June 2009
10 posts
Plunge
Forget the job search, I’m taking the plunge.
Irony, oh irony.
From Apt Pupil by Steven King:
Dussander said nothing. He was clutching the arms of his chair, and his toothless, deflated mouth was trembling. Todd didn’t like that. It made him look like he was on the verge of tears. That, of course, was ridiculous. The Blood Fiend of Patin in tears? You might as well expect Chevrolet to go bankrupt or McDonald’s to give up burgers and start...
A Brief History Of Social Media →
When I was a kid we had to fish through DALnet servers, barefoot in the snow, BOTH ways. And we liked it!
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“Type Lady” likes my website, that’s an ego boost! Those with strong powers of deduction should be able to figure out who I’m referring to.
I know this Tumblr theme is kind of boring and crappy. I’ll get around to designing something custom soon, but I enjoy programming as much as I enjoy the vocal stylings of Celine Dion. Not at all.
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ICAN 2008/09 Annual Report
Call me impatient. I had said I’d be waiting until next week to throw these pics up, but there’s no harm in doing it now. Thanks to Johanna Westby for working with me on this, and thanks to everyone at ICAN for being a model client.
Credits:
Creative Direction, Design: Mark McAllister, Prov. RGD
Illustration: Johanna Westby
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So, now that my batteries are recharged it’s time to get moving on the work side again. The annual report for ICAN is finished, I’ll post some shots after it goes public next week. I’m happy with it, although I wish I had been given more time and space to expand on the narrative a bit.
I should be working on my self promo piece, but the flow just isn’t happening on that...
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“Dear Applicant,
We would like to thank you for applying for the Jr. Print...”
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NINJA photos (full review coming later tonight on...
Except for the meet and greet shot, all photos were shot by Matt Quesnel. I’ll work on a few of the better ones and post hi-res shots.
May 2009
15 posts
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A word on money and time
I was referred a client looking for a corporate identity the other day by a colleague of mine. Great news under any circumstance, as identity design is my one true love. My joy soured after being contacted by the client, as it was a lesson in just how low the small business person values a designer’s services. I was invited to submit a quote and samples of my past work, and was informed that...
New Yorker cover drawn entirely on an iPhone →
Now this is talent.
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Update: A general state of the search
So today I received my first response from a potential employer. “Rico” owns a small, but successful and progressive agency in Ottawa, and was definitely one of my top choices for a place to ply my trade. The good news is that he enjoyed my website, but the bad news is that he won’t be looking to add staff until September. He said he’d keep me in mind for freelance in the...
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Update: Possibilities within sight of the Peace...
One of the great things about being so deeply involved in RGD Ontario is that I get the chance to get on a first name basis with so many fantastic and connected designers. I emailed one such person, we’ll call her Antoinette, last week asking for some assistance in my job search and she replied the other day. Besides being a tremendous advocate for accreditation, Antoinette is thoroughly...
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Graphic design from a Jungian perspective
I started reading “Man and His Symbols” today, and the first page struck me as a wonderful explanation of what design is:
“Man uses the spoken or written word to express the meaning of what he wants to convey. His language is full of symbols, but he also often employs signs or images that are not strictly descriptive. Some are mere abbreviations or strings of initials. such as...
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Barack ≠ Monroe (final)
Sarah is up next. Let me know what you guys think.
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Handi Stranded: Programmer and Models Needed
After a year of sitting on this project, I’m finally ready to proceed with Handi Stranded. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, the project will centre around a website that acts as a public database for complaints against Sudbury Handi Transit, which is my city’s only accessible bus service designed for individuals with physical and mental disabilities. I’m not going to...
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Update: Headhunter says NEIN!
It’s been kind of a slow week with a few points of frustration. I’ve sent emails out to many people in my network, basically just soliciting advice and any job referrals they have, but no responses have come my way. No response from Rocko yet, either. Aw shucks.
On Wednesday I contacted a headhunter and today received a reply of non-interest. I find it hard to believe that...
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WIP: Politician ≠ Celebrity Series
This is a quick study of the first in a series of posters deriding the celebrity status we place on politicians. The series will also include Hugo Chavez as Sophia Loren, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Raquel Welch, and Sarah Palin as John Wayne. I’d do Stephen Harper, but there’s no cult of personality around him. It’s hard to build one when you don’t have a personality of your...
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Ignatieff good; logo bad.
If you’re going to use Times New Roman and the MacLean’s maple leaf as your logo, have the decency to kern it properly. I’m taking this abomination as a personal challenge to design a timeless mark for my party.
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Day 1: Chasing Rocko
I finished my degree at Laurentian two weeks ago and my job search is officially beginning today. Part of the reason for the delay is that I wanted to get my website up before I began begging creative directors for work, but honestly I really needed the time to decompress. I’ll be detailing every aspect of my job search over the coming weeks, although the names of the people I come into...
*cough* I guess I should say a few words to mark the occasion. I hope you enjoyed the website, and I hope you’ll keep returning to find out what is running through my head. I plan to use this blog to chronicle my job search, post projects I’m working on, talk about things that inspire me, and propagate my views on design and society in general.
For now, I’ll leave you with this...