Two icons of my youth made TV appearances in the last few days. The first was on BBC Crown Jewels - The Smiths performing in 1983. They looked so young and underfed, especially Moz. I remember hearing Nancy Coates play some bootleg of "What Difference Does It Make?" when we were juniors in high school. I only got to see them once before they ( Read more... )

Yesterday was devoted to fleshing out ideas for JB's logo - actually reworking some earlier ideas using some of her feedback. When I need to set a frenetic workpace, I listen to The Jam. Even their R&B-inspired stuff (foreshadowing The Style Council) tweaks me into a productive frenzy. I always double-loop "Funeral Pyre", my favorite Jam song. ( Read more... )

A local band called Canasta has a song called "Slow Down, Chicago"
( Danger, Song Lyrics )

Yesterday was almost plucked straight from October -- cool, bright and windy. I was able to get more done on my semester project, worked on some writing, and finished reading The Leper's Bell, a gift from drubear. Dinner was pretty autumnal as well. I made lentil stew with mustard, kielbasa and a big Vidalia onion, and Chris took the rest to work for ( Read more... )

Our semester project for my Design and Tech class is to create CD packaging, either for music or software. The directions are a bit vague on purpose, I think - we can either profile a real-life client, or create one. Other classes have used this same directive, and I always avoid the 'create your own' path. We like to work without restriction - who ( Read more... )

Some days it's a mystery how I get anything done. Waking up yesterday morning, I had just a few things on my list to complete: grocery store, more design work, ordering business cards, school work. I felt like I was dragged through the day, but managed to get a majority of things crossed off my list. Low energy ( Read more... )

The interview went very well. She and her husband and three kids have a two-story apartment with an office on the top floor - beautiful old Chicago blockhouse. Her business has seen a huge amount of growth lately, far beyond what one person could do, and she's looking for someone to work as both designer and assistant. She said one of her biggest ( Read more... )

The digital illustration class is over, and I received a 96%! I think the infographic assignment with my problematic illustrator was graded a bit unfairly, but I'm not about to quibble for a few extra points - an A is an A. We have a week until our Fall classes begin, and I'm putting it to good use with a few projects for my portfolio:

1. laying out a ( Read more... )

ClassToday is the official last day of class for Digital Illustration, sadly. I've enjoyed the class, and produced some decent pieces I think. AIO had a teccup with the servers Wednesday and Thursday resulting in some lost files. My illustrator STILL hasn't posted or responded, so I sent an email to the instructor yesterday explaining what happened ( Read more... )