Not A Bad Gig

What can I say, business has been booming lately! And I'm not complaining at all about that ... although it has pulled me away from my extra-curricular activities such as blogging and knitting.

I have designed a website for a company that provides products and programs for adoption and other related causes. And I just got done with a re-design of the site, complete with product photography.

For the last week or so I have been on my stomach on the floor and doing all kinds of acrobatics trying to get clear and beautiful shots of jewelry - and it is no simple task! My muscles are sore from angling my body, positioning merchandise, and checking the settings on the camera and the flash. And that is just the photography side of things! The real magic happens when I download the photos and edit them for the web:

It is important to photograph jewelry from different angles. I didn't choose this one because it looked too one dimensional.

Here I played with the placement of the bracelets to try to convey that there are three bracelets in a set. Ultimately, it looks a little confusing to me.

I chose this angle because it has dimension and you can clearly see what the product is.

Finally I added a cream background to blend in with the website.

I feel that I have learned so much through this experience and I even got to play with the diffuser on the flash and positioning of the umbrella. While I am a graphic designer by trade, I find great joy in photography and it's great to get away from the computer once in a while.

A Graphic Designer's Approach to Voting

The Vice Presidential debate is tonight and I plan to watch it. I think perhaps that this debate will be more interesting than the Presidential debate because Joe Biden and Sarah Palin are pretty unfamiliar to me. In fact I had never heard of Sarah Palin until the day she was announced as John McCain's pick for VP.

I consider myself to be pretty apolitical, but I do vote - I always vote, it is responsibility I take seriously. But I don't know who I will vote for yet. My values tend to align better with a conservative plan, but I don't always vote republican. I am all for change in the White House, but I don't know which candidate will bring it. So, how do I determine my vote? I feel that Obama conducted himself better during the debate so should I vote for him? I think it is bold of McCain to choose a woman for his running mate so should I vote for him? What do I do? I think I will have to take a graphic designer's approach: who has the best logo and website!

Let's start with McCain/Palin. Their campaign's graphic style has a more formal look and focuses on McCain's military background with the presence of the star and muted colors. Their logo is very balanced and I am impressed that Palin's name has the same boldness and size as McCain's - that shows equality in a visual way. As for their website, it is pretty straight forward but isn't as clean as I would like. The colors muddle together and it looks a bit boring. I do like the celestial feel of the background on the top banner though.

This campaign sign has a military and almost maritime look to it.

The "I'm for" looks out of place, and the yellow color is a dull.

Whether you like Palin or not, you have to admit this button rocks!

Moving on the Obama/Biden. Their campaign's graphic style is modern and relatable. The colors are vibrant and even fun. The logo with the "O" is clever and I have nothing negative to say about it. I love how the flag looks like rows of crops with a sun rising on the horizon. Obama's name is bigger than Biden and is in white which makes it pop more against the bright blue background. Their website is clean, clear and well organized.

The colors in this sign are perfect. They evoke emotion and pride - the red, white and blue!

I am not a "supporter" of either campaign, but if I was for Obama I would love to wear this pin.

In reviewing the graphic styles of these two campaigns I would have to say that Obama wins! His designer or group of designers are excellent. But, alas I cannot make a reasonable decision based on graphics alone, so I guess I'll have to actually pay attention to the issues and debates. One thing I know is whoever wins, this is will be a very historical event and that to me is exciting.

My Snazzy New Look

What do you think of my blog layout and graphics? Ever since I started this blog in July I have been trying to get this look but since I don't have a "Blogspot" web address I have run into a few obstacles - the white center block didn't show up in at least two other browsers, the background would scroll along with the scroll bar, and some superfluous code threw my centering off.

It is my understanding that those with a Blogspot address have a layout feature under their Template tab. I do not; my blog address is on my own site. I have seen a lot of interesting blog backgrounds from sites like Pyzam and The Cutest Blog on the Block, but I am all about tailoring things to suit my style if I can. I found a blog where the author hired a graphic design studio to design her blog graphics. Then I thought to myself "Duh, I must try it myself". Fortunately I know a few things about HTML and after analyzing the code and adapting it to my blog I have been able to create a background, get the background to stay in place while you scroll, and I have tested it all out on Internet Explorer, Safari, and FireFox to check for a consistent look.

Over all I am pleased that I finally have the look I want, and was able to use my graphic design skills on my blog. The subtle fleur-de-lis and splashes of red are very me. However, now that I know how to do it, don't be surprised if I change the background ... a lot. Yeah, I change my mind often!

A Shameless Plug

On my blog I usually talk about personal stuff: interests, discoveries, my family, myself ... But today I decided to write about something professional. As I have mentioned before I am a graphic designer. I design things from posters and flyers to playbills and announcements. In the past few years I have ventured into the world of web design.

Web design is a whole different world from print design because it is a much more involved undertaking and you must have an understanding of how things work, not just look. Though there is still so much for me to learn, my skills have grown a lot over the last year and I feel that I am setting my web style. When designing a website, I really try to look at the site from a viewer's perspective. It needs to be clean, clear, easy to navigate and engaging.

The reason I am bringing up all of this is because today I launched a site that I have been working on lately. I am proud of it and when I look over it I have that satisfied feeling; that aaaahhhhhh feeling that things really fell into place. The challenge that this site presented for me was to design something beautiful for a CPA firm. In my research of other CPA firm sites I found many of them to be predictable, old fashioned and boring. So, while keeping things professional looking and appropriate to the type of business, I came up with this: www.kern-thompson.com. I think I achieved what I set out to do!

The Art of the Sketch

"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." - Pablo Picasso

I find this quote to be interesting, and kind of true. It may be strange coming from a designer of websites to agree with Mr. Picasso, but I believe that great design is a product of process, doodling, and exploration. While computers are valuable tools, they do not replace the importance of the handwritten word or sketch.

When I was taking graphic design classes at Oregon State University, we were required to keep a design journal. At the time I was not that interested in researching and journaling about Paul Rand or writing down my design inspirations, but now I really see the benefit. Today I keep binders for all of my clients; complete with contact information, project information, and hand sketches of logos, website layouts, etc. It is valuable to look back at my original ideas because they will often spur new ideas.

A great notebook for such sketches is a Moleskine - my mom got me hooked on these. My notebook of choice is the Moleskine Pocket Sketch Notebook (3.5 x 5.5). It fits in my purse and has a pocket to keep receipts, photos, or whatever. I have paint swatches and old concert tickets in mine. I like it because it makes my random doodlings look important. Here is a peek into my own journal as I was working on a redesign for my business:

I like to make lists of the desired visual qualities and components of a design.

Here I made sketches of logo ideas, and labeled the attributes for each design.

My sketches are a simple and orderly. However, if you want to truly be impressed, go to http://www.moleskineus.com/moleskine-stories.html. I am amazed and inspired by the artwork of others. I often wish I had more time to just sit in a coffee shop and sketch.

What is Your Typography I.Q.?

Recently as I was exploring other blogs about design, I came across How About Orange..., an interesting site featuring crafts and treasures for your home. There they had a link to The Rather Difficult Font Game where you are given a word or numbers in a certain typeface and you have to identify the font. As a graphic designer, I should have done better, but I admit it has been a long time since I studied up on typography. I scored 22 out of 34 - I'm so ashamed. In addition to trying to learn French, I guess that is one more thing I will need to brush up on!

Also in my explorations, I discovered a site that features a tool that helps you to create a background for your website or blog. You can choose your background and foreground colors, the size, angle, and shape of your pattern. It's easy to use, however, as a designer and a control freak I wish I could do more to customize; but it's easier than creating my own from scratch.