Every Teardop Is A Waterfall by Coldplay

Song of the Day 6/3/11
Every Teardop Is A Waterfall by Coldplay
Hear it here!

Rumpelstiltskin

Renenactment:
Rumpelstiltskin taped to wall.
wdsiemerii

Taped To The Wall
William D. SIEMER II

When I was in high school art class, I decided to tape someone to the wall with masking tape.

Performance/Live/Action Art, right?!?

The teacher didn't seem to think so. I was scolded pretty harshly; not for taping someone to the wall, but because I wasted art supplies--masking tape.

I can't say taping a dozen people to the gallery wall in different positions for my senior thesis didn't cross my mind.

Product Deception

Clipping from Time Magazine

This isn't from the same Time Magazine article I was reading (above), but it’s always interesting learning about product deceptions...

-- Budget Gourmet Light and Healthy Salisbury Steak, which is labeled "low fat," derives 45% of its total calories from fat.

-- Diet Coke contains more than the one heavily advertised calorie per can (so does Diet Pepsi).

-- There is no real fruit -- just fruit flavors -- in Post Fruity Pebbles.

-- Honey Nut Cheerios provides less honey than sugar and more salt than nuts.

-- Mrs. Smith's Natural Juice Apple Pie contains artificial preservatives. The word natural refers to the fruit juice used to make the pie.

Here's Where The Story Ends by The Sundays

Song of the Day 6/2/11
Here's Where The Story Ends by The Sundays
Hear it here!

From Garbage To Art

From Garbage To Art: How To Change The World

by Marcelo Gleiser

Vik Muniz/Courtesy of Vik Muniz Studio Irma's portrait, from Waste Land

[Read NPR Article]

Social networking across the globe is changing the way people deal with all kinds of issues. Commentator Marcelo Gleiser explores how movements to transform garbage into art and to cleanup whole countries are paving the way to a new worldview.

MLB 2011 All-Star Game

This is how the 2011 MLB All-Star Game is looking...

The New York Yankees versus the rest.

If the Major League Baseball All-Star Game were held today six New York Yankees would be in the starting lineup. In the first announced tally of AL All-Star votes catcher Russell Martin, first baseman Mark Teixeira, second baseman Robinson Cano, shortstop Derek Jeter and third baseman Alex Rodriguez were all the leading vote-getters at their respective positions. Yankee center fielder Curtis Granderson is second in votes among American League outfielders to Toronto's Jose Bautista, which would place him in the starting lineup.

Live Trace

Breaking the Rules: "The Sketchpad" logo has been Live Traced.

Live Trace: Friend or Foe?
William D. SIEMER II


Live Trace! Oh joy! Back in the day I used to scan in hand drawn illustrations and convert them into vectors using a program called Adobe Streamline. They looked alright. Now we are blessed to have Live Trace as a button in Illustrator--or cursed.

It seems like lately when I ask people for a vector of their logo, all I get in return is a low-resolution image saved as an EPS, or better yet, a Live Traced version. Live Trace converts raster images into vector images. It gives everyone in Illustrator the potential to be dangerous.

Sometimes I get files where the text has been live traced and it looks miserable, images are converted through live trace into textures and have thousands of little stray blobs, and logos are completely ruined. If a client says they don't care if their logo isn't streamlined, I will usually recreate it as long as I know it's not going to drastically effect my time (which translates to lost money). I can't get myself to use a Live Trace logo if it compromises the design.

There are some decent uses of Live Trace. It can give the appearance of screen printing and it traces line drawings very well. Designers decide how effective Live Trace can be.

New York's Yotel Hotel

Yotel Hotel Review [click here] 

New York's Yotel Hotel at Times Square

On my East coast excursion, I'll be staying at the new Yotel in New York at Times Square. I'll take pictures and give a quick review when I return.

Yotel: High-style, low-priced hotel to open in NYC
By Barbara De Lollis, USA TODAY
|Read the USA Today Article|

Missing Fonts or Images in Illustrator

Quick Tutorial for the Beginning Designer

Trying to open someone's Illustrator file (ai/pdf/etc), but have missing fonts or images? Place them.
I've tried to keep this straightforward while keeping it understandable.

File> New...
(Make a new document)

File> Place...
(Browse for the document you need to open)

Make sure the check box called "Link" is checked and "Template" is unchecked.

With your file selected, click Place.

Your image is now placed as a Linked File.

If you want to be able to make some edits, you'll have to outline the fonts and embed the images, this is how to do it... (Don't click "Embed" if you're missing fonts because this will force you to make substitutions for them)

Object> Flatten Transparency...

In the pop-up box..
Preset: High Resolution
Line Art and Text Resolution: 1200ppi
Gradient and Mesh Resolution: 300ppi
CHECK Convert All Text to Outlines
CHECK Convert All Strokes to Outlines

CHECK Preserve Overprints and Spot Colors


Click OK

Flatten Transparency Box

(Sometimes these settings need to be changed for more advanced imagery with effects like drop-shadows, etc.)

You will now see that the document is editable.

File> Save

Life's A Dream by Built to Spill

Song of the Day 6/1/11
Life's A Dream by Built to Spill

Death Cab for Cutie's new album "Codes and Keys" reminds me a lot of their musical influences Built to Spill.
Hear it here!

How much longer can photographic film hold on?

Yoda would prefer photographic film over digital., wdsiemerii

How much longer can photographic film hold on?
|Read the Article|
AP By BEN DOBBIN - Associated Press | AP – 6 hours ago

I was wondering the same thing yesterday. I was organizing my belongings and came across my Nikon SLR camera along with some film. I thought about loading it up, but it seemed like too much hassle when all I needed to do was flip the "on" switch of my Canon DSLR to start shooting.

I believe hardcore photographers will continue to use film, if not for preference, then for nostalgia. The hands-on process of developing film in a darkroom through the use of chemicals and filters is more labor, but it can be more rewarding. It's the difference between building a chair versus buying the chair pre-made. There is so much more pride in something you build with tools from scratch.

Developing photographic film is definitely a dying art. Even photo labs have to remind people, "We still develop rolls of film." The cost of equipment and developing can be overwhelming. I remember a lot of Photography majors in college taking up gigs at weddings just to pay the bills to do their inspired creative work "on the side."

Digital cameras have made everyone photographers. I don't necessarily mean this in a negative way. The digital revolution has made photography more mainstream and accessible. Many "amateur" photographers are adding great collections to the library of internet archives.

It's all about the ease of usability. A user can insert a SD Card to hold thousands of photos, choose automatic presets, upload the photos into Photoshop or Camera Raw for editing, archive them into digital libraries, or print them on high-quality photo paper straight from their home office printer. It's convenient and simplified.

I have gone the digital road. I have limited formal training; I'm really just a guy who likes to take photos. However, it still takes a lot of time and effort to work digitally. Some of the edits can be performed through actions, color corrections and batch automated processed to make it quicker, but a lot take more careful individual attention.

I remember all the problems I had with developing rolls of film--having difficulty winding the film onto a roll for development in the darkroom, the waiting time for cleansing, not mixing the chemicals correctly, not allowing enough time between chemicals, filters, problems with the initial shots being unfocused or overlapping on the roll, etc. etc. I lost my patience.

Photographic film has already lost its hold on me.

------------------------------

Side note: Along the same lines of photographic film... I like how before the start of the Red's games on radio, the announcer say, "If you're taking down today's starting line-up..." And throughout the games they inform you how to score it as if many people have a pencil and scorecard. I think it's great. It's reminiscent of an earlier generation. How much longer can baseball score keeping hold on?

Mt. Airy: City's largest park turns 100

City's largest park turns 100

Cincinnati Enquirer

A sign erected in 1920 announced the construction of the Mount Airy forest.

Read the Article