The Most Incredible Opening Credits EVER

I recently went to see the movie Oz the Great and Powerful with one of my cousins when it was out in theaters. I wasn't a huge fan of the movie itself, but I can appreciate how visually stunning every scene was. And obviously James Franco's perfection can't be overlooked. The gorgeous effects took off from the beginning, as Oz had one of the most incredible opening credits I have ever seen in a film before. It's also completely in black and white, which says a lot about how amazing it looks visually if it can grab attention without using any color. It perfectly captures the feel of the movie's initial setting, which takes place at a traveling circus. Even if you don't plan on seeing the movie, the opening credits are definitely worth watching at least once, and you can do so by clicking here for some of the most beautiful typography you will ever see.

Print Magazine

When I was at my internship a few days ago, I had caught up on all my work so I was scrolling through the design section of Pinterest, hoping to find some stylistic inspiration for my current campaign. My boss came in the room while I was mulling over an intricate typography piece and told me she had something that might help inspire me. She left the room and came back about a minute later with a huge stack of magazines. It turns out she has quite the collection print and design magazines, and she encouraged me to look through them and take some home. Most of my inspiration searching tends to take place on the web, but I decided this was an opportunity to immerse myself in something new, so I took her up on the offer.

If you’ve never heard of Print magazine before, that’s okay because neither had I until now. It’s a bi-monthly magazine that showcases print design from every angle imaginable. I spent the rest of my shift (a good 2 hours or so) flipping through the pile and allowing myself to get lost in each issue. It’s funny how different the experience is when you see something creative or visually pleasing on a computer screen, as opposed to having it right in front of you. Those two hours I spent flipping through page after page of brilliant design work made me realize that the Internet is simply not enough to get fully immersed in creativity. There’s so much out there in the world that you can’t find online, and it’s all worth seeing.

Brooke in Wonderland

We can all admit to having gone through that phase when we were little kids and were obsessed with Disney movies. Well, I never really grew out of mine. Back in my days when an infatuation with these movies was socially acceptable, Alice in Wonderland was always my favorite one, and I watch it just as regularly today as I did back then. In fact I currently have my Netflix open to the movie in another window as I type this. As I got older, instead of growing out of the obsession, I let it grow. I read the books and watched every other movie remake.
I feel like every creative needs something - a book, a movie, an art piece, anything at all - to draw inspiration from. And let's be honest, what storyline (besides Harry Potter, don't even get me started on that) is more creative than Alice in Wonderland? Anyone who can come up with a plot so bizarre, yet so brilliant, has to have quite the imagination. Watching these movies and reading these books just makes me feel so inspired and reminds me the importance of having a big imagination, especially for the industry I want to get into once I graduate.

Daily Dishonesty

Daily Dishonesty is a blog I recently discovered that is definitely worth sharing, described as "lovely little lies from a hungry graphic designer." As an art director who is never not in the mood to eat, this is the first reason I fell in love with the blog. Basically, each post is a clever phrase that describes the little white lies we tell ourselves everyday that we know deep down are far from the truth. Each phrase is its an inspiring piece of typography and design. "My diet starts tomorrow" and "I have read and agreed to the terms and conditions" has never been more beautifully written. See the blog for yourself here.

Iain Macarthur's Zentangle Portrait

My discovery of Zentangle art led to another incredible discovery: Zentangle Portraits. I stumbled upon the work of Iain Macarthur, who has several incredible illustrations of these portraits. My favorite one is pictured below

I think it's really amazing how geometric art can take on so many different meanings. Some might thing that geometric art  refers strictly to sharp clean edges, but I've been slowly finding that this is not the case. For example, Zentangle art is incredibly versatile but still comprised of  many different shapes, some that don't even have names. Geometric art has that same versatility.

Zentangle

My love for geometric art has led to a new discovery. I recently found a style of design known as "Zentangle" that I have become obsessed with. Its geometric design on a completely new level. Most patterns show curvy shapes that divide up the design, and each shape consists of some type of geometric pattern. Zentangle is typically black and white but I really think there is something cool about the way all these different patterns come together in one design and all compliment each other. I've attached a picture of one of the Zentangle designs that I discovered today.

P2, Lesson 1

I learned a pretty hard lesson recently during my first campaign for P2. My client was Hawaiian Airlines, and my partner and I had been brainstorming and had four solid ideas we were happy with. As I discussed two blogposts ago, my skill with the bamboo tablet had not improved. However, I decided this campaign was the perfect opportunity to explore it, and I fully executed one of our concepts. Once I did, I was hooked on Wacom. Seriously. I was obsessed, and I executed another one of our ideas for that concept. My partner and I were really happy with how it turned out, but that was before we were told this concept wasn't strong enough. The worrying kicked in sometime after the realization that not only did we devote so much time to developing one idea, but we didn't entertain the possibility that there was a better one out there, AND we had two days to come up with four new concepts. Cue the multiple panic attacks; If I ever had a weakness, it's that when I stress, I stress a lot. Sometimes it's not always a bad thing though, because it motivates me. That's exactly what happened in the end, and my partner and I were able to show up at Friday's P2 class at the ungodly hour of 8am with four new concepts, all of which were stronger than what we had before. Moral of the story- don't get too attached to one idea; if you do, learn from it. Even though my attachment to this was to a fault, some good did come of it- I caught on quickly to the ways of the Wacom Tablet, and this is what it helped me create. (Copy credit goes to by my brilliant campaign partner/ copywriter, Joy Barnett)