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…for even your most extreme design needs May29th
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Having run out of my original printing of business cards, I needed to order more. Being at a bit of a transitional period right now, it was also the opportune moment for a re-design. This time around I took a note from David Airey’s book and left space (significantly less than him mind you) for some note card functionality. I was intrigued when I read his post. I am constantly jotting down recommendations and things to check out for people - I might as well take that opportunity to give them my card!
I also took advantage of the print service Airey mentioned: MOO. Upon investigation, I found they offer a service to print a variety images on the back of your cards (up to 50) in even amounts. While they market this as a way to carry a portfolio in your pocket, I see that functionality as more for photographers, not designers. It did however allow me to experiment with my card. I uploaded two designs, one with a classic logo on gradient background clean design, and one slightly… zany add for myself. Now I will have both a fun and serious card to distribute depending on who I’m talking to, and I ordered a small printing in case they don’t go over as well as planned.
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Old Hat May27th
One of the first non-class projects I ever did, back in 2008. Completed this to nail an internship with the Student Environmental Action Coalition. I thought I was so awesome making shadows out repeated of words back then :P …
Re-posting now so I can link to the graphic in my entry for Iconify.it’s “First and Favorites Logo Showcase”. It’s just for fun, but if you’re a designer you should enter - Only one week left to go!
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Museum Technician Business Card May7th
This project was more challenging than a standard business card for me because when you think about it, it’s an inversion of the standard business card model.
Most business cards feature a business and an individual associated with that business. Since the business is established, the individual’s qualifications are assumed by the client. There are many people today however, needing business cards for their general profession rather than their particular employment. In this case the employer is the target ‘client’ of the business card, and the card must advertise the individual’s qualifications.
In the end an all-text layout with added color for interest and organization was the best solution.
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Homemade Pizza on the Cheap May3rd
As you may or may not know at this point, I work at Trader Joe’s. And a few days ago, already on the lookout for healthier things to cook around the apartment, I rung up one too many customers buying our pizza dough - I had to ask if it was hard to make your own pizza.
I learn just as much from TJ customers as I do from my more savvy co-workers and company samplings. Most of them actually match up to our employee literature as “intelligent, adventurous, label-readers”… Most.
They assured me that I was up to the challenge, but just to make sure I put enough flour down when shaping the dough/crust.
We usually order pepperoni and banana peppers toppings, so that night I bought:
- 1 bag of whole wheat dough (made a pizza large enough to feed 2 people) for $1
- 1 large container of pepperoni slices for $2
- 1 bag of mozzarella cheese for $2
- and 1 container of sweet peppers for $3 (customer fun fact: red peppers are high in vitamin C)
- we already had 1 container of sauce, but that would normally be about $3 (I used and will continue to use a “traditional sweet basil” pasta sauce we had, rather than ordinary tomato/pizza sauce, which added a lot of flavor)
- I also later bought 1 small bottle of olive oil for $2
- And I used some of my Webber grill mates Garlic & Herb, probably $2
So that brings the total to $15, equivalent to the $14.99 it would be at Dominos before taxes, delivery fee, and tip. Plus, with the exception of the dough all of that is enough to make one or more other pizzas. And you can add another bag o’ dough (Bringing the total to $16)
I didn’t document the process with pictures or anything like that (though I might play around with the idea of a stop motion animation of it next time around), but I did find several very helpful resources while researching to make sure I got it right the first time:
- Annie’s Eats (http://bit.ly/h5cGCU): Here is where I got the tip to brush olive oil on the outside part of the crust before baking. I sprinkled the grill mates garlic/herb mixture into some olive oil before applying. I found a pizza stone set like she suggests for $30 on Amazon if this becomes a habit: http://amzn.to/flBNvL
- ‘Blogger Mom’ (http://bit.ly/2YzNDZ) also posted an interesting list of easy alternate uses for pizza dough that I want to experiment with.
- And lastly Expert Village has a series of videos posted on YouTube documenting the whole process http://bit.ly/goVhSS
The long and short of it is that once you’re comfortable with what you are doing, it takes 40-50 minutes to make a much cheaper pizza that will blow anything you could order-in out of the water:
- Take your dough out of the fridge and let it sit (in the package) at room temperature for 30 minutes. This lets the glutens settle, and it will be very resistant to stretching/shaping and spring back into place quickly if it has not set long enough
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. (Between the dough packaging instructions and the internet I’ve seen from 425 to 500 listed, 450 works perfectly)
- During the latter half of the time the dough must sit, you can go ahead and chop up any toppings that need it, clean the surface you will be working on, and liberally spread some flour onto it so the dough will not stick to it.
- Stretch your dough into a circle. I prefer to pinch up the outside edges to make a fuller outer crust, but you can leave the whole slab of dough level also. If you stretch too far and tear wholes, simply fold the tear into a thicker area of dough and reduce the size you have tried to achieve.
- Spread your sauce on (leaving the outer crust area sauce-free), sprinkle shredded cheese, place your toppings, and sprinkle a little more cheese.
- Spread or drizzle (depending on the utensils available) olive oil over the outer crust if desired.
- Place the completed pizza on your cooking surface (pizza pan, cookie sheet, pizza peel, etc) and place in oven
- Bake for 10-25 minutes and enjoy!
This one I can definitely chock up to experience. Delicious delicious experience :)
EDIT: This was originally written when I first intended to start posting her about a month ago. I have since made many of these successfully including one utilizing artichoke antipasto in place of marinara and cheese to make something similar to a while pizza + artichokes - highly recommend it. Cheers!
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Brewseum Logo May3rd
Logo for a hypothetical museum (The Brewseum) about brewing processes for beer as well as some general bottling services - located in a historic brewery in Harper’s Ferry, WV.
Digital sketchbook post #1… I’ve been meaning to start posting works in progress and current projects here for about a month now, but keep putting things off with many excuses: ‘not till my portfolio/website is completely updated’, ‘not till i finish this job’, etc, etc. But after reading an interview with a designer I admire who organizes a recurring art event, teaches design, and runs a webcomic - his chosen last word of advice was to just get started with what you are wanting to work on and not slow your self down by wanting everything to be perfect from the start. So here goes… :)
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”The only reason I ever worked hard, was to keep from making an ass of myself.” - Alan K. Simpson Apr2nd
So I originally got this Tumblr account to use as a journal of sorts. At one point I’d been able to trace back through a bunch of really good memories with Kelsey through her journal and its entry dates and I wanted to contribute to doing that in the future. But I NEVER updated: making 5 or so posts in probably a year’s time. It turned out to be like my camera: I have it predominantly because I like capturing memories and all that, but I just don’t think about it till after the fact. Then I just regret not using the stupid thing and question why I have it to begin with. I finally ended up linking my twitter here, but that turned into Tumblr spam and I never really touched it again.
Thus this will be my last personal entry. I’m turning this into a blog focused on collecting some of my creative efforts/endeavors every week - like a sketchbook. And with that more regular use I hope I will then also think to jot down a few lines about anything really cool I might like to reminisce about in the fuuuuutuuuuurrrrrreeee.
Getting the ball rolling on this marks a bit of a turning point for me. Since I got out of school in December and have not had all that much success in my job search as of yet (I got a job that I don’t mind within two weeks of moving to DC, but it is not in my field), I’ve had a lot swirling through my head…
When I first got here, I was very happy home-life-wise, but career-wise I was at a loss. And in my head that kept trying to ruin everything else for me.
At first, I threw myself into applying for jobs, aiming to hit 10+ a day - each with a personalized well researched cover letter. Doing no design work, just applications and my day job, I quickly began to feel burned out on the whole ordeal. Then I fluctuated between 1 and a handful of applications per day, until I hit rock bottom of either none or two at the most. I began playing a lot more video games. And no matter how I felt about it, I wouldn’t change. I’d well up with extreme bouts of guilt for not working harder or for not at least going out to enjoy things in the city when not applying. Even when I would be on a good track, getting a lot done, if the slightest thing would go wrong or stand in my way, instead of trying something else or finding a solution, I’d just quit for the day and do nothing instead. (nothing = getting sucked into the internet or playing more video games).
I’d wrestle with beating myself up for it; then reasoning that since I never really took much time to sit around and enjoy a moment or two of doing nothing like the majority of my friends: that I was just playing catch up; then telling myself to stop making up excuses. ’The economy is crap’ wasn’t acceptable either.
Continuing to reason, I thought, ‘maybe this is part of enjoying every bit of life’. I had just finished Randy Paushe’s The Last Lecture after being recommended the read by a friend. It is one of the best things I have read in a long time, and packs sooo much into so few pages. Then I’d compare values, goals and skill sets to some of Paushe’s maxims and accomplshments: satisfactory. THEN I’d compare those values, goals, and skill sets to what I was currently doing: nothing. Back to square 1.
I compared the unsleeping and over-stuffed schedule I kept during most of school to my current lackadaisical existence and thought maybe I really wasn’t all that self-disciplined and was nothing without structure. But I know better…
Soon in the back of my mind I began to blame my work for my lack of success, thinking I was getting little response because my work didn’t deserve it and I didn’t deserve any of the positions I looked at. This lead to mental blocks and frustration with the little bit of work I was doing.
I even had several projects already open for me to work on, but I pushed them aside with no desire for further proof I couldn’t cut it.
In the end, when left to myself I was either really up or usually pretty down and empty. It all felt stupid, petty, and downright unnecessary though - so I definitely didn’t want to mention it to anyone.
The constant inquiries form family, all the ‘had any more interviews yet?’ while well placed, did little to help. There was already enough pressure, and it obviously wasn’t motivating.
I again questioned myself. I’ve become increasingly interested and passionate about helping others since somewhere in late high school. Yet here I am in the nation’s capitol: non-profit central, and I’m not even volunteering. The professor I least-expected it from during one of my last days on campus told me to ‘never let go of my ideals’ - and I sure haven’t but the contrast between their execution in my last semester and now were constantly eating at me. I saw the quote I used to title this post as a friend’s FB status update and it stuck with me. At first I started wondering if that was the only reason I ever tried to give a damn. (since determined: not the case)
Some sort of storm combination of events transpired to get me out of that funk though.
- Recently a great friend of mine came to visit for a few days.
- Playing tour guide around town with him (it had been a while since we had guests) really reminded me of how cool it was to live here and what all I should be taking advantage of more and appreciating while here.
- Also, the small amount of money I spent during that time that still seemed like a huge setback rekindled be desire for a better income NOW.
- Starting just before that visit and continuing up till now I’ve also stuck with everything I’ve started working on and really restored my faith in my own abilities. One of those was the custom theme to accompany this change in my Tumblr, but a logo and business card too (which will probably be posted later).
- Lastly, what really tied this all together better than any rug could, was just having an amazing couple of days with my fiance: some delicious home cooked food, hanging out at the bookstore for hours, some video games, and a couple good movies. (SHE suggested we watch Star Wars together, yes we will be getting married now please :D) I tried to convey much I’d enjoyed those days, but I don’t think she understood how much they meant to me. It really solidified to me that YES I am enjoying every bit of life and yes I can do that while all the work that I have to,
I’ve finally gotten past this, but some of those loose thoughts were still kicking around, so I wanted to organize them in writing to go ahead and get rid of them. So that brings me to here: the determination to power my job search is back, I should be churning out new work and flexing those creative muscles regularly, and I am completely happy right where I am.
- Recently a great friend of mine came to visit for a few days.
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a victorious test post
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This must be what they call burn out. It’s tiring.
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RT @truthout just as we get the gulf tmeporarily capped… Red Sea: The Other Oil Spill http://bit.ly/d8jZRo
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got @streetsensedc’s annual report up, check it out http://bit.ly/aSw2fJ
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Awesome new tunes RT @tmorello Street Sweeper Social Club pre-order https://sssc.hasawebstore.com/ like an 18th century jailbreak-but 4 now
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apparently lunch time is THE time for bomb threats downtown :\
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Iowa the next Arizona? http://bit.ly/aNknpc Why are people so stupid?! @MilesSolay @BorderAction (via @TomBrazelton)
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hilllarious, http://bit.ly/aarRSe (via @colemanhall)
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Please RT help @streetsensedc get $25k from Chase Bank. Every vote counts, and there’s 9 hrs left. 3 clicks, 5 seconds http://bit.ly/d9jawX
2011 Eric Falquero. All material may be borrowed and reinvented with due credit
