reworking.

so i have gotten into this re-design kick lately, i had some old projects i still kinda liked, but didn't really love. most recently i found my older files, and digging through, i came across "dusk 'til dawn" from the asi days. i have always been attached to the illustration, but the type, well, not so much. i had gotten many comments that it should be real writing and not a font to achieve that hand drawn look. i had always not liked that aspect much anyways, but many of the elements still worked. so i did some style research and font hunting which brought me to the final product as seen below. it looks a little crazy on the brick, but i kinda like the "slap as many posters up on the walls as you can in a day to advertise the circus is in town" vintage look, so its staying that way for now. it's an interesting vibe at least. anyways... ta da!

Pecha Kucha Night SLO

It's time to share. The ball is rolling and my mind is spinning. The date has been confirmed and I am now working quickly to prepare for :: Pecha Kucha Night SLO :: Volume 9 on Friday, November 13th @ Steynberg Gallery, San Luis Obispo, 1531 Monterey St. I have been really wanting to get involved in the SLO Art Community and I am finally getting a chance! I will be speaking about my senior project, and now on going project, "The Unconventional Oddities of San Luis Obispo". Most who know the project will be surprised because I am scrambling, it will get done, but I am adding a new component to the project. However, you will have to wait to find out, sorry. So mark your calendars, bring tons of friends, and please come support me! I only get 6 min 40 sec of fame, so it's short/sweet and completely scary/nerve-racking all at the same time. Wish me luck and let the countdown begin! (yes, many ! used, but totally necessary) Check out the official :: Pecha Kucha Night :: for the history of the event, which 110 cities participate in, and more about the format.

Interference by Type.

This video has been making the rounds, but I just thought I would share anyways since you most likely don't read everything I read too. Recently this video from Justice for the remix of Let Love Rule by Lenny Kravitz was released. The video is very interesting because it is as if we missed the movie and now we are just seeing the end credits. It seems pretty lame until you begin to notice the characters interaction with the typography. He sets soda cans, hangs dry cleaning, and lastly smashes chunks of the type to smithereens with a baseball bat aka my favorite part. I didn't post the video to stay out of trouble so see the screen shots and make sure to check out the video from the posted link. Overall,l I am glad to see graphic design and typography especially being recognized and put on stay in our mainstream culture.




(The video was directed by Keith Schofield)

* I am working on the images filling the whole post better. It might require a switch to A. a new blog look or B. a new host? Will see.

wood type.

Yes, I have a thing for Type, but you already knew that. I have an even bigger thing for letterpress type, specifically really pretty woodblock type. I can't say these wood blocks are perfect however, the fonts and letter forms screamed out at me, leading to me purchasing way more letters than anticipated from :: Birds of a Feather :: in Cambria, CA. Don't worry friends I didn't buy all they had, although there were many more that I wanted, but my bank account wouldn't allow for that. So if you are up for an adventure I would make the trek and see if there are any letters calling your name. Just as a heads up, they are a bit pricey and none were really of print quality, but if you are just looking for some fun letters to hang out on your desk these will do the trick. As a side note, the shop owner informed me all the type had came from the Bakersfield Press. Hope you enjoy my fun weekend finds.



(Thanks to my friend @shamlingdesign for telling me about :: Birds of a Feather ::)

Design Brunch = Inspirado

I just wanted to say thank you to the AIGA kids at Cal Poly for inviting me to " Design Brunch." It was very fun, because it was a little different now that I am an alum, still something I haven't completely come to terms with. The event was fabulous and there was a good amount of work. I was asked to bring my portfolio book/box to show. That was pretty funny because I haven't looked at it for a while and I already want to replace things. Oh the life of a growing design, it's a good thing!

The event today, reminded me of a meet up/group/nerd club thing I really want to have. Since after finding out who a few of my readers are, (thanks for reading design kids) I have a question to ask you my local designy friends... Would anyone like to participate in a monthly meet up to chat design, critique, give feedback, maybe do a impromptu small collaborative book/zine? Lets hear some interest or thoughts. Ready set comment.

Good things come from Twitter.

For the record my life is not consumed by Twitter, although I do realize I mention it a lot lately. Its a communication tool, so get over it, it's here to stay. Plus it's not so bad when you receive fun packages because you won something via Twitter. As most people know I am a book nerd, yes, I even like the smell of a good old book with aged paper. With this interest naturally I follow @ChronicleBooks. Last week they mentioned if you retweet their tweet, you would be entered to win a poster for Pictoral Webster's. The message was a link for Give-Away they are having for one "a fine press edition" of the book.

To celebrate the release of our new line of Pictorial Webster's books and gift products, Chronicle Books is thrilled to offer you the chance to win a fine press edition of Pictorial Webster's hand-bound in leather with an engraved book cover & letter-press interior, including gold leaf and hand stamped edges & end papers.

The book sounds amazing and I entered of course! It uses way to many of my favorite things and I have my fingers crossed I hit a lucky streak (ran out of luck, didnt get the AIGA ticket) and that beautiful book adorns my shelves in the future. Ok, ok back to what I won... so I retweeted the Give-Away tweet and won 1 of 5 posters for the Twitter Give-Away! Pretty much made my day last week because I usually don't win anything. Today when I got back from work, I found a cute little packing tube from Chronicle Books waiting for me. The poster is very fun and its color scheme is very popular our household. I am working on redoing my studio space, so I will have to find a spot for it. This is going to sound silly, but I think one of my favorite things on the poster is the rounded corners! I am a fan of details, duh, plus I don't think I have any other posters with rounded corners. Check out the poster below and if you would like to enter the Give-Away for "a fine press edition" click here.

P.S.
Sorry for the not so great photos.
Taken from my iPhone because my camera is MIA due to the rearranging of the studio.

Neenah Paper = AIGA Conference

hello to my readers!

so, today has brought on opportunity, however I need your help.
so, today... I can on the power of the interwebs. P.S. That means YOU!

This is how it works. I was really really sad I didn't have sufficient funds to travel to Memphis for the most awesomest (yes, I am making up words) conference aka Make/Think: AIGA. I even applied for Command X, wasn't picked though, but it was worth the try and I will be trying again someday. Can't even buy tickets at this point, but today I noticed (via @NeenahPaper) that Neenah Paper said they were giving away a ticket to the conference. The rules are as follows:

There are several ways to enter our AIGA Conference Pass drawing, so pay attention – 1) new fans should click to become a fan of Neenah and leave a comment on our wall; 2) existing fans can post a comment on our wall; or 3) invite your friends to become fans and every time they mention your name on our wall, you’re entered again. Start posting now because you only have until Fri, Sep 25th at 5 p.m. Good luck!

Ok... so now I ask you, become a Fan for me. Neenah Paper Rocks so why wouldn't you! The important part mention my name and help me get more chances to win a ticket. Thanks, if you do and I will be AIGA-ing it up in Memphis. Lastly you could always tweet to them too maybe... tell them to send @IveGoneGRAPHIC


- Maybe I am trying to hard? Nahh.

Busy Busy.

This past week has been a little crazy. As a side note, I got a tandem this weekend, and so now I am playing catching up on side projects and such. However I am posting a little doodle, if you have followed me for a while you might remember it. Also... I seem to be notice more traffic, please comment on any of my work or posts. Critiques are good or just if you like something. Look for more projects in the near future.

trendy: balloons

i wasn't sure if i would post this at first, but i changed my mind. it doesn't really fit my normal topics, however follows a trend i have noticed. while surfing channels about a month ago i stopped because pastel balloons caught my eye. then for 3 min i watched Kid Cudi (Feat. Kanye West & Common) - Make Her Say (I Poke Her Face) it had balloons, samples lady gaga (my current guilty pleasure, ahaha), and using a split screen to create simple, yet interesting affect with some scenes: stairs, pools, windows, etc. below are a few screen shots of the music video, hopefully i don't get in trouble? check out the video though, i impressed our friend Will because i had already seen the video. glad to know we have the same taste in some things. anyways enjoy the balloons and maybe you will notice them around more often now. they seem to always make you smile, brightens the day.

portfolio case.

this post is long overdue. i have slacked at taking good photos of my portfolio case to feature because it is a piece in itself. the box was designed specifically to hold my portfolio book and samples of my work. it is import for me to carry some of my finished pieces, because many are books and show much better in person for proof of craft, typography,etc.

the box was quite the project. i made about 2 full practice boxes, originally having a drawer/sleeve for the book. this was later simplified to the shelf that was implemented in the finished product. i am very proud of the box, except for a few bubbles which sadly were caused by the box sitting in a hot car while our AIGA group was touring studios. no one noticed the bubbles except myself and charmaine, (which is why i was kicking myself for the bubbles) i knew she would notice. ugh. oh well more practice making elaborate boxes is good in the long run. i love this portfolio case and it worked perfect for my presentation at AIGA SF Portfolio Day. however, I think it will become much more sleek for the next time it's needed. i see a redesign in the future, which can only mean a better design.








check back later on my webiste for better studio shots. these were just taken in my backyard as the sun was setting, just wanted to finally share.

making bogie stencil's

i have been bugging my awesome roommate Brian (@bman530 & author of freshasaurus) for a while to make me a stencil after seeing him make a present for his girlfriend. we decided on prints of Bogie. i have talked about Bogie before. he is my cute little longhair red dapple mini dachshund. a mouth full i know. the image we selected, although it doesn't highlight his recognizable characteristics, the smirk on his face shows his personality. the stencil was made in three layers, and after doing a test run, i encouraged brian to play with shading and so we began to make many prints-trading off on spraying layers. below are a few images, but head over to freshasaurus: bogie stencil for images of the process.

AIGA SF 25th Anniversary Book.

One of the perks of being an AIGA member is occasionally getting something fun in the mail. They do seem to be cutting back on the amount of paper used, because I haven't gotten any really oversized posters recently. I took a few snap shots of some of the spreads in the book the day I got it. Its AIGA SF's (@AIGA SF) 25th Anniversary Book. I was very grateful for the present, but I was a little disappointed with the design. Just felt it could have been a little more modern. The design did sorta fit the style of AIGA's font and such... sorta of a play of the brand and identity, at least thats the vibe i got, which wasn't a bad idea. so all and all i am happy. whenever i get something from AIGA, I do think of the 365. Ahhh thats the best gift of the whole year.

a must read blog.

i stumbled across :sleeveface: some how, sorry i can't remember if somebody else told me, tyler already claims he's seen it. anyways who cares. just wanted to share because its got some great compositions which are centered around the use of vinyl record sleeves. i have a friend down the hall who has a ton of records, so we joked and maybe in the future might try and submit a few images, haha. i'll let you know if that ever happens. for now check out sleeveface.com

my favorite image from recent posts.

did i mention i love plastic bags?

earlier in the year, around february i created an interesting piece in was a poster/framed collage of different color plastic bags cut into shapes and then melted together via use of a iron. trust me i had the thought, "this can't be to good for me, since the smell of burning plastic is kinda strange." oh well after a few experiments and about an hour of carefully ironing everything together... after way more practice than that.

well the point of this post however was to share some work from :Virginia Fleck: an artists from Austin, Texas. I posted a few of her images below but really please check out her site because her work is lovely. the prints and colors from so many bags inspired me to try this type of art for a class project. my piece resembled her work but my finished piece was a square and looked a lot more crinkled. i ironed a little long giving the work some bubbles and imperfections. it worked in the long run because the idea was to make it look more like trash trying to be beauty then giving it the full make over and turning into high art. anyways check out Ms. Fleck, I would love to see the work in person sometime to see the texture of the finished work.

p.s. if you want some help learning how to iron plastic grocery bags... i learned by reading this post. also i will try and find an image of my final piece. me digging up this link reminded me i never got it back after it was in the case, it was in there soo long, i don't even remember if or when it came down. woops. lets hope its still around.

a must read blog.

so i have have a ton of links piling up and my new place to post (i will let you know when it lives) isn't ready yet, so i'm going to post a few here for the time being but they will move later, i think. anyways. let the fun begin. : the annotated weekender : is a blog that features only images from the : guardians weekend magazine :

the blog is a lovely mixture of illustrations on top of pages of the publication. the illustrations have such character. cute little monsters with big noses. my favorite of the moment is one of the newest posts of a pirate in the seas on soda can. there is much to see, a few babies with mustaches, sea monsters, birds, etc. so many fun posts, just makes me want to doodle all over my magazines now. would be a good use for all those old stacks of strange magazines (don't worry no dwell, real simple, print, how, or ID will be going in that pile) oh and i recommend checking thursday-ish for new posts, but there is always some fun surprises, seems to be the trick right now though. just check it out.

(thanks for the link @dannytree!)

2009 AIGA Enrichment Scholarship

So, I never even really mentioned this because I have been slacking on posting pictures and talking about portfolio review. However, I just wanted to share since I just found a link that talked about it. On May 30th at AIGA SF Portfolio Day, I was awarded the AIGA Enrichment Scholarship for Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I was super excited and I won money that I am holding on to in hopes of maybe attending SXSW (the web/design part) next year. If you want to read and get the complete details click for more info.

Website.

Ok.... so now its really official! Go check it out. Finally, finished up posted all my work, still have some kinks to work out, but its better than nothing.

ivegonegraphic.com

so its official.

i bought real hosting. i wanted to be able to use word press and i couldn't do that using mobile me. currently, thats how ivegonegraphic.com is up and running. anyways hopefully by the end of the week i will have something up and running. i really don't have a choice, because i need to have a working website for portfolio class and what i have now needed some help. look for something "fresh" soon.

CP Portfolio Review.

Its been a blur of a last few days. They sorta all blend together, it was pretty much portfolio, portfolio, portfolio, but it all got done. Yesterday, was Cal Poly portfolio review which is mandatory if you plan to graduate and super helpful. I reviewed with 2 alums, both whom had good things to say, which was really exciting. I finally am feeling prepared and it's all coming together. So look out real world, i'm coming! Below are a few images of my portfolio, it is still def. a work in progress, but I think I am done with the layout and design. It is just down to getting the right pieces in there. I promise I will post all the spreads once I have locked in what is staying in there. I have 8 solid pieces right now, I had a couple more, but I am pulling a few after yesterday. They will be replaced before AIGA SF Portfolio review. They will be replaced with stuff that is in progress right now. Goal is to have 12 awesomely, amazing pieces. Yes I said that. Anyways enjoy, and sorry you can't see the type that clearly, the photos are just from my point and shoot.









oh, also... if you look, the band on the left pages indicates where you are in the portfolio. it moves up and down and is in 10 different spots, because there were 10 projects in my portfolio. the second to last image shows how it works pretty well. lastly because I have been asked in the past, the portfolio book is made completely by me. the covers are made with binders board, fabulous book cloth from Butterfly Book Binding, and end sheets i made myself - aka my own pattern printed out for them. bookmaking skills have really come in handy this year.

AIGA 2009 Elections.

So, its nothing crazy, but a poster I had to do for the upcoming AIGA Elections at Cal Poly. We are looking for the next group of officers and I am getting ready to step down as el Presidente. Anyways, just simple and informative.

NOT MINE.

so this isn't my work. but i had to share this find. looking for images and inspiration for a project, i stumbled across this image. a sweet three piece stencil. i would love to make something like this someday. just for fun, different style, you know branch out. anyways this work was created by :: .FAKE ::, found on flickr.

portfolio.

this evening my friend :: Eric Herrmann :: helped me with his awesome photography skills. we reshot most of the work in my portfolio, all on black. this is the first time i have really photographed all my work, well at least the pieces i want in my portfolio. there were a few things i didn't photograph because it will show better as a digital file, mostly posters. anyways here are some of the shots of my work and the first real appearance of the Obama book and spreads of The Unconventional Oddities of San Luis Obispo.

the unconventional oddities.




confetti.


perez.
poster will be shown digital. this was 1 of 500 buttons made.

chronicle books fellowship.

soo... most people that know me, know i have a thing for books. i prefer the ones with pictures, but reading is ok every once and a while. my love for books has led me to pursue the publishing world. currently i am learning that it never hurts to try, in this case, the bar can never be set too high. i have being lucky and gotten to visit : chronicle books : twice now because of the Art and Design department at Cal Poly. i have to say they have the most beautiful workspaces of all the studios i have been to. they have this fabulous lounge space with furniture i dream to have in my own space someday, also being there are books everywhere. being surrounded by awesome books and designers all day, um, hello,- sign me up! so i did just that, signed myself up aka submitted my portfolio to Chronicle Books for the Publishing Group Fellowship. i was very torn, because the industrial designer position sounded very cool too, but alas I stuck with what i know. i have some really high hopes, mostly because i am in love with the final presentation. i was really hoping to at least be a little different, and by the look on the receptionists face when i dropped it off, i did just that. she flashed me a smile and had this look of "this is a little different" or maybe she was confused and thought i was delivering a postal package. anyways - i like it and it shows me. me in a box, inside a book if you will. so now i sit and wait. i would love an interview and i would love the job, but lets shoot for an interview first. keep your fingers crossed!

these are a few shots of the box as it opens and the books
(portfolio and process)