Hello again! I am officially done with classes as of yesterday and to celebrate I feel it is time for a definition of my favorite design term "macrap".

You've all been subjected to it, fliers on bulletin boards, posters for concerts, emailed brochures, and tv commercials...now, you know what to call it.

Macrap is design created including all or some of the following:

• wordart. Wordart simply put needs to go away. Your rainbow effect type on a beveled curve should not be subjected to anyone.
• stretched typefaces...someone spent hours creating that typeface...do you really need to screw it up?
• pixelated imagery...72 dpi is good for web, not for print. :)
• stretched imagery...hit the shift key, it's not hard!
  
• misspellings

Here is an example of "Macrap" from the term's inventor himself Jim Watson

So now that there is a term for it, lets make a revolution against it. Educate others.

and remember

"Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."

Here is a photo I forgot I had. I always am on the look out for good designs, well placed people friendly signage, and concepts that make me go wow!

Here on campus we have all sorts of signs, being tobacco free there are no smoking signs every 30 feet, pistol pete posters, building wayfinding and street signage. This sign is my favorite. I will precurse this photo with over the past few years OSU has seemed to become less than enthused with the non-sidewalk walking college crowd who dare to go across the grass and have since put up tons of black chain fences around the grassy knolls to keep us out. I admit, for me they are like a challege waiting to be played with. So, I routinely walk over them, jump over, or walk just next to them as often as possible...not quite sticking it to the man, but it amuses me.

Well once games started on campus I wasn't the only one on the grass, apparently those crazy tailgaters thought grass was a great place to put there tents, so signs were placed around to keep off the grass.

Nothing amuses me more than this: meet construction vehicle digging up precious grassy knoll. We met on the way to class, I keep this photo on my phone for a good laugh. So without further ado I give you 'Environmentally Sensitive Area, Please stay off the grass'.


(and yes...this area too is surrounded by the black chains of encouragement.)

Well Bush and Quetzalcoatl made it...did you?

Ok, well actually they were on my wall, but this afternoon was so exciting to show everyone my work! I was incharge of the food for our show. Being that we used a playdoh theme I decided best to go all out and use kid foods too!

On the menu: alphabet shaped sugar cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches shaped like animals, ants on a log, and Koolaide Bursts! I think it was not only a record breaking attendance, but probably the most kid-friendly show ever. We even had a playdoh counter set up for the kids who visited.

Here are some photos from the show. It was great to show off to my family and friends. Nick, my boyfriend of 3 years was there at my side. My parents, sister and brother all came....here is a photo of my brother and I. I think him being taller than me even with my 3 inch stilletos...slightly unfair, I am 8 years older than him :)

Here is a photo of some of the fantastic designers from the show. The fabulous 3 some...and myself. My friends from right to left me, Mattie, Leah and Erica :)


And, last but not least, here is a photo of me and my work :) I had my own wall!

This week I am getting ready for the design show. As such, I feel now is the time to look back and think of all the things I've learned about the two staples of being a designer.

Spray Adhesive and Exacto Blades

When it comes to spray adhesive I do not know what kind would be the 'best'. They all smell, they all stick to everything...and anything around everything. Such as carpet, walls, fingers, clothes and so forth. I can tell you that the Krylon Spray Adhesive has got to be the worst! Perhaps I got a bad batch, but it seems no matter how much I stick on posters and foam core that they bubble up or peel right off the wall.

I've also learned that no matter what tape claims...it seems to be not 'restickable'. It sticks...but the whole unsticking and resticking like post it notes, doesn't so much happen.

Lastly, I vote that when cutting things out, tiny exacto blades are not near as good as the larger ones. And really, best of all is scapals. That's right, scapals are no longer just for the medical profession! Watch out doctors your blades have a new use now. (I've also noticed that i can't spell scapal...scapel? scapule. If you spell bad enough not even spell check can help you.)

It's the Senior Design Show! I'm so excited that all my pieces are up and that all the work everyone has done the past few years will be on display. This morning it rained and rained as we brought in our pieces. It seems to always rain when I hand in my work...hmm...

Anyways, I found it quite amusing to watch the mannequin come across the parking lot in a trench coat, it was like a headless trench coat person out to get all the designers on their way in.

The show opens on Sunday the 16th officially and will remain open for a week. I may be biased but I think all the work looks amazing! :)

Here is my play-doh picture to go with the rest of our play-doh theme. We all picked something close to us. Personally, I love the art and designs from mesoamerican cultures. So, my claymation play-doh is a little Aztec (Nahuatl) headdress.

Clear as mud...no longer just a saying. Nope, it has been upgraded to my resume book. Today I learned that I have no aim when it comes to "flinging" mud. I'm trying to fling mud onto a large sheet of paper in interesting patterns to photograph and, not going to lie, most of it ended up on the porch.

After taking photos of mud on paper an idea hit me. How cool would it be to put mud on me? I mean, I am after all a "Mudroch". This progressed from mud on me to how gross it would look to eat mud. I thought about the 'True Blood' opening sequence with the children eating strawberries which looked all bloody. Grabbed a lava cake and tadah!!! I'm eating mud.

Here is the first spread from my resume book. After having that much fun with the mud I realized that the mud looked much more like a heap of shit that "wet dirt". Ergo, roots and greenery! :) The phrase used for my theme tagline you wonder? 'Design this fresh almost feels dirty'.
check out my 'dirty' designs @ www.muddypebbles.com the site needs some tweaks still, but it's up!

I won two awards at the ECO-OSU festival today. I created this piece to educate about global warming in a non-traditional and more humorous light. Created in classic russian propaganda colors, this piece shows our own Bush and a little speech I made up for him, complete with new bushism "transformationing". I have to admit, that both while the piece was up at Theta Pond numerous people thought that the speech was really from W himself. *dances* successful piece! :)

And so, without further ado, Global Warming:the opportunity. Winner of Ecological Awareness Award and 2nd place in the Digital Media category.

So I was driving today and I came across this truck...forgive me if the picture isn't the best, it is from my cell phone. But I couldn't help to think...what on earth would anyone do with this much bread?

Some ideas I've thought up so far...
1. feed hundreds and hundreds of birds
2. make a bread igloo
3. make a bread castle
4. smash all the loaves into one combined pile of 10"x10"
5. create a mold pile...perhaps start a compost?
6. trying to literally live on bread alone...
7. make bread balls to toss at people
8. make a bread ball pit...jump and playing in...bread, roles, bagels the whole nine yards!

there are more...and i may add them later, but i think the more i add the more i will prove how adhd i am :)

Our tale begins yesterday afternoon at Walmart where Nick and I discovered in the produce area 'Flesh Melon'.
Flesh Melon!?? Sweet!! At which point I began my list of 3 yr old humor. I'm going to eat flesh tonight! Woo woo flesh melon I wonder what flesh tastes like. I then think I should call my brother, Robbie, he'll find this HILARIOUS!

It is from here things go downhill. May the "unfortunate events" begin.

I look in my phone and dial Robbie.

ME: hello?
Robbie: Hello (in very deep voice)
ME: uh, is this Robbie?
Robbie: yep. (this is when I should have probably realized I had called someone different, but no I figure, eh, my brother is 15 his voice must be changing!)
ME: Guess what!?? I totally bought FLESH MELON! I'm going to eat your flesh! HAHA woo I have flesh melon, isn't this hilarious!?
Robbie: Flesh melon? I've never heard of it. (this doesn't get the haha I'm ADHD and find everything my sister says hilarious response I expected...maybe another red flag?)
ME: Yeah, me either, so what are you up to?
Robbie: I just got off work at Walmart.
ME: WALMART?!? WHEN DID YOU GET A JOB?? Oh well. I guess I should let you get back to hanging with your little friends. Bye!

I look at Nick and was like Robbie works at Walmart? I have to call my mom. Long story short I call her, she is confused on why Robbie would tell me he just got off work at Walmart, because he doesn't have a job. She guesses he is pulling my leg.

About 4 hours later she calls me back, uhhh...you haven't called Robbie in 13 days according to his phone. I protest, no no! I just called him.

Turns out no, I had not just called him. I had called another Robbie. My graphic designing friend Robbie who indeed does work at Walmart.

Yeah, I've never felt like such an idiot in my life. Good thing for me my friend Robbie found this hilarious.

Moral of this story...and to make it somewhat design related...my labeling heirarchy of 'Robbie' and 'Robbie Brother' needs a rethink. So far @dgroshong suggests Robbie and Brother....but I don't think it would help... Any thoughts? If anything I'm glad that I can give you guys a good laugh on this thursday.

So, I've decided to join the list of super-awesome people who are bloggers. For my first post...

Is it really graffiti if all you do is copy a piece of art onto a wall?

Exhibit A: Found on the graffiti wall off Bethnal Green Road. Exhibit B: Roy Lichtenstein's Drowning Girl.I admit the graffiti is a piece of art yada yada yada...however, it has a striking similarity to the Drowning Girl. I guess for anyone to really answer this question of "is art copied onto a wall...I'll be it tastefully graffiti". What are qualifiers "graffiti"? Usually the thought of "graffiti" is synonymous with "defacing". Yet there are numerous modern art pieces that are said deface places all the time? When though is defacing "graffiti" and when is it "art".

For me, the "graffiti" should be considered a compliment for Mr. Lichtenstein, but not so much "graffiti". I mean really... graffiti is just another mural on a wall.