Thoughts about Indy

I’ve only been there once before and then I didn’t venture too fare outside of the hotel/convention center area. This time our hotel was on the opposite side of downtown from the event space. So I got to walk downtown a lot, it was great. Someone once told me that they don’t feel they know a city until they can walk it. So true.

To me downtown Indianapolis felt like a mix of long New York blocks and squeaky clean D.C. There are tons of chain restaurants including my new favorite the Ram. A brew pub with fantastic burgers. I just wanted to camp out at this restaurant.

Coincidentally the Big 10 end of season tournament was happening in Indy the same weekend. It was funny to run into the basketball players and cheerleaders in our hotel. Usually I’m all over the sporting events of the moment but since we were playing magic the two interests are polar opposites. I don’t even know who won the basketball event. I could go on in great detail about the deck that won the grand prix I was playing in, but I’ll spare you those gory details.

New Music, Interesting conversations about beards and other randoms

What road trip is complete without discovering some new music. New to me is LCD Soundsystem and Toro y moi. I’ve been playing them back to back on Spotify.

The best part of the trip was hands down entertaining conversations; inventing crazy magic cards that would never actually get made, to beard growing philosophy, to philosophic thoughts on why it’s good not to objectify women in fantasy art. The group I traveled with is a very eclectic mix of white boys. Some Pittsburgh born and raised and others from outside the state we make up a good group that can make a six hour drive not take so long.

Didn’t Tweet Once

It’s true. I did upload some Instagram photos and Facebook. I guess I’m just sparing all my followers from magical times.

Illustration by long time friend Jake Thomas.

I enjoyed interviewing Will, Josh, and Rachel. Looking forward to getting my hands on the printed book. As of this post there is only three days left so go order yours today and support March of Dimes.

February 22, 2012 is our second annual BFFs in Blue day on iTwixie. I’m wearing my blogger of the month tshirt in part of the celebration. Best friends are a critical part of a tween’s like so celebrating the people close to them is a big deal.

Good friends are a critical part of my life so here is to all of you!

Late last year I had the opportunity to redesign the menu for The Bloomfield Sandwich Shop. I love menu projects because I can take a lot of information and get really personal with the typography. This redesign was no different because I offered to do the project after Ros (or better known as Momma Ros) exclaimed that she couldn’t read the prices on the previous menu. My brother Carl claims that I took on the menu because I eat there all the time and wanted to look at a menu with proper (or my own) design. All are really true.

I’m really pleased with how it came out and I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from Ros and other employees. Despite what it looks like there is a lot of information and I was really worried that I would have to compromise my initial objective of making the prices clearly readable. Normally in a menu design I de-emphasize the price. We were also adding all the pancake information to this menu design. Fortunately I was able to start from scratch and Ros wasn’t attached to any of the old photos or design elements on the previous menu. The only restraints were the size and shape of the paper.

Design Process

When I started to organize the typography I wasn’t sure if I wanted to bring the character of the diner into the menu or keep them separate. As I worked through a few options I generally liked the clean san serf feel better that everything else. Initially I thought I would use a serif to help with the legibility of the prices. I think the design itself took on a diner feeling of it’s own. Adding the boxes around different features helped to pull it all together and keep it well organized.

The Woodstock inspired graphic was the very last element to come together and honesty didn’t come to me until I was designing the name. I didn’t know how much room I would have left for the name and I thought I would use a photo of the building or something. I was browsing online looking  for some inspiration and I think just came to me. I’m glad it worked out because I think that image is a great representation of the vibe in the diner and connects the modern menu design to the decor of the dining room.

So if you haven’t had a chance to visit the diner please go – best pancakes, waffles, french toast in Pittsburgh.

On a separate note I’m really ready to refresh my theme. Anyone have style suggestions? I’m considering a tumbler style theme.

For the holidays in 2011 we pulled out all the stops and build a jam-packed schedule for two weeks. We had extra games, book clubs, chats, contests and even a special magazine. I made the logo sometime in December and recorded myself drawing it in Photoshop. This is the first time I did a screen capture of me drawing something, but I had a lot fun with it. My skills are not that strong in logo design so I was pleased with how this came together.

It took me about two hours to compose the logo. The song is from CSSR State Philharmonic “Good King Wenceslas” from “Christmas Remixed 2.”

To All My Peeps

So really the best thing about 2011 was how it brought me closer to a lot of people. I was forced to expand my network and get out of my comfort zone. On many levels. This post isn’t about naming names but me realizing that I am surrounded by many amazing and talented people who all should have been outraged by the fact I thought a computer is more important than getting coffee, drinks, or waving terrible towels together. You guys inspire me and keep me motivated and let me know if I’m procrastinating too much on a project. Keep it up.

And if you are reading this, extra awesome to you because I know I’m not always blogger of the month on this site.

What Else

BOOKS I’ve been reading more in the past few months than I have recently. Fast Company and Ad Age have become regular items and I sorely miss reading the New York Times on a daily basis, but there is only so much time in the day. I’ve always got a book I’m working on and currently have a few in the que. Now I’m reading the final book in the Otherland series by Tad Williams. Which is an excellent story about people in a future where the internet is a more realistic Second Life. On deck is the first Game of Thrones book and Brandon Sanderson’s Alloy of Law. Later this year is the final book in the Wheel of Time series, my favorite story and 14 books long.

GAMES Somehow I’ve found time to play a lot of Skyrim. One of the best games I’ve played in recent memory. The fun thing about Skyrim is how flexible the game is to you. I’m not going to write a review but if you haven’t played it I think that even “non-gamers” would have some fun.

I’ve played magic on and off this year. In November I started thinking about seriously blogging about magic again. Blogging about the game was an incredibly rewarding experience. I’m just worried about the time it takes. I’m planning on going to Indiana this year for a tournament, let the good times roll.

TV I got caught up on The Office (up to the beginning of the current season).  I’m not a big tv watcher but I’ve fallen in love with those characters and their story. For me it is rewarding to see what happens to them as well as enjoy the comedy. I know it’s good because I have to keep reminding myself it’s just a show and real people aren’t so ridiculous.

Also through the magic of Netflix I watched a few anime series. I loved how crazy and unique those stories can get.

MUSIC I wrote about Bandcamp recently which has reminded me how much I enjoy discovering new music that is a little left of center. Having a new computer has enabled me to digitize all my cds and rediscover some of the gems that previously just sat in a box. I know welcome to 2012 right.

In Summery

All of these things add up to me finding myself after a year of inconsistency. This post started and a quick reminder to myself about how the people around you are the most important element of your life, and turned into a what else I appreciated about 2011 in more detail. Next up I’ll need to review the projects that I want to accomplish this year.