Wow

So today I have distributed a 12pt Univers Med. and uploaded 2 projects and this is my second blog post(size doesn't matter). I am really hauling some ass. I think it's either time to read, eat or sketch. Tonight I hope to post about the sketches I'm doing for the book covers and talk about some of my design concepts.

Oh and guess what your simple fonts make peoples brains break, or I guess you could say you just don't remember as well. My description sounds better but you can read about it here! And if you prefer to read something less technical try this.

The Magic of transparent concrete.

So I found this article the other day. Basically it amounts to concrete that is structural but at the same time lets light through. There weren't any picture with the original article but I found some in the link above. It's pretty awesome and kinda mind bending. It's like that indicator light on the front of your MacBook Pro that flashes to let you know you're in standby. The better thing about this concrete is that it isn't just a bunch of little holes like on your MacBook Pro.

Pretty cool stuff, I now want a sun room made out of this stuff so it looks like a bunker(and I guess would act as one too) but I would still have light from outside. Okay How about we use this stuff for highway dividers and illuminate them? Re duce the glaring overhead lights and it would look like TRON. Another use is embedded lighting in structures like bridges or sculpture. Honestly I can think of tons of things I would do with this stuff and some LEDs. So if you're in the market to buy a crap load of this stuff and want to send some my way do it right now and I will blow your mind.

More Behance

So I've just updated my Behance with 3 more projects and I'll see if I can get another up before the night is out. I have done some sketches for my book cover project and I'll see how that goes, I'll probably upload those onto Behance and start a project so I can keep an up to date progress of my work there.

Right now I'm working on the concepts for Moby Dick and I have to say I'm sitting on the egde of the obvious but I think that is the best jumping off point. Also I'm not going to be afraid if I use icons that might seem obvious because maybe some of them are good and that it the reason why they get reused. It's a book about a giant white whale and there is a guy named Ahab and it might be a little ridicules to eliminate the option of a whale or a salty looking dude.

And now onto Flavors.me, so at first it showed my Behance work and now not so much. So I will scour the web for a fix and if I find one before it magically fixes it self I'll post the solution right here. And speaking of Flavors.me here is mine again.

Books

So even though I am being kept from school I think I'll still do what work I can. I know the first project is a book cover and we were told to choose three books. So I went down to the library and picked up 3 books.

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

This is the story of a man, whale and obsession. I first read this book when I was 8 and it is one of the best stories I have read to date. The characters are rich and well developed and the meaning through out the book are clear but not blatant. If you haven't read this book you should have. This isn't a book about the hunt for a whale this is about a man forcing destiny and searching for greatness and revenge.

Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes

The epic of a Man caught up in fantasy and very little sanity. The man known as Don Quixote lives to read about chivalry and knights and his obsession soon becomes he world. Caught up in the idea that he shall become a knight and fulfill his chivalric responsibilities fighting giants and saving the wek all in the name of his love. The problem is none of this actually exists apart from the apparitions in his head. Even so no more a noble soul has existed. I have never read this book and as I began reading it a few days ago I'm hooked I don't know if I should laugh or weep for the characters.

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk

Wow how do I sum this book up? Okay so lets talk about the author for a moment. Chuck Palahniuk is more of a researcher than a writer he lives the lives of many of his subjects and then set about writing. His prior works are well known and well received. His writing is graphic and violent and I would say it would be hard to find a compliment in any of his books that isn't almost completely undone by what follows it. When I met him years ago he talked about his interests and methods and where he gets his ideas and well I found it a little scary(that should say something). So now onto the book. You follow four characters involved in a record attempt at consecutive sexual partners(Gang Bang). As is the case in Palahniuks books his characters are fraught with flaws, so most of the story is the lead up to their participation in record attempt. There are twist and turns and it is a surprisingly quick read.

Being well connected

So I now have a Flavors landing page and I'm uploading more work onto behance and my linkedin profile is getting close to being complete. So the website I'll be pushing this point on it my flavors account where you can easily view my twitter, behance, linkedin and my blog http://flavors.me/mdrezaiekhaligh. It's not bad for free but I'm hoping in a short time I'll upgrade my accounts and then I'll be connected even better.

So about school, I'm not going back this semester. I'm really pissed off about the situation but I have to accept something and just keep pushing forward. I'll write more on the circumstance of my absence which are for the most part external forces acting on me and have nothing to do with grades or any interaction I've had at school. I have had a lot of support from friends and family and staff but there isn't much that can be done at this point other than keep going I guess.

I don't care who you are set a yearly alarm and on that day get al three of your credit reports and scores, dispute what isn't your fast otherwise you'll end up in my situation up shit creek without a paddle.

I have decided that this year I would like to have 365 blog posts this is inspired by last years ring a day and this years sketch a day by Amuck Design also on twitter. I hope I can just keep up and make some posts to make up for the last few days of nothing.

A world without words.

Can you imagine a world were the written language is in pictures and everyone understands them? Pictograms are nothing new but interaction, graphic and industrial designers have for the past few decades tried to come up with a solution for the language barrier. We have street signs and way finding signs like those used for bathrooms, but as we develope more of these "universal" icons we are developing a language and now we may be coming ful circle in development. Maybe the Egyptians used pictograms because of the span of their empire and just couldn't be bothered with writing out the name of the Pharaoh in each dialect and language?

Yeah that is probably a bit of a stretch but hey we may never know. But what we do know is TheNounProject dedicated to creating a visual language of icons. Their mission:

"sharing, celebrating and enhancing the world's visual language"

Sounds alright I guess but they are a long ways off from completion and right now I believe they are rasing funds for the project to continue and they will eventually take submissions and that sound alright by me. I'm working on my icon for Bourbon and Coke Double, when I can just flash that baby at a loud bar and get my drink with out a word uttered I think the world will be a better place.

(image is a capture from thenounproject website)

First sketches.

So here are the first sketches of the process book for the semester I'm looking to have it post bound and I'm going to begin doing some digital mock ups and make a dummy or two. So I began with an outline of what needs to be covered allotting a page count to each section and working out how many total pages I would need. I went on and sketched out a dummy to work out the spreads and then made an actual dummy of one section with other pages like the cover page and title and table of contents.

I see this as a chance to explore some ideas I cam up with diring the semester but wasn't able to execute because of time. I used the idea of a pull out or centerfold style spread on my second process book in VISC 204 and I have made a pop up book in my drawing for design class. So I was thinking of an exploration in those directions as long at it would add to the book and wouldn't just be fancy crap for no reason.

I'm also looking for a design style or aesthetic concept for the book so I just threw down a few quick ideas and let this simmer in my head these last few days. Tonight I plan on further exploration of these concepts and research into other options. I really want to be able to make one section and replicate it for each project and then only do tweaks and modifications to enhance the visual hierarchy. I do know one of my objectives is a simple and compact design.

When looking at size solutions a landscape 8.5x11 seems to be the best compromise reducing the footprint of the gutter and increasing the total printable area. I am open to other sizes and formats, but I think from my experience this semester this first option will prove to be the best fiscal/design compromise.