The Tendencies of Absence

MCAD Magazine. JUNE / 2009. Shots from the freshly minted MCAD DesignWorks blog.

There has been a long lull on this blog, and for that, I am sorry. But I have been living, so no need to fret. What you see above is something that I was working on for some time in DesignWorks, the freshly made over MCAD Magazine. This was done under the direction and aid of MVA, and I'm forever indebted to them for all they taught me. It was a big design challenge and I'm glad that it is now out in the world. Big ups to JZK for all his help and tutalage. I'm glad he saw fit to put me on this project and saw fit to help me along the way.

So, in near a month long absence, what have I been doing? Well, I've been roadtripping every weekend with friends, going to hometown after hometown after hometown, doing a circuit of carnivals and fairs in each one. All of that has been pretty great, though it made me long for my own hometown, and as such, I'll be wrapping up this month long tour with a short visit to Cheyenne. The reasoning is two fold: as I mentioned before, I got fams to see and funnel cakes to eat, but secondly, I gotta get my phone plan switched around, which will make me become part of an elite group of bholes known as "iphone owners". I make this leap because the 3GS seems so hot to trot that I can't hold my breath a second longer awaiting the ability to play Edge AND answer phone calls. So, I'm sorry if you see me brandishing this device and looking particularly pretentious: it's just the phone wooing me.

I should also note some praise for some friends up in hurr. Colin S. Trechter recently got some favorable news on a new assignment for when he gets to his other homeland, Australia in a couple months time. The project sounds sweet, though I'm unsure if I should be the one divulging all of the greatness, so I'll just point you to this tumblr link. Congrats dude! Also, Justin McKinley won a design contest for FRWD, doing a redesign of their brand. Totally amazing! Justin is gonna exit this summer with a robust resume and he should mega proud, as we all are of him. Lastly, Levi Rubeck has begun his assault back on the webershed with new updates to his blog. Levi completed his graduate studies in creative writing this past spring and I'm glad he is getting back to some sort of constant bloggage.

Man, this post was super TL;DR and linky. HAYSUP INTERNET!

Reductive Properties

Untitled installation by Liz Plahn. SPRING / 2009

Minneapolis is short one, as Miss Liz Plahn has ventured out east in hopes of brighter and bigger things in both design and coastal location. Liz has been one of the better peoples of my time in Minneapolis, constantly giving quality critiques, expanding the paradigms of design and otherwise mooching gracefully from myself and my roommates for sometime. She will be missed, but as she had kept telling us over and over before her departure, I (among others) are welcome to visit, and visit we will.

This summer has felt more evenly paced than previous ones, but it has also signified the most change to the cosmetics of Minneapolis than I have ever been a privy to before. Not only is every highway and downtown one way chewed and gnarled by construction, I have also watched the departure of friends — old and new — and that's been a strange sensation. The knowledge that most are going on to accomplish great things quells the bittersweet taste of knowing I will not see them daily. And there is still more leaving, which will be even more strange and gut wrenching, I imagine. But in a good way. Always in a good way. And then there is the percarious position I have placed for myself, wondering where exactly I'll end up, being satiated in the knowledge that I think I can do this from anywhere. What happens if / when I go? I won't labor too long on those thoughts. No need to until that bridge must be crossed.

Take care out there my friends.

Seasonal Discharge

Paul Simon – "You Can Call Me Al"

I have been off the radar in Wyoming a bit, then off the radar in Minneapolis a bit. I'm still figuring out this whole "post-college" lifestyle stuff. Mainly that means drinking slushies and seeing sites, sending out applications and permanently keeping my fingers crossed, which starts to hurt after a while, but only in that THE FUTURE kind of way. Luckily, there is Paul Simon and Chevy Chase. Which begs to question, what happened to you Chevy? You were Fletch!

I mean, c'mon!

Tweetside Jokes

Experimental Twitterset. SUMMER / 2009

For the clever twitter critter I am, I decided to pay a bit of homage to the heroes of the design world, Experimental Jetset. More examples of T-Shirtism.

Countdown to Wyoming travels with (sorry dudes, he ain't rolling to Cheyenne, just to Denver [GO NUGZ!]) Colin Trechter t-minus 9 hours.

Back to the Culling

Batting practice homerun that hit me in the right bicep. Boston Red Sox v. Minnesota Twins, 5/25/2009.

Sometimes, you have to take a baseball to the arm. Every now and then, you have to make summer happen. This weekend was a pretty brush stroke of summer, splayed out in greens and drinks, slurred speech of baseball fans and the wails of karaoke. It's been nice to take a break from the rigor of academic rule to finally open up to dome dogs and patio seating. I have to get back to work, but of course I'm going to allow myself more summer fun when not pushing for jobs. Once I find that groove expect the same smattering of graphic dunx I usually throw down on this intrepid blog. I'll leave you with the Boss, singing a song I may or may not have sung to a room full of vets at a VFW Saturday night (I definitely did).



This gun's for hire.

Symmetry in Buttons

Me big upping during my walk across the stage at MCAD's 2009 graduation. Photo courtesy of Erin Nicole Johnson. SUMMER / 2009

And so, here we are. Completion of a long project — one with ambling twists and turns, high fives and low dives — my tenure at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design as an undergraduate student is over. It was a beautiful thing getting to take that stroll in front of friends and family armed with the knowledge that I completed something that required more effort and diligence to accomplish than I had ever put forth on any other endeavor. Thank you to my mom and dad, brother and sister, nieces and nephews, grandparents, good friends, honorable and amazing professors, and an institution that allowed me to develop a craft I had no idea how to develop.

Now, what's next?

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Exhibition of Senior Project. SPRING / 2009

This is my exhibition for my recently completed (and never completed) senior project. The work has been on display since this past Tuesday, May 5 and will run through May 17 (if I recall correctly) with a culminating event bathed in food and drink and fun on May 16. On that same day I will receive a diploma declaring I earned a BFA in graphic design. Hard to believe I've come this far.

More documentation here.