A Smile in the Mind

A Smile in the Mind explores witty thinking in graphic design and why it is successful. First wit depends on two things, the familiar and the play. The play is the unexpected twist; its the surprise that excites us. Done successfully witty design can:

• win time - people ponder the meaning
• invite participation - the design doesn't give all the answers
• give the pleasure of decoding - discover the answer for yourself
• provide reward - pat yourself on the back
• amuse - laugh out loud because it's clever
• get under the gaurd - now you will listen to me because I made you laugh

"For example, most signs are straightforward, like 'Fire Exit' or 'No Parking". What about a sign that delivers the information in a witty way? Suppose it says 'No Parking - Don't even think about it'?"

The "No Parking" sign example plays on two levels. Instead of a simple, straightforward message, 'Don't even think about it' implies that there is the option to not listen to the sign. Clever. 

From: A Smile in the Mind by Beryl McAlhone & David Stuart. 

Alternative Spring Break Video

Service is a huge part of everything I do. For the past four years I have taken part in Cardinal Stritch University's Alternative Spring Break Trips. Usually this means spending a week with Habitat for Humanity. This year we traveled to New Orleans and worked with Camp Restore. Each day we worked in a different area of the community and it was really exciting to be able to help out where there is still so much need even seven years after Katrina. 


I also had the honor of creating a short video to give a general idea of our experience to people who supported our trip. It was a challenge to show them both sides of the trip. One that was so emotion filled because there is still a huge amount of need for volunteers in New Orleans and the other that shows the fun we had coming together as a group. The two combined to give everyone who attended the trip an amazing set of memories from their spring break, myself included. 


Here is the link to watch the video on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keEdJB-a6kE


Let me know what you think!

Landscape Photography + Gradients

One of the first things we are taught in Graphic Design 101 is to beware of the gradients. Gradient generically laid over a background is an easy cop out. 


However I came across today and interesting series of photographs by Robert Schlaug. He stretched out the colors of the landscapes to create linear gradients in different portions of the photographs. I am attracted to the photos where the gradient begins at the horizon line, creating an abstract background such as this one:





This image is my favorite because of the color combination and even though the sky is obviously a gradient, I think it works well in the photo. The other images are worth a look as well. You can find them here:


http://blog.gessato.com/2012/03/27/landscape-photography-by-robert-schlaug/

Bouncing Baby Photography

I used to work at an early childhood center in the infant suite and took a lot of photos of the babies. So this tutorial really caught my eye:


How to Make a Photo of a Bouncing Baby


Some of the main ideas covered in creating the final photo are

• Well lit background shot to start
• Taking a lot of pictures for layering
• Getting detailed in photoshop to make it look realistic

I thought this post did a really good job at showing the result of good planning for a shoot and not cutting corners in editing. The final image of the bouncing baby makes all the time spent worth it. 

Fun T-shirt Project

Each year I design the t-shirts for Cardinal Stritch's Alternative Spring Break trip. This year we are traveling to New Orleans and working with Camp Restore. Camp Restore is focused on restoring the spirit of New Orleans as wells as physically rebuilding. Here is the t-shirt design.

Milwaukee Syndicate Designs

Over the summer I connected with Nicholas Giombi. He is a UW Madison grad with a degree in filmmaking. He has started work on some independent projects and asked me to create some business cards for him.

I drew inspiration from the film Public Enemies because he expressed interest in films during that era.

Here is the card I created:

Italy Inspirations

The best moments on this pilgrimage have been walking around just experiencing the area, not standing in front of the "tourist attractions" but instead strolling down small side streets or the vast mountain sides.