This was next on the list of wedding things to design. I will probably make this taller and add a little note about being done at the bottom of this, but for the challenge (and so that I can go to bed), this is what I’ve got. 🙂
Design challenge, day 13, more wedding planning
I feel like John and I have been planning our wedding for years. We have less than a month to go now, so we’re starting to wrap up small details. My family is full of Instagrammers, so I’m hoping everyone can share their photos from the day.
I couldn’t decide on a layout, so I thought I’d post both. Any preferences? I’m thinking we’ll print and frame this (kind of like this).
Design challenge, day 12, happiness
My dad always told me that you can’t rely on others for your happiness. Now that I’m becoming more familiar with Buddhist teachings, I find that this is something that is reiterated over and over.
Your feelings are generated from within, not without. One thing I find that helps create a happy mood is to just smile. Like a dork, on my way to work, I just try to smile to myself.
This is a quote from Denis Waitley that I saw on TinyBuddha’s FB. The picture is more than a few years old of my niece, skipping around in DC.
Design challenge, day 11, I don’t think I’ll ever get out of here…
I’m feeling under the weather, so all I can think about is tea. I’m also in the middle of two books and just started a third (I have ADD sometimes when it comes to books). A Storm of Swords, Dragons of Autumn Twilight and I just started Stormdancer. Anyone else reading those?
Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76124444@N08/8037482361/
Design challenge, day 10, knitting soothes the troubled spirit
I’m not sure how long ago I learned how to knit – maybe 3 years? I feel like I’ve been doing it forever. I feel insanely guilty when I’m not producing something and I could be – knitting can be done (unless it’s a complicated pattern) while watching TV, sitting in the car, at my lunch break… And it’s a nice way to zone out while still creating something.
Elizabeth Zimmerman is a big name in knitting. She created tons of patterns but also re-introduced continental style knitting to the US after WWII. For non-knitters, continental style knitting refers to the way the yarn is wrapped around the needle to make a stitch. It’s, in my opinion, way faster than knitting English style, which requires you to drop your left needle to wrap the yarn around the right.
But, aside from that, she also had a knitting series on PBS, knit on the back of her husband’s motorcycle (how badass?) and wrote a few books.
I got the image from this lovely lady on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixwix/5284371365/
Design challenge, day 9, you didn’t have to love me like you did…
…But you did and I thank you!
This matches the Save the Dates and invitation I designed for John’s and my upcoming wedding.
Jessy coordinated a bachelorette party for me last night and it was awesome! Sushi, improv at SAK, followed by karaoke and then of course the obligatory late-night IHOP run. It’s been a while since I’ve gotten home around 3am.
Anyway, since my brain is still a bit muddled from the sake, I decided to design a little thank you card to match the rest of my wedding suite.
Design challenge, day 8, dragon wisdom
Another quote from the land of Skyrim. The whole story of the game revolves around these dragons that are trying to take back the earth and ultimately just end everything. Paarthurnax, an old dragon, made the choice to be good and struggled through his own instincts to make it happen.
Design challenge, day 7, the tea is silent.
I’ve managed to get through seven whole days of designing something every day. I’m honestly not sure if I’ll be able to keep this up, but I’ll try.
I found this image on http://unsplash.com/ and saw the quote somewhere. The combination reminds me of when I used to really take my time to set up my tea, to steep it properly, make sure the water was the exact temperature it should be for the type of tea. And I really remember these moments to be silent. There’s something about the ceremony of it that takes you out of the world and holds you in that moment. (Or maybe I’m too in love with my tea.)
Design challenge, day 6, designing a staff page.
As a web designer, I’m often challenged with tasks such as creating About pages and Staff pages for companies. I thought I’d try a Doctor Who themed staff page, where the company (TARDIS) is selling companions for time/space travel trips.
I’m staying within my 800×800 square design challenge space, so I just cut off the page at Amy and it only includes the “meat” of the page, not a website header, navigation, etc.
Each employee shows their name, job title, a unique identifier in red (each employee could be called out depending on their skills), and a mini bio. I included a subtle call to action at the top of the page. And if you were to hover over any part of a team member’s bio, a call to action would popup to book a trip with them.
In working through this challenge, I realize that I often forget to include call to actions on a Staff page. For service based clients (which we often have), this is definitely a missed opportunity.
Design challenge, day 5, Carl Sagan’s ultimate pie
Tried to do something different from the illustrations today.
Reading Cosmos really changed the way I thought about the world and what lies beyond it. It made me feel small in that good way that you feel small standing next to the Grand Canyon.
“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
– Carl Sagan
I love this quote. People are always trying to be cute when you say you made something from scratch. “Did you grow the wheat?” And Carl Sagan went billions and billions of steps farther.
I thought about using a sans-serif font – something that says, “Take me seriously, I’m science.” Then I thought about Carl Sagan and, yes, he wanted to be taken seriously, but there was always something light and friendly about his approach to sharing science with the world. I mean, what a cheeky thing to say.
This typeface makes me think of an old, friendly book. The colors remind me of the old Cosmos book we own, printed in the 80’s.
Oh, and the photo is of a nebula being burned away by new stars being formed in the middle. Or maybe I’m interpreting this wrong.