Cereal Box Art: Hipster Vintage

If I know anything about hipsters, it’s that they love vintage triangles.  Say what? I happen to know a lot of hip, young, design-y types, and the work I see coming from them is geometric, pattern-based, and desaturated, usually with a lot of scenic outdoor photography.   There is a lot of cool looking stuff, don’t get me wrong.  But it can be so derivative as to become pastiche and meaningless.  It is sometimes as if a ‘style’... Read More

The Animated GIF

Seemingly dead, or at least down-for-the-count, the classic Animated GIF is making a comeback.  And you know what? It’s due for one. When the internet was in its infancy, it was commonplace to see a website builder do anything to draw attention to itself.  And in those days, a spinning star, a blasting trumpet, or a neon green meowing kitten was fair game for web design. Indeed, the more plastered your site was with distracting, ugly spinners,... Read More

Wise Up

Research stuff. Start visiting a local hardware store and get to know tools. Read until your eyes hurt. Get your hands dirty/damaged/raw doing something physical.  Ask more questions. Don’t bow to authority. Stop buying Australian fruits in the winter.  Stop watching Jersey Shore.  Write provocative things on comment boards.  Bike to work, sweaty shirt be damned. Tip well. Work hard. Smile.  Use your enormous, limitless brain.  Read More

After Effects

Used everywhere from Hollywood special effects to an artist’s own personal narrative, After Effects has established itself as a phenomenal piece of software that can transform zeros and ones into beautiful animation.  As a designer, I’ve always known about it, and just recently decided to take it up as a homework assignment to learn. I have decided to add this skillset to my portfolio not only because it is marketable and helps differentiate... Read More