1. I cannot get enough of this packaging system for Jamie Oliver’s line of food products, designed by Pearlfisher. I already posted it to my tumblr a while back, but it came up on Lovely Package yesterday and I figured I just had to make a post about it. I’m such a sucker for systems, and this one is no exception to the rule. I really enjoy how the different types of food products follow separate guidelines. Gives the whole line a lot of variety, yet they still read as coming from the same place. Toss in the letterpress type,  handwritten type  and the color palette and you’ve got a big fan. This would have been a good reference for the “Local Market” project we worked on in my Advanced Design class.

2. Colourlovers, a site that I’ve been a member of for a long time, but not actually a participant. Well, that has changed! I guess yesterday was just a good day for color, because now I’m totally infatuated with creating color palettes. I’ve been nitpicking, but here’s one I posted yesterday:

Color by COLOURlovers

Maybe this will be a good tool for creating palettes for design & print projects?

3. As a designer who is just starting out, few things scare me more than running into legal issues. I thought a lot about this when I was creating posters for my thesis last year. Even though I wasn’t planning on selling any of the posters, I searched for images on compfight, with the commercial use option turned on, just in case I ran into any trouble. Honestly, I’m not even sure that would have protected me from any potential trouble, but it was comforting to know that I had at least tried to go the extra mile. That said, I’m definitely surprised at the amount of appropriation in the design world, especially among poster designers/artists. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, but still, look at some of these examples from the excellent flickr set by b_caruthers:

Same fish/woman’s head straight from the original to a Death Cab poster.

I suppose you could say the Nate Duval Spoon poster is a tribute to the original, but that can only go so far.

This is same image, slightly tweaked.

And this? It even uses the same colors!

I can’t say that everything I do is an original idea through and though, but I try to take a unique approach on everything. How are these appropriations ok? How is this remotely legal?

Worked on some more plates for the multi-colored, multi-plate prints. This project has proven to be the most rewarding so far, as I’ve been learning so much about etching in the process. 

I took a survey course my last year at MICA that went over intaglio and relief, but I don’t feel like I got a whole lot out of it. I’m not sure why, but etching and I just didn’t click last year. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that I was still developing a working method or perhaps it was just the discomfort of a new process. Either way, we’re getting along now and, studio access pending, should be off to a long and happy relationship. The new series is in a similar vain to the Longitude prints, but the change in process has already yielded some new and exciting results.

The first two proofs were done with soft ground. I applied the ground and used a crumpled up paper towel to expose the copper. It’s a little tricky because it’s hard to tell how much ground you’ve taken off and how much residue is left on the plate. It also seems to take a while in the acid to get some nice solid lines. I’m really happy with how there are turning out though, so it’s not a problem so far. The last proof was a kind of botched attempt at sugar lift. I painted the shape on with the sugar lift, uncertain of what would happen. It turns out, little dots washed away in the water bath, leaving some undesirable polka dots. I etched it anyway and decided that I would just wash off the rest of the sugar lift afterwards to get some more tones. Something went wrong in the process and I lost all the dots. Not a terribly big deal as I think I’ll need more areas of “solid” color. Right now, not so sure sugar lift is going to work for me, but I’m going to keep trying.

It’s been difficult not knowing exactly how to get what I want, but damn it, I love experimenting.

Spoke too soon! 
Quick, who did what? 

New collage exchange between Stephanie Tsong and myself.

Who doesn’t love getting messages like these?
Steph: YO i just got the mail and it’s awesome so far. i’m gonna work on it a little bit tonight and then maybe some time this weekend if i get really plastered. <3 ps – i’m sending it in a used LP box so don’t be alarmed when something twice its size comes in the mail.

I really love to see the process behind creative projects, which is why I’m so fascinated by these blog entries by Airside this morning. As you’ve probably guessed, I’m particularly smitten by the handmade approach they’ve taken to creating the Airplot logo. Really beautiful work that allows itself to be used in a number of ways while still maintaining continuity.

Right now, I have my own process post to share with you. Last night, I finished up the first draft of my poster for OVAC’s Tulsa Art Studio Tour. It has some typical May elements in it– the texture, handwriting and skyscraper –but I feel like this is more refined. Definitely more photographic than the flat film work that I’ve grown so accustomed to making for screenprinting. Perhaps it’s just a part of the natural progression for me. Either way, I’m pretty happy with it and I hope OVAC is happy with it too.

I am such a sucker for copy machine textures & manipulation. Seriously. I dream of the day I can own a copier so I won’t feel like such a delinquent for sneaking into places at school and making copies (which, in case you were wondering, I don’t do anymore). This is a photo I took in Tulsa in Dec, 2006. (You can see the original here.) I copied this last year for a xerox transfer I was going to do for litho. Actually, I’m pretty sure a portion of this image did end up making it into that print. Anyway, I really enjoy the tones at the bottom of the image, so I cropped the photo and made this into the background for my poster.

From there, I started adding color and put in a modified version of the logo and handwritten text (list of artists, actually) as a textural element. There was a lot of moving and shifting and color changing before I got to the final composition. 

And here’s where I am right now. There are a few changes I can already anticipate making…such as watching the margins a little bit better, the size and placement of the logo, the fact that I have yet to add the sponsor logos. It’s getting there. For my next project, I’ll probably make an effort to stay away from the reoccurring elements, but for now, I’m satisfied with the progress I’ve made. I actually have a new project coming up, so you’ll be hearing about that in the near future.

Went to the shop today and worked on my first etching in over a year. Very pleased with the results especially since I could never get what I was looking for when I took the class. This proof is of my soft ground experiment. The three lines on the left were already on the plate (which was a shop left over) and were pretty deeply etched, so I didn’t bother to scrape/burnish. 

I’m not sure if I’m going to add any more tone to this plate, as I’m planning on doing a multiple plate etching and this could be one of the most subtle dark layers. I’m really excited to add color to this, you know how I am with color. Wish I could work on this tomorrow, but I’ve got work. At least now I can afford paper and ink and such…