The Show is set for Thursday June 7th 5:00 to 7:30 PM @ Spex 507 South 3rd Street  Geneva, IL 60134 (630) 397-5900

So Far I have 2 (possibly 3) confirmed creations from my robotic portfolio and 1 from my decor. As of today I have created 4 new robots. I have a lot of work to go but things are moving along well.

If you have the time feel free to come to the show and look around.

Can’t wait to see you there!

A few artists I have been looking at for inspiration

Choi Xooang

Ron Mueck

Patricia Piccinini

Needless to say I am interested in developing my realism skills. The idea is to combine the cold metal robot exterior with the warm fleshy realism. I think it will push the contrast of my work in a more interesting place. I don’t think I will be utilizing these techniques in the next month but I will be experimenting with materials on how to achieve it.

Over the last several weeks I have had a difficult time acquiring material to design and build with. I thought I had a great connection in town with a metals company but after two attempts to get a quote for materials I’ve been forgotten about. I have had more success with just putting the word out that I am after any kind of metal.

Putting the word out has gotten me some amazing finds. First off, I now have a suitable welding table that is perfect for all my projects. The raw materials donated to me include several hundred pounds of this 1″ thick coated plywood in addition to two large steel framed cage doors from my place of employment (approx. 500 lbs. worth) Now that I have the materials and the tools I plan on cleaning up the workspace and finding a way to organize all the tools and materials.

After everything is organized, I plan on creating small prototypes of a few sketches I have. I will post some pictures once they are complete. I also am looking to have some designs cut out of steel. If anyone has a company that can make this happen. let me know

My beard has been removed but the awesome remains

This year

I am focusing on web design and furniture/home decor design. In the last 3 months I have acquired a MIG welder and assorted other tools to prototype my different raw furniture designs. My goal is to produce 5 pieces of finished furniture and 3 decor items before May 2012. In addition to the furniture I am laying out / designing / coding / rendering … ect a new website for my furniture design. The end goal is to have this site as a “current news/tips/tricks/advice” type of site and set up other sites for my graphic design/photo manipulation, Furniture/decor, sculpture projects.

…SO, Furniture and decor huh….

Yep, my next 4 projects are as follows:

1) a welding table – for the shop

2) a custom clock

3) an end table coffee table set

4) a modern water fountain

Bonus project: a few figurative robots from the scrap material from previous projects

My goal is to have everything completed by March 1, 2012.

…That sounds cool! Can I buy any of that stuff off of you?

You sure can! The Clock and the welding table are spoken for. However, The end table/coffee table set along with the fountain and any subsequent robots are up for grabs.

Another goal is to keep this site up-to-date with my progress (lots of pictures).

As always, keep me updated with your ideas and suggestions.

Pretty much

 any Graphic Designer these days will tell you that if you want to go anywhere in the “graphics field” then you need to have and know Adobe branded software (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver). I agree Adobe makes the industry standard  software but what are the cost benefits?

The most cost effective and legal way I can get my own copy of Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign is an Adobe package package called Design Standard. It has all the tools I need to get the job done and then some. All these resources come at a premium that many up and coming designers can’t quite afford yet.

Here is a list of alternative programs that can help you reach your goals:

1) Pixelmator
 (Alternitive to Photoshop)

This program has a lot of power for the price. I guess that’s why it was voted the top paid app in the Mac App Store for 2011. It doesn’t do every photoshop feature, but it does many if not most of them. Pixelmator is indeed available in the Mac App Store however it is not available for windows machines. Just like Photoshop, you can try it out for a trial period before you decide to buy.

Only 29.99 in the Mac App Store

2) Vector Designer
(alternative to Illustrator)

If all you need to do is create stunning vector graphics then why pay for all the other features you may never  use or need to use? There are a few Applications out there that are also good for this purpose, but I like the interface of this one over the rest. As their website states:

Only 49.99 - 229.00 depending on the version

3) Freeway express or Pro
(alternative to Dreamweaver)

I am sure this program doesn’t do everything that dreamweaver does but I imagine that the pro version gets pretty close. If you want a  powerful tool that has been well thought out and can get the job done I would research Softpress’ web design program “Freeway”. Starting with the express version your investment is minimal for the amount of resources that is put at your fingertips.

Adobe Design Standard (Photoshop + Illustrator + Dreamweaver)
$1299.00 ( 80% off if you are a student or teacher – 259.80)

all 3 Alternatives listed above – 110.00

It has been a busy couple of weeks. We just finished up with The Powers Construction Group Site about a week ago. Even though it was a bit more than we bargained  for, I think we are better for having the experience. Currently we are searching for the right clients to work with next. Our awesome sales people are pulling in leads all the time. So I’m excited to work with some new clients!

We are still putting the finishing touches on the media kit. The route we are going to take is a printed, 2 sided, info only media kit with an online pricing page (easily update-able). As soon as it is up and going I’ll be sure to post.

At the moment I am inthemiddleofnowhere, WI chilling out in the family cabin. I was speaking with Bradley Will about freeblogfactory.com and clickbank.com. Both are very cool sites to check out. Freeblogfactory is for the business that needs to get the word out about what is important to them & what they do. Not to mention, as much functionality that you can think of. But don’t take my word for it . Clickbank is an alternative to Google Ad Sense. However, You make much more revenue from the customers routed from your site.

Albert Einstein

They say…

that the Secret to creativity is to keep your sources a secret. I never claimed to be great and now I will prove it by sharing some of the best spots to get vector artwork, amazing textures and wonderful brushes to use in Photoshop. Many of you may have heard of at least a few of these but regardless it is good to have them listed in one spot.

Lets say, I am needing some vector art to manipulate and use for a project. There are lots of places to check out on line but, I start with my own personal library that I have either created myself or acquired from Go Media or have randomly found on Deviant Art. Even though you have to pay for The content at Go Media the product they sell is super high quality for an extra low price and their “package” deals are hard to pass up. They offer vector art, apparel templates and other great tool for creating and showing off your work. Deviant Art is a whole different kind of animal. This site is a community of artists that is constantly growing. It is a great way to search for inspiration and if you look under “resources & stock images” you will find a treasure trove of fonts, photography, vector art, PS brushes and textures. Speaking of textures. The last site I frequent is my absolute favorite for high resolution textures. Lost and Taken has some of the best stuff out there and much of it is completely free. You could spend hours looking at all of the stained paper, scratched metal, wooden patterns and other amazing finds.

Other great sites to go to for inspiration or just to catch up on what is current in all of the design fields are Design Milk and Design Taxi. If you know of any other great sites to check out put them in the comments below.

At the beginning of July I held a raffle for a free business card design for a random person who posted a comment on the Hospdesign facebook page. Although I didn’t have much of a turn out but I am proud to announce that Beth Keesler won! Posted above is the design she got! If anyone is interested in having logos or business cards designed feel free to send me an email with the details. I look forward to the next contest!

As of today…

I have a few projects moving forward (and some creeping along). Older projects include The Me’orleans International Jazz & Blues Festival effort and continuing to do ads for At Home Tennessee. My current projects are mostly with Hot Media Group. Other that laying out the HMG Media Kit,  I am focused on finishing the Powers Construction Group website. We have taken the 1994 design of their site and brought it up to date with a dynamic new look and some great functionality. We have hit a few snags with communicating expectations and how successful websites function (ie. updating them  weekly if not daily & SEO work). However, back in 1994 most people used the Yellow Pages to get the phones ringing. But that type of “set it and forget it” advertising doesn’t work anymore.

The driving force behind Me’Orleans contacted me today about a website he started a decade ago but hasn’t put all his energy into for quite some time. The site is called “Makemeanoffer.com”. I had no luck locating it. He mentioned that he might want to update the look of the site or at least a few element from the site. We shall see where that goes.

Working at the “fruit store” has been exciting the last few weeks. I have started doing workshops and I even did a personal training session! I’m not sure what it is about teaching people how to use their stuff, troubleshooting issues, or just answering random questions but it is amazingly fulfilling. In terms of things that give me happy goosebumps it is in the neighborhood of  designing and constructing furniture or sculpture & theme parks. I look forward to the day where I do nothing but train and help others.

Oh yeah, So congrats to Beth Keesler! She won a free business card designed by yours truly. I will be working on that tomorrow and posting the finished product.

]]> http://hospdesign.com/2011/08/20/current-ongoing-projects/feed/ 0 hospdesign1981 post5 http://hospdesign.com/2011/08/18/hangin-with-hot-media-group/ http://hospdesign.com/2011/08/18/hangin-with-hot-media-group/#comments Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:48:43 +0000 hospdesign1981 http://hospdesign.com/?p=199 ]]>

The past 2 months…

I have been designing with Branden DeBuhr at Hot Media Group. As Sr. Art director for Hot Media Group I am given the task of  conceptualizing different layouts, user interfaces and different aesthetics for our clients. What is great about this company is that they have affordable solutions for everyone. Weather your budget is $500 for a site or $5000 we can accommodate you. The cool thing is that creating websites is only a 3rd of what we do. We offer search engine optimization solutions for those who need to boost the traffic to either their new site or a current one. Hot media Group also maintains several “Hot Deals” sites that cater to anyone who has a passion for vehicles….everything from construction equipment and yachts to snowmobiles  and hotrods. Just to create a profile and post, for example,  your  motorcycle pictures and  video of your latest ride. Lets say you are interested in selling your bike and getting something bigger and badder…There is a classified section for everyone (even dealers).

Good question, anonymous reader! If you had a business that wanted to advertise on any or all of the “hot deals” websites, I would make the banner ad or ads for you. (if you needed them made). Oh yeah, and there are options on the sites to share anything you find on facebook. Feel free to comment below if you have any questions.