I'm on sabbatical... Or so I wish

I've clearly taken a hiatus.

I suppose my being discouraged from the [unsuccessful] search for a full-time job directly reflects my feeling unmotivated in everyday life, thus affecting my once-persistent need to blog. That was a very complex sentence, which I suppose also reflects the jumble into which my brain has spiraled.

It's been over a year (and over, I'm sure, hundreds of applications/sent résumés; I haven't kept track) since I graduated college. Still, no bites for a full-time job. That is sure to make a huge blow to my ego and confidence as a "designer." I've started applying for glorified secretarial, clerical and even telephone operator positions (not that those are necessarily bad, but I didn't go to a four-year university for graphic design to not pursue relevant endeavors!), all to no avail. (And yes, I look around the entire country).

I've considered grad school (for either creative writing or social work; hey, I need options here), but my current, massive amount of debt from undergrad hinders that decision greatly, and (gasp) learning web design. Somewhere along the lines and the growth of the industry (perhaps just the boom of the world wide web?), employers have become deluded into thinking that graphic designers need to know web and web designers need to be trained and qualified in graphic design. They are two different professions and each should not be expected to know and excel in the other. But hell, it looks as though at this point, I need to learn it if I ever want to get a job.

Holding on tight

The economy is in the crapper and we all know that.

Except now it's hitting a little bit too-close-for-comfort to home.

It's not every year that one graduates college and enters the job market during a recession. Oh, the joys of being tens-upon-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars in debt amidst the near impossibility of finding a full-time job. Then the mind starts to dabble: is there credibility in a bachelor's degree any more? Was there really even a point? That very well may be my thoughts after settling into apathy and my potentially-developing depression: direct side effects of a recent graduate thrown into the oblivion known as our current economy.

I was reading a couple of articles on designobserver.com which spearhead this subject and the worries (I know I have) in regard to working in the design industry. This, I'm sure, can apply to most industries, so those of you who are suffering (or will suffer soon enough) from this same stress, take heed:

Murray Moss, the guest write on Design Observer, wrote "Design Hates a Depression" in response to "Design Loves a Depression" and here are a few excerpts from his entry:

I can assure you that design, along with painting, sculpture, photography, music, dance, fashion, the culinary arts, architecture, and theatre, loves a depression no more than it loves a war, a flood, or a plague.

[Design] tends to suffer, like any of the other humanistic disciplines. New ideas do not get championed or realized. Leadership turns to market-driven accommodation.

It does tend to suffer. And so do I. Thus, I've started this spiral into apathy because I am feeling more and more discouraged. Thankfully, in all of Michael Beirut's (graphic designer, design critic, educator, former VP of Vignelli Associates, current partner at Pentagram, graduate of the University of Cincinnati's DAAP program, and all-around bad mamma jamma) 28 years in the industry, he's gained knowledge and valuable experience and decided to grace us with some light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-encouragement:

Be frugal
Be careful
Be creative
Be sociable
and most importantly BE PATIENT.

My friend the ex-hedge fund guy (he did get out in time) told me recently, "In the middle of every boom, people say, 'This one is different, it's never going to come down.' But it always does." This was true with dot-coms, and it was true with real estate. "In recessions, they fear the same thing: this one is different. But it will eventually turn around after all the crap gets worked out." And it will, eventually. Just hold on tight.

You may have noticed something interesting: all of these tips for what to do in a recession will work just as well in good times. Or even better. So the final lesson is to use this downturn as a learning experience. If you've got this discipline to survive, or even thrive, in the next year or so, you'll be mastering skills that will serve you well forever. Good luck.

I'll surely need luck indeed. And I'm holding on tight.

Top 10 Movie Posters of 2008

Inspired by Yahoo!'s list of the Best and Worst Movie Posters of 2008, I set out to create a list of my own, using many of the same that they chose for their's, but a few after looking at IMP Awards 2008 Movie Poster Gallery. Because I can and because it's what I do, I've even turned this into a Top 10. Go fig.

As a graphic designer (and one-time-movie-poster-designer), it is perhaps my duty to critique movie posters and their effectiveness. I really enjoy seeing beautifully designed one-sheets, however the terrible ones are pretty hilarious in their own right and deserve some kind of recognition as well. Hell, I guess that's what the entertainment industry is there for: to entertain. Thanks to Yahoo!'s list of the Best and Worst Movie Posters of 2008, I've chosen some that are so incredible that they leave me wanting to stare and analyze for longer than necessary. And some that are so awesomely bad that I cannot resist mentioning.

Onward to the list!

The Air I Breathe

Burn After Reading


The Cool School


The Dark Knight


The Family That Preys


Funny Games


Man on Wire

The Spirit

Taxi to the Dark Side

Valkyrie

Like Fonts?

Try playing the Rather Difficult Font Game over at (iLT)! I got a 28/34 and scored myself a spot in the Hall of Fame. It is 'rather difficult' but a great time to play. Just use process of elimination. Happy Fonting!

It's love [enter love-stricken ga-ga eyes here].

For the first time, I am reporting from my brand-spanking-new, eco-friendly MacBook Pro. There are so many perks about this little guy that I can't even begin to describe. I never thought I could love another the way I did my Powerbook, but I do. But my first will always hold a special place in my heart:

Image + Witty Tagline ≠ Good Design

I was surfing the 'net (as usual) when I came across this really great piece by Marian Bantjes. [Side note: if you don't know who she is, I suggest you at least check out what Wikipedia has to say about her by clicking on her name] Most, if not all, of her work is absolutely incredible, especially because she typically–and obsessively–creates them first by hand drawing them with extreme detail before recreating them in a vector-based program (which I can only assume would be Illustrator, but I suppose I could be wrong). I had the opportunity to meet her (and score some swag!) when she appeared as a guest speaker at BGSU, and she is just about as awesome as her work, especially because she doesn't even have a formal education in design; she's just that talented.

Anywho, I saw a piece that she created that explains what influences her and her work. I know that I am highly influenced by pop culture and maps (among other things), but wow, this is intense. You may want to click on it so you can see it larger to get the full effect.


As I'm reading her website, there are some Q & A that I find both entertaining and extremely insightful, one of those being:

What pisses you off most in the design world?
The mistaken belief that image+witty tagline = good design.

Also, I found a really great quote that she wrote in her "What I Say About Myself" section because it sounds just like me:

I do not know if I am lazy or driven. A little of both. While I tend to work every day, from morning to night (I’m frequently working past midnight), my days are relatively stress free. In the summer I tend to take a lot of breaks and sit in the sun or go for a walk. I spend a lot of time thinking. Just staring into space and thinking. Does this count as work? Sometimes. When I wake up in the morning with the perfect solution to a given problem, have I been working while I was sleeping? Perhaps.

(I've bolded the fragments that apply.)

The Italic Poster (!)

I love when I see really inspiring design work, that is either thought-provoking or just plain awesome that it completely blows my mind. I've found that I feel this a lot when I look at Massimo Vignelli's work, because he is my modernist idol. Ah, minimalism. Vignelli says it best:

"I like it to be visually powerful, intellectually elegant, and above all timeless."

Timeless. In an industry that changes trends on a daily basis. Oh, the preoccupation that rests on my shoulders as a designer. Here is a wonderfully minimal, incredible poster that I found today while surfing the 'net:

OMFG. The Italic Poster–totally brillz! I am certifiably in love.

Christmas Come Early!

(!!!!!)

I did not know that the MTA had an online New York Transit Museum! While reading "The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway," I stumbled across where you can purchase vintage subway maps. I'm not sure if you know my obsession with maps (especially MTA's maps), but today really is like Christmas! Twilight comes out tonight and I found a place where I can purchase vintage subway maps. Ah, I'm so happy.

If anyone is feeling charitable, just buy one and have it sent my way! My favorite is Massimo Vignelli's 1972 map:

Graphic Designers: Misunderstood (Often Taken For Granted) Renaissance People

I don't think people quite understand what it takes to be a graphic designer and the stress involved within the profession. There is so much pressure when we're designing and busting our arses to meet deadlines while keeping our clients happy. I think people misunderstand what graphic designers are and do. I'm not exaggerating: when I was in college and I would complain about doing projects for design and studio classes, my friends would look at me like I was talking about going to go fingerpainting or something equally juvenile. No, it's not at all like that and it isn't all fun and games. Sure, it's usually fun (rather, I'd say enjoyable, not fun per sé) and I love what I do, but I'm here to straighten out some things about being a graphic designer that you probably don't think about.

Graphic designers are businesspeople because we understand how to sell our product to the customer, how to present and speak publicly in front of others, and how to write up contractual agreements. We are proofreaders and copywriters and we are expected to find spelling and grammar errors. We are problem solvers by nature, and we must utilize those skills to design successful and effective work. We must be stellar interpersonal communicators because without expressing our initiative through emails and phone calls, work would never get done. And all of this doesn't even entail all of the characteristics of what a graphic designer as an artist knows and does. We must continually educate ourselves throughout our career so that we are always up-to-date regarding current design trends and software updates. We must know rules of design when using type and graphics to design, numerous software programs (the entire Adobe Creative Suite as well as additional programs such as Dreamweaver, Final Cut Pro; Microsoft Office need not apply) we use in order to create the designs you see, we must understand the print process (CMYK anyone?), web design (RGB holler back), file management, what types of files to use and when, photo correction, how to effectively sketch and translate ideas into tangible (and intangible) messages for its viewers... I could go on for days. Do you get the idea?

It is rare that we get the creative freedom that most artists have. Instead we must accept ideas and suggestions from our clients, people who were not trained in nor have a degree in graphic design. Many times it pains me to so much as entertain some of these ideas, but as professionals we have to swallow our pride and everything we were taught to bring ourselves to use laughable typefaces (see Comic Sans and Papyrus) and graphics to please our clients. We also have to be gifted generalists within our profession. I don't think I've ever met or heard of a designer who focuses on one particular genre. I find myself working within a variety of media including 3-d packaging, print (brochures, posters, invitations), identity (logos, business cards, letterheads, envelopes) and page layout. If I had a client who asked for a project that was something I didn't know how to do, I would make damn sure to either learn how to do it and get it done for them, or have a list of people I know to whom I can outsource the work. Oh, does that mean we're contractors too?

We may not be certified in Business, English, Interpersonal Communication and Critical Thinking, but with one simple Graphic Design degree, we certainly do it all. We're supposed to be miracle workers and it is assumed that we know everything. Just so you know: we aren't and we don't. But we're damn close.

The Rebranding of Ocho Cinco 2.0, the Athletainer

Of all the ESPN discussion boards I have read (trust me, I don't know why I do so because people on there really aggravate me with their uneducated, über-biased opinions, but that is beside the point), most arguments claim that Chad Johnson (ahem, Chad Javon Ocho Cinco) isn't using proper Spanish grammar. My first beef with this is that most of the time this "argument" comes from people who can't properly distinguish the difference between your/you're, to/too/two and there/their/they're, who cannot effectively use ellipses, and who consistently abuse that poor caps lock key. Secondly, I consider myself pretty educated (I took the equivalent of eight years of Spanish throughout middle school, high school and college) in the Spanish language, despite the fact that I am nowhere near fluent (but trust me, I could still write you one helluva 3-page essay), and the fact that he calls himself "Ocho Cinco" instead of "Ochenta y Cinco" does not bother me. For those of us who watch and play sports, we know what it is like to encourage our fellow players by saying "Let's go one-nine" instead of saying "Let's go nineteen," or "Come on two-four" instead of "Come on twenty-four." I may use appropriate "ochenta y cinco" grammar in that essay I said I could write, but in all sports technicality, Ocho Cinco is correctly used. Besides, would you rather be called "Ocho Cinco" or "Ochenta y Cinco?" Sure, you may think it's a silly name either way, but that's neither here nor there.

With the rebranding boom going on right now (see Days Inn, Dairy Queen, BP, and Payless as only a few examples), I think he's doing great marketing for himself in a No Fun League full of should-be athletainers, a word hybrid Mr. Ocho Cinco so creatively coined himself.

Adventures in Dollyhood

I hope this inaugural blog entry reaches you all well, and I also hope I actually stick with updates. I will say that I don't plan on keeping the content about any one subject in particular, but would like to discuss design/art and entertainment/pop culture. I digress...

It is sad to see Labor Day Weekend come and go so quickly, and it is even more difficult to fathom that we are already in the ninth month of 2008. I was fortunate enough to spend the extended holiday weekend holed up with some girlfriends from high school in a Smoky Mountain chalet; one that appropriately holds the moniker, 'The Love Shack.' I suppose that, in all actuality, that is pretty disgusting given all the 'honeymooning' that goes on there.

On Saturday night, somewhere in between playing Uno, having cocktails, and raging out (responsibly) to either Grand Ole Party or the rap mix we unanimously made our soundtrack for the trip (I can confirm with this piece of information alone that we made it back to our Finneytown roots), I received a picture message from my boss for whom I've recently done a lot of design work.

There it was: Berry Probiotics, nestled proudly on the shelf at Publix. I may have a bit of a bias, and it helps that the names of its neighboring products carry negative connotation, but Berry Probiotics looks great! After months of packaging and label design for five different Natures Dynamics products, I feel a great sense of accomplishment as well as relief, for we can finally see the completed product on the shelves of over 900 Publix stores. Now it's only a matter of a couple of weeks -we hope- until the rest of the supplements grace the shelves at Publix as well.

It's kind of disappointing that I don't have a Publix store readily available within any reasonable driving distance, but the picture is proof enough for me until I either a) get to a Publix store sometime in the near future, or b) the products start being shelved and sold in additional stores in the U.S. (ie. Target and Whole Foods) as previously discussed. It's nice to know that Natures Dynamics is a very stable freelance project and relationship for me, and I look forward to see where its success goes from here. There are already some potentially mega projects coming up, but I will keep you updated on those as the deals solidify. (I don't want to jinx anyone!)