I use Firefox for my internet browsing needs almost exclusively, but I need to pop over to Safari for a few (lame) websites. In a homage to nostalgia, the homepage on my Safari is my undergraduate university's site and I was shocked (shocked!) this morning to find out that they'd updated the website again. Since I've been going to UA's homepage, its been completely updated and re-designed 4 times. I have not passed judgment on the new layout yet (although we are not impressed with the color choice), but one neat feature is that you can link to all the old layouts here, all the way back to 1994. Time machine fun!
*EDIT: Very interesting, today I tried to check the page again and its reverted to its last incarnation. I wonder what happened to the page I saw?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
solid color
We were all relieved when the new computer lab opened in my undergraduate graphic design program. The old computer lab was, well, old. And crowded, the size of the program having long since outgrown it. The old lab was hot and noisy, filled with (by then) inefficient Mac G3s, with whirring fans and loudly spinning hard drives, with big, bulky monitors. The desks were packed so close together that you had to do a bit of a ballet/yoga combo to move down the aisles, bringing particular body parts a bit too close for comfort to those already seated at their stations.
Not so with the new computer lab. It was roomy, with flat screen monitors and a whole army of new, sparkling G4 computers. The design of those computers promised to be new, fast, and flashy, and hurtle us into a future of bold, new design.
The second day the lab was open, we came in to discover that all the desktops had been set to a solid color gray – about 80 percent gray – and had been done so by the admin, following orders from the chair of our department. We protested. We were, in fact, designers, but not only designers, but young creatives… surely we could pick our own super-cool, super-trendy backgrounds ourselves? "No," our professor argued. "You need a clean slate to work on. You need a neutral surface so it doesn't influence your design."
Well, we all thought that was perfectly old-fashioned and codgy. "He's a Swiss designer," we grumbled, "all tradition, no imagination."
Five years later, having my own laptop and an almost magical access to the Internet, I have had a million super-cool and trendy desktop backgrounds. I have recently changed to a solid color, 80 percent gray. Of my own volition, in fact.
Why?
Information overload, actually. I have a facebook account which now has a news feed that updates in real time. I subscribe to several blogs by RSS feed, check others routinely, get the New York Times delivered to my inbox, subscribe to several hours worth of podcasts every week, get e-mail newsletters (professional and of personal interest), and god knows what else. I am assaulted with images, words, headlines, tag lines, funny cat videos, T.V. shows, and anything else the Internet can throw at me. I even downloaded a Firefox add-on called Read It Later, were I can bookmark certain web-pages that interest me in order to, as you guessed, read later. There are probably 20 articles in my list.
So at least when the desktop is showing, I have a clear, zen-like image of emptiness staring back at me. I find it calming. I have cleared a space for myself. It is a reminder to do that more in real life. When I was a hot-headed young undergrad, I thought the imposed gray desktops in the new computer lab were a sign of the closed-mindedness and authoritarianism of my school. But now, I guess I'm just as old and codgy.
Not so with the new computer lab. It was roomy, with flat screen monitors and a whole army of new, sparkling G4 computers. The design of those computers promised to be new, fast, and flashy, and hurtle us into a future of bold, new design.
The second day the lab was open, we came in to discover that all the desktops had been set to a solid color gray – about 80 percent gray – and had been done so by the admin, following orders from the chair of our department. We protested. We were, in fact, designers, but not only designers, but young creatives… surely we could pick our own super-cool, super-trendy backgrounds ourselves? "No," our professor argued. "You need a clean slate to work on. You need a neutral surface so it doesn't influence your design."
Well, we all thought that was perfectly old-fashioned and codgy. "He's a Swiss designer," we grumbled, "all tradition, no imagination."
Five years later, having my own laptop and an almost magical access to the Internet, I have had a million super-cool and trendy desktop backgrounds. I have recently changed to a solid color, 80 percent gray. Of my own volition, in fact.
Why?
Information overload, actually. I have a facebook account which now has a news feed that updates in real time. I subscribe to several blogs by RSS feed, check others routinely, get the New York Times delivered to my inbox, subscribe to several hours worth of podcasts every week, get e-mail newsletters (professional and of personal interest), and god knows what else. I am assaulted with images, words, headlines, tag lines, funny cat videos, T.V. shows, and anything else the Internet can throw at me. I even downloaded a Firefox add-on called Read It Later, were I can bookmark certain web-pages that interest me in order to, as you guessed, read later. There are probably 20 articles in my list.
So at least when the desktop is showing, I have a clear, zen-like image of emptiness staring back at me. I find it calming. I have cleared a space for myself. It is a reminder to do that more in real life. When I was a hot-headed young undergrad, I thought the imposed gray desktops in the new computer lab were a sign of the closed-mindedness and authoritarianism of my school. But now, I guess I'm just as old and codgy.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Smart Nonprofit Communication
Instead of trying to figure out how to tell the stories of the homeless, let the homeless tell them.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Articulating the benefits of good design, a beginning
From a recent A List Apart article by Patrick Lynch:
Another body of web user experience research shows that website users are powerfully influenced by aesthetics, and that positive perceptions of order, beauty, novelty, and creativity increase the user’s confidence in a site’s trustworthiness and usability. Recent design writing and interface research illustrate how visual design and user research can work together to create better user experiences on the web: experiences that balance the practicalities of navigation with aesthetic interfaces that delight the eye and brain. In short: there’s lots of evidence that beauty enhances usability.
(emphaisis mine)
Another body of web user experience research shows that website users are powerfully influenced by aesthetics, and that positive perceptions of order, beauty, novelty, and creativity increase the user’s confidence in a site’s trustworthiness and usability. Recent design writing and interface research illustrate how visual design and user research can work together to create better user experiences on the web: experiences that balance the practicalities of navigation with aesthetic interfaces that delight the eye and brain. In short: there’s lots of evidence that beauty enhances usability.
(emphaisis mine)
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst
Excerpt from the forward:
A typographer determined to forge new routes must move, like other solitary travelers, through uninhabited country and against the grain of the land, crossing common thoroughfares in the silence before dawn. The subject of this book is not typographic solitude, but the old, well-traveled roads at the core of the tradition: paths that each of us is fre to follow or not, and to enter and leave when we choose – if only we know the paths are there and have a sense of where they lead. That freedom is denied if the tradition is concealed or left for dead. Originality is everywhere, but much originality is blocked if the way back to earlier discoveries is cut or overgrown.
A typographer determined to forge new routes must move, like other solitary travelers, through uninhabited country and against the grain of the land, crossing common thoroughfares in the silence before dawn. The subject of this book is not typographic solitude, but the old, well-traveled roads at the core of the tradition: paths that each of us is fre to follow or not, and to enter and leave when we choose – if only we know the paths are there and have a sense of where they lead. That freedom is denied if the tradition is concealed or left for dead. Originality is everywhere, but much originality is blocked if the way back to earlier discoveries is cut or overgrown.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
"We need a twitter account!"
I am both skeptical and optimistic about using the internet for pr. Most of the time I think it's probably just a bunch of people jumping on the bandwagon without really thinking about how it really creates value for the organization or their publics.
This is a rare exception.
This is a rare exception.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
same mistake, new application
Note to self – any display, flyer, whatever, should focus on the product being offered, not the organization logo. I make this mistake again, and again, and again, yet I know better. I know this lesson very well, just when I don't think about what I'm doing I revert to logo-centric design. Case in point... at the student activities fair, I (more or less) directed the creation of our first table displays for this fair. Now, I KNOW that the logo is not the most important thing on the display... rather, we need to advertise "salsa classes." Still, as I manned the booth for my 45 minute shift today, I realized that yet again, I had put the ritmos logo big and on top, with "salsa classes", while still large, probably 3rd in the visual hierarchy, after the logo and then the photos from performances. Now, the performance photos are great, but to be honest, they don't communicate that we offer classes and teach salsa to people who have no dance experience and no dance partner. Thank goodness Maria offered up her stereo so we could play salsa music, which, probably more than anything else, communicated to passersby that hey, we are a salsa group. And the music is pretty damn catchy, in any case.
Still, this is far better than the feather boa and otherwise empty table we had last year. Not that I'm knocking the feather boa.
Still, this is far better than the feather boa and otherwise empty table we had last year. Not that I'm knocking the feather boa.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
How Should Nonprofits Use Social Media?
The big debate these days is how nonprofits should use social media. I would contend that you still need someone who can write or otherwise craft powerful messages on the back-end, whether your twittering or whatever. Here's an interesting example (though a poorly-written and uninspired story) which raises many questions about nonprofit PR and political correctness...
*steps down from soapbox*
Homeless advocate brings his message to the masses through social media.
Though I can't help but wonder, what happens when every homeless-oriented nonprofit starts such a social media campaign? Does the news get old? Does it fade into the background? My proscription... talent. A good story will catch an audience no matter what the medium.*steps down from soapbox*
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
the proverbial deserted island
Graphic designers, unlike the rest of the population, ask the question like this, "If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only take 6 typefaces with you, what would those be?"
At this point in life, my response is:
Caslon, Garamond, Cochin, Trade Gothic, Scala Sans, Avenir.
When asked about Times New Roman:
If I were stranded on a deserted island and all I had was Times New Roman, I'd burn it.
At this point in life, my response is:
Caslon, Garamond, Cochin, Trade Gothic, Scala Sans, Avenir.
When asked about Times New Roman:
If I were stranded on a deserted island and all I had was Times New Roman, I'd burn it.
Friday, May 29, 2009
to speechify
I have a hard time keeping my posts visually themed, given that I'm also studying PR and writing these days. So here's another theme transgression...
I have a new favorite website.
www.americanrhetoric.com
Spent part of class today listening to Elie Weisel's speech on indifference.
I have a new favorite website.
www.americanrhetoric.com
Spent part of class today listening to Elie Weisel's speech on indifference.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
merengue and figure drawing cannot be reconciled
In figure drawing class, one of the first things you learn about posture is that when a person shifts their weight onto one leg more than the other, the hip on the weight-bearing side goes up, on the non weight-bearing side, the hip goes down. To correct for this imbalance, at the same time the shoulder on the weight bearing side shifts down, and the shoulder on the non weight-bearing side goes up.
In merengue (and a few other Latin dances) you intentionally do the opposite... you stick your hip out in the opposite direction than you are stepping.
Merengueros apparently never take figure drawing classes. Or perhaps that's what makes it dancing as opposed to just stepping back and forth.
In merengue (and a few other Latin dances) you intentionally do the opposite... you stick your hip out in the opposite direction than you are stepping.
Merengueros apparently never take figure drawing classes. Or perhaps that's what makes it dancing as opposed to just stepping back and forth.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Email from a listserv, Part II
"Don't forget that tomorrow (Wednesday) we are screening the film "The Greatest Silence, Rape in the Congo" which documents the brutal sexual violence faced by women in eastern DR Congo due to the war. There will be pizza, soda, and snacks!"
Not sure what it is, but something about the tone of this email seems off to me. snicker snicker snicker.
Not sure what it is, but something about the tone of this email seems off to me. snicker snicker snicker.
Email from a listserv
"The College Summit, which targets “kids who are better than their numbers” in schools with low college-going rates, has their own interactive writing curriculum..."
Love emails from writing programs that have grammar mistakes, snicker snicker snicker...
Love emails from writing programs that have grammar mistakes, snicker snicker snicker...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
life lessons from salsa (groan)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's one of those. And it's not even necessarily consistent with the whole 'visual' theme. Um... well... I have no justification for posting this on the blog, the content is trite and not consistent with the theme. And here it is anyway.
- It's ok to follow sometimes. Also ok to lead.
- For that matter, gender bending seems to be easier for females.(I guess that's not so much a life lesson as it is a cultural observation).
- I have to ask for what I want (as in, asking a guy to dance instead of sitting on the sidelines and twiddling my thumbs).
- Even when I'm following, I should be able to stand on my own two feet even if the lead were to suddenly disappear.
- Leading does not mean forcing the follow to do a move. Leading means asking, the follow has the right to refuse.
- As soon as I start to worry about impressing other people on the dance floor, I get nervous and start messing up. I also stop enjoying the dance.
- When I have a good connection with a dance partner it's almost as if I can't tell who is doing what, who is leading and who is following. It becomes more of a collaboration. The division becomes blurred.
- I can't connect with a dance partner if my arms are completely limp and without energy (if I shut down).
- I also can't connect if I'm trying to arm-wrestle the guy (if I block his energy).
- There's a difference between helping and rescuing.
- The point of learning the moves is to be able to forget them.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Logo envy...
...thanks to Monterey Bay, California.
I've always, always liked the Monterey Bay Aquarium logo, but what I discovered on this trip was that the aquarium is actually in what used to be canneries on Cannary Row of Steinbeck fame and that the city's logo for Cannary Row is adorable. Yes, that's a sardine key, folks!
I've always, always liked the Monterey Bay Aquarium logo, but what I discovered on this trip was that the aquarium is actually in what used to be canneries on Cannary Row of Steinbeck fame and that the city's logo for Cannary Row is adorable. Yes, that's a sardine key, folks!
Friday, March 20, 2009
random thoughts
I recently had a conversation with a couple of people about art school, which has caused me to be rather reflective on the whole experience this week. I can't help but think that while art school really opened my eyes to new and fascinating types of art and really improved my thinking about it, it sure did make me completely neurotic about painting. The thought of ending my 'lapse' from the art world and to start painting again strikes a deep chord of fear in my heart. I don't think art school was a healthy place for me to be in my early 20s, too many overblown, fragile egos competing against one another. And I include the faculty in this assessment.
~~~
I tried to explain cost disease during the same discussion and failed miserably. I failed miserably not only because I was constantly being interrupted but I just explained key concepts of the theory entirely wrong! I need to go back and hit the books again.
~~~
From a graphic design standpoint, scrapbookers have it all wrong. I think I've harped on this before. When displaying artwork or photographs, you want to set up the page to present the artwork without distraction, that means everything else on the page is minimized. The best graphic design is invisible. Well, that's a good general rule of thumb, there are exceptions. Scrapbooking is not one of those exceptions.
~~~
I recently read this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy email newsletter:
Downturn Spurs New Offerings at Museums
Lean economic times have museums experimenting with creative strategies for getting people through the doors, The New York Times reports as part of a special section of museum stories.
Yoga nights at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a get-together for cyclists at UCLA’s Hammer Museum are among the nontraditional offerings as major museums seek new audiences amid declining endowments, donations, and sales.
“We can’t just be about art anymore,” the Hammer Museum’s director, Ann Philbin, said. “Museums are the new community centers.”
Now, it's the last quote that bothers me. I can understand the problem that museums are facing, but at least we can tie the new community events into the mission of preserving and presenting art somehow, can't we? That statement belies an implicit attitude that art just isn't important anymore. Doesn't seem that much of a stretch (no pun intended) to link the spiritual aspects of yoga to the aesthetic sensibilities of artwork, but to completely downplay the role of artwork entirely... can we say mission drift?
If museums want to be community centers, where's the free wireless, yo?
~~~
I tried to explain cost disease during the same discussion and failed miserably. I failed miserably not only because I was constantly being interrupted but I just explained key concepts of the theory entirely wrong! I need to go back and hit the books again.
~~~
From a graphic design standpoint, scrapbookers have it all wrong. I think I've harped on this before. When displaying artwork or photographs, you want to set up the page to present the artwork without distraction, that means everything else on the page is minimized. The best graphic design is invisible. Well, that's a good general rule of thumb, there are exceptions. Scrapbooking is not one of those exceptions.
~~~
I recently read this article from the Chronicle of Philanthropy email newsletter:
Downturn Spurs New Offerings at Museums
Lean economic times have museums experimenting with creative strategies for getting people through the doors, The New York Times reports as part of a special section of museum stories.
Yoga nights at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a get-together for cyclists at UCLA’s Hammer Museum are among the nontraditional offerings as major museums seek new audiences amid declining endowments, donations, and sales.
“We can’t just be about art anymore,” the Hammer Museum’s director, Ann Philbin, said. “Museums are the new community centers.”
Now, it's the last quote that bothers me. I can understand the problem that museums are facing, but at least we can tie the new community events into the mission of preserving and presenting art somehow, can't we? That statement belies an implicit attitude that art just isn't important anymore. Doesn't seem that much of a stretch (no pun intended) to link the spiritual aspects of yoga to the aesthetic sensibilities of artwork, but to completely downplay the role of artwork entirely... can we say mission drift?
If museums want to be community centers, where's the free wireless, yo?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Paula Scher always inspires me.
This video is about 20 minutes long, so be sure to start it when you can settle in for awhile, but it's well worth it.
What I really love about her message here is that creativity is not linked to money. Business people always seem to want to purchase creativity dollar for dollar, but it doesn't work that way. It's driven by more ephemeral things, and can't be pinned down.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
bulldogs on the interwebs
My friend forwarded this craigslist ad to me as a joke, since she knows I'm open to freelance work. I think I'll pass. Read on, make sure you get to the P.S.
I can imagine this work will take at least one full day and maybe part of a second day to do. So, it's not going to be a $100. job. I know it will cost more than that. I have made a very detailed list of the changes and updates I need made. It is my hopes that people interested in doing my work will email me their street address and I will mail my list to you to go over and then email me a bid for the work that you can do. If there are things on my list you do not know how to do, submit a bid for what you do know how to do and list what things you don't know how to do. I may hire this done in portions by a couple different people.
Thank you,
P.S. My current web site is www.semperfibulldogs.com If you do this work for me or a big part of it you can put your name and contact information on my site as a web designer. Just about everything about my web site I want changed and or updated. Pictures moved, sentences deleted, new sentences added, different page backgrounds, clip art added including some moving clip art, I want a curser that changes to a Bulldog head when the curser is moved. I want trailing behind the curser-a few words that follow the curser when it is moved. I want a cartoon Bulldog running across the top of the page pulling a banner with SEMPERFI BULLDOGS on it ( I realize this art work will not be something eveyone can do and can be bid separately. I want link tabs changed and with different colors. I want my entire Body of wording stretched to fill the whole page. I want a separate counter on each page. I want the music "Who Let The Dogs Out" playing on my opening page. I want added entire pages of wording.
P. S. My site is with Go-Daddy and I have all the codes, id's and passwords needed to do changes. I want to keep the same host--just change most everything.
I will appreciate all replys
Thank you,
I can imagine this work will take at least one full day and maybe part of a second day to do. So, it's not going to be a $100. job. I know it will cost more than that. I have made a very detailed list of the changes and updates I need made. It is my hopes that people interested in doing my work will email me their street address and I will mail my list to you to go over and then email me a bid for the work that you can do. If there are things on my list you do not know how to do, submit a bid for what you do know how to do and list what things you don't know how to do. I may hire this done in portions by a couple different people.
Thank you,
P.S. My current web site is www.semperfibulldogs.com If you do this work for me or a big part of it you can put your name and contact information on my site as a web designer. Just about everything about my web site I want changed and or updated. Pictures moved, sentences deleted, new sentences added, different page backgrounds, clip art added including some moving clip art, I want a curser that changes to a Bulldog head when the curser is moved. I want trailing behind the curser-a few words that follow the curser when it is moved. I want a cartoon Bulldog running across the top of the page pulling a banner with SEMPERFI BULLDOGS on it ( I realize this art work will not be something eveyone can do and can be bid separately. I want link tabs changed and with different colors. I want my entire Body of wording stretched to fill the whole page. I want a separate counter on each page. I want the music "Who Let The Dogs Out" playing on my opening page. I want added entire pages of wording.
P. S. My site is with Go-Daddy and I have all the codes, id's and passwords needed to do changes. I want to keep the same host--just change most everything.
I will appreciate all replys
Thank you,
Friday, January 2, 2009
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