IHTSBIH {I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell} best guy flick yet!

This is decently the best indy guy flick I’ve ever seen. It’s concept is phenomenal. It’s reminds me of all the ’sailor stories’ I heard and did in while in the Navy. Usually every time that me and my buds went out there would be someone with the characteristics of Tucker Max. The cleaver guy who would make things happen and bring entertainment to the night. I love the essential positive messages that the film brings, like “bros before hoes” and the importance of having a wing man. {this movie is gonna be a must buy for me, especially if it comes with extras}

As soon as I saw the movie I decided to buy the book and look up the blog and just feel in love with it. They are full of new material that are not in the movie and some that are which makes you appreciate the movie scenes more. I had never understood the whole bromance thing until I saw the movie. I kinda felt discussed for liking a guy that much. Damn you to hell.

Another typeface from Goudy, Old Style

With its beautifully rounded serifs and unique appeal, we can safely see the intricate details of Goudy Old Style’s form. As all letters of a typeface should be considered a part of a whole and not seen individually, Goudy Old Style makes up a very formulated and thought out typeface. Slender is its form with little contrast between the thick and thin lines that make up this typeface. Like a song dancing on a page, Goudy Old Style is choreographed ever so meticulously. Its almost as if the font itself is held to such high standards that it must be perfectly presented every time. Its beauty has graced the covers of Harper’s Magazine and is proudly presented as text on Western Union and Heritage Bank’s logo. It’s use has also been the face of prestigious universities such as Emory and Kellog School of Management .

Primarily, Goudy Old Style is seen in companies with a reputable image. It’s no doubt that this font is of noble birth as being born into the Old Style font family in 1915. The font is held in high regard and with good reason. Being one of 115 typeface products of Mr. Frederic W. Goudy, it’s percision takes on a very traditional stance Mr. Goudy is considered to be an artist of typography having studied it for many years. The better part of his life was spent publishing and designing typefaces such as Camelot Old Style and Cooperplate So how did Goudy Old Style come to be? After continuously examining the inner workings of a typeface and how to correctly formulate one, Frederic Goudy had it down to a science. He studied masters of font creators such as 15th century graphic artist, Albrecht Dürer who formed letters using graphs, lines and circles. The process of breaking down a letter’s form into a mixed hand made of unicals and capitals gave way to a new style of writing. Letters were now being employed with more rounded curves to emulating handwriting due to new materials letters were being placed on such as parchment and vellum .
There are a few variations to Goudy Old Style font family worth mentioning. They are Goudy Old Style BT, Goudy Old Style Bold, Goudy Old Style Italic, Goudy Style Bold Italic, Goudy Style Extra Bold, and Goudy Heavyfaced. Other decorative variations of this font are GoudyText, GoudyMedieval, Goudy Handtooled, and Goudy Stout.
The main characteristic that sets itself apart from the rest is the distinguished diamond shape diacritic which rests above the letters, “j & i,” and lies at the end of a sentence. It’s captivating diamonds are just one attribute that set it apart from the rest. “All writing or lettering is a form of drawing- Simple of course. The characters of our alphabet were originally pictures or symbols…” was proposed by Mr. Frederic W. Goudy. Its serifs stick out like a sore thumb. The typeface consists of rounded and slopped serifs, spurs and ears. Its design carries a unified theme as well when comparing the stem each letter. The uppercase “w” also forges its way apart from other old style fonts as its form contains a crossbar rather than an apex. It resembles two “v’s” who have overlapped rather than connected.
Other characteristics of this typeface are the thin hairlines and stroke to height ratio. In examining the uppercase “P” of the font, the bowl is left open and exposed therefore almost creating a counter. As mentioned briefly, the typeface also contains raised and slopped features. One example is that of the lowercase “t.” Unlike Egyptian or slab serif fonts, the filets and serifs of the letter are curved upward at an angle.
The typeface consists of a short beardline but has a medium x-height which can almost visually exaggerate the typeface’s ascenders leaving less focus on its descenders. Because the typeface contains curved and wavy serifs, it leaves for an uneven looking baseline. It also leaves no terminals in the typeface. Oddly enough, the arms and legs of Goudy Old Style are straight. Also, the “&” (ampersand) of this typeface is created with an open bowl rather than a closed one as more commonly seen in Old Style typefaces.
Upon researching it, one might believe that Goudy Old Style was created under this same philosophy as that of Albrect Dürer’s geometry of lettering: rounded curves and less right angles for an easier flow of writing. So why is it that out of 115 typefaces created, this particular one carries the name of its creator? It was neither the first nor the last typeface created by Mr. Goudy. One theory serves that this typeface must have more of his personality implied in it over any other one created by him. It’s quite possible that this is his proudest typeface every created.

Copperplate Typeface

Copperplate typeface is as much common today as it was in past history. Although it was a very common typeface, it has many unique characteristics that separate it from the more modern typefaces. It’s also an essential typeface that many present day designer should learn about. Its main strength in design is for it to be used in context situations such as business or an elegant, traditional, and serious instances. With further study of its history, characteristics, pros and cons, opinions, and exploration of notorious and honorable trends of the typeface.

The typeface was created by Frederic Williams in around the year 1905. He was born in 1865 in the city of Bloomington. He moves to Chicago in his early 20’s to work in real estate. In 1895 he opened a print workshop where he started to create his many typefaces and typographical designs. He moves his workshop to Marlborough-on-Hudson in 1924. In the year of 1939, his workshop is destroyed in a fire and so he then teaches calligraphy at the University of Syracuse. He then died at the age 82 on November 5, 1947.

The typeface is a Linotype, this means that it was used in a Linotype machine that was created in 1886. The characters of the typeface would be placed in in a press which would create a single line of text. There is an AB and BC designator for the typeface to distinguish the contrast between the variations of the capital letters and small caps of the Copperplate typeface, and in front of that it has a numbering system that distinguishes the width and weigh. This makes the typeface ideal for designing with small caps because one would have more options. For instance, instead of having to create the desired size of a small cap one would have the option of using different variations of the typefaces small caps. This makes it so the entire design is in uniform and has the correct stroke and weight ratio of the characters. Frederic Williams had created 116 typefaces in his lifetime which Copperplate Gothic Bold became one of his most popular typeface fonts.

The typeface has been constructed out of capital letters and small caps. This would make it most usable for headlines and header design. It is essential to know that the small caps of the character are not just a smaller version of the capital letter. Although it has the x-height of a lowercase letter the thickness of the horizontal stroke remains the same as the capital letter of the typeface. It would not be beneficial to use it in large body copy because it would make it more difficult to read. Having the body text in all capital letter would make it difficult to read because it would give the illusion of block like shapes and it would not have the visual contras that upper and lowercase letter create to help us read more rapidly.

The typeface is classified as a serif typeface but it has similar characteristics of a sanserif. The stroke and with of the typeface is similar to sanserif, such as Univers. The typefaces serifs are bracketed and are constant trough. The serifs are not noticeable at first glance when used in smaller point sizes but can still be visible within inspection. The serifs have a design and look of letters that were engraved in actual copperplate. There is a distinctive design to the serifs that some might consider a drawback. All the serifs use are the exact same style, such as on the terminal of the character A or H, and it seems to be overused. For instance the letter J has a two sided serif where the tail is which seems to look odd compared to modern typefaces with serifs. Another thing that is odd is that the horizontal serif of characters, such as in the letter T, goes above the capline, or meanline in the instance of small caps, and below the baseline, such as the in the letter L. The serifs do work really well in some characters. For example, the letter C has a set of serifs on the end of the strokes which is pleasing to the eye and kind of makes the character resemble the look of a horseshoe to me

The serifs also seem to be overused in the glyphs and numbers of the typeface which is highly unusual for a serif typeface. The astrix symbol has serifs along every of its strokes ends which makes it not that much functional because astrix are often used in small type. The reason for this is probably to support the fact that the typeface is just not meant to be used in small type. Another glyph that is unique is the ampersand. The shape of the ampersand is very different from other typefaces because it is more of the shape of the number eight and, as usual to any character, it has a set of serifs at the end of its strokes. Not all the glyphs had serifs which is something I was glad about although there where only a few. Some of these where glyphs like quotation marks which look like any other ordinary ones but where designed to be used with the typeface. The number 5 has three sets serifs and a single serif on the top left of the number. One of these serifs are in a unique area. The area is between where the horizontal stroke meets the curve of the number 5. At first glance it seems to be overdone because not only does it have serifs, which no other different professional typeface has, it is in a strange area of the number. Although that is a very unusual area to have a serif, it makes the number more unique and elegant in my opinion. Another number that catches ones attention is the number 1. Its design is very unusual because it looks like the character I with the extending stroke just below the top of the character, which is not that uncommon, but it does not have a curve to connect the two different strokes. This makes the number seem unfinished and not too pleasant to the eye. Most serif character would have limited or no serifs at all on their numbers and glyphs. It seems that the serifs of the typeface is at almost every visible end of the numbers, glyphs, and alphabetical character. Although this is the case, that is what makes the Copperplate typeface most unique and distinguishable.

Most of the Copperplate typefaces are more wide than tall compared to many other different typefaces. Usually the lighter fonts are less wider than the bolder fonts. There are no other variations like italic or oblique with this typeface which is understandable because it is not required for its unofficial purpose to be used in context such as headlines and business cards. The opinion of some people is that the typeface could benefit with an italic font which is very much possible because the typeface has a simple design to begin with.
There are mixed emotions and opinions about the Copperplate typeface. It is notorious because many people use it incorrectly. For instance, there is a trend of people using it to name their business which can work if it is used in the correct context and not overused. An example of using it in a correct context is using it to name an classic and elegant restaurant or the name of a fraternity and not something like a toy store. Most people think that the typeface works best for business cards because of its successful history of doing so. I believe that the typeface sometimes works best when used with combination of other different typefaces. Using a combination of typefaces can escalate the design and make the typeface look better. The typeface could work with either another serif or sanserif because of its unique design of having characteristics of both kind. The typeface can occasionally seem bland and boring in large context besides body text. For instance, a restaurant menu designed in all Copperplate would not be too appealing. Another reason the typeface is infamous is because its a standard typeface, like Times New Roman, in most programs. This means that people tend to use it more often when they desire an old style typeface which leads to people misusing it in design.

A typeface that I personally admire that is similar to Copperplate is Copper Penny. The typeface is inspired by the original Copperplate Gothic design and was recently released in 2008. It is designed with the similar serif design and it comes with a set of lowercase letters which is what makes the typeface most admirable. It also uses the design of other typefaces of the time period. For example, having a diamond shape in the counter of the letter O, which was a common trend in that early time period. This gives the typeface more flexibility in design and can be use more than just headlines. I was not to fond of the typeface in the first time I saw it. It had an unusual design and I though that the serif where overdone in my opinion, but after further exploration I saw that the typeface had lots of potential and can be successful if used in the correct context.

Q&A with Sam Torres

 

 Could you tell me more about the specific type of work your company does?

We do custom printed tee shirts for customers need. Some need design work, others have

everything somewhat created and we can work from their design.

 Could you describe your specific responsibilities or job description?

I do everything from answer phones, set up quotes, proofs, create ads, order garments,

pick up and deliver shirts, collect payment, expose screens, clean screens, coat screens,

print shirts, equipment cleaning, shipping, and emailing replies or collecting feedback. My

company is very small at the moment, so versatility is crucial.

 What skills or abilities do you find are most important in your work?

Being creative should be most important to a graphic person, but number one thing I

always strive for is being responsive. I try to make sure the customer knows if they need

something I will not disappoint them.

 What personal qualities should someone have to be successful in this field?

Versatility. Being great at one thing is very limiting. You will always have to work for

someone and get mounds of work to look forward to do, but nothing that truly equates the

hard work you do. Always learn what the person next to you knows, even if its just being

able to use the fax machine or scan documents into a file and send them as pdfs. Your

value should grow and new talents mean more self-suffiency.

What do you feel is your most difficult challenge in your position?

Getting new customer.

What do you find the most rewarding part of your work?

Keeping customers.

 How did you prepare yourself for the work you do (could be education and/or work experience or other training?

Years of busy days and small paychecks seem to be the right answer, but actually

education did play a part in getting a career. I worked for a publishing company for a few

years. That taught me some of the pitfalls all graphics people go thru, and I did have tight

schedule to keep up with. You can make an okay start with an Associates degree, but a

bachelor is the norm. Don’t think school will teach you everything.

What was your first position within this field?

Interning at a military installation doing graphics for PageMaker layouts and PowerPoint

presentations. Getting your foot in the door is always going to be difficult at first. Make

sure what you are doing relates to the field you are pursuing.

What preparation would you suggest for someone interested in entering this field today? What type of degree do you think is mandatory?

Do more work than just schoolwork; practice your craft until you can knock out

professional looking comps in your sleep, hangover or whatever. The people I have met

that have moved forward have always shown exemplary skills, but also never turn down a

chance to make themselves shine no matter how challenging. Some stuff will be boring

and will not be easy enough to finish in three hours or a full day, but its worth the time to

polish something up if you can. You never know if the right person is going to see it and

drop their jaw.

 In your estimation, how good are the future career opportunities in this field?

Lousy, but you should still get where you want to go. Jobs in graphics are becoming so

pointless because the software is basically getting easy enough that “fiddlers” get better all

the time and without a degree get a shot doing something 10 years ago that took a

professional. Also, the way (most) employers relate to graphics since it requires no actual

calculation or computation is they think any fool off the streets can do it. They’d rather

farm it out. Many reasons behind my theory on that, but none I want to go into.

Side notes from Sam Torres:

When I went to community college to start my education, graphics were still being

done as paste up and mechanically. All that changed about a year before I got out

of college. I wanted to keep going to school at a larger local university, but they

were still in the process of making changes to use computers so I was already

ahead of them. Whatever you do make a portfolio that recommends you as a talent

but also a quick learner. You’ll find it’s a whole different level in the job market today.

Sam Torres

Graphic Designer/Manager

Sling Ink

South Orange Avenue

Orlando, FL

(407) 382-1988

www.slinginkshirts.com

sales@slinginkshirts.com

Great Links for Graphic Design

• 25 of the best websites for educational institutions: http://bit.ly/16jAbQ
• Logo design inspiration: http://bit.ly/LFfnm
• 50 sites to get design inspiration: http://bit.ly/1aZyPk
• 80 inspiring uses of type: http://bit.ly/Ubz0k

Analyzing Gill Sans

Gill Sans is among one of the unique typefaces we have in typography. Gill Sans is a true hybrid, carrying characteristic of both serif and san serif fonts. A further exploration into the history, characteristic, pros and cons and personal opinions will allow for further understanding of this typeface and its uses in our society even in the present day.

Gill Sans is the product of an artist turned typographer Eric Gill. The font was released through the Monotype Corporation in 1928. During this period in time, many fonts of Gill Sans similarity were being produced such as Futura and Kabel, which are both san serif fonts. Gill Sans is classified as a humanist san serif font. San Serif fonts are fonts that are void of having small features at the end of the stroke. However, a slight serif is evident in Gill’s lower case and uppercase letters. This is what allows for this font to be a hybrid font incorporating classical versions of Roman Type. An apprentice of Edward Johnston, designer of the London Underground font, Gill Sans is practically a mere reflection of Johnston’s typeface.

Characteristics of Gill Sans are unique to the artist himself. Containing hard-sculpted forms, this is also a likely representation of Gill carrying his artistic sculpting knowledge and applying that basis to the creation of this typeface. There is also a pronounced contrast in the strokes. This is seen primarily in the letter “r” and “a”. Gill Sans contains over 14 different variations with this typeface including Gill Sans Light, Light Italic, Regular, Italic Regular, Book, Book Italic, Bold, Heavy, and Ultra Bold are among the few that can be easily discussed. The lighter of these fonts is seen to be the best example of Gill Sans. This is mainly due by the legibility factor of the stroke weights within the font. The Bolder the font becomes the more illegible the font is. There is a complete juxtaposition of letterforms from Gill Sans Regular to Gill Sans Bold. There are stark contrasts between Gill Sans Regular and Gill Sans Italic. For instance, the counter on the lowercase letter “a” is completely different. Notice this is the letter “a” in Gill Sans Regular; this is an example of the letter “a” in Gill Sans Italic. Notice how the there is no swooping stroke at the end of the letter “a” in Italic and how the counter is much more prominent. Also the lowercase letter “f” in Gill Sans Italic goes below the baseline of the font itself. The Italic “p” actually overlaps each other where the counter and stem meet. This could possibly be another reason why people felt it had a more human feel to it. Among other examples is the Alt of Gill Sans, which numerals contain a different capline; as well the numerals become descenders. In the Bolder faces of this type the lowercase “r” loses its stroke to a more bulbous rounded end. The signature elongated uppercase “R” and lowercase “g” resembling eyeglasses are exemplary of the Futuristic movement in which Gill was a part of. There is a rule in determining whether or not a typeface is considered to be legible. Gill Sans defies the standard because the x-height of this font face is slightly smaller than your average face that’s awarded on the fact of legibility alone. Probably one of the greatest qualities Gill Sans has is that it is space efficient when used in body text therefore giving the designer knowledge that they can work well incorporating this font into wordy body copy.

Gill Sans is feature in much of the British Culture. It is the font used for all the street signs in the United Kingdom. The font was practically adopted by the U.K. as the type of the mid 19th century. Terror Island an online magazine uses this font as its cover and body text. Among more notable things Gill Sans is also featured as the Title for Wine and Dine Magazine (Ultra Bold), Popular children’s animated film Chicken Little (ultra bold), Local Retail Eyeglasses store Eyeglass World they incorporate the “g” and use it as eyeglasses, Popular British Act Bloc Party use Gill sans as their main text in the first two album release as well as making it the font to signify the band Bloc Party. Among others include Mega hardware store HOME DEPOT which use the font in various signage around the store. Lionardo DeCaprio directed Environmental Documentary :An Inconvenient Truth which contained Gill Sans Bold. Gill Sans has played a significant role this year especially in the two thousand and nine presidential election. President Barack Obama used Gill Sans for his presidential logo during the running of his campaign for presidency.

I feel personally that yes! Upon further examination of the font, Gill San’s bold typeface needs to be reworked. It is true what they say, the font is unique and a hybrid amongst a plethora of futuristic typefaces. However there are still qualities about the bold typeface that do work. In a more signage design format the font has it’s playful qualities. Moreover, the term novelty could be used for the bold typeface of this font. I think it is also very interesting how many different variations of the font there are out for the public to ascertain. That is why the font should be reworked. I do not know to what extent. There is a great discrepancy in the typeface that needs to be corrected perhaps changing the bulbous lower case “r”, even condensing some of the typeface or creating a proper x-height instead of it’s slightly smaller size, these are simply three ideas to try and work out. So the question is why is there not a corrected or updated version? With the amount of fonts circulating today could it be fair game that if someone considered reworking the bold face of Gill Sans they could they call it Gill Sans Neue? Would Eric Gill get all the credit or would the other designer also be accredited to the contribution of the advancements in timeless typefaces. Also, I am not a fan of the italic “p” that whole crossing over strokes is not pleasing to the eye. Sure it looks like a person would make the stroke but seriously this font could be amongst the great like Avant Garde, Futura, and Frutiger. The “g” resembling eyeglasses is genius on the part of Eric Gill.

Through examining this font I have gained a greater knowledge of a font that on paper looks amazing, yet with a closer look you see that there are significant flaws in the design. However, conceptually, understanding what Gill was trying to do lends Gill Sans to be a great font for design. Gill Sans Regular and Light are the choices I would use the font in poster design as well as for body type. Considering all the factors the typeface with the flaws is the most efficient in space. With the intentional shortening of the x-height which has managed to create a much more condensed body copy. It would be fair to say that if the whole world used Gill Sans as body copy we would technically be helping the environment by saving on paper waste. Even the hard sculpted strokes create the dominance of an aesthetically pleasing font, but also a legibility factor that pulls from both classical and futuristic styles. The “melting pot” font is what I like to call Gill Sans. Sometimes breaking the rules makes the rules.

Reference:

An Essay On Type- Eric Gill

The Lettrforms and type by Eric Gill- Eric Gill

Name This Font- Thomas V. Skrivan

San Serif- Cees W. de Jong

Identifont.com

Blogs.telegraph.co/uk/ukcorrespondents/chrisopherhowse

Terrorisland.net

BarackObama.com

Typculture.com/academic_resources/Eric_Gill

Underconsideration.com/speakup/archives/0020706

www.blocparty.com

Q&A with Rene Vazquez

 

Rene Vazquez is a graphic designer here in Orlando that specializes in traditional Print Design and Web Interface design. He has many years of experience working on an array of projects, ranging from identity systems to Flash websites.

What are some of your day to day job activities?

I am one of three graphic designers for all 18 of our offices in our Skanska U.S. division and I assist in any graphic-related content for the company. Everyday I work on something different, one day I can be working on an invitation, t-shirt illustration, logo design and the next day I can be working on a Flash interface, Indesign template, and site signage. This is one of the main reasons I like my job so much because I work on a variety of projects everyday.
What skills or abilities do you find are most important in your work?

Being able to handle multiple jobs with different deadlines is one of the most valuable skills to have in my position. Another is learning how to manage your time efficiently because deadlines change and there are ALWAYS emergencies. A final skill that is important is learning how to work with different personalities. Finally, knowing Photoshop and Illustrator is key for my position.
Do you get to work one-on-one with clients or is your work geared for internal use only?

90% of the jobs I get are from my internal “clients” across the country. Every now and then I can work with an outside client, but not often.

What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Seeing your final product being used throughout the company or on a job site where everyone can see.
What do you feel is your most difficult challenge in your position?

Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines. Knowing how to manage your time to meet the deadlines while producing a good final product is a constant challenge.

What skills and qualities should someone have to be successful in this field of work?

See #2 answers and KNOW your programs. Your willingness to keep learning is key to success in this industry.

 
Is your work limited to print design or do you have opportunities to do interactive design?

Most of my work is print-related but I do work on Flash interfaces and will begin working in After Effects for some projects in the future.

In your estimation, how good are the future career opportunities in this field?

I see this field as a very good opportunity for growth.

In your experience, what do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages to working in a small design firm vs. a large one?

Currently, I feel that a larger firm works best for me, but it depends on your situation and what your career goals are as a designer. I have worked for smaller firms and unfortunately it hasn’t worked out for me. Three of the smaller firms I have worked for went out of business and in turn I had to look for employment elsewhere. In my experience, the smaller firms offer less opportunity for advancement and the benefits offered are far less than a bigger firm. One aspect I appreciate more as I get older are the benefits and that was one factor I considered intently before taking my current role. With any company there are pros and cons, you just have to weigh out your options and see which works for you. Like I said, I prefer the bigger firms.

How important is it as a designer to know about printing presses and how they operate?

It is extremely important because you will need to know how you are going to approach the design. Knowing the printing process will help your design be successful.

Is there one locally that you would recommend?

Yes, Progressive Communications has always been good to me. Ask for Paul Bodoia, he is the best rep I have ever had. Also, for smaller print jobs, Triangle Reprographics is great.

Have you ever done any freelance work and if so, what are some advantages and disadvantages to that vs. working in a corporate environment?

I do a minor amount of freelance design only because I just don’t have the time to work on big projects when I get home. If the project is interesting enough, I will take it on. My company treats me well, so I have that luxury. But at this moment, I am ok with working just in the corporate environment.

 There are many advantages in working freelance. If you can line up a string of steady clients, you can make a decent living at it. Working for yourself is great because you are your own boss and you dictate your hours and you can work from home. Unfortunately there are so many disadvantages for me that I will never do it full-time. Dealing with non-paying clients, the 2am calls from project managers, having no benefits, worrying when the next project is coming and the whole accounting part of it (among other things) is not for me. Some designers are able to handle that but I am good with working in my corporate job, going home at night and not worrying about work until the next day. Of course there are times when I have to work late nights, but those are few and far between. Once again it depends on your personality.
Do you have any other advice you can give me?

1.Be Humble! There will always be a better designer better than you, but if you are humble, have a great personality and a strong portfolio, you will always beat out that arrogant rock-star designer. Our community is small and if you are a jerk, it will come back to haunt you.

2. Get to know your computer programs as much as you can and don’t stop learning about them.

3. Treat your classes now as your clients and take them seriously. Try to make the best projects now because your portfolio is the one thing that gets you an interview.

4. I can’t stress this enough, Act like a professional! If this is what you want to do as a career, act like a professional now.

5. Present your work with confidence. If you are not confident in your work, nobody will be.

6. NEVER turn in projects late. Deadlines are there for a reason and you are always expected to meet them no matter what the circumstances are. In a real job, there are no excuses and they don’t want to hear them. Be on time.

Rene Vazquez

Senior Graphic Designer

Skanska USA Building

Marketing

www.skanska.com

111 N. Magnolia Ave

Suite 1150

Orlando, FL 32801, United States

Phone	+1 407 541 4750
Mobile	+1 407 401 2374
Fax

+1 407 872 0962

Q&A with Mike Casebolt

Mike Casebolt is a freelance designer that is currently a junior designer for Platinum Creative here at Orlando. I stumbled upon him on facebook a while back and I desided to interview him to gather some knowledge about his career and current position as a junior designer.

Derrick: What are some of your day to day job activities?

Mike: My daily activities include poster designs for events, online banner ad concepts, asset creation, and print design. I work on a lot of different things through out the day it really depends on what projects I am given. My work involves Print Design, Web Design, and Motion Graphics.

D: What skills or abilities do you find are most important in your work?

M: I think the skills/abilities are most important are keeping up with what is going on in our industry. Learning new scripts for web development. Checking out tutorials for any Adobe program to learn more about the programs. Communication with projects your working on and always taking in comments about your work.

D: Do you get to work one-on-one with clients or is your work geared for internal use only?

M: The company that I work for with is an in-house design firm so a project manager gives my work to me. The project manager is the one that is taking care of all the traffic of work and gives the work to us.

Outside of my job at Platinum Creative I’m a freelance Graphic Designer. I do work one-on-one with the Clients. It’s nice to be able to work freelance by yourself or with a small group of friends. The only downfall is a lot of clients can will or try to take advantage of freelance designers so ALWAYS use contracts.

D: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

M: The most rewarding part of my job at Platinum Creative is working with very talented designers to learn and grow from. When I was getting my degree in Digital Arts & Design everyone was very competitive so there wasn’t much growing for me as a graphic designer. Once I was out of college and working at a firm my skills and knowledge grew so much when working with designers that have been around a lot longer then I have.

D: What do you feel is your most difficult challenge in your position?

M: Not being challenged enough. I find myself sometimes bored with the work that I get and not put my full potential into it because some work that you’re given is just busy work. Not every think you work on if going to be amazing but you should always take everything you touch and put what you can into it to make it something you would be proud to show.

D: What skills and qualities should someone have to be successful in this field of work?

M: Make an impression. Think outside of the box. Always read industry related materials online or books. Look for inspiration but don’t rely on another artist or designer to make something. Make sure you’re always designing with your style or look and not knocking off something else’s work. Always take the time to check out AIGA Events, local Art shows, and networking with other designers.

D: Is your work limited to print design or do you have opportunities to do interactive design?

M: I spend about an equal amount of time working with Print Design and Web Design. Most of my web work comes from freelance projects. I specialize in xHTML, CSS, Javascript, and CMS design.

D: In your estimation, how good are the future career opportunities in this field?

M: Web will is always growing and increase by billons of dollars every year with Online Advertisements, Web sites, and online applications for media devices like the Iphone. Print isn’t like it used to be because of the Internet but I don’t think that it’s going to just fade away and be forgotten.

D: In your experience, what do you feel are the advantages and disadvantages to working in a small design firm vs. a large one?

M: I would rather be working in a small design firm because you have a closer family to work with. Rather then being in a big firm where you have so many different bosses that have to make approvals and turn good concepts away because they don’t know the whole story of the concept for the advertisement. Also you may not be treat as well in a larger company because there isn’t as much of a relationship built with having a large amount of employees.

D: How important is it as a designer to know about printing presses and how they operate? Is there one locally that you would recommend?

M: I think every designer should have an Idea of how printing works. I’m more into screen-printing and a good book to read on screen print is called “Print Liberation”. I have been to a big printing press and watched the process of printing at a place called Designers Press. They are located in Orlando and are very good for printing large runs. If I’m looking to print business cards I use ww.Moo.com. If you’re looking for screen printing for posters or shirts try Enemy Ink.

Screen Printing: http://www.enemyink.com/

Designers Press: http://yourcreativealliance.com

Book: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Print-Liberation/Nick-Paparone/e/9781600610721/?itm=3

D: Have you ever done any freelance work and if so, what are some advantages and disadvantages to that vs. working in a corporate environment?

M: I would always try getting a full time job first, the reason being is you will learn a lot and be able to have a better understanding on how projects are handled and build your portfolio. Freelance has its ups and downs because of clients being flaky or trying to take advantage of you. I don’t want to scare you away from freelance because I think it’s the best way to work personally because you set your own time, it’s work that you get to have full control of and if it’s a bigger project you can bring your friends in to work with. I would say the best plan for any designer to do is find a design job when you get out of college and get three to five years under your belt and then if you want to work fully on freelance work you can make the change of being your own boss. I said this before but always work with contacts because it’s security for you and your client.

D: Do you have any other advice you can give me?

M: Never stop learning, have fun and always make sure to challenge yourself. In my experience everyone feels that they aren’t good enough or think they are going to fail it’s normal. Never be afraid to take good and smart risks. Never hold back ideas. I would keep a moleskin book with you to either doodle in or write your ideas. Network as much as you can. If you feel stuck on a project either start on a clean slate or try something new because from experience I’ve wasted too much time trying something that wasn’t working out and then tried a new idea and the project came together perfectly. Always ask for second opinions on projects and listen to advice given because it may open your mind up to fixing a problem.

Why Mac?

I know hands down that when it comes to graphic design, video, and photo to use a Mac. I still haven’t figured out why though. Does Mac have special “Mac Only” things that a regular PC doesn’t!? I understand that Mac have a higher quality and thats why they cost a little more than a regular PC, but why is it so greatly preferred? What is it that makes the Mac that much special from PC!? ( I currently doing research and haven’t found a clear answer yet , I luv those “Mac v. PC” videos though )

Data retention: how much do you care about your privacy?

Data retention: how much do you care about your privacy?Posted by IH on Jul. 4

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In today’s news, Youtube was ordered to give user histories and IP’s to Viacom for evidentiary collection (aka. discovery in legal terms). I’ve went through this same process with our lawsuit brought by the MPAA so I thought I’ll share some of my thoughts on the issue.

As unreasonable as I think these lawsuits by Viacom/MPAA may be, in order for the legal process to work, plaintiffs are entitled to evidence in order to prove their case. However, user privacy should be a large concern in disclosing of data (logs) as evidence, and in neither Youtube’s or our case, there’s no reason for turning over data that would expose your personal identify (such as your IP address). From glancing the order against Youtube, the reason they were ordered to turn over user histories is to prove user infringements, and inclusion of IP’s in such logs is to uniquely identify users who may have signed up multiple usernames/accounts. I call bullshit on that. If someone uses multiple usernames, he can as easily login with multiple IP addresses, disclosing IP’s would not help the plaintiffs in proving copyright infringements. I expect Google/Youtube to appeal the order (at least I sure hope so).

As for us, we successfully argued in our MPAA case that we don’t need to turn over your IP addresses as it is a violation of user privacy with no evidentiary value, and only turned over .torrent access logs in anonymized form. You may not like to hear that .torrent logs are being turned over, but the truth is we were ordered to do so and that the MPAA does need anonymous logs to prove their frivolous lawsuit.

The bottom line is, what really matters to you is your privacy and I can assure you that our rather simplistic privacy policy is true and correct: we will not disclose your personal identity to any third party, without your consent. For other website admins, as Brian Aker of MySQL has suggested, for sake of privacy of your users and your own sanity, only keep server logs in anonymized or aggregate form. I see no usefulness to keep full logs long term. As to ISP or other man in the middle snooping of your activities on isoHunt, we now have SSL encryption option to protect your visit to isoHunt.com from prying eyes.

Importance…

If a well-intentioned guest arrived at your annual gala wearing sweatpants, ratty shoes, and clearly had not put comb to hair, what would your impression be? Not so good, right? “But wait,” this guest might say, “I really mean well. I really contribute to society.” Too late. Your impression is already formed. This subtle dynamic is exactly what is at play when organizations think they can save money by designing something without the services of a graphic designer. The piece may be functional, but it may leave a negative impression, or worse, may not even be read. “You get one chance to make a good impession,” says Joe Rademan, of Rademan Design. “There is no better way to do it visually than through quality graphic design.” We live in a culture in which we are bombarded constantly by information and commercial messages. Every company, for-profit or non-profit, clamors to rise above the bombardment. Quality graphic design is one way to help put the odds in your favor.

Why is graphic design important?

Quality graphic design improves your marketing materials in many ways. First, a well-designed piece, whether that piece is printed or media, like your web site, will support and enhance your message using visual language. We perceive information on many levels, both verbally and non-verbally. Graphic design conveys a sense of your organization in a visual and non-verbal way.Graphic designers also enhance the readability of your materials. They will select colors, typefaces, sizes of text, and imagery, then lay out these materials in a way that guides the readers eye through the messages. “It’s packaging,” said Philadelphia-based graphic designer Sharmi Patel. “An organization may have great ideas and great goals, but a graphic designer can put them together in a way that is appealing, that enhances consumer perception.” How do you know if the design is good? When you work with a graphic designer, usually he or she will present a couple concepts to meet your goals. Deciding which one is best is rather subjective, but your best guide is your own instincts.

How do you feel about each concept?
Is the concept visually appealing?
Is it clean and uncluttered?
Does the information flow?
Is it organized and easy for people to read?
How do the colors feel to you?
Do these concepts reflect your organization?

Patel suggests: “Do you want to pick it up and read it? What is pleasing to your eye?”
Once your organization establishes its visual look or identity, it’s important to be consistent. “Create graphic standards,” said Michael Nix, creative director and professor at Baruch College in New York, “and don’t reinvent the wheel for ongoing pieces, like newsletters, event calendars, and letterhead. Having a signature look is critical.”

What are the best ways to work with a graphic designer?

When you hire a graphic designer, review with him or her: the goals of the project the desired action you need to achieve from the piece who the target audience is your budgetary parameters what components, such as copy, photography, illustrations, charts, required logos, are available deadlines how the piece will be mailed and most importantly, how you want your organization to be reflected.Your organization’s marketing communications materials need not win design awards or even breakthe budget to be effective. Well-designed pieces, however, will get attention and response.