While I haven't had much to write about lately, I have taken the time to give the old blog a little spruce up. It doesn't look like too drastic a change but, I thought a little modernizing was in order. I cal it the "lozenge look." Enjoy.
In the quest to keep pace with technology, I've updated my blog so that is now iPhone and iPod Touch compatible. I've replaced the Flash navigation with a friendlier Javascript navigation. Not as elegant looking, but there is something to be said for simplicity when dealing with the inter-tubes. And for those sporting the 1.1.3 firmware upgrades, there is also a webclip icon you can add to your home screen (if you are so inclined).
So stick me in your pocket and enjoy.
Nothing like a nice, long three-day weekend to unwind after a hard week at work. And what did I do to make the most of my time off?... Why I worked, of course.
After several month's stagnation, I finally took the time to review my portfolio and update the work on my website. The updating was more significant for book (which I rarely if ever use) than for my website but, I had a lot of retouching to make this happen. So I figured, if I'm going to update one I should really update the other. If you're interested, look for several new poster designs for Ford and Meals on Wheels as well as I book I designed for the Climate Groups — all of my new work is in the print section. I know this is shameless self-promotion but, hey, somebody's got to do it.
So, my first iPod has pretty much crapped out on me. It could carry a charge long enough to get me from home to work (and vice versa) and I would have to keep it plugged in all day and all night to coax even that much out of it. Add in the fact that my Palm Pilot died (about 2 years ago) and I decided it was time for the upgrade. Now, before you accuse me of being an Apple fan boy (which, of course I am) I must argue that it just so happens that Apple has come out at the right time with the right device for me. So that being said, I have upgraded myself with an early, Appley birthday present. The iPod Touch is a lot like the it's more famous sibling, the iPhone, but without the phone or a cruddy cell phone camera (I've already got those when I need them). Currently, the iPod touch ships with fewer applications than its talking counterpart but, thanks to the hard work of people more clever than I, such discrepancies have been remedied. I now have a larger and longer lasting iPod that plays video, connects to the internet and brings back the PDA that has long been missing from my life. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to get geeky.
The bad news is that my good friends and cohorts, Enrique and Jim were let go last week. There is, however, a bit good news for Enrique as he can now finally do what he was always meant to do – be a photographer. And yes, since you are asking, this is the Enrique of Enrique's Photo Blog fame. And while that site will continue to be an exploration of his work, he has also gotten serious. I'm talking professional serious. With the launch of his new website, I am proud to present for your viewing pleasure, Enrique de la Huelga Photography.
As I am sure Enrique will admit, any transition is scary. There may even be a little starvation time. But, sometimes you know in your gut that someone is going to do well and this time I've got that feeling. Either that or the bean burrito I had for lunch is talking back. I guess that time will tell.
My good friend Kevin Menzie was kind enough to mention my latest portfolio update on his blog. I’m grateful and yet somehow disappointed that he beat my to the punch – Kevin has recently completed some fantastic design work that I wanted to mention. Now I just look like a poser.
Slice of Lime – Kevin’s design firm – has just launched a new web site for the Girls' Wilderness Program. This non-profit organization works with young girls in hopes of developing confidence through wilderness training. But of course, you can learn all about them from Kevin’s expertly and beautifully designed site.
It's been about a year since I have bothered to add anything new to my design website. I could say that I’ve been lazy because I’m not actively looking for work but in reality, every time I make a change the content I feel the overwhelming urge to redesign the entire site. And, man, is that tedious. This time however, I managed to resist the temptation and I have added two new identity pieces – one I did for Ogilvy’s new media company and the other for my friend Emily’s baby clothing line. They are items 13 and 14 in my under my 'Work' section.
Nothing compares to the soul inspiring grandeur and quiet beauty of artificial generated landscapes.
Earlier this week, my friend and fellow designer, Enrique, stumbled across this interesting little piece of freeware called Terragen. The purpose of this diabolically titled program is to allow one to generate… let’s call them terrains… with one’s computer. Hmmm….
The program’s results harken back to the early days of Bryce* but, without the demand on the user to understand 3D wire-framing. The two of us have now spent the better part of a week trying to wrap our collective mind around the in’s and out’s of Terragen and explore its potential. So far we’re pretty self-impressed with the results. It helps to have Photoshop to make more realistic landscapes but, the program is still pretty easy to use as-is. Version 2 is currently in the works and it remains to be seen as to whether Terragen will remain freeware for much longer. It runs on both PCs and MACs so give it a shot or, at the very least, check out their gallery of more accomplished landscape artists.
(*For the non-design geeks in the audience, Bryce was 3D landscaping program that was popular in the early days — i.e., pre-Pixar.)
So, now that I've gotten around to filling out my "about me" section, you know I am a designer and an illustrator. One thing I like to do for fun is submit designs to Threadless.com. Threadless is a t-shirt shop out in Chicago where designers submit their work and the public votes on which one's they should print. My latest design jost got posted. Give it a vote:
