Descomm evaluation

I would give descomm a B+ for the quarter?

No real complaints, but nothing super inspiring either. My favorite part of any descomm class is seeing other people's work. I enjoy seeing different styles and processes and learning from that rather than learning from a slideshow. Demos are helpful also... the tips and tricks you learn from watching other people work are invaluable.

A work in progress...

So my goal is to submit my plot tomorrow morning... but I've been staring at it for TOO long.

I need advise, comments, etc-

It's a work in progress, and it's coming along, I just need some feedback.
Hopefully my graphics sister will email me back asap :)

[Sorry the quality isn't the best... the file is gi-normous!!]

Both unique and brilliant

Every designer in the world is saying to themselves "I wish I had thought of this"...

A calendar in order to promote Stihl leaf blowers. The calendar pages fall off ON THEIR OWN. The calendar also runs solely through the months of fall- so smart.

A beautifully elegant tea bag in the shape of well, anything but a tea bag. The bird is so whimsical and cute.

Waterlillies...

My favorite book when I was little was "Linnea in Monet's Garden".



I've always been a little obsessed with Claude Monet- his paintings are amazing. And the fact that he continued painting while going blind is inspiring!

I once did an oversize chuck close type portrait of Claude Monet [with an inkpad and my thumbprint]...unfortunately I have no picture.

Anyway- to the POINT. While at Moma, the last room we stumbled into happened to be "Monet's Water Lillies" !!







*sigh* There were a ton of people, which sucked... but just to have the opportunity to see these original pieces of amazing artwork <3

The size of the paintings alone are enough to overwhelm. And the colors and texture are so beautiful. The exhibit literally made my year.

A trip to MOMA...

A recent trip to NYC led Ben and I to view the best of MOMA.
You see, the Tim Burton exhibit was sold out- so after trying to sneak in and being rejected, we were forced to walk throughout the rest of the museum.

It turned out to be phenominal! I was so dissapointed about missing the Burton exhibit that I had zero expectations for the rest of the museum. We started in the Pollock room [drool] where I was informed by the gallery nazi to "step away from the painting".



But I found the panda in the Pollock!! [a game I invented]



We then wandered around, later finding Mondrian, Warhol, Oldenburg, and Lichtenstein.
Art history class does no justice. We also saw Starry Starry Night!



This was followed by Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo, and a modern artist named Gabriel Orozco...
Orozco was a little bizarro... he pinned yogurt lids to the wall. Literally one on each wall... I don't know. There was also a Bauhaus specialty exhibit [no photos allowed] that was ALL student work!! It was amazing for product design... there were products in addition to paintings!

Finally, I found the mother load... but THAT is a whole other post!
Please see next :)

Jewelry to die for...

http://caroletanenbaum.com/index.php

Vintage jewelry- kicks the pants off of today's jewelry.

The hand crafted detail is phenominal. The color of the metals and jewels are beautiful, elegant, and timeless. Just pray you have the monies for pay for it $$$

Not much to say...

Okay so this is both bizarre and amazing- found on Daily Candy...

http://www.jumbohostel.com/DynPage.aspx

You book a hotel room in a jumbo jet on Sweden's busiest runway. So you can see and hear planes landing all day and night. Like I said, bizarre and amazing.

Wayne and Garth would love it.

Laurel Avenue Bakery

Yum.

Need I say more? Sophisticated modern bakeries are going up like crazy.

From Sprinkles [ http://www.sprinkles.com/ ]

to Sugar Daddy's [ http://www.sugardaddys.com/ ]

to my most recent find, Laurel Avenue [ http://laurelavenuebakery.com/ ] .

And they're not just in the trendy neighborhoods of LA and New York, but are making their mark elsewhere. Cincinnati has theirs' [ http://bonbonerie.com/ ] and Sugar Daddy's is located near Columbus. Sprinkles has moved their Cali operations to towns in Texas and Arizona.

TV Shows like Ace of Cakes [ http://www.charmcitycakes.com/ ] featuring Baltimore's Charm City Cakes, and Cake Boss [ http://www.carlosbakery.com/ ] featuring Hoboken's Carlos Bakery have given these bakeries a platform to capitalize on, popularizing the specialty baked goods offered. No longer are cakes for weddings and birthdays, but are being purchased for office and christmas parties, for baby showers and graduations, for celebrating anniversaries and military home-comings...no occasion is too small.

Because honestly, who doesn't love cake?

Epic Fail

I'm pretty sure I'm bad at blogging...

aren't there rules about it? Like if you cite another site you should say so?

I need a book on blogging etiquette.

Eyewear

Warby Parker features timelessly designed heavy-rimmed glasses in an array of sophisticated colors. I would love to own the purple Emersons for women. For men- the Colton in orange [though it'd take a confident and unique person to pull these off]. These glasses are bold, bright, and beautiful!
http://www.warbyparker.com/

Fabulous Fanny's specializes in vintage eyewear [supposedly the secret to Lady Gaga's spectacular spectacles]. See the video below, as their website is pretty horrible to look at...
http://www.dailycandy.com/all-cities/video/79292/Easy-Does-It-How-to-Find-the-Right-Glasses

Cozy

Feeling cozy?

Electronics are so blah. Black, silver, static, and sterile.
I love the idea of cozy electronics- something to personalize and feel personal.
Chilewich ipod covers, Macbook covers by Twelve South, and Neff headphones.

Pantone 2010

Pantone has posted color trends for 2010-
I love using them as inspiration and reference... they're palettes are sophisticated yet playful.
Download the Adobe Swatches and upload into illustrator to infuse your work!

USB keys...

My recent designs for a Fred & Friends USB key and Disney USB keys...

J. Adler

...Find an inspiring designer with strong visualization skills and list 3 aspects of their work you can apply to your own...may have already done this one but, here's another?

So- JONATHAN ADLER! Not an "ID" designer necessarily, but I'd call him a product designer for sure. Best known for his white ceramic pottery- which I would describe an luscious. I drool over most everything on his website: http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/index.php

3 aspects: CLEAN, REFRESHING, CLEVER

There is a lightness and simplicity to Adler's work. It is whimsical, clever, and fun.
When color is incorporated, its thoughtful, and placed with intention. Lines are clean and smooth. There is a pureness to everything Adler produces. His aesthetic is identifiable, and inspiring.

<3

Inspiration

Picture: Design*Sponge
1/14 H – Research the key elements to good storytelling and discuss how it can be applied to portfolio design. Cite 3 examples.

Except this isn't what I'm going to write about- I'm going to discuss where I find my inspiration online.... mostly blogs and trend emails but here are some links.

http://www.lotushaus.typepad.com/
-Love <3 this woman's blog...Her name is Joanna Dyckhoff and she posts mostly about event design. She does beautiful floral arrangements, and is a great resource for inspiration in color, materials, and theming.

http://www.bornrich.org/
Another good one- I enjoy it because it's super expensive stuff that never goes to mainstream market...it's great to see what design can do when not limited by money $$$

http://www.dailycandy.com/all-cities/
This is a site where I subscribed to daily trend emails... gives you great finds without having to do the work! Better for the ladies than men lol

And last but not least...
http://www.designsojourn.com/essential-websites-for-industrial-designers/

Good site with recommendation for sites...!

Worldwide Fred

1/12 T – Write about a person who has a strong and clear “brand.” List three best practices that they consistently do. How can you apply their best practices to your own work?

I chose the brand "Fred"... www.worldwidefred.com

"Fred" creates playful, creative, and ironic products that are often based on puns.

They choose appropriate colors and materials for the product thereby enhancing the products believability.

They also create products that people can relate to- it creates a personal and emotional connection

"Fred" is such a unique brand- I often find myself purchasing their products as gifts. Their products are surprising, unusual, unexpected, and innovative-

I think these practices could be applied to my design work-
I believe designers get stuck in the modern, sleek, and simple design style... we need to be pushed to think outside the box, to create products that are unexpected and offer shock value- THESE are the products people connect with.

If you lose your ipod, you buy another. If you lose your "Fred" luchador key cover- you cry...because it's irreplaceable. It can't be bought anywhere else-

1/7 H – Link to three interesting blog posts on portfolio design. Give your point of view based on your research.

http://www.coroflot.com/public/help_portfolio_tips.asp
http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/portfolio-design-resources/
http://www.veen.com/jeff/archives/000935.html

The coroflot portfolio tips are excellent basic guidelines that come from a well respected website among designers. The most relevant advice that I found on this site titled "That Special Something" basically kicks your ass into thinking of something more out-of-the-box...

Vandelaydesign is great to look at for advice and inspiration- I'm pretty sure we all think about creating a website portfolio and this site is a great jumpstart into doing so.

Veen - this one is kind of contrasting to the ideals of the other two in that it encourages dumbing down a portfolio [don't overload]... but recommends a designer [recent graduate] fills up their portfolio- student work is not enough.

All around good advice and some good inspiration for redoing a portfolio!

I do not blog.

I don't blog. Or tweet. Or skype. I don't even instant message.
I enjoy looking at other people's blogs- It's just not something I've ever wanted to do.
Imagine my enthusiasm when we were assigned a quarter long blogging experience.
One entry per class beginning with:

1/5 T – Write your personal goals for the quarter, and an action plan for how to achieve them.

My goals for descomm:
1. Become a better sketcher with a more developed style - I think I began to really develop my own style and "system" of sketching last quarter. However, this past quarters coop required zero sketching and I have definitely lost some of my ability. Getting back to consistently sketching, and then really pushing myself to draw more angles and views will help make me a better sketcher. Also, pushing myself to scan in sketches and work them on a cintiq will help me develop a more finished and professional look for my portfolio.

2. Develop a portfolio layout that a) makes sense b) is unique and c) i can easily add project into in the future - I am HORRIBLE at page layouts. Mike Roller mentioned creating a "dumb" layout with gray boxes and filler text. I think this will be beneficial for me. Also, getting more peoples' feedback and input on my portfolio layout would be beneficial. I usually just run it by my graphic designer of a sister before calling it complete. This quarter will be good for me to redo my portfolio because I'm not looking for a new job, so I won't overwhelmed, rushed, and stressed.

WOOT. blog numero uno - check.