The Mac Lab

A girl should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across her mind from within, more than the lustre and the firmament of bards and sages. Yet she dismisses without notice her thought, because it is hers. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility than most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else tomorrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson / Self-Reliance (gender edit)

All of you should be familiar with that quotation. You’ve been instructed, twice now, to read this post. Yes, please read it again. Whether it’s for the first, second, or third time, you need to understand the 5 Stages of the Creative Process as we’re going to be using them the rest of the year. As the father of a daughter, I wish more of the quotations I post were gender agnostic rather than aimed at the guys. So, if you’re an XX chromosomer (girl) rather than an XY (boy), the sex-change operation (above) is for you. If you’re a boy, and the altered gender in the quotation bothers you, you’re a regular RWAC (Aaron L).

Speaking of Rebel, last week Theatre approached us to design the poster for their upcoming play. Our instructions (on Monday) were: Red jacket, no face, this information, and we need designs by Thursday. I tossed out the project to a few students and here’s what they came up with after only three days of work: Austin W | Christian L | Danny O | Philip B (and you’ve already seen Aaron’s). They liked all of the designs but chose Austin’s because the play is about a teenager who’s about to explode and they liked the metaphoric look of his design. Austin’s frantically working on the redesign so we can print on Tuesday. Deadlines happen.

Now, getting back to Ralph’s advice to pay attention to our own ideas… Sherman, set the WABAC Machine to 1989…

I was browsing the used CD bin in a bookstore in Santa Cruz prior to the LPQ when I happened upon a recording by Heart. But when I picked it up, I thought, for a second, that it said Earth. What the?! Looking at the typography, it suddenly clicked and I had the coolest idea for a t-shirt design. I went home and sketched it out. Today, that idea is safe, somewhere, tucked away in a box in a corner of our garage.

Over the years I’ve returned to this idea several times but never acted on it until printing a few posters last year. They, of course, sit in a box on a shelf in the Mac Lab and haven’t seen the light of day since they were created. Because I recently talked about my belief in Richard Bach’s declaration: You teach best what you most need to learn, I’m going to publish this idea right now. This is a painfully plodding rough cut of a much more ambitious concept that I’ll have to learn After Effects to produce. I’ve also ordered the first t-shirt with this artwork and will put it on the Mac Lab T-Shirt Shop for resale ASAP. (Redesigned store layout coming soon.) Since I know you’ll ask, yes, of course you’ll be able to design, print, purchase (about $20 with shipping), and wear your own custom t-shirts. Profits go to the Mac Lab Foundation.

That felt good. Now it’s your turn.

Next up are poster designs, the last shared project between classes. Those of you in 3D, listen to this: Keep it simple, elegant, and purely typographic because you’ll be taking it into Cinema 4D (that goes for your logos too). Please heed my advice or you’ll pay the price. Here are two examples of what you’ll be doing with your logos: Austin W and Trevor C (your typography will be better than those). Back to the posters. I’m opening this up to ideas beyond public service. What I care about is good composition and an appropriate message. Please read up on the Elements and Principles of Design before beginning (yes, there’s a lot of reading today). I’ve begun to set up third party galleries to give you ideas: 01 | 02 | 03. I’ll set up a couple of 3D galleries and add the links either today or tomorrow.

Mac Lab multitasking begins now. You must have an online portfolio (your Website). By Friday that portfolio will contain your self portrait, logo, and poster (coming soon). Don’t worry about finishing. Everything is a work in progress at this point. See the Project Page for links to assignments. In honor of James Cameron, I’ll be awarding extra credit for Avatars. Details will follow but you’ll be posting your proof, if you catch my drift.

Last for today, I’ve updated the time sheets (as I do every week) but this time I spent a few hours reviewing the district’s records. It’s your responsibility to check your balance (each week) and alert me if you think there’s been a mistake. For those of you who’ve cut class (according to the district quite a few of you have), the penalty is stiff. It’s your responsibility to clear truancies with attendance. I have no control over truancy records. If the district thinks you have one, you have one until you clear it. Friday is the D and F report deadline. I’ve scheduled a Mac Lab Saturday School™ for this weekend to help some of you avoid the infamy of inclusion. Look at the time sheets. Is your ID number red? See you Saturday at 7 am!

1103: Just a reminder to update your Websites. I’ll be checking them this weekend. Oh, and you might want to watch this video if you want to avoid inclusion on the D and F Report. What about the self assessment? Reminder about simplification: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | Please review this designer’s logos: 01 | 02 | You have to learn the rules before you can break them. When we break rules (and break them we will) we will break them intelligently.

Student Logos: Gallery 021 Where is yours?

1104: Someone from Dhaka (the Rickshaw Capital of the World and the most densely populated city in the world) in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh spent a few minutes wandering about the blog to bring us to 129 countries. I wonder what he or she thought of our little classroom in the Web.

Speaking of thinking, how about you? Do you think you understand the logo project? If you do, you’re one of the few. Please allow me to explain. <<< You should probably click that link and do what it says. You must understand kerning, tracking, and leading!

1105: We’ll hit our 200,000th page view this morning. (Sitting at 199,968 right now.) That count doesn’t include videos or JPGs. Just the blog’s self-contained pages. Update: 200,002 as of 5:58 this morn. A quarter million should happen in early December. The last 50,000 views came from 47 states (+DC) and 84 countries.

Reminder: Minimum Day/Parent Visitation Day tomorrow.

Hint: Sure hope you guys (my students) have read the instructions (above). I’d hate to be disappointed when looking at your Websites this weekend. That’s all. I’ll let you work now.

1106: Visitors from 134 cities in the United Kingdom have pushed Canada (107 cities) into third place in the global visitor standings. Jolly good showing from across the pond! Likewise, the folks in 81 Florida cities have moved past New Jersey (74 cities) to take second place in the US standings.

Mac Lab students have a growing global following!

Welcome parents! Today the kids are updating their Websites using these tutorials (if necessary). Note: Use Working with InDesign — Take 2. I want to see works in progress and correctly formatted portfolios. See this video for details. (Correction: To change margins go to Layout > Margins.) Here’s the example site. Is your logo in the gallery? Get designing! (Use the graphic tips and tricks video.) And speaking of galleries, is your self portrait in this one? Let me know if you think it should be.

Free Software: Mac users, MacHeist is giving away 6 free apps. Offer expires next week. (Thanks, David!)

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
— Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Here we are at Mac Lab Saturday School™ number two. Early on, I threw out a challenge to the kids: Who’s going to provide this week’s blog image? Fadi G had about a dozen ideas in various stages of completion and when he tried to submit this one I asked him to zoom out to see what it looked like when reproduced small. As the rest of the page came into view, I immediately pointed to a different design and said, “That’s brilliant!” (No larger version yet and this still needs a little editing, like any work-in-progress.)

When you’re designing your own logo, you should always strive to make it relevant to your skills and interests. Make it both personal and professional. The reason I was so immediately taken with this idea is that Fadi’s becoming an Illustrator expert. Out of all the ideas on his page, this is the one that shouted FADI! to me. To him though, it was just another idea. No big deal. I’m still not sure if he really likes it or not but it’s too late to escape this week’s claim to fame. Sometimes, especially when designing logos, less is more. Check the quote at the top of the page again. That message will be with us the rest of the year. Count on it. Perhaps some clever student will design a poster with typographic finesse that captures the essence of those words. I sure would like to display that quote forevermore on the Wall of Fame. (Hint, hint.)

Oh, and for anyone else considering the Adobe-esque logo angle, it’s officially been taken. You’re going to have to come up with some other brilliant idea. Lucky for you I got up in the middle of the night to begin constructing third party logo galleries to help you to get a feel for what I’m looking for: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | More are on the way. Check out the other links on our Inspiration page to feed your imagination.

This post is subject to editing as it was written in the midst of MLSS chaos.

International Update: The Republic of Haiti and the Republic of Kazakhstan bring us to 127 countries (the countries in white have yet to visit).

1026: The Republic of Moldova just joined the Mac Lab party. If 128 have now visited, how many does that leave? (Didn’t think you’d learn about geography or global politics in the Mac Lab, did you?) Now, back to our irregularly unscheduled deprogramming…

Simplify: While you’re trying to simplify your design, think about simplifying your name as well. George M was working on his design this past Saturday. When he asked for a critique, I suggested shortening the four-word grouping he was playing with. After a few minutes, George M (last name spelled out) Graphic Design had become GeoGraphics. He’s not only got a catchier name (and his own TV channel!), his design challenge just became more manageable. Simplify!

Inspiration: Back in the day, whenever I was working on a new design, I’d have my morgue file handy and I’d page through it over and over again. To say I’d seen some of those images over 1,000 times would be an understatement. Only a fool would believe I was wasting time. I was feeding my imagination. A morgue file is a living breathing resource. It changes just like you do. Are you the same person you were five years ago? Five months ago? Five days ago? No, of course you’re not. The imagery may not have changed but you have. With each new viewing, new connections are established. Plus, new imagery is always being added to a morgue file. It’s one of the lessons my first graphic design professor taught me back in 1974 and it’s a lesson I took to heart because it worked for me time and time again.

As with many things, today’s morgue file may be digital rather than physical. Though I’d encourage you to begin your own, I’d caution you that it can be a time consuming process. For me, it’s a labor of love rather than on onerous task. (I brought in one of my old morgue files if you’re interested.)

Think about this: You only have 180 hours per class each year. If the Mac Lab were a full-time job, that’s only four and one-half weeks on the job. (And you wonder why I encourage you to come in early or on Saturdays.) I know you don’t have time to build a solid morgue file so I’m building one for you. It’s right here. I’ve already spent far more than 180 hours on this project. When I saw that many of you were becoming overwhelmed sorting through the thousands of logos found via Grand Central Linkage, I spent about 20 hours sorting through the pile and pulled out 100 of the best examples for you to focus on: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | This morning I found a page featuring negative space in logo design. I continue to search for resources to help you to succeed and I’ll be adding more logos as I find them. All that remains is your commitment.

Look through these pages: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | (Yes, again.) Now, work on your own design. Begin by simplifying the name of your business. Think: GeoGraphics. (No, you can’t use that name. It’s just an example.) How might you simplify your business name? If possible, think: alliteration. Continue to produce thumbnails. Hint: These will be scanned and included in your portfolio.

Reminder: Simplify!

Updates: Period 1 just had 3 simplicity home runs! Three long names shrank and three designs saw the light by shedding unnecessary clutter. Example: Christian L was using CML Design & Illustration as his business name. Check this out. Simplified! Period 2: Katie Photography + Simplification = PhotoKat. Yes! Period 3: Ryan Inkel got simplified. Last period, one budding designer was trying to work out a simplified name. I pointed to the last three letters of his last name. DNA is a pretty evocative name for a creative firm, isn’t it?

1027: I’ll keep things short today as I hope to be adding updates with student success stories as the day progresses. There’s a new series of tutorials you might find of value. Watch this video to see what I’m talking about. Check out Abduzeedo’s Great Visual Identities.

Featured Artists: This year’s Logo Gallery is open for business.

1028: I’ll be at Kearny High School to observe The School of Digital Media Design today so continue to work on your logos. Do I have to say it? Simplify! Learn how to use the Pathfinder as well. Trust me. It’s a skill you’ll learn to love. Reminder: Misbehavior = Saturday School!

1029: Looking forward to checking progress today. Short video to share during class. Hint: Has something to do with simplicity.

1030: Overview of the Droid typographic fail: Smart vs Prime (Yes, I forgot the n in punctuation. Hey, I got up at 2:10 this morning!) | The Droid Fail | Glyphs and Tips | Update: McGarryBowen is the agency with egg on its face. Update 02: Several students have told me that they saw the Droid ad last night and it’s been altered so that all of the apostrophes are consistent. But they claim all of the apostrophes are vertical (primes). If that’s true, well, I’m going to have to see that to believe it because that borders on the inconceivable. Unbelievable Update 03: Here’s the latest version of the Droid ad (thanks to Steven K for locating it on Verizon’s site). Now all 9 apostrophes are incorrect. Typographic incompetence! Thank you McGarryBowen for providing this once in a blue moon teaching moment!

It’s a mystery to some, but in design, less really is more. More = Clutter (produced in-house by Microsoft employees in 2005.)

Next Week: Multitasking begins in earnest. The final project before 3D and Digital Arts go their separate ways. See a preview of what I’ll be looking for, design-wise, right here. (I’ll have more on Monday. 02 is complete. 03 is currently under construction.) Choice of subject matter is wide open but your design must be simple and elegant. The Elements and Principles of Design will come into play in a big way. See Looking Ahead in the 1023 update for more information.

No Mac Lab Saturday School™ tomorrow. Next dates: Nov 7 and 14. Happy Halloween! Be good. Have fun. Be safe. Don’t egg my car!

It seems, then, to be one of the paradoxes of creativity that in order to think originally, we must familiarize ourselves with the ideas of others.
— George Kneller

Just as we used the first self portrait gallery as a reference for our self portraits this year, so we will use the first logo gallery as a starting point for our next project. Similarly, I expect the quality of this year’s logo/identity creations to surpass prior efforts (Hannah Johansen). Today, your task is to research, to familiarize yourself with the work of others. First, as I’ve said, look at last year’s gallery. Next, I’d like to introduce you to something I call Grand Central Linkage. Please watch this short video to understand today’s quest for inspiration.

Progress Report: A word about grades. Grades are on time sheets.

1020: A bit of synchronicity in that Terry White (who’s responsible for us using InDesign for our initial Website designs) posted The Importance of Attending Workshops a few minutes ago. (He’s an early riser too!) I was at Ben Willmore’s Photoshop for Photographers seminar yesterday and boy do I have some new ideas to share with you! It’s not too early to begin exploring your photographic vision. In fact, the adventure may be right outside your door.

Want a Freebie? Have you noticed the NAPP link in the right sidebar? (That’s the group who throws Photoshop World and Seminars like I attended yesterday.) If you’re serious about learning Photoshop (and the rest of the Creative Suite), NAPP a bottomless learning resource. If you ever do join, use the link from the blog and I get a perk or two. If 12 people join, I won’t be the last technology teacher on Earth without a cell phone any more. Note: There’s a freebie for you too (see: lower left of page). Discounted rates for students and educators.

1021: Because of the presentation yesterday, most of you didn’t get a chance to read yesterday’s update. Please do so now. It’s okay, I’ll wait.

Now, while I’m at a Final Cut Studio workshop today, here’s what I expect from you. After reading and following the instructions above, explore the 5 Stages of the Creative Process. That’s a post I wrote over the summer and I want you to begin to understand the creative process. Read it. Reread it. Click the links. Ponder the quotes. Spend some time there. Have you really tried to understand? No? Try again. Yes? Watch this video. What are thumbnail sketches? Link to a quick overview. One last link. And just for students in multiple periods.

Reminder: Thumbnails are small, quick sketches of your logo ideas. You should be able to fit 10 or more on a single page. DO NOT make finely detailed drawings. This process is quick and simple. You’re brainstorming and capturing ideas without trying to refine them. No one, and I mean NO ONE will be “finished” with the assignment today.

1022: Yes, I’ll be asking to see your thumbnails today. Yes, you’re supposed to have saved them. Yes, I told you that yesterday (and the day before). Yes, you finally get to work in Illustrator today. And yes, you’ll continue to work out your ideas in thumbnail form for the rest of the year. Now watch this video.

Visitor Update: The Palestinian Territories makes 125 countries to visit the blog. Yes, I know the word “country” is a bit nebulous in this case, but it’s only a matter of time. To be honest, I never even imagined we’d see a visit from there. Our 175,000th page view will occur in a few hours. Little milestones recorded here. Side note: Both New Jersey and Florida have visited over 1,000 times (from 150 different cities).

If I were Looking for a Job: I’d apply right now. Note that an online portfolio is required. If the job is filled and the link is a 404, here’s a snapshot of the page.

1023: I just noticed that we had our 2,000th comment a few days ago. Simply amazing participation! All who’ve commented are to be commended.

Looking Ahead: Some of you are wondering what’s on the horizon and I figure now is a good time to give your right brain a preview so it can begin working on ideas while you’re otherwise engaged. (If that makes no sense, you didn’t read or understand this.) Digital Arts and 3D students will soon part company but not before both classes complete their own logos (including the Pathfinder workflow — trust me, you’re going to love it), avatars, favicons, and one optional typographic project. After that, 3D students will begin with the Mac Lab 3D 1-2-3 Intro to Cinema 4D: the spaceship, the logo animation, and the animated camera projects. (Old tutorials here. New ones coming soon.) Digital Arts will dive deeper into typography but will have expanded freedom of choice in their subject matter. Examples include redesigning corporate logos, movie or band posters, book covers, CDs or DVDs, or anything that begs for a new and improved version (including public service posters promoting appropriate causes of your own choice). The overarching goal is implementing the elements and principles of design while developing a mastery of typographic form and function.

Do you want creative freedom in here? Play by my rules and master the fundamentals. Read everything I post and follow the video tutorials. Resistance isn’t really futile, it’s just self-defeating. If you’ve not lived up to your end of the deal, it’s not too late to change your ways. And remember, if you want to catch up (or get ahead), we’ve got another Mac Lab Saturday School™ tomorrow. I’ll arrive around 6:30. As always, it’s first come, first served. Alright, back to your logos.

P.S. Almost forgot to mention that I’ll be loading piles of cool fonts (and other resources) on your computers within the next week. And while I’m mentioning things I forgot to mention, Rotoball 2010 is on the horizon (cue Shaun) as is this 15 seconds of fame project! Oh, and did I mention photography? Painting with Light? And what about… (Too much to mention. Though, interested parties might check this at home. Hint, hint.)

It’s going to be a fun year!

Opportunity: The Student Creative is asking Mac Lab students to submit designs for a logo. Who’s going to step up?

Who will earn the right to anchor the second gallery this year? Here are our initial winning logo/identity designs.

The students are getting rolling now. Fadi landed the feature art in Week 8’s blog post. The next home run was slammed by another Mac Lab heavy hitter, Christian L. If you read this post you’ll see that Christian successfully simplified CML Illustration and Design. That solution is pure genius! Other designs are starting to take shape and the gallery will begin to fill later this week.

Twenty-five logos in first eight days. Who’s going to step up next?

From the current issue of Layer’s Magazine: The January/February issue’s contest focuses on logo and advertising design. Your mission is to create a company logo for a fictitious company that develops games for computers and gaming consoles. Once your logo is complete, you then need to incorporate it into a full-page magazine ad for a new gaming title being introduced by your fictitious company.

Before you begin designing your logo and ad, be sure to read the Jan/Feb issue’s cover story, “Designing with Negative Space,” starting on page 28, and then follow some of the key concepts presented in the article for leveraging negative space to your artistic advantage. The judges will be looking at the overall design and creativity of the logo and the ad with a focus on the innovative use of negative space.

I’ve got a copy of the article for anyone interested in entering. NOTE: Kyle R’s mech is a terrific modeling job but, as you can see, it’s not an example of good use of negative space. Here’s The Briefing and The Rules (gotta be 18 by the March 13th deadline for entries).

I love how some kids come out of left field with their designs. Like the one you see here (Colin G).

Here’s a collection of 25 logo/identity designs.