my love/hate relationship with twitter
What do you think about Twitter? I have recently been trying to spend more time tweeting, (I hate that word) but as many times as I try to latch on to the twitter epidemic, I can’t seem to get too excited about it. So today I made over my background, and spent some time exploring. I will admit that it is a pretty handy tool in the world of design freelance, or any freelance for that matter. And there are tons of great design websites I follow that provide me a steady flow of handy tips. So today I love Twitter. I’m sure I’ll forget about it tomorrow. Follow me @emilybarger!
Some helpful design sites I am currently following:
greenbydesign (I like their logo)
designnewz (a tried and true fave)
dnzgraphidesign (spec work)
DIY vintage jewelry
Last night I spent the evening at the Jasper Winery in Des Moines, sampling wines and creating vintage jewelry out of old typewriter keys, skeleton keys, and a variety of buttons and antique costume jewelry. The event was pretty awesome, and free, too! (Sorry, I get pretty excited about free things lately – still making the internship paycheck…) It was sponsored by the Iowa Clinic, and they provided us with wine tasting, jewelry making lessons, freebies, and delicious treats from Gateway Market. I went with my friend Blake, and I think we were the last to leave (we really over thought our jewelry designs and had visions of much more elaborate creations – thank you art degrees!) After a glass or two of wine, this is what I ended up with:
Future Etsy shop? Perhaps! Check out more upcoming events at: http://www.facebook.com/ru1desmoines!
poster series
The last graphic design project of my college career! (Tear.) This is a start of a poster series for the Des Moines Botanical Center. I started by taking photos of textures and shapes, and then layered them with blocks of color and vector shapes. Although my creative juices were all dried up at the start of this project (due to it being the end of my last semester in college) I think it turned out alright!
I’m graduating!
This is a graduation announcement I whipped up for myself at the last minute after my mom called and told me I should. I took a rather untraditional route – but I think it paid off. (My boyfriend says it’s the best thing I have ever made…Aww.) It is a good way to get in touch with long lost family members.
letterpress
After my first experience with a letterpress today, I spent hours online trying to find my own letterpress to buy. Turns out they are hundreds of dollars and they also weigh as much as a small car. So I probably won’t pursue that any further… But if I could only find a letterpress in Des Moines I could get my hands on… Maybe I will look for a class. I just love the vintage quality of the uneven ink. But at the same time, it really makes me appreciate Adobe even more, because it takes for-ev-er. Do you own any letterpress prints? They make excellent art.
think preview…
Here is a sample spread from the up-coming edition of Think Magazine. Think is our journalism capstone project at Drake. (I am currently Art Director). For this article, the editor wanted to see an illustration or infographic to go with the text. I was overwhelmed by the idea of an old fashioned illustration, but decided to give it a shot. I used a sharpie and some watercolor – hopefully it will work because we are publishing 5,000 copies of this baby!
unofficial launch(!)
So I would like to announce to my 2 fans that unofficially, my new portfolio site is up. Unofficially because this is the third portfolio website I have put up in the last year, so I can’t expect both of you to get too excited. The reason for the makeover was to make it match with my identity system which I shared below. I’m officially (or unofficially?) ready to apply for jobs. Anybody need a designer?
identity crisis
Is there anything more frustrating than designing something for yourself? I think I have been my most picky client so far… I finally have an identity sysyem which I have incorporated into my resume, envelopes, stationary, business cards, thank-you cards and website. Phew. I decided to stray from the using-my-initials-to-make-an-unremarkable-logo trend, and came up with this:
hello all.
I live to make things. Whether I am doing graphic design or cooking up a culinary creation, I am always brewing up something. Yes, I’m one of those… Like an addict shooting up dope, I get a similar rush from spending hours glued to a glowing computer screen, or slaving over a hot stove in the middle of summer. Sometimes my creations can turn into disasters… and don’t worry, I’m prepared to share the good, the bad & the ugly with you. But hopefully along the way, I can inspire you to tap into the right side of your brain, because afterall – imagination is greater than knowledge! (My favorite quote from Albert Einstein, only because it justifies my lack of knowledge…)
