Well, not just photographers--visual artists too.

I stumbled upon a great wall paper sharing site called Open Wall (www.owall.net). I was looking for creative commons and clicked on the unfamiliar link and got floored. People are sharing their work, rating others, and downloading like crazy.
Well, obviously, this image wasn't posted by the photographer, but it likely began life as one of the gorgeous, royalty-free images of space available on the NASA website.  Good deal.

I've come to use Open Wall as a resource for fun images, wall papers and even as inspiration for compositing in photoshop. Take a look and enjoy.

AND Speaking of NASAs royalty-free space shuttle/Hubble images...
Be sure to read the Image Usage Guidelines

JQuery is functional and fun to look at but—by god—it’s a ton of coding. A metric ton if you’re a graphic designer not well versed in the development side of JavaScript.
Thankfully, others saw the demand and have come to your rescue. Here is a Creative Commons solution to get your lightbox portfolio up and running:

prettyPhoto Lightbox Clone

To see this professionally executed JQuery clone in action,  view the PORTFOLIO page of the Robust Web template.

...my  site has one, anyway.  This new design is courtesy of TemplatesDock.  The design is called BestFolio released under a Creative Commons license. I know what you're thinking, "A Web designer using another designer's template!!! Unheard of." I disagree.


I often view great Web templates created by talented developers. These sites are functional, creative,  and technically  exceptional. Bestfolio is a simple one with all the elements that I needed to revamp my site in a timely manner ---it took me approximately 6 hours to customize the template.

Learn more about : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Kudos to TemplatesDock

I went to the design studio on Friday to print some comps and ran into a student I knew from grad school.  *Randy, who will graduate soon,  had one question for me while I adjusted the print setup. He queried, "You just graduated, right? Is it really tough out there?" I know that's 2 questions, but the important one is obviously the second. Randy was referring to the job market.

My answer: yes, it's tough as hell out there. You need to know what  kind of design job or work environment you're looking for.  Apply only for jobs that you want, instead of casting a wide net and applying for positions that either a.) don't interest you, or b.) don't match with your goals and aspirations. Be selective and only take the time to  go after jobs that you actually want. It'll make you happier in the long run.

This is something I've always believed and it hasn't let me down yet.

The second part of my recommendation went: don't wait for graduation to begin looking. If you've already identified your ideal work environment, start your job search now. This means:

1. update your resume, 
2. print and format your portfolio, 
3. network and make inquiries, 
4. and apply.

Here’s another 2^nd person account of a terrible interview. Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Remember near the end of school, you bought that sexy black portfolio case that was so expensive you were forced to subsist on ramen noodles for months afterwards? Along with the box, you picked up the 3-foot sheets of Letramax and meticulously cut them down to uniform rectangles and adorned these with the best of your student work.

I met Tracy last night at a pre-turkey day show at the metro gallery. I heard her interview story while outside smoking and knew I had to blog it.

Tracy, the lawyer, showed up for her initial interview with the department of Health and Human Services. She was professionally coifed, dressed appropriately and more than prepared for the probing questions that the interviewer would ask.

She arrived in the office and sat for an hour. The interviewer never showed up.

Happy Thanksgiving all.
-Simone

Sure they are.  Logo redesign is the wave of the present.  These corporate  giants moved from authoritative type in bold uppercase characters to lighter weights,  lowercase, sans serifs.

The jury seems to be out on the GAP logo redesign.  It has a few striking differences that hit me immediately. Readability: dark on light is 15% easier to read than light text on a dark background. The gradient square looks like part of a whole.

Corporate logo redesigns have also added greater levels of tactility and depth to their upgrades. UPS designers brought their signature brown into the 21st century by sketching the shield and giving the previously mechanically sterile design a hand-tooled look; it puts me in mind of sitting next to the artist at his drafting table and being part of the creative process. Again, we see an added gradient.

This tactility is very evident here:
Another prevalent technique used is the breaking down of personal space.  By this I mean that we are closer to the character of the logo. We are now face to face with 'Carmen Miranda' when we bite into our Chiquita bananas. And the 'face' of LG is more human and more closely cropped..Take a look

I'v almost got the hang of it.
The highlights of my Sony Vaio is the full keyboard, sick speed, and the new upgrades to MS Windows, I guess I have W 2010; it offers a more intuitive UI than previous versions.

The drawbacks are--well, they're more my problems than actual hardware/software issues--it takes way too long to shut down ans start up, I'm trying to be okay with the widget add-ons and I just can't (I only use WeatherBug because I trust it, but I miss having my dashboard).

Finally, I know why Windows machines are so susceptible to virus attacks--they're always communicating with the web--whether you ask them to or not.  With an Apple, you have the option to allow programs to constantly scan the Web for updates or no-You're never surprised by a program update on shutdown.

That's all I got, I'm well behind on a work project.

-cheers

Right now every professional designer I know is busy as hell. And no wonder, companies have tightened belts and expect small creative departments to do more with less. Unfortunately, the trend is increasing. As a graphic designer, you have a few options that can be employed:

• Hold your breath until you turn blue.
• Threaten to quit until you get some help.
• Look for a new job with a company with greater resources
• Delegate more work to your subordinates (as if)
• Get an intern, and create opportunities for students to learn on-the-job and increase their skill base, while you get a helping hand.

That’s right, consider hiring an intern! You have options for skill levels and knowledge; there’s no rule that sayS your intern will be a novice who only knows the rudimentaries of Photoshop. Undergrad and Graduate programs promote internship throughout the length of the programs, and you can easily end up hiring a gifted designer with mad Adobe skills, aptitude for typography and a passion for the visual arts.


One problem that you’re sure to encounter is making time in your too-full schedule to interview prospective interns. Take a tip from me, schedule them all on the same morning—preferably the one that the mandatory staff meeting fallS on—and then keep your afternoon free to tackle your ever-expanding ‘work’ pile.

• Job search and the job market
• Interview questions, answers, and tips
• Life of an intern
• Meet Creative Entrepreneurs

The default browser is Google Chrome. I know that I should’ve tried this out a year ago, but I just wasn’t thinking. Chrome auto-populates as you type, and when you hit enter, you’re there baby (just like Safari, actually)! It took me a while to figure out how to get my bookmarks in there, but I’m on a roll now.


The first problem I've encountered is this; I've been spoiled by the Fetch FTP Client! The GUI is simple intuitive and easy to use, period.  On day one of getting my Vaio, I downloaded Filezilla and got the shock of my life. Where the hell are the "Get" and "Put" buttons, dammit! I ended up having to use my MacBook to plop a new site onto my ftp just so I can work directly from the server.  
From now on, I'll have to do the one thing that I always advise others to do when working with unfamiliar software, RTFM.

Today’s my 2nd day telecommuting on the Vaio, wish me luck.

• Buy a new Mac desktop  
• Replace the new desktop that arrived at my house cracked 
• Cancel the replacement 
• Get my money back (after over a month with no computer) 

The customer service experience was terrible. Based on weeks of being treated like garbage while attempting to spend thousands of dollars, I chose to move away from Apple. I opted for a Sony machine. 

In undergrad, I was surprised to learn that while we graphic design students swore by Apple Macbooks and Imacs, the game design students all programmed on Vaios. The high-end professional machines are sleek, light and fast as shit! Picking the Sony brand was a no brainer for me. 

When my F-series laptop showed up I had no idea how to work the damn thing. All I knew was that I’d need a bigger briefcase to accommodate the larger screen. In older Windows machines, font management was not intuitive; I had to suppress my initial freak out when I went looking for fonts in the "Control Panel". I probably shouldn’t have freaked out. Font management is much simpler, and there are previews like with Fontbook. 

Granted I haven’t opened MS Office on it yet--but the commercials on Hulu all claim it's awesome, functional and intuitive--we'll see.  I will make another update when it’s been a month.

This is my new favorite breakfast cereal. It's a knock off of a more expensive brand, and it's healthy as hell!! I started eating fiber select 3 weeks ago after picking up two boxes of the stuff on my bi-weekly grocery run.  

Bad job interviews happen. Sometimes it's the interviewee's fault, sometimes there just isn't a good fit, and sometimes the forces of nature conspire against a positive outcome. Whatever the reason, bad interviews happen. Look, here comes one now.

This past summer--also known as the hottest summer on record--my buddy Lisa* went on her first job  interview in over three years. The night before her appointment, she picked up a new pair of shoes to complete her interview ensemble. Little did she know that this purchase was to be her undoing.

The appointment took place on the Johns Hopkins campus. Her first stop was the Human Resources department, where she met the director and learned more about the position. The second stop was to be held across campus, with the department head and her potential, future boss.

The day began with a mad dash for public transport, followed by a painful walk to HR--the new shoes were binding, pinching, and burning. During the first Q &Q session, Lisa's feet howled in pain. When the meeting was over she felt down by the heel that burned the most and drew back fingers coated in blood. The too-small shoes had rubbed her feet raw and--before her actual  interview was even under way--she was already wounded. Before her 2nd trek across campus, Lisa stopped at an on-site pharmacy and bought a box of plastic bandages to cushion the friction and staunch the flow of blood. This was pointless because the humid atmosphere made it impossible for the cushioning to stick to her feet and the high heat made her feet swell; further exacerbating the problem.

By the time she got to the main  interview, she was consumed with worry and physical pain. She half answered questions and was uncahacteristically laconic. When it was over, Lisa walked out, removed her shoes and headed for the bus. Needless to say, there was no second interview and no job offer was made.




*Names have been changed to protect the innocent

It's time to update yours!

Here are a couple other job search resources that I know of.  I've gotten feedback from former jobseekers that these are valuable resources:

Friday, July 23rd was a particularly hot night; not just because of the 100+ degree temperatures. The Baltimore Symphony Opera brought the heat when conductor, Maryn Alsop, featured a local musician alongside her world-class orchestra.

The Musician: Shodekeh Dominic Talifero
The Instrument: His voice

I first met the beat boxer about ten years ago when he performed on one of the West-facing stages at the SoWeBohemian Arts and Music Festival. Of course, a decade ago he had an unfulfilling day job to pay the bills while he hustled to get face time on the stages across the region.

Today, Shodekeh works for himself. In the years between our first meeting and this most recent performance at the Meyerhoff , Shodekeh toiled tirelessly to push his music into ever growing arenas. His regular gig—of the last four years—is as the accompanying percussionist to a renowned ballet studio. He’s been on stage with KRS-1, numerous hip-hop elite, classical and world beat musicians, and emerging performance artists. He’s been interviewed on NPR and lends his voice—speaking and percussion—to promote the arts wherever he goes.

Check out part of the performance, https://vimeo.com/18653408

 At the Friday night concert, my jaw dropped when I heard the newest addition to his repertoire. Shodekeh does an uncanny rendition of a didgeridoo. The technique put me in mind of the throat singers of the Caucasus Mountains, but my ear was convinced that it was a five-foot long wooden pipe being blown into by an aboriginal Australian. I was literally gape-mouthed throughout the concert. Shodekeh has something that all would-be entrepreneurs need, confidence. This unwavering confidence in himself and his talents led him to get free of the nine-to-five shackles.

Another tool in his bag-of-tricks is his inexhaustible energy. Anyone who chooses to work for themselves knows that it means trading in the eight-hour daily routine for a 24/7, perpetual process of self promotion. It’s exhausting and rewarding. We recently had drinks at Tapas Teatro in Mt. Vernon. Shodekeh, not content to take a break, told me of his plan to take his classical-meets-contemporary performance to audiences nationwide. It’s an enormous undertaking. He knows that he can do it.

Frankly, so do I.

• SimplyHired.com – again, a great one stop shop, 
• Idealist.org – exclusively non-profit and government jobs, 
• CareerBulider.com – it's a monolith,
• USAJobs.gov - government jobs across the nation,  
• Dice.com – specializes in jobs for technically skilled designers animators,  
• WorkInSports.com – self explanatory, 
• WashingtonPost.com - Various job opportunities in the Mid-Atlantic region.

• hung up upon 
• transferred from department to department
• deceived about a return mailing label that was never sent
• and generally treated poorly by a company that has several thousands of my hard-earned dollars!!