Marketing Solution 101

If this isn't clever, then I don't know what is. Vinyl to me has always been historical art, something tangible with a raw sound that almost brought you closer to the artist because it hasn't been digitally enhanced. Today it's rare you walk into a home that owns a record player, though. So how do you sell vinyl in the modern days of mp3s? Well, sell each vinyl with it's own record player. Pretty fucking clever if you ask me, and a good way to market something now considered vintage with a new approach. Although the cardboard player isn't in itself a new invention, rebranding it brought it back in a new light. This design was created by Geoff Dawson at Grey Vancouver for the audio firm GGRP. View the original post here.

I'M DONE.

Holy shit. I survived!
I even finished that damn After Effects movie.
Senior Project has officially become my favorite project. I love my Just Skin stuff!
Take a look at the final project here


Yes it's backwards, I know. Photobooth made me do it!

So I've been super busy with all the projects going on. SEMA cars, drift team design, t-shirt designs, etc.
Sometimes I feel like I can't keep up! But it feels good to be this busy.

Keep a look out for the girls drift team! Website is here and it should be up and running shortly.

Next on my list? Update my resume and start sending that bitch out.
I'm looking into possibly getting a camera soon because I'm starting to really love photography as a side skill.
So many exciting things in the works!

March.

Portfolio preview today.
Not really nervous, more or less anxious to get it over with and move on.

I found a new fascination with making daily lists, and then I find myself disappointed by the end of the day only being able to cross off 3/4 of the list. I'm thinking it's one of the few things I can really control...

Came to some realizations yesterday.
The main thing being that the get where I see myself being by say July, I got to get my shit together. Fast.
Other than that. I tend to put myself in situations where I unintentionally fuck myself over. I've been told to quit doing it but apparently I'm just a bad listener.

I can't be mad. I pretty much did this to myself.

I need a fucking vacation. Nashville here I come? Why the hell not.

Two more weeks until Spring Break.
Two more weeks until I can get my tattoo.
Two more weeks until I can P90X back up.
Two more weeks until I can relax.

Love this song. The whole album is pretty amazing.

Just a Man-Faith No More

Sky is clear tonight
Sky is clear tomorrow
A star is out
I reach for one to sparkle in my hand
A star is out
I will not touch you, I am just a man
Sky is clear tonight
Sky is clear tomorrow
And every night I shut my eyes
So I don't have to see the light
Shining so bright
I'll dream about a cloudy sky,
about a cloudy sky
I'll dream about a cloudy sky, about a cloudy

Man was born to love-
Though often he has sought
Like Icarus, to fly too high-
And far too lonely than he ought
To kiss the sun of east and west
And hold the world at his behest-
To hold the terrible power
To whom only gods are blessed-
But me, I am just a man

And every night I shut my eyes
So I don't have to see the light
Shining so bright
I'll dream about a cloudy sky, about a cloudy sky
And every night I shut my eyes
But now I've got them open wide
You've fallen into my hands
And now you're burning me
You're burning me

After Effects.

I fucking hate After Effects!

I decided to take this class though because I believe it'll give me a leg up come time for a permanent position.

So we had to do typographic movie sequences to Nina Simone songs, eventually being shown to thousands of people on a worldwide touring Nina Simone exhibit. I kind of like mine...finally, but honestly it's not up to my own perfection standards and I do not have the time to give it the lovin' it needs.

Anyway. There's a lot of things to tweak in this I know. And I only have 2 minutes of the song animated I know.

But it is what it is. I'll post the final video once I'm done.

Overwhelming.

Well since Brandon got such a huge response over his amazing photos I figured I'd share a few more!

He's a model he just doesn't want to admit it.

Look kids! A real life Zombie!

Well I look like a zombie.
And I feel like a zombie.
So I must be one, right?
I'll be good! I promise to only eat the brains of the ignorant!

Don't mind me. I've been running on about 3 hours of sleep a night.
I don't even see how I'm awake right now.
I'm running on pure adrenaline. It's my only explanation since I don't do caffeine.

Whatever. I'll sleep when I'm dead.

Printing that damn preview book tonight. Tomorrow it'll be out of my hands and I won't have to stress anymore (well except for waiting for 6 people to pick apart what I've worked on the past 3 years).

No matter how tired I am I keep coming up with new ideas.
I decided that for "Just Skin" I'm making T-shirt hang tags. I'm also adding promotional photo cards. Once I'm in portfolio I'm creating a full promotional package and a bag for the t-shirt. This will by far be my favorite project. I think it's because everything is my own and I get free reign over everything.

My weekly list of things to do keeps getting bigger instead of smaller WTF?!
At least I have 2:00 on my After Effects video! Less than a minute to go! I'm finishing it this week. It'll leave me a week to tweak and focus on everything else.

I will be amazed if I come out of this quarter alive.

The drift team is going well though. Sunday we pulled out the entire interior of the Cressida. Go Team pMS! Now we just need sponsors to get this V8 in! Saturday we get to do ride-alongs with Spacy Tracy and then Sunday is NASCAR! It'll be good to relax for one weekend...but it also means I need to get everything done by Friday! Ugh. Whatever, it'll be worth it.

Anyone have some sleep they want to give me? Or a mini Me that'll just do all my work?

For every female graphic design geek.

I want this so bad. I love all the kitsch Pantone stuff that comes out...well most of it. I would buy the wall paint and the messenger bag...but the coffee cup? No.

I want to be able to walk around and when people ask me what eyeshadow I'm wearing just be like, "Oh that PMS446C!"
Yes I would get joy out of that. Who cares.

This is a concept created by Renata Viega, a Brazil based designer.
Original post available here.

I need critique!!!

I'm going through preview this week and I need people to look over my portfolio.

Download it here.

DONT MIND THESE THINGS:

The blank pages are for the photos I haven't photoshopped to put in yet.

The billboard for Just Skin fucked up in the pdf file.

The quality is rather poor because I optimized the pdf for web viewing. If you want the full version let me know and I'll send it to you!

The rally poster is missing an invitation that I'm adding to it.

Any criticism welcome I have to turn this in Wednesday!!!

More photoshoot pics.

I'm definitely not posting all of them, but here are some goodies.

All are raw files. No photoshop bitch.

I want a Canon Rebel now.

I officially just added photog to my resume. I'm proud of myself!

I made me a supermodel!

Officially my new favorite model.

Mainly because he won't bitch and moan.

But also because he lets me take awesome pictures like these:

And it's the best because he's still a sessy goofball :) through it all

Still my favorite commercial series.

These two commercials from Sprint are still my favorite. Not favorite ever, but pretty damn close.

When I took photo I tried to be a smart ass and recreate the light painting and make a monster on my own car...but it never worked out.

Because it's HARD.

These videos took hours and hours of footage on timelapse.

For the Nascar commercial, Sprint actually had recreate the Sprint Cup cars, vinyls and all!

Ah the joys of advertising.

One thing I do miss...

Poppy fields in Poland. One of my favorite things in the world was to go on walks and find these fields and just lay in them for hours. I don't know, it was...freeing. The smell, the sounds. I miss home :(

I have this weird fascination with fields, almost like it's my safe place. Long time ago, an ex-boyfriend and I would always play these weird mind games, try and get into each others heads. He had a suspension chamber (straps though, not hooks) that I would go into to try and relax. Every time I ended up in a field inside my head. I think the wide nature of a field is what draws me in. Even though it is uncovered, you're safe within its grass and flowers, you can get lost in it. Maybe that's why my joy rides wind me up north rather than south, I'm looking for that safe haven.

Thinking about those mind games, crazy thing is, we got it work one time. Freaked me the hell out! It was one of those where it started with I'm thinking of a cube and it's this color, and he would finish it. He got in so deep so the actually saw the image of me in a field without me saying anything, figured out it was a poppy field and everything. That was the only time I really didn't feel safe. Come to think of it, fuck mind games!

*shutters* The dumb ass things I've gotten myself into. Well, you live and you learn.

Goodbye February.

March is almost here! Which is in a sense a good and bad thing.

Good: Quarter from hell almost over, St. Patrick's Day, Spring, Spring Break!
Bad: Quarter almost over I have so much work to do!!, Preview [AH!]

Don't mind me writing this list, it's just everything I need to finish:
Koi tattoo
photoshoot
website
[possible brochure]
Billboard->put into live surface
Print t-shirts
Print 1 page of temp tattoos
Preview book [photographs]
Eye Anomalies [watercolor, ink drawing, transfer]
Image Archive
Flash e-card
Flash Instructional
Finish After Effects movie [Serious UGH]

I have three weeks.
Throw 3 jobs, promoting, and a car build on top of that.
Can you tell I don't sleep much?

Once this quarter is over though...I am partying during Spring Break!
Well...kind of, I have so much other stuff I need to get done then that I've been putting off, but at least I'll probably be going skydiving! Another thing to cross off!
And I'm going to try and spend that week with my car and riding the SV650 since it'll finally be warm.

I'm hoping with some daily work planning things will go smoothly. I've decided to go about this damn movie in a different direction: 10 seconds a day (which should take less than an hour) instead of cramming doing 40 seconds into a day and reverting to drinking! Should work...right?

Aside from work and school, all I can say is...I'm happy :D
It feels good.

I was totally going to do this...

Pieces by Ramon Lenherr and Florian Brunner via Typography Served but I had this idea too!! For Adv Type I was considering "Living Type" where I would make type of out nature. Something along the lines of that artist that would use time lapse and there would be body silhouettes of where he laid through rain, etc. Oh whatever I forgot his name.

Hmmm...maybe I'll just do this when I take Portfolio...it'll be warmer then.
Oh the ideas are coming now!

I'd wake up to this from my ceiling.

Love these ornaments from Land-Rich. All are nature contained. I would hang them everywhere. Not too expensive and new ones come out quarterly.

Never ceases to amaze.

I came across a post on Oh Joy! on things for Mr. Valentine and saw this zoom lens you can attach to any cellphone. It's available at Urban Outfitters, but come on! People already take secret photographs that sometimes aren't so secret...let's just make it obvious! Hold on let me pull out my zoom lens to really get this. Geez.

The second one, though, is a nice idea. It's only $17 and its a few different magnetic attachments for the camera on the iPhone, including a fish eye. View the post here.

I want a dog.

These are so clever. I wouldn't use these at the dog park though...I'd be running after those damn balls myself to make sure I don't lose them. But a good idea none the less. Kind of vintage Art Deco look to it, which I always like. These were designed by Stitch Design Co. Lots of great work on their site. Maybe I should get into package design? I seem to be most inspired by it.

This totally makes me want a dog now. Boston Terrier. All the way.
I love the way they whine hehe. And it's totally a big dog stuck in a small package!

Be one of the cool kids.

I wish I had these as a kid! Beats any Lisa Frank or Five Star Folder any day! This is student work submitted by Marisa Torres from Mexico City.

"Ecologiks is a line of eco-friendly school supplies. Made with recycled and post-consumer materials, Ecologiks presents an alternative to unsustainable, generic or brand name, or otherwise dull school supplies.

The brand is inspired and manufactured for children. The package offers a full range of products—mainly school supplies. We intend to offer variety packages that include notebooks, pencil cases, calendars, and other stationery."

Supafresh!

So I created this whole blog and now I'm not even blogging. Go me. I need to get back into the rhythm of this whole thing.

15 weeks of school until I graduate. Damn. Can't wait.
I can see people breaking all around me, the pressure is finally getting to them, but I can't really compare...I still gets my shit done and in the end that's what matters.

At this point you pretty much have to be willing to throw your heart and soul into everything you do. I've always noticed that other designers can tell when you bullshit.

Other notes:
Tortoise is alright. I just have to keep an eye on her. They wanted me to run all of these tests totaling up to $500 or just checking her out! Fuck dat. I'd rather just take care of her. So that's that.

I'm starting to see the end of school and the start of my career, and it's kind of thrilling. I like how I'm finally at the point where I can pretty much design whatever I want and use styles that I've always wanted to experiment with and have it look amazing.

Went to see Kyle Cooper with Tracy a couple weeks ago. I didn't realize the expanse of his work, his company even did the HP commercials with the song "Picture Book." Check out Prologue. If you don't know who Kyle Cooper is, he's most famous for doing opening credits for movies such as Se7en, Dawn of the Dead, the Spiderman series, etc. He also did the ending sequence to Tropic Thunder with Tom Cruise dancing...which is amazing by the way hahaha. Learning After Effects and seeing these people use it...I can't imagine it. I guess you need to drive and passion for it because After Effects just makes me want to drink until what I'm doing looks good lol.

I'm planning on going skydiving next month and hopefully a rally course in Florida this summer since it looks as though Poland isn't going to work out...expensive ass tickets.

I'm looking to get another tattoo next week.
I think I'm going to get my rook pierced today.

Life is starting to fall into place.

I'm doing my first photoshoot next weekend...OooOooo. I'm excite.
Should turn out pretty damn cool. I'm taking pictures of tattoos. Yum.

I'm starting to put together my portfolio for preview, I'll post some teasers here and there so you can see!

Song of the day-Heads Will Roll by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

...and Sanity by Alcarion

Weird attitude.

Migraine. Ugh.

Yet music is the only thing that soothes it ironically enough.

Well it's been ten years, and a thousand tears
And look at the mess I'm in-
A broken nose and a broken heart,
An empty bottle of gin

Well I sit and I pray
In my broken down Chevrolet-
While I'm singin' to myself
There's got to be another way


Good things and bad things going on this week.
My tortoise is sick :(
I know I have to take her to the vet, but I'm dreading the bill. Oh exotic animals.

I'm getting a lot of work done though, which is always a plus.
Although, I don't want to know what the last two or three weeks of this quarter are going to be like...including preview.



Can you believe it's February next week?

Who doesn't want this?

Helvetica cookie cutters! Beverly Hsu came up with a graphic designer/baker's dream! Once these are mass produced I'm getting on that bandwagon. I mean, seriously, what isn't better than eating the one thing that frustrates a designer?

Time for life lessons.
Had an interesting past weekend. Finally got my trunk finished even though I was in gut-wrenching pain. I just wanted it done to get rid of the jig saw.
Met up with the ex to give the saw back, I pretty much just wanted to drop it off in the mail box, but I knew he had unfinished business.

Here's the thing: don't fuck with me. Once you've hurt me over and over again I have nothing left to do with you, and yet you still try to argue.
The only nice thing that came out of the meeting is that I was reassured that I made the right decision.
I've heard it all before, "I'm sorry," "It won't happen again," "I'm different now," "I'm going through a lot of shit," it's nothing new to me. And frankly, it doesn't ever work. It always ends up being the same story and I hate being repetitive. Made that mistake too many times in the past and ended completely beat down.

I wasn't going to let it happen again.

Okay, last one for now.

I found another package design. Pinky's Cupcakes. 3 packages: individual cupcakes box (found the most badass dieline ever) which is on the far left. Top middle and the white one is a cupcake mix gift set. The white box goes inside the 2 sleeves that pull apart. The middle is a gift card box that has a ribbon. Once again...photos needed. There is also a menu as collateral. The pinks came out way too bright in the jpegs, they're much more subtle. It's okay for now...but I think it's going to need reworking.

Oh well.

I love cupcakes. This project made me find The Atlanta Cupcakes Factory which is amazing. So worth it making the trip downtown for a damn cupcake. I mean, they have chocolate salted pretzel!! YUM.

Corporate Identity.

I fly kites. Not cheesy shitty little kites. Big kites. 3.3 meter parafoils to be exact. Them bitches will lift you off the ground and drag you down the beach. Tried a little kite boarding (sand not sea) too but ate dirt lol.

This type of kite. In case you're wondering.

Haven't done it since I went to St. Augustine last (one of my fav places by the way!) but I'll do it again.

Anyway, so I created a kite company selling both those little kites and stunt, sport, and kiteboarding kites and accessories.

There's also a brand standards manual. Once again, I need to take pictures.

2 different business cards depending on your level in the company.

2 different letterheads. The one on an angle is external mail to help develop the brand. The straight is for quick internal mail.

Direct Mail Piece.

This looks like shit on paper. But trust me it's pretty cool. The way the mailer folds out is actually like a flower. I really need to photograph it for preview to show it. Anyway, it's an invitational for a summer jazz series, nothing special, just a fold I liked. It goes into a transparent vellum envelope, and I designed it so that the white areas are what show under where USPS regulation needs to go so there is no problem mailing it.

Pasta Brochure.

This started as a 3-color project. Frankly, I don't know what it was (well I do but I'm just going to leave it out) but I completely hated Intermediate Layout. It sucked. And so did this project at first. Everything is based on a modular grid. I ended up breaking the grid, because I understand baseline grids and everything but come on who the fuck wants to be that structured!

Probably one of my favorites.

Catalog design. I decided to go with Christmas ornaments, unique ones. Who doesn't love ornaments?

All of these are ones my mom has collected over the years, mainly from Poland. Everything is original photography except the photographs in boxes.

I like how clean the layout came out without being too cheesy.

And I picked the best ornaments to go in here.

Polish heritage on the cover. Totally. Hehe.

Some package design.

These are just the dielines, I'm getting everything photographed in the next couple weeks. I'm only going to post these packages, the other ones need to be either reworked or the file is so overloaded that it's not worth it.

Once I get the photos though, I'll post them.

I have a tortoise. Her name is Octavia. She was my inspiration :)

Tortoise Bones are calcium cuttle bones they chew on, so I put them in a milk carton. Fitting.

The food is in a open top container...I know the dieline doesn't make much sense but you'll get it later.

I love my upside down tortoise hehe.

Bakery Logo

Pretty much sums it up. I love the tops of muffins and at one point was considering opening a bakery where I just sold the tops. I even got a muffin top pan from my brother and everything. No I didn't get the idea from Seinfeld...I had it first! So in this case, it's almost a pseudo-abstract muffin.

Masthead/Cover System

Advanced Layout. Still bar none my favorite class.

Anyway, came up with a magazine, I did mine on film photography and named it 35mm. Had to do a full 12 months of circulation based on a system, so I put the photographs inside the 5, creating a more dynamic look rather than just placing the photograph in the background.

This piece actually got featured in a show. I didn't win, someone else did, and honestly I don't think they deserved it, it looks like shit lol.

Rally Poster

This one I did back at GA State, but it still turned out well so I'm keeping it. Original photography and everything. Feet. Yummy.

For Portfolio Preview I'm probably going to do an invitation printed on the toe tags. Simple but direct.

By the way, the poor quality isn't my fault. Converted all the pdfs to jpegs and this is what I get. Great.

Some portfolio work: Avant Garde Magazine

This is a cover and two two-page spreads for a fictional avant garde magazine entitled: Uber Trash. The concept behind the magazine is dumpster diving and glorifying it rather than being disgusted by it. There's actually groups of people in NYC and other cities around the work that gather and go dumpster diving or food at night only to have a huge potluck dinner at the end of their journey.

For more information on dumpster diving click here.

I didn't take the time to put borders on the white spreads. Oh well.

Get familiar.

Okay, seriously, if you don't know about Johnny Cupcakes, then you need to get familiar quick! This is one of the most unique and fastest-growing brands out there. Johnny has got it down to the finest detail. Not only is the product unique, but it comes shipped like a present in special tissue paper with little Johnny Cupcakes buttons, newsletters, and mints included. Even the shipping box is unique. Johnny is obviously not salvaging quality to get quantity. I love all this stuff and I want it all!

By the way, the shirt pictured, a favorite. Too bad it's sold out for now :(

Get inspired.

Love photographic manipulation. This is a brilliant example by Iain Crawford. Although, Crawford's use of manipulation is through the camera, not computer. I kind of want to do something like this for my senior project, but utilizing more light-based or vector illustrations to make the photography pop. I'll post that once it's done...for now it's a secret!!

Amazing. I WANT!

Hafsteinn Juliusson came up with the concept of growing jewelry. Pretty much like a Chia Pet you can walk around with. I love it. It has the unusual flare that I'm constantly looking for. Though it is a bit pricey and requires maintenance, it is definitely one of those stand out pieces.