Blog design revision

That’s right, just click the thumbnail and see what will be coming to mightybelka.com!  I’ll be changing from PC to a *new* Mac hopfeully by next week, so once I’m on break I can actually get something started…

I digitally introduce you to Synaxis’ Cristina Montesimos

A week or two ago, Grace and I had an interview with Synaxis’ Creative Director, Cristina Montesinos. Since the two of us had the privilege of interviewing Cristina, I’ll try not to repeat Grace’s words too closely. You can read Grace’s thorough interview here.

To backtrack a little, Grace and I are both very introverted people and are not overly enthused with the idea of interviewing strangers who might be very busy people. We both also struggle with the idea of networking and are new to the idea of “design heroes”. Mason, our Media Arts instructor who pushed us to find someone in the design industry, gave us the nudge. Grace and I both jumped at the chance to do an interview together, and epically with a recommended source.

However, when the time came for the interview, I was still a little apprehensive. I researched as much about Synaxis as possible, as Mason mentioned Cristina was an introvert also and I was slightly worried about awkward silences. He also kept stressing to me that Cristina was a vegetarian – perhaps I have a false reputation for keeping beefsteaks in my bag and he just wanted to forewarn me. Either way, once we were digitally introduced, everything started rolling along. Cristina even suggested a great lunching spot, Fritti, which had wonderful Italian items for vegetarians and carnivores alike.

Though Grace and I wondered how we would identify Cristina since introverted vegetarians rarely wear badges, everything fell into place and we somehow knew it was Cristina as soon as she entered the restaurant. Almost immediately our worries diminished, and we could see that there would be plenty to talk about and no room for awkward silences. Perhaps when three introverts gather, an extroverted conversation is born.

We started with the basic background information, though I was surprised that Cristina was interested in ours as well. Though she received a BFA in Visual Communications from Jacksonville University, she spoke frankly on how she learned more outside of school and the difficult transition from there to the working world. In addition, she spoke of how different things were back in 1993, when the computer was not the primary took. She learned things the “old fashioned way” with rapidograph pens and t-squares, and despite modern techonlogy still has an appreciation for this process.

Cristina came to Atlanta for an internship and eventually went to IBM to learn about interactive and the internet. By learning interactive, Cristina felt print was made better. The experience also changed her attitude about design, echoing Mason in that it is a two way conversation rather than one.

Cristina is currently one of three people at the small design firm Synaxis. Though she feels this is a dream job, Cristina explains “the only reason I’m happy is because I make sure I’m happy.” In her ambitious journey to her dream job, she has had to be aware of what she wanted and then go for it. “I’ve controlled my experiences in the industry, not the other way around,” Cristina explained.

Before her current job, she was at Razorfish spending countless hours in meetings rather than being involved in the “fun stuff”. It was this experience that helped her decide she wanted to work in a small firm. A small firm, she explains, allows more hand-on activities, a wider variety of work and a chance for personal marketing for the company.

As a female interested in interactive design, I took the opportunity to ask Cristina how she felt the gender roles acted in this new, emerging field. From her perspective, the industry is still male dominated, and it can be difficult being a woman, especially the higher up in a business. The sexes tend to deal with business differently, she has observed, as men want to show dominance, and women want to share ideas but can be passive aggressive meanwhile. She also feels men are better negotiators and therefore tend to get paid more. Women in return often have to overcompensate and strive to be better.

We spent the rest of the lunch discussing portfolio tips, AIGA, books and other sources for inspiration. The conversation flowed without the need for scripted questions, and Grace recorded many of these other details in her interview. Cristina, like many voices I’ve heard lately, stated that the design community is small and tight in Atlanta and it felt good to meet a friendly face from the inside. I finished the interview feeling a little more knowledgeable about the design world and a little less apprehensive about jumping in. I wish all designer could all be as friendly and helpful as Cristina…and who knows, this is just the beginning, maybe I’ll find out that many are…

Shame Your Ride

I love this.  This is what I wanna do when I grow up.

That time again…

Well loyal friends, I’m afraid it’s that time of quarter again- my floor has become invisible and I must go into hiding for a bit.  That’s right, studio week is in full steam, and critique week is a bit drawn out this quarter.

Despite the fatigue and insanity of these two weeks, things are so much better this time around as a second quarter student.  Time and projects are more managable, and my classes have more depth - to name a few of the improvements.    I’ve thought this periodically through the whole 10 weeks, and my opinion hasn’t changed.  In fact, tonight it only was reinforced…that’s right, after all these weeks in second quarter, with even some all-nighters in there, tonight is the first night for beer and cereal.

That may not sound so significant, but believe me, last quarter sometimes that was all I had to keep me going in the middle of the night/morning.  By the second week of Sylvia’s class, I realized that Monday nights were not meant for sleep, and if I could make it to 4am, I could break out a bottle Abita Purple Haze and some dry Kashi cereal.  No, the beer was not poured over the cereal, it was just a beverage and snack that provided incentive while I sketched, cut, and pasted together endless Apache pigs.  In fact, the beer and cereal snack developed into its own meal - yes, dinner and breakfast in one.  I was at work in Roswell on Mondays till late evening, and Sylvia’s class was 8am Tuesday, so it was too late for dinner, and a little too early for breakfast (who has time for that anyway?)…thus this was my “dinfest”, or my “breakner”.  Ok, those don’t sound so great, I’ll just chalk it up to a great new product invented by a tired Protfolio Center student.

Anyway, best wishes to my fellow classmates, they’re the ones who make the 4am beer and cereal worthwhile…

Blog layout ideas

For those outside the PC circuit, I need to come up with a few blog layouts/designs concepts for my Media Arts class.  Hopefully I’ll be able to make one of these a reality someday and move everything to my un-developed webpage that I recently set up.  I’m getting ready to move on from my red and black theme on WordPress anyhow - I need a better virtual habitat for my squirrels.

After researching other blogs, I started off sketcheing layouts and color schemes and came up with three basic ideas.  I’m not sure where I placed those old-fashioned marker and paper drawings, but this is what resulted when I took everything into the computer and tried to give a ruff (emphasize the ruff) visual in a digital context.

I built these at something along the lines of 17″x10″ so they look pretty bad squished into the WordPress margins.  If you have other ideas on how to present that uses little file space, please let me know.

Idea #1 is based on bright spring-y happy colors, but could have a revolving color pallet depending on the season.  The images are to be all vector illustrations…a little ruff in the example but all I did for this was scan my sketches and live trace.  I like the idea of creating some sort of “icon” character, as it could be useful in branding myself down the road.  I think elements of this could also translate well into other formats, namely a business card I hope to someday possess.

The second option is based on photographs mixed with the digital world…blog meets “The Science of Sleep.”  I think Anne Elser has got me into mixing up the hand-made into my projects, as I’m enjoying building my images outside of the computer with everyday objects.  Anyway, appealing to the crafty surreal side here.

The third option is meant to have a little flash in it, using a bit from my claymation squirrels to unroll the title of my blog…just look at the Park Pride posts and imagine it.  I also included images of other things that appeal to my ridiculous side, such as blowfish (I have some with sombreros I’d use) and doodles of knotted weiner dogs.  Much more weird stuff could be added.

Again, these are all just “sketches” that I spent way too long mocking-up, but is necessary for the next step….. Feedback needed! 

Ola Chico! A chat with Ivan Trujillo…

Ivan Trujillo may be one of the only Columbians you’ll meet that doesn’t like coffee.  While his tea-drinking ways may differentiate him from the rest of the world, that is not the only thing that sets him apart.  He has acquired an education from around the globe – from a B.A. in Physical Education in his hometown, Cali, Columbia, to an Associates in Fine Arts in London, to a BFA in Graphic Design in Atlanta -  and isn’t prepared to stop.  He is currently pursuing a MFA in Graphic Design as well.

This knowledge, combined with his Columbian background and natural eye for art, makes this quirky lad quite a unique and talented designer.  If you don’t know him from his prominent presence in the ATL nightlife, you’ll know is name soon through his work. 

While lounging about on a lovely Saturday afternoon at TWELVE Boutique in Midtown, where some of his prints are featured, Ivan took the time to graciously answer a few questions for me….

What led you to take an artistic path – to totally change what you wanted to study and jump across to another part of the world?  Your first degree in Cali wasn’t exactly art oriented - how did you get to an art school in London without swimming?

I always wanted to do something related to art; however I didn’t have a chance to study that at home.  At home, people look more for the traditional careers, more practical, something that you can make money out of immediately.  When I left home for London, I told my parents I was doing advertising, but I was truly doing Fine Arts.  They would never understand why I would want to be an artist or designer.

You have a background in many forms of art – why did you choose Design as your area of focus? 

I chose graphic design because by doing that I could express myself and set my own style - clean with a lot of negative space, something that breaths and flows within the page.  Also I figured out that with paper and print out I wouldn’t hurt anybody.  I thought about doing architecture, but miscalculations could be dangerous for buildings that could collapse and kill people.  I’m not very good with numbers and they bored the hell out of me.

Does Columbia have its own design style, and has it influenced you in your work?

Yes, Columbia has its own design style and, yeah, it has influenced my current design.  I think it is a part of me and wherever I go I still would carry it with me.

Share a little bit about the SCAD MFA program so we Portfolio Center students know what we’re not missing.

SCAD MFA is a mixture of everything.  I had a professor from RISD, Yield University, Cranebrook, and the Art Institute of Chicago and SCAD.  A lot of variety.  Some teachers are very experimental, which I love, and some others are more traditional.  There is a lot of research that has to get done and a lot of sketches.

Who are your design heroes/favorites? 

My design heroes are Phillips Stark and Karim Rashid because they have done it all.  That’s why I call them Renaissance men.

How to you grow coffee?  And why don’t Columbians like it? 

My parents used to have coffee crops; the process is very interesting however it is very complex, so I guess you can Google it.  Columbians love coffee.  I am probably the exception.  I am always different.

Thanks, I never thought of using Google.  Do you think being Latin gives you a unique edge in the design business? Do you ever feel discriminated against? 

Yes it does give me a unique edge regarding color for the most part, but also since I’ve been exposed to many design styles in different parts of the world, that helps me to get a bigger picture and be more open to ideas and concepts.  No, I’ve never felt discriminated, that is something that I don’t let stick in my head.  I’m a person and that’s all it matters to me.  I’m part of the world as a human being.

What is the best project you have every worked on?

A stack-up calendar to help children in South America, sponsored by UNICEF.

What are the current hotspots for nightlife in the ATL?

Halo, The Globe, Leopard Lounge, Opera soon to be open (old 1150), Fune, Eclipse di Luna, Intermezzo Café.

Mucho Gracias, Ivan!!!