A Look at Art & Design

Adobe Online Events

Being involved in the day to day routines of running our business, we often forget how many valuable resources there are online that can help us out, network us, or educate us. Some of these are so obvious that we take them for granted.

This month I purchased a new MAC and updated my software so I'm on the receiving end of numerous Adobe and Apple newsletters. Having most likely unsubscribed to these in years past (I was just too darn busy to read newsletters, right?) I realize what a mistake that was.

2008, as readers here might remember, I declared as the year to expand my business and my skill sets. So I've been reading the newsletters and here is one resource I've found really helpful:

Adobe Online Seminars: OnDemand. You'll find valuable audio/visual seminars on all the Adobe products and information on how to best use them. The seminars are also topic oriented and will provide visual step by step instruction on topics such as CSS, HTML, Spry, Flash, Developing mobile content, Photoshop etc. Samples of seminars are: Photoshop CS3 and Dreamweaver to Design Websites, Flash 101 for Video Professionals, Independent Filmmaking, Sustainability and Printing, Quark to InDesign, Adobe Bridge for Print Professionals, InDesign In Depth, Color Management, and literally hundreds of others. The Design Center also offers an RSS on seminar events. eSeminars are also provided live and offer the ability to interact with the instructor. I've taken a few of these tutorials/seminars and they are excellent. Each one took about an hour. I sat at my desk, viewed the seminar on my computer screen and was still available to pause the thing if an important call came in. Best of all, I feel that every day I view a seminar I'm working toward my goals of developing my skill sets.

Dragonfly Blu Design, Lisamikulski.com and ArtLOOK Redesigned & Refined

Hi All. It seems that whenever things get busy here at DFB the posts on ArtLOOK slow to a near halt. I'm sorry about that. Spring is the busiest time of year for not only the art business but for design as well. Despite the onslaught of work here at the studio, it was a priority to update and redesign my own design house.

Please meet the new Dragonfly Blu. DFB has a brand new ID and look. It is a bit more edgy and bold but also decidedly feminine and clean. New portfolios contain updates to recent work, photography, and the new Client and Designer Bill of Rights. Feedbacks from my recent email campaign has been great so thank you all for those comments and kind thoughts.

I've done some organizational work here at ArtLOOK as well. You will see that the blog has been divided into 3 columns. Recent posts and categories appear at the top of the page for easy reference. Websites, blogs and resources have been combined simply into Design Resources and Art Resources. Only the best resources appear here. Outdated or unmaintained sites and blogs will not appear in this list.

Lisamikulski.com has also been redefined. Expanded art management and marketing services for Artists and Galleries include:

• Identify and develop outreach goals


• Serve as contact for business and media relations


• Work as liaison to galleries, suppliers, buyers, and collectors


• Marketing and advertising in print and online


• Portfolio creation in print and online


• Inventory Development


• Marketing and PR materials creation - graphic and web design


• Email campaigns and direct mail


• Development of mailing lists


• Development of press releases and feature articles


• Copywriting


• Exhibition support, Event planning and PR

Beatbox

Ok... This is the silliest thing I've seen in a long time!  It had me laughing so hard I woke the kids up.

http://www.beatbox.tele2.se/

Found via Design Observer

Keeping My Artistic Clients Happy - Part of the Art Management Job

Part of my responsibilities as an Art Manager is to ensure that my artistic clients are able to do what they do best... create art. So when one of my best clients calls me to say he's overwhelmed by incoming emails and can't focus on studio work... it's a problem.  It's my problem.

Here are some of the actions I'll put in place to ease the onslaught on this artists inbox:

1.  I inform the client that I will only send him 1 email per week.  On a Friday. That email will summarize the weeks activities until the time the client and I meet face to face for a brain storming session.  The once a week emails will also serve as an agenda for any upcoming meeting.  I tell the client that should he receive an email from me on say...Tuesday, it is because I absolutely need a response to an issue.

2.  I set up an alternative email address to filter all non specific emails coming in from our marketing efforts.  This will eliminate spam, newsletters, and misc crap from his personal email inbox.  As his webmaster I will review all these emails and alert him to only those which are relevant.

3.  We set up special categories to filter and sort his inbox for art suppliers, membership organizations, buyers and personal.  In this way, as his incoming email is downloaded to his local computer it is sorted and categorized and put in the appropriate folder.  He is able to distinguish by an alert which emails are priority and which emails can wait a day (or two) for a reply.

4.  I advise the client to check email only once a day... preferably either before he starts his studio time in the morning or after his studio work is done at the end of the day.  This may sound obvious but even the best of us can fall into the trap of checking email several times a day. 

Defining Graphic Design

I'm a bit puzzled. I've been reading A LOT in the last few weeks and of course I'm a big fan of graphic design publications, Taschen being one of my most favorite.  While reading Graphic Design for the 21st Century and Contemporary Graphic Design, I noticed that many of the Designer's commentaries were all in attempt to define "What is Graphic Design?"  There were, in fact, so many designers defining their idea of graphic design that I began to wonder if Taschen had specified this question in its request for materials in putting the publication together. I was a little disappointed because in buying these beautiful books I really wanted to read something more substantial from these designers. Ok... The work displayed is fantastic and inspirational but after all, I'm a graphic designer and I already know what it is I do for a living and what the mission and intent of graphic design is and why it is that I love graphic design.  Charlotte and Peter Fiell do an excellent job in their introductions to both books but I really wanted to know more from the designers themselves.  For instance: How did you solve a particular challenge?  What are your thoughts on designing for a global audience? I guess I wanted a Debbie Milman interview!

Eric Kajaluoto wrote recently about style.  His opening sentence reads "Design is such a multi-layered practice that it’s often difficult to define. That being said, I believe that the word “design” is increasingly confused with “style”. For example, to most “I like the way it’s designed” means that they like the way that something looks."

Veerle Pieters recently ran a "What is Graphic Design" poster contest.  Her readers submitted some really great design work and Veerle did a marvelous job in sorting thru all those entries and setting up Flickr for submission.

Now, however, I have to ask... WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THE DEFINING?  Do we not have a clue what it is we are doing and therefore need to clarify it for ourselves?  Perhaps our attempts at definition is to educate our clients or potential clients?  Perhaps we are attempting to inform the general public?  I don't know...

I am a graphic designer and I read mostly art and design magazines, blogs and publications.  I read these things to get inspired, informed, to learn, to grow, and to become a better designer.  I know this type of question comes up pretty frequently in art circles as well, "what is art?" and the old debate about "art for art sake" etc.   But I don't think for instance construction workers, architects, concert pianists, musicians etc... regularly define their jobs or their career roles.  What makes art and design different? What say you?

Smiley Happy Goodness in a bottle... I'll take some of that!

I woke up this morning in a "kick the cat" type of mood.  Sure could have used some happiness in a bottle, but hey... I didn't know they actually sold the stuff.  Sure enough, it seems they do.  Check this out.

It would appear that our happy little :) now has it's own line of beauty care. Smiley has been made into a line of aromatherapy "anti stress perfumes."  The Happy Therapy Center, refers to it's product as "a psycho-tonic" (psycho tonic??...boy these guys are gonna get rich!) resulting from advanced scientific research. Text on the site goes on to say:

"To conclude this new mission, smiley developed an active scent, able to give their smile back to the most stubborn... morose spirits breathe in deeply!  This contagious good mood is on its way to conquer the world. No one knows who will be able to stop smiley in its exhilarating crusade! A smile for everyone."

"smiley contains monoaminated alkaloids having a pharmacodynamic action called phenylethylamine and theobromine.  (huh? Whatever, if it makes me happy, I'll take it... and several more bottles for my friends, please!)  Phenylethylamine is to passion what endorphin is to love.  It sets off a feeling of joy, excitement and euphoria.  (Cool...sign me up.)  Theobromine blocks the receivers of adrenalin and thus decreases the effects of stress by a comfortable feeling of wellbeing. These two cardiotonics associated together dope vitality and sets up the moral.  It's that simple!"  (of course it is... why didn't someone think of this before?)

There is smiley eau de toilette, eau de parfum, deodorant, therapeutic bath, rubbing body friction, and body gel all designed to "activate happiness."  Wow... I feel better already just writing about this stuff! :)

See the entire smiley brand collection at SmileyCollection.net
Buy your own bottle of happiness at Happy Therapy.
Smiles here provided by Josh Spear