This past weekend I kept myself quite busy. Friday night I went to the first ever concert at Citi Field with none other than Paul McCartney. The show was amazing probably the best I have seen him. I took advantage of my new iPhone 3GS and recorded some video, but I haven’t figured out how to get the videos on youtube yet so they are still giant. hmmm.
Then Saturday we took our annual trip out to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. The group was a little bigger than usual this year so it seemed to move a little slower and we didn’t come close to passing our mark of 17 coasters set last year. Still great fun though, the Nitro is one of the best things I have experienced, especially at night. So fun! This was my first trip of my thirties and i was a little sore the next day, I guess it’s all downhill from here right? Next year I am going to figure out a way to hold on to my phone for the ride and record the video of it. That would be fun I think.
I have to say I am more excited about this game coming out than just about anything I can think of. So in honor of not posting in so long I will put up the really really cool looking intro animation.
I have been continuing my French studies since January and am making decent progress I think. I have primarily been using Rosetta Stone and supplementing it with Coffee Break French Podcasts, and a couple books that I bought. But I discovered a new program that I was intrigued enough to buy and use along side the rest. The program is called Fluenz and they have a very different learning approach than Rosetta Stone. They believe adults learn more by being explained the rules and nuances of the foreign languange in your own language instead of just trying to pick up complex concepts and phrasings by associating them with pictures. I must say after completing both programs first levels that while rosetta really drills words and vocabularies in your head, Fluenz teaches you how to build and construct the language far better. I actually haven’t opened Rosetta for a while now and plan on starting Fluenz level 2 tomorrow. There you have it.
I am eagerly anticipating September 9 as it will see the release of two things I have been waiting for for a long time. First is the Beatles official remastered albums, which are long overdue. The audio quality on the current albums is very flat and outdated, just compare them side by side to remastered albums such as the Beatles Let It Be Naked, or the recent Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan albums, and you will find a world of difference. Second is the release of The Beatles Rock Band along with replicas of all of their old instruments including Paul’s Hofner bass (pictured here). I would like to take an entire week off come then to play this, but we’ll see. www.thebeatlesrockband.com
I haven’t posted in a while. I got a new job that is keeping me busy. It is nice to be back to work full time, especially on all new projects, in a new environment. Now I have 250 self promo posters just sitting in my apartment. hmmm, maybe I could wallpaper something with them?
Thanks to my friend Nick, (who worked with the team that did the enviro) I was able to attend the very first exhibition game to be hosted at Citi Field, the Mets new ballpark. The game was an NCAA matchup between Georgetown and St. John’s. The game itself was also a sidenote to the real reason for going, exploring and seeing the new stadium. Things still seemed to be not quite complete, lots of signage and banners were missing, and most of the concessions only offered limited menus. Despite that I left very happy and charmed by what I encountered. The stadium is almost a complete 180 from Shea and has very open pathways and lots of places to stop and watch the game action while you are away from your seat. The construction is mostly dark gray iron beams very reminiscent of the East River bridges like Manhattan and Queensboro with a red brick exterior. My favorite place is the new Danny Meyer foodcourt behind centerfield. For one, that is where you can get some awesome ballpark food such as Shake Shack, Blue Smoke, and Box Frites, but also it is right behind the giant centerfield scoreboard and standing at the bottom of it offers a very cool sense of scale. So depending on when I get a job and how much I can afford it, I plan on spending a good portion of my summer here. My Flickr photo tour here.
I have been working very hard lately on my new self promo piece that I will start giving out to studios that I want to work at. As usual, when the work is for yourself, this has dragged out into a very long process with ideas, new ideas, over-thinking things and re-designing things. I hope to have the final piece ready to go tomorrow and get it up on my site sometime this week.
I got the idea for this new piece after seeing a cool old phrenology poster while visiting friends upstate. Hopefully it will give me something to get traction with my job hunt. There are a lot of unemployed designers here in NYC and not a lot of people hiring. Here’s to finally completing a project!
So I’m not sure how long this has been around, but we went upstate this weekend and on the way back passed a Burlington Coat Factory. I have bought a coat there in the past and have no particular feelings for them. They have redesigned their logo since I was last there though and this logo is awful. What does a heart have to do with a coat? I see no connection at all. Had I not known the company, I would have thought it said urlington anyways. Then there is the cooper black or something like it for the typeface. Who is this appealing to? And does that crazy legal disclaimer really need to be locked up with the logo at all times? Yikes.
Sometimes you have to go back to the basics when looking for inspiration. I have been looking for that inspiration lately and I finely found some by going back and studying one of my original design heros, Paul Rand. His best work is beyond timeless and designs he did from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s are still as relevant and perfect today. The curiosity and playfulness in his work is something that I personally want to pay more attention to in mine. It is easy to take the easy way out, and I find myself doing it more often than I would like. I also found he has an official website dedicated to his life and work and it is full of great examples, quotes, interviews and more. I recommend anyone with any interest in design to visit it. Here are some of my faves.
UPDATE: Funny enough the day I discover the site on my own Comm Arts highlights it on their home page and writes a brief story about it. Interesting
This past weekend I kept myself quite busy. Friday night I went to the first ever concert at Citi Field with none other than Paul McCartney. The show was amazing probably the best I have seen him. I took advantage of my new iPhone 3GS and recorded some video, but I haven’t figured out how to get the videos on youtube yet so they are still giant. hmmm.
Then Saturday we took our annual trip out to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. The group was a little bigger than usual this year so it seemed to move a little slower and we didn’t come close to passing our mark of 17 coasters set last year. Still great fun though, the Nitro is one of the best things I have experienced, especially at night. So fun! This was my first trip of my thirties and i was a little sore the next day, I guess it’s all downhill from here right? Next year I am going to figure out a way to hold on to my phone for the ride and record the video of it. That would be fun I think.
I have been working very hard lately on my new self promo piece that I will start giving out to studios that I want to work at. As usual, when the work is for yourself, this has dragged out into a very long process with ideas, new ideas, over-thinking things and re-designing things. I hope to have the final piece ready to go tomorrow and get it up on my site sometime this week.
Sometimes you have to go back to the basics when looking for inspiration. I have been looking for that inspiration lately and I finely found some by going back and studying one of my original design heros, Paul Rand. His best work is beyond timeless and designs he did from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s are still as relevant and perfect today. The curiosity and playfulness in his work is something that I personally want to pay more attention to in mine. It is easy to take the easy way out, and I find myself doing it more often than I would like. I also found he has an official website dedicated to his life and work and it is full of great examples, quotes, interviews and more. 
