DESIGN #59: SWISS & TOILETS

I already have to admit that incorporating an ampersand into every design this month could prove to be a slight challenge. I've noticed that when I get used to designing within specific parameters (whether for client or personal work), it can be difficult to allow my mind to open again. Just proves that our brains need to be exercised on a regular basis or they get mushy. *or at least mine does*

This concept incorporates a sort of swiss-style, art deco-ish design with an image from my very first photography class. A toilet!

DESIGN #58: INTRODUCING THE &

With March done and long gone, it's finally time to switch over to April's design a day challenge - incorporate the ampersand as an integral part of the design. I'm technically cheating tonight - this is a part of a poster that was in my senior exhibition. My thesis project focused on typography as the basis of design in order to help others appreciate letterforms as physical structures in dynamic relationships.

DESIGN #47: LIVING ROOM CHAIR

The month of March (or at least parts of it) will be dedicated to sketches. And before we get too far into this, let me set something straight; I'm no illustrator and not even that great with drawings. Alas, I'll make no apologies. There is a funky, semi-distorted style to most everything I draw and while in Kansas, I had an excellent Drawing II teacher who taught me how to turn my weird style into a strength. I'm looking to get that back.

Sketching is probably the most difficult (and makes me feel the most vulnerable) of  all the challenges I'm assigning myself this year. The purpose of this month's challenge is to get me back to the basics. It's an important aspect of design that most designers tend to neglect including me. Hopefully there will be a dramatic improvement by March 31.

Unfortunately, March will be a short month because it took a week longer to finish the alphabet than intended, and during the last week of March I'll be in the UK *hooray!* so I'll probably be posting a photo a day in lieu of a sketch.

With that long-winded explanation, today's sketch is one of our living room chairs.

FEBRUARY ROUNDUP

Just a few days late, here's the February Roundup. It's been very exciting to look back and see the progression of this alphabet. It's exciting to have it completed, and it's exciting to announce the March challenge. Sketches!

DESIGN #46: Z

I've never seen SpongeBob SquarePants, I don't know if The Cheat from Homestar Runner has a brother. Either way, I think I've created a new character for the show. Welcome Z!

DESIGN #45: Y

Most of my letters start with some idea of the direction I plan to go, and it usually ends up somewhere along the lines of my original idea. Today was an exception. Last night I knew exactly what I wanted Y to look like. Really curvy and beautiful. I even sketched it out which I tend not to do with my design a day letters because my goal is to spend no more than an hour on any design a day project. When I started converting the beautiful hand drawn curves into bezier deliciousness, I just couldn't make myself finish. It seemed too cliche.

What you see below is an experiment. Beautiful or not, experimentation is productive, and in this case, is the result of throwing a bunch of shapes into one space and forcing myself to organize them in a way that works.

DESIGN #44: X

X stands for xylophone and Xerox and other funny, complicated words. That's why it needs to be flexible.