Right at the beginning of August I got caught in an unexpected torrential downpour and damaged my computer, though I was very worried, I tried to keep a positive outlook and embraced the challenge of keeping up with the blog sans computer. It was actually kind of nice to get away from the screen for a few days and it allowed me to do some exploring.
A lot of people have asked me where I found the inspiration each day and I tell them that it was simply everywhere. In the back of your mind you know that you have to post something each day, so your eyes become open to all sorts of things that you might have otherwise not noted as inspiration. Soon everything you see lands itself in your ideas folder.
August 1: After meeting with my design group last night to talk about our project I got caught in a torrential downpour and damaged my computer. I am attempting to keep a positive and hopeful outlook and actually looking forward to a low-tech weekend. Here’s some notes/ideas regarding our project.
August 2: Today I went in search for a new book and came across this at Quimby’s in Wicker Park. I’ve never seen a poem written on the spine, very clever.
August 3: Finally made my way over to the Garfield Park Conservatory. It was even more beautiful than expected. These sort of places reaffirm my love for Chicago.
August 4: Finally stopped and photographed these decaying signs near my apartment. This weekend without a computer has been pretty enjoyable.
August 5: I found a bound volume of Scientific American magazines from 1897 at the Newberry book fair last weekend. Though I desperately wanted to purchase it, it was just too expensive, so I ordered a few single magazines online and they arrived today. Everything about these advertisements, from the typography to the raised ink, has me captivated.
August 6: An early phase of an idea to recreate this typewriter ad; still needs some work, but I am extremely happy to report that my computer is back in business and I am ready to get to work.
August 7: What a difference the font makes! The bottom pairing, PF Din and Clarendon, suggest a more traditional tone while the top, Helvetica and Didot, holds a more modern (sturdy) feeling.
August 8: This is a screen shot of what I am working on currently. The yellow label in the upper left is from one of my Scientific American magazines. I really love how the date has been treated, I also really love to make labels, so I pulled a few from previous doodles and pasted them onto my artboard for inspiration. I plan to play around with these further and incorporate some of these elements.
August 9: Made yesterday’s design into a stamp. Wishing I had different tape, but masking tape sufficed.
August 10: I am not exactly sure how the conversation started, but my friend and I were talking about pulling up carrots today, so I drew some.
August 11: Made yesterday’s carrot drawing into a logo. Can’t quite decide if I prefer the clean typography or hand drawn version.
August 12: I really dig the ruler on the side of this stencil, so I made my own. I want to incorporate it into some sort of layout design that also includes elements from the above form. Not quite sure what it will evolve into, but we’ll see.
August 13: I’m thinking about forms, but still not sure where this is headed. I definitely need to dedicate some more time tomorrow to work through my ideas and locate their purpose.
August 14: Pulled some of my ideas together today and out came this little notebook. I searched for images and created the mood board, then worked in some of the elements I have been playing with.
August 15: The bottom portion is screen shots of things I stumbled across today — an inspiration board of sorts — and the top part is where I started to experiment with those components.
August 16: Running with inspiration from yesterday, I printed out some words, letters etc. and manipulated them with my photocopier. I narrowed in on some of my favorite parts in these compositions.
August 17: A page from my notebook after a great day at Weapons of Mass Creation Fest.
August 18: Thank you Julie and John for letting us stay with you, driving us to and from WMC Fest, allowing us to play with your dogs and all the other awesomeness!
August 19: Back in Chicago after an inspiring weekend in Cleveland for Weapons of Mass Creation. I am just sitting down and going through my photos and other cool things I found, these are a few of my favorite signs I spotted along the way.
August 20: I was really excited to sit down in front of my computer tonight and revisit some ideas I was working through before I left for Cleveland, but now all of a sudden I have a rainbow flickering band running across my screen (likely due to its recent injury). Looks like it’s back to the Apple store in the am.
August 21: Nonsensical poster; composition drawn from something I saw while browsing tumblr. I started to ‘distort’ it using my photocopier/scanner, more to come tomorrow.
August 22: In this version I printed and folded the original design, photographed it and then brought it into Photoshop where I edited out the creases. I then brought it into InDesign and added back in some of the smaller copy to contrast the distorted composition.
August 23: Still playing around with these compositions; distorting the type and searching for the right balance.
August 24: Some business cards using elements from the poster design.
August 25: As I was cleaning out my wallet this morning, I found a narrow receipt from a shop in Cleveland. I appreciated the design, however it needed a little work. I wanted to keep the existing structure, but adjust the typography and hierarchy.
August 26: I've found myself drawn to everyday typographic materials lately. This particular label arrived neatly wrapped around a small box containing my glasses. The version on the left is more or less identical (I created it with Univers rather than Arial). I adjusted the version on the right with Franklin Gothic and played around with the space and sizing.
August 27: Messed around with yesterday’s postage label some more and brought it to life. Franklin Gothic seems to be doing the trick.
August 28: Some days the inspiration is right in front of me, other days I have to seek it out. Today as I was flipping through my notebook I found a little doodle of woodgrain, (something I jotted down at WMC Fest) so I searched for some images and drew some more woodgrain, but on my route home I began to notice more interesting patters everywhere. It is amazing how once we become inspired by something our eyes open wider and we begin to see things that are right in front of us.
August 29: Was still thinking about woodgrain patterns when I got home today thus the wood type caught my eye. I decided to write this little birthday message for my pal Abby Maker. Happy Happy!
August 30: I’ve been wondering what else I can do with woodgrain patterns, so tonight a drew a few more and plan to manipulate them on my photocopier in the morning. I’m guessing this one is going to prove most interesting.
August 31: I’m finding these to be much more natural looking than my original drawings, something about the gesture and weight of the lines.