Chris Barnett | GD252 Blog

Shift Happens – Did You Know 2.0

// May 6th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Inspiration, Rants

“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.”

- Thomas Henry Huxley

I think the video pretty much sums it all up, but wanted try and put into words how I feel about the world we are living in. We are living in a time of limitless possibilities. We are surrounded by an abundance of people, places, things, and ideas that have the potential to fulfill all of our wants and needs. Just think… Will you ever meet every person in the world? Will you live to step foot in every possible place around the globe? Will you ever possess every material object known to man? The answer is undoubtedly, no. We have all we will ever need, which means we can do anything we want to do.

Now, with that said, throw the word technology into the mix. We now have a way to interact with the world that we live in. They call it the World Wide Web for a reason. The internet is intended to connect people, places, things, and ideas. It is there to make it easier to share information and knowledge and it is unbelievable how quickly that information is increasing on the web. Every once and a while I take a second to realize what my role is in this era of digital media, social networks, blogs and ordering pizza online is. I see it quite simply, a vivid image of myself sitting on a merry-go-round. I am literally in a playground full of all the things I could ever be interested in, want to know more about, or wish I could experience. I’m spinning in circles, on that merry-go-round, with all this stuff flying by in a blur right in front of me.

No sure if that was such a great analogy, but the point is that the internet really is like a playground. All that you need is a curiosity for what is out there, a willingness to take in new information and progress with the times to make use of it. But without that drive and determination to increase knowledge you will miss all those things, flying by right in front of you. We are living in expontntial times. Shift happens, be ready… you don’t want to be left behind.

Digital Media Roots

// May 6th, 2009 // No Comments » // Rants

Yuri Lane playing harmonica and beatboxing… at the same time!

Directed by Marty Nowak. Enjoy!

Of course, like anyone I was drawn to this guy’s talent. It takes some skills to do one of these at a time, but together is just amazing. But, I have had some experience with videography and know a well shot and edited film when I see it. However, I’m not so sure I could tell you why it’s so good. This short clip has been thought out well and cut together very nicely. What stands out the most is the lighting that really sets a distinct mood for this cool underground form of music. Everything from composition when shooting to edits leading to the final cut was thought out and planned, and in the end result it shows. Even the last little detail of exporting the video was thought out, because the original version had been rendered strange when uploaded to YouTube.

Before I came to school to learn more about photogaphy and web design I had an interest in motion picture. It never really developed into much but I did spend two seasons filming games on Friday night for my high school’s football team. I was lead camera on a film crew of 3 and helped with editing tape for the 2006 and 2007 seasons. No, I haven’t gotten a hold of their website yet. Yikes!

Calendar Wallpaper Series

// May 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Graphic Design, Inspiration, Rants

I came across a few cool calendar designs by Franz Jeitz over at Fudge Graphics. Thought it was cool that he had some stuff in his portfolio similar to the stuff we had done in school. Sometimes I feel like work done in school that you didn’t get paid for isn’t credible enough to put inside a portfolio of professional projects. Learning that I could relate school work with stuff for the real work was a real eye opener and took me a little while to realize it. More things coming soon from Fudge Graphics, it’s a great place for resources, tutorials, and inspiration.

Dealing With Clients

// April 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Jobs, Rants, Web Design

I had to rant about this one a little bit. We all know it’s hard to find a perfect client, and how frusterating it can be to work with clients who just don’t quite get it. Here is the situation:

A client comes to me wanting a website. I must preface here and say that his current site could not get any worse. As I began designing and developing this site we had a hard time communicating with each other. When I described to him how I was going to build the site he seemed to understand what I needed from him. That would be too easy… When it came time to get some FTP information from him he put me in contact with one of their “I.T.” guys. I came to learn that they “don’t use FTP for their website”. I was confused at this point because I didn’t know there was any other way of putting a site on the web. I was blown away to find out they were serious and this was one of the biggest warning signs from a client that has made me want to slowly step away from the project.

I dug through my bookmarks and recent happenings on the internet and came up with a few things relating to this topic. A written post by Jacob Cass called How to Talk to Non-Tech-Savy Clients, and Episode 29 – Repairing Client Communications from the Freelance Radio Podcast.

Subscribe to the Podcast

Envato Empire

// April 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Branding, Graphic Design, Inspiration, Jobs, Networking, Organization, Photography, Promotion, Rants, Tutorials, Web Design, Wordpress

When considering all the information that I come across on the internet most of the things I see are influenced by Twitter, and my RSS reader. This got me thinking… If I were stranded on a desert island and I only had access to one group of networked sites it would have be the Envato Network. I swear by their umbrella of Tuts+ sites for great tutorials for all my favorite applications. I have touched slightly on the marketplace structure of sites they have including the most recent and a favorite of mine, Graphic River. Another one of those, “Why didn’t I think of this?”, moments when seeing these sites that allow anyone to buy and sell design related goods and services. That’s not all… In case you didn’t have enough excellent content to expand your knowledge there is a handfull of other services they offer. From AppStorm, for everything Mac related, to the must have RSS feed for any freelancer, Freelance Switch. Stranded and alone, I could survive with the Envato Network. Do you know of any networks this diverse? I want to open this one up for feedback, maybe to see if anyone reads these things.

Creative Surroundings

// April 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Inspiration, Rants

I have had the idea for a while that I want to live in a very, modern, creative, unique house one day. Quite the opposite of my mentality when I was about 14, when I lived in a treehouse for a year. My interest in houses, furniture and technology in the home kind of varies depending on where I am at in life. In the last few months I have been moving around quite a bit so I have been thinking more about my ideal living situation. I’m glad to have found Toxel.com as I once again look for a house to buy in Portland.

This is one of the cooler tables they featured on the Unique and Creative Table Designs post.
I wonder if it is functional?

It’s not just tables and chairs at Toxel, after looking around I found everything from bathtubs and sinks to clocks and mirrors. The blog also has started to feature design and tech related stuff too; like Wordpress themes, HDR photographs and a crazy post about packing tape. Didn’t see that one coming.

Portfolio Website

// April 23rd, 2009 // No Comments » // Branding, Inspiration, Rants, Web Design

I am way overdue for a site to show off my web work and photography. It’s finally time, but not without a little thought of what makes an effective portfolio site and research to find some inspiration. I came across a post from the You The Designer Blog on 7 Ways to Build Trust on a Portfolio Site. I especially liked the last two points that were made about explaining your design process and having a professional/custom site. I have a lot of websites bookmarked that showcase well designed and inspirational sites, but none like Foliostars.net. The site shows off only the best portfolio sites from around the web and is a great place to get some inspiration. Inspiration? Did I forget to mention a post from Nick La of Web Designer Wall on Single-Page Portfolio Sites.

Freelance Networking

// April 17th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Jobs, Networking, Rants

We hear a lot these days about the economy and how hard it is to find a job. School is almost over and I’m sure you want to have a job in the creative insdustry as soon as possible. If you have a solid portfolio, are eager to continue learning new things that will make you more valuable to someone, and have some basic people skills then it’s all good! Anything you might want to know about life as a freelancer can probably be found at Freelance Switch. Everything from news and advice on the blog, a job board, a podcast, a book and recourses! One artice I was impressed with lately is The Monster List of Freelance Job Sites.

With a quick Google search I found another site with some prospective places to find jobs. This is just the tip of the iceburg when it comes to jobs out there. The people you know in your social network are the greatest way to find jobs. Take Twitter for example. I recently found a post from Sonata Creative about Using Twitter to Find Work. It’s simple but is crazy enough that it might just work. Twitter name is crbarnett, follow me… you might learn something! Just ask Steven Lenhart or Diana Judge.

Organized Chaos

// April 16th, 2009 // No Comments » // Organization, Rants, Tutorials

With so much going on lately between school, work, life and the internet things can get kind of overwhelming. I am talking about TONS of information, digital files, websites and meetings all needing to be organized, and easy to find. I have had dreams of a day when I will have time to organize my already cluttered harddrives and bookmarks, manage a to-do list, and never miss an appointment. After looking around the web for time management applications and techniques for organizing and backing up digital files I have now decided I only need three essential things.

The first is OmniFocus made by a Seattle based company The Omni Group. It is a task management application that can be used on the Mac and syncs with the iPhone effortlessly. Easy of use is not even a question with OmniFocus with the ability to add, organize, and complete tasks from anywhere. OmniFocus plays nicely with native Mac apps like Mail and iCal and is becoming my go to app for staying on top of things. Check out an online screencast covering the basics of OmniFocus.

Second on my list of things to get me on track is Carbon Copy Cloner. It is offered as a FREE download from Bombich Software. (Yes, that’s what it’s called) When it comes to backing up data, it might be the most important part of my workflow. Carbon Copy Cloner allows for schdeuled backups and synchronization of hard drives. For a free service, this application has a lot of great features that I definitely recomend trying out.

The last thing that I plan on using to keep everything under control I discovered today when I stumbled upon the Color Charge Blog. Specifically, this article on Tips For Organizing Your Files With Colors. The concept is simple and the article describes techniques for using features on your Mac (Leopard) to help organize files and make your life easier. I definitely could have used this when I first started school. Guess it is better late than never!

Graphic Design Theory

// April 7th, 2009 // No Comments » // Graphic Design, Rants

I have always been an advocate of learning as much as you can with the resources available online. The internet makes it really easy to learn new things by subscribing to different blogs and tutorial sites as well as being active in a few different social networks. I am actually persuing a career in a field where I have had no formal education in. This is proof that while you can learn some cool things in school, it may not be vital to finding a good job. However, being in the school environment I have met a lot of people who have been, and will continue to be, important to my success in the creative industry.

With all that said I wanted to share with you an article from PSDTuts: 50 Totally Free Lessons in Graphic Design Theory written by none other than Danny Outlaw. I’m starting to like this guy more and more! So, enjoy the list he has put together and remember that school is just the tip of the iceburg. The information is available, you just have to know where to find it and how to apply it.