Reflecting

So over the past few weeks I've been thinking how life has changed since we got married just shy of one year ago. I keep thinking about the weather, my really flat hair, the Disney touches at the wedding, and the trip to Paris. Our day was definatrly unique to us. We had Mickey ears and great tasting cake. Kyle cried. It was a beautiful day.

More reflections to come.


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Tonight

You know those nights when you've been told at work that you should be able to go home on time and then your boss comes up to you and asks you to something before you leave? That is just how my night has started off.

The rain started at about 4 today looks like it will not stop for atleast 2 days, so driving home from Metro Center today was a challenge. People are really stupid in the rain. Lucky for me, there were no wrecks and I made it home safely.

Due to the rain, my plan was to bring all of the stuff I needed to bring in the house in all at once. So I got the mail and my things and headed into the house. Upon enter all is fine until I go into the kitchen to set my glass lunch plate down and my coffee container. Well I guess you can guess what happens next. Yep, my plate fell out of my hands and ontop the tile floor. Shattered to pieces. It was ok for the plate since it was some of Kyle's leftover plates from his apartment and it was not one of our nice Pottery Barn plates. Shattered to pieces is the plate and now I have to clean it up. Not something too bad but still strike one for the night.

In the middle of cleaning things up, my phone rings and its Kyle telling me to get his exercise things and dinner at meet him at my parents house. So I get everything packed up ready to go and changed for cooking the Wednesday meal for the masses and then I get yet another call from my mom asking me to add to my hefty list of stuff to bring our crockpot. It's not a big deal really, but it's one more thing to take to the car on a cold and rainy night. That's two trips now.

When everything is packed up in the car I head over to my parents house to meet everyone an they are not there. Strike two. Since my purse is in the backseat with my phone set to vibrate, I do not hear the call and the text from them telling me to just meet them at church. I then get out my phone to see the VM and text an proceed on.

Upon getting to church, the door I try first is hard to open one handed (due to all the stuff I'm carrying), so I go to the next door. It's locked. Strike three Then I go to the next door where my mom and Kyle can hear me knock. Finally, I make it in with all of the items for walking and food. The crockpot is still in the car per previous instructions.

So far it's been a trying night. I am pretty sure that it is due to my tiredness and hunger. I'm finally eating dinner and writing this. Not that this is that important but it's what has happened since this afternoon.

I'm so excited that we're headed to WDW on Thursday and I need a BREAK!




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Beth's Shirt

A few weeks ago now I made a shirt for my friend Beth's Race for the Cure team. The shirt was all her idea, so I can only take credit for putting it all together. The shirt has been a tremendous hit and has sold up to 100 shirts as of today. 25% of the proceeds are going to the Susan G. Koman Foundation to further the search. I'll put some pics below to show you what they look like and to let you know that I do shirts and would be happy to make one for your race team/group activity.

Connections

Today I dropped off my car at the dealerhip for the recall repair. In the courtesy van, I met a guy that works with my former paper rep at Athens. Turns out he knows my printer rep at m&b. It's really a small world in the design world. Miss the paper an printing side of things but I know I'm where I need to be for now.


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Fun Pictures

Flad shirt finally done!

Tomorrow I am taking to print the GW VBS shirt to print. This is what it will look like finished.

Flag Shirt Art

For Granny White's VBS, I have made the logo and now the t-shirt versions. The final decision was to go with a Royal colored shirt for the adults and a white one for the kids. Here is the art.

















Adult Pocket













Adult Back



















Kid Front

Color Swatches for the FLAG shirts

Here are some color options for the flag -shirt. Let me know which one you would pick by commenting below. I'll post the winner when the art is done.

Lauren

P.S. Sorry for the low res. Issues with making it caused this.

FLAG Logo Final Look

Here is the final look for the flag logo. Now I have to make the mock ups for the shirts and do the art for printing them. I'll post that stuff later.

Lauren

Look What's Up in Our Office

This morning we received this banner by mistake. It was a great way to start the day!

FLAG Logo

I did a logo last year in haste and this year I find myself redoing it. I am ok with doing the update, but I seem to not be getting as far as I would like. I need feedback. I have sent on what I think is an improvement to the initial design, but i know its not there yet. Below I will show you the metamorphosis of the logo. Please let me know what you think of where I am now. I really need feedback. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Bio for logo: for a church vacation bible school that is for mostly preschool to 6th graders. name of vbs is raise the family life around God (FLAG).





















Original logo submitted by church





















The logo I did last year in haste that I really want to replace.





















An attempt at a change that is not there yet. Still a work in progress.




















The word mark that I really like. I am not sure if it will do for this logo since they will probably want a flag. I've gotten some feedback on this one, but nothing that I have changed yet.

Please keep in mind that this will be used on printed materials and on t-shirts. This is just the name of the VBS. The theme is Fishing with the Master. Personally, I think that the theme should have a logo. I might make one too, but we're running out of time since VBS in about a month and a half.

Thoughts are needed. Please comment.

Thanks, Lauren

Misery Loves Sherman

Listened to a podcast today that talked to the illustrator and writer of this strip. Its great!

Check it out.

I have found my purpose...and have turned it in.

I have finally finished my statement of purpose for SCAD and have turned it in. I am so happy its done. Now I'm on to the other things in life that are pressing.

Oh, we have free tickets to the Wolverine opening tonight, so I guess you could say we're celebrating the completion of the application process.

Below is my paper. Read it if you wish.

My decision to pursue an advanced degree in graphic design began while still working on my undergraduate studies. While my professors were helpful, the course offerings were limited, leaving gaps in my education. By pursuing graduate education at SCAD, I hope to enhance my abilities as a designer in order to graphically speak through the artwork I create.

Through my academic experiences, I have learned a great deal about my abilities and myself as an artist. Specifically, I have learned how to be a critical thinker, opportunity taker, and self-motivated individual. One of my classes, Art in Public Spaces, helped me develop these abilities since it simulated what professional artists undergo when vying for a public art contract. This class challenged me to create designs that were low maintenance, long-lasting and practical for the space; it further encouraged me to collaborate with my fellow classmates and combine our individual strengths for our project’s benefit.

Beyond the classroom, I attended special programs and lectures to help in my understanding of design. I was chosen as the layout and design editor for Lipscomb University’s yearbook, later becoming the editor. I gained an intimate knowledge of design programs like PageMaker and InDesign, for which no classroom work could equal. For further inspiration, I looked to public spaces and did everything from investigating signage at the mall to studying billboards. When a piece caught my eye, I tried to reconceptualize it and incorporate it in my work. Such passion has given me the drive to improve the world around me.

These experiences motivated me to find a career where I could refine my skills. At Talstone (a healthcare marketing firm), I realized that by working closely with highly trained professionals, I could broaden and enhance my design abilities. Throughout my time with this company, I have created materials for a variety of industries and also have gained an intimate knowledge of production management, since I have been responsible for quoting, selecting paper, and doing press checks. However, on-the-job training can only lead me so far, and the need for further education became apparent.

By attending SCAD, I can begin to look at art in new ways and can communicate more effectively through the pieces I create. My desire is for my work to be at the forefront of the graphic design world. I will become a designer who works well collaboratively or individually, can think conceptually, and creates pieces that are influential. With the help of the professors at SCAD, I will take my passion for design to the next level and will become one of the best designers in my field.

Starbuck New Campaign

Check out their new campaign to debut this weekend.

More info to come.

Why did they do this? The Tropica Packaging Change

(Old logo was very similar to this. Good update example for a logo.)




As you may have seen in your local grocery stores, Tropicana has changed their packaging. I saw it and was not that upset with the change. That lack of care could be because I thought it was not that big of a deal to go with a more "organic" looking design. Organic seems to be the trend right now anyway. A design site did a great analysis of this packaging change, Brand New.

Read their thoughts for more information.

This is an example of why testing your packaging is important. Moral of the story: always pole the audience when there is a major design change to your product. Yes, that includes the logo.

More ranting to come about the horrible logo that Pepsi has recently gone to. Look for it in an upcoming post.

Enjoy the links.

Lauren

Grad School Portfolio is Out the Door

Tonight I am sending off my portfolio to Savannah College of Art and Design to be considered for admission to the Masters of Fine Arts Program (online). I am so glad to be finally sending it in. Its a relief to finally get it out of my possession. My paper is going to be emailed by April 30, so I have a couple of more days to take a look at it. I have been helped by so many in this process and I now get to wait. Should be fun! I'll keep you posted.

Lauren

Duel Image Logos

The other day I was looking for ideas for a logo that I am doing for work and came across these as I was on my search. Two of these show two different images within one design. The Spork design I thought was just cool. If you want to check out more cool logos go to logopond.com.
Hope you enjoy them.

Paris Pics

Here are 2 images from our trip to Paris in November. I am looking into getting one of them framed. Let me know which one you think would look better in a house. It will be printed in color.

option 1 (base of the Eiffel Tower)

option 2 (second level of the Eiffel Tower with all of the twinkle lights)

Please write me a note to let me know which one you would pick.

Thanks!

Lauren

Really Cool Cake Design

Tonight I've found a really cool cake that someone made that is themed Mickey's Clubhouse. It rocks! Check out the picture below and a link to the cake decorator that made it.

Coach Meyer Video

Check this video out.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4068083&categoryid=3060647

Remy's In Epcot

I finally watched the video with Remy. It is so cute. I really wish he would talk more, but understand that might be hard to understand.

Enjoy!

First 5k Ever at 8:15am

Tomorrow morning Kyle, my mom and I are "wogging" the Purity Challenge at Metro Center in Nashville. We are having to get up at the ungodly hour of 6 on a Saturday (yes, that is ungodly since I DO NOT rise before noon on Saturdays). This is my first official race ever. Yes, I'm 25 years old and I haven't done a race, but you have to start somewhere.

In January, we are planning on doing the Walt Disney World Half Marathon and have started training. We're in the beginning stages right now so, our jogs are pretty short. I am really excited about the half. I have been talking to friends and listening to podcasts about the race, so I feel like I CAN DO IT! If someone that is several years older than me do the race, then I can do it too. I really hope to keep posting about our training.

Going to bed now. Thanks for reading.

Lauren

More Neat Design - Frank Chimero

Here are a couple of sites that focus on one designer's work (Frank Chimero) that should really be looked at. I like the posters that he has made because it really speaks to designers and how they experience life. Click on the images to go to the sites.

Bert and Ernie Gangsta-Rap

Check this out!

Lou's Video continues

Here are a few videos that one of my favorite podcast host. He has the greatest job ever! Check out the videos. Also, check out his new and improved website at www.wdwradio.com. It rocks!

Lou's Video

I really like watching videos from WDW. Watch this one!

Cool Designs from Various Magazines

Today as I was looking for inspiration for a piece I'm working on at work, I ran across some designs that were pretty cool. Below are a few that I like.