Thursday

Alas, as you may have discovered, there was no typography posted yesterday! This is in part due to the fact that I found myself wrapped up in assisting the production of two new television ads set to run in August and September. Rest assured there will be photos of this shortly.

Our Minds

Today's official type (insomnia aside) is an attempt at graffiti. Is it convincing?

If it seems like these are straight out of an online type tutorial, it's because some of them are.

Who needs sleep?

Romance

I've decided that from here on out the criteria for the daily type project will not require putting the actual day's date. I just so happen to not feel like thinking inside that box. The date box. Speaking of dates, today's type:

Photography graciously borrowed from ffffound.com.

Apples are good for you!

This is your public service announcement. Eat apples. They're damn tasty.

7/27

In lieu of the great big storm keeping me awake this morning:

Wilde

7/26

Saturday, Oh, Saturday

I'm spending a lovely lazy Saturday meandering about Cary Town and running a couple of errands for the cat. How do you like to spend your summer Saturdays?

It's like a Magic Eye, but not.

It's kind of like a Magic Eye picture, you have to cross your eyes halfway to see it clearly. I hope this doesn't send anyone into an epileptic fit.

Nutty

Today's type is a bit nutty. Special thanks to Trader Joe's (just don't buy the fish) for the delicious mixed nuts (with raisins)!

Planning your weekend

I hate that Wednesday is called "hump" day. Yes, it means you're halfway through the work week, over the hump, but it just sounds... awkward. Despite that, the work week is coming and going quickly. We're halfway there! If you're like me, you're already mentally planning out the weekend.

Being new to the area, I simply have no idea where to go, what to do, or where to find things to do. After several months of being in awe of my planning-type friends- the ones who say, "oh by the way there's a craft sale at such and such this weekend" or "hey free concert on Brown's Island, want to go?", I finally figured out just how they're so... in the know.

And so, here are some of my favorite places to peruse when planning for the weekend here in Richmond. It's true, there is always something happening.

Richmond Dot Com

I first found this site through Facebook, of all things. Upon further exploration into their site, I discovered a massive, well kept wealth of information. You can search upcoming events by category, day of the week, type of venue, etc. There's also a plethora of blogs, articles, and reviews on arts & entertainment, dining, shows, movies, and more.


RVA News

Building web advertising for my company often leads me to explore the sites for which the ads are intended for. As soon as I first laid eyes on it, I knew that I was in love. RVA News is an online magazine which is quickly becoming the city's most lively source for lifestyle, sports, entertainment and news. Not to mention they have a great sense of humor. Similar to Richmond.com, they have reviews, articles, blogs, and an events calendar- not to mention the regular listing of top 5 savings of the week (around town deals on groceries and the like).

And of course, Twitter

Up until recently I had been very very reluctant to join the Twitter crowd, but it's quickly become my new fascination as I click through people after people, followers after followers, and tweets after tweets. As a designer and craftster, it's a fabulous resource for DIY projects, photoshop tutorials, typography inspirations, and more. Follow your local businesses and be the first to hear the chirps on sales, promotions, and interesting goodies around town. Why just last week I got a free steak sandwich from Mortons through a Twitter promotion, and it was de-licious!

I'll add here, as mentioned above, that a few goodies around town are easy to locate from Facebook, or any other social networking site you may belong to. It's a chance for business to build their brands, tell you the latest on sales, events, and new inventory, and a great way for communities (I'm a fan of "Carytown", for example) to keep you engaged in local happenings. It's also a nice way to show your support, and of course, plan your weekend.

Wednesday already?

Modeling graciously provided by Mingus the cat. He'll tell you the date, but not without being catty. Har har. Vector sketches from vecteezy.com.

Girl with a drill.

In recent perusals of a favorite, local blog I have been enjoying, I found the young couple John & Sherry were working to clean up their neglected garage. They asked others to be inspired by their mess, and tackle that space you have been meaning to get around to, but haven't. I remembered that I was due for a trip to the hardware store and decided to hit up some crafty goodness as well. I have, after all, been meaning to make some additions to my bizarre little apartment.


But first, I couldn't help but notice an entry with a great DIY jewelry organizing project, submitted by a reader- Christy from Dwell Magazine. I dug through my collections of fabric and set to work at once. Here are the results:


Instead of cork board I used some plain MDF board from the local craft shop. I grabbed a bit of Elmer's Fabric Glue to use, and was quite pleased with the results. I'm generally a Mod-Podge girl, but the quality of Elmer's held the fabric in place firmly as I stretched and stapled it over the board.

Now, the little white shelf in the bathroom. I've been meaning to install one for a while. My fear is that the rambunctious and crazy cat would leap onto it during a fit of chasing invisible mice, and rip the shelf from the wall, smashing to bits everything upon it. I speak from experience. Despite that, I drilled several holes in the wall (make sure you are using the correctly sized drill bit or you will return, like me, to the hardware store for some Spackle and touch-up paint). The shelf, combined with my new radio, a plant to lighten things up and some other random decor and last-minute projects give a nice new feel to the drab old bathroom. Lovely!

July 21st, 2009

Today's day in type features one of my favorite pieces from LaDiff, the Cole Chair from the John Charles American Leather collection. What a sexy chair!

Sweet Dreams

This is the last post today, I promise. Clearly I'm on an artsy kick tonight. Photo imagery borrowed and manipulated from www.ffffound.com

Free Quality Fonts

A while back I came across what was, at the time, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen:

A free, quality font foundry.

Just a website with free fonts, of exceptional design, available to any one in need of a good font. I refer back to it with much frequency, and so without further a due, I shall pass it on to you, my lovely ...reader-person.

The Exljbris Font Foundry.

Pouring

Rainy Monday

Starting the day out with a fresh Type project is the tops!



Eventually I'll start putting these into photoshop and playing around with different effects. This morning, however, I'm off to the travel clinic to prepare for my upcoming trip to Argentina. I was surprised to learn that there is quite the art scene in Buenos Aires, and of course the country has oodles of folk art to explore. I can't wait!

Another lazy Sunday.

Quite some time ago, I began a daily typography project. This served as a great little way to boost the creativity and get the ball rolling each morning. For some reason or other, the project was abandoned. To celebrate my newfound roots in Virginia, and my determination to "make it" as a designer in this big crazy world, I've decided to reinstate the project. Starting today.

Updates will be on this site for the time being, until I finish the Proverbial Ink dot com redesign.

Part I, The Beginning.

Fresh out of college, bright eyed and bushy tailed, there I was: a graphic designer. Ready for gainful employment, I was among thousands of other eligible college-faced artists in the city of Portland ready to fight tooth and nail for a shot at a poorly paid, under appreciated and wonderfully nameless job.

If it sounds daunting, well, what job market isn't? Well, thanks to a little thing I like to call CraigsList, I found a position working in-house for some interesting folks, and settled into my career choice quite nicely.

After some years spending some time building brands, designing logos, websites, promoting the ol' Alma Mater's theater department and getting a taste of media buying and promotion, I decided it was time to leave my beloved city of Portland and set sail for something completely different:

Richmond, Virginia.

Only a quick 3,000 mile drive away, Richmond seemed innocent enough. I popped 'round for a preliminary 3-day visit during the summer of 2008 and discovered a humid little town with an a-typical downtown setting and a heavy history wrought with tales of the slave trade, tobacco warehouses, and one of the first settlements ever established in a brand-spanking-new America.

Gulp. What if I hate it here? Deep breath.

Here goes.