The Face of Jace

Spectrum Certified

2010-05-04T06:50:00.000-07:00

A few images from my Senior Thesis project, a sustainability certification for individuals called Spectrum Certified.

St. Villain flyer

2010-04-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

MSAA Motion

2010-03-04T18:05:00.000-08:00

This is the motion piece I created that was shown during the Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards ceremonies at MCAD on February 21, 2010.

Also, check out MCAD DesignWork's snazzy new Cargo site here and my MSAA project overview here.
Props to Tam for getting the Cargo site up and running!

Knowteria on Allan Peters' blog

2010-01-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks to The Thorburn Group for photographing the Knowteria identity system I designed this summer, and thanks to Allan Peters for this lovely little feature.

Sketcheroos

2009-12-10T15:02:00.000-08:00

The MSAA magazine is printed and now it's time to make a program + poster. Here's a preliminary layout idea for the awards ceremony program:

The real deal

2009-12-10T13:20:00.001-08:00

Hot off the press! At a print run of 3,000, this little 20-page ditty is printed on Sappi Flo Dull with an aqueous flood throughout.

To brighten our day in DesignWorks today, a friend of mine sent this adapted version of a photo from my last post. The maker of this image is unknown...but it sparked a studio caption contest.

I'm looking forward to seeing more entries. We got one so far:

Press check!

2009-12-05T14:24:00.001-08:00

On Thursday, I was at Modern Press to press check the Minnesota Scholastic Art Awards magazine. A few things needed to be changed, so new plates had to be burned. The piece will likely be printed on Monday or Tuesday of next week. The piece is a 20-page magazine printed on Sappi Flo Dull stock with an aqueous flood throughout. This was the first press check I was able to go on for my job in DesignWorks- 'twas fun!

Sneak peek

2009-11-30T18:19:00.000-08:00

of this year's MSAA magazine:

More Jet-Puffed

2009-11-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

It's been a while

2009-11-01T21:55:00.001-08:00

I've been crazy busy this semester, but haven't put much work up yet. Here's a quick sketch of a project I'm working on now. I'm aiming to create a satirical How-To guide for designing food packaging to look "farm fresh." This is a sketch for the 'how it works/how it all comes together' at the end of the How-To guide.

Beginning

2009-09-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

The first and a very rough, motion sketch of a campaign I'm working on for Knowteria, a Mpls-based independent research company. I created the identity system this summer through my internship at The Thorburn Group. Storyboards and concepts are in the works for a couple of 15 second TV spots and a 30 second spot. A stationery system is also in progress and will be printed with local letterpress studio, Studio On Fire. I will be working with Evan Nagan on a website design as well. Hooray! I'm excited to see it all come together. Click here to watch the clip:

DesignWorks blog

2009-09-11T07:29:00.000-07:00

Check out the work of myself and my friends/co-workers/classmates at the MCAD DesignWorks blog!

A sketch...

2009-09-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

...for an upcoming project inspired by the videos in my last post:

Drool

2009-08-26T18:25:00.000-07:00

So good to be back in Motion Graphics! Drool-worthy pieces from Stardust and Onesize:

Menus

2009-07-29T13:52:00.000-07:00

single-fold menu (exterior)

(interior)

Sketches

2009-07-15T12:52:00.000-07:00

Identity system sketches/ideation

More process

2009-07-07T11:35:00.001-07:00

Presented these three concepts to the client today. We are hoping to build a brand experience based on the third option, the black and yellow cafeteria theme.

Identity progress

2009-07-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

Today my lovely co-workers bought me cake and ice cream to celebrate my birthday a couple days early...and I worked on identity system ideas for a new independent research company.

Seein' Red

2009-06-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

...but lovin' it.

Some ideation for icons to denote winners of U B the Judge. (work for my internship at The Thorburn Group)

MCAD vitrine posters

2009-06-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Close-to-final but still in-progress images for MCAD's next poster series using the "pic popsicles" I built out of clay and Alex Roche's paper pic cut-outs

SYNCHRO

2009-06-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

Final sweatshirt design for the Minnesota Synchronettes trip to Nationals

back

front/chest

application on white hooded sweatshirt w/ girl's names along the sleeve in teal and aqua for two different teams

Trek 100 cycling jerseys!

2009-06-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here they are in the flesh, rather, on the flesh: the cycling jerseys I designed for Team Oracle for the Trek 100 that took place yesterday, June 6, 2009.

Oh hey again...

2009-06-05T14:01:00.001-07:00

...Summer has been busy so far. Please excuse my lack of posts. I got an internship! at The Thorburn Group. Here's what I'm working on now. It's a sweatshirt design for the Minnesota Synchronettes synchronized swimming team's trip to Nationals in Gainesville. It's a quick project for one of my supervisor's daughters. The team is made up of girls around age 11 who love Juicy Couture.

Pic popsicles

2009-05-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

MCAD's identity includes a large system of graphic elements called "pics." My current assignment in DesignWorks is to design a bunch of posters that will go in the permanent frames around the school, and a triptych at the top of a main staircase. The posters will go up after commencement and be up throughout the summer during youth programs, so I chose to create pic ice cream bars–"pic popsicles"–out of clay and stage a photo shoot with a mock ice cream cart and MCAD students holding the pic popsicles, looking like they're having the most fun they've ever had, of course. The triptych will be a collaboration with Alex Roche who is making cut paper patterns out of the same six pics which will serve as streamers that decorate the ice cream cart and can be used as framing elements for the posters. Here is my progress so far!

Occasional

2009-05-04T22:04:00.001-07:00

Day of documentation

2009-04-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

Terese and I spent the day on Saturday documenting our work on the school's sweep. It feels so good to have all of this done... and much more progress on my website!

SB job application

2009-04-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

New job applications for the Service Bureau! Inquire within.

jaceybraband.com...

2009-04-21T08:19:00.000-07:00

...is almost done! I'm re-photographing most of my work this weekend, so there is only documentation for a couple of projects up right now, but I have a website! Finally! It should be all done by next week.

Easter fun

2009-04-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening was spent indulging in a wonderful home-cooked meal at my dear friend Aimee's with designer buddies, Terese, Ellie, Dylan and Colin. Aimee's parents served a 16-pound ham, sweet potato gratin, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, an awesome salad and some delicious rolls, which I enjoyed with a Bell's Two Hearted Ale. As if that wasn't delectable enough, Aimee's mom made some super sweet treats for dessert:

Binary opposition

2009-04-16T18:08:00.000-07:00

A postcard created in the context of "binary oppositions" that will be printed in a grid along with the rest of my classmates' designs as a press sheet that will serve as a poster. Then all the individual postcards will be trimmed down. On one side of the postcard will be the first image, which is made up of only cyan, magenta and yellow. On the reverse side, the black ink on the press will be turned on and the black layer (thumbprints) will be added. The concept of this piece was manipulate, or quite literally invert, this universally recognizable artwork. Then by adding another literal layer of opposition with the thumbprints, I am authoring this artwork as my own. This is an assignment for my electronic pre-press class, a project my class is working on with Walker Art Center designer, Emmet Byrne.

Trek 100 Oracle cycling jerseys

2009-04-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

My stepmom Mary works for Oracle and asked me to submit a custom design for cycling jerseys for her company team for the Trek 100, a charity bike race on June 6. Lance Armstrong usually participates in the race every year (apparently not this year though) and it starts at the Trek headquarters in Waterloo, WI. I haven't decided if I'm going to ride in it this year or not, but I'm definitely tempted. Either way I'll get my own version of this jersey. Awesome.

Here's a quick and hilarious mock-up of what the jersey is supposed to look like when worn.

The design was created from a template provided by this website. Pretty cool stuff. I am a little nervous about how the template pieces will translate to the actual jersey, so we'll see!

Bad Karma

2009-04-14T08:35:00.001-07:00

Change isn't always good. No thank you, Yogi. I liked you better before.

Also, I think Mr. Singh took a tip or two from Yogi with these weenies with edible henna skin. Weird.

Aimee says it best

2009-04-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

In defense of Waiting for Boys to Call, Miss Aimee Gauthier couldn't have said it better.

The Chicago Spire

2009-04-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Amazing. I had no idea this was under construction in the Windy City. Calatrava is at it again, two hours from one of his many claims to fame, the Quadracci Pavilion at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Cedarburg Memory Map

2009-04-10T08:50:00.001-07:00

This is round 1 of the map of my memory recollection experience in Cedarburg. The map is 17"x55" in dimension.

City Pages ad

2009-04-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

Memory mapping

2009-04-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

While I was back home in Cedarburg, WI, I spent an afternoon walking the length of Washington Avenue, the main drag, on one side of the street on the way out and the other side on the way back, plotting waypoints into a handheld GPS device every time I recalled a specific memory, most of which were location-specific. The walk took about 4 hours. Then I inputted the coordinates into Google Maps. Next, I'll use these points and their proximity to one another to create a map/diagram based on a system of information graphics that connects each memory point to the person it invovled and their current location on a map, and the emotions associated with each memory. Tons of work to do before Thursday. Results to come. Stay tuned.

It's new, it's hip...

2009-03-30T09:45:00.000-07:00

...all the cool kids are using Skimmer.

Pixie Song Events

2009-03-27T16:02:00.001-07:00

I just finished a small freelance project for Pixie Song event planning, two lovely ladies based in Minneapolis, who I met through the fabulous Bill Thorburn. I designed a logo, business cards and letterhead for them.

Anticipation.

2009-03-25T15:39:00.001-07:00

100th Post

2009-03-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is just some stuff I've been working on in DesignWorks. These are slides for this year's "Partners in Scholarship Luncheon" for students who have received scholarships from various organizations. An invitation (almost identical to the first image below) for the luncheon was designed by Meredith Stuart and I used her elements to create the slides.

Here are the final posters for the MFA Thesis Exhibition that will be displayed at Soo Visual Arts Center and The Soap Factory in May. Oh yeah, and the postcard had been printed on some fancy pants linen paper and mailed- woo!

Announcement on The Soap Factory's site

Announcement on SooVac's site

Tentacle Boy at the Kitty Cat Klub

2009-03-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a flier I made for my boyfriend's show this Saturday. If you live in the Cities, come check it out. It should be a good time. Also, check out Beatrix*JAR. I've not heard the two DJs, but they're worth a listen as well. (DJ Bach)

Welcome to Mali

2009-03-23T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today in World Film class, we watched Yeelen, a Malian film directed by Souleymane Cissé. My professor brought in an album by "the blind couple from Mali," Amadou & Mariam, for us to listen to before class started. My professor, Phil, and I talk about music from time to time and we've exchanged a few albums. He let me borrow A&M's Dimanche à Bamako and a few hours later, I got a hold of their new album, Welcome to Mali, and made him a copy.

Merit Scholarship installation

2009-03-23T18:36:00.001-07:00

Thanks, Alyssa, for taking these photos and thanks, MCAD, for the scholarship!

MADE@MCAD Exhibition

2009-03-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, the "Made @ MCAD" exhibition opened in the main gallery at school. All students were allowed to submit multiple pieces of work for the show, and a jury chose which pieces made it into the exhibit in the main gallery. My collaboration with Terese Elhard and Jeni Kozicky was chosen to be in the show. We created a folder with four flaps that folds open to reveal 15 collaged posters, based on protest events surrounding the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul. On the back of each tabloid-sized poster is a news article written about the RNC, printed in black on top of black, so the text is only visible when held at the right light, except for an enlarged sentence from the article in color. This sentence serves as a pull-quote and the place in the article where the sentence appears as a colored underline. We didn't get to choose how our work was displayed and as it turns out, none of my collages are actually showing in the case, and the actual folder is hidden under what kind of just looks like a mess of pages, but oh well- still exciting that our piece made it into the show!

SFZero

2009-03-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

While researching for my next installation/performance piece, I discovered a SF0, which led me to this video – from the task, "Red Light, Green Light" which instructs the player to "create a stop-motion video, post results." (although I'm pretty sure this video wasn't actually created as a task for SF0, it's posted as a link in the comments section of the Red Light, Green Light task, and it's really fun to watch).
Oren Lavie - Her Morning Elegance

SFZero or SF0 is a web-based community game based in San Francisco. It is a type of alternate reality game. SFZero players earn points by completing a wide variety of different tasks, often with a focus on creativity, exploration, community, or performance. Although the game was originally intended for San Francisco residents, its player base has expanded to include many other locales both in and outside of America. SFZero is the creation of Ian Kizu-Blair, Sam Lavigne and Sean Mahan of Playtime, a "nonprofit organization dedicated to producing free immersive art games that use new technologies in significant ways." (Wikipedia)

More fun stuff

2009-03-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Here's my "EHP" on MCAD's website (left square) - yay!

It's that day.

2009-03-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today's the day we all pretend we have a bit of Irish in us, even if we don't. My mom's side of the family is Irish and she and I attend Milwaukee Irish Fest every year in August, where Gaelic Storm has performed for as long as I can remember. Today I'm having my own mini Irish Fest celebration at work.

The Silk Road Ensemble

2009-03-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was fortunate enough to witness a truly incredible performance by the Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma at the Minnesota Orchestra Hall. Here are all of the instruments that were part of the ensemble:

tabla (India)

sheng (China)

shakuhachi (Japan)

kamancheh (Iran)

pipa (China)

bawu (China)

tar (Azerbaijan/Iran/Persia)

cajon (Peru/Cuba)

viola

violin

contrabass

cello

Thanks, Pandora...

2009-03-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

...for introducing me to The Maccabees. Hey Julie and Jenny, they're from Brighton! and this video is wonderful.

WFBTC

2009-03-15T22:08:00.001-07:00

Bloggin' in secret. 27 members strong. Curious? This is an invite-only, ladies-only (so far), place of refuge. I will divulge no more, but if you'd like to be a part of WFBTC, let me know and we can make arrangements.

Merits

2009-03-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick snapshot of the show I just installed at MCAD for a Merits Scholarship Competition, a placeholder of sorts. More/better photos to come!

Graham Rawle

2009-03-13T22:33:00.000-07:00

British artist Graham Rawle gave a lecture at MCAD today about his work, focusing on his new book, The Wizard of Oz, based on the original story by L. Frank Baum. He will be exhibiting his work at MCAD from May 22 to June 21, his first exhibition ever in North America– I'm so excited!

Work like this...

2009-03-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

...makes me want to be an illustrator. Illustrations by icantbelieveitsnotbetter:

ELSE/WHERE MAPPING

2009-03-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

This book has become my bible for the semester as I explore non-traditional ways of mapping through installation and performance. Right now I'm writing a proposal for project 2 of 3 for the semester. Check out my first project here.

Plenty pretty women...

2009-03-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

...but I don't know if I'm one of them.This song is beautifully heartbreaking, in such a good way.
Check out Minneapolis' own Roma Di Luna. I'm hooked on them right now.

Happy birthday, Mary!

2009-03-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

A card I made for my stepmom's birthday

Cocka-doodle-doo

2009-03-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

Just some more doodles. Hopefully I'll do cool things with them in the near future.

Bra band

2009-03-04T15:04:00.000-08:00

My wonderful father has a Google Alert set up for our last name, Braband. A recent alert informed him about The Vassarettes, "the world's first bra band," and will in turn inform him of this post. Thanks, Dad.

Update

2009-03-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

I moved into a new studio space this semester. Here it is!

Beastie Boys artwork

2009-03-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

I was sent a link to this amazing blog of artwork dedicated to the Beastie Boys. It would be SO awesome to see all of it together in a gallery! I'm pretty sure it was all up in a show at the Galleries One Nine Eight Eight in either LA and San Francisco. I would love to find out more about this past exhibition...

"Jockeying Mike D To My Dismay" by Alex Pardee
"Bust" by Ken Garduno

"Fly To Tokyo" by Eric Tan

"Socialize" by Roland Tamayo

"Bone-Up-Hard" by Jason D'Aquino

"Sabotage" by Chris Murray

"The Girl is Crafty" by Erica Gibson

"Sugar > Coffee + Cream" by Ruel Pascual

"The Return of Johnny Ryall" by Mike Maxwell

"Monkey in Brass" by Jen Lobo

MCAD @ BI® gallery opening

2009-03-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

Start your day with inspiration

2009-02-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

Totally inspiring work by Karl Grandin. I recommend checking out just about everything on his site, especially the projects toward the top of the list.

MCAD EHPs

2009-02-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

Here a couple of EHPs I made last week for MCAD's website. They go in the little squares on the main page that contain information about deadlines and such. I haven't heard yet which one, if either will get used...but here they are. They are designed using a system of elements from MCAD's viewbook.

Excitement.

2009-02-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

Anyone else feel like going retro?

2009-02-24T18:40:00.000-08:00

Retro packaging is THE thing to do. Pepsi went retro with their new packaging, and here are a couple more I noticed while browsing The Dieline.

Female solo artists

2009-02-23T21:35:00.001-08:00

This is what I did at work this morning. It was a collaborative effort and is a work in progress. Also, for the record, I did help people at work too.

Donesies

2009-02-19T22:19:00.003-08:00

Just finished up some quick but somewhat drastic revisions for the Backup Power Source SURGE System flowchart.

Final?

2009-02-19T22:07:00.001-08:00

The final design...(?) The red is actually more of a burgundy. The title changed a bit too. Going through proof reading now, then off to print. Then I'll be making a poster and web ad from it.

DP2

2009-02-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

I can't promise to do this for every project, but I figured since this is my first DesignWorks project, I'd post each stage of the design presentation process. Today I presented three versions of a postcard to the Graduate Department based on their feedback from last week. The design will go through another revision then get routed (proof read, etc.) and be sent to print! Another part of this project is a poster, so I'll be starting on that soon too, based on the final postcard design. Oh yeah, and the last one (bottom) is the color scheme they chose, but the teal will be adjusted slightly.

Thinkin' spring

2009-02-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

As you might have noticed from previous posts, I've been really inspired by this color palette lately. I think it's because I can smell spring in the air and can't wait to get outdoors again. I'm crossing my fingers for a solid streak sunshine and warm weather in the near future. I received a suggestion to color in the doodle I made on Valentine's Day. I like the result so I decided to turn it into a new blog banner. Nerd alert!

The SURGE System

2009-02-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a small freelance project I did for Backup Power Source to explain the function of an automatic standby power system for the home and office that uses renewable energy sources.

MCAD @ BI®

2009-02-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

I was asked by our Design Department Chair to design a poster for a gallery show featuring work from nine former MCAD students. Here is the poster for the gallery itself, the poster to be hung around MCAD to advertise the show, and a postcard. Come out to the reception on February 27th. The show should be great as the featured artists make amazing work! Oh yeah, my "Friday night doodle" came in handy for this one.

<3

2009-02-15T12:10:00.001-08:00

Doodle from Valentine's Day at the Triple Rock

DP1!

2009-02-12T14:51:00.000-08:00

Today was my first round of design presentations (DP1) for the postcard (and eventually poster) that I am designing for MCAD's MFA Thesis Exhibition this May. The first front & back pair is what I presented to the Graduate Department and the second pair with the white background is the revisions that were made so far, but still in progress. I'm super excited about this project and happy with where it is going. I'm also really happy to be in my second week at DesignWorks. It's been a great experience so far.

Of late

2009-02-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

While researching the very broad subject of mapping for a performance piece I am working on, I found some beautiful images of two of my favorite artists ever since I moved to Minneapolis and sources of continuous influence: Gregory Euclide and the artist whose book I coincidentally happened to be using as a drawing surface for the image in the last post, Julie Mehretu.

Friday night doodles

2009-02-06T20:25:00.001-08:00

Belated

2009-02-06T12:50:00.000-08:00

Christmas CD art that was sent out to 25 of my friends. Music contained on the CD: My most listened to albums of the year, released in 2008.

Ladies Nights Out

2009-02-05T23:01:00.001-08:00

As per request and invitation by our wonderful server at the Blackbird Café (identity system designed by Minneapolis's own EightHourDay) a couple weeks ago, the ladies and I attended Peepshow 2009 at the Rosalux Gallery last Saturday.

I think it's safe to say Aimee, Ellie, Sami, Terese and I were all impressed by the Blackbird identity system. (A shameless plug).

Ace of Cakes

2009-02-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

I dedicate this post to my lovely neighbors, Sara, Derek, (whose blog we adore for its marvelous mundacity) and Ben, with whom I am watching the Food Network's "Ace of Cakes" as I write this post. This is my first AoC experience and I have to say my mind is being blown. The show is based around a bakery in Baltimore called Charm City Cakes, which, rumor has it, charges a pretty penny, a minimum of $1,000 for a custom decorated cake. Fondant fantastic.

For further delicious reading, check out Cake Wrecks, a disastrous blog followed by none other than Miss Terese Elhard.

Shows, shows, shows

2009-02-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

This semester's music lineup is GLORIOUS. Of course I won't make it out to all of these shows, but about a calculated 53% of them. Next secured destination: Lykke Li at the Varsity this Sunday. Tracking down these shows, purchasing tickets, and posting them to a calendar takes up 37% percent of my time spent surfing the web. And 87% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

Hypnotic

2009-02-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

Animal Collective has got me addicted to their latest album, Merriweather Post Pavilion.
I think there's something deeper happening here...

Making cards

2009-02-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

MCAD Intranet Valentine's Day card submission
I made a card for a couple of my teachers who wrote letters of recommendation for me,
some weird banding occurred on the blue card, but you get the idea.

Dedication to Justin McKinley and designers alike

2009-02-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

T-shirt design from Threadless.com
Justin McKinley

Minnesota Orchestra Hall

2009-01-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

I am fortunate to have gotten tickets to two upcoming events at the Minnesota Orchestra Hall, The Second City Comedy Troupe on February 27 and The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma on March 16. Tickets to The Second City are $10 for students! I HIGHLY recommend seeing these guys. The group that I have seen was hilarious. Plus, it's where a lot of the actors on SNL got their start.

Check out the Silk Road Project

"I think that in today's world no one grows up listening to one music. Part of being alive in this world is knowing who you are and how you fit in the rest of the world. I’m certainly interested in what the rest of the world thinks and feels and how they want to express themselves in sound." –Yo-Yo Ma

Support local music

2009-01-19T16:10:00.000-08:00

Upon my return to Minneapolis, I have been fortunate to see performances of so many great local bands that are all truly incredible musicians so I'm taking this opportunity to spread the word:

Nightmare-Man
Caroline Smith and the Goodnight Sleeps
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles
Yer Cronies
The New Monarchs
I, Colossus
These Modern Socks
Tentacle Boy

Holiday cheer

2008-12-30T17:23:00.002-08:00

Perhaps the beginning of a new tradition, I sent out CDs with MP3 files for 11 albums released in 2008 that I found myself listening to over and over throughout the year, and a drawing to accompany the disc.

Albums on the disc in order of release date:

City and Colour–Bring Me Your Love

Bon Iver–For Emma, Forever Ago

Born Ruffians–Red, Yellow & Blue

The Dodos–Visiter

The Tallest Man on Earth–Shallow Grave

Andy Dixon–The Mice of Mt. Career

Langhorne Slim–Langhorne Slim & the War Eagles

Fleet Foxes–Fleet Foxes

Haley Bonar–Big Star

Wolf Parade–At Mount Zoomer

The Dutchess and the Duke–She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke

Music City, USA

2008-12-22T23:09:00.000-08:00

I took a weekend trip to Nashville, TN to visit a good friend of mine. I got a great taste of the city in just a couple days as the weekend was jam-packed with sight-seeing, excellent food and drink, awesome music, and new friends. My little point-and-shoot takes decent pictures (sometimes)..here are a few.

Opryland Hotel:

Hands down best pancakes ever:

Parthenon replica/art museum

entertaining awning:

Phil Hummer & The White Falcons at the Full Moon Saloon

Determined to see a show here in the future:

Vic is an excellent tour guide.

car dealership ferris wheel?

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

A cat found us near the hill overlooking the city

Awesome signage painting on the side of a building. I wish I had a better photo of it.

Rockin' screen saver

2008-12-19T17:29:00.000-08:00

A screen saver I made in Quartz Composer based off imagery from an animation I'm (STILL!) working on for Motion Graphics. The semester is over, but the animation still needs work, so I'll post it when I feel like it's up to par. The rocking chair man rocks back and forth, the frame displays the current date and time, and an RSS feed of upcoming Minneapolis concerts scrolls from behind the radio. I'm posting this from home and somehow when I opened this up again in Quartz, the feed switched from Minneapolis to Cedarburg...weird. It knows where I am...but I'm not quite sure why that happened. Oil Can Harry at Circle B tomorrow, anyone? haha.

The Meaning of Life

2008-12-19T15:56:00.001-08:00

This book was the final project for my Publication Design class. Much of my focus this semester has been on how the internet has changed the way we interact with others and understand the world. I decided to take life's obligatory unanswerable question, 'What is the meaning of life?' and display the results as an "answer" according to Wikipedia and Google image search. The Wikipedia article entries at the beginning of each image result section are meant to be informational, while recognizing that Wikipedia results can be misconstrued. The words put into Google image search are taken from the 25 linked words within the first paragraph of the Wikipedia definition for "meaning of life." Each word is represented in a section, divided by blue half gate-folded pages. The images range from humorous and naive to surprising and curious. The forward to the book is an excerpt from Thomas Friedman's book The World is Flat. In the back of the book there is a section representing disambiguations, or popular culture references for 'The Meaning of Life.'

Snowed in

2008-12-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

The reason I'm not leaving for Nashville today:

Old school

2008-12-11T15:37:00.001-08:00

I was browsing the local news sites from my hometown and I came across the website of the high school from the next town over and decided I should check out my own high school's website since I haven't looked at it since I attended school there. I was pleasantly surprised that the design of it is pretty clean and easy to navigate, unlike Grafton's, the next town over, which is kind of hideous (note the awesome Christmas tree type). On my high school's website, there was a link to the Cedarburg Education Foundation and I remembered that they use my logo that I designed as an assignment for my "Commercial Art/Graphic Design" class my senior year. The links are broken on the homepage (LAME!) but I did an image search for CEF and found my SWEET logo! (note my sarcasm.... although I'm sure I thought it was cool at the time).

More birthday art

2008-12-07T12:02:00.001-08:00

The boss man, Tyler, is 32 today. I love birthdays because they give me an excuse to make art for myself and give it as gifts. Here's the card I made for Tyler.

Lazy / Sleepy

2008-12-06T17:05:00.001-08:00

I've been listening to these two songs over and over. As I sit here placing captions in the "Symbolic Meaning" section of my book about the meaning of life according to Google, the titles of these two songs resonate in my head as to my projected state of mind after this Friday.

Great video...I've been watching this one over and over as well.
Passion Pit - "Sleepyhead"

Silversun Pickups - "Lazy Eye"

#24 should be...

2008-12-04T19:28:00.000-08:00

...You read this list and immediately post it on your blog.

Another 23 Signs You're Becoming a Design Geek
Learn to spot the warning signs in time – you know you're becoming a design geek when:

1. You smile that spanking-kind-of-smile when you use the CSS property: padding-bottom.

2. You know exactly what I'm referring to when I say "Make my logo bigger".

3. Every now and then you go through a ‘herbal tea’ phase to try and reduce your dependence to coffee, but you always go back to the inky demon eventually.

4. You've caught yourself more than once hitting CTRL or CMD+N when you need a coffee refill...

5. Sleep and nighttime are no longer irrevocably linked.

6. You have woken up in the middle of the night your sleep and started recreating the dream you just had in Photoshop.

7. When getting up, you wish you had a healing brush/patch tool for those unsightly blemishes and undereye luggage.

8. Your keyboard could definitely be someone’s grocery list - you're eating there constantly.

9. You know several Photoshop shortcuts that require 4 fingers
(Shift+Ctrl+Alt+K anyone?).

10. Whenever you see fog on a forested hillside, you think, nature is making a gaussian blur.

11. You're sitting in the movie theater watching the movie titles, shaking your head at how badly they're kerned.

12. Your biggest fear is Papyrus becoming the new Comic Sans.

13. If you could go back in time you wouldn't go back to see the rise and fall of civilizations, you'd go back in time to destroy Comic Sans and Papyrus.

14. Your most romantic date was when you went to see Helvetica by Gary Hustwit.

15. You've considered naming your children things like 'Kern', 'Pica', 'Bézier', 'Nyala', and 'Serif'.

16. You are trying catch the post-it notes at your monitor with your cursor.

17. You know that, by default, if three designs are shown to a client, your least favorite will be chosen - or any combination of worst components of each.

18. You also know that if you ask for more copy it will be sent as a Jpeg; If you ask for images they will be sent as PowerPoint presentations; if you ask for a vector logo, it'll come in the form of a Gif – from their website.

19. You have an uncanny ability to automatically see when something is lined up properly without the need for tools or devices, for instance if a shelf is straight, and where the center of the wall is to hang a picture.

20. And as a direct cause, get an almost uncontrollable urge to adjust a painting that's tilted ever so slightly.

21. And when in doubt, you automatically think CTRL or CMD+;

22. When girls are picking up Vogue and Cosmopolitan drooling over the latest trend in eye makeup and trying to figure out how to accomplish the the same effect, you're drooling over the most amazing 2 page advertising spread you've ever seen - trying to figure out how to accomplish the the same Photoshop effect...

23. You actually understand this post and pass it on to your fellow geeks friends.

Yerba Maté

2008-12-03T19:15:00.000-08:00

Drinking Yerba Maté has become a daily ritual. Ben bought us gourds and bombillas to make the experience more authentic.Even Einstein knew the glory of Maté.

Motio'mation

2008-11-24T22:47:00.000-08:00

A still from my kinetic type animation to the Beastie Boys' Body Movin'...full animation to come in a week or two. Stay tuned.

What is wrong with the world?

2008-11-24T11:41:00.001-08:00

Awful Myspace banner advertising. Seriously??

YO!

2008-11-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

Terese left me a found gift in my studio, a YO! MTV RAPS Beastie Boys 'ProSet MusicCard' trading card from 1991. Uh-mazing!

A midday monarch dream

2008-11-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

I just had a bizarre dream. Although I'm interested in what my dreams mean to me, I often make my own assumptions and don't consult dream anaylsis, but I would be interested in what the experts have to say about this one.
I just woke up from an hour-long nap on the futon in my living room. During that hour, I dreamed that hundreds of monarch butterflies started to appear the room where I was sleeping, and throughout my apartment. (I wasn't sleeping in the dream). Butterflies have always made me squeamish...like most other insects with wings. I hate them landing on me. They're beautiful, but I can't handle them being anywhere near me, especially my face. So in the dream, my dad has given me a gift of a live tree for my apartment. Right now, I have a fake tree in my apartment, and the live one from the dream looks just like that one, but not made out of plastic. Along with the appearance of butterflies on the ceiling and walls mostly, a number of ants also start to appear. Someone, who had no identity, but I think represented a close friend, suggested that the insects were coming from the plants in my apartment, especially the new tree. So we were convinced that was the problem. But before I could remove the plants, I had to get rid of the butterflies. I figured out that if I held out my bare arm, the butterflies would cling to it and stay there long enough for me to move around with them. This was the LAST thing I wanted to do, have them land on me, but it had to be done, so I held out my arm and the first round of monarchs attached. In the dream I could feel the wind created by their wings flapping rapidly and their disgusting little legs moving around all over my arm. With my face turned away as much as possible and arm outstretched, I carried the first batch outside into the hallway, then out the front door of my building, letting them get blown away with the wind after which I quickly shut the door. I came back to my apartment and held out my arm again to gather more monarchs. This time I'm pretty sure for some reason I wasn't able to let them go alive. In the dream, there was another method by which I could get rid of the butterflies but it meant they would have to die. I can't tell you exactly how this was done, but I know I had to do it to at least one of the batches of butterflies. While all of this was happening, my friend pointed out to me that the hamster that I have in that same room of my apartment had turned into two hamsters! My hamster had somehow given birth and the other hamster was almost exactly the same size as it already, and somehow I hadn't realized it. I must have taken the new hamster to the vet, or somewhere, because someone with rubber gloves then examined the hamster and told me its sex, which I don't remember. The dream ended after that.

I had no idea that monarch butterflies actually do exist in colonies of hundreds of thousands/millions.