Cycling art – a growing coolness?
______I’ve been working on getting some cycling based illustration projects underway. A self-initiated projects to coin an industry buzz-word. So here’s the latest couple going down a more graphical, modernist approach to my previous hand drawn efforts. I have had a bit of interest in these, so there will be prints available come the Autumn, so keep tuned. Might even learn how to screen print some of these, it’s been something I’ve always wanted to learn.
schmO v.5
______So my never ending itch to redesign things has manifested itself into another version of the schmO. This one is quite a departure of designs of old, it uses a nifty javascript called supersized by build internet. Basically it’s a full screen slideshow with navigation, it cleverly resizes the image to fit whatever monitor it’s on. It has drawbacks, most noticeably image degradation on larger monitors but nothing is perfect in the world of internet. Also you have to use title and alt tags to provide captions for each image. I doubt google will like this but I’ll just have to wait and see how it fairs. The aim of this design is to get the my work to the fore and i think it achieves this with it’s minimal user interface. After all my trumpeting for simplicity lately I thought it would be worth practicing what i preach. If you use Internet Explorer 7 or below you will be asked to upgrade your browser on load. This framework quite simply doesn’t work on it so there was no point in trying to make it compatible. Across browsers it has some quirks, Opera seems to treat it quite strangely but it works fine. Safari, chrome, firefox all display it as I would like. The latest version of explorer has it’s bugs, as expected but they don’t affect the user experience to much so I’ve left as is.
Spad
______So my long serving pal Spad has finally got his own website up. I helped him out with a logo some ascii art and a little bit of wordpress tweaking. He is using the theme Aperio which is basic but a breath of fresh air in terms of its simplicity and wacky layout style. Spad will be posting new videos and music that he’s working on, his stuff is always cool and of distinct quality. Viva la Spad.
______ http://spad.org.uk
Singletrack magazine
______I’ve been doing some mountain biking based drawings / designs lately, mainly because I am obsessed by the sport and I’ve had some great inspiration through it lately. Sinlgetrack magazine have put some of the prints I sent them on the fresh goods section of their site, which is usually reserved for new mtb products. So i’m pretty chuffed.
______Hopefully I’ll get some of these printed or commisioned soon. In the meantime I’m planning some collaborations with photographers to get a series of giclee prints done by the end of the season. If all goes to plan these will be for sale come the autumn.
______As always their are plenty of posts on high-8 covering my mtb exploits.
______Ch..Ch..Ch..Ch..Check it out.
______http://www.singletrackworld.com/2010/04/fresh-goods-51/
On the Behance
______So I finally applied for a behance account on the basis of some press I read about the new beta version. I was accepted and it’s been a bit of a revelation. The system is great, not without the odd bug, but superb none the less (it is a beta version after all). I had poked about it before as some studios and individuals who’s work I really like use it as their main site. It is beautifully simplistic and really makes the most of your work, with an uncluttered, open design. The site is brimming with really high quality and inspirational work, covering pretty much every aspect of the creative industry. There is also lots of good information on how to promote yourself and make things happen, the community has a great vibe of positivity and vision and the fact that it’s free is just phenomenal. Even the advertising that pays for it is high quality and worth looking at. Highly recommended.
______Check out my profile here.
______And the whole site here.
High-8 on the BBC
______Simone one of the High-8 members has stuck an article up on the Beeb website about her first Bothy trip.
Simplicity
______Simplicity is nice. Keep it simple stupid is a sound mantra. Check this wee article with some examples of the sites I think stand head and shoulders above the rest in terms of pure simple simplicity, simples.
Authoring on Creative Boom
______So in a bit of a change of direction I’ve started to write articles for Creative Boom. It’s an online magazine centred around the creative industries. Go check out my first post here. I’ve also been beavering writing a few posts, taking photos and making videos for adventure blog high-8.
______I have to say the blogging phenomenon hasn’t really enamoured me that much until recently. I think the blogosphere is a little more focussed now and forging a path as a credible medium in it’s own right. The initial swathe of pointless witterings that were abundant have subsided (mainly thanks to twitter and facebook). It is commonly accepted that just over 50% of created blogs are maintained which is all the better for those who are publishing usefull, interesting and inspirational articles.
Fonts on the Web
______Is this the year of Typography on the web? I certainly hope so. It would be nice to use more than 12 of the 1000′s of font’s I own. Fontdeck promises to host licensed and (mostly) free to use fonts that can be included in your site. Sounds good hopefully it will live up to the hype. In the meantime there is the slightly power hungry cufon which is effective but can be slow if over used. Typography on the web, bring it on…
Un-abashed, genuine creativity
______My daughter who’s 3 has been getting quite good at painting and drawing. Her pre-conceptions of form, colour and technique are so unbridled she has an ability to simply create. The results are quite a revelation, the lack of schooling or influence means she can simply put marks on paper and enjoy it. If I try to direct her in anyway she tends to turn the picture into a great big mess with paint all over the place, swirling her hands around in it and generally making a stooshie. However when left on her own she constantly surprises me with exquisitely abstract and expressive pictures that some might argue parallel some of the most prolific modern artists. What I draw from this is that it is not always wise to plan or approach projects in a certain way, especially if you want something genuine and unique.
______As a graphic designer I am constantly given references to a certain visual style or a specific designer, this is all well and good but if projects are to take flight, become iconic and timeless I think a more free and naive approach is invaluable. As an adult it’s very difficult to achieve this state of mind, with the trappings of the modern world and constant inspiration at our fingertips the ability to create completely free of influence is very difficult. There is a lot to be said for sitting down with a piece of paper dipping your hands in it and swishing around on a piece of paper making a total burach. It almost always looks rubbish (and brown) but it is great fun. Try it (although having kids obviously make it seem more acceptable). I bet when you sit down to a long day in front of illustrator or photoshop you will find your creativity will be less formulaic and more rewarding and productive as a result.