Here are a few teaser notes from my sketchbook:

I was just doing a little research on a company for an interview coming up and happened upon this little poster that I think is for an art exhibition. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but something about the old-style look of the woman appeals to me. I also really enjoy the texture on her and the background.

Putting together my portfolio was my top priority, since I had the portfolio review this past Thursday. I was almost swooped away in a tornado because I was out getting it printed at the time. Funny thing is, I didn’t even realize a tornado had touched down anywhere near me until after the fact. I just thought it was SUPER hard rain, but nothing else. As I drove back to school after printing, I saw all sorts of debris from trees, and signs, and the likes. I even saw a few traffic lights shattered on the roads. Here’s the crazy part… That was the LITTLE storm. The big one lasted from about 3PM to some time after 12AM. Tornadoes were everywhere, from what I heard. I’m really fortunate, not only to not have been very close to any, but also to have had power through the entire night. I was somehow able to work all night long, even after the storms subsided.

That bit of excitement happened on Wednesday, I think. Then there was trying to finish up a few portfolio-related things a couple of hours before the actual review. Luckily, I was able to manage it all and even [think I] did really well on the three interviews. People liked my mugs as leave-behinds, so I hope something will come of that in future interviews.

There were a few other things in other classes, but none as crazy as getting the portfolio done well and on time.

This is a letter to the editor that I wrote for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. I wanted to raise awareness of the UTC senior thesis exhibitions, so I decided that this was one way that I could do that. Since not everyone read the section that contained the actual article covering the event, I thought I would help out a little and at least get something published in the one place I could. I guess we’ll see if it worked or not this coming Tuesday when the second show opens.

I’m extremely happy that the first show went over so well, and there’s only more great work in the second show; so I’m excited to see the turnout for it. I think one of the other seniors and his band are going to play live for anyone who comes from 6:15PM to 7:15PM in the Apothecary (if I heard right). [Warning: selfless promotion] Anyone in the greater area should come check it out .

Other than the upcoming show, this week is going to be pretty epic… stressful, but epic. I’m going to finish my portfolio, résumé, business cards, and leave-behinds. I can’t wait to be done with it all and see how well the whole self-branding self-project turned out. I’m a fan of things that live on past their initial use, so I’ve thought of  a couple of ways that I could incorporate that idea into my collateral. After all, what’s the use of a leave-behind and that sort of thing if the interviewer just looks at it once and forgets about it later. I just have to get some stuff printed and assemble everything, which is easier said than done; but there’s no need to stress myself out about it more.

I had no idea people would respond as well as they did to my presentation or the  actual project (a video), for that matter. I kind of thought the whole thing would be dismissed as not being serious when people found out I was doing a project on zombies (in comparison to humans). But the reaction was quite the contrary. I had people actively seeking me out to tell how good my presentation was; and for the couple of hours I was at the gallery opening, I was known as the “Zombie Guy” to anyone who didn’t know my name. Pretty entertaining, not going to lie.

Now, I’m going to be working on the CreateAthon project in Chattanooga starting tomorrow at 10 AM. I can’t help but feel like this is going to be hectic, and really fun at the same time. I hope we end up making a big difference to the schools around Chattanooga, the kids at Dalewood Middle School especially. Imagine the possibilities, the opportunities we can create for the kids by helping the principal keep track of his students’ progress and being able to share that information with surrounding educational establishments to help improve all systems. Also, the art gallery is going to be a great tool in helping the children to realize their potential. This, in turn, will hopefully make them strive to do better all around so they might pursue their goals.

Gonna be a good time.

Now I have to work on my presentation some more. I don’t think I’ve mentioned before, but I’m a pretty shy guy, so the presentation will need some practice before I feel like I’m ready to give it. Not much time left to practice though, considering we’re about two days away from the show. Here’s a tiny morsel to whet your appetite… if you’re into that sort of thing. Litte piece of the event poster that featured me.

What’s really nerve racking about this whole thing for me isn’t the deadline, though. It’s the presentation. I’ve given speeches before, but something about this being the culmination of my time at school makes it feel a bit bigger. Heck, it only has to be five minutes at the max. I’ve given longer speeches… Guess I should just try not to worry about it too much.

It feels kind of weird thinking about this as one of the last significant things I’ll be doing at this school. After this, I don’t have much else to do besides some work on my résumé and portfolio. It’s pretty exciting in a way. I’ll be moving on to the “real world” and getting a decent job soon, or at least another internship. I would be happy with anything design related at this point, since my last couple of jobs were just manual labor.

Better late than never, right?

I have to say, I found this year’s Dish conference more inspirational than last years. I think it may have been because of the fact that I was able to relate more to the people presenting. Frank Chimero, the keynote speaker, was very entertaining; and I was able to relate to him a lot more than Stanley Hainsworth (2010′s keynote speaker). It seemed like Chimero came in with a presentation and message built more on people and their relationship with design (as well as some tips), as opposed to how I remember Hainsworth’s presentation: a compilation of big-name work and what you can do to set yourself on that track. I guess his presentation was more informational, and Chimero’s presentation was more inspirational. That’s how I saw it anyway.

A couple of other people got my creative juices pumping (so to speak) while I was in Nashville for the conference. The first to catch my attention was Ryan Nole of Kangaroo Press. His talk was interesting to me, but what I ended up remembering was the work that he showed. I realized from his presentation how much I love things that have a sort of hand-made or grungy feel to them. While simple and clean looks great, I like things to have a visual texture (if not a real one) or a “painterly” feel to them. When you can combine the two, I think there’s some real gold to be found there.

Another person who grabbed my attention was a guy named Nick from Young Monster. Once again, a seemingly down-to-earth, chill guy. It was pretty easy to relate to what he was talking about. I especially enjoyed how he basically stumbled into founding and owning Young Monster. What I took from him, as well as some of the other speakers there, is that you need to make work that you’re proud of. It seems obvious, I know, but he was basically saying that you shouldn’t just give up your own style for what you think a client wants. If you’re doing work for someone, there’s a good chance they’ve seen some of your work, and that is what they were interested in. On a side note,  his suggestion of looking at the design from other countries was pretty cool and something I hadn’t thought of too much.

Boom! Connection made.

Other than that, I haven’t thought of much else to work with. There is one idea about dust that I’m entertaining, but I’m not sure I have the time to build the piece. It involves a lot of plexiglass pieces with tiny specs of “dust” on each. I just don’t feel like it’s really my style, either. If I’m going to put in the time and effort to make something like this, the least I can do is try to make sure my own thoughts and ideas show up in it.

Looking forward to the show, though.

Fixing a broken or jammed mechanical pencil is another little thing that does not register to many as something that would bring joy. It might not even register with me if not for the fact that I love to draw, and I carry a pencil with me anywhere I go. Sketching and doodling are simple pleasures I have known all my life. For as long as I can remember, I have been drawing better than average, and my imagination only spurs my need to be better.
Drawing in itself is a simple pleasure that could entertain me for hours. However, there are other uses for drawing that have become more apparent as I continue on through the graphic design program at UT Chattanooga. Using my ability to complete a design or just to help think can be very satisfying to me (especially when good ideas start to flow). Without a doubt, drawing is one of my greatest “simple pleasures,” and my life would actually be far different without this gift.