so many presents to give the family by the end of it.

Earlier today, two co-workers and I went to drop off the gifts to the mom. They are living with a relative in a not so great area of Baltimore in a house with no heat ... and prior to that, they were homeless. When we arrived, she was extremely grateful and overwhelmed. Seeing the team effort on behalf of my office to make Christmas possible for a deserving family was truly inspirational.

Gift Checklist

One of my app proposal ideas for Project 5 was a Gift Checklist, so that all year-long I could log ideas for people I knew I'd have to buy birthday and holiday presents for (take pictures of items, include prices and store info., etc.). I scrapped that idea and went with another one but today I discovered "The Christmas List" app. I decided to pay the $0.99 for it so I could really take it for a test-drive and compare the app functionality with what I had in mind.

One thing this app has that I was not going to include is a budget. Practical, yes...but I personally prefer not to track that as I buy for my loved ones. I'd much rather shop in denial. While you can choose "No budget" for each recipient, you are still often reminded about the money issue which is something I'd like to turn off. However, this would be great if you were doing a Secret Santa with friends or co-workers and are forced to work within a budget.

 

Building Design: Inspiration

As I've mentioned before, I am a total geek when it comes to architecture. Good design -- when form meets function -- makes me happy. I'm inspired by building structure all the time. The lines, the shapes ... the very presence of a building. And the creative process amazes me. My dad is a project manager so he works with all the great minds that go into a building project: the architects, the engineers, etc. -- and keeps them on task and within budget. He is the best problem solver I've ever met. Quite often a project goes over budget (sometimes by thousands of dollars), and he has to figure out how to get the project back on the budget track.

One building that I look at with utter amazement is the Star Performing Arts Centre in Singapore, which recently opened on Nov. 1, 2012. The creative process involved in dreaming up and executing a building of this size (62,000 sq. m.) has got to be insane. So many moving parts and people.

"The concept design is driven by the desire to blur the boundaries between retail and cultural zones and indoor and outdoor spaces with flowing spatial transitions."


Star Performing Arts Centre in Singapore.

Time Lapse Video of Construction (just through May 2010)

 

Veer

Just sharing another web site where you can buy images and fonts for cheap: Veer.
Veer also features its own blog, Skinny, which includes news, contributor profiles and other inspiration.

I just love these simple, adorable illustrations by Kallai Karola who is spotlighted in the Nov. 2012 contributor profile! All I want for Christmas is endless amounts of time to master Illustrator and become an Illustrator extraordinaire....

Dare Devils

Felix Baumgartner. Austrian skydiver, dare devil, BASE jumper...and complete idiot?

If I continue with this adrenaline junkie focused route for the hobby project, I want to get into the minds of these people. I don't know Felix, nor can I channel Evel Knievel, but I'm sure there are some people I know who I would consider dare devils in their own right. The people we pass on the street who plan regular excursions to go skydiving or solo rock climbing trips. Putting themselves at risk because there is a personal reward. What is that reward for each person?

I could examine their passion and see what drives them to be pushed to the limit. How do people initially decide they want to (and maybe need to) be put in dangerous situations for fun? What was the first time they felt their adrenaline pumping and knew they wanted to pursue a particular course of action and maybe even excel at it?

I'm sure I find these people fascinating because I enjoy my feet planted safely on the ground. This is not to say I won't jump out of a plane one day (I might) or to say I shy away from roller coasters (I love them!), but I don't actively and repeatedly seek out situations where there is a strong element of personal risk.

Le Miroir

Another great video, "Le Miroir" -- a Vimeo Staff Pick. It tells the story of a young boy growing old. The attention to detail in order to convey the age progression is excellent. I would love to see a female version!

Trash the Dress

I have not fully let myself settle on a direction for the final project yet (frustrated!). I do still like the idea of covering adrenaline junkies through a specific passion/sport, but I'm not 100% sold on it. I also brought up the topic of covering those who "Trash the Dress" but feel too limited by this topic. While I don't think I'll pursue this route, this trend is still very interesting -- look at these pictures! And as I mentioned in class, this is the terribly sad story about the bride who drowned during her photoshoot.

 

Adrenaline Rush

I am fascinated by the people who develop passions for sports/hobbies that involve a real element of danger. These are two of my potential ideas for the final project:

Idea 1: Longboarding. I plan to cover the history behind and evolution of the hobby, address the relationship between skateboarding and longboarding, and examine the boarding culture/lifestyle. However, I am most interested in covering the adrenaline rush that is downhill longboarding. The talent, control and passion it takes to execute downhill longboarding without severely injuring yourself in the process amazes me. Check it out:

Idea 2: Cave Diving. Spelunking was on my list of favorite words a couple weeks back and I am just intrigued by the hobby behind the word. I've always wanted to challenge myself and go on a cave exploration. Crawling through tiny pathways to end up in massive, underground openings sounds equal parts scary and amazing.

 



Advice for a Graphic Design Student

Frank Chimero is an author, blogger, designer and illustrator. He wrote The Shape of Design, a rumination on designing for the connected world. In his writing archive, I found a very relatable and enjoyable article: "What Advice Would You Give a Graphic Design Student? Here are a few excerpts: 

"If you can’t draw as well as someone, or use the software as well, or if you do not have as much money to buy supplies, or if you do not have access to the tools they have, beat them by being more thoughtful. Thoughtfulness is free and burns on time and empathy."

 

"Take things away until you cry. Accept most things, and reject most of your initial ideas. Print it out, chop it up, put it back together. When you’re aimlessly pushing things around on a computer screen, print it out and push it around in real space. Change contexts when you’re stuck. Draw wrong-handed and upside down and backwards. Find a good seat outside."

Matt W. Moore

I love Matt. W. Moore's work. He is the founder of MWM Graphics, a design and illustration studio based in Portland, Maine. His work covers a broad range of disciplines: brand & logo design, large-scale aerosol murals, watercolor paintings, etc. I know the majority of it is extremely bright and a little psychedelic ... but I just love it all.

Especially his signature "Vectorfunk" style which is probably the reason why I chose this iPhone case earlier this summer...

 

 

 

Now this case is just a little too bold and colorful for my current mood, so I'm in the market for a new one. I have to plug Society6.com. These cases might not be sturdy enough for most iPhone users, but the designs are fantastic. Fortunately, I don't have the tendency to drop my phone that much, if at all, so they work for me. I'm sure you'll find one design that speaks to you. Here are a few more that caught my eye for various reasons:

 

Bloomberg Businessweek

I had to post this cover. The headline (in helvetica!) makes quite the statement.

Bloomberg Businessweek editor Josh Tyrangiel tweeted, "Our cover story this week may generate controversy, but only among the stupid."

EveryDay Carry

Everyday Carry is another blog I stumbled upon last year. All blogs tell a story and this one, to me, is interesting -- individuals submit pictures of the personal items they typically have on them any given day -- and, as better explained on the web site:

"Everyday Carry, or EDC, generally refers to small items or gadgets worn, carried, or made available in pockets, holsters, or bags on a daily basis to manage common tasks or for use in unexpected situations or emergencies. In a broader sense, it is a lifestyle, discipline, or philosophy of preparedness."

Two examples submitted to the site:

I think the items each person carries in their purse or pockets speaks volumes about their personality and tells their story (what they value, what they need, what they like). For example, we all have that friend (or are that friend) with the "Mary Poppins" bag of endless supplies. You want this person at your side when someone spills a drink on you at the bar or when you experience a wardrobe malfunction. You'd probably in turn describe this person as an overall reliable, prepared person. 

I strive towards "less clutter" in all facets of my life as I get older, so I'd like to think that the contents of my pockets (or purse) are more selective. I attempted my own EDC submission below. I chose to pull the AAA card out from my wallet for a reason...

Five Frames

I found a Flickr group where people submit a sequence of up to five photos that should visually work to tell a story. You can associate a brief title with the sequence but the photographs should bring the story to life. Group members can then post their interpretations and critiques of the sequence.

Since a lot of information can be deduced from a single photograph, here are some general guidelines the group admin has suggested:

Photo 1: establish characters and location.
Photo 2: create a situation with possibilities of what might happen.
Photo 3: involve the characters in the situation.
Photo 4: build to probable outcomes.
Photo 5: have a logical, but surprising, end.

Flipping through many of the entries, it was neat to see such a broad range of ideas and vehicles for telling the stories. Take a look.

And, this is just one example entitled: Trust.