SO IF YOU WANT TO SEE LOADS OF PHOTO'S head on over to my Flickr Page. It's very worthwhile. Sort of. Not really. Anyway the photo's are organised into groups and everything. Want to see photo's of our trip to Belfast? Well you can! Sets worth checking out are the fun ones like: I Heart Things, and Stuff. They're not just photo's of places, but collections of things that are slightly interesting.
Simply click on the image above to go!
IESSO
WE WENT TO SEE TRANSFORMERS LAST NIGHT and I just wanted to give my review. Before I start though, I should mention that I am not a fan of the 80's TV show or movie. Not because I didn't want to be, I just didn't get into it. Anyway with that being said:
Transformers was a very good movie. The action sequences were really cool! The fighting, the explosions. All totally awesome. Even the cheesy dialogue from the Autobots was bearable. It was really cheesy though. The human characters were very poor though. VERY POOR. Not so much the acting, that was fine, but they were just unnecessary. I appreciate that Sam/Spike Whitwicky was crucial, as well as some supporting characters, but overall there just seemed like too many characters with too little explanation about them.
That's all ok too.. I don't really mind that either. But another thing that bothered me was the direction the film went. At some points it was comical and funny, which was clearly based on the 80's stuff. If this style was throughout I would've had no problems, I wouldn't have liked it so much because I was never a fan, but I wouldn't have been annoyed either. Similarly most of the film is extremely serious and realistic, and that is great! It's a movie for people who grew up with the franchise and have now matured and want a mature film dealing with talking car robots. And that's fine too! BUT the problem is that right at the height of action they'd switch to comical farce mode and completely ruin the moment.
That's really annoying, but it's still not the worse part. There is a character that really ruins the movie for me, he's called Frenzy and was based on Soundbyte, but is smaller and thinner. Without ruining anything by giving away plot details all I can say is he is basically Jar Jar Binks. Remember Star Wars was pretty awesome untill JJB started speaking gibberish, well it's that all ovre again. You'd think Hollywood would learn it's lesson after him, but there was Golemn as well (not too annoying, but slightly) and now this robot thing. Very annoying. No-one in the theatre laughed at his 'jokes'.
Is the movie for kids? No, it doesn't establish what is going on at all and is very violent. Is it for diehard fans of the original? I don't think so, most of the characters have been radically changed! Is it for hipster kids who think it's cool to like Transformers for their 'ironic' values? Probably. I went to see it because it looked like a load of fun. And it really was, don't get me wrong, it was great fun! But there were a few elements in there that were it's own undoing.
What would I give it? Mixed reviews:
✭✭½ for the movie as is
✭✭✭✭½ for the movie re-edited to remove Frenzy's voice.
IESSO
PS. YOU CAN BUY ME ONE OF THESE IF YOU WANT.
But make sure it's the 24inch one with 4GB of RAM and 1TB harddrive.
SO I CAN FEEL IT CREEPING BACK AGAIN. I'm getting that feeling in my stomach, making me move slowly, making the world go by too fast. I can feel it making me miserable. Making me want to curl up in a ball and hiding. Yes my friends, it's my good friend depression. Being out of work (basically), broke, and feeling like I've wasted 4 months and AU$20,000 is taking it's toll on my psyche. I got another rejection today. They were looking for someone with more 'experience' and more of a 'safe bet'. Whatever that means. But at any rate it's making me miserable. Where I am now is great, the work is good, the people are nice, it's hard work but worth it, but it's only freelance, so I can't rely on it.
And today's lunch summed it all up. Having forgot to pack a lunch (I say forgot but really I just didn't have the energy because I was up late the night before working) so I had to by lunch. I planned on doing that but didn't get the time, so it was a 25p pack of chips (crisps as they say) and naturally the vending machine in the office broke! So my chips were left hanging.
Luckily some people helped me shake the machine and they were freed (until they were eaten of course). Anyway it's not all bad, I just thought it was 'poetic' or something. Also, before you 'get all up in my face' about the poor diet may I remind you that we have a fruit bowl. So I'm eating apples, pears, apricots, etc all day.
Ok, talk laters.
IESSO
SO DINOSAUR COMICS ARE FUNNY. Today's comic (01/08/07) is particularly funny and inane (good combination bytheway!) So anyway, I'm getting the sneaking feeling that you guys aren't reading it enough. So please make sure you read it everyday. It's got all the best elements of humour, I just don't understand why you're all not just constantly emailing me for telling you about it. Unless of course no-one is reading my blog. Hmmm. Sigh.
IESSO
PS. Linus is exempt from this because he recommended it to me.
YESTERDAY WAS A SUNNY DAY so we went out walking in the afternoon. It was nice. We ended up in the Tate Modern in South Bank. We caught the bus back, and took some cool photo's on the way. If you're ever in London, and don't want to pay for a tour bus, but do want to catch a bus that shows you everything, try the 139. It goes from Waterloo Bridge in the south to West Hampstead in the north. I've got a nice Flickr set to show you the journey. You can see Houses of Parliment and the Thames riverbanks, Trafalgar Square, St James Park, Piccadilly Circus and even the Abbey Road crossing. Pretty good no?
Check it out yo!
ALSO: We saw Sophie Ellis Bextor in Soho. Soryi was all "Hey!! There's SOPHIE ELLIS BEXTOR!" and I was all like "WHAT?! WHERE!" and she was standing like a foot away looking at us yelling about her. It was funny.
IESSO
Yes, we finally joined Facebook too. I know. After all the criticism and constant requests we caved in. Anyway we joined together as Saul Greenburg.
That's some bad photoshopping if I do say so myself. Which I do. It is possibly the scariest thing ever. Except this (same result, different logic).
See you all there!
WES&SASO
TODAY AT 4.00PM WE STOPPED WORK AND HAD A TEA BREAK. Today's theme was Yorkshire, which doesn't mean anything to me, bit apparently it's in the north. And the tea was strong. Anyway someone made cakes and bought special tea to bring in. They take in turns. Last week was Devonshire tea. Very fancy. Very cool. Very nice.
IESSO
I DON'T LIKE IT EITHER... why did they destroy a perfectly nice logo like the Qantas kangaroo? Apparently new plane shapes require a differently shaped roo, but they could have still kept the spirit of the old one.
The Qantas logo has changed over the years, loosing it's iconic wings in 1984, leading to the now old logo design. Perhaps they could've brought the wings back if they had to redo the logo. The part that bothers me most is the kangaroo's chest. It looks like something I drew as a kid, rather than a stylised kangaroo. Some people are saying pterodactyl, but I dunno if it's that yet.
But I'm putting out a challenge to anyone who wants to enter. Redraw the kangaroo as best you can to fit within the new triangle shape. I am determinned to prove that it's not the logo that's bad, but the poor rendering of it. Send me your images and I'll post them up. I'll do one too of course. You have 1 week!
IESSO
THE FIRST DAY WENT WELL. It was different from what I was expecting... equal parts more hectic and less hectic than I feared. The hours were long (8.30–6.30) and there's a lot to do, and it needs to be done well, but they pretty much left me alone to my own devices. I was expecting a team of PR-bots, as well as my bosses to be constantly monitoring me, but they didn't. When I showed them what I was doing they were pleased, but then just left me alone to continue.
There are a few unexpected things that I've never experienced in an office before:
- An elevator
- A fruit basket every morning
- A cafeteria
- A coffee maker that makes 7 kinds of coffee and 5 teas
- A Starbucks
- A reception area with sign-in sheets
- A mailroom with delivery people
- A phone book to contact people within the office
- 6 floors with well over 500 staff
- Ricky Gervais standing outside having a smoke
Today is now my second day at work, and it's going to be pretty intense I reckon. I need to get my work done today because I'm not going to be here tomorrow.
(I'm working on a freelance basis, so they only need me here for 2 days this week.)
UPDATE: They've asked me to stay on till the end of the week a few minutes ago. So that's more work, experience, and money!
UPDATE 2: I've had to remove some of the names and details. And officially I got it wrong when I said the workplace was a PR company. They're definitely advertising. And they company I'm in is purely design. Hope that clears things up.
Take care everyone.
IESSO
I DON'T WANT TO SAY THEY COPIED but they're very similar styles. Watch the 'Finally' video by CeCe Peniston, and the original iPods ads (the black silhouettes on colored backgrounds) and tell me if I'm being crazy. I realise that they're produced in a drastically different way, and the CeCe video isn't really the same... but there is definitely a similarity between some of the shots!
iPod Commercial vs Finally
IESSO
SO I START MONDAY. It's only on a freelance basis for the moment, because we're taking 'baby steps', but it seems pretty promising. They really liked my work and were excited to get me in before 'someone else snatched me up'. So I'm pretty excited. But I'm nervous. They're a freaking huge company, who is world famous! I've already got a project to work on and everything. For a phone company, working with (he's doing the TV ad) an English footballer with a squeaky voice, skinny wife and a new job in LA. But don't mention his name.
Anyway, hopefully it'll be a permanent thing, and I will no longer be a bum!
IESSO
I'VE HAD A FEW INTERVIEWS IN THE LAST WEEK. The best and most promising, and of course most exciting was with The Ministry of Sound. I'd be doing CD's, records, posters, t-shirts, loads of great stuff... I went for an interview with the head designer and production manager, and it went really well! REALLY REALLY WELL! My chances were good. I had a second interview with the head of PR and their external consultant, and they basically bullied the head designer into going with someone else. DAMN!
I had a few more interviews as well, but that was really promising, and sounded like a load of fun! I was really looking forward to it. Like I had never looked forward to a job before. And now I'm about the same amount of miserable as I was a week ago. Despite the prospect of another job... but it's not the one I wanted! It is very organised and professional, and voted best place to work in the UK a few times, but it's not the one I wanted!!! (imagine a baby yelling that about icecream, and that's the voice in my head saying it as I type)
Maybe it's for the best. Maybe if that's the kind of tactics they use then I don't want it anyway. Maybe it wouldn't have worked out anyway. Maybe it's not my work, but my lack of experience. Maybe. I'm still really disappointed though. They really did get my hopes up. I was practically promised that job after the first interview. The second one was a mere formality.
DAMN!
IESSO
THIS TOTALLY WORKS! Get yourself some 3D glasses and prepare to be amazed!
IESSO
PS. Fingerguns=cool.
I'VE REWORKED MY PROMOTIONAL PIECE TO SEND TO POTENTIAL EMPLOYERS. It's got larger sample pages, as well seperate PDF's for the cover letter, as well as CV/resume. I've also changed the color from red to cyan. It's a bit friendlier and less agressive, but still strong and vibrant. Plus I love cyan. Best color ever.
Let me know what you think. Click HERE to download the promo PDF. Careful, it's 2.4MB.
I know it's a bit big, but it's print resolution. Kind of.
IESSO
ONCE AGAIN I'M PLAYING AROUND WITH 1984. It's just so perfect for experimentation. I think. Anyway I sent a brief to Colin (from uni) about a project I'm playing with. How do you launch a movie remake of 1984 without advertising that horrible TV show 'Big Brother'? It'd be a really tough challenge. And I don't know the answer. But I intend to find out.
I don't think this is the answer. It's too realistic and too propaganda-ish. It needs to be much more over the top. I think more Nazi-like! And even more intense. To show that it's fake, it has to be hyper-real. But the project would be good for students, getting them to think about the message, about type, about images, about identities (of all the different goverment departments) and most importantly about how it's marketed! Should be interesting.
And I'll keep trying.
IESSO
I'VE BEEN TRYING TO THINK OF A GOOD TITLE FOR THIS POST, but I couldn't. Anyway in the past few days I've had a few more intreviews. They were with recruitment companies, not studios, but they were generally positive. The previous post was with another recruitment company, but it was very depressing, they weren't responsive, and I was just another candidate. These other three were much more encouraging, not just because they're better companies (they know more studios) and they were very encouraging. I have some work to do regarding my portfolio, mainly just doing a version without the magazine to distract! Although they do like the magazine too, it does make it more interesting/memorable. Anyway...
The most recent agency has a few studios in mind for me to send my CV/folio to, and we'll see what happens. I'm still terrified, but maybe things will get better. I might even get myself a proper job even!
IESSO
PS> This is gold.
SO THERE WERE TWO BOMBS IN LONDON TODAY. But we didn't really know about it until we went to Piccadilly Circus (only a few feet from where the car-bomb was) and saw that the streets were blocked off by police. Everything was fine, no-one was hurt. But it was a bit alarming, and weird to be in a city that gets bombed.
Read more here.
We're fine. Don't be worried.
IESSO
A neutron walks into a bar. "I'd like a beer" he says. The bartender promptly serves up a beer. "How much will that be?" asks the neutron. "For you?" replies the bartender, "no charge"
LINUS HAS ARRIVED IN LONDON with a bang! Not really, his flight was normal... Anyway it's great to see him! He's our first visitor since we've been here, and since we left. (I guess Bindy visited too actually) Anyway Linus also holds the record shared with my family of 'person I've seen on most continents'. Out of the four continents I've been too I've seen him on 3 (North America, Australia, Europe), and my family on 3 (North America, Australia, Asia)
So yesterday we saw all the touristy stuff; Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, etc... And for the next week who knows? He's probably end up getting on our nerves (which is his style) or drive us insane (with the same style) but at any rate it'll be fun. And it'll lift my spirits, which are at a record low since 'those days'.
I'll try to post up some photo's as they're taken of exciting adventures!
IESSO
MAYBE this will help answer your questions.
Make sure you click on the image for the full size.
IESSO
LATE SATURDAY NIGHT/SUNDAY MORNING we wandered around the city taking some black and white photos. They're on Flickr if you want to look. Also, my interview is tomorrow. I'm nervous!
IESSO
I'VE NEEDED A BREAK FROM WORKING ON MY WEBSITE and other sites, and freaking out, and stressing and that sort of stuff, but I can't really afford to leave the house. My savings has dwindled quite a lot, so I'm kind of under house arrest (just like Paris Hilton!) so I've been revisiting old photographs. I've assembled a bunch of New York photographs and put them up on Flickr. They're really nice photo's, some more touristy than others... They're all black and white too, which means they're 'artistic'. Right?
If you want to look, click on the image to view the set.
IESSO
"I have an interview on wednesday." Hooray! Actually I have another interview on the 25th as well, but it's in Winchester (which is not in London) so I'm less excited. The one on wednesday is in a marketing firm, and the one in a few weeks is a small, creative studio. Nervous about both.
IESSO
SO I FIXED UP MY DAD'S SITE NOW. It's not perfect, yes it still has frames, but that will have to do. I tried doing it in Dreamweaver, but oh man, I have no idea what I'm doing in there! I wish they kept GoLive, it was a lot nicer to use. Oh well, I'll learn it slowly.
Anyway the text changes still need to be made, but other than that it should be pretty set. Thanks for you help everyone! Click on the image to go to the site.
IESSO
TO COMPETE WITH THE INFLUX OF GRADUATES, and to make things a bit clearer, I've revised the folio site. What do you think? It's a bit funner, and it's more 'fresh' and 'funky' (the 'f-word'!) Anyway I like it a lot. And hopefully there's no spelling mistakes, because I accidentally flattened the Photoshop file! Auuuggghhh!!!! But on the other hand; type in context! Hooray!
So, check it out HERE, or click on the link that's on the right.
IESSO
SO I'M HAVING A TOUGH TIME BUILDING A WEBSITE! "A website," you ask, "But isn't that what graphic designers do?" "No", I flatly reply. "That's what graphic designers who are good at web stuff do, I am not, and therefore I don't do. I don't do one bit!" Um... Anyway I'm building my dad's website, but am having a tough time doing it! Man, web sucks! I mean it's just so fiddly and annoying! Print is so much better! "But what's the difference?", you ask. "Shut up!", I yell.
My dad's paintings are so nice, and they deserve a nice website, something simple and elegant. I'm doing my freaking best to give him, and them, that, but it's hard!
Anyway, check out the site-in-progress here. And give me much feedback. OR do it for me. Yeah, that option is better. Or if you don't want to wade through the site, but you still want to see the paitings, you can check them out on Flickr.
IESSO
IT MAY NOT LOOK radically different, but the site has been given a major makeover! With frames! It's very rough around the edges, probably even rougher than before, but it's very late and I'm falling asleep. More work tomorrow.
Here's that link again: here.
IESSO
SO THIS WEEK HAD BEEN INTERESTING... sort of. We went to a few interesting design related things, which was good, I guess we're part of the 'scene' now! Firstly we went to the Annual D&AD awards, but we aren't really members, and you need to register to enter, so we were only allowed to see the section with the entries, but not attend anything actually fun. But luckily some of the entries were Wii games, so we played them for a while. I think the Wii itself was an entry actually. So that was a fun thing to do on a Monday night, Soryi got herself a few issues of their magazine, and I swiped some CD's and books (that were being given away, but only to members) and it was fun.
Then we attended a super exciting, super nerdy conference from Adobe! Hooray! It was so interesting they spread it over two days. But actually it was interesting. And in the several seconds I could actually hear what the lectures were about, in between the yelling of scenster students and confused old-people, I actually learnt a few tricks. Plus Adobe's Creative Suite 3 is looking very very nice. I'll miss GoLive though. I don't understand Dreamweaver, and I don't want to understand Dreamweaver. And Flash? No thanks.
One highlight of the Adobe thing was the guest speakers. We heard the president of the D&AD talk about why the winners got their awards. They couldn't praise Nike+ enough! I was kind of skeptical of why Nike+ was so good, but it turns out it really is. Some of the features are amazing, it has a voice that encourages you when you start slowing down, there's a 'power song' button to give you an extra kick, it lets you input how much weight you want to lose, and by when, and it'll work out how much you running you need to do, you can challenge friends anywhere in the world, and plus, it's Apple! I'm very impressed. Only problem is that it only works on an iPod nano. Soryi and I will get them, including nano's soon, we're both going to try and get fit. After all the money stuff is worked out of course.
But cooler than that was a talk from Neville Brody!!! He's a design legend! I actually used him in my 2006 portfolio for the designer showdown! He's very good. He talked a bit about himself and all that, and about his work, but mainly just about how we should take some risks and not worry about getting fired. That's individually and as a company. Of course we need to do some work to pay the bills, but we can't just do that, or we'll go crazy. And contribute nothing to society. The thing that struck me and Soryi about Brody was that while his work is dated, and completely not relevant to today's audience, his message is true. I didn't do a very good job explaining what he said, but it struck a chord. Maybe he's just a good talker.
What else? Oh, my PowerBook died. Sort of. Well, it was having problems with fonts, and missing links and general problems arrising from 2 years of use without turning it off or reinstalling things. So I tried to repair it myself. I used Soryi's restore CD that came with her computer (I left mine in Australia) but it didn't work. It did delete all my files, but not restore the computer. So I certainly couldn't use it then.
I took it to the Apple store on Regent St (next to Oxford Circus) and they were all "you're gonna have to call Apple to sort it out, we're just a store". I called Apple in the US and they were very annoyed, "They are our flagship store, they were supposed to take care of everything for you. We apologise for any inconvienience." Which was nice. I took it back to the store and they had an appointment for me to speak to a technician. I saw him, he took a look at the computer, I explained what needed fixing, he plugged in a cable and 15 minutes later it was like brand new! Aside from the one person who had no idea what she was talking about (she said my computer had been out of warranty for 500+ days, even though I had an extended warranty on it, and in fact it had 500+ days left on the warranty), everything worked out nicely. I'm still a big fan of Apple, not just for it's nicely designed and perhaps overly simple products, but for it's ongoing quality support services.
Lastly, London, and the world I suppose, received it's Olympic logo. No-one likes it. No-one. The head of D&AD slagged it off, and when they asked an audience of 250 designers if they liked it, no-one did. Neville Brody criticised it in front of 800 designers and got a huge laugh and cheer. But I do like it. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's a great new direction for the Olympics. Aside from the monstrous task of acheiving something that matches an incredibly complex brief, the logo is new, exciting and different. For the last 4 or 5 games the logo is basically the same style, completely interchangeable with the various countries.
This logo is either London or Tokyo. The shapes are very Japanese, but they're also very Sex Pistols. Punky, dynamic, exciting! It totally breaks from the obvious images of a stuffy and boring London. I like that it doesn't have any London landmarks, going beyond the obvious. Maybe it could've been produced better, maybe it's a little too radical, maybe everyone in London is pissed off that it cost £400,000, but I think it's a great idea. Incidentally, despite D&AD slagging it, they did mention that the designer did receive designer of the year in 2005! So it's not all that bad.
In the newspapers's they suggested that the logo competition be opened up to primary school kids, and that the winning school gets £40,000. First of all that's a great idea. But secondly that's stupid. The logo isn't just a bunch of shapes that can easily produced in minutes (which of course they can), it has to represent a buttload of complex things, convey a bunch of invisible emotions and do a whole lot of stuff that people don't understand. It really pissed me off to hear people say that a child could do better. That's bullcrap. Here's a better quote:
It's simple. When we hear "my kid could have done that!" we think "success." Some of the greatest logos of all time involve two lines (the Christian cross) or three lines and a circle (Mercedes). Your kid COULD have done that, but she didn't. Nor did she design the graphics standards manual that goes with it. So give it a rest. Or send us her resume.
If this logo fiasco has done anything, apart from piss people off, it's damaged the graphic design industry. £400,000 doesn't cover jsut the logo, it covers the million versions before it, the hundreds of companies developing printed material, web stuff, videos, everything! And now people are demanding that the studios give all the money back. That's crap.
Pisses my right off. On the otherhand, one video did cause epilepsy in 40 people. That is bad design. And I don't excuse that. I try to design with these things in mind. Epilepsy isn't much of an issue for print design, but color-blindness is something to watch out for. Not red-green combos!
Anyway. I didn't mean for this post to have corporate sponsorship and product placement, but it totally did! Huzzah!
IESSO
PS. I love Snapple.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT ON THE 'BODY' THEME. I'm using a strong Red, Black and White color scheme, which is really STRONG for a change... I want to make a statement. But Linus has got me all paranoid about color theory. Maybe I'm venting me anger through the design. Or maybe it's just a nice combination of color. True it is something new, but maybe that's what is required here.
Okay, so at this stage it's still not finished. But I'll upload the full PDF onto my website, when it is done. I've still got to write a cover letter, and address each version to the company individually. Taloring each application to a specific company. There is still one unresolved issue I need to work out, and hopefully Linus or anyone else can help me with; typographic choices. I wanted something strong, possibly medical, maybe hand drawn (as in quirky letter forms, not handwritten) and generally making a statement. The problem was I couldnt figure out what that typeface was, AND what body face to combine that with. Any suggestions? Otherwise I'll just stick with Avant Garde, it's what I used in the folio, so it'll link back easily... Brand cohesion and all that nonsense.
IESSO
PS. Should the slogan be 'Look deeper?' It's suitable. But is it too obvious?
PPS. This image is larger, click and follow through for a larger size...
THAT'S RIGHT, OUR OLD PAL 'PRESSION IS BACK, and with a vengance. And a thirst for knowledge (?) Anyway, this is the longest I've been without work, and let's just say it's not fun. I can't sleep at night anymore (oh insomnia, how I missed you) and my days are spent staring miserably at my screen without enthusiasm or concern for a future. Soryi has been very supportive and understanding, but I think she's getting both annoyed and worried. And frankly so am I. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I put in a lot of effort to promote myself in a fun, clever and hopefully memorable and eye-catching way. I sent out postcards with the 'magazine' theme, as well as posters (A1 size ones no less!) to 15 of the best studios in London. How many replied? NONE. How many would even let me talk to the boss? Well, two. But still, that's not very much.
And now I'm forced to lower my standards. And that is what is making me feel really bad. I feel like I've failed. I feel that by not aiming for the best, and achieving I really am mundane. Sure, I joke about being mondayne, but I really do have very high expectations for myself, and I guess it's just hard realising maybe I can't acheive everything I want, even if I do put my mind to it. Maybe I'm just not good enough to work for the best.
Sigh.
Well, like I said, I'm going to have to lower my standards, BUT at the same time, I'm gonna try and lift my game even more. Last time I felt I gave it 100%, this time it'll have to be 110%. (I know, platitudes are lame) But seriously, maybe if I can get any job for now, something that doesn't make me want to inhale spray glue through my eyes, while not entirely giving up on my dreams, and my lame struggle to be a good designer. If I can pay the bills, that'll be a good start, but I mustn't settle for too long.
Okay, so with that in mind I present to you this, the latest in a series of struggles in attempt to promote myself in a humourous, positive, humble and proactive light. I'm trying to say 'I'm so great, I'll be perfect for your company, but I'm not a cocky wanker, see?' It's been a giant challange. I tend to downplay myself (if you hadn't noticed). So it's been hard to say nice things without sounding made-up, or just plain lies.
So the theme is a medical examination of the different systems that make my body, like the circulatory system, nervous system, skeletal system, etc. But instead of showing organs, which would be pointless and gross, I will be showing things that relate to design. For example my nervous system will be a metaphor for all the technical skills I have, so instead of nerves and a brain, there will be a hard drive, cables, circuit boards, etc. It sounds very 'first-year', but if I can pull it off it'll work. The captions won't just say 'brain' and point at the HDD either, it will say 'proficient in Adobe Creative Suite' or something along those lines. Basically it's just summing me up in point-form, without just looking like a series of bullet points.
I'm only showing you the title page, because that's all I've done so far. I do have a funny looking sillouette of me looking sideways with my mouth open (like though medical diagrams of the digestive system), it's funny just by itself, so hopefully the whole thing will be humourous, rather than tedious.
If you have any suggestions on a BETTER idea, I am more than happy to take them on board. At this stage, I am only doing this idea because I am desperately clinging onto the last remaining sliver of a somewhat sane idea. And if I let go of it, maybe I won't have anything left. Seriously, it's been 3 weeks trying to thing of something. Trying. and failing.
IESSO
PS. On the upside though, because of all the walking around I've been doing, and the lack of eating huge meals, and possibly from stopping smoking too, I've lost a buttload of weight. Literally. I don't know if you noticed and were too polite to say anything, but I've been steadily gaining weight for the last 2 years. At first is was good, I was probably a bit too thin on the arms and legs, and face, but then I grew a big fat gut. All the Guinness helped too. But yeah, the stomach is nearly gone, there are even traces of what may be abs (but just as likely rolls of skin) and I'm just generally more toned. Soryi has noticed too. Which is nice. Even though I'm not doing super great mentally, at least I'm feeling physically a lot better.
PPS. It's been nearly a month without a cigarette. I certainly do miss them. I don't think it's the cravings talking either, I really enjoyed smoking. It was fun. But I've promised Soryi I'd quit, and so far I have kept my promise. I plan on keeping it forever too. I'm not just doing it for her, I feel a lot healthier, I'm breathing better, and am a lot fitter, but mostly it's for her. I guess everyone has to find a reason right?
PPPS. I typed this post, and then played around changing the masthead and profile. And I like the black and white, high contrast look on the profile, so I think I'll do that instead of the quasi-real color yo see above. It's more 'graphic' and therefore makes it look like I did it on purpose, rather than covering up my inadequate illustration abilities. Right?
Instead of shopping or watching TV, we went to the XTREME!!!! by going to Go Ape outdoor adventure park. High-wire stunts, rope bridge, tightropes, swinging on vines, flying foxes, all in the tree tops, 20m from the hard, hard ground. It was loads of fun! And I'm petrified of heights! Petrified.
Plus, we did a lot more this week, and I promise, I'll post it all very soon.
I'm STILL Elliott Scott, and I will be signing on, and off again, very soon.
HERE'S A SHORT VIDEO TOUR OF LONDON. It's very rough, amatuerish and the compression levels are poor. But it should be still watchable... I can send you a CD with the full size file if you really want... I had to edit it in iMovie, which doesn't allow you multiple video channels and only 2 sound channels, so it's all a bit abrupt. The music fades in a bit weird... Despite it being so crappy, I'm really proud of it, especially the ending. It was a lot of fun to do, although it did take 4 days to finish.
IESSO
PS> I'm chewing gum throughout the whole thing because I've been off cigarettes for 2 weeks, and on the nicoteine gum instead. So far so good.
SO I HAVE THE INTERNET NOW. I'm posting up a video tour of London soon. I've shot some footage, and gonna shoot some more today. And then wednesday editing, so hopefully thursday it'll be up! It started out as a general tour, but is turning into a quest for dinosaurs. Stay tuned!
IESSO
Hello. Like I said, I can't be blogging so much these days without the internet and all, so you'll just have to be patient for a little longer.
Anyway, to make up for my lack of interesting posts I've got a bunch of dumb photo's taken in London of various things, nothing special, just taken on my phone's camera. honestly when I think about, there's really nothing special, and I've not been very interesting at all. Ok, I admit it, I'm a bad blogger.
So, in case you actually are interested, here's what each photo is... (assuming top left is 1): 1. Soryi wearing a police hat, 2. The Tube, 3. A Banksy, 4-6. Cool posters, 7. Sand castles on the Thames banks, 8. In Leicester Square, 9. The Apple Store on Oxford Circus (where I practically live), 10. Baker St. station, 11. Ikea, 12. Underpass at Kilburn station, 13. Bond St. sign, 14. Stickers placed everywhere (part of the 'I HEART' project*), 15. Soryi in sillouette through window, 16. West Hampstead station platform, 17. Gee St. sign**, 18. Cool car, 19. Lame car, 20. Front of Selfridges department store having a design exhibition with the V&A, 21-22. Cool posters, 23. Angel St. station, 24. Me dressed as a trendy wanker, 25-26. Original Apple computer in the Science Museum, 27-28, 30-32. Jewish foods, 29. Elvira's sister in the paper, 33. Panorama of the room unfurnished and messy.
So what have I been doing with my time?
Well, I've been developing some promo peices to send to prospective companies. I've got postcards, posters, an informal cover letter, my new resume and business cards. I want to look like I'm eager and dedicated and keen to work, but I'm terrified that it's still not enough. It's not really 'clever', more casual.
I'm genuinely terrified about this new stage. I've never applied to a world-famous studio. Everywhere I've worked had been half because I wanted to work there, and half because I needed the money. This time it's 100% because I want to work there, and why wouldn't I? But I'm really really scared that I'm not good enough. And I'm not saying this just to get sympathy, I'm just saying it. I don't know if I'm ready for the rejection. I'm just nervous.
Anyway, screw that, I need the money now, I'm really really running out, London isn't cheap. So I need a job.
Ugh, I don't know what to say. I'm not feeling very confident or happy, I've been left worry for too long. Going crazy. HOORAY!
Also, it's my birthday on mondayne. 24. Hooray! ? I'm not sure what I wanna do, maybe something, maybe not. I dunno. I've got more grey hairs. I find a new one or two every few days. Hooray.
Ok. Anyway, hopefully next time I write something it'll be something worthwhile. I've got some silly photo projects to put up. I've got collections of 'I HEART' stuff, KFC lookalikes, silly street names and a few other things. Most of them are Soryi's ideas of course.
All right, untill me meet again,
IESSO
MONDAYNE MAGAZINE issue 5 is out now. By that I mean my portfolio site is done and uploaded. Again. Hope you enjoy it. There's some stupid articles and some of my work in there too.
I'm Elliott Scott, Editor of Mondayne Magazine, signing off
HERE'S ME SITTING IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE IN WEST HAMPSTEAD. It's very dark and the quality is very bad because I recorded it on my phone, but you'll get the gist of it.
IESSO
HERE'S ME SITTING IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE IN WEST HAMPSTEAD. It's very dark and the quality is very bad because I recorded it on my phone, but you'll get the gist of it.
IESSO
DON'T WORRY, I HAVEN'T BEEN MUGGED OR ANYTHING. I'm sorry about my lack of posts, a few interesting things have happened since last post.
1. Soryi got a job! She's working in a tiny studio doing some semi-interesting work, but the people she works with are very nice.
2. We moved out of the hostel into our very own flat! It's a teeny-tiny bedsit, with a kitchen in the room! and a shared bathroom. It's very nice though, and expensive (£130 per week!) but it's great. We love it! We went to Ikea and got really nice, and cheap! stuff to fill it. Very cool. It's in a good area too, for these reasons:
- The road perpendicular to ours is Abbey Road (of Beatles fame) [okay, technically it's not, but it turns into Abbey Rd]
- It's a nice neighbourhood, so nice that when we tell people the address they say its nice. which is radically different to Stoneybatter!
- We share a postcode with superstars: Matt Lucas [Little Britain] and Emma Thompson [of lots of things]
- It's close to the city without being urban.
- Our house is at least 150 years old, but in good condition, charm and solid foundations (a rare mix!)
3. I'm working on my portfolio website, and it's not working! I'm frustrated.
4. I'm going to be advertising my services on an illustrators site, which means I can call myself an illustrator. But I won't.
Ok, so the house doesn't have anything like TV, phone or internet, so I may be incommunicado for a while. I'll be here, just may not be blogging a super-lot untill I get it set up. I'm in the Apple store on Oxford Street right now mooching off of them.
Untill we meet again,
I'm Elliott Scott, signing off
SO WE'RE IN LONDON NOW. A few things happened that were odd.
1. On landing in Heathrow the plane was about to land on the runway it sped up and ascended. Apparently there was another plane on the runway and that if we landed we would've hit it. It was a bit scary, but the pilot handled it really well and we were totally fine.
2. There are buttloads of Australians and New Zealanders everywhere. In the place we're living there's 3 Aussie girls and 2 NZ girls, as well as me and Soryi. Crazy. Walking around the area or the city centre isn't much better.
3. Everything is strangely cheap, well, sort of. Food seems cheaper anyway. From takeaways I mean. For eg. £1.29 buys you 3 chicken pieces, chips and a can of coke. Admittedly the food looks pretty bad, but that's still a deal. On the otherhand Harrods food is WAY too freakin expensive to bother looking at. Other stuff is cheap and expensive too of course, but after we've got jobs I think it's going to seem cheaper than Dublin anyway.
4. There seems to be way more Irish pubs here, serving food especially, than there was in Dublin. Which is crazy. We had bangers and mash, and irish stew today, it was nice and only £4.95. We had the same in Dublin once for €16.95.
5. Ever heard of Guiness Red? Neither had I, but it was very nice.
6. We saw some famous people. And by famous I mean famous enough to have people taking photos and filming them getting out of their hotel room, but not famous enough to actually recognise them. HA!
7. We saw a FOX! It was cool.
8. We were watching an ad while I was typing this... An ad for a dress. "Hmm, that's a nice dress". And then the logo came on; Tesco*. Crazy.
Uh... I think that's it. We didn't really do much today, just walked a LOT. And I got a new phone.
IESSO
PS. Admittedly these things are really that odd. So far it's been very good.
* Tesco is a supermarket, equivalent to Coles maybe. Not good, or bad. But not good for sure.
SO WE'RE LEAVING TODAY. In a few hours actually. I'm really going to miss it hear. I know I complain sometimes, but this last year was a great experience and I am very glad we did it. Seeing Dermo again was great, and meeting loads of new people, working in a few studios to get a feel for everything was really good, if not always fun. Travelling was totally awesome, not just to 'The Continent' but also around Ireland, it was very nice.
Overall I'd say I am extraordinarily happy we came over here. It was entirely worth it. The wonderful experiences, and what we learnt at work and about life and all that, it was great. I don't know if I'd recommend coming to Ireland from Australia unless you were coming over for either a short time, or a long time. A drunken weekend is fine, but I think it was really good to get a nice feel for Ireland, or Dublin at least, it actually feels like home. Everytime we arrived at the airport (except the first time of course) it felt like home. It's a rough city but it certainly has a lot of charm.
We're gonna miss ol' Ireland.
I'll write a bit more and post up some pictures soon. Maybe. I wouldn't count on it actually. Although I might. But probably not.
IESSO
PS. The UK is only across the way, so we'll probably be back to visit, but maybe not for a little while. But no, it's not like I'll never see it again, and more importantly the people in it.
PPS. That photo of Soryi is in the Hugh Lane Gallery, which we went to last week. Not today. I don't know why I posted it. Kinda blank, like there's nothing left to say.
PPPS. I found 3 grey hairs, and 2 in my beard. Stress?
IT'S A GOOD THING THAT I'M PREOCCUPIED WITH MY FOLIO, otherwise I would be freakin' out! We're leaving in 3 days now. Off to London. The big city. We won't know anyone. Or have jobs lined up. Or anywhere to stay. And a limited amount of cash (but not as limited as our arrival in Ireland).
Anyway the folio is nearly done. And then the website will be updated, and my efforts can be focused on getting a job and place to live. Also, hopefully we'll go with out with the guys one last time and have some fun. They're off with their families though, for the weekend.
Oh yeah, HAPPY EASTER!
IESSO
OKAY, SO ONCE AGAIN I'M REDOING THE PORTFOLIO. This is going to be the best one ever. And by that I mean it will be good. I'm even using a baseline grid! I know, crazy?!?
Anyway, here's two spreads that are done. Obviously my work aren't in these, but they've got a nice look to them, and the article in the blue one is actually quite fun. Not funny. Well, maybe. Anyway I haven't proof read it yet, so if there are spelling mistakes, poor grammar, etc, let me know. Also, to see a larger size, click the image.
IESSO
UPDATE: Here's some more I've finished tongiht. It's now 2.01am, and unless I go to bed now I'm gonna fall into my old habits.
UPDATE 2: Redid the ol' ZOOM and ENHANCE article featured on the blog. More realistic this time...
UPDATE 3: Recoloured those illustrations I did a year ago. They were actually really nice, and it'd be a shame to not use them.
SO I TRIED AGAIN to wikipublish myself and this time the results were mixed!
Stage 1: Post comments. Result: Rejected for not being note-worthy (ouch!)
Stage 2: Produce evidence of awards, references, etc. Result: May be noteworthy.
Stage 3: Provide further evidence. Result: My page hasn't been pulled down.
Stage 4: Add my name to notable graduates of QCA. (heh heh heh)
IESSO
PS. Yes, I am a nerd.
PPS. Today is my last day at work. Which means I can now concentrate on redoing my super-awesome-it's-gonna-blow-your-freakin'-minds portfolio! and webiste too. But that will be less awesome. Much less.
BEEN WORKING ON A BRANDING FOR A PIZZA PLACE. They sell pizza by the slice, New York style. I've come up with the identity, logo and look-and-feel of the place. I'm liking this sort of hand-drawn deco stylings, but I'm fearing the client won't. It's kind of Saul Bass-esque. You can just hear a single trumpet playing some freestyle jazz as each word appears.
ALSO HERE'S A COLLECTION of photographs I've taken over the last year and a bit. They're pretty small, but if you go to the large size (by clicking the image) you can get a good feel for it. It's actually kinda nice that each one is small, it gives more of an overall impression, rather than key events. Or maybe that's just some post-rash bullcrap.
Oops, I just noticed that some of the images are totally not the right way up. I placed each one individually and was bound to miss one. I suppose missing 15 is not very professional though. But gimme a break alright? There should be 250 in total, maybe + or - 1.
LASTLY and most nerdily I've sent Ryan of Dinosaur Comics fame some photo's of me wearing his Professor Science shirt all over the world. I was kinda hoping he'd reply or post it up but not yet anyway. Again, to veiw the bigger image, click on the picture.
IESSO
