I really had fun designing this version of my website. I was going for a steampunk-y feel, because I like the ideas of innovation and adventure associated with the genre/aesthetic. I felt like I wanted to present my style as clean and mature, and this look suited it. Half a year later, I come back to the design, and as much as I like it … it’s honestly not me. I look at my work in contrast with the site—there’s a big disparity in tone and style.

I’d definitely like to take time out to revamp the site over the summer. This time, I’m going to make sure that the look really is me all the way.

Thara found an inspiration board exercise where you basically place 16 images that catch your eye in a 4×4 grid, then see the trends that arise from them. That’s mine up there, with creative commons images I found on flickr. (If you see something that’s yours and really want to be credited, lemme know.) There’s a certain vivid red that pops up repeatedly, along with a preference for mod looks and urban settings. Bold lines also feature here.

If anyone else does this little exercise, show me! It’s awesome looking at where people’s tastes lie and what inspires them.

I finished my annual report:

Did a little typeface ABC book for colloquium:

Went home for the summer and started cooking a lot:

Then went to Texas to hang with the relatives:

I got another internship! I start on that next week, so pictures of that forthcoming I guess. For now, I’m wrapping up vacation in Houston, and I come back to northern Virginia tomorrow.

JO NEVER FORGETS.

She gave me a concept a few months ago, and more recently pushed me to show her something. She wanted an image of the time of Miss Havisham stopped her clocks in Great Expectations with flame-like elements surrounding the clock. I reused the clock from my website, downplayed the gears, and emphasized the elements she wanted.

I worked pretty hard on this, though I had no clue how much detail could be included on a tattoo—figured that any excess could be edited with the tattooist’s discretion. And really, I didn’t expect Jo to go through with my design. I figured she would realize the error of her ways and go to a professional tattoo artist to better realize her idea. At least giving her this, I could say I tried.

Then this morning, she got it done.

I gotta say, I feel a lot better now that I’ve seen it carried through. Of course a lot of detail was lost in execution, but I expected it. The core of the design shines through—I think the tattooist did a great job! It’s got an elegance to it that I think will last well, and I’m feeling really honored that Jo believed in my skills enough to go through with the tattoo. I’ve been doing a lot of work in the past couple weeks, but this is definitely one of the more badass projects I’ve been involved with.

jetBlue ‘oneBlue’ mailer ad
Won a gold ADDY for collateral material brochure/annual report.

‘Passwd’ magazine cover
Won a silver ADDY for editorial design cover.

We have to screen print a deck of cards as our final project for screen printing. Originally I was thinking tarot cards, and Jeremy suggested a typography theme. I played with the idea for awhile, but I kept hitting my head against the wall. I normally avoid working with my assignments head on; I try to find a weird, “out of the box” sort of approach, which turns out gimmicky at times, I think. For example, I had to execute a letter-sized magazine ad for intro vcd, and I ended up with an odd fold-out and a die-cut for jetBlue. My cd project had transparent overlays.

So I’m doing a straight up poker deck, 52 cards + 2 jokers. Hands are the theme, though I’m currently deciding between making the shapes of the actual numbers or just holding up fingers for cards 1-10. I’m leaning towards the former since that looks more interesting, but it’s kind of a pain to figure out how to position and contort my hands. Also, the photography’s all Photo Booth—it’s really hard to take pictures of my own hands!

Right now I’m kinda hanging on how to do the spot colors on the backs of the cards. I’ll probably ask my instructor tomorrow on how to break it up. I think it’ll look really cool if I can pull it off.

(My sister also calls this my “gang sign” project.)

I really love reappropriation art. It’s exciting as a means of interacting with art, to take your interpretation of a piece and create a physical manifestation of it in a sense. There’s also taking an image and placing it in a completely different context than its original. I know that some artists can feel violated by seeing their work used in a way they didn’t intend, but once you put your art out there, interpretation is fair game. It seems silly to me to try to control that.

Meanwhile, here are more recent screen printing adventures of my own:

PRINTED IN GOLD.

According to Glenn, 15 minutes after 10AM when sales opened online, the show sold out.

\m/

Dialogues: Intersecting Space & Meaning

These artists create multisensory experiences for the viewer that examine ideas ranging from social concerns to material, color and memory. Viewers participate in the conceptual dialogue of each installation through the innovative use of art object and space within the gallery setting.

February 20 – March 2nd, 4-6PM weekdays, 4-7PM weekends
Reception on Thursday, February 26, 6-8PM

Glynis, XYZ’s current graphic designer, started with an idea for the flyer and I developed it further. If you’re not seeing this all over campus, especially the art department, then we’re doing something wrong. If you’re in the New River Valley area, please come out to see the show! Installation art is always exciting.

Here’s the updated version of the cover I did a couple weeks ago. It ended up not being chosen for the cover, but oh well. (Though it’s not like I would’ve ever seen it in print anyway, as none of the previous classes have been able to get their books printed …)

1) Japanese Art textbook – I’m taking two art history courses this semester: “Art of China and Japan” and a special topics class on Dionysos. I’ve always preferred learning about Greek art more than any culture’s, and the nuances of Dionysos as a god and character are exciting. Meanwhile, I’m still trying to remember all the periods of Chinese history … the names are harder for me to remember.

2) Easisolv – This is to wash out the screens in my screen printing class. I had a really bad experience with Pocono Screen, and thus am still waiting for my screens to come in … I wouldn’t recommend them. They apparently have a recurring issue with sending shipments to the billing address instead of the shopping, and I got serious attitude from customer support. I have a much higher tolerance for mistakes when the company attempts to be apologetic or sincere.

3) Girls Aloud “Out of Control” – A late late birthday gift from my sister. I love Girls Aloud, but that stretched type on the packaging makes me so sad.

By the way, here are my first attempts at screen printing with an old 110 mesh screen (with some ink already dried in it …)

I had used a stencil with the screen before, but this time I actually used the photo emulsion and such. Anyway, the test print on the left turned out much better than the shirt print. I tried on the shirt twice, and there’s some offset from multiple attempts. Fabric is HARD.

It’s definitely just a start, and I need some feedback! Please click on the thumbnail to get the full effect.