GreenPeace

It's been a while since I've done anything creative, despite the fact that I have shop this semester. Most of the work there has been studies in joints and working drawings. However, I am taking a writing class, and we've been tasked with creating a "visual argument," such as an advocacy ad, for the organization of our choice. I chose GreenPeace and created this little drawing:



Now it's onto the 3-page paper that accompanies it, arguing why GreenPeace should use this as an advertisement for their cause. Yay.

Can't Buy Me Love

I'm starting to feel more like a graphic design student nowadays, with all the posters they're making us do. The design of the actual piece of furniture took about a fraction of the time as this puppy:



The desk had been called the workgroup desk, but for no real reason. So I changed it to Morton, short for Mort(is & Ten)on, which happens to be the only joint used on my piece. The tagline sort of came from Steve, who told me that when the desk is done, he's sure that it'll hold anything and that he'd be able to dance on top of it–. And if that happens, you'll be the first to see the youtube video, followed closely by the rest of free world.

Lotsa Cute

It figures that I would want to work on the schoolwork that's due very last this semester. But at least it's another item crossed off my to do list.


[Original Print 17" x 22"]

Impact

I've been working on studio so much lately that I had yet another dream about riding a roller coaster. And this time, it was mine! Except there was no theming built on yet... and I was wearing my high school uniform... and then I went to a job interview... wearing six-inch hooker boots. The roller coaster part was fun. The six-inch hooker boots not so much.

Anyway, I've come up with a logo for my attraction, which required me to come up with a name for the coaster. I settled on "Impact":



Then I started to look at it and realized it was a bit simple, so I added some fancy texturing:



This is just about all I can show right now of what I've been working on. I've got a floor plan for the ride building, which I will show in the final presentation, but since I'm in "Product Design Studio," I figured I should, you know, focus on the products that will be in the attraction, i.e. ride car, creature habitats, cash wrap, merchandise, shelving, everything.

And this translates to very little sleep over the next few weeks. But so long as there are Scrubs re-runs, I will be just fine.

WorkGroup Desk

So in true Kate fashion, I'm not doing a chair for my shop project. (At least not my main shop project.) If you are not familiar with my work methodology, it's that my first idea is always crap. I know that is not true, but it helps me feel better about switching my project up a month into the school year. The final proposal (a small 8.5 x 11" with images and text) for the project was due today for those that are participating in the cast metal competition. It's not so much a competition as it is bidding to be one of the three students who gets their casting process done absolutely free (which would save me hundreds of dollars).

Steve let me know only after my inquiring into the use of cast metal footings for my chair that this competition was up for grabs. So i figured I would focus on metal as the main component of my design. I went back to some earlier sketches for some inspiration for my new, mostly metal piece, and voila! The WorkGroup Desk!



Click the image to read the description.

It isn't shown in this proposal, but the wood "slots" into the hollow aluminum ends, so there are only three pieces to put together. It'll be nice for me when I move at the end of the year, and it's a good selling point for storage and shipping and such. I've drawn up a bunch of "variants," which I won't be building, but plan to propose to the head of the cast metal manufacturing plant if my piece is chosen.

So let me know what you think! And questions and ideas are definitely welcome.

For Reference

The last blog header.

2008 Summer Mix

This week (and last) has been horribly hectic, but I've managed to scrounge up a little ear candy for you. I tend to make a music mix every season or so, and this summer's mix will not disappoint those who like Indie Pop Rock, lady singers, or piano & violins. I worked hard and found free (and very legal) downloads of the songs, so get 'em while they last! Just left-click to listen or right-click and Save As to download. Needless to say, if any of them don't work, you can either send me a comment or check out my source of free and lovely music, The Hype Machine.

1. Elevator Love Letter - Stars
2. Campus - Vampire Weekend
3. Animals are Cut in Two - Half-Handed Cloud
4. Second Chance - Liam Finn
5. I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You - Black Kids
6. Think I Wanna Die - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
7. A-Punk - Vampire Weekend
8. In This Home on Ice - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
9. The Party's Crashing Us - Of Montreal
10. Soft Revolution - Stars
11. Foundations - Kate Nash
12. Mr. Blue - Catherine Feeny
13. I'll Follow You Tonight - Anna Ternheim

There are a couple repeat bands (i.e. Stars and Vampire Weekend), but that's just because I am continually impressed by them and their sound. The mix starts out kind of quick and happy, even "Think I Wanna Die," which manages to use the word twee, which is now my Favorite Word^TM. Then it gets into female vocals with Kate Nash and slows way down into Catherine Feeny and Anna Ternheim. So it's very fitting to the summer months: fast-paced and action-packed pools and zoos and sports then picnic and nap in the park.

THE Question

I found a neat little firm that does every sort of graphic design under the sun, and they do a lot of book design, inside and out. I love looking at the websites of graphic designers because not only do they showcase their work, they give visitors an idea of how they work and who they are. That and they give impeccable attention to detail. FWIS does this simply by how they organize their projects. Not only can you view them by type, but you can check out projects that they didn't get paid for, projects that they argued over, and projects that "scored [them] babes." You can just tell that they are doing what they were meant to do.

Speaking of which, yesterday I got the question that every full-time, paid-by-the-hour, time-and-a-half-overtime employee LOVES to hear.

Can you work extra hours?

It took me about 1/16th of a second for my brain to process this equation:

Working overtime now
=
Less working during the school year
=
More time for studio and shop
=
LOTS OF DESIGNING AND BUILDING COOL FURNITURE

And really, when it comes down to it, that's how most of my equations end. Needless to say, I agreed.

Also on the job front, although not mine, I found the absolute best interview/presentation idea over at Swissmiss:



Video paired with art/design has been around a while (check out Stefan G. Bucher's Daily Monster and witness your jaw dropping to the floor), and I LOVE LOVE LOVE to be able to see artists and designers in action. Everything from methods to tools to the way they position their paper or the music they listen to while working or the space they work in; it's all in a video. I had always thought a wonderful way to publicize the College of Architecture at K-State would be to produce a time-lapse video showing a hand-drafted finish sheet from the first pen line to the last. Or initial sketch to final design. Set to a good song like:

Of Montreal's "Disconnect the Dots" or
Phoenix's "North".

Maybe with my oodles of non-Planet-Subbing next semester, I can borrow a nice camcorder from the library and take that on. It would be pretty awesome, and I imagine useful, to see how I sketch or brainstorm in super-fast mode.

Top Secret

After a little bit of a design lull, for which I blame highly addictive television programs, I'm glad to feel creative this evening. I spent the night doodling and "creative suite-ing" some cover designs for my design internship journal, which I will be printing via Blurb Books.

The title and description reads:

Things They'll Never Teach You in Design School: One Intern's Journey into Corporate America

Flashy, eh?

The journal, in general, is a requirement for all K-State internships. It is worth 3 credit hours. For each one of the four months at the firm, we must write an entry about each of the following:

1. Assignment we've worked on.
2. Office procedures and how they are better or worse than other firms.
3. Attendance at an office event.
4. Attendence at a social outing. (This is mostly for students interning outside their hometown.)
5. An analysis of a local piece of architecture. (I'll be handing this in separately, since it's specific to St. Louis and I want the book to be a bit more general.)

Since the beginning, I had wanted to get the journal printed professionally, and since I was going to be getting one copy for K-State, I might as well get one for myself, and hey, why not PGAV? But writing in a way that would A. cover all the semi-boring stuff for K-State and B. be interesting enough for someone to read willingly, made it difficult. Then as I journaled, I realized I kept writing little tidbits of advice and observations, like:

Post-It Notes are the Eighth Wonder of the World!

Save early. Save often.

and

The UL ratings book sucks!

So the journal has now sort of morphed into a list that encompasses projects, procedures, and events. And it allows me to get my own voice in there, and not a boring "Today I worked on stair details. Tomorrow I work on more stair details. Yay!"

And don't forget to download this month's limited edition blog header:

The Martha Blog: Up Close & Personal

I would like to dedicate this post to my girl, Martha. I found out today that she has just started a blog. I'm pretty sure it's written by two people, neither of which being Martha: one to write normal posts and the other to insert phrases like "Alexis and I looked just a bit weary after horseback riding, lunch, scrabble, and tennis," and to add the correct quota of the words "lovely," "wonderful," and "delicious."

Needless to say, I don't think I'll be frequenting it, but I decided to make myself a little header just like hers, on display for this week(ish) only.

Here's the original:



And here's mine to be downloaded and distributed to inboxes far and wide:



And yes, that is a q-tip in my ear.