So this is what this week's Flipside cover looks like. If you live in Park City or surrounding areas, pick one up! In case you don't know, Flipside is Park City's alternative weekly publcation. I keep trying to make the art and design look better each week ... it's always a process when you have a new idea and it looks great on the screen, but print is a whole different beast! So I have to experiment with everything and test out new ideas week after week when the issues print to see the results on paper. Anyway, so I thought I'd show you a little sample of what I do at work.
I am pretty excited, because yesterday I bought our plane tickets! Yes, that's right - Tommy and I are going to Germany this May. It should be a great time. Hopefully we will also be taking short visits to either Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, and/or Stockholm. I am still planning the trip and making sure we see the most in the short time we are there!
Today's song is "Caring is Creepy" by The Shins. You can listen to it on their album Oh, Inverted World. The Shins is a rad band, also one of my favorites. This song was featured in the movie, Garden State from 2004. Woohoo. Go Shins!
I love this web site/blog! It's a must see, so I made this collage to give you an idea of what it's all about. Agathe (the fashionista blogger) does such an incredible job mixing current fashion style with secondhand/vintage finds and also making her own clothes from scratch. I love her style and attitude about fashion. This blog is a great inspiration to my own style.
"i love playing around with different characters and one day i can be the old lady and another day i can be the rock chick. i have given up on choosing one style cause i find that it kills my joy of shopping. i have very few limits when it comes to what i wear and i like to think that i look good in anything (probably not so, but who really cares). due to my budget i mostly shop secondhand, make stuff myself or pick up something at h&m. i have no complaints cause i like that the shortness on cash makes me have to experience and be creative. to me fashion is a way of expressing myself and i love planning new outfits." -Agathe Bjørnsdatter www.stylebytes.net
Ah, I love typefaces and typography. Type is arguably the most important element in design. It can definitely make or break any design. I am pretty much obsessed with typography and different typefaces, and am always on the lookout for new typefaces and ways of arranging typography. I have this habit of trying to identify each typeface that I see, wherever I am - whether it be in a magazine, a company's logo, a CD cover, a commercial on TV, cereal box, calendars or on a soup can. I look everywhere for inspiration and to win at my game of "figure out the typeface name." Pretty much, beautiful typefaces are like a Big-O to the eye.
Unfortunately not all typefaces are so stunning and inspiring. In fact, there are some that are absolutely disgraceful. So at work, we always joke about the ones we hate, and unfortunately we frequently see them when some clients send in pre-designed, ugly ads that contain these typefaces. Everytime I see Comic Sans, Papyrus, and Curlz, I cringe - not just at work, but whenever I see them, anywhere.
Using Comic Sans, Curlz and Papyrus is an easy way for people who obviously have no eye for design hope to make something stand out or look "a little nicer." Just because they are a "decorative" typeface and they come stock on pretty much every computer, doesn't mean it will make the design look nice or stand out. It bothers me when companies and people who offer decent, quality services, but use these hideously tacky typefaces. Now, I have left out Helvetica. I put Helvetica in a different category, because it's not AS bad as the other typefaces. However, Helvetica really annoys me because it is really plain, bland and boring and becomes really ugly when it's bold. It is a classic font, however, and in some instances it looks decent, especially when it is condensed or narrow. I have more respect for the classic typefaces, because they do have their purpose in the design world.
So next time you choose a font on your computer, make the right choice and avoid comic sans, papyrus, curlz, and helvetica. Also, visit: www.bancomicsans.com or order yourself an "i hate helvetica" t-shirt at: www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6097369, or just google these fonts and read the designers' commentaries to realize that the use of these typefaces is blasphemy to the design world!
Today's song is A Fond Farewell To a Friend, by the amazing, talented Elliott Smith. The song was released on the From A Basement on A Hill album, which was released posthumously in 2004. Elliott is and always will be my absolute favorite artist, so I picked this song so I could share a little bit of Elliott with everyone who reads this. Every song on every one of his albums is truly beautiful. He was a quiet, humble musical genius with an amazing ability to compose songs and write deep, poetic lyrics. Go listen to his albums ... you will fall in love with his music. And I'm sure this isn't the last time you will see me writing about Elliott :)
The Lite Brite's now black and white Because they took apart a picture that wasn't right Pitch burning on a shining sheet The only maker that you'd want to meet A dying man in a living room Whose shadow paces the floor He’ll take you out any open door
This is not my life It's just a fond farewell to a friend It's not what I'm like It's just a fond farewell to a friend Who couldn't get things right Fond farewell to a friend
He said really I just want to dance Good and evil matched perfect, it's a great romance I can deal with some psychic pain If it'll slow down my higher brain Veins full of disappearing ink Vomiting in the kitchen sink Disconnecting from the missing link
This is not my life It's just a fond farewell to a friend It's not what I'm like It's just a fond farewell to a friend Who couldn't get things right Fond farewell to a friend
I see you're leaving me and taking up with the enemy The cold comfort of the in-between A little less than a human being A little less than a happy high A little less than a suicide The only things that you really tried
This is not my life It's just a fond farewell to a friend It's not what I'm like It's just a fond farewell to a friend Who couldn't get things right Fond farewell to a friend
Last night we went on a little adventure to Orem - to go classic skating. I was so excited to go, because I hadn't been in 5 or 6 years at least. So Jeff, Tommy, Ricky and I laced up our skates and joined the mad circus on the roller-rink. We were probably 4 out of the 10 people that were at least over 16. But it was great - the floating feeling and smooth sensation under your feet as the wheels take you across the surface. I enjoy that, it's similar to that high I get when I'm ice skating. (although I will always prefer ice skating because it's something I have always loved and I have way more control using my edges). Anyway, so they have these disco lights, and strobe lights - it's absolutely crazy! How is anyone supposed to be able to skate and not run into someone when you only see every 3rd second that you're skating? It's a recipe for disaster. We all had many close calls, but luckily none of us biffed it. Ricky only knocked over some little girl - that was the extent of any accidents. The only downside to this experience was realizing how disturbing today's youth is! (Weird place for such a realization?) Seriously - we were appalled at all of the little 11 year-old girls with caked-on make up and hair puffed to the sky, wearing c-cup bras and skimpy little clothes making out with their little boyfriends. Everywhere we looked, there they were - future little sluts and slut-banger-boys groping each other. We are not a real conservative bunch, but we noticed how weird (and scary) it looked to see these little kids acting like 25 year olds on MTV. I just don't remember anyone behaving like that when we were their age. So, enough ranting about crazy kids and how our future society will be out of control. Bottom line, we had fun last night and I love rollerskating. Next time we go will be disco night, where the age limit is 16 and up! Haha. The end.
Today's song goes to The Beatles. Strawberry Fields Forever to be exact. I have been listening to The Beatles so much lately, and I love them. The Beatles inspired pretty much every musician after their time. They most certainly changed the face of music forever ... i like to call it evolution of revolution.
Strawberry Fields Forever was written by Lennon, recorded at the end of 1966 and released at the beginning of 1967. Supposedly Strawberry Field was the name of a Salvation Army Children's children's home in Liverpool. Lennon and his friends used to play in the trees behind this home. Every year, a garden party was held on the grounds of Strawberry Field, which was the highlight of Lennon's summer. Combined with this fond childhood memory, Lennon's failing marriage and a s***load of LSD, this song was composed. Lennon was quoted as saying about the song: "I was different all my life. The second verse goes, 'No one I think is in my tree.' Well, I was too shy and self-doubting. Nobody seems to be as hip as me is what I was saying. Therefore, I must be crazy or a genius-- 'I mean it must be high or low,'"
Hello blog! (and of course anyone who is reading this) So this is my first entry, and a naive step into the world of blogging. This whole blog thing prompted me to ask, what IS a blog anyway? What does the word 'blog' mean and where does it come from? So the knowledge hungry person that I am decided to do some research. Dictionary.com says: Part of Speech: n; an online diary; a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page; also called Weblog, Web log Example: Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author. Etymology: shortened form of Weblog Usage: blog, blogged, blogging v, blogger n
Ahhh.. this totally makes sense. Ok, so I probably didn't need dictionary.com or any formal definition to tell me what the f*** a blog is, because it's rather self explanitory, but ... what the heck, it's a great first entry to ease my way into this web of logs.
I look forward to having this little online 'notepad' of random things I decide to post, so keep your eyes peeled, your mind ready to think, and your ears ready to listen!
