The sculpture that ate my face!

Hi everyone.
This is the way things work; In school, you take classes with teachers who are assholes. Pardon my language, but you all know its true. You've had that teacher, that for some reason, does not like you. My grades in this class reflect as such.

The sculpture that ate my face is a 8 inch tall sculpture made from glue, tape, illustration board, and many coats of acrylic paint. Its in the edge of my blog photo, attacking me. This sculpture is evil because even though I made nine (the assignment was three), my grade reflected poor craftsmanship, bad idea, and poor follow-through. I believe he was wrong, but what can I do? I am just a student!

Sigh.

Is that where my life is going?

Hello.

Maybe I am just down right now, stress and whatnot, but why do I get the feeling that this is where my life is going? I was reading a book by David Carson, and it brought my up and down. Up because David Carson is truly amazing, and down because of some random people who manage to continuously bring me down.

Not only do I never want to dress like Darth Vader, stand in the ocean and pour salt water from my Brita pitcher into a jug, but I don't want to be the person who designed this for the internet because they can't find real work.

Scary thought; but I don't want to stand in
an unemployment line for the rest of my life.



Do you?

Copperplate!

Alright designers, typographers and other helpful people, I need feedback. The typeface pictured in this post is Copperplate Gothic, a typeface designed by Goudy in 1901 (source: wiki) Recently someone approached me asking about this typeface, as a person they are currently working for is using as a display typeface in slideshows that are used to try and create a client base for their firm. Most of what they do is design, almost completley on screen. I gave my friend my opinion and she went back to her boss and told her my reasons that this typeface was no good, so we need more backup. Please, I ask you all, leave a comment about your feelings for this typeface being used as an on-screen, copy type, as well as an on-screen display type. My feelings are that there is a reason Microsoft gives this typeface away for free with their Office package. It doesn't work very well for much of anything these days, and while some typefaces have stood the test of time, this one does not. As a display text, I suppose under certain circumstances, this would be alright (you won't see it on anything I ever design) but as a copy size text it is terrible! It is completley illegible. Please, leave your feedback.
Thanks!

Goodbye 2008, Hello 2009.

And now we say goodbye to our old friend '08. oh, '08 you brought us so much more than '07 ever could, and we thank you for that. You brought us Obama, the new Wal-Mart logo, Pepsi's redesign, and the introduction of CS4. I mention these things because of their relation to type and design.
While some professors might make note that Pepsi in fact has not changed anything, I stand my ground that their newest look is their best.
Obama's type choice won him the election. Yes We Can!
Wal-Mart is still an evil corporation and now they have Target in their cross hairs with their stylized star.

What in 2008 caught your eye because of how horrific it was? How beautiful it was?
And for you papyrus fans, I've included a link today to another blog, both interesting and entertaining, concerning everyone's favorite typeface.

PS, Arial still sucks. (not the half fish woman, the typeface)

Oh Pepsi.

I didn't use to prefer Pepsi over Coke. Until now. Pepsi's newest identity change has swayed me to their side of things. If you refer to my post on 11-26, you can see Pepsi's corporate identity history. It has changed many times in its tenure as a popular drink, and now it has reached (in my opinion) its pinnacle. Congratulations Pepsi, you've nailed it. Pictured here is their new Diet Pepsi can, and the best one of the bunch. The contrast with the background and the type as well as the logo are great, the type itself is fluid and beautiful. The perfect circle (shown sideways) Is a beautiful representation of a zero. All of the pieces work well one their own, and like any successful corporate identity, they work even better together. Don't kid yourselves Coke, they beat you're classy looking script into the ground. You have a bloody nose and a black eye coke, time to leave the playground and start lifting weights. Out of respect for Coca-Cola, I am not even going to get into Pepsi's reshaping of their bottles. It's too much for even me, I want to leave Coke with at least a shred of dignity. For those of you who rely purely on a products taste on how to measure its success, you have to remember why you buy products you've never tried before. Since you've never tried them, you can't be relying on taste. When you buy a new product, you are buying the packaging. It all comes down to what you think looks like it will taste good, or will make you look good by drinking it.
Pepsi: 1 Coke: 0

On that note of course, we have to remember that Coca-Cola isn't stupid. I am sure even at this very moment, Coke's team of Graphic Designers is hard at work reworking Coke to compete with the newer, better, Pepsi packaging.

Love type.

This is my first piece of gigantic type. Its the letter A, obviously for my first name. If you are seriously interested in typography, you will eventually start finding large pieces of type that mean something to you, that will then hang on your walls.

Who spends twelve hours in a computer lab?

I do.
In case you were curious, thats who spends twelve hours in a computer lab. And tomorrow, four more hours at least. Hey, that is what college is all about right? and don't say it, please don't say it, I know in your day you didn't even have computer labs. Well, I don't care. I also don't care if you have a thirty page paper due or that I could have started some of this sooner, forget that, I've been busy.

Soon this semester ends.
Artwork for you. The updated version of the cover.

Enjoy.