Harry Potter

Finally, I watched the two parts of the last Harry Potter movie this week. I think it was just amazing! So much going on in that movie from every point of perspective. The most amazing thing I find is the graphics made to make the movie realistic. Designing graphics for movies look very interesting and exciting to work on but really hard. I would've done that if graphic design wasn't my first choice. Great movie, recommended!

Packaging.. again

As I mentioned before I have trouble with packaging.... I am still struggling. I look at tips for packaging and collect pins on Pinterest that interest me and everything and could use for reference but nothing is clicking. It's so frustrating not to be able to do a nice package design. Some people get the gist of designing packages right off the bat but my ideas don't seem to be really working out the best. If anyone got other tips, feel free to share.

Chair Design

So I been doing some research for my pattern project to apply to furniture. I came across this page about this weird looking chair that is actually supposed to be for hugging... It looks funny but I guess you could use it for other purposes as well like resting a laptop on there or a drink or magazine, etc.

I thought this was a clever and convenient design and looks pretty comfy too if you were to just sit in one spot for hours and keep working on something on a laptop. 

Illustrations

There are two types of illustrations designers do, one is vector based and one is hand drawn. Illustration is personal type of preference in a way to draw I think. You can judge it in many ways but I don't think it would be wrong no matter what. It is personal way of drawings things. I know when I first started to use the program I had no idea how to illustrate. I was stuck between vector based and hand drawn. I like doing it vector based usually but then when you want that hand done touch to it, I have to go through the process of scanning in a drawing and then touching it up in Photoshop instead which I am not very well at.
So for the people that are just starting out with illustration out there, here are some tips for making illustrations easier. It's only an outline to keep it simple and successful and you can draw whatever you want. Computer Arts' website is a great source for getting tips, ideas and tutorials. Check it out!

Salvador Dali

I don't think I've ever talked about my favourite painter in the world, Salvador Dali. Dali was a skilled draftsman, best known for the weird looking images in his surrealist work. His best-known work, The Persistence of Memory, was completed in 1931, which is one of my favourites in his collection.

 Dali's expansive artistic collection includes film, sculpture, and photography, worked together with a range of artists in a variety of media. Dali's high imagination drew so much attention to his works all the time and uniqueness to his work that I don't think anyone else could try to be like him because it won't be the same meaning behind paintings. My personal favourite is, The Meditative Rose, completed in 1958. I find myself so attached to this painting of his the most. More in a personal way but it kind of gives me that relaxing feel but it's not because of the name of the painting. It could be called something else and still give me that relaxed feeling.

 
So last semester, I made a n exhibit project based on him. I think it would be the most enjoyable project I ever worked on because of my knowledge about his paintings and meanings behind all the work he had done, and I kept learning more as I did more research about him at the time. Sometime this year I would really like to go visit the Dali Museum in Florida in the U.S. I want to see all of his brush strokes up close, as silly as it sounds it fascinates me.

Clients

As I'm moving on in second year for graphic design program, we always learn more and more things about how to deal with clients, what to do for preparation and such. You can never know if the t client is a good client or not. You won't really see red flags until you start talking and planning to work with them. But before you agree on anything with the client, you can make an agreement/contract which will be your client brief that says every detail about the project you are about to start which will include your meeting dates and pay dates as well. The website called About gives some brief tips about clients for graphic designers.

I know that freelancing as a designer is not the job for everyone. Not everyone can be their own boss, and some like working with others in a company. I honestly don't know how I will start by myself at first if I can't find a company to work with and it does sound scary. Lifetips also gives some useful information about clients.

The most important part is how you will get paid for the work you do. There are many online services out there that people go to for cheap designs because they don't want to pay someone in person for a better quality and higher price. I think that those online services make actual designers look like we ask so much when we already know how long it actually takes and how much effort it takes to complete a project that is given from the start in school. I was going to have my first client ever after first year last summer and lost the job when I told her how much it would cost her for a logo she was asking for. I had great ideas already set for her too when she first told me what she wanted. But when I told her the cost, she brought up the online services she's been looking at that would do it for half the price I gave her. I was so bummed. I felt like I wasn't worth it when I just finished first year graphic design. But, as I learn more about people's client stories, I don't feel bad anymore. I wonder if that lady found someone to re-create her logo for her. If she did, good for her, but I hope its as good as I was planning it out be.

Andrew Osokin

Here's a photographer I came across while I was doing some research for a photography project. His name is Andrew Osokin. He does macro photography of things in nature like snow, frost, insects and flowers. I thought his photos were breathtaking and so wonderful that I had to make a blog just about him. I have always been interested in macro photography because how close you can get with a camera into details when you can't really with your own vision. 

I am so looking forward to getting a macro lens for my own use to try to get to where this photographer is with his macro photos. Perfect lighting, perfect depth-of-field and amazing details. For some tips on photography, visit National Geographic's website!

Printing & Paper vs. E-Waste

The past few years, people have been trying to get the point of recycling across everyone's heads and being environmentally friendly. But not everyone really cares to follow it. We have so much stuff  made from recycled things nowadays but what about when it goes into the art world? As technology grows, we look to finding new ways to recycle everything. So in the design world, what about printing or doing everything electronically?

We often go for what's easy for us. For example, paper wise, we can either go buy a book or read it electronically. We still send out cheques or do online banking. We always send e-mails instead of letters now. Most things are available electronically rather than having it on the old fashion way of paper. But what's the cost of having things electronically? How do we recycle that? It's said that electronics are environmentally costly to make (with lead, mercury, arsenic, gold and silver), suck coal-fire-powered electricity to run and create a multi-ton and toxic waste. Are killing trees really worth poisoning the world? I would rather have things done with paper than everything be electronically. Also, it's personal preference as well. Whatever is easy is the first option. It kind of makes the society lazy too. I personally do online banking instead of wasting paper for monthly bills because its quicker and easier and more time efficient.

I think everyone could go on talking about being environmentally friendly on and on and on but we would all be stuck in the middle because there are cons and pros to both sides. One doesn't kill trees but make toxic waste and the other side kills trees but they are more recyclable to produce new products paper wise. Feel free to share opinion on this!

Portrait Photography

About a year ago, I was holding a professional camera for the first time ever in my hands. I had no idea how to take photos or what to watch out for when taking a photo, what all these buttons mean, even how to hold the camera really. So, since the the past year and a bit, I began to like photography a lot. I don't think I'm the best or anything and I'm sure I need improvements here and there but I think I take decent photos for a person who had no idea about photography. 

Recently I did a photo shoot for someone that just signed a contract with a record label in Germany even though he lives here in Ontario. Well, to help him start on a good spot I offered for a photo shoot that he could use professionally.

 

This is one of the many photos that are decided to be the final good ones. I think this photo ended up being successful because the lighting was great. It wasn't too harsh but not dull either and with a white card on the other side, it gave a soft brightness on the opposite side of his face for a balanced look. I guess I can count these set of photos I took as my first photography job for my own line "deLight Photography" even though it was just for helping out. Feel free to comment for improvements!

 

Organic Package

In one of my classes, we had an organic packaging project assigned. Out of all the organic products anyone could think of, I chose to design a package for soy milk that kids could appeal to kids and parents more to take to school maybe. I got to say that I went through so many concepts and ideas to stick to one. Neither one worked out and I wasn't feeling it as you could say. So I called it Soy Kids®.

I was about to do a package shaped like a soybean but then thought it might be too lame. So, I made a cube shape for it. Something different and new, but unusual. It would fit well in any bag to take with you, so why not? Being in second year for graphic design program, it's still tough to design a package from scratch when you have to come up with the name. It requires so much time and effort, plus the creative thinking. But, what better way to prepare for the real world.

Movie review

So, over the weekend I went and saw the movie called Gangster Squad. I thought it would be some kind of boring movie at first. But, I was quiet surprised because I really liked how it was made in a way to remind the older days like the 80s and 60s. I know that everything is getting better in technology and we have more futuristic films out in the theatre and modern, but somehow they get boring. It's like every movie pretty much has the same story line. You could even predict the ending of these movies by watching the trailer. I really liked how Gangster Squad had the older feel and look to the movie and how it was filmed. I recommend it!

Strength and Weakness

Every graphic designer has a strength and a weakness. But how do we make that weakness work out with our strengths to make something creative. For example, I am good at photography and illustration in my own opinion. I like taking the pictures, I love setting up the area to take a photo of. It gets me very excited and feel more professional even though I'm still a student. With illustration, I keep trying new things every time and to be honest, I didn't know how to work with the program called Adobe Illustrator back in September, I knew nothing about it. I still struggle with photoshop as well still even though I think it's cool but Illustrator just draws me in more. So when I take my photos, I try to take them as good as possible so I don't need to go into Photoshop and use my non-existing skills.
But I am terrible at package designing, at least that's how I feel every time I get a packaging project. I do my research every time and go through many ideas, but then when it gets down to making a very cool package, it goes downhill. I don't know if I'm trying too hard thinking to make something great. Packages I make for projects, make me nervous when it comes to showing it to other people for opinion because I feel like my ideas are not creative enough for them. For the graphic designers out there, share some tips for me to make some cool package!

Trends

Now that 2012 is over, what's up in 2013?!

I was researching for trends on everything for 2013 to get a better glimpse of where design is going and what's going to be more popular. And it seems like the winner is typography. I see informational blogs talking about type is going to step in and take a big role in especially web design. Oh and a bit of illustrative style too. They expect to see more simple innovative ideas for web design. More white space to be used.

Typography and layouts are big part of this too. They want to get rid of flash because some mobile phones like Apple don't support it very well to see on screen. In my opinion I don't think that's very important because it should be about the website and not how much stuff your phone can do. No one needs to be addicted to their phone that much. 

Large images are to be used this year to make more of a visual appeal to the website as background and have typography flow with it. Sound very modern and chique already. there are many websites out there could use something like that. For example, some spa's have ok looking websites but big picture with nice type on it could make it even better.

Since our society lives in the Facebook and Twitter world creeping people away, looks like we are going to see more of that. Everyone on earth is going to be on these social media websites. At some point, they do get annoying though. It's like, really?

Besides that, we have been seeing a lot of bright colours here and there especially in fashion. But for web design, we are expected to see calmer colours to modernize everything and make it flow better.

Well, I hope to see some cool looking websites out there this year!

Thai Express Ad

Ok, we all know good, amazing advertisements and then the terrible, horrifying advertisements ever made. Well, I took a picture of this one advertisement that was on a bus while I was on another bus. First thing I said when I saw it was "....oh my god".

Sorry it's a bit blurry thanks to crappy phone camera of course. No joke, Thai Express has nice boxes for their take out. I really like them with colour designs and shape wise. But, what on earth is going on with this ad?? I saw it a few months ago and just remembered as I was going through the phone. Why is that box bigger than her head???? If they want to advertise th box and not the girl, they should've just done a shot of the box since they obviously suck at laying it out and photoshopping that box there! My eyes hurt when I look at this ad. One of the worst ads I ever saw in the area I'm living in.

Good Cause

If I were to design for a good cause, I would want to design for the Breast Cancer Foundation. If I was rich I would also donate. I would want to design for them because I feel like you could do so many different variations of typographic designs for it. Big posters playing with type. Of course you can always do layouts with pictures too, but no one really plays around with type. I would want to try and see how the society would react to it. I know that their signature for Breast Cancer Foundation is the pink ribbon, but you can do so much without having the ribbon there and filling it in the shape of the ribbon with type. My ideas are endless for this topic but can't really explain what I really picture.

Type and Song

I was looking at some fonts and listening to some songs while working on projects. I came across this song called Primadonna Girl by Marina and the Diamonds. What a name huh, pretty long. It's a great song, not going to lie, I have been listening to it a lot actually. I was thinking, if I could match it up with a font, what could it be..? I decided on the font called Andes.

It's very Madonna like I think. The way it kind of look like those older fonts they used back in the 70s and 80s. I really like the font though. I think its a very nice font to use for maybe some kind of vintage poster or magazine spread. Listen to the song called Primadonna like I said at the beginning but people will have different opinions to how they feel like what type of font it could be like.

Francois Leroy

Those of you who are close to graphic design probably know a lot of well known graphic designers. I thought I did too.... I was researching graphic designers and their works to see what kind of style I would more consider doing for a project. I came across Francois Leroy. He is a self-taught freelancer in Paris, France. After seeing some of his illustration work, I couldn't picture a self-learner to be this good. His work is inspiring and very edgy and smooth in some cases, oh did I mention awkward looking works in some? But, they are all very well-done. I cannot wait until I can learn more about illustrator to inspire other people like he inspired me.
I also think that for some reason, European countries have "better" designers. As in better, I mean more variety, more creativity, inspiration and passion in their work. It could be from all the different cultures there where you can create something that's very rich. Make sure to check out Francois's illustrative work, you will be amazed!

Pencil Drawing

As we know, there are different mediums to make art with. Well, this man draws with pencil and his drawings look like real photos. How does that happen? His name is Diego Fazo. If anyone wants to learn how to draw, try find him and learn from the expert. I am amazed and now I feel like I'm no good at drawing compared to this guy. At one of my earlier blogs, I mentioned a man painting on people to make it look like a painting, but I think Diego just beat him with this mad skill about drawing like its a photo!

BIG CITY vs small city

There's always the question big city or small city when it comes to thinking about the goods and the bads as a graphic designer. I think being a student in a small city is sometimes inconvenient because there aren't many agencies around here you could try getting into after school. Personally, I am hoping to get a good agency to work at after I graduate but how likely is it? In a small city, you can be known well eventually but with the amount of people even living here in Waterloo, you're never guaranteed for a nice design job. Well, it depends on your portfolio as well. 

When you think about the big city, I personally feel like its full of opportunities. You could succeed but then again the number of people living vs you to go up high as a designer, seems really hard, even impossible. You would need to have a rocking portfolio that will turn heads around. But, they could pay you better than the small city and better companies would have better clients and projects to work with. All these things when I'm considering between here and some other big city make my world stop and it's like wow I'm stuck and I can't plan out my future. My ideal choice would be big city for bigger opportunities but then I kind of feel like you wouldn't get the right appreciation there than here. I don't know why and I don't know how exactly to explain but I'm sure I'm not the only one when it comes to deciding for the future.