Event Progress Report 6

I have started thinking some more about concepts for how to approach this event. I think some interesting points were brought up last week relating to the "distant" nature of the event's location. As I think Mauro mentioned, rather than count it as a fault, why not play up the distance and use it to create an air of mystery surrounding the event. Shakespeare in the Park could be like an adventure into an unknown land (in this case the Presidio haha) or it could be a reward at the end of a journey. Maybe some sort of scavenger hunt around the city that ends up in the Presidio? That way, people are discovering the event and also a part of the city they may never have considered.

Event Progress Report 5

So I'm taking a break from my Lynda work this week to post up some images I found of past Shakespeare in the Park events. They are all from San Francisco incarnations of the event and I have to say, the stage looks a little cheap. Since the event is finished for the year, I won't get to see a play in action, but I think I will try and get down to where they hold the event sometime this week. Although, by the looks of things, there may not be much there. It looks like they just set up shop for the event and then can take it down or move it. No permanent stage

Design Inspiration 5

Some more, Shakespeare themed, visual points of reference. I also put an image of the 826 Valencia site. It's pirate themed, of course, but does convey some similar vibes as these other images.

Design Inspiration 4

Good gosh I am creatively drained. It's 4pm on Sunday and I basically feel like someone took the creative side of my brain and gave it three doses of Tylenol PM. I feel remarkably lethargic about using the computer at the moment. I have posted below a couple of visual references that might come in handy for this project.

The first one is a part of the site for Loworks. I really like the simplistic rendering of the "world' that they have along the bottom of their site. It's an interesting visual style, and it has appealing qualities of friendliness, quirkiness, and simplicity.


Next I have some pieces by Ray Fenwick. He is an illustrator that makes some very distinctive works. I like his use of hand lettering and think it can prove useful in situations where you want that extra boost of personality.

Event Progress Report 4

So i haven't heard back from my GGP contact yet, so not a whole lot of new information has been uncovered. I have the schedule of plays from this year, location info, and all the like, but nothing really unusual has been unearthed yet. Not that anything unusual needs to be found, I just think I will benefit from having the full story. What I really want to know is why the event isn't more popular. I mean, maybe it's just the circles I run in, but I had never heard of the SF version of Shakespeare in the Park. I think this is a problem. I am interested in exploring their current publicity tactics further once I hear back from my contact.

Lynda thoughts

So after completing the Lynda training for this week I had some thoughts. First of all, she mentioned getting some sort of software to track your hours on your computer. This had not occurred to me previously as an option so I decided to try it out. I downloaded one called "Timelog 4" and have been very impressed so far. I have been using it on my freelance work, and it automatically calculates how long you have been working, and how much you have made given your hourly rate. For school work, I put my hourly rate at zero/hr obviously, and it is helpful to see how much time I actually spend working on school vs outside tasks. It runs in the background and syncs with iCal so you can easily visualize your work schedule. I would recommend it for anyone working on an hourly basis, or if you are just interested to see how much time you spend on homework, it can be very informative.

Otherwise I was pleased with how the video session unfolded. It was a little tedious at times, but was overall very informative and moved at a nice pace. I am excited to move on into more technical chapters and look forward to having my digital skills expand.

Event Progress Report 3

After doing some preliminary research, here are my insights about this project:

1. There is no Shakespeare in the Park "experience" on the web. It's currently very dry and mildly informative. There would be no incentive to go to their website beyond just finding out when an event is scheduled. I think this represents a big opportunity for me to inject some life into their presence on the web.

2. I didn't realize how old the program is. When I saw the event listed on the sheet, I thought it was a new event because I had never heard of a Shakespeare in the Park in SF. The New York one does a much better job of promotion. Given this, I think that it would be interesting to explore some promotional tactics that could tie into the web experience I will be creating. Ideally, the mini-site I create will boost traffic and translate into bigger audiences.

3. The events that take place in San Francisco are held in the Presidio. I am wondering if this is the best park for the performances to be held. Obviously, this cant be changed, but I'm just thinking out loud. What if the theater was more central like in New York? The Presidio is sort of out of the way for most people here. Basically what I'm getting at is that people can't just stumble upon it here like they can in New York. Perhaps there would be a way to set up little satellite performances that promoted the main event. Maybe they could be filmed and put up on Youtube, like mobile Shakespeare to generate publicity.

Event Progress Report 2

I've just been poking around on the SF Shakespeare in the Park website to get some of the basic info. It's all new to me, despite the fact that I've been living here for a year. Basically, the free Shakespeare in the Park events go from July to September (though this season is already done) and entertain approximately 50,000 people. have attached a few shots of the Sf website which, like the NYC version, is not very exciting at all. It looks like an afterthought. 

I have emailed my contact at the Presidio Trust and am expecting to hear back from him sometime early this week. I'm hoping to get some information that I haven't already found elsewhere. I am expecting him to be very willing to provide me with information since I am helping to promote his event as a volunteer. 



from the Sf website:
"Free Shakespeare in the Park began in 1983, with its debut production of The Tempest in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. It is now one of the major free Shakespeare programs in the nation. Produced every year in San Francisco, Oakland, Pleasanton, Cupertino, and San Mateo from July through September, Free Shakespeare in the Park provides an opportunity for everyone to see high quality, professional theater free of charge."

Event Progress Report 1

So I've just been over to the NYC Shakespeare in the Park website and I have to say, I am not impressed. The information is all there, but the branding is not very inspired. It's strange because, I have been to the theater in Central Park that they use, and the promotional materials there are much more exciting. I guess they figure that it's popular enough that they don't really need to pimp out the website. Either way, I am looking at the NYC version for some cues because it is so successful. I have always been surprised that the event is not as popular here in San Francisco.  I will post below some shots of the NYC website for their Shakespeare in the Park

Class Reaction - Day Three

This class was fun and informative. We spent a lot of the time hearing about the Golden Gate Park events, a project I continue to be excited about. I was very surprised to get my 1st choice event, Shakespeare in the Park. I thought for sure someone else would choose it. I guess I was also surprised that this was my first choice since it wasn't right up until it came time to choose. I really wanted to do Alcatraz at first, because of its high-profile nature, but decided that in the end, I wouldn't be very into the subject matter. Shakespeare in the Park seemed like a good compromise between being high-profile (large audience) and also about something that I find interesting and culturally salient. It was also good to hear about the Lynda assignments. I am about to do my first one right now, and am interested to see if they are as good as I hear. 

The Great Debate!

Back to that topic we discussed last class, the one about having a distinctive style vs. a more versatile one. Here are some examples of people from both sides.

DISTINCTIVE : Jason Munn (thesmallstakes)
OK, I realize you might be tired of hearing about this guy; everyone under the sun uses him as an example for something, but he does fits pretty well into the category of having a distinctive look to his pieces. I have always loved them for being so simple, clever and hilarious. A lot of his work is for indie bands, so this type of look suits the client, and I think this is the main reason why the work all feels very similar.

DISTICITIVE: Chuck Anderson (Nopattern)
You can spot Chuck's work from a mile away. It all uses light, a kind of fantasy-like version, as the main visual element. All of the pieces feel almost like they are taking place in outerspace or in the middle of the Aurora Borealis. Either way, it's all quite cool, and certainly very much his style.

VERSATILE: Nikolay Saveliev
This designer is harder to pin down with one style. He has a variety of works, all showcasing slightly different talents. There is some carry over between pieces, but the bottom line is that each work does not look like another.

VERSATILE: Michael C Place (Build)
It can certainly be argued that Mr.Place has a distinctive style, and I wouldn't necessarily disagree, but I would say he is father to the "versatile" field than not. His work is often clean, simple, and sometimes has a touch of play, but it's still hard to pick out a Build piece. Despite some working similarities, the work is often not reminiscent of every other piece.

Using the words "distinctive" and versatile" can be somewhat misleading. Each word has connotations that aren't necessarily relevant to the topic we are discussing. I think we all understand that there are clear benefits to each type of artist, and I don't want to be misunderstood and have you think I am positing that one is better than the other. Which I prefer is something I am still discovering and I don't think I will be able to answer that until I have been in the field for quite some time.

Music Inspiration

I thought I'd post a song that I use to spur inspiration on occasion. It's by M83 and really captures a feeling that I could never quite explain, but find very moving. As I mentioned in class, I usually draw most of my graphic design inspiration from non-design sources. This is one of them:

"I Guess I'm Floating" by M83

Class reaction - Day Two

Today's class was great. One of my favorite topics when it comes to graphic design is one that we discussed today; the issue of whether or not it is best to have a very distinctive style that you project onto all of your work. I've always thought that it's best to be versatile, with the only connection between works being the overall quality. I go back and forth though, and often lament the fact that my work doesn't yet have a clear "voice". I think as I continue to work more and more, I will eventually find a good compromise between the two schools of thought. I am also really excited about our upcoming project and I think it will be really interesting. I'm so used to doing projects where the only "client" is the teacher, so this will be a nice change of pace and will give us great perspective working for a real organization. And Lynda! I am psyched about strengthening and filling in the gaps of my digital tools knowledge.  

My Work (a sample)

Here is a poster I did for Type 3 this summer. It was an information driven poster about a line of Tongue Scrapers by Pantone. The company and product were essentially randomly assigned. Tough to make Tongue Scrapers look cool! If you're interested, I wrote up a long process walkthrough about this poster- you can read it over on ISO50's site.

This is a menu I did for a cocktail party we had at our house. We wanted to make it a special event, so I tried to put a lot of time into the menu.

Here is a poster I did for one of my first semester classes. I was particularly happy with how this photo turned out and it took forever to get the right shot. The poster is essentially an anti-smoking campaign, playing on the phrase "a smoking gun". It pairs smoking gun shells and cigarettes.

Finally, here is an example of one of the pieces I did for the band I played in at college. It was a while ago, and it is pretty basic, but we thought it was cool at the time! (We just got put on iTunes if you are interested) 

Easily the best Youtube Video Ever

Inspired by Indexed , this video is simply perfect. It's clever, funny, and insightful- a great mix.

Design Inspiration 2

I have always loved the clothes at APC. Very simple, slim designs. Even though it's not graphic design per se, it still inspires me to create something equally simple and effective in my own work. The photographer, Marc Atlan, shoots most of their advertising campaigns and I have always found his photos to be superb. 

Design Inspiration

Kalle Gustafsson has always been a favorite photographer of mine. His work feels very nostalgic, but still manages to be relevant and strike a chord. His website is a little annoying (so slow!) but his work is worth the wait. I have spoken to him a few times and he is a very nice guy in addition to being so talented!

I am no illustrator, but I always love to see when someone is just crazy talented. Si Scott does some really beautiful work (all by hand!)

Assignment One

1. My background:  I went to Duke University for my undergraduate degree and I studied Psychology and Philosophy. Sort of a far cry from design I know, but my consumer psychology classes have come in handy when thinking about my target audiences. While at Duke, I rarely was actually "in" school and spent most of my time playing in a band. I did all the design work for the band (posters, website, CDs etc) and I started really getting into it. I had no idea I was working in the field of "graphic design", but I knew whatever it was, I loved it. With my work from the band, I was able to construct a fairly decently sized portfolio and apply to the Academy. I left the band in 2007 and moved out here to San Francisco to attend school.  Since then I have been taking classes at the Academy, working a fair bit of freelance, and working as an design assistant to my favorite designer.  It's a lot of work all at once, and only time will tell if I can actually handle it all. I plan to start a design company this semester that will absorb all of the freelance work. 

2. A website that inspires me: (http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com) This website inspires me because of it's content, original idea, and extensive user participation. It is based around "assignments" that are posted regularly and are usually a bit strange but always interesting. Once the assignment is posted, users go out in the world, complete it, then report back with pictures and comments. Each assignment has it's own page where all of the user's solutions are displayed. The site is very charming and feels kind of like a really altruistic web fraternity dedicated to eliminating the mundane from our everyday lives. The visual design of the site itself, while I think it maintains a certain charm, is not my favorite. It is appropriate for this type of site though, which is really all that matters anyway.

3. Hmm. I guess there are a lot of things I would like to learn from this class. First, I am always interested in the digital tools- so things like Flash/After Effects etc, I am always interested in learning how to use those more effectively. I also don't know a whole lot about digital design standards. For example, what sorts of considerations you might need to take into account when developing a flash website for a large client. Since all of my web work has been for individuals, I don't know a lot about how things change on a large scale. I also know nothing of how to make a website that can accept user content. Everything I know about webwork only involves content generated from my side of the table. I would love to know how to make sites that encourage and are able to accept content generated from the audience. I would imagine it's fairly complicated, code wise, but it's something I am interested in. It's hard to think of other specific things, but I am very excited to be in this class and take it all in.  

Class Reaction - Day one

Class today was quite good I thought. I always enjoy seeing other people's work, and if you have the added benefit of hearing them speak about it, it's even better. I have to say that all this talk about digital design, interactive media, and the future of print is a little intimidating! I feel like I got into the design world pretty recently, but I already feel as though I am part of an outdated generation. I will cling to print media for as long as I can! Of course, I understand the importance, and possibilities of what these new digital formats of design represent. (things like the iPhone etc) I know that it is crucial for me to not only understand the importance, but also be able to adapt when the time comes. It's the same as when the internet started rising in popularity and how important it was then for designers to embrace it and adapt accordingly.