Lemonparty T-Shirt

Yes, it's a lemonparty t-shirt. Printed exclusively for our boston volleyball team. When the other team serves you lemons . . . have a party. If you don't get the joke, I'm not going to explain it here, that's what urban dictionary is for haha.

It's been a while since I've burnt a screen, so my first try was BACKWARDS! I was pretty pissed at myself. No biggie though, washed it out, burnt another one, and voila the pollo.





I've destroyed the screen, but it you'd like you own you can always order it from my zazzle page at http://www.zazzle.com/chipotoole

Go Lemonparty!

Energy Efficient Light Bulb Vector Art EPS PDF

I needed some vector art of an energy efficient light bulb for an icon on my new website, and couldn't really find a good one out there. And plus I didn't want to use an istock icon or some clip art off the web.

When you want something done right, do it yourself.

So I did. If anyone needs it, it's here on my website, free to download to the masses. It's not perfect curves or anything, I didn't spend to much time on it since it was going to be using at about 20px wide.

It's in a pdf form, but with the vectors intact. You can grab the eps if you want too.

Energy Efficient Light Bulb PDF
Energy Efficient Light Bulb EPS

2010 for Chip

One of many new year resolutions, blog more. I was doing well there for a while and like many personal bloggers, got lazy and stopped posting. Hell, we all know there are like 2 people following me, so what's the point? Just tweet? It HAS been proven in the past to be useful for tips people are searching for on google, like my polaroid dimensions post :) So I'm gonna try to write stuff up like that.

Couple posts com'n up - my patio installation story and my website launch. More to come peoples . . .

The Funk Old Gregg T-Shirt

I'm old greeeeeeeegggggg!

Ah, the classic legend of Old Gregg. If you haven't seen it, block off an hour of your day, plop yourself down and watch. Keep an open mind and enjoy :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dp1qrUt6Ps

Anyway, I loved that episode of the Mighty Boosh so much I ended up making a t-shirt featuring one of the key characters - The Funk. If you want to know the story of the Funk, click ahead to about minute 7:45. I did a one color print, hand drawn from starring at a screen shot for an hour, and added a backside (not seen here yet) that reads, "Never forget, June 2nd, 1979 the day the Funk died".



I did an extra one if anyone wants it. If you'd like to custom order one, I'd be happy to print and send one to you, just lemmie know at chipotoole@gmail.com

UPDATE: I've washed out this screen (which I shouldn't have), BUT since I've had so many requests for The Funk t-shirt, I've created a zazzle page so that people can order it online. Here is the link:

http://www.zazzle.com/chipotoole

You can pick the size, color, style of t-shirt, etc. I'm not a professional screen printer, so it takes a while for me to print these in my bathroom haha. Now you can order it and have it within days. Not a bad deal, enjoy guys!

Megaman Shoots a Lacrosse Ball

Ok, so I've been a little obsessed with 8-bit graphics lately (nintendo look'n stuff), and in particular, Megaman. I just think he's cool, whatever.

Anyway, I play lacrosse here in NE, and there's a team that we play against called the Megamen. They use megaman on their helmets and shorts and stuff. So I thought I'd be funny to have him playing lacrosse against a couple of his enemies in the game.

This is also just opening a big can of worms for me too, cuz I can just see myself getting addicted to these animated 8-bit gifs. Hmm, what can I do next with megaman?

My Abacus Computer

This is how fast my computer at work feels sometimes. Multiple times a day, I sit there for minutes on end waiting and waiting for things to process. Sometimes I just get up and go get coffee or go to the bathroom to pass the time. Sometimes it's not done when I get back! So sick of this. It's been almost 6 months, the time has come.

It's a Mac G5 tower, and you would THINK, that would be enough, but no, it's not. A few years ago, yes, but today with the Adobe products I use for work and websites that use flash 9 and 10, this just doesn't cut it. We can still repurpose it for account managers though - they just use office and the intertubes 98% of the time.

UPDATE: I recently got the nod to spec out a brand new iMac here at work. I'm looking at the 24" 2.93GHz. I have the same one at home and it flies. I've worked from home a couple times and it's night and day, the speed difference. Can't wait.

2009 Boston Marathon

Welp, its over, finally. This year, I finished the 113th running of the Boston Marathon in 3:29:31. Not the 3:10 I was going for, but I've got plenty of excuses for that, see the quick list below. But, it was for a great cause, I raised over $3000 for people with liver disease and I completed a marathon, not bad in anybody's book I say. Can't wait to get back to seeing people though, jeez.

Excuse List:
1 - I was injured during training with shin splints and some tendonitis in my feet (which originated from me ramping up my training too fast in December - mistake 1)

2 - The injuries forced me to do 75% of my training on the elliptical machine and 25% on the roads. The elliptical can not prepare you enough to qualify. And I didn't have access to water jogging. Basically, I wasn't in shape to run a 3:10, period, but I lied to myself and told myself I could do it. High hopes.

3 - The crowd was too thick to get out of. This year, the field was it's largest since the 100th running of Boston which in turn made it very difficult to break free of 6 or 7 thousand slow charity runners across just two lanes of road. It was a constant fight, lots of stop and starts, sidewalk/front yard running to finally get to a comfortable pace without other runners cutting you off. This killed my time.

4 - There was a 10mph headwind that just pushed you back, just enough to feel it and pick away at your spirit.

5 - I had the sophmore blues a little bit. There is just something completely amazing and heart bursting about running your first marathon, especially Boston, and especially in the sun with hundreds of thousands of people screaming your name. I just didn't have the fire in my belly like last year.

Whaaaaa, cry baby, right? RIGHT. I'm actually pretty pumped I ran another Boston, and hope to maybe qualify in the future. I wanted to thank all my super generous friends and family who donated to make this goal possible, you guys rock, thank you so much.

3:10:00 Boston Marathon Goal

Ok, I'm do'n this. Gonna start slow, keep a solid pace, end strong and run a solid 3:10. Not gonna think too much about it, even though I already have, and try to remind myself that running 26.2 is NOT A BIG DEAL, so relax. *Chest pound with fist*

Twitting Again

Ugh, so I'm back in the twittersphere even though I hate it now, I do think it could evolve into something useful like how news feeds work right now. I have to say it IS a fast and easy way to receive up-to-date in the moment news.

For example; a University closes down for a snow emergency, they send out the tweet to everyone listening, it updates people on their mobile devices on their nightstands and they can go back to sleep. That I like. "I'm doing the dishes, ugh", I hate.

UPDATE: When iPhone software update 3.0 comes out late June, Twitter, Facebook, AIM, and other similar apps will be able to have Push notifications so you won't have to launch the app to find out you have new updates.

This will significantly change the notification experience. It may also drive you crazy if you're hearing sounds for every phone call, voice message, text message, email, facebook notification, tweet, IM, and more. *Bling, ding, bunk, tweet, bring, bonk, zoop, burp*

My blog is not quite dead yet

Although I still believe blogs are dead and that no one cares about personal blogs anymore, I have realized something about social networking lately and in particular, Facebook. Plus, I've seen some responses to the dimensions I provided for a polaroid picture and felt like I could keep posting some useful design information to help people.

Ok, Facebook is lame-o! It's a complete exercise in narcissism and self absorption. Andy Warhol said that "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes". Pretty damn close Andy, but instead of 15 minutes, it's more like 5 seconds everyday. You scroll down on facebook and read someone's status or your read someone's tweet, and for about 5 seconds, every person you know is famous.

Just as people don't really care about a personal blog (like this one), they don't REALLY care about your myspace page or facebook wall. They really just want to post about themselves and have other people see it. Many use it to draw attention from others about their own problems. Posting things like "John is depressed right now", begging for others to respond and offer help or support. Hey John, no one cares that you're depressed, and no one wants to help ok? Call your mom or get a girlfriend.

Ok, so this is all very obvious, I know. So what are we supposed to do? Quit facebook because it's totally egotistical? Yeah, maybe. I believe that social networking is actually the direct opposite of what it claims to be. I think "being connected" actually DISconnects us from a true-er real-er reality. 

When was the last time you had a phone conversation with someone? (I'm speaking to the "screen people" here). We've resorted to basing all of our communication to a non-verbal, non-confrontational, facade of blather. Guess what a synonym for blather is? Twitter! It's all pointless drivel. Don't even get me started on Twitter either. I'll save that for the next post.

Emails, texts, posts, pokes, tweets, the list goes on. But maybe it's not all that bad right? Well, I guess not if you don't mind being bombarded more and more by advertising and having more and more personal information available to the public and government agencies. 

Sounds like conspiracy theory crap right? Well, just try to put a list together of every website that has your information saved on it. See what number you get, cut it in half, then double it. Haha, jk, but seriously, that list could be pretty long and scary. I know it is for me. I start to realize how easy it would be for a low level hacker to steal my identity and royally mess up my finances and life.

Right now, I'm on Facebook for work purposes really. I'm a designer and need to follow trends to know what's contemporary. A little hypocritical, but know your enemy. All I'm saying is, be careful online, be aware of the ever evolving internet, don't become dependent on that light box in front of you, read a book, get outside, call someone, talk, and get together.

Blogs are dead

Blogs are dead. Not the good ones (professional ones), just the personal ones. Nobody cares anymore, and rss feeds are a pain to check. I know this isn't cutting edge news or anything, I'm just taking the time to write my last blog entry and to pay homage to my own rss page.

We know the usual suspects too, the infamous social networking sites; Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, the list goes on. For this case of blogging homicide, the guilty party is Facebook. I joined a few weeks ago, I have the iPhone app for it, and I must say, it's 10 times better and more interactive than writing a lowly blog entry that no one will read (except for you Jamie). There is just no comparison.

Personal blogs are dead, low traffic corporate blogs are dead, and professional blogs are the new magazine. Print's death will be a slow and painful one, a lot like a bullet shot to the belly - umph . . . But a digital hero will emerge victorious, in the form of mobile applications, e-paper, or some futuristic contact lens display, littered with ads and spam, blinking in your face, first thing in the morning, and for the rest of your life. Enjoy!

The Future is Now!

Erica's style has always been ahead of the curve, innovative, on the
cutting edge. This is just one of the many examples of proof that you
can STILL be a trendsetter.

My new job at Forge!

Good news, my unemployment stint only lasted a few weeks, and I'm happy to say that I'm the newest addition to the creative team here at Forge. I'll be doing some design and art direction here, and after my first week, starting last monday, I'm very excited for the caliber of work we do, our client list, and most of all, the great people here. More to come . . . 

WWF Ad

No, not for the old wrestling show, but for the World Wildlife Fund. Found this on the "I believe in advertising" blog here by agency Lowe GGK out of Warsaw, Poland. 

The ad obviously speaks for itself, I just thought it was a great way to communicate how such a simple idea of buying a souvenir in a foreign country could be at the cost of killing an innocent animal. I know this struck a cord with me even though I've never thought about buying an ivory sculpture, or some kind of bone necklace, or monkey hand, or something crazy like that. 

I'm not necessarily a fan of the style of photography or the excessive photoshopping done. I feel it could have been a bit more "raw" if they laid off the airbrush a bit, but that's not the point. It grabs your attention with the blood, and hits home with succinct copywriting. 

Well done.

Metallica Rebranding

Here's another great nugget from our friends at Under Consideration and one I should have caught. With the release of their new album, Death Magnetic (which rocks!), Metallica went through a rebranding effort with agency Turner Duckworth whose work has included such clients as Amazon, Palm, Dolby, and Coke. Here's a quote from the band:

"This time, we wanted to work with professionals who understand iconography," said James Hetfield, Metallica's lead singer. Lars Ulrich, drummer, said, "We wanted somebody who commanded respect in branding but were not jaded by the music business. Someone who would bring fresh ideas. Enter Turner Duckworth, Enter happy days."

Along with the packaging, TD altered the original logo designed by Metallica's front man, James Hetfield, by widening the mark, bringing the x-height down, centering the 'A', and redrawing the 'C' for a more balanced, clean, aggressive look. 

I've also posted their past logos, first used from 1995-2003, second from 2003-2008, both of which strayed from their original successful design, much like their music did during those periods. This rebrand not only brings back the glory of their first logo, but mirrors what the band achieved in their latest release of Death Magnetic but going back to what they know best, thrash metal: galloping power chords, double bass, face melting solos, and whaling vocals. Rock on!

Check out the packaging effort by TD in the full post at Brand New by clicking here.