My Aquatic Citizens

All I intended to procure was a seven dollar Betta fish for a tank I already had. What I ended up with was thirty dollars worth of fish and one hundred ten dollars of supplies, including a ten gallon tank with the deluxe kit. How did this happen? I saw a tank full of happy fish with goofy grins and big eyes. And boyfriend said I could get them. It did come with the caveat that I adhere to guidelines of responsible pet ownership. Felt more like a little kid with her dad than a woman in her mid-twenties with her peer. But I quickly agreed.

One Blood Red Parrot Cichlid and two Firemouth Cichlids. They are all aggressive, the Parrot most of all. He/she shall henceforth be referred to as Ursula. The two little boys are Flotsam and Jetsam. This is the one shot where she looks gentle/kind.

I let Ursula out first because she’d been in the car for so much longer. She was in the waiting room with me as I got an oil change. She waited in the car while I stopped by a second pet store to buy the boys. By the time we got home she was pretty dizzy. Sigh. She seemed so sweet/helpless while she was trapped in the plastic baggie.

What I didn’t notice at the pet store was that eyelid type shadow on the top of her eye. Makes her grin look sinister. She already claimed the left half of the aquarium as hers. Saw her ram one of the guys into the glass, it was like a mini hockey game.

Here is a sad looking boy. I will say the bigger one is Jetsam and smaller one is Flotsam. They were harder to photograph not only because they were hiding but because even when they came out into view, Ursula would dart in front of them.

Or find some way to get in the shot. Flotsam was being shy, and he finally peeks out. No lie five seconds later she butts her massive face in. She’s crazy. Haha that smile.

This is a picture of Ursula’s end of the aquarium. Mere seconds after this was taken, both Firemouths sustained multiple injuries. Hope you guys are quick learners.

She’s almost like a goldfish on steroids. One day she will measure between six and ten inches in diameter. Depends on what sex she actually is. Reflection on wall.

Not the sweet/dopey face I fell for at the pet store. Same old story. Sigh. Hehehe.

I like this shot. Flotsam and Jetsam. He looks like he’s posing. For some reason his face reminds me of Jasper, a live human baby. Think it’s the smile and big eyes. 🙂

The aquarium is next to the sink in my bathroom. I like that I can see them from my bed. My bed is also my chair for my desk. Everything is convenient and close by and multi-purpose. Okay that’s all I wanted to share. I will probably never again take/post pictures of them, or even mention them directly. Not only a high likelihood of imminent deaths, but they’re fish. But I love them. THE END.

Kalbiente

First half of Intro to Graphic Design was a book cover project. I opted to make one for a Quentin Tarantino biography. Second half was identity/collateral for a made-up business. I opted to take on a Korean-Mexican fusion taco truck. We were forced to take lots of tiny steps: target audience survey, inspiration sheets, word association list, survey of competitors, hand indication of type in every potential font, three tabloid-size pages each for both symbol and type exploration, color exploration, and determining which collateral pieces to create for the presentation.

Sometimes felt like busywork, or I’d rush to fill pages with not necessarily the direction I wanted to head towards. In hindsight I appreciate that he made us do it. Also we had an awesome teacher. He’s worked at Disney for over twenty years, absolutely loves graphic design, and yeah. The only word for him is awesome. Though cool- sweet- funny- philosophical- eyes- that- are- dark- and- shiny- like- a- wild- field- mouse comes close. No not a crush, but he’d be a fun dad. Or grandpa. Not that I’d ever want to replace my real dad. Dear God, please don’t let either ever come across my blog.

And on we go. So after all the “exploration” (read: just about everything you can do with a chili pepper in Micron pen / tracing paper form) I settled on one character. (You’ll be missed, walking taco with chucks.) Then I used tracing paper to make all these versions:

Waste of time? Not really. Helped me figure out what I do and don’t want in my logo. And if you don’t think he looks like Wesley then you suck. So I ended up with this:

With logo somewhat solidified, jumped ahead to work on my brochure. I slept for the first six hour flight to Phoenix, and did this on the one hour to LA. Airplane doodlings:

Came up with the four guys then and there. Landed in LA at night. Then committed to them digitally the next morning. At 5 in the morning. Reverse jetlag FTW!

First version of brochure. Back cover and front cover L-to-R, then inside spread:

Second version of brochure after classroom crit and more meddling. (Sidenote #1: So, meant to edit the copy in Garcia’s card before class because someone said it was wrong. But I was in such a rush that I forgot. After I presented and we moved onto the next one, a classmate pointed at it and whispered “haha that’s funny.” Thanks to her I will be leaving it in. Sidenote #2: I am not racist. Though my humor might be. Insert sad lyrics along lines of “you don’t know me lalala so misunderstood shalalala“.)

And some business cards. The white backgrounds are options for the front of the card, the color backgrounds are going to be the back of the card.

Still have a ways to go, in only two weeks. Have to design my truck, design and (crosses fingers) make a shirt, develop a letterhead system, bind seven weeks of work into a book, and create a presentation display with the final products. But now that I’m on the computer I’m having so much more fun and time goes by so quickly.

If only I could say the same for my bible trivia class. If I had the willpower/time to turn all my notes into a funky bible cartoon study guide, it would be so much easier. And I would LOOK FORWARD TO DOING IT. Maybe. I only have three weeks left? We’ll see!

Final brochure design, completed Wednesday morning. It’s blurry so click on it:

Letterhead system completed Thursday morning. Stationery, envelope, mailing labels, and business card (and reverse business card variations). Not crazy about the type treatment of the logo on the stationery, but it’ll have to suffice for now. Home stretch!

Also here are pictures of my first project, book covers for a biography of a famous person. One with type only, one with type and images.

Epilogue

Hey class – I thoroughly enjoyed my Monday nights with you. You were the source of inspiration to me professionally, and I reveled in watching all of you gain confidence and develop as designers.

Grades are something I take as seriously as you take your effort toward the class… weighing your participation in class, the work behind the presentation as well as the finished pieces themselves toward your final grade. As was stated the first night of class, the mark for excellence (“A”) is extremely rare at Art Center. Scoring ‘average’ (“C”) at a world class design school is no small feat. Achieving a “B” even more impressive.

The following is your grade for the Projects, Workbook and term.

Many thanks and best of luck in your endeavors, creative and otherwise. Warren

Project 1

Quentin Tarantino – These Violent Delights

Research/Exploration/Concept 9.0

Design Quality 9.25

Craftsmanship 8.75

Project 1 Grade 9.0

Comments: Wonderful ‘Grindhouse’ approach to the design, Elle. Effective use of color. You may have allowed too much room around the pieces on the board.

Project 2

Kalbiente

Research/Exploration/Concept 9.5

Design Quality 9.75

Craftsmanship/Presentation 9.75

Project 2 Grade 9.66

Comments: You lit up the room with fun and effective design, Elle. This Project benefited from a solid concept and back story. Your collateral pieces rounded out a high quality presentation. You may wish to rework the brochure ‘pink’ page at some point. I still don’t think it’s working as well as it could. Mount the catering truck graphic as it’s a valuable piece to present. Love the folding presentation boards! Great verbal presentation too!!!!!

Workbook

Design Quality 9.5

Craftsmanship/Presentation 9.9

Workbook Grade 9.7

Comments: Amazing workbook, Elle. Soooo complete with such a great design development story told effectively.

Term grade 9.0, A

(At the presentation I also had four tacos (beef, pork, shrimp, tofu), trays, and linings.)