ink in water

For my publications class, one of our assignments is to design book covers for a trilogy series; either one from a list they gave us or one we picked ourselves. In college, I took a children's literature class and we read the first book in a trilogy by cornelia funke called inkworld. The books are pretty interesting for young adult books and I thought it'd be fun to attempt a book design for younger readers but that is also a fantasy series. One of my ideas was to have the images on the covers be ink/food coloring in water. I wanted to try to take the pictures myself to see what kinds of effects I could get. Here are some of my favorite:

Lightning Storm

Our apartment has a balcony that faces south toward midtown Atlanta, so we have a pretty great view of the skyline. My roommate recently bought us a glider swing so we can go sit out there and enjoy the view. This evening, there was a huge storm south of us so we had a perfect place to watch the lightning show. I tried taking some pictures with my camera and some actually turned out pretty interesting. Here are a few that i liked:

really neat

This is a video of the multitouch-barcelona. an interactive interface that reminds me of Minority Report. Check out the video, it's pretty amazing. To learn more about the Multitouch, go to their website

Can't wait for Texas football!

NCAA Football Preview - Texas Longhorns

2008 SEASON IN REVIEW: It was another in what has become a long line of highly successful seasons for Texas in 2008, although the team fell just shy of its goal of winning the Big 12 and playing for the BCS National Championship. An 8-0 start which included four non-conference wins in which the team outscored the opposition 198-43, had the frenzied UT faithful believing early.

A 38-14 win over Colorado in the conference opener was a great way to start their run toward a possible conference crown, and a 45-35 triumph over eventual league champ Oklahoma had the 'Horns feeling even better about their chances. Unfortunately, the perfect season came to an end on a last-minute loss to Texas Tech and coach Mack Brown's club had to settle for a Fiesta Bowl bid versus Ohio State. That game ended in a 24-21 verdict in favor of the Longhorns, who despite a near flawless run realize they missed a golden opportunity to possibly secure their second national title of the decade.

2009 ANALYSIS:

OFFENSE: The Texas offense was among the best in the country last season, averaging 42.4 points and 475.8 total yards per game. Led by steady QB Colt McCoy, the 'Horns ranked seventh nationally in passing (308.3 ypg), and the runner-up to the 2008 Heisman is back for his senior season, hoping to lead UT to college football's promised land. Having completed better than 76 percent of his passes (NCAA record) and amassing more than 3,800 yards, 34 TDs against only eight INTs last year, McCoy is clearly one of the top signal-callers in the country but Brown knows he is not content to rest on his laurels.

"I do think Colt can improve, and just listening to him and watching him. He studied film so much to see every little glitch like he felt he had last year." Brown continued, "I think what he's doing is he's trying to look at things that he feels like he can improve, instead of saying I've got to do better than the best, he's going back and looking at little things."

McCoy should enjoy another stellar season as he will attempt to get the ball in hands of talented wideouts Jordan Shipley and Malcolm Williams, the former coming off a campaign in which he caught 89 balls for 1,060 yards and 11 TDs.

The UT running game accounted for 167.5 ypg in '08, but McCoy was the team's top rusher with 561 yards and 11 scores. Brown is hoping that any one of the half dozen backs on the roster will step up and grab the mantle. Guys to keep an eye on include Cody Johnson, Vondrell McGee and Fozzy Whitaker, with their physical condition being well monitored.

The offensive line boasts the return of four mammoth starters, the smallest being 6-4, 300-pound center Chris Hall.

DEFENSE: Although they gave up more passing yards (259.4 ypg) than they would have liked last season, the Longhorns were one of the more aggressive defensive units in the Big 12. You wouldn't know it by their mere six INTs, but the fact that opponents were able to move the ball through the air was more a product of their inability to do so on the ground (83.5 ppg) rather than any serious flaw in the UT aerial defense.

The loss of three starters along the defensive line, including standout Brian Orakpo, hurts but this is Texas and there is plenty of talent waiting in the wings. Senior Sergio Kindle (10 sacks in '08) is expected to continue his development as he uses a combination of exceptional speed and superior strength to get pressure on the quarterback and break up plays at the point of attack.

The linebacking corps boasts a pair of playmakers in seniors Roddrick Muckelroy and Jared Norton, the former serving as the team's top returning tackler (112). Questions surround the secondary as it is believed that three sophomores will earn the bulk of the playing time.

As mentioned, the 'Horns came up with only six INTs in '08 and while Brown knows that is an area in need of serious improvement, he is high on the unit's potential. "We are excited about the defensive backs. And not only because we think they're talented, but there's a lot of them. And the competition is really driving them. They've got to work really hard every day to play."

SPECIAL TEAMS: Both kickers return and that area of the UT arsenal should be fine. Expect Shipley to once again have a monster year returning both kick- offs and punts, something he did at a high level last season when he returned one of each for a TD.

OUTLOOK: McCoy and the Longhorns should have a relatively easy time of it to start the season, taking on UL-Monroe and Wyoming in the first two weeks. The Big 12 lidlifter against Texas Tech is next, but this is not the same Red Raider squad that knocked off Texas last year so expect Brown's troops to exact some revenge. The October 17th showdown with Oklahoma will likely be another one for the ages, and could decide the Big 12 South champ.

Brown owns a 115-26 record while at the helm in Austin, and there is no reason to think he won't add significantly to that impressive mark. Will Texas win the national title? We shall see. One thing is certain though...as long as McCoy is healthy and playing up to his potential, the 'Horns will be in the hunt.

Penny's quest for the hotdog

So my roommate has a dog named Penny who becomes somewhat psychotic when it comes to certain toys.

Well she has had this plastic hotdog for quite some time now and she is constantly playing with it in an obsessive manner. My roommate and I get quite angry because she has taken to shoving the plastic hotdog under furniture and therefore cannot retrieve the toy unless my roommate and I crawl and reach under the furniture to get it for her. We have tried teaching her numerous times to stop performing this irritating habit but to no avail. She cries and whines whenever this particular toy is out of reach.

Well, the other day my roommate and I were fed up with this little game and decided enough was enough, and put the hotdog on top of the tv armoire. After several minutes of freakish whining, this is what we witnessed. Notice her sounds of distress as if this is the worst situation that has ever happened to her in her entire little dog life.

The Tomorrow Series Movie

Yesterday while searching for information on the trilogy i chose for publications class (we are redesigning the book-covers of a trilogy for class, and we were given a huge list to choose from). I ended up choosing a trilogy by Ferrol Sams (Run with the Horsemen, Whisper of the River, When all the world was young) which is basically a coming of age story. I'll let you know how it is once i've read more.

Anyways, I was perusing Amazon and other book sites and came across information that is so exciting, if only in my mind. They are making my FAVORITE book series into a movie!! now, if you don't know, i am a giant book nerd and am usually reading at least 3 books at any given week in my life. I used to go to the library with my mom and check out 15-20 books at a time. Well, when I was in middle school or so on one of these library trips with my mom, I discovered this Australian book series by John Marsden called the Tomorrow Series.

There are 7 in all and they are about these high school kids in Australia that go camping for a week in the woods and when they return home their entire country has been taken over by another country and there is a war going on. Everyone has been taken hostage by the enemy army members except for them because they were in the woods and no one knew where they were. The books cover the entire length of the war, where the main characters try to rescue their families, bomb/destroy/interfere with the enemies etc etc. They are SOOO good, you should definitely check them out.

Anyways, the books instantly became some of my favorite and I've read the series numerous times since the first time when I was probably around 12 or so. I actually talked to a guy from Australia once who told me that they are one of the most popular series in Australia and even taught in schools, but I dont think i've ever found anyone in the U.S. who ever knows what I'm talking about. Because they were never even officially released and published in the U.S. I've never even been able to find and buy the series.

So, I came across several articles declaring that a director has just signed on to film the first book in the series to be released in 2010! And, because the movie will also be released in the US, there is talk of all the books being published by Scholastic in the states before the movie comes out. Here is one of the posts I found:

http://www.movieweb.com/news/NEysMADGEnDnCC

Australia co-writer Stuart Beattie will make his directorial debut with an adaptation of the young-adult novel Tomorrow, When the War Began for an Australian shoot later this year.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Beattie also wrote the screenplay.

Tomorrow, When the War Began is the first novel in a popular series of seven written by Australian John Marsden and published from 1994-99. The Tomorrow Series, as it is known, details the insurgency efforts of a band of Aussie teenagers fighting off an enemy invasion and occupation of their homeland.

"It's coming of age in a war zone," said Beattie, who said he has read and loved all the books.

The filmmakers plan to make a trilogy of features from the first three books and then, if they're successful, spin the next four off into a TV series. The production is taking advantage of Aussie government money through Screen Australia and Film Victoria as well as a 40% tax break for shooting locally, though Paramount Vantage will co-finance and handle worldwide distribution. Matt Brodlie is overseeing for Vantage.

Tomorrow, When the War Began youth-targeted themes and PG-13 sex and violence could appeal to the same audience. The main character is a teen named Ellie Linton, who struggles to become a fierce leader even while navigating relationships with the seven other teenagers in her group.

The Tomorrow Series is one of the most popular Australian series ever published; the books are taught in schools there. Most of them were not available stateside until recently, but the filmmakers hope to persuade Scholastic to reprint them in tandem with the movie's launch. Marsden also penned a follow-up trilogy called the Ellie Chronicles, which look at the war's aftermath.

The plan is for production to start September in Oz.

Anyways, I am beyond excited about this. I think I might be more excited than when I found out that the Harry Potter series was gonna be a movie. (nerd reference no. 2 of the post)

Cool packaging

After starting this class on packaging I've become addicted to looking at cool packaging online. Especially on The Dieline and Lovely Package.

Recently they had a post about the packaging for the 826 National store/tutoring location in Valencia, CA. I had heard about the NYC location of the non-profit organization that aims to tutor kids ages 6-18, each location disguised as a fictional store of some sort with the tutoring center hidden in the back (woah, runon sentence). The NYC location is a Superhero supply store, and I never realized there are different locations around the country. You can see all the locations here

Anyways, all of the interior design, signage, appliances and product packaging were designed by Stefan Bucher and Sam Potts. The store in Valencia is disguised as a Pirate Supply store and images of the packaging were what I saw on the Dieline. Theyre pretty incredible. I think it'd be unbelievably fun to design packaging for fictional products. Here are some of the pictures:

In other news, we had our second challenge in packaging class due the other day. Our assignment was to redesign two packages for the Walmart brand Great Value. The key was to design the packaging so that the consumer immediately knows what the product is and to include a picture for customers who don't speak english. The biggest challenge was designing packaging that looks 'affordable' and not too expensive for the walmart shopper.

This challenge was hard for me because I tried really hard to make the packaging not look 'too nice' because I thought I'd get called out for it. So, essentially, I think I went a little too far with the ugliness, and my packaging is somewhat tacky. anyways, I did pancakes and maple syrup:

New found blog

So in my publications class, we're always talking about what attracts us to certain magazines or page layouts (we're designing about 10 different spreads for a magazine we invented). Anyways, I found myself looking at Good magazine and we got to a discussion in class about the awesome infographics they always use.

Well, for my invented magazine ( it's called Post and it's about blogs and blogging, i know i know, nerdy, but who's surprised), I wanted to find some cool infographics to maybe mimic or use in my spread layouts. During this search I found a pretty cool blog that features cool infographics. The blog is actually called Cool Infographics. Check it out here Also, you can see some of the Good infographics here

My favorite might be the guy who attached a light to his Roomba vacuum and took an extended exposure picture to see the path it took in his living room

http://coolinfographics.blogspot.com/2009/07/roomba-path-long-exposure-photo.html