Daydreams

Begin Again. And again. And again.

Well, I'm back once again to the world of my blog.  

A lot has happened since I posted last.  I've advanced as a scuba diver and am beginning a rescue diver class.  I've taken a trip to Little Cayman and dived in an amazing environment.

I've taken little steps here and there to make my life a better one, and hopefully as a result make my life better for the people around me.

I just signed up for a program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital called "The Right Weigh". I'm excited and cautiously optimistic all at the same time.

I hope to get drawings up here soon, get something going in terms of art.  I did a painting recently, and it was great fun to do.

Sorry, Richard

I was sure after all this time no one read my blog, thus my bitchiness. Sorry about that!

My boss says places like Target create crap. Which is odd, since they're making so much dough off of the "crappy" designs.

And I've gotten the opportunity to study companies like Office Max, Office Depot, Staples - all customers - and how they have SCRAMBLED to catch up to the trendsetting big boxer. I should write something about this, because it's been interesting, exhilarating, and damning because of what I've observed and NOT been able to participate in.

Office Max I've observed closely as they've gone from basic, generic packaging to creating an identity. The identity was created, it was fun, and the buyers all bitched until it's been mellowed. My company, the reps, and buyers all seem stuck in archaic notions.

The name of the game now is "Private Label". Office Max, for example, still buys the same sorts of products from manufacturers, but the demand now is to put it in the packaging they've decided is their private label.

It's clearly the Target model. The designers and reps for Target, as retail goes (ick), have been golden. And its just NOW that the companies are accepting it as the way they have to go.

I wish I didn't have this retail manufacturing experience. Especially on days like Earth Day and Mayday. Heh.

Foohy brand is a good example (a division of Newell Rubbermaid). Foohy is obnoxious packaging, obnoxious cheap product - but it's fun. If you decide to GO the cheap route for your kid, at least the cheap crap can also look fun.

The public demands cheap. Cheap cheap cheap. I wish cheap didn't mean low quality or low design. Maybe this new trend will help?

Not good

I'm sooooooo incredibly tired of my boss treating me and graphic design like we're insignificant and trite.

Wikipedia states that Graphic Design is:

the process of communicating visually using text and/or images to present information, or promote a message.

Graphic design practice embraces a range of cognitive and aesthetic skills and crafts, including typography, image development and page layout.

Like other forms of communication, graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created, and the products (designs) such as creative solutions, imagery and multimedia compositions.

My boss acts like he could design much better than I can if he only had the computer skills. He negates the fact that I've spent my life studying art and how it can be used for communication. Unless he tells me specifically to give him my input on something, my input is met with resistance and anger.

Now he's going to hire another designer to the mix. I feel stressed and tired because of how much Thales and I rely on my income right now with her out of work - and the notion of getting laid off or fired is prevelent with the tumultuous nature of my relationship with my boss.

About three-fourths of the time he treats me and other people around me like idiots. I may not have experience with retail design, but I have lots of experience with DESIGN. No matter how ugly or ridiculous a package is, there can still be general rules to go by to help with the overall comprehension of the message, in this case, selling that product.

But again, apparently I'm an idiot, and design education and the implementation of it is a farce.

I want to go home and go back to bed.

SCOOBAH!

Folks, I finally did it.

The Momo.

Good friends

Well, Thales and I had the privaledge of spending a lovely evening with two terrible handsome boys. (Um, not the whole night, you dirty thinker, you!) We had a nice Ethiopian meal in Evanston, and headed back to a swinging bachelor pad for some conversation. And we played with balls. Isn't that nice? The boys played with the balls more than we girls did.

SO! On that note, I present you with a sketch I did of my boss in Hong Kong.