Callentine's Day

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day for many people. It's a day of love and celebration. People get dressed up, give tokens, and show their significant others the affection that they really deserve every day, all year. For some, Valentine's Day is very special.

For me, it's special as well, but for a different reason. For me, tomorrow is Callentine's Day. For me, tomorrow is the second anniversary of one of my beloved friends, Callen Fuchs, dying.

In all honesty, I cannot believe it has been two years since his passing. It amazes me that the world can keep spinning that long without Callen on it.

I can't say that Callen was my best friend. I can only barely say that I thought we were good friends. But that doesn't matter. Because it never mattered to Callen. Callen Fuchs loved every person he ever met.

That may sound like a bold statement to some people, but if you had ever met the kid, you would entirely understand. He was the most beautiful person.

I remember where I was when I got the call that Callen had been in a snowboarding accident. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

What I'll also always remember is driving back home to Lakeville from Bemidji the next weekend to attend his funeral and his wake.

My girlfriend, Alyssa, and I had to park a few blocks away from the church and walk because the traffic and parking lot were so crowded. We walked into the church and I was absolutely astounded at how many people were there.

A drum circle was playing in the main room of the church, while bodies amassed in the lobby. A line of people switched back on itself like people were lining up outside of Best Buy for Black Friday. I saw suits and ties mixed in with long, dreaded hair, tie-dyed shirts, and patched jeans. I saw the most beautiful congregation of people you could ever imagine.

My heart swelled as my eyes seeped over. There were easily hundreds, maybe even a thousand people here to celebrate Callen.

Faces from high school, middle school, elementary school, and hundreds more I didn't recognize filtered in and out. And the most amazing thing; smiles graced tear-stained faces in greeting. And in celebration.

To put it simply, Callen had touched a lot of lives.

He loved every person he ever met. And, if you had met him, you loved him too.

There were no handshakes with Callen, only hugs.

I remember seeing that shaggy mane of hair walking in the halls of Lakeville South, and smiling. It always meant you were about to be blessed by a ray of sunshine in your day.

At Callen's memorial, I stepped up to Walt and Terri, his dad and mom, and expected to have to remind them of who I was. They didn't need reminding. They pulled me in and hugged me. They looked at me with smiles on their faces and eyes that couldn't cry anymore. They told me how much Callen enjoyed yearbook class with me in high school. They told me that was one of his favorites, and it was partially because of me.

Callen loved everyone, no matter how long he knew them.

I was fortunate enough to have known him since second grade, and be reunited with him in high school. And I could always call him if I wanted to when I was in Lakeville.

Later, at Callen's wake, in his best friend, Fidge's barn, about 50 of us reveled in Callen stories and drank in the spirit of Callen's life. It was the middle of February in Minnesota, so it was freezing cold out, but it felt warm and comfortable despite what the thermometer said. We were all there to remember and hold onto Callen for a little bit longer.

We laughed over stories of our shaggy friend. We met new people, like at any other party, the only difference was everyone had something in common and no one was random. If you met someone at Callen's wake, you knew that person was touched by the love and joy he could bring you.

I met classmates of his from his college. I re-encountered old friends. I met new friends, whom I may never see again, but I will treasure their company that night.

I'm amazed at how much Callen comes up in my daily life. I think about him more than I do my dead grandparents. But I think that speaks to his character.

Callen loved unconditionally. He truly wanted to meet and hear every person's story on the face of the planet. Callen would be the one person with 6.8 Billion friends.

Since then, I've tried to meet and love someone new every day. I hope that I can love half as much as he did. And I think that if every person tried to love even a little in the way Callen did, there would be no wars, no hunger, no poverty, no problems. Only love and peace would guide this world. And this earth that we stand on would truly be a better place.

On February 14th, every year, I celebrate love, like everyone else. But I celebrate the love that one man brought the world that he lived in. I celebrate Callentine's Day.

Love and Light. I miss you, friend, and I love you.

Type Tips for InDesign

So, I've been up since 4 AM this morning to open the coffee shop at 5. I then proceeded to sling coffee until 11, hop on my bus to my internship, then stare and drool at a computer screen for the remainder of the work day. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, so I'm doing a short post then relaxing for the night. Sound good? Great.

InDesign Type Tips

I found this link when I was watching Twitter yesterday. I found it great and helpful because my internship has different ideas about the rules of typography. I learned from a very strict and intelligent professor about typography (as well as from reading ridiculous amounts of typography books, because I'm a nerd). Anyway, I thought this was a nice, quick reference for some ways to spruce up your type in whatever format you're in. Remember: your content doesn't matter if no one can read it.

That's it for me tonight. I'm spent.

Love and Light, everyone! Goodnight.

First: Exciting News

Alright, it's been a long day, but I promised that I would do a couple posts. So, I will hold true to my promise.

First, we'll start with some exciting news: I got an opportunity to do some freelance poster design for First Avenue! So, now, I am working doing that in the evenings after work. I'll be putting together about three posters a week. I will get to use varying degrees of creativity while designing these pieces, but, it's an exciting opportunity, and one that will (hopefully) further my career.

How it happened: I was talking with one of my co-workers who happens to run a gallery in Northeast Minneapolis. She also knows people; people like K, who works at First Ave and runs the show there. K was also looking for a fresh graphic designer to put together posters for upcoming shows. Which is now, me! Hooray!

Anyways, I thought that was cool and that I would share.

Life's going to be busy, which is the way I like it. Internship, coffee shop, and now, the poster design gig. Not to mention, the blog you're currently reading, and the ever-exciting social life of mine. Life's full up, right now!

That's it for this post. Another one up in a bit!

Love and Light.

It's Not Laziness, It's Busyness

I'm not sure if that headline should read Busyness, Busy-ness, or Business... Who knows.

Anyway, short post for now. I'm exhausted. I've worked about 10 days straight without a day off and I've got an early morning at the coffee shop tomorrow, so I will share a funny email I got today, and I will plan on sharing more and doing a more serious post tomorrow.

Deal?
Deal.

Here's my funny email from my new boss at First Avenue (where I'm now doing some poster design on the side): Labeled 'IMPORTANT'

Hey sorry, not sure if I brought this up at our meeting or not, but if you ever use Bleeding Cowboys on a poster you're fired.

--K

I think I'm going to enjoy working with her...

Love and Light. Goodnight.

I did a Guest Post yesterday...

Which is why I didn't do one on here. I was in Hutchinson visiting my good friend Karlie who runs Inspire Me. She asked me to do a guest post and I obliged. Check it out here! 

Caribou 20 oz. Cup Comparison

Alright, kids. Today, we've got a design comparison, New v. Old.

I was at Caribou Coffee today and noticed there were two different designs to the large sized cups. One is a new cup, issued in 2012, the other is old from 2011 (possibly earlier). If you haven't been to a Caribou Coffee ever, their slogan is "Life is short. Stay awake for it." On the sides of all of their cups, they typically have had people write in what they stay awake for in their lives. Cute, catchy, gets customers involved. Great.

So, I grabbed one of the old cups and one of the new, deciding to assess each individually and to compare.

Let's start with the old one.

So, it's got the idea in there nicely. What do you stay awake for? It's got a million and one answers, but not much of a structure to it. Also, it's tough to see the "What do you stay awake for?" which makes things harder to rationalize. I like that they used different fonts to give each "awake purpose" a character all its own, but I think it creates a cluttered composition. The cup is flat out busy, and, quite honestly, a clusterfuck.

Moving onto the new one...

Alright, structure! I like that there's a constant flow and structure to this design. I also like the addition and use of the branding color blue. It gives everything a bit more depth. Also, the illustrations add to that feel good type attitude that Caribou wants to portray. Now, there are less "awake purposes" but I think that's okay in this case because it sacrifices the amount of content for quality of content and design. I love that there's a definite eyeline throughout the piece. It gets people interested in the cup. You could easily see people holding their cups up to their eyes to examine the cups. Cool. I feel like they integrated the "What do you stay awake for?" well with the branding without encroaching on the logo, slogan, etc. I also like the white space. There's room for the type to breathe, which is nice. I feel like the illustrations are good, but they feel a little like a kid drew them. Not entirely a bad thing, but since I've been pretty positive about the new cup, we'll put that one in the negative column.

Ultimately, the redesign of the 20 oz. Caribou cup is good. I like the addition of illustrations and the connections made within the space using said illustrations. Good use of color and type keep things flowing in a format that's tough to design for. Illustrations could be better, and there was definitely a sacrifice in the amount of content, but all in all, a good redesign.

That's all for now, kids. Love and Light.

"Organ Donor" by Jeremy Messersmith

I was having a tough time settling on music to listen to today, so I put my ipod on shuffle for awhile. It landed on "Organ Donor" by Jeremy Messersmith. I saw him at a concert at the MN Zoo this summer, without knowing a ton of his music. However, I easily fell in love with this song. When I saw the music video, I was hooked.

I love the creepy tone of the song, but the video is kind of creepy, cute cartoons and well animated. It's pretty cool. Check it out.



Love and Light.

A Counter to David Airey

I read a fair number of design blogs. I like to keep up with what's going on in the design world, and I think it's good to see trends. I also think it's important to hear what experienced designers have to say about design and the future of design.

After reading this article from David Airey's site: http://www.davidairey.com/to-be-a-designer/, I had a few thoughts.

While I know that you can design, do art, and be creative anywhere, I think that for young designers it's especially important to learn from people experienced in the field. In the book How to Be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, Adrian Shaughnessy hypothesizes that in order for a young designer to really get the most out of an internship, they not only need to be there for a sufficient amount of time (anywhere from six to 18 months), but they need to be nurtured and taught constantly. So far, I feel that my internship is good and nurturing in close to the same way that Shaughnessy has described.

My first job was in a corporate office as a freelance web designer. However, it did not end well, and I had difficulty after my contract. The bottom line was it wasn't a good fit for someone so young and inexperienced. I think I knew that going into it, but I wanted a job in my field and it seemed like very few grads were getting the coveted internships out there. Everyone wanted someone with experience, but very few people were willing to give the experience needed. So, I took the job given to me, and sent my career on a bumpy path immediately.

It was tough. And, finally, my job ended prematurely, leaving me heart-broken, my confidence shaken, and I questioned whether or not I was meant for design.

My point is that, although it's important for young designers to know there are more places to design than just at a design firm, it's critical to find a good fit, and that fit, typically (I'm guessing) comes at a creative agency of some sort.

Creativity grows more creativity. Creative and artistic minds tend to work together well, and let ideas roll and snowball. Without that kind of atmosphere, creativity dies, resulting in stunted growth in young designers. I think part of the reason I failed at my first job was because it was a stale, stagnant environment with little to no feedback or collaboration.

It's like trying to teach yourself how to read, but with no one helping you along the way, you won't get very far. It's the same thing for design.


That's all I've got for now. Love and Light, folks.

Inspiration for Young Designers

I often find quotes and inspiration specifically for young creatives. I try to take it to heart as much as possible, because that's who I am.

Today, this gem I found in my computer's hard drive is going to drive me, probably for the next week.

Unfortunately, I can't remember where I got this. If you know, comment please, and I'll fix the tag. Gotta give credit where credit is due, right?

Love and Light.

Aloe Blacc

So, yesterday, I shared the Take Away Show video of Bon Iver. Today, I'm sharing one from Aloe Blacc, who I recently (i.e. yesternight) heard and fell in love with. I think this video alone should suffice enough as explanation.



I'm currently working on layouts and designs for the blog here, so don't be surprised if everything changes quite a bit over the next few posts...

Love and Light.

Bon Iver

Bon Iver has wandered into my heart. I never listened to indie or folk much before them, but after I got into Bon Iver, I've done my best to listen to any and all types of music now.

This particular video and song really inspire me. It's an especially good song on cold or rainy days. Today was a cold, snowy one in MN, so I turned this video on.


Love and Light.

Hello

For the record, I think New Year's Resolutions are stupid. I know from experience, resolving to do something doesn't make you do it. It's an act of will. I also think New Year's Resolutions are stupid because you should be looking at yourself and your life as it happens to you, not just once a year.

With that being said, this blog is my attempt at fulfilling a New Year's Goal.

It only occurs now because I feel I have the appropriate amount of time and motivation to commit to a blog.

I've just started an internship as a small magazine published in St. Paul, MN after about two or three months of being unemployed. I had a job before my unemployment stint, but, it's better to just not talk about that. I also work as a barista at a coffee shop not far from my apartment.

This blog will be about creativity and my own concept of Designing My Own Life. I've been working on my own idea and philosophy that life really is what you make it, and if you are unhappy with something, do everything within your power to change it.

So, with that, I will outline a bit of what you can expect on here:

•Design in any shape or form

•Art (also occurring in many shapes and forms)

•Music (one of the shapes of art)

•Ideas and Musings

•Rants

•Quotes

•People

•Fashion (again, an artly or designly form)

•Life (as I see it every day)

I have no idea what will come of this, but, hopefully, I'll be able to share and grow through this blog and whatever it contains.

Love and Light.