Sebastian Onufszak

This week I am going to blog about my favorite German designer, Sebastian Onufszak. His website, http://www.onufszak.com/, is where he puts up all of his work, which is AMAZING. I feel his style is very similar to mine in the way he plays with color, shapes and line to highlight certain aspects of his pieces. All of his works is different, but similar. They all portray different ideas and depict various moods, but I feel like they are all representational of his style. It's loud and vibrant. Even when he uses more subtle design techniques, it still catches your eye and intrigues the viewer. All of his work interests me because I feel like he plays with many different techniques so it seems like he's always making something different. Also, he doesn't stick with just computer art, he draws too; which he also takes back into Adobe and edits to create even more work. Honestly, his work just blows me away. He can create 2D, imitate 3D, make things look artsy or modern, subtle or loud. It seems like his skills are endless and it just baffles me that one person has this much skill and can create this much good work.

Patterns

I am absolutely in love with patterns, and when I came across this I had to share. It was part of a Flikr post, so I'm not sure who the designer is, but I thought it was beautiful. The image uses the same pattern of heart-shaped leaves over and over, but in different colors and sizes. It sort of reminded me of a puzzle I have of Princess Diana that is actually a collage of different photographs of her, put together to make one large image. What impresses me the most about these sorts of images is the amount of work that is involved. Finding the images is not too hard, but color coordinating and resizing them seems like a pretty lengthy process. I have worked with patterns in a couple projects, and I can appreciate the time spent to make them look good. However, I have never attempted something like this so I'm pretty impressed with the way the artist used size and color in the same pattern to create a portrait.

As our last week of school nears I can help but think what the hell am I going to do with my life. I don’t think I have ever been more stressed in my life and I’m starting to panic. But on a happy note my project looks better than I could have imagined and I can’t wait to install it.

I came across 2 things I wanted to share for this week’s blog one is this Icon generator you can put any word into it and it creates the word using logos and Icons from other companies and places. It’s probably illegal but it looks cool http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1RCtq9/iconscrabble.com. The other is these 3d glass paintings which some of you may have seen before but they’re amazing. He takes a bunch of different panels and then paints each one a little different so when he puts them all together they form one giant thick 3d painting. I thought that it was an interesting approach to the world of painting in 3d. http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2GR90O/www.visualnews.com/2011/01/04/3d-paintings-on-panes-of-glass

What I Hate About Becoming a Designer

Here is a blog that I came across from Jeremy Davis. I thought it was an interesting read and something that I can sometimes relate to.

It’s been a year since I started to get more into the design aspect of computers but I’d like to share some things that frustrate me as I make this push.

1. Seeing Everything Through a Designer’s Eyes

This is the biggest change for me. The more I get into and learn about design the harder I find it to enjoy simple things. Now I try to analyze everything in a critical manner seeing what could be done to improve upon it.

Here’s a few examples of how my thought process has changed.

Playing a Video Game

• A Year Ago – Kill the Covenant.
• Today – I really like this color brown for the Master Chief, this soft blue would compliment his armor well.

Watching a Movie

• A Year Ago – Opening Credits -> Movie Logo -> Movie -> The End.
• Today – Opening Credits -> Movie Logo What font is that? Is it scalable? Would it look good in greyscale? It might be better if … -> Movie -> The End.

Seeing Comic Sans in Use

• A Year Ago – What a cool looking font! I like how they used it in 5 different colors and with 10 others fonts also.
• Today – A little smile comes across my face as I remember my previous reaction, I roll my eyes and quickly turn away.

Taking a Picture

• A Year Ago – Point -> Click
• Today – Point -> Check my framing. Apply Rule of Thirds. Any distracting elements? Check depth of field. -> Click

2. Keeping Up With the Jones’

In this designer/blogger world there are always newer, shinier toys to be purchased and other people doing some amazing things that you would like to be doing.

Buying a Computer

• A Year Ago – I can just get a few parts and upgrade my PC.
• Today – I need an iMac for the house, a MacBook Pro for serious work, and a MacBook Air for taking to cafes.

Darren Rowse, David Airey, Elliot Jay Stocks, Brian Clark, Naomi Dunford, Crystal Clayton, Collis Ta’eed, Maki, Lisa Bettany, Seth Godin.

• A Year Ago – Who?
• Today – I hope to one day meet these people that have educated, entertained and inspired me. And maybe even do the same for them.

3. Time Management

Time is one of those things that you never have enough of. Since makings strides at being a designer I find myself spending a large portion of my free time doing some design or blog related things.

Free Time

• A Year Ago – Watching a movie or playing some video games
• Today – Reading RSS or design book, working on a project, chatting with a client or potential client, blogging.

New Website Visits

• A Year Ago – Usually takes about 2 minutes to accomplish whatever it is I needed.
• Today – Now it takes about 10 because I now thoroughly critique all aspects, Color, Navigation, Usability, Standards Compliance and Logo Design. If I like the design I bookmark and tag it. If it does something that I’m not familiar with I dissect the code until I understand what was done.

Feeds to Read in My RSS Reader

• A Year Ago – 0
• Today – 95 and counting

Domains to Maintain

• A Year Ago – 0
• Today – 9

I Don’t Actually Hate Being a Designer

If that were entirely true it’s not something I would be working hard at. Thus far it has been very rewarding and I look forward to my future, but it is a lot of work. I don’t have as much free time as I use to but I also feel much more profitable with my time than a year ago. I use to spend hours a day playing an online role-playing game. I haven’t logged onto my character since Christmas. I might not be the world’s greatest Black Mage because of this decision, but I have gained so much more by learning new skills and meeting great people.

I truly believe this is only the beginning and that the best it yet to come.

Two Great Designers and Some Words on Design

For what (I am assuming) is our last post I wanted to show a couple of videos; one of which I saw on a blog this morning and the other I found on you, but previously saw on Lynda.com (A great resource. If you haven’t given them a look I recommend you do so.)

The Wim Crouwel video has some interesting points about his views on what benefits designers have today and what obstacles they have to overcome. I love listening to these older designers because they have such a solid understanding (or fake it well) of design means to them today and back then. Also, they have a marvelous way of articulating these thoughts. They have spent so many years thinking and developing their own theories on design that it comes through so elegantly and simplified. It is something I strive to gain and one of the reasons I push myself to always consider the “why” of what I am doing.

The second video is by another great designer, Kit Hinrichs. In the video he talks of many things on design all of which I found interesting and useful. I love the look of his San Francisco studio and he seems like an all around nice guy. Anyway, here they are. Take what you will from them and hopefully enjoy what they have to say.

Airport Passenger Tunnel

When flying out to Minneapolis this weekend, I was reminded how much I love the airport environment.  I know some people who hate traveling for the simple reason that they don't like being fondled by the TSA... I get that.  But, I think the reason why airports are really appealing to me is because a lot of them incorporate modern aesthetics.  A lot of you are familiar with the neon-lit corridor in O'hare.  Not too long ago, I was at the Detroit airport, and I walked through a similar walkway area.  I immediately geeked out when I saw it.  The passenger tunnel itself is an 800-foot passageway designed by the Smith Group (http://www.smithgroup.com/?id=525)  The walls are made with glass panels and are illuminated with LED lights.  And to top it all off, there was ambient music playing in the background!  I really enjoyed the airport tunnel, because it takes the person out of the everyday rhythm by putting them in a surrealistic and peaceful atmosphere.  I think one crucial aspect of design is doing just that, and exposing a person to a brief yet inspirational moment.  

Film Posters

So I was going through my bookmarked design sites in an effort to get inspiration for Capstone and just creating work in general and I came across Well Medicated’s page about 25 Imaginative Illustrations Inspired by Film which have amazing posters. I personally am a fan of posters because I love the freedom that posters gives designers compared to other mediums that come with restrictions because of who their audience is. I really like the American Psycho poster and the way they used the illustrative effect to highlight the contrast between the characters expensive, high-rise apartment and him obviously being of the more noble, refined class versus the idea of him being a murderer. I also really like the Office Space poster. It’s so simple showcasing how a person could go crazy doing the same routine everyday that so many workers complain of to the point that they want to do damage. But it’s really nice because this action also applied in the movie; it looks sarcastic yet it’s what happened. The Pulp Fiction one I don’t like, I think its too much. And even though the movie was excessive, it worked as a whole movie where here I don’t think it does. Also, why is Jules blue? I don’t the point of him being blue and he looks like an avatar.