Dec 11, 2010

Noodle Noise Website Design!

Our final project in Paige's Multimedia Design class was to create a 6-page (minimum) educational web site geared towards middle school-aged kids. We were each assigned an over-arching subject (arts, science, math) and within that subject we each had topics to cover. For mine I chose photography. There was a lot of information to try to organize for this site, but I think I did well in making in approachable for this age range. Check it out!

The School of Arts : Darkroom

(Disclaimer: It does not work in internet explorer, but looks fine in Firefox and Safari)

Dec 6, 2010

Album Art

With the advent of digital music, I find myself more often than not downloading albums rather than going out and purchasing them. With a select few bands though (Muse, Jamiroquai, Green Day...) I still remain a dedicated fan and [usually] purchase the physical CDs when I get the chance. Anyway, here is some album art that I enjoy. :)


I like this cover of Radiohead's In Rainbows for the bold colors and large headlining type.



When Muse's (<3) Black Holes and Revelations came out I was overjoyed. The album artwork itself leaves some to be desired, but the subsequent artwork that was released for the various singles is exquisite!

Original Album:



Later artwork:

     

I was so in love with the above portrait of the band that I bought the poster, frame and all. It's absolutely lovely. :)

     

     


Beastie Boys' To the Five Boroughs has a cool package in that the digi pack folds out to reveal a super long, double-sided drawing of the East and West sides of NYC (one on either side) with the lyrics from the songs running throughout. Click the album cover below for more info:





Cake's album art has a very strong, distinct look to it. The band name is bold at the top with a vintage-looking illustration below.

     

     

Beck's The Information had a very clever twist to its package. The cover looks very simplistic with "Beck" on the front and a light blue-on-white grid paper look for the background. When you open the package though, behind the seemingly plain insert is a fold-out sheet of stickers you can use to decorate the insert yourself! I used a few on sketchbooks and such, but sadly never actually used them on the CD insert. I should get a jump on that!

Click for more info:



On my search for images of album art, I found this awesome website that showcases different musicians' album artwork and gives in-depth info on the designs. Very cool!

Sleevage.com

Dec 5, 2010

Dreaming

I have a few recurring dream themes, one of which is the "teeth falling out" dream that it seems a lot of other people have too. Another one is that I accidentally eat meat. Mind you, I went vegetarian over a year ago, but I get these weird dreams where I "slip up." Anyway, I wanted to create an illustration that combined these two themes and this is what I came up with:

Collecting

I think it's in my genes to collect or hold onto things that I probably have no use for. For example, I collect matchbooks whenever I'm out somewhere, though I rarely use them for anything since I don't smoke & don't burn incense or candles very often. I just think they're neat since they're little pieces of design. :)

I've also been collecting vintage suitcases in hopes that one day I will find a use to make out of them. I've wanted to paint/decorate them and maybe resell them. I also found that really cool website where someone made amps/speaker boxes out of them.



I also collect cool/interesting event flyers. Working at a print shop, I print out a lot of flyers for different people. I usually make myself an extra copy if I especially like the design. I've collected so many and I've been meaning to put them up on my wall in some decorative fashion. I've only managed to hang up a couple though.



Another thing I collect is business cards. As with flyers and matchbooks, they are another form of design and I like to keep ones that I find attractive.

Dec 1, 2010

Calendar Tweaking

After talking with Stan I found a stronger direction with which to take my calendar. I came back to my earlier design of using the type in different arrangements for each month. It was more visually appealing to me, but still needed a little something extra. So, each month one of the items will be highlighted and it will include some info about that item; e.g. how to cook it, health benefits, facts, etc.

T-shirt designs

My favorite place to buy shirts is Threadless.com. I have SO many T-shirts from there, I have to refrain from going crazy every time they have a sale. Here are some of my favs that I've collected:

Flickrrrr

In case you didn't already know, I have a Flickr account that I've been keeping up with for a while now, check it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/christinerivera/