stevegovern.com + design-hq.org

I officially bought the domain names for my portfolio site and my web 2 project they may turn into something hopefully big. My idea, Design HQ, would be a non-profit like design community for designers and artists alike to post inspiration or talk about design itself. There will be a chat server like facebook or aim for this site called Critique. It's where designers can upload working progress for others to see and receive feedback from other designers. A store will be on the site to sell books, designers work and other goodies. Design Headquarters will receive no funds whatsoever. It is a free site for designers to create an account and network amongst others. It will team up with my classmates website to help with job postings and golden opportunities. I also want a section called Creative Brief to be a star on the site. It will be a fun activity for designers to keep their minds fresh and explore numerous projects ranging from print such as identity, packaging, or poster design to web site design layouts to flash movies. Once i hit the ground running i am going to need some help with other designers input and programmers. Hope this baby works. Just bought a name for it for 10 bucks! Keep designing well my friends!!!

Senior Review today!

I am so relieved that my portfolio and process book is done. I think I did a good job and did my best to showcase my work. I was done a week before the deadline which was a huge relief only until DCI screwed up my brochure. Couldn't even fold it, it was so thick. DCI couldn't print it double sided and to top it off, it wasn't even cellmounted together! :( . I then took it to Albert Screenprint and they did a fantastic job they were able to print it double sided and printed it with UV ink so it looked amazing. Got my process book on time from Apple and it looks amazing as well. I wish the best of luck to all of you that are in the review with me and look forward to hearing some good news...hopefully :)

Paul Sahre - Design Lecture @ Kent State

Here was my impression of Paul Sahre. Almost all of his work is dictated by grid structure. He is inspired by Josef Muller Brockmann's work. I liked his studies of a grid that has a visual impact for book covers. His book designs didn't look all too impressive but his concepts are very well thought out. I like how he experimented on almost all his work. It inspired me to start thinking outside of the box more. Start incorporating a visual grid into my work more often than I have before. He likes collecting books, its inspiration for him on future book cover commissions. His clientele is well known such as designer James Victore and the New York Times. He went back to Kent for his graduate degree in graphic design. He emphasized that thought process should be a major part in your work and that an idea sketched out before even touching the computer is probably the most imporatant thing for designers. An interesting piece that he did for a client was magazine spreads on UFOs. He started out by spending a night trying to get abducted by aliens. The spreads ended up being photo emphasis of his tools he used to be abducted. Overall I wasn't moved by his work. I felt that some his work was scribbles on a page and call it design. Kent has a totally different program than Akron's in the sense that they are more traditional. 7 out of 10

HFA Shadowing Day 2

Really interesting day today. Got to meet a group of people from the Interactive Department. I learned how they develop a site from scratch and sat in on some cool flash projects. It was interesting that some people in the department don't know programming all to well but can develop some storyboards for programmers to then assemble. I look forward to going back on Thursday!

Portfolio Site Coming Along!

Hey Guys!

Little update on my personal site. I am getting very close to finalizing my site for publishing. This is so exciting having this Web 2 class to help me with my CSS + HTML fears. I am learning about Lightbox and learning to edit my portfolio pieces for lightbox. I just have to finish my Web 2 page and Contact page! Hope everyones site is coming along as well! Good Luck!

Helbotica - Creative use of a well known typeface

Yeah i know we are all sick of hearing about Helvetica and how it is overused in all of our designs. It seems discouraging when watching the documentary and trying to overcome this inevitable sans-serif. I know at least some of us have used Helvetica in our designs (I know I have) but i recently was browsing the Internet and came across a blog that had this picture. I was amazed by it, I like this type robot. Creative usage of the letterforms to form robot parts was ingenious. It is also available for a design on a shirt for $25. Maybe I might pick up a shirt for myself. This gives me inspiration for fun projects I can do over the summer. Maybe create the arch nemesis Futura Robot. lol

Stay Tuned for more!

HFA shadowing

Hey everyone!

Just started my shadowing of Hitchcock and Fleming Associates in Akron, Ohio last Friday. Let me say it was the best decision I ever made. I got to meet a lot of cool people on the creative team. They were working on some cool projects and it was nice to sit in on a work day. I met a designer Todd from Akron U who was apart of the design team for the Veritas project. I then met Mike there other creative director and he had been working on some ads for a client. I met Nick Betro the president of HFA listened in on a critique. I met the 3d animator for HFA Scott who work on some cool commercial spots for Geauga Lake. It was a great first day for me and I continue my shadowing today. I get to meet the interactive team there and see how their work day usually is. Ill keep updating so stay tuned!