Current Events

So I've been working my a-snake off lately. I finished a website for work and a friends' portfolio site in the last week. Also with my new found love of logos, I've been working on getting my girlfriend set up with a good logo and I started redesigning her site already...again. "Fickle" you say? No, I just have ADD (not to be confused with d&d...mmm, dragons). That last design was just something I had done up for someone else, and she liked it so I put it together for her. But I'm just not satisfied, so now I'm getting her more involved and really trying to have her input right from the squirrelly bird. So anyways, I have a few of her logo designs for your viewing pleasure (keep your pants on).



*Just to note, I had some designs early off that were more elaborate but she wanted it to be simple, so this is what I came up with. These are the top ones thus far. All of them are inspired by her initials, TH. Or occasionally THP (Tricia Harrison Photography).


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So now that you see them, let me know what you think. Opinions, suggestions, it's all welcome. I'm here to learn. Anyways, these are the logos best liked so far (some by me, she hasn't actually made a decision yet so there's always time to sneak those few in). I'll have her site templates up for deliberation soon as well. I also have another project in the works (there will be more to come with that when I really get into it). It'll be a pants-less party. Well, let me have it, I like to bathe in criticism...and Irish Springs.

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What the hell is my identity?

So I was on Web Designer Wall recently and there's an article on there about David Pache, who is a logo designer. After taking all that in, I was enticed. I started searching around the web and I came across this site devoted to all things logo. Now I'm like a teenage girl who just discovered what a credit card is. That being said I've always been one who believed I didn't need my own logo to distinguish myself. But reading all this stuff about the subject was like the worst kind of foreplay. So I sat down and started sketching up some ideas. I went through my normal process, which starts off with writing down all the words that come to mind when thinking about the subject I'm designing for, which was myself. It starts off simple enough (art, paint, brain, orangutan), and then you branch off of those words (Ex: art - pencil, eraser, beauty, naked people) and so on and so forth. *side note, I can't really take credit for this process, it was taught to me by one of my teachers in college, Ed Zawora.* But, once I had my plethora of words, I went to work on some thumbnails. I filled a page with idea after idea and two of them really stuck out to me. After deciding on those two I worked them up on the computer, and after much deliberation.....with myself....I decided on this tasty number.




I'm not really sure where the idea came from but I started trying to think of ways I could use things that resembled my initials without using actual letters. This one was my favorite. So, I now feel enlightened, but that just wasn't enough for me. In my conquest for graphic nirvana, the need to somehow display this creation to the world suddenly filled me like 2 spicy chicken burritos and a large wild cherry pepsi from taco bell, which I'm only saying that because I'm hungry for one. I then realized my current business cards, sexy as they are, were extremely out dated. I made them before I even had a website, so they were lacking important information, like the fact that I have a website. So, I started brainstorming and web crawling for ideas and again became filled with the urge to create. I came across site after site of different and interesting designs until finally I came across one that got me thinking. It was the design for Mike Slack's business card, where the text on the card resembled code. I thought, wouldn't it be cool to write out code as if my business card were a website. That's all I needed, so I got to work. I first designed the front of the card, laying it out like I normally would, using my new cougar of a logo. Once that was done, that's when the fun started. I started plotting in my tiny brain, "what would the code look like if this were something that was to be displayed online?" And voila, there you have it.


There is a downside to such creativity though I've discovered. People that aren't familiar with web design don't really understand the significance of the code on the back. But, I'm keeping it, because most people I would like to hire me are familiar with web design. Anyway, all this hullaballoo essentially brought me to one conclusion, freelance. I need to do more freelance. I love my job, but as far as stretching my creative wings, I'd probably have better luck learning how to build my own airplane and flying to Brazil, where I would live out my remaining days working at a small bar and grill and teaching the local children how to play the french horn. Pretty unlikely. But like I said, I love my job, but there's not very much creative freedom. I need to start campaigning for things like that, corporate identity and business card design. When I was in college, I was the one all the photographers went to for business cards, and I did it all for free (which is most likely why they all came to me) because I just loved it so much. Nowadays obviously, doing work for free is fine if you don't mind living in the alley behind Starbucks. But that's all this boiled down to, I just miss creating.

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Plain (10 plus 1)

So basically I like minimalistic design. In my opinion, there's no better way to get your point across than keeping things simple. You don't need a bunch of fancy wyzengoggles all over the place, that just distracts you from what's important. So, in light of my man crush on minimalism, I've gathered a few sites made by people who share my love of the simple. Take a deep hard look, then begin re-designing your site.



1. www.beseku.com

The web blog of one Ben Sekulowicz-Barclay. Amazingly simple, very text oriented. I haven't seen font this sexy since Angelina Jolie's back tattoo.

2. www.chrisgarrettmedia.com

I'm a big fan of white space, which this site has none. No white-space that is. I like sites that can pull of minimalism using a dark background. And the font on this site is amazingly eye catching.

3. www.designintellection.com

This site is one of my favorites. You can learn a lot of css tricks in this sexy little source code.

4. www.jontangerine.com

This site is by far the most interesting. Jon Tan is not only a great designer, but also a damn fine writer. He's a funny guy.

5. www.markboultondesign.com

Mark Boulton knows the power of less.

6. www.monoroot.com

Mmmm, tasty smooth scroll. Another fine display of a dark background.

7. www.postmachina.com

Nice use of the "you're looking at this on a T.V. set in 1965, so everything is black, white or grey" look.

8. www.seymourpowell.com

Yea so these guys are pretty established. Their site makes me weep. But, I'm actually not a big fan of flash sites. Mine used to be all flash and it was just way too hard to manage. Plus they're usually lacking in SEO. But, that's beside the point, this site is just sweet.

9. design.tokyocube.com

This is a sweet use of the carousel. How the hell they did it, I have no idea, I'm still an apprentice.

10. www.wanzafran.com

This site is great. Another very text oriented site, and it's a good read.

Plus 1. www.zachwoomer.com

The guy that made this site, what a stud. After tirelessly begging my girlfriend to take pity on me and lend me her photography prowess, I came up with what you see. I tried to really focus on my content while showing that I can at least pretend to know what I'm doing.

Well, that's it and that's all. Again, I believe minimalism is the easiest way to get your point across. When what your selling is all the viewer can see, well then you succeeded right there. The only thing left is to have a hook and you're set, a reason for them to keep coming back. That I'll leave up to you. Anyways, take another look, get an eyeful of white....space (get your mind out of the gutter), and take notes. Especially on that last site. ;) Less is more, remember that ladies.

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Sensei Zachariah Says...

Just 8 short months ago, I was hired at United Bank Card for web design. There was just one problem, I had no idea how to design things on the web outside of dropping a damn flash movie into dreamweaver and uploading it. And for a big corporation like this, that just wasn't going to cut it. So I had to learn the ins and outs of web design and I had to do it fast. There's no better way to learn about something than to dive in ass first. I looked all over the web, with some help from friends and co-workers, and found a few sites that were a huge-tastic help, and I'm going to share these sites with you now in a pastel rainbow type effect.


1. www.w3schools.com

- This site was the most helpful as far as learning the basics. Any type of coding that's used on the web (html, xhtml, css, javascript, etc.) can be found there. And each section has tutorials you can play with right there on the site. It couldn't get any better than if it took me out on a date and whispered sweet sweet nothings in my ear. I also keep this site handy whenever I run into something I don't know. It truly is one of the best sites for learning the trade there is, and it's free. Need I say more?


2. www.lynda.com

- When I first started at UBC there was another web designer here, Emily (who's since moved on to bigger and better things) and she showed me this site. You have to pay a subscription fee for this site but she had a company subscription through UBC. This site is full of video tutorials which really helps a lot if you're one of those people who needs to be actually shown how to do something before it sticks. But, it's sort of lacking in the fact you have to up your subscription to be able to download the files for the tutorials so you can actually follow along with the videos. I was stuck just spectating. So this site, though helpful, didn't help me as much as others. Though, it may be a different story for you.


3. www.webdesignerwall.com

- This tasty morsel is one of my favorites. This would be more for after you've gotten the hang of actually making sites. It's full of little tutorials, trends, inspiration and gives you a look at what other designers are doing. It's a very interesting site and is really focused on content for people who just love design. Two thumbs up and a wink. (Also, there is www.bestwebgallery.com, which is maintained by the same guy, Nick La)

That's pretty much it on the sites that I visit regularly. These sites usually provide me with whatever I need. And if you can't find what you need at one of these sites, then there's always Google. Either way, I hope these help you because they sure as hell helped me. These sites fill all the fuzzy warm places in my heart. Enjoy!

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I'm peeing blood..

Alright well, this has nothing to do really with design, but I'm a long time fan of Dragonball and well, from the very first episode I watched I've had hopes of a live action movie coming out. Especially after the last Matrix movie came out, I saw that the special effects were there. Well, the day has finally come. April 8th. I might have to get liquored up just to keep from passing out with excitement. I've been following it since they started writing the script and now the release is so close I can feel it, with both hands. So with all that I say, go see it when it opens so it makes a butt load of money and they make a Dragonball Z sequel. If not I might find that tree that's close enough to your house that when I ram my car into it, it will fall into your living room(dramatization). Read this post >>