When I feel my creative juices running dry, I find inspiration by peeking around the portfolios of a few of my favorite graphic designers. Just looking at all they are able to create, invigorates me and helps me push myself to try harder and be better.
Just a few, in no particular order:
1. Melanie Burk of Fifth and Hazel
2. Jessica Jones of Jessica Jones Design
3. Mike and Alma Loveland of Ollibird
4. Christine Hughes from Darling
I'm not terrible crafty, but sometimes participating in another creative area like DIY awesomeness is just what the doctor ordered to replenish those juices. So I'll turn to:
1. You are my fave
2. Say Yes to Hoboken
3. Oh Happy Day!
4. How About Orange
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
3D Design
Looking ahead, our package design will soon be due! For my design, I decided to create my own box. I designed a template by finding an existing package that met my needs (in this case, a Kleenex box), unfolding the box, measuring, and then creating a flat template in Illustrator. It was much easier than I imaged it to be, especially because I worked of an existing package and because I made a mini. Be no afraid of 3D designs!
I have since found several resources that I thought I'd share here, in case you ever have a need and can't find an existing form to use as your guide.
1. Free Packaging Templates
2. Even more Free Packaging Templates from Vecteezy
(Sidebar: if you don't know about Vecteezy and his sister, Brusheezy, run right over there and say hello)
3. ArcaMagica, where you can get templates for a small fee
4. Paper Crafts Magazine has a bunch that you might find useful
Now go forth and design fearless 3D packages.
I have since found several resources that I thought I'd share here, in case you ever have a need and can't find an existing form to use as your guide.
1. Free Packaging Templates
2. Even more Free Packaging Templates from Vecteezy
(Sidebar: if you don't know about Vecteezy and his sister, Brusheezy, run right over there and say hello)
3. ArcaMagica, where you can get templates for a small fee
4. Paper Crafts Magazine has a bunch that you might find useful
Now go forth and design fearless 3D packages.
Monday, November 26, 2012
More LoTR research
My husband has taken a keen interest in my nerd hobbies article (which, by the way, has changed fairly significantly since I posted it last week). I've never seen him so excited about anything I've undertaken before. We, of course, had to watch the movies, he put me in touch with friends of his who shared his same nerdy interests, and then today, he sent me the following website.
Yes, my friends, that's an entire website dedicated to statistics from The Lord of the Rings. And it turns out, Tolkien sorta hated women. Only 19% of the population of Middle Earth was women. Look at how femininity is nearly non-existent among the Dwarf population.
The website is called LOTRProject.com. Putting aside my amazement that someone has the time to compile this information, design a website for it, and maintain it, the site is actually very well-done, the statistics section being the most well designed, in my opinion. On the site, a visitor can check out the timeline, view the family trees, and, of course, learn the statistics that make LoTR what it is.
Want even more Middle Earth? Check out the app!
Yes, my friends, that's an entire website dedicated to statistics from The Lord of the Rings. And it turns out, Tolkien sorta hated women. Only 19% of the population of Middle Earth was women. Look at how femininity is nearly non-existent among the Dwarf population.
The website is called LOTRProject.com. Putting aside my amazement that someone has the time to compile this information, design a website for it, and maintain it, the site is actually very well-done, the statistics section being the most well designed, in my opinion. On the site, a visitor can check out the timeline, view the family trees, and, of course, learn the statistics that make LoTR what it is.
Want even more Middle Earth? Check out the app!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Project Seven Roughie
The word "rough draft" was made for my project seven copy. But even the Bible started somewhere. I'd love to hear your feedback!
I married young. I can admit that now. I was 20 and my husband, Adam, was 22. I wouldn’t change anything, but I would ask more questions, like, “Are you freaky about germs?” and, “Are you so far left you’re almost socialist?” and the biggie, “Do you speak Elvish, can you draw a map of Middle Earth blindfolded, and do you have a filing cabinet full of Tolkien’s papers?” You see, Adam is a tall, dark, and handsome attorney by day and a tall, dark, and handsome Tolkien nerd by night.
My apologies. I misspoke. He’s a “Tolkien scholar.” There is a notable difference in Tolkien “nerds” and Tolkien “scholars.” Tolkien nerds are typically 14-year-old boys with acne and braces who have the hots for Liv Tyler. They'll grow out of their obsession as soon as their acne clears up.
But that’s not my husband. Adam is part of a group that didn’t grow out of it. Tolkien scholars aren’t swayed by Hollywood's semi-recent interest in The Lord of the Rings. This gang consists of intellectuals, typically between the ages of 25 and 45, who have taken on an academic study of their hero, J.R.R. Tolkien. They were baptized into the Church of Tolkien long before Peter Jackson entered the waters and they'll remain faithful members long after the December 14th release of The Hobbit. And for the record, Liv Tyler will always be Arwen to them.
I learned about Adam’s preoccupation with Middle Earth after we were married. Though I didn’t stumble upon him booking tickets to the Tolkien Convention, I was nonetheless surprised. Not long after we were married, I was in a college class with a classmate who named his daughter “Galadriel,” the name of the beautiful and powerful Elvish queen. I rushed home to share with my new husband my horror at this carelessly christened name. He shrugged and said he thought it was kind of pretty. I should have known then.
It took five weekends of The Lord of the Rings marathons, three birthday gifts of various Tolkien box sets, and a heated confession that he’d be proud to have a child named “Galadriel” before I understood who I really married. There are certainly worse obsessions that a person could disclose, like shrunken skull collections, for example. But when he produced a filing box brimming with copies of Tolkien’s academic essays, scholarly writings, and personal manuscripts I wondered how such a well-adapted member of society would have such a…nerdy passion.
Come to find out, Adam had taken classes on Tolkien in school, learned to speak the Elvish language, and even attempted the creation of his own mythological world. At first, I laughed. Then, I grimaced. Next, I tolerated. And finally, I began to understand.
Adam became interested in fantasy novels and stories at a very young age. He always loved wizards, magic, dragons, and quests. While I was reading The Baby-sitters Club as a fifth-grader, he found a copy of Norse and Greek mythology. In high school, he was introduced to the musical stylings of Led Zeppelin, the lead guitarist of which, Jimmy Page, was enormously influenced by Tolkien. All of a sudden two worlds collided for him and he started picking out allusions to Tolkien characters and myths in their music.
Sometime during adolescence, Adam found old copies of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stashed away in a bookcase in his parent’s basement. Adam says that Tolkien’s writings felt like the mythology novels he had loved as a kid. But this time the stories felt more intricate, more detailed, written by someone who had a very thorough understanding of words and ideas.
The game changed again when, at the urging of a college English professor, Adam read The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s masterpiece of the history of Middle-Earth, Tolkien’s fantasy world. The Silmarillion is where fantasy meets mythology, but it is written in tight, cohesive, adult language. It was very intricately woven and nearly impossible to understand without a decoder ring.
As an English major and a neurotic, Adam started studying Tolkien, not just reading him. Instead of simply curling up with a good book, Adam got his hands on Tolkien’s notes and wrote papers on Tolkien’s characters in literary theory classes. The invented Elvish language Tolkien used to color his writings – for names of characters, places, and things – was an added bonus for my word-obsessed husband. And, for the last six years, the obsession hasn’t stopped.
Now, I am the very image of a girl about town. I read what Oprah recommends. I sometimes get pop-culture confused with current events. I once mocked The Fellowship of the Ring for being longer than Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman’s marriage (six days). I’m even a graphic designer; the coolest career a person can have. But here I am. Married to a Tolkien nerd, I mean, scholar.
I believe that my confusion stemmed from stereotypes: how could this suave, successful, and sophisticated man be consumed with a hobby traditionally reserved for teenage mouth-breathers? In my misguided perception, nerds wore greasy superhero T-shirts. They had snorting laughs and facial ticks. They didn’t date, they couldn’t converse, and they certainly weren’t MY husband.
Come to find out, my husband and I are not an anomaly.
My childhood friend, Diane is married to a Star Wars nerd. She wins “Wife of the Year” for allowing her husband Steve to fill an entire room in their basement to the brim with Star Wars memorabilia, including a talking Yoda, a Darth Vader helmet, a dancing Jar Jar Binks, and a two-foot-tall R2-D2 that responds to voice commands and moves around like a robotic vacuum. Steve, a talented tax accountant, has even perfected the wookiee roar. According to Diane, she knew about Steve’s hobby when they were dating, but she recalls realizing the magnitude of his preoccupation on a vacation to Las Vegas. “I remember one night when I went to a George Strait concert with my sister [during our trip.] When [my sister and I] got back, Steve was more excited about the Mace Windu and Count Dooku action figures he had bought on eBay than I was about the concert!”
My neighbor Brooke didn’t know that her husband Will was crazy about fantasy fiction. She knew he enjoyed reading when they dated, but after seven years of marriage she now says that if he’s not conversing, he’s reading. Will’s job as an attorney for the government is stressful, so for him, mythological novels are his escape. I asked Brooke if she had taken an interest in any of his reading material. She’s not a repeat offender, but she has given it a shot. She says, “He gets passionate about a certain series and it makes him happy when I read them too.”
“Nerdy” hobbies aren’t exclusively for men. My colleague Inger is as much of a Trekkie as anyone. For her, loving Star Trek was hereditary. She recalls her father’s extensive assembly of Star Trek paraphernalia. “He had the complete series: Deep Space, Enterprise, Voyager, all of it!” Holiday parties and family gatherings were peppered with episodes, games, stories, and analogies. Inger’s father passed away when she was a teenager and she inherited his collection. Her husband Gustavo says, “When we got married and moved into a 900-square-foot house, I was shocked at all the boxes and boxes of Star Trek stuff! But it just reminds her of her father and their relationship.”
Marvel comic books, Japanese anime, World of Warcraft. The list of hobby nerds and the spouses who married them goes on and on. It would seem that every one has a little geekiness in their back pocket. This led me to wonder if perhaps what was traditionally dorky is now in vogue.
Take, for instance, Modern Family’s Phily Dunphy, the coolest dad I know. He’s attractive, athletic, and wildly consumed by technology, specifically Apple products. When the iPad came out on his birthday, Phil exclaimed, “It’s like Steve Jobs and God got together to say, “We love you Phil.”
"Ben Wyatt from Parks and Recreation is both sexy and one of the biggest nerds on television. He is passionate about everything from the fantasy novel-turned-television-show Game of Thrones, to superheroes. In one episode, when given the opportunity to “treat himself” to a day of shopping, Ben buys a full-body Batman suit and spends the day wearing it.
Then there’s Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother and his pals Marshall Ericksen and Barney Stinson, who see the world through Star Wars colored glasses. Ted tells his friends, “I just met the perfect woman. She’s funny, she’s beautiful, she loves ‘Star Wars’…” Marshall cuts him off with, “Woah woah woah, what’s her take on Ewoks?”
And finally, the infamous pair from NBC’s Community, Troy Barnes and Abed Nadar who take their gaming craze too far when their roommate Annie is forced to sleep in the living room because the spare bedroom is used as a virtual play room called “The Dreamatorium.”
“Nerdism” is now becoming mainstream. Closet hobbies are now dinner topics. What once set nerds apart- Stephen King, Dungeons & Dragons, science fiction- are now loveable quirks. I have come to appreciate Adam’s dedication to Tolkien. I even enjoy a movie trilogy marathon once a year. As my husband said when I booked my ticket to the Photoshop World Convention last Spring, we’re all nerds about something.
So, I Married A Nerd
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes your husband telling you he’s a closet J.R.R. Tolkien junkie.
I married young. I can admit that now. I was 20 and my husband, Adam, was 22. I wouldn’t change anything, but I would ask more questions, like, “Are you freaky about germs?” and, “Are you so far left you’re almost socialist?” and the biggie, “Do you speak Elvish, can you draw a map of Middle Earth blindfolded, and do you have a filing cabinet full of Tolkien’s papers?” You see, Adam is a tall, dark, and handsome attorney by day and a tall, dark, and handsome Tolkien nerd by night.
My apologies. I misspoke. He’s a “Tolkien scholar.” There is a notable difference in Tolkien “nerds” and Tolkien “scholars.” Tolkien nerds are typically 14-year-old boys with acne and braces who have the hots for Liv Tyler. They'll grow out of their obsession as soon as their acne clears up.
But that’s not my husband. Adam is part of a group that didn’t grow out of it. Tolkien scholars aren’t swayed by Hollywood's semi-recent interest in The Lord of the Rings. This gang consists of intellectuals, typically between the ages of 25 and 45, who have taken on an academic study of their hero, J.R.R. Tolkien. They were baptized into the Church of Tolkien long before Peter Jackson entered the waters and they'll remain faithful members long after the December 14th release of The Hobbit. And for the record, Liv Tyler will always be Arwen to them.
I learned about Adam’s preoccupation with Middle Earth after we were married. Though I didn’t stumble upon him booking tickets to the Tolkien Convention, I was nonetheless surprised. Not long after we were married, I was in a college class with a classmate who named his daughter “Galadriel,” the name of the beautiful and powerful Elvish queen. I rushed home to share with my new husband my horror at this carelessly christened name. He shrugged and said he thought it was kind of pretty. I should have known then.
It took five weekends of The Lord of the Rings marathons, three birthday gifts of various Tolkien box sets, and a heated confession that he’d be proud to have a child named “Galadriel” before I understood who I really married. There are certainly worse obsessions that a person could disclose, like shrunken skull collections, for example. But when he produced a filing box brimming with copies of Tolkien’s academic essays, scholarly writings, and personal manuscripts I wondered how such a well-adapted member of society would have such a…nerdy passion.
Come to find out, Adam had taken classes on Tolkien in school, learned to speak the Elvish language, and even attempted the creation of his own mythological world. At first, I laughed. Then, I grimaced. Next, I tolerated. And finally, I began to understand.
Adam became interested in fantasy novels and stories at a very young age. He always loved wizards, magic, dragons, and quests. While I was reading The Baby-sitters Club as a fifth-grader, he found a copy of Norse and Greek mythology. In high school, he was introduced to the musical stylings of Led Zeppelin, the lead guitarist of which, Jimmy Page, was enormously influenced by Tolkien. All of a sudden two worlds collided for him and he started picking out allusions to Tolkien characters and myths in their music.
Sometime during adolescence, Adam found old copies of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stashed away in a bookcase in his parent’s basement. Adam says that Tolkien’s writings felt like the mythology novels he had loved as a kid. But this time the stories felt more intricate, more detailed, written by someone who had a very thorough understanding of words and ideas.
The game changed again when, at the urging of a college English professor, Adam read The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s masterpiece of the history of Middle-Earth, Tolkien’s fantasy world. The Silmarillion is where fantasy meets mythology, but it is written in tight, cohesive, adult language. It was very intricately woven and nearly impossible to understand without a decoder ring.
As an English major and a neurotic, Adam started studying Tolkien, not just reading him. Instead of simply curling up with a good book, Adam got his hands on Tolkien’s notes and wrote papers on Tolkien’s characters in literary theory classes. The invented Elvish language Tolkien used to color his writings – for names of characters, places, and things – was an added bonus for my word-obsessed husband. And, for the last six years, the obsession hasn’t stopped.
Now, I am the very image of a girl about town. I read what Oprah recommends. I sometimes get pop-culture confused with current events. I once mocked The Fellowship of the Ring for being longer than Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman’s marriage (six days). I’m even a graphic designer; the coolest career a person can have. But here I am. Married to a Tolkien nerd, I mean, scholar.
I believe that my confusion stemmed from stereotypes: how could this suave, successful, and sophisticated man be consumed with a hobby traditionally reserved for teenage mouth-breathers? In my misguided perception, nerds wore greasy superhero T-shirts. They had snorting laughs and facial ticks. They didn’t date, they couldn’t converse, and they certainly weren’t MY husband.
Come to find out, my husband and I are not an anomaly.
My childhood friend, Diane is married to a Star Wars nerd. She wins “Wife of the Year” for allowing her husband Steve to fill an entire room in their basement to the brim with Star Wars memorabilia, including a talking Yoda, a Darth Vader helmet, a dancing Jar Jar Binks, and a two-foot-tall R2-D2 that responds to voice commands and moves around like a robotic vacuum. Steve, a talented tax accountant, has even perfected the wookiee roar. According to Diane, she knew about Steve’s hobby when they were dating, but she recalls realizing the magnitude of his preoccupation on a vacation to Las Vegas. “I remember one night when I went to a George Strait concert with my sister [during our trip.] When [my sister and I] got back, Steve was more excited about the Mace Windu and Count Dooku action figures he had bought on eBay than I was about the concert!”
My neighbor Brooke didn’t know that her husband Will was crazy about fantasy fiction. She knew he enjoyed reading when they dated, but after seven years of marriage she now says that if he’s not conversing, he’s reading. Will’s job as an attorney for the government is stressful, so for him, mythological novels are his escape. I asked Brooke if she had taken an interest in any of his reading material. She’s not a repeat offender, but she has given it a shot. She says, “He gets passionate about a certain series and it makes him happy when I read them too.”
“Nerdy” hobbies aren’t exclusively for men. My colleague Inger is as much of a Trekkie as anyone. For her, loving Star Trek was hereditary. She recalls her father’s extensive assembly of Star Trek paraphernalia. “He had the complete series: Deep Space, Enterprise, Voyager, all of it!” Holiday parties and family gatherings were peppered with episodes, games, stories, and analogies. Inger’s father passed away when she was a teenager and she inherited his collection. Her husband Gustavo says, “When we got married and moved into a 900-square-foot house, I was shocked at all the boxes and boxes of Star Trek stuff! But it just reminds her of her father and their relationship.”
Marvel comic books, Japanese anime, World of Warcraft. The list of hobby nerds and the spouses who married them goes on and on. It would seem that every one has a little geekiness in their back pocket. This led me to wonder if perhaps what was traditionally dorky is now in vogue.
Take, for instance, Modern Family’s Phily Dunphy, the coolest dad I know. He’s attractive, athletic, and wildly consumed by technology, specifically Apple products. When the iPad came out on his birthday, Phil exclaimed, “It’s like Steve Jobs and God got together to say, “We love you Phil.”
"Ben Wyatt from Parks and Recreation is both sexy and one of the biggest nerds on television. He is passionate about everything from the fantasy novel-turned-television-show Game of Thrones, to superheroes. In one episode, when given the opportunity to “treat himself” to a day of shopping, Ben buys a full-body Batman suit and spends the day wearing it.
Then there’s Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother and his pals Marshall Ericksen and Barney Stinson, who see the world through Star Wars colored glasses. Ted tells his friends, “I just met the perfect woman. She’s funny, she’s beautiful, she loves ‘Star Wars’…” Marshall cuts him off with, “Woah woah woah, what’s her take on Ewoks?”
And finally, the infamous pair from NBC’s Community, Troy Barnes and Abed Nadar who take their gaming craze too far when their roommate Annie is forced to sleep in the living room because the spare bedroom is used as a virtual play room called “The Dreamatorium.”
“Nerdism” is now becoming mainstream. Closet hobbies are now dinner topics. What once set nerds apart- Stephen King, Dungeons & Dragons, science fiction- are now loveable quirks. I have come to appreciate Adam’s dedication to Tolkien. I even enjoy a movie trilogy marathon once a year. As my husband said when I booked my ticket to the Photoshop World Convention last Spring, we’re all nerds about something.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Project Four
I did a lot of advertising in my undergraduate program, so project four was fun for me.
We had to choose a worthy cause and create a campaign consisting of a magazine ad, a postcard, and poster. We needed a big idea to shape our campaign as well as imagery, headlines, copy, and branding. The main image and headline of each piece had to be different and one piece was required to have a "significant" amount of body copy.
I chose Kaboom!, a non-profit, DC-based organization that seeks to provide every child in America a safe place to play. They rally communities to build their own playgrounds, they encourage citizens to maintain existing units, and they do a lot of good.
Play is important for a child's well-being so I used imagination as my foundation. I turned images of playgrounds into something a child would imagine with simple sketches. I also used restructured cliches for my headlines.
I'm happy with the finished project and ready to tackle the next one: an iPhone app!
We had to choose a worthy cause and create a campaign consisting of a magazine ad, a postcard, and poster. We needed a big idea to shape our campaign as well as imagery, headlines, copy, and branding. The main image and headline of each piece had to be different and one piece was required to have a "significant" amount of body copy.
I chose Kaboom!, a non-profit, DC-based organization that seeks to provide every child in America a safe place to play. They rally communities to build their own playgrounds, they encourage citizens to maintain existing units, and they do a lot of good.
Play is important for a child's well-being so I used imagination as my foundation. I turned images of playgrounds into something a child would imagine with simple sketches. I also used restructured cliches for my headlines.
I'm happy with the finished project and ready to tackle the next one: an iPhone app!
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Good design is everyone's concern
Several days before Thanksgiving, the MARC train police were passing out safety brochures on the platforms. I grabbed one and studied it on my way to work.
The overall design was very nondescript, so let's skip straight to the point.
Here's the inside:
Whoa.
The first thing I thought was, "That's a TON of text."
Then, I thought, "This looks like a pattern."
And that made me think, "I sound like Amy."
And finally, I came to, "What is the solution to this visual problem?"
I initially thought about just removing the text completely. But on closer inspection, this is a list of organizations that are involved in this safety initiative. That information is not completely unnecessary, but in a six panel brochure, filling two entire panels with this text gunk is not a smart use of space.
I then decided to keep the most important, say, ten names, post the remainder on a website, and then include a link to that website. But what if The Powers That Be are rigid and I, as the designer, am required to include every. single. one. of God's children in this brochure?
I know I'd make the text smaller and try to shrink it down to one panel. I also know I'd move it to the back. The middle two panels are no place for this kind of riffraff.
But what else can be done? What would you be your solution? A word cloud? Two columns instead of one? Thoughts?
The overall design was very nondescript, so let's skip straight to the point.
Here's the inside:
Whoa.
The first thing I thought was, "That's a TON of text."
Then, I thought, "This looks like a pattern."
And that made me think, "I sound like Amy."
And finally, I came to, "What is the solution to this visual problem?"
I initially thought about just removing the text completely. But on closer inspection, this is a list of organizations that are involved in this safety initiative. That information is not completely unnecessary, but in a six panel brochure, filling two entire panels with this text gunk is not a smart use of space.
I then decided to keep the most important, say, ten names, post the remainder on a website, and then include a link to that website. But what if The Powers That Be are rigid and I, as the designer, am required to include every. single. one. of God's children in this brochure?
I know I'd make the text smaller and try to shrink it down to one panel. I also know I'd move it to the back. The middle two panels are no place for this kind of riffraff.
But what else can be done? What would you be your solution? A word cloud? Two columns instead of one? Thoughts?
Friday, November 16, 2012
Tolkinees
I've chosen to write my article on Tolkien Nerds.
Tolkien Nerds are a different bred from Lord of the Rings Fans.
LoTR Fans are typically 14-year-old boys with acne who have the hots for Arwen. They'll grow out of their obsession as soon as their acne clears up.
image via
The group I refer to is not swayed by Hollywood's semi-recent Tolkien interest. This gang consists of intellectual, 20 to 30 somethings who have taken on an academic study of their demigod, J.R.R. Tolkien. They were baptized into the Church of Tolkien long before Peter Jackson and they'll remain faithful members long after December 14th.
My husband is one of these nerds. Not that it matters, but I didn't know the extent of his...obsession (?) until after we got married. That's the hook for my hobby piece, which I'm calling, "So, I Married a Nerd."
Though I don't know anyone else in a relationship with a Tolkien Nerd, I knew there had to be folks in similar situations. So, I put out a call to my friends and the response was overwhelming. I never knew there were so many "nerdy" hobbies.
One friend's spouse is addicted to Japanese anime.
image via
Another friend found out that her husband loves Marvel comics after they had been together for many years. He had even been hiding stacks and stacks of vintage comic books.
image via
And of course, several of my friends had experience with Trekkies. One girlfriend was actually the closet Trekkie herself and had to come clean after her boyfriend found her researching the Star Trek Convention.
image via
I think my focus is going to be nerds, their hobbies, and the significant others who live with them. We'll see how this goes.
Tolkien Nerds are a different bred from Lord of the Rings Fans.
LoTR Fans are typically 14-year-old boys with acne who have the hots for Arwen. They'll grow out of their obsession as soon as their acne clears up.
image via
The group I refer to is not swayed by Hollywood's semi-recent Tolkien interest. This gang consists of intellectual, 20 to 30 somethings who have taken on an academic study of their demigod, J.R.R. Tolkien. They were baptized into the Church of Tolkien long before Peter Jackson and they'll remain faithful members long after December 14th.
My husband is one of these nerds. Not that it matters, but I didn't know the extent of his...obsession (?) until after we got married. That's the hook for my hobby piece, which I'm calling, "So, I Married a Nerd."
Though I don't know anyone else in a relationship with a Tolkien Nerd, I knew there had to be folks in similar situations. So, I put out a call to my friends and the response was overwhelming. I never knew there were so many "nerdy" hobbies.
One friend's spouse is addicted to Japanese anime.
image via
Another friend found out that her husband loves Marvel comics after they had been together for many years. He had even been hiding stacks and stacks of vintage comic books.
image via
And of course, several of my friends had experience with Trekkies. One girlfriend was actually the closet Trekkie herself and had to come clean after her boyfriend found her researching the Star Trek Convention.
image via
I think my focus is going to be nerds, their hobbies, and the significant others who live with them. We'll see how this goes.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Blocks
The ever-fabulous Alma and Mike Loveland at Ollibird designed these darling illustrations to be trimmed down to 2 by 1.5 and Mod Podged onto blocks or tiles for children.
image via
How cute are they?!? I'm thinking each and every one of my 26 nieces and nephews will be getting blocks this Christmas. Even the teenagers. Lucky ducks.
images via
Available for purchase here.
image via
How cute are they?!? I'm thinking each and every one of my 26 nieces and nephews will be getting blocks this Christmas. Even the teenagers. Lucky ducks.
images via
Available for purchase here.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
When a hobby becomes a madness
In class, we talked about Doll Collectors.
image via
I'm a little freaked out by dolls in general, but this conversation made me think of an expecially creepy industry called "Reborn Dolls." Artists create these baby dolls in the exact likeness of a human baby. And I'm not talking about an American Girl doll that "looks like me." These dolls are so realistic that they are often mistaken for human children.
One doesn't simply "buy" a Reborn Doll. They must be "adopted." The dolls have names and stories. Owners treat them like actual babies and consider themselves "parents." The creators of the dolls even works in "nurseries."
image via
These dolls have recently gained popularity among women who have experienced miscarriages, stillbirths, or the death of a baby. It is said that the presence of a reborn baby soothes aching arms and hearts.
The BBC took interest in this subculture and created a documentary, a portion of which can be found here. Another fascinating train wreck here.
"How does this relate to hobbies?" you ask. Well, at what point does a hobby become an unhealthy obsession? I'm sure we all know people who lose the line between reality and make-believe (I'm thinking of every person in the WOW community). I would say that buying a silicone baby and toting it around is a sickness.
Here are some guidelines I came across on when to see a hobby as an neurosis:
1. You’re broke. If all of your expendable income and more is going into supporting your hobby, then you may be wandering dangerously close to the level of obsession.
2. You’re alone. You may find that you’re avoiding friends and family (screening calls, ducking visits) so that you can have more time to spend on your hobby.
3. Your house looks like a storage unit. In keeping with the first two hallmarks of obsessive behavior, you may begin to notice that your penchant for collecting items associated to your hobby has left your house looking like an episode of Hoarders.
4. You work just enough to pay for your hobby.
source
I would add "when you're giving a plastic baby doll a bath."
image via
I'm a little freaked out by dolls in general, but this conversation made me think of an expecially creepy industry called "Reborn Dolls." Artists create these baby dolls in the exact likeness of a human baby. And I'm not talking about an American Girl doll that "looks like me." These dolls are so realistic that they are often mistaken for human children.
One doesn't simply "buy" a Reborn Doll. They must be "adopted." The dolls have names and stories. Owners treat them like actual babies and consider themselves "parents." The creators of the dolls even works in "nurseries."
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These dolls have recently gained popularity among women who have experienced miscarriages, stillbirths, or the death of a baby. It is said that the presence of a reborn baby soothes aching arms and hearts.
The BBC took interest in this subculture and created a documentary, a portion of which can be found here. Another fascinating train wreck here.
"How does this relate to hobbies?" you ask. Well, at what point does a hobby become an unhealthy obsession? I'm sure we all know people who lose the line between reality and make-believe (I'm thinking of every person in the WOW community). I would say that buying a silicone baby and toting it around is a sickness.
Here are some guidelines I came across on when to see a hobby as an neurosis:
1. You’re broke. If all of your expendable income and more is going into supporting your hobby, then you may be wandering dangerously close to the level of obsession.
2. You’re alone. You may find that you’re avoiding friends and family (screening calls, ducking visits) so that you can have more time to spend on your hobby.
3. Your house looks like a storage unit. In keeping with the first two hallmarks of obsessive behavior, you may begin to notice that your penchant for collecting items associated to your hobby has left your house looking like an episode of Hoarders.
4. You work just enough to pay for your hobby.
source
I would add "when you're giving a plastic baby doll a bath."
Labels:
show and tell
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
10 Tips for Taking Better Photos Today
I want to add a disclaimer right off the top that I in no way consider myself a professional photographer, qualified to pass out advice to anyone. There are MANY folks who know MUCH more than I do. This post is just for fun. Good, clean, fun. OK? OK.
In my very first graphic design class in college, the professor took a section of the class to work on photography. For most of us, including myself, this was our first soiree into that art. She handed out a list of doable tips for making your pictures better immediately. I was fascinated that such a simple set of instruction could make such a dramatic difference.
1) Get closer. Zoom in and cut off part of the subject. Try shooting in macro mode (look for the tulip on your camera).2) With children, get down on their level. Even if it means throwing yourself on the ground. Even if the ground is muddy. Even if you're in white pants. 3) Find the light. Shoot during the first and last few hours of the day when the light is at a low angle. Try each shot with and without flash.4) Change the angle. Unusual angles often offer striking backgrounds. 5) Shoot people from slightly above, with chin down and eyes up, for a more flattering vantage point.6) Use the Rule of Thirds. Divide the frame into thirds horizontally and vertically and place focal points on the divides. When your subject is in the profile position (or sideways), leave space in front of them.
7) Adjust the focus. First, frame the subject in the center and hold the shutter half way down to focus the camera. Then, hold the shutter with the locked focus and reframe (i.e. move the camera) the shot to appease the Rule of Thirds. Push the shutter all the way down and take the picture.8) Try black and white. Sometimes that's just the ticket. Always shoot in color, then you can easily change your images to grayscale or sepia in Photoshop.9) Capture the moment. Shoot on location and take shots that tell a story. Capture a candid moment, try a slow shutter speed to blur motion, or look for old buildings.10) Learn your camera, learn your camera, learn your camera. Read the manual. And then read it again. It doesn't matter if it's the least expensive point and shoot or the most expensive DSLR. Control the camera instead of letting it control you.
Bonus) Shoot the details. When the moment originally happened, it was made up of a myriad of elements. Don't forget to capture those, too. Happy shooting!
In my very first graphic design class in college, the professor took a section of the class to work on photography. For most of us, including myself, this was our first soiree into that art. She handed out a list of doable tips for making your pictures better immediately. I was fascinated that such a simple set of instruction could make such a dramatic difference.
7) Adjust the focus. First, frame the subject in the center and hold the shutter half way down to focus the camera. Then, hold the shutter with the locked focus and reframe (i.e. move the camera) the shot to appease the Rule of Thirds. Push the shutter all the way down and take the picture.8) Try black and white. Sometimes that's just the ticket. Always shoot in color, then you can easily change your images to grayscale or sepia in Photoshop.9) Capture the moment. Shoot on location and take shots that tell a story. Capture a candid moment, try a slow shutter speed to blur motion, or look for old buildings.10) Learn your camera, learn your camera, learn your camera. Read the manual. And then read it again. It doesn't matter if it's the least expensive point and shoot or the most expensive DSLR. Control the camera instead of letting it control you.
Bonus) Shoot the details. When the moment originally happened, it was made up of a myriad of elements. Don't forget to capture those, too. Happy shooting!
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Textiles
I'm not crafty and I don't sew, but I have this...fetish? obsession? thing?...with fabric. I'm not talking about the moth-infested stacks in dark, dank boxes in your grandmother's sewing room. No, I'm talking about very modern, colorful, and hip (by using the word "hip" I have successfully branded myself as the opposite) designs printed on high-quality cotton.
Jessica Jones is not only one of my favorite print designers, but is also an amazing textile designer. She loves color and perfectly imperfect nature-inspired shapes. Her fabrics have been used by Target, Nordstroms, HomeGoods, and more.
image via
Neither here nor there, she's also the author of the wildly successful How About Orange Blog. If you're not reading it, you should probably start.
My inner hipster is head-over-heels in love with Echino fabric. It is so bright and happy; I want to buy every darn print they create. Did I mention that I don't even sew?!? Echino designs are printed onto canvas-like fabric, which makes them a great choice for home decor. True story: I have throw pillows made out of the below camera fabric.
image via
Another great brand is Michael Miller. His team designs in a modern and fresh style, reimincent of hot summer days and lemonade.
image via
Fabric stores are great inspiration stations. Look past the horrible design and visit Del Ray Fabrics to see some great prints. The Needle Shop also has a great selection.
And if you're feeling extra ambitious, try your hand at designing your own bolt here. Printing it might break the piggy bank, but I can't think of a better holiday gift for mum than custom threads.
Jessica Jones is not only one of my favorite print designers, but is also an amazing textile designer. She loves color and perfectly imperfect nature-inspired shapes. Her fabrics have been used by Target, Nordstroms, HomeGoods, and more.
image via
Neither here nor there, she's also the author of the wildly successful How About Orange Blog. If you're not reading it, you should probably start.
My inner hipster is head-over-heels in love with Echino fabric. It is so bright and happy; I want to buy every darn print they create. Did I mention that I don't even sew?!? Echino designs are printed onto canvas-like fabric, which makes them a great choice for home decor. True story: I have throw pillows made out of the below camera fabric.
image via
Another great brand is Michael Miller. His team designs in a modern and fresh style, reimincent of hot summer days and lemonade.
image via
Fabric stores are great inspiration stations. Look past the horrible design and visit Del Ray Fabrics to see some great prints. The Needle Shop also has a great selection.
And if you're feeling extra ambitious, try your hand at designing your own bolt here. Printing it might break the piggy bank, but I can't think of a better holiday gift for mum than custom threads.
Labels:
graphic design
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