I got it.

Another button!

I am easily impressed.

I just got my highly coveted new issue of Portland Monthly Magazine! Few things are more exciting in my life than finding that rag in the mailbox every month. 

This month they had an article about the movie Coraline, which was created by a production studio named Laika that is owned by Phil Knight, the same dude who owns Nike (you know, that little Portland-based shoe company). 

The article, HERE, is pretty damn sweet! I was very impressed with the whole process they described in how it was created. I don't normally have much interest in animation, but I think that it was the old-school process that hooked me.

Inspiration and Perspiration

Just looking at some other sites for some inspiration for my website. They say mockery is the highest form of flattery, right?

I began by looking at the website of wedding photographers because I have a whole list of them, and they have the same general concept that I am going for: an online portfolio. So here are some I like with notes:

Cohn Frankel Photography doesn't have the best home page, but I like that in the galleries it auto scrolls with big photos and the ability to navigate to other photos. Not such a big fan of the homepage though, with all the small script on the lower half.

Danielle Gillette's Photography website is another flash site. I like how easy it is to navigate, and see all the menu options while looking at the portfolio.

Shazam has a simple but efficient online portfolio.

I know that I want my site to be a reflection of my style as a designer. Above all it needs to be easy to navigate.

I DON'T know where to go from here. Dreamweaver tutorials? Or just flash? Will I need to pay for Lynda.com?

I guess that I will just start drawing some ideas for a layout in the meantime.

¡Jamborie!

Click my box. Then click it again. The result is pure magic.

Some Place New

The assignment was to go someplace we have never been before. Again.
It is not exactly a place I have never been, but I got the keys to my new apartment yesterday, and before that I hadn't been there for more than just a few minutes. Because it has a washer and dryer, I have been saving all my dirty laundry until I got the keys. So yesterday I brought over a load and hung out there until I had clean clothes again.
I inspected the place for damage so that management could not take it out of my deposit when I moved out. I unpacked a few things. I washed a few dishes.
And then I wandered around the place aimlessly. I tried to get a feel for it, get an idea of where I would put my furniture. I thought about what artwork I would put in which rooms. I thought about who my new roommate might be. I also thought about how happy I am to be able to filter through my belongings and start anew in this place.
And then I realized that the place doesn't have toilet paper yet, but I realized a little too late...

Capstone Project

I have REALLY been putting this off. I certainly don't want to make excuses, but with two jobs, 12 credits, and a personal crisis that I am (reluctantly) having to deal with, I am as stressed as I have EVER been. I am giving it my all to stay sane and enrolled. In order to do that I will get this out of the way. So here goes:

Verelle's Personal Website Project

This term I would like to create a website for my artwork.

I need a website that showcases my design work and maybe also my photography (although it might be appropriate to create a separate site). I originally intended to create this site in dreamweaver, a program I would have to learn, but now that I am learning Flash it seems that it might be a realistic option. I would like the site to be a clear representation of my style and be easy to navigate. 

I have so much to learn if I am going to complete this task by the end of the term.

I will need to:

• Come up with an easy-to-remember and fitting URL.
• Pick my poison? Dreamweaver or Flash? I will need help figuring this part out.
• Draw up a layout for the site.
• Compile my portfolio.
• Do the dirty work of building the site.
• Probably about 30 other steps that I just can't think of right now.

I am going to need some serious tutorials if I am going to learn a new program in just 8 weeks. Maybe Lynda.com? 

Also maybe some Alprazolam. 

I don't know if this idea for a Capstone project is a realistic expectation. I know that there are far easier things that I could choose, like setting up my job at the Bookstore (working as a graphic design/promotions assistant) as an internship, for example. 

Any suggestions?

Fun Flash Sites

The FWA has a list of the best Flash websites. How convenient.

My favorites would have to be some of the "simpler" ones:

Tracy Chapman

Brings out the child in me.

The Great Equation

Brings out the philanthropist in me.

There are lots of other great ones, but some of them seem to get a little overboard with the complexity, and then they lose it. Not that the Tracy Chapman and Great Equation ones aren't totally amazing, they just have all the tiny little buttons that create confusion. I think many of those sites are designed for designers and graphic experts; I have a hard time imagining my parents having a clue what to do with those sites.

The URLs of all those sites are also pretty great. I would assume that almost as much work must go into creating/buying a URL nowadays as the actual design of the site.

Button!

So I guess I am a badass now that I can make these fancy buttons in flash.

the colors! oh the colors!

I don't think I've seen such rad color combinations as I did on the kuler website since my last tripp. :) 

But really, I LOVE that tool!

Here were some of my favorites:

The one above grabbed me first, and that may be because I used a very similar color scheme for  a recent Bookstore event.

I thought this one was rad also. I like the bright colors.

And just for kicks, I had to choose one that was a little more mellow.

I am finding that I am very attracted to vintage colors. Here are some examples of work that I like with old school color themes. They are courtesy of the HowBlog! FUN!

The Women's Resource Center

I am always trying out new places, but somehow in the four years I have been at SOU, I still had never been to the Women's Resource Center. I only find this odd because I AM a woman. But I went, because a friend told me there was an awesome lady there that is very kind and knowledgeable. 

I loved it. 

In this particular ladies office, Delta is her name, there is a whole wall above her desk that has framed covers of Ms. magazine. Delta was just as kind and helpful as I was told that she would be, but the whole time I couldn't keep my eyes off of those magazines. They had covers that said things like "ABORTION", so that it would read "Ms. ABORTION". It was pretty rad.