In Case You Do Care

This is my blog. If you happen to come across this, and are someone other than my mother, you might be interested in checking out my work at www.sachamaxim.com
 
Bad grammar, punctuation mishaps and words ending like this: 's  are inevitable.
English is my second language and I only read picture books.

File This Under Nerd

Last night we celebrated Paul's 28th birthday. As is the tradition, we all showed up to his parent's home on Beacon Hill for a feast courtesy of Ezell's Chicken. This year the cherry on top was a Baskin & Robbins ice cream cake decorated with a chocolate volcano and 2 plastic dinosaur figurines.

A while back Paul had shared that he wanted to make a laptop case for his 11" Macbook Air out of his old Apple employee t-shirts. I told him I might be able to swing it, given that Abuela is a whiz on the sewing machine and is always happy to help. For a while the shirts just sat in a pile on my bedroom floor until the other day when I realized his birthday was around the corner.

I drew up a design and took it over to Abuela. She did an awesome job constructing it as well as coming up with a velcro seal at the top of the case.

Luckily Paul had his laptop with him when I gave him the present. It fit perfectly. Better yet, the Apple icon remained perfectly centered throughout the whole process.

Analogue Overload

This weekend we finally wrapped on recording down in Olympia, WA. There's something to be said about driving into Olympia and taking the Sleater-Kinney Rd. I-5 off ramp to get to the studio. Sleater Kinney defined my early teenage years and it was at their One Beat tour that I attended my first rock show without a parent (okay, so my folks were really protective).

We recorded a total of 9 songs but we'll probably only release 8 of them. The process was analogue beginning to end—though we haven't gotten it mastered yet since we're broke and crossing our fingers for some kind of miracle. Or sugar daddy. 

I will be the first to admit that the art of analogue recording goes right over my head. However, the sound is so much warmer and nicer. Especially the vocals. I just feel really lucky to have had this opportunity.

Speaking of opportunities, a while back a buddy of mine asked for us to contribute a song to a mix-tape he was putting together. I should mention that this friend of mine, Danny, is a legit music junkie. I mean, he works at a record shop—That gets you major [music] junkie points!

Credentials aside, this mix tape has totally blown my mind. To be honest, I wasn't really expecting anything. I had no idea what musicians would be included in this. But, man, I have not stopped playing it in my car.

I absolutely (and surprisingly) love "Big Boi" by Hair Vest. It's choppy, distorted, synth-punk that my friend remarked sounded like a "more punk" Spurm. Then on the other end of the spectrum is Prisoners with "No Place Like Home", which I swear has been stuck in my head these last two days. It has this innocent charm that reminds me of early Daniel Johnston recordings and I actually want to pay attention to the lyrics (I never listen to the lyrics). And of course, the two songs by Orca Team. I seriously think they're my favorite local band at the moment. So, so, so good.

12 Bands/12 Hours

This past summer my band took part in a project dreamed up by local producer/all around good guy Aaron Schroeder of BLDGs. His idea was simple: gather 12 bands that represent Seattle's underground scene and give them each an hour to record a song. Schroeder single-handedly recorded, mixed, mastered, and videotaped the process. The compilation is available for digital download on his blog, and each week he releases another music video from the recording session.

We chose to record a song that we had decided to keep off of our full length, which we will be mixing this Sunday! It's called Fuck & Kill and actually has me on the drums, and Jon on the guitar. We wrote it one day by chance when I was going through my "I want to be a drummer" phase.

Jon has always played guitar, he's kind of a whiz when it comes to music. However, I had only been playing drums for 2 months when we recorded this. I have since abandoned the drums as it didn't really jive with our sound, but I'm glad we decided to do something out of our comfort zone for this project.

 Enjoy!

Decisions Illustrated

 

A day's worth of decision making.

 

Should I brush my teeth before or after my morning cup of coffee?

 

I used to keep my toothbrush in a coffee cup. 

But I've since grown up. 

 

Breakfast is my favorite meal because it's the easiest to prepare.

 

 

Videos of The Breeders get me excited about playing music. 

This one's from 1993.

 

Tonight we're playing the Nectar Lounge.

I get stuck loading the gear into the car by myself. 

 

Since I'm driving I have to keep track of what I drink. 

We use the mom-mobile for shows.

 

My Mom put lots of bumper stickers on it even though it's my Dad's car.

One of them is the gay Jesus fish.

 

In my mind, gay Jesus would look like this. 

Tech the Halls

Some time earlier this week a project I had been working on last month was launched. It was headed up by Microsoft's Branded Entertainment & Experiences Team over in the South Lake Union 'hood. It's a virtual house decorator/lightshow creator for the holidays.

I created over 30 illustrations for it ranging from MC Snowman to the scrawny Christmas tree. Some illustrations (specifically the animated ones) were provided by a 3D studio. It was a lot of fun to work on and super neat to see it all come together.

Gmail Then & Now

Lots of chatter lately about Google's redesign. As an avid Google user, I first noticed the change on Blogger and most recently made the switch to the new look on Gmail. The changes are similar—cleaner/more simple layout, more icon links, lower contrast, and so on.

I actually really like the new look of Blogger. I adapted quickly to the change and have begun using certain features that I wasn't even aware of before. It's easier to manage posts and navigate blog entries. Overall, I like the change—and that's coming from someone who hates change.

As for Gmail, I have been using the "new look" for at least a week and still hate it. This has gone beyond my usual dislike of change and into the realm of being a disoriented user. There are certain changes that are subtly annoying from a design standpoint, but the ones that really annoy me are the changes that have gotten in my way as a user.

I have pointed out the changes I have beef with in red and will go through them alphabetically. Here it goes...

SIC2011 Recap

I've rounded up all of my notes and am ready to dive into all that I learned this past week at the Seattle Interactive Conference. I liked what @gknutson wrote over on What the Klout about how he used Twitter to take more effective notes.

"[W]hen I sit down to write a recap...there will be no need to sort through pages of hand written, torn, coffee stained notes"

 I was smart enough to ditch paper notes after the first session, switching instead to Macbook Stickies & tweets. Still, all I have are shorthand notes and I really dislike writing. So, what I have decided to do is copy my notes directly onto this blog post.

Lazy? Sure. I'll own up to that. However, I will go an extra step and flesh out the discussion points that are a little vague or could use a bit more meat. Here we go...

AIGA Creative Morning

This past week has been so amazingly hectic. I feel like I've been a sponge for all kinds of educational nuggets. I'm still compiling my notes from SIC2011, so I'm just going to write about the AIGA Seattle Creative Mornings session I attended today.

Matt Shobe (Chief Design Officer at Big Door) discussed the benefits (and trend) of gamification when engaging consumers. It's a topic which I have been aware of, however I have typically been more cognoscente of how social elements are integrated into gaming rather than using gaming elements to enhance social interactions.

It didn't take too long before Shobe brought up the example of Zynga and, more specifically, Farmville. I've never played Farmville, however I did go through a brief period of playing Empires & Allies. The reason why I stopped playing was because I became increasingly frustrated with how easy it was to acquire achievement badges. Not only that, I found it incredibly annoying that I was continually prompted to share my success with my friends via Facebook and Twitter.

Smart gamification, according to Shobe, requires a balance between providing the right amount of challenge and social. To paraphrase, if it takes under half an hour to achieve level 32, then the gamer will lose interest. Similarly, make it too difficult—either by not providing easy acces to sharing your progress online or the game play itself—and the level of engagement suffers.

Now, it was the example of MLB Gameday (one of Shobe's projects) that really got me thinking. He asked the audience (by show of hand) if they enjoyed baseball. Very few hands were raised. He then asked how many of us had ever collected baseball cards. Nearly every hand shot up. The action of collecting/ sharing/ showcasing is what kept us engaged in a sport we didn't even enjoy watching. By including this type of interaction, baseball fans were afforded the opportunity to become engaged with the game in a whole new way.

This is where my imagination stepped in. Music has lost it's way in the digital era. Everyone loves music, everyone collects music, yet music stores are shutting down, record labels are going under, and musicians and consumers alike have no way of navigating this.

I believe I have the best taste in music. My friend, Paul believes he has the best taste in music. Where can we boast about our respective amazing taste in music other than in our living rooms hunched over the record player? And, to take it a step further, when will we be rewarded for our dedication to music listening?

Revvin' Up

I'm starting to get really excited for the Seattle Interactive Conference. I've already decided which presentations I want to sit in on for Wednesday. I don't think I'll be able to catch any on Thursday since I will be volunteering at the conference that day. That's how I was able to get around the $350 price tag.

Here's what I'm thinking in terms of my Wednesday lineup:

  9am: Beauty, Constraint, & the Atari 2600
10am: UX/Design Panel
11am: Meme & Miasma (maybe)
 1pm: Mad Woman Panel
 2pm: Pencils v Pixels
 3pm: Making a mess

Speaking of the Atari 2600, Ed Fries (who will be the speaker for that session) is the creator of Halo 2600, which I'm totally addicted to at the moment. Why am I such a sucker for online games? I think the reason why I'm so drawn to this particular one is because it doesn't include a social component like other online games (Empires & Allies, Puzzle Pirates, etc.). I feel like that usually lowers the quality of my gaming experience because I suddenly have to depend on a stranger to get to level x.

Alright, enough rambling. I'm gonna go play some Halo 2600.

Latest Projects Pt. 2

A project that began in June has come to an end. It was the logo and brand development for Madrona Grace Church. What really threw me on this project was that here I was developing a brand identity for something I was personally invested in. Madrona church is historically an African American congregation, open and affirming of LGBTQ individuals, and has strong ties with it's community through various mission programs. There is an excellent documentary about the church's history that can be viewed here.

I wanted to create something that celebrated the racial & ethnic roots of the church, but didn't limit it to a singular identity. My inspiration from the beginning was the Harlem Renaissance movement, specifically this painting by William H. Johnson. I loved the bold lines, simplicity, and slant of the buildings.

There was hesitation at first from the "client" in terms of featuring the church's building as the primary graphic. The reason being, they didn't want to give the impression that they defined a church as being confined to a building. Though I completely agree on a theological level, I knew that with a building, I could communicate the message of acceptance and community. Furthermore, the actual building is beautiful and something to be celebrated (in my opinion).


So, after months and months of work from all three of us (myself, the pastor, and an elder), we arrived at a logo that we all love and are excited to share. What I personally love most about it is how it translates to black and white. I wanted to make it as easy to use and apply as possible.

Latest Projects Pt. 1

Thought I'd take some time to highlight some stuff I've been working on as of late. I've been working at with Microsoft's Branded Entertainment & Experiences Team these past two weeks on an interactive web application that will be launching November 8th. It's been really fun work and the folks are rad.

I've also been helping out with Art Bash, an auction-style even put on by AdClub Seattle. I reworked their logo so that it would tie in better with the AAF brand. I also added some movement into the word Bash to play off of the word's meaning & give the logo some energy.

As a result of meeting folks within AAF, I've become involved with Ad2, which is for individuals under the age of 32 in the marketing & advertising industry. Ad2 provides the spotlight artist for Art Bash, and this year's artist will be my buddy C.M. Ruiz. I think his approach to creating marketing materials and lo-fi aesthetic will be an awesome contribution to this year's event.

Friend O' Lesbos

Tonight I invited my 5 year old neighbor to carve pumpkins with me. The problem with hanging out with a 5 year old friend is that their bed time is waaaay early. I am finding that living at my folk's home takes certain adjustments I hadn't foreseen.

At 7pm, after my little buddy left, I was able to get around to carving my own pumpkin. Another note about switching to a suburban social scene: a lot of the time spent with a 5 year old is wasted on explaining why they can't wield a 6-inch knife.


I decided to turn my pumpkin into Larry David. Unfortunately, it didn't really end up looking like him in the end. Granted, I think the pumpkin being a fail only furthers the Larry David theme.

Steve Jobs, RIP

Under, Over, Done.

Today I got some bummer news that I did not get a job position I had interviewed for. This position was, like, the holy grail of design positions out there. It wasn't that it was just the best one available out there right now, but it was the kind of position I dream about having.

So, I didn't get it. What I now want to know is what I can do the next time this kind of opportunity rolls around to ensure I actually get the job. One of the pieces of feedback I received was that I was over-qualified for their design intern position, which I hadn't applied for, and under-qualified for their design position. I was then offered a potential consideration for a future contract role.

I need to figure out what is it about me, my portfolio, and/or experience that has me pegged as an eligible contract-designer but not a full-time designer. SPECIFICALLY in a larger studio environment. I haven't had any difficulties with smaller studios, but I really want to go in the direction of working in a larger, more corporate environment that has an emphasis in marketing.

If you have stumbled across this and know something (anything) about design, I would love some feedback.

Seattle

This is my home.

Captured so well by Thatcher Kelley

Gold!

Today I had a meet & greet with Filter Creative. Got some super feedback on my portfolio and how to better structure my work. When it was all done, they offered me these awesome tokens that can be used on parking meters or the bus.


I'd never heard of these little gold nuggets until today, and it seems that my bus driver was in the same boat. When I asked him how many to use he responded he had no idea what they were and to just not pay. So now I have a collection. As does this guy, it seems.

They're like make believe money that actually works. I am totally into it.

Cleaning the internet

I've decided it's time to do a thorough cleaning of my web presence. I logged into an old coroflot account I forgot I had. Ooof, was it ever old. I found stuff I had done 5 years ago.

Back around that time I had a rat tail. I thought it was a really cool idea. Sad thing is some people still do.


I just finished watching Comic Book: The Movie on netflix. It took me a while to realize Mark Hamill is in it. It wasn't that good, but I watched it all anyway.

Arts, Farts & Crafts

Today I realized how low I am on art supplies. I played earlier at Ricochet Recital and wanted to have something to promote the band. I was actually performing solo — just one song on acoustic guitar. I think it was the closest I've ever come to doing something in the style of open mic.

Anyway. I made little cards to hand out. I used the back cover from my sketchbook, some markers I had lying around, and a magazine clipping.

Bad Design always Bad Design?

My last post left me wondering... If something is known for being bad design, can it be/should it be mimicked?

Lost cat/dog posters have always been ugly, but you know that when you see a centered photograph sandwiched between two HUGE sanserif headlines, it's because someone desperately wants their pet back. So, did I execute my Lost Website poster properly? No.

I got the gist of it but failed to take it a step further. Granted, I only spent 5 minutes on it and it was just a joke, but it reminded me of this awesome blog post from a while back. The first three posters are probably the most effective ever. I would totally stop and stare at it stapled on a telephone post if it were in my path. BUT I would have no clue what was being advertised to me.