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.

Lost Website

I am looking to pick up some side work, freelance stuff, so of course it's time to update the resume, portfolio, website...Oh, wait. Where's my website?
Turns out my portfolio website, which I spent a lot of time customizing, is gone. It was through behance...their prosite feature. I took it down once I found work because it was money being spent on something I didn't need.

In any case, this is now a chance for me to play around with Adobe Muse. Sooo cool. It kind of drives like a cross between InDesign and Dreamweaver. I figure I'll use it much like I did Dreamweaver, but have a less clunky result.

A Glimpse at PAX

Went to PAX yesterday and it was insane. There was a shortage of passes, so I had to wait about an hour until I could get one. I went across the street and paid $8 for a crummy beer at Cheesecake Factory. Never again.

PAX blew me away. The convention center was completely transformed. Note, this is the same place I had my high school graduation ceremony (for the record, PAX was much more enjoyable).

I took some photos on my crappy phone camera of things that caught my eye:

End of the Internship

My internship at Wunderman Seattle is coming to an end. I am happy to say that I've been offered a position as a freelance contract designer, so I get to stick around.

Tomorrow is PAX, and I am super excited to see what all they'll have there. I'm definitely going to bring some hand sanitizer, though. I heard that last year swine flu broke out.

Here's the intern video we made:

SummerDaze Weekend

I finally got to enjoy 2 solid days of summer. I'm listing out below what I did with them:

Friday Night:

• Went to snoqualmie casino with Gabi & Reed.
• Played roulette & blackjack. I lost $60.
• Spent the night with my sister at my folk's place.

On my walk home today

Why, hello there friend.

Don't think I don't see you making eyes at me...

omgomgomg

Just bought my ticket for R. Stevie Moore!!! I cannot wait to see him. Oh man. This is going to be so good.

It's Here!

ROCKY VII: SILVERFINGER!



And here are some "behind the scenes" shots of the cast & crew!

The cast hard at work


The star gets injured...again...

...and the stunt double steps in

The director and her star

Rocky VII: Silverfinger

A week ago today I was at the company picnic and jammed my left pointy finger while playing a game of horse. Bummer.

I'm no athlete, so of course it makes sense that the one time I pick up a ball I go and hurt myself. Needless to say I haven't been able to bend it much since and have had it in a fancy splint I bought at Rite Aid.
Typically this wouldn't be blog-worthy, however I have a show on Saturday that I'm really excited about since we'll be debuting a bunch of new songs. Sooo, this basketball mishap is kind of an extra bummer now that I can't play guitar the way I typically would...you know, with all 10 fingers.

Through frustration creativity is born, and it didn't take long before I found a way to celebrate this unfortunate event. Really, I owe a lot of it to my super cool boss, Bo Geddes. He is one of the creative masterminds at Wunderman: Impact. He jokingly (at first) said it'd be cool to do a Rocky montage with my finger—prepping for the "big night". It was a funny idea, but then I got excited about it and watched the montage over, and over again.

So, this weekend I will be filming Rocky VII: Silverfinger. Maybe tomorrow I will post some of the props that will be included in the filming. We'll see. Until then, I leave you with this:

My Thoughts on Stereo 3D Technology

I hardly ever go to the movies. When I do go, it's usually to see something that will be best viewed on the big screen. This past weekend I went to see the final installation of Harry Potter. There was the option to see it in 3D, which I went for given that I have yet to experience the whole 3D craze.

As soon as the film started up, I quickly realized that the 3D hype was completely missed on me. For starters, how impressive can 3D effects be when you are contained to a rectangular frame? I realize that there are neat tricks to be done in terms of depth illusions, but how necessary is that in an art form that is intended to be viewed as 2D?

I found that in the case of Harry Potter, 3D attempted to enhance the visuals at the expense of the film. Rather than contribute, it distracted. I spent the 2.5 hours rubbing my forehead and wondering what sort of effect was having on my eyes.

Now, I didn't set out to write this as a long rant/complaint. I actually walked away from the film (which was pretty good) curious about the technology behind stereo 3D and what effects, if any, it might have on our brains. Turns out not a lot of studies have been done. I read about one that was done at UC Berkeley. TechCrunch had a good summary on it and how the study indicates that stereo 3D displays do have a negative impact on our eyes & brains.

The way I understand it (and can best articulate it in laymen's terms) it's the tricking of our brain that is hurting us. In viewing a movie, we have our eyes focus on the source of light that emanates from the screen. When stereo content is placed behind the screen, our eyes shift to accommodate the change in depth, only to find no change has really occurred.

I find it to be pretty fascinating, especially since it's such a trend right now. However, I will mention that Harry Potter (unlike Avatar) was not filmed for 3D, which involves shooting with a dual camera rig (imagine as though each scene were filmed with two human eyes, which would produce the illusion of depth). I've heard that films shot for 3D are a whole other beast--one that is less taxing on the viewer.

Trashy

The office kitchens were in need of some new signage, which I got to take care of...

Last night I thought about you while I was playing Tony Hawk

Going to do an actual recording of this song. Jon "Pretty Boy" Salzman has agreed to drum on it. I'll probably lay two guitar tracks and bass as well.

Thrashin'

Man o man. Been busy busy. I was up until 3am last night doing the new lick poster. I've been playing way too much Skate lately and that totally dictated the direction of the poster. IT RULES!
If I could skateboard, I totally would.

First Day

Today was my first day at Wunderman:Impact. Because I never got a packet in the mail, I didn't know what time to show up, so I played it safe and shot for 8am. Turns out I didn't need to be there till 9:30am. Oh well.

The day was great. It's an understatement to say that I'm excited to be there. I honestly can't wait for tomorrow to see what projects I'll be working on. Since today was mostly orientation/HR stuff, there really isn't much else to say. The cookies at lunch were good.

On a different note, my latest tv obsession has taken control of my life. Usually the shows I stumble into loving last about 5 seasons. Max. This time I stupidly stumbled into a telenovela. God only knows how long it is. I'm scared to google how many seasons there are total. Ah shit, I just googled it. They don't even list it as seasons--that's how long they go!

120 episodes. I'm only on #35.
I've really done it now.

Happy Birthday

Today my favorite musician/songwriter/singer and--for lack of a better term--idol was born.
Happy Birthday, Kim Deal.

Blegh

Well, I'm sick again. Actually, I'm at the end of it now, which is good considering all I was able to do was sleep, blow my nose, drink water, and sleep some more for the past 4 days. I've been sick a lot this past year and I really don't know why.

Annnnnyway. Before I did get sick, I made a website for the band. Super mid-90s inspired, too. I think my favorite is the dancing amoeba with the cowboy hat.

(click the pic)

I keep meaning to add a guestbook to the website. I think that would really bring a touch of class to the site.

Homework-ish

Had my interview this morning. I feel like it went well...But you never really know. What I do know, is that I was asked to submit an animated gif banner. I just finished mine up and am about to send it, but want to see if it works first.

So here it goes.....

Okay. That was a fail. Let's try this...

Bingo.
Side note: I don't think I've ever been to SIFF. Wanna know why? I aint made of money!

Crazy Day

Tomorrow I have an interview at Wunderman. I found out this morning, so that meant time to print out another portfolio. I hate this part. It costs $15 a pop, and the color always comes out all screwy. I hate Kinkos. But I love them because they can turn around stuff like crazy.

Today a dog--I believe a beagle, maybe--inspected my studio for bed bugs. We couldn't be around while it happened, I think because they were worried we'd bribe the dog or something. In any case, I passed with flying colors. NO BED BUGS. I drank a beer to celebrate and wrote this song:



So I'm not as stressed anymore. I'm going to return to Kinkos tomorrow and try printing out a better portfolio...we'll see.

Week in Review

Today I set out for an interview in what I realized are the only nice clothes I own. How did this happen?! I guess my revolving uniform of the same tired jeans and flannel/t-shirt combination has caused me to turn a blind eye to the state of my closet.

I actually left the house in my favorite pair of black Florsheim boots, only to have the light of day bring to my attention that these shoes could no longer be worn in public. I quickly returned home, threw them in the dumpster, and found my other pair of good shoes. Thank god I at least have 2 pairs of nice shoes (I suppose now it's just one).


So, the interview. I actually really enjoyed myself. It was for Nordstrom.

Moving on...last week I worked a day over at Cole & Weber United. Awwwwesome studio. Their previous (and current) work is sooo cool. I felt like a little kid gushing about their previous Rainier campaign. Fan art below:

In other news, fan art is starting to negatively impact my wrists so I have had to make the difficult decision to retire. However, fan art has given me the idea to do a series of sketches of all the places I've worked at. Amazingly, even at the age of 25 I can say that I have worked at A LOT of different places.

I'm Back

It's been about a month now since I started up on unemployment benefits again. I had a great time working at Taphandles and hope some day I'll get to cross paths with them again. But for now, it's food stamps and weekly checks from the state.

Been doing some freelance work. Some of it's paid, but most of it's not. I just finished designing and producing cassettes for my band. That was real fun. Penniless, but I had total creative control. Tomorrow I'll be shooting it and hopefully have photos to put up soon after.

So that's pretty much it. Was working for the past 10 months, now I have no clue what I want to do with myself. I just don't want to be a part of some rat race where I clock in crazy hours and then get stuck with alcoholism as my only hobby.