day two of reading deprivation

It's only day two and I already mistakenly failed this morning. Every morning I get an email from Google with any articles that have come out in the last 24 hours with the mention of Cystic Fibrosis in them. As usual I peruse the snippets to see if there are any links I want to explore further. All of a sudden I realized I'd just read a whole article about a father & son duo who are inventing a game for CF patients to help with compliance when it comes to their daily treatments. Whoops. No article reading for me this week. There's a lot less to do online in the morning when you can't read anything! Guess I'll go back to sketching out logo designs and prepping for my shoot this coming Sunday. Huh, maybe it really does make me more productive.

my weekly assignment

I'm trying to get back in the swing of doing my weekly reading of "The Artist's Way" that I told you about a while back. Well this week's assignment is "reading deprivation." Which means I'm not suppose to read anything. Now, that doesn't mean I need to take it so literally that I cover up all words that might cross the path of my eyes, but it does mean that I should probably not pick up a book (thank goodness I already finished my required reading for my bookclub) and I most definitely should not read blogs. This one is going to hurt. I just came off of a week of finding all these great design blogs and photography blogs, with great tips and encouraging articles. And now this. Phooey. It's supposed to help me "un-crowd" my mind so that my creative juices can flow unimpeded by other ideas. I understand the theory behind the assignment, so I'm going to do my best to try and follow it. But that means a whole week of no google reader whenever I need a break from work and no evenings on the couch reading magazines and no browsing MSNBC to see what the current news is for the moment. We'll see how well I'm able to keep myself from reading. I think this is going to be harder than giving up Facebook for Lent!

Edited to add: I'm only half way through day one of this and it's already proving a test of my will. Didn't realize just HOW MUCH I really do read on a daily basis.

a trend?

I found this oddly amusing so I just had to share. There are a big handful of design blogs I follow (thank you kjk for showing me the genius of google reader, how did I ever live without it?) and one of them happens to be Design*Sponge. A fun blog with lots of posts. Well wouldn't you know but this morning she posted about Dieline! I thought it ironic that I had just shared it with you yesterday. I guess great minds think alike, right?!

austin gardens

I'm trying something new. Be patient with me while I try to find my stride. I feel like I'm onto something, but I haven't quite mastered the execution yet. I'll let you know when I think I'm there. For now, here are some of my test shots.

packaging

It's all about the presentation, at least that's what my mom used to say. I'm pretty sure she can gift wrap like no one else. If there was a gift wrapping competition she could do it with about three pieces of tape and perfectly folded corners. She could make a little 5 dollar gift look like it was meant for a queen. Seriously. It wasn't til I got to college that I realized that this phrase really rings true in design work. You could have a marvelous project, but if it's not displayed well, it detracts from the work. On the other hand, a good photograph can become great when it's framed in such a way to compliment it.(Don't get me started on the process of choosing matting and frames... I feel like I'm making a commitment akin to marriage every time I try to pick)

So without further ado, I present to you TheDieline.com. I found it last week as I was scouring for design blogs and sites to peruse on a daily basis. Boy am I happy I did. I have been known (on more than one occasion) to buy something merely because I am drawn to the packaging, doesn't even matter what's inside. I see the box, the jar, the lid, the bag, whatever it is, and I must get it. M, being the wonderful man that he is, has picked up on this and at times has even been able to say, "You just like what it comes in, don't you?" To which I gaze up at him with that grin that says, "I really MUST have this." The Dieline site is pages and pages of things like that. Let me show you a few:

Yael Miller of Miller Creative

Designed by Asprey Creative

Hattomonkey, a Russian design firm

enormouschampion Kingdom Animalia

Mini Video!

I stumbled upon this today via 2Modern Design Talk and just love it. He combines a tilt shift lens with stop-motion and time-lapse footage. Trust me, you'll like it too!

Bathtub IV from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Pop Quiz (sort of)

Yesterday was a full day, and the soles of my feet can testify to that this morning. The Art Institute was a flurry of people. Did you know you can take photographs of any permanent exhibit in the Museum so long as you don't use a flash? Pretty cool. So, as part of your 10 cent tour of the AI in Chicago, 100 points to the person who can name the artists in the following 6 snap shots. Double points if you can actually name the piece.



And, to wrap up our "mini week" here at But A Shadow, I give you the mini art institute modern wing: