Good article

I found this article on the Baltimore AIGA website and I couldn't agree more. This is one of my soapboxes. Knowing how to use graphic design software doesn't make someone a designer (or an artist) any more than knowing how to use Microsoft Word makes someone a writer. But it's still a constant struggle that designers face because of the wide availability of design software. A designer is an artist, a communicator and a problem solver. These skills are not found in software knowledge alone, but rather are innate, finely tuned and constantly developing skills.

On a similar note, I also find that I run into the problem of "anybody can write." Sure, anyone can write. But not just anyone can write well and do it creatively. This problem is ubiquitous both inside and outside of the design world and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Here's the article.

Obsession confession

I love Anthropologie. Not anthropology, as in the study of human beings and their cultures, but Anthropologie, as in the store. The wonderful, artsy, creative store. Not only do I love their clothes and home decor products, but I love their graphic design and writing. Maybe I love their branding even more than I love their products. Their products further support my (emphatic) belief that fashion (and the design and the style resulting from it) is art. But either way, it's a fabulous example of excellent branding that carries throughout their print, multimedia, environmental and product design/merchandising. I also love how they incorporate collage and handmade items. This is the look that I'm hoping to use for my flash project.

Here are a few e-mail and website screenshots (I cropped out the part of the image that says "Shopping cart- 9 items"). *Sigh* My name is Christie and I'm addicted to Anthropologie.

Project 4 - ideas

I think I'm going to do two rough drafts of two different concepts for this one. I'm walking the line between doing one of the following:

1. 4 neighbors you hope never move to your neighborhood (and what to do if they do)
This one is a funny/obnoxious concept and I think I'll use illustrations for it as opposed to photos.

2. 4 types of jeans every women should own (and how to wear them)

I've done fashion articles before and I love doing them, but I'm not sure if I want to do this for this project. I'd almost rather do one that shows my twisted sense of humor (the first one). Either way, this is another fun project.

To be or not to be

Definitely not to be...

I'm taking back the verb. After the discussion in class on Saturday, I reviewed my writing for "to be" offenses. I found it in a few cases. Despite my efforts not to use it, it still occurs in my writing, usually the result of laziness, rather than a conscious choice.

Lately, I've become weary at work because I constantly edit "to be"-riddled writing. It's a highly contagious epidemic. It seeps into my brain without my consent and wraps its lazy tentacles around my thoughts, draining the life from my writing and replacing it with a colorless verb wasteland.

But already today, through my efforts to fight the laziness, my writing shows bursts of color and interest. I almost forgot the feeling of painting a written picture, but three weeks into grad school, it seems, it's back.