SlickPixel

Sweet iPodRip Giveaway

2009-04-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

I've been a fan of iPodRip for a while, but I'm an even bigger fan of their current promotion: iPodRip's Billion-Songs-Transferred Giveaway!

It's a pretty sweet little giveaway, and there's no reason that you shouldn't enter in one of the few ways that they're accepting entries. Check it out and take a stab at winning some stuff courtesy of iPodRip.

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Moving On

2009-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:00

The new 903creative.com was launched today and will be replacing SlickPixel. I'm also in the process of putting together a new 903 blog to replace this one. There may or may not be future posts here in the meantime, but we'll see how it goes. Thanks for all the visits and I hope you continue to enjoy the new 903creative.com.

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Sad DR News.

2009-01-23T11:27:00.001-08:00

Sad news about The Designers Republic. I remember DR being one of the most potent sources for inspiration and motivation when I decided to become a designer. It sucks that they're having to close up shop. Read the full article here.

Via FFF.

RUN DC

2009-01-22T17:45:00.000-08:00

How awesome is this shirt? Of all the Obama merch and art that has been raining from the sky, this one is refreshingly fun that made me LOL.

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Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

Hey folks. Anybody who reads this blog probably already knows what the Gibsons have been up to this year, but in case anyone out there is interested, here is the Gibson 08 Holiday Newsletter that will bring you up to speed. Click the image above for a larger view. Merry Christmas everybody.

Wish I'd Thought of It Moment #1

2008-12-22T11:00:00.001-08:00

This may become a little running series, but I wish I'd thought of this. I saw this card online today and it literally made me laugh out loud. The copy is so simple, but so perfect. This is my style of humor, and how can you deny the awesomeness of letterpress. Check 'em out.

via.

New GYLo Site

2008-12-22T07:31:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how I haven't posted this yet. Actually, it may be because I'm forgetful and lazy.

But anyway, my pal, and go-to guru for all things Flash, Jason Lefton at GYLo has launched a new site. This cat knows his way around Flash, so be sure to check out his work, especially the site he did for the movie Border Town, which was honored with the Adobe Site of the Day on Nov. 24.

helloGYLo.com

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RVANews Redesign

2008-12-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

The guys at PharrOut unveiled the new RVANews this past Monday. I had the opportunity to work with them on the redesign and I think it turned out pretty nice, if I do say so myself. While we're still nailing down a few of the smaller things, overall it's seemed like a pretty smooth transition. But Ross at PO would know better than me.

And while it's still got a little ways to go, it's gotten some pretty nice feedback lately. So, what are you still reading this for? Go check it out.

Fed Holiday Party 2008

2008-12-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

Forgive me for not blogging recently. Also forgive me for not posting this earlier because I wanted to get it up Sunday (that’s what she said). Or, don’t forgive me at all and be a jerk and hold a grudge just because a guy got a little busy and couldn’t post meaningless crap.

Moving on, Amanda’s Holiday Work Part for the Fed was this past Saturday at the Valentine Richmond History Center. Here’s a pic of us in front of a big tree:

Note my tie. This marks the first occasion since I decided to make the Half Windsor my tie tying method of choice. It beats the crap out of the Four in Hand knot that I used to do.

Anyway, we drank, ate, toured the Wickam house, and even learned a little bit of Valentine family history. For instance, did you know that the Valentine family made their fortune by selling…

Meat Juice!?

It was supposedly a health tonic made from pure beef juice. I’ve heard they just pressed carcasses and bottled the juice that came out, but I didn’t see anything online to substantiate that (but I didn’t look very hard). Although, there's probably only so many ways to make Meat Juice. But check out the sweet old bottle and label design:

But it was a fun night and I actually learned something. Plus, now I know what to get everybody for stocking stuffers.

Halloween in Richmond

2008-11-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Our first Halloween in the city. We bought 300 pieces of candy. That's 11 pounds. Two gi-normous bags from Costco. We had zero trick-or-treaters. None.

This may be partly due to the fact that we left during prime trick-or-treating time with Daisy to walk around The Fan and see the costumes and decorated houses. (Probably not, though. Our block was pretty dead even before that.) We went to the blocks that were closed off so people could just walk everywhere. I think it was called the Haunted Hanover Mansion or something like that. It was pretty insane to see. I should have taken the camera but my favorite costume was the guy dressed up like a Facebook friend invitation (complete with functional 'Confirm' and 'Ignore' buttons that lit up when pressed). And my favorite house decoration were the guys that re-created the scene from Dark Knight with the Joker on top of a huge pile of flaming cash.

It was really fun, but for heaven's sake, help us eat this leftover candy.

Chip Kidd: A Number of People

2008-10-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

NotCot posted a link today to download (via iTunes) a video of Chip Kidd's "A Number of People."

This is the same talk that I saw Mr. Kidd deliver at the 2007 HOW Design Conference in Atlanta. I thought it was immensely entertaining, and recommend taking the time to download and watch it. Plus IT'S FREE!

Check it out.

To Beard or Not To Beard

2008-10-22T16:39:00.000-07:00

As the temperature starts to drop and the leaves start to turn, I begin to ask myself if it's once again time to start growing my annual beard. I actually thought about skipping this year. But then I saw this web site and, well, it's hard to argue with what they have to say.

Especially #9.

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2008 Brunswick Festival Cook-off Winners

2008-10-17T06:36:00.000-07:00

Southside Virginia Community College hosted the Brunswick Festival this past weekend in Alberta, Virginia. The weather was really nice and the turnout was really great. EmporiaNews.com has more coverage of the overall event, and you can see some more pics on my Flickr page.

I really just want to touch on one thing though, and that's daddy winning the Brunswick Stew cook-off. There were 20 stewmasters from all over the state competing, and a panel of judges from surrounding counties declared daddy's stew to be the best. This was the first time daddy's won the top prize, which in my opinion, is way overdue. For a man who could hardly walk without getting out a breath a year ago, and underwent a lung transplant earlier this year, it was great to see him go out there and whoop up on the other stewmasters.

If you missed out this past weekend, he's fixing another stew in about a week for the Lawrenceville United Church's Apple Festival. (Don't worry, it won't be an apple stew.)

Daddy with his stew paddle trophy.

We put the 'umm' in 'Brummswick'

Venice Recap

2008-10-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

I am waaaay behind in this recap, but better late than never, I guess. Amanda and I spent a week in Italy last month. Here’s a quick recap of the trip:

Day 1 (&2):
We leave Richmond and embark on our trip that involved us being awake for roughly 24 hours over the course of the flights to Italy. Our first layover was in Michigan, then Amsterdam, then finally we got to Italy. I’m sure we were a sight to behold.

We head to our room after stumbling out of the vaporetto that brought us to Venice. After wandering around Venice for a while (how hard could it be to find the room?), we miraculously find our room and pile in for a nap. Several hours later we awake reenergized and ready to join a bustling nightlife. We had a very romantic dinner outdoors, then wandered leisurely around the city.

Day 3:
Once we’re up and fed, we make our way to the famous St. Mark’s Square. We find solace from the crowds in the Correr Museum at the square. After a quick lunch, it’s back to the room for another nap to recharge. The afternoon included a tour of the Doge’s Palace. That place was ridiculous. The size of the place was simply unreal. And it was covered in amazing art. As night fell, our courage grew and we decided to just wander around Venice at night and get lost. It was really fun to have nowhere to be and simply submit to the city’s unique landscape and layout.

Day 4:
The weather wasn’t quite as cooperative today as we woke up to rain. But we still got out and ascended the Campanile (the bell tower in San Marco’s square). We also toured Saint Mark’s Basilica, which houses relics believed to be the body of Saint Mark. After our usual afternoon rest it was off to Ca' Rezzonico in the rain.

Day 5:
We decided to take a day trip and get out of Venice for the day. After making our way to the train station, it was just a short ride to Verona. We did a Rick Steve’s tour of Verona and saw everything from the supposed balcony of Juliet to castles and unfinished churches.

Day 6:
Today we took trips out to the islands of Burano and Murano that are right off of Venice. Burano is famous for its lacework while Murano has world-famous glasswork. The islands were very interesting because we got to experience all the best things of Venice (architecture, food, art) without some of the not so great stuff, like the tourists and crazy complicated streets and alleys.

Once we got back to Venice, we took a 40 minute vaporetto tour that was guided by iPod commentary by Rick Steves. It was pretty educational and really interesting.

Day 7:
Our last full day in Venice consisted of a trip through a museum of 18th Century costumes, a stroll through the main market area, shopping in the shops at the Rialto bridge, a visit to the original Jewish Ghetto, and a long walk toward Frari Church (we never actually made it). Later in the evening we went to eat at place called 9 (we think) that had the coolest little flyer as a business card. I also almost fell in the canal before supper too, but that’s a long story for another day.

Day 8:
We headed to the airport only to find out that some European airline workers were STRIKING! Only for that one day though! So all the flights that day were cancelled. This led us to hop on a bus and head to Maestra for the night. We were worried that Maestra was going to be the bunghole of Italy, but it was super charming. We strolled around the downtown area then through a park where we saw old guys playing bocce ball, folks with remote control sailboats on a little pond, kids riding bikes and practicing soccer. It was really charming.

Day 9:
We wake up extraordinarily early to hop on our flight home. And we finally did. We finally got back home and we were so happy to be there. But it was a great trip. Check out the Flickr collection for more photos.

An Open Letter: Olga

2008-09-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Olga,

I don't know who you are. You probably don't know me either. But I really wish you would stop giving people my cell phone number and telling them it's yours. It's totally not.

Thanks,
Aaron

Offer = Made

2008-09-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I just made an offer on a house in Richmond. With our Venice trip right around the corner, things are being pushed to happen fast. Hopefully we'll know soon if we'll have an new house to call home.

Coming Soon

2008-08-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

Exciting things are around the corner, folks. I'm about to wrap up the wedding invites for Sarah & Mat. Plus, I should have my new 903 Creative business cards printed and delivered in the next couple of weeks. For anybody that doesn't know yet, SlickPixel is on it's last leg and as soon as I get a solid new site put together, everything will officially switch over to 903 Creative:

In addition to this exciting new work venture, we looked at two more houses today in Richmond. There's a good chance that we'll soon be moving into a newly purchased home in the good ol' RVA.

Life is good. Thus ends Blogust.

Twenty-seven

2008-08-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to everybody that sent well wishes today. It turned out to be a great birthday. I had a monster feast with the Gibsons for lunch followed up by a monster feast with the Whites for supper. Both meals were at dining establishments so I received complimentary dessert at both, a birthday candle in said dessert at one, and a very loud, embarrassing rendition of Happy Birthday at the other.

All this fun plus my new copy of Guitar Hero 3 thrown into the mix. But thanks again to everybody that made today great.

Kabob

2008-08-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Made these earlier this summer. I was proud of myself.

Paper Heart

2008-08-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Amanda went to speak at a Richmond area school a few months ago. While she was there a student made this dollar bill flower heart thing for her. She found it in a pocket on our way back to Richmond today. I've seen other things made out of dollar bills, but I thought this by far one of the coolest.

17 Ways

2008-08-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

Entertaining.

Via NOVA

2008-08-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

I'm up in Fairfax with Amanda tonight and tomorrow and today we took our first ever trip to IKEA. We went to get ideas for our future Richmond house. It was pretty fun. Not as crazy and impressive as I was expecting, but I think I built it up in my mind a little bit.

Nevertheless, the idea of decorating the new home (that we haven't seen yet, much less own) is very exciting.

Also the TownePlace Suites Marriott gives away sugar cookies. That excites me as well.

13 in 1 Tool Pen

2008-08-26T19:09:00.001-07:00

This looks cool.

Grocery Shopping Observances

2008-08-25T15:23:00.000-07:00

We noticed these pretty rad little M&M packages today in Walmart. I use the term "little" loosely. I think these were the 5lb. feedbags. They weren't all like this, just the ones this size. The other sizes still used the current package design. But I thought these were pretty cool throwback designs for M&Ms.

Here's another one that I noticed a while back, but remembered to snap a picture today. This is a before and after of the Sauer's spices. Nothing too thrilling, but all in all I think it's a good, clean redesign. Plus, I'm glad somebody realized that you don't need a picture of the spice to know what you're picking up. This nice new look obviously extends to their website as well. More on the redesign here.

Apologies for the crappy photo quality above. They were taken with the camera phone.

Retroactive Post #2: Rembrandt Rebranding

2008-08-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

This is kind of a cop out, but I don't care. I wrote this post a while ago for the JHI Blog while I was working there. Since most of what I've been posting is either recent work or personal updates, I thought this might be a nice change of pace. Of course, there's always quality stuff at the JHI Blog, so be sure to check it out. By clicking here or here. Link.

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Here at J H I, we use the first Monday of each month to discuss relevant, inspirational, or unavoidable events or work in the creative community that have captured our attention. We have aptly titled this forum event “First Mondays.” Everybody here has an assigned month during which they bring something before the group. We use this item to spark a conversation that can cover anything from ideas and execution to trends and relevance.

While I realize that this post about the first Monday of the month is being published on the last Friday of the month, I wanted to share our latest topic of discussion.

January was my month, and I chose to focus on the Rembrandt re-branding . While on a shopping trip a few months back, I turned a corner down the oral hygiene aisle and the new Rembrandt packaging was practically glowing from the shelf. I wasn’t even shopping for toothpaste, but in the sea of the blue, red and gradient toothpaste packaging, the Rembrandt products really leapt out to me.

Johnson & Johnson acquired the Rembrandt brand from Oral B and the makeover was driven by the idea that consumers were ready for a product that broke out of the normal oral care mold and transcended into a more sophisticated beauty product line. From seeing Rembrandt’s packaging, website and advertising, the rebranding effort by Johnson & Johnson along with Little Fury seems to have been very well executed, especially given this knowledge of the message they aim to project.

The previously mentioned points illustrate why this product stands out to me as a consumer. But there are elements to the rebranding that register on a different level to me as a designer. While this is not a completely flawless campaign, (I’ve heard that the actual toothpaste tube is pretty lackluster, and we’ve had our own conversation internally regarding the kerning of the logotype), there were still some great decisions made. The box opens from the top, instead of the side, so the customer feels like “they are opening a gift, like they are treating themselves to something,” according to Carmen Nestares, Product Director for the Rembrandt. While you may not hear many squeals of glee from people opening toothpaste, this does further the idea that toothpaste does not have to be completely dull.

Above all, the new Rembrandt logotype itself really impressed me. It is set in a modified version of Copperplate. I (and others) have very mixed feelings towards this particular font. I usually disregard Copperplate as a choice when selecting typefaces for certain projects. Not to say that it can’t be used successfully, but I feel it carries a certain stigma that is difficult to get around. When the movie Seabiscuit first came out, I couldn’t hear or read anything about it without thinking about Copperplate because it was on the movie posters. To me, Copperplate had become a font that was used when you didn’t want to think about what font to use. It was uninspired and a little tiresome.

But the new Rembrandt logotype takes Copperplate and completely erases all of those preconceptions. Suddenly Copperplate has the potential to be stunning. It rises to the top as a font worth a second thought. Maybe I’ll spend a little more time thinking about Copperplate and it uses. To me, that’s a great analogy for this entire campaign. It has taken something that used to warrant little thought or attention and brought to light it’s full potential and value. Brilliant.

Retroactive Post #1: Beach Pictures

2008-08-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

Cruising to the Stop and Shop on the beach cruisers

Everybody after supper about to play Curses. And eating cheesecake for Kim's Birthday.

Cheesecake of the fancy variety.

The girls.

The guys.

Cheesecake.

That's not funny.

Beer.

Travis' Curse Cards. He won. But now has a speech impediment.

Also...

2008-08-22T16:31:00.000-07:00

I added a Google search box and Subscribe buttons over to the right. No real reason. Just wanted to mix things up.

OBX Redux

2008-08-22T15:52:00.000-07:00

For the second time in 2 weeks, we're Nags Head bound. This time we're going to catch up with the Lawhornes for what is sure to be a great weekend. Hopefully this won't impact Blogust, but we'll see.

Bonus Post

2008-08-21T19:53:00.001-07:00

So I just realized that the closer I am to running out of ideas for Blogust entries, the more likely I am to post some sort of picture of me. I will end this pattern now. This is, after all, SlickPixel and not VanityInc.com.

(To be fair though, I did say some of these posts would be trivial)

More of the Same

2008-08-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

I was at JHI again today working on R-MC stuff. It's good to see those guys again, but the new front space is lonely, even with Christen just on the other side of the wall.

Tomorrow ends the streak. I'll be at home just in time to pack for the weekend trip to the beach.

The Spiritual Side

2008-08-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

Some people may know by now, but a couple of months ago the congregation at Ephesus Baptist elected to have me serve as deacon along with two other gentlemen when our church year begins in October.

My ordination will be September 21st at Ephesus for anybody interested in attending. This is a big deal for me and I look forward to serving the Lord in my new role.

Just Like Old Times

2008-08-19T16:58:00.000-07:00

I worked at the JHI office today, so it was really cool to see all my old buds and catch up on what's been happening lately. Maya even had something to say about my presence.

I also picked up, and saw for the first time, the bound and finished Randolph-Macon College Viewbook. I worked on this thing for months and months and months. I mean we redesigned this piece from the ground up. From concept, to copywriting, to photography, to ultimately design and production, I was involved with every step of this project along the way. It was really great to be able to pick it up and see all the hard work come together.

It probably won't win many awards or anything, but after all the ups and downs and late nights working hard and camping out overnight at the printers for press checks, I think we ended up delivering a really solid piece. And Randolph-Macon and JHI seem happy, so I'm happy.

Scenes of the Day

2008-08-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

Working alongside some cool folks in a place that isn't my house!

Future dwelling place of the Gibsons?

Fireplays

2008-08-17T15:15:00.000-07:00

Really digging this video.

Congrats Sarah & Mathew

2008-08-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this earlier, but my super cool, funny, sweet sister got engaged recently to her boyfriend Mathew. Mat's a really cool guy and we couldn't be happier for them both.

Sarah and the family came over today to plan some stuff out and I'll be working on the invitations, so I'll definitely post more about those when they're done.

Til then, congrats Sarah & Mathew!

Dueling Laptops

2008-08-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a pretty eventful day compared to the usual grind. Amanda got to work from home, which meant I was treated with her company all day. We also bought a new router to replace the one that didn't work with Amanda's work computer. Unfortunately, the wireless still wouldn't work for her so she had to plug directly into the router.

So, while she was tethered at one end of the house, I got lonely at the other end. So i pulled up a chair and joined her to work side-by-side in the spare bedroom.

Biggest Flan

2008-08-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

I made this animated GIF way back in April of 2006 when Jenna Fischer joined Myspace and I was REALLY into The Office. I'm still really into The Office, but I'm past seeking the cast out on social networking sites and making cheesy stuff to post in their comments.

Regardless, I still think it's fun to look at. Plus, even after 4 seasons, this is still one of my favorite jokes. But it's one of the originals from the UK version, so of course it's gold.

Eck Site Design

2008-08-13T18:16:00.000-07:00

A while back, I worked on the web site design for Eck Enterprises with PharrOut and this is where we ended up. I'll post again when things go live, but for now, here's the a sneak peak of their future site.

Homecoming

2008-08-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

After a fairly lengthy beach trip, we finally came home today to one very happy pup. In honor of our little reunion with Daisy, today's entry is an photo I took of her (and Amanda) a while back. We were all laid around the house enjoying the weekend.

Beach Update & Some Typographic History

2008-08-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

I don't have much else to write about today, other than my dominating Putt-Putt performance at Mutiny Bay, and the rockin' Mexican supper followed up by homemade ice cream.

After you're done wishing you had a sweet Monday like me, check out this article by H&F-J on the history of the ampersand. Very interesting stuff!

Check it out!

Beach Update

2008-08-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today's been a pretty fun day so far. Unfortunately, the weather didn't fully cooperate this afternoon, but it allowed us to rest up for what turned out to be a really nice supper with some family friends of Kelly's at a great place called the Tale of the Whale.

Afterwards, we stopped and went with the White's on their first shopping trip as a married couple. Here's how cute they are.

And now, it's off to the beach for some night time ocean swimming fun.

Congrats Michael & Kelly!

2008-08-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

I'm writing this post from an oceanfront beach house in Nags Head. Today Michael White (Amanda's brother) and Kelly Sneed were wed in a beautiful ceremony on the beach. We're joining the wedding party in the beach house for a few days and we plan to come home by Monday.

I'll try to keep up with Blogust this weekend, but it may just be beach updates. So for now, congrats Michael & Kelly!

Triad Systems Logo

2008-08-08T17:57:00.000-07:00

Recently I worked on a website design for Triad Systems with PharrOut. While thinking about the site, we entertained the idea of reworking their logo. We knew they liked their current logo, so we just wanted to rework the existing shape and idea. Here's what we came up with:

Targus X-Stand

2008-08-07T13:04:00.000-07:00

As I've gushed about for a month now, I recently got a new MacBook Pro. I knew one of the first accessory purchases would be some type of cooling product or stand. I wanted something portable and simple, but I wasn't seeing anything in my online research that really did the trick.

Then I remembered a stand that my photographer friend Karl had brought to some shoots. The Targus X-Stand:

It's expandable to fit 17" laptops, but it also folds down to be super compact and portable. Plus, after a quick "Targus Online Coupon Code" Google search, I had 25% knocked off the price.

I really dig it, so I wanted to spread the word. I felt it was dern near impossible to find without the brand name I got from Karl. So there it is, the Targus X-Stand.

RVA Construction Website

2008-08-06T14:04:00.000-07:00

I never posted about this, but a while back JHI and I wrapped up the RVA Construction website. This site, along with some new ads, continue to build on the brand identity that was created while I was at JHI.

Check out RVA's (sort of) new site!

Fred & Friends

2008-08-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

There are some really smart ideas and cool product designs over at Fred & Friends. I love the 500XL computer speakers.

Kanoodle

2008-08-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

The one and only Devin Beasley has started his very own greeting card company. Devin is one of the most ambitious dudes I know. Nothing is impossible in his mind, which is a pretty good outlook to have on life.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Devin Beasley's Kanoodle Cards.

Amanda on CBS

2008-08-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

Amanda was on the local Richmond CBS's morning show Virginia This Morning last Friday. She was discussing the upcoming commemorative penny series that is soon to be released, as well as some tidbits behind the production of the coin.

Enjoy!

Dreamy Designer

2008-08-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of me as I rode in to Richmond with Amanda yesterday morning. Amanda took this picture with my cell phone while driving because she said it was kinda weird. My hand was resting on my leg with my index finger extended and making the motion as if i were clicking a mouse.

The weird part is that I was sound asleep. I woke up to Amanda looking at me quizzically and asking, "Do you know that you design in your sleep?"

Yes. Yes, I do.

The Blog Days of Summer

2008-08-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

So I haven't been posting much lately as you've probably noticed. I've been super busy since leaving the land of full-time work to start my own freelance design company, and it's had an impact on the site. But I've had a few people tell me that they've noticed the dust on the ol' blog, so today is the first entry in what I'm going to call Blogust 2008.

My goal is to post at least one entry a day (no matter how trivial) in August. This will hopefully make up for the super-lame 2 posts in July and the puny 7 in June.

Presto

2008-07-05T17:29:00.000-07:00

We haven't been to see Wall•E yet, mainly because it's on the crap side of the South Hill Cinema Theater. You know, the side where the bulb is dim in the projector so you can't really see the movie? Yeah, that one.

So it was even more of a treat when I found this link (via NOTCOT) for the new Pixar short that airs before Wall•E. I think it's really worth checking out if you haven't already seen it. All of these little shorts are great, but this one is one of my favorites so far. Check it out.

Overdue Post

2008-07-02T04:39:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while since my last post. Turns out that full-time freelance can be time consuming. But things are going well and I'm keeping super busy. But, with the 3-day weekend (yes they still exist for freelancers if you allow them to), I had a little time and wanted to catch everybody up on what's been going on. Here are some recent notables:

Friday, June 20th
I came back to the J H I office for the first time after a week prior to do some work on site with them. It was great to see everybody, even though I'd only been gone a week. Maya was celebrating the progress and completion of a particularly extensive website project. The company's colors are blue, so the office had the client over to party with blue martinis.

Also, Lindsay made some pretty awesome vegan chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwiches. Here's a pic, just to make you jealous.

Yum.

Monday, June 23rd
We wake up and check on the baby birds. No birds. Empty next. Momma (or Poppa?) bird is, no joke, flying around kind of freaking out. This can't be good.

We tell ourselves that even though their little baby bird eyes were barely open, maybe they decided to roll out. After all, they were overflowing in that tiny next. Plus, we heard that some birds leave the nest at only 14 days old, which was about the age of our little feathered neighbors.

Wednesday, June 25th
I was working at my desk and heard some commotion to my left in the direction of the now vacated baby bird nest. I looked up and saw THIS:

Well let me just say, I'm not a big fan of snakes, so seeing this 5 footer hanging on the side of the house looking for more baby bird treats had to be taken care of immediately. So, let's just say I took care of it. That's all I'll say about that.

Coincidentally, I have a sweet new belt now too.

Saturday, June 29th
Our friends Robbie and Maria McMillan had a housewarming/birthday party at their new place and it was a ton of fun. We got to see some old acquantences and even make some new friends. We ate, drank, told jokes, had cake, recounted old stories, laughed A LOT, and a jam session even broke out.

We had a ton of fun, as evidence by the fact that we were some of the last people to leave on what was sure to be an exhausting evening and night for Robbie & Maria. Thanks guys!

Tuesday, July 1st
With encouragement from Amanda, I went ahead and made my first big business purchase for my freelance setup. I had put the order in for my new 17" MacBook Pro and a little iPod Touch for extra measure. The Touch came in a few days before the MBP, but when the 17" piece of beauty rolled in on July 1st, it was definitely Christmas in July.

Yippee!

It's actually proven to be a really smart purchase, for all of the reasons I expected. I had to go into Richmond for a meeting at 10a.m on Thursday the 3rd. Before the MBP, the rest of the day would have been borderline wasted, especially considering that there was somebody in at J H I working at my old (usually vacated) workstation. But instead of twiddling my thumbs stuck in Richmond, or commuting separately and wasting massive amounts of gas, I was able to make two other client meetings, as well as set up my own workstation in J H I's library to work in between appointments. Being mobile with my files and workstation has really opened up productivity opportunities.

Saturday, July 5th
Now, I'm sitting here blogging about all the little things that I haven't had a chance to recap. Nothing too exciting, I know. But, hey, I'm just a regular guy trying to do some cool design and make a little dough.

Also, we just got back from seeing Hancock in the ol' South Hill Cinema. Much to our surprise, the presentation was watchable again as everything was in focus, the picture was clear and aligned, and the sound was synced. Not to mention we thought it was a pretty good movie. There was a completely different storyline than we came in expecting. I'd say it's worth seeing.

OK, this is long and boring. Thanks for reading.

Daily Distractions

2008-06-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

So this has been my first week as a full-time freelance graphic designer. I've been obviously working from home, and while it was an adjustment at first, I feel like I'm settling into it nicely. I feel like I've done some good work and some pretty productive days so far.

However, try as I may to avoid them, distractions pop up throughout the day. And I'm not talking about just the typical site surfing that we all do. Although, Facebook, Google Reader, and one of my new favorite addictions, Where We Do What We Do, have certainly claimed a few of my productivity hours this week.

But I have a whole different set of Daily Distractions that I wanted to blog about, because, basically, it's more fun to talk about what keeps me from working than to talk about actual work. So, here are a few of my Daily Distractions:

Baby Birds

These little guys chirp and wriggle all day long and the momma bird in constantly back and forth with food all day. I think the momma bird built the nest and laid the eggs while we were in L.A./Vegas, assuming it was a nice quiet spot. Then we get back and she realized she didn't have prime real estate after all.

I'm not going to say something like "Aw. Could they be any cuter?" Because honestly, yeah, they could be a lot cuter. But they'll get there. And they'll only get more distracting the cuter they get.

While this may be a weird daily distraction, just check out the nest's proximity to my work station:

Every now and then, I'll see some movement in my peripheral and look up to see a little baby bird head peering at me over the nest's edge. Well, it'd be peering if it's eyes were open.

Daisy Dog

Daisy has two modes: Sleep and Play. And now that I'm home with her all the time, she's seems to always be in Sleep Mode when i want to take a break and Play Mode when I need to be productive. She couldn't even be bothered to get off the sofa to pose for this picture. What a diva.

Ice Cream!

My last week at J H I was filled with frosty treats, from Boba (Bubble) Slushi, to Rocket Pops, to Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. Turns out a daily hankerin' for chilled sweets is harder to kick than an iron soccer ball (What? You heard me.) We have leftover ice cream from Dad Bash 08, but it's in a deep freezer at our in-law neighbor's house. Which was clever on Amanda's part, because it'd be milkshakes and chocolate cones all day if it was in our house.

So my need for ice cream and the laziness preventing me from wanting to leave the house even out to about a bowl a day.

The Epiphone

I listen to music all day long and occasionally I'll hear a song that I think would be fun to play. So now I can just stop what I'm doing, search the internet for tabs and strum away. Most of the time I play the opening riff and get bored and I'm still absolutely atrocious at playing the guitar, but being bad has never been so much fun.

So that's what's keeping me from being more productive these days. I hope this has been mildly interesting enough to serve as a daily distraction for you. For now though, it's back to work for me.

Later.

J H I Lipdub: Skee-Lo - I Wish

2008-06-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

We went all out on the bigger and badder Skee-Lo Lipdub. This was a great way to spend my last day after work as a J H I'er. We had a lot of fun. I hope it won't be the last.

Enjoy.

Moving On

2008-06-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

After nearly 4 great years at J H I, I'm making the transition to full-time freelance graphic design tomorrow. I've really had an awesome time with my coworkers and clients there, and I'll miss them all terribly.

The J H I design crew showed our team spirit one last time before I was out:

Spellin' it out for old time's sake.

I also want to say thanks to one of my awesome clients, Cathe, who gave me this alocasia as a last day gift. They're also called Elephant Ears, which is pretty fitting, because I'll always remember the good times at J H I.

Never forget! (...to water me.)

J H I Lipdub: Weezer - Troublemaker

2008-06-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Maya and Lindsay are making my last week at J H I a ton of fun. We decided on a whim to lipdub Weezer today at lunch. Yeah, I know we didn't nail all the lyrics, but it was a blast. And that's all I'm worried about.

I'm gonna miss these guys.

Summer Time Blues

2008-06-09T10:25:00.001-07:00

I just had to abandon 1/5 of a stick of gum because the wrapper just wouldn't let go. And, no, the gum hadn't been through the washing machine or anything.

Sometimes I don't like the summertime.

Dad Bash 08

2008-06-09T04:49:00.000-07:00

If you're reading this blog, you're invited to Dad Bash 08. Saturday, June 14th at 6pm. Our place. Just RSVP so we know how much food to buy.

L.A. / Vegas

2008-06-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

A while back, Amanda and I took weeklong trip to L.A. and Las Vegas. We were in L.A. to attend the wedding of Amanda’s friend and fellow UDel Alum, Susan Varee, and then we hopped over to Vegas to celebrate our 5-year anniversary. Here’s a recap of the shenanigans.

Trivial Accomplishments
On the way to Atlanta from Richmond, Amanda dominated the in flight trivia under the pseudonym ‘Carl’ (of course). This just confirmed my suspicion that she is super freaky smart. On the way back home roughly 8 days later, I dominated the in flight trivia, confirming my suspicion that nobody else on that flight was really trying.

"Carl" wins again

Meeting a Champ
As we sat in the Atlanta Airport waiting for our connection to LAX, I spotted a familiar face among my fellow Delta patrons. So I turn to Amanda and say, “I think I just saw Diamond Dallas Page.” “No way,” came her response. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” “Well, let’s go find out,” she said. So we stroll over, Amanda fairly indifferent, and me suppressing more geeky giddiness with every step. We approach the man in question and Amanda casually lays it out there. “Can you settle a bet for us? My husband thinks your DDP,” she said. He glances over at me and casually extends his hand my way followed with a cool “How ya doin? Nice to meet ya.”

So we proceeded to geek out on him and he told us what he’d been up to since leaving the ring (check out his YRG website to get info on his unique workout). Then we realize he keeps saying “Hold on” into his earbud. Turns out he was actually on call and totally took the time to talk to us anyway. We thanked him and strode off, but not before he told us to catch him when we land and we’ll finish chatting. Yeah right. Like we’re going to further bug DDP. But man, I really wanted a photo.

After a loooong uncomfortable flight from GA to LA we land. All us passengers make our way to the baggage claim and hang around. Then we spot him again. I guess we were staring with goofy smiles or something, because he looked at us and waved us over. So we spent the next 15 or so minutes just chatting with DDP. We talked a lot about his new YRG yoga workout, but we also talked about how he basically gave the Diamond Cutter finisher to Randy Orton (who uses the move as the RKO, one of the most devastating finishers in wrestling today). He was also totally cool when I asked for a picture. He made us take a second with the flash so we knew it was good, then later asked for the camera to take a goofy long-arm shot of all of us.

Former 3-Time World Heavyweight Champ DDP

Needless to say, DDP was awesome and it was incredible to see first hand the benefits of prolonged yoga practice. I mean this guy’s body was beaten up for years in the ring, and he’s no spring chicken now, but he was as cut and as nimble as they come. He saw his bags on the big rotary belt thing and just bounded off like a friggin’ cat. So, DDP’s gotten Amanda and I into trying yoga now.

Hertz So Good
So we headed over to the rental car company and meet up with Wendy, another UDel alum. After a mini-reunion of sorts, we pile into our 2000something Pontiac G6. I was in love with this car the entire time we stayed in L.A., mainly because it wasn’t a 90 Honda Civic hatchback. Sorry babe.

Hells yeah.

Wedding (all) Day
At 7:00 a.m. we rise and shine for the first of the three services of Susan’s wedding day. We pile in the G6 (yeah!) and head over to Susan’s parent’s house. After taking note of the no shoes custom, we meander in to enjoy food, meet folks, and experience the Thai Buddhist morning ceremony. It was an all around good time. We ate snacks with gold flakes on them (among other things), personally blessed Susan and Steve and met some really nice folks. There were monks there and everything.

The happy couple.

The next service was a Chinese Tea Ceremony at Steve’s parent’s house. I couldn’t really see the action from my place, but it seemed like they got handed a bunch of presents and things from some of the elders in the family, which is always a good thing. Then we headed outside to eat even more. The food was awesome and plentiful (an entire hog), but the kickers for me were the orange and cumquat trees in the backyard.

Then we hop back to the hotel for a little break by the pool before the evening reception. It was a beautifully peaceful day by the pool and we had the place to ourselves. We even got to catch some Zs in the room.

Then we shake off the sleep and head to the Sea Empress for the evening reception and dinner. We sat with some of Susan’s school friends and co-workers. We were in good company with some cool people as we proceeded to eat ourselves silly with tremendous amounts of awesome Chinese food. I would try to list all the amazing things we ate, but it was almost like a dream that I don’t remember. It was just good times and good food.

Turns out, there’s a tradition where guests click their glasses or plates until the bride and groom kiss. Man, that sound kinda got annoying. But it was fun. Everybody clinked and clinked until eventually a glass was shattered. No joke. I don’t even want to know what that means the bride and groom have to do.

After Susan, Steve and their families made their rounds and spoke to everybody, they hit the lights and cranked the tunes. The dance floor was about 5 square feet, and it still wasn’t packed, but you know where there is loud music, Amanda will be dancing. So we cut a little rug before heading back to the room to freshen up real quick before the after party.

The after party was at the S Bar where we shared a lot of laughs with our own karaoke room. There was no shortage of food and alcohol, so it was definitely a good time.

Her milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.

Roughly 19 hours after we woke to start the day, we were back to settle in for the night (morning?).

So. Freakin. Tired.

Artsy Fartsy
After a trip to the train station for breakfast and a fond adieu with Wendy, we were off to the J. Paul Getty Museum. We didn’t nearly get to see everything there, but what we did see, not to mention the building and grounds themselves, were pretty amazing.

Amanda waiting for the tram, beautiful as always.

The Getty (J.P.)

The Getty was high up

The view from the Getty was great, but I was as equally excited about the chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich we shared. So good.

So good.

Then it was back to the hotel for more hot tub and pool time.

Hollywood
For our last day in Cali, we headed to Hollywood to see how the stars live. Literally. We did a cheesy tour or celeb’s homes. “Oooh P.Diddy’s gate is open. It’s never open. Maybe we’ll see him!” (We didn’t.) He was probably busy doing something totally hard ass and gangsta. Like chilling with his neighbor… Bea Arthur. You know, from the Golden Girls. Yeah.

We also cruised the Walk of Fame (of course) and ate at Café Audrey (as in Hepburn) before heading back to LAX to catch our flight to Las Vegas. We had more ice cream at the airport.

You scream. I scream. We all scream for cavities.

This cracked me up for some reason on the flight to Vegas.

Sin City
We finally make it to Vegas where I’m immediately blown away by the lights and sounds. It really is one giant playground, or maybe amusement park is more accurate. I mean we checked into our pyramid, then walked through a castle, past the New York skyline and the Eiffel Tower on our way to check out the dancing water. It’s really like no place else. Except maybe New York, Paris, Venice, Rome, Egypt, you get the idea.

We stayed at the Luxor, which was pretty cool. We were on the 23rd floor and had an amazing view inside and out.

Amanda loves Egyptian stuff.

The Luxor was pretty easy to find at night

While we were there we saw Cirque De Soleil’s Mystère, which was pretty out of this world. The stuff that they did was mind-boggling. It makes you really appreciate what the human body is capable of. Not mine, mind you, but a human body.

Other shows and entertainment that we saw include:

Iron Man – yeah, I eventually wore Amanda down with my begging for us to go check it out even though we were in Vegas of all places.

The Sirens of T.I. – We were actually on the other side of the strip and popped a squat to see Treasure Island’s free show outside. Turned out to be a tame strip show. What a disappointment. SPOILER ALERT: The whores triumph over the meatheads.

Dancing Waters of the Bellagio – cooler than you’re probably thinking.

(dancing water not pictured)

Dancing Statues of Caesar’s Palace - not as cool as you’re probably thinking.

Dancing statues not pictured.

Amanda also loves...Trojan horses?

Gondola boats & singers in the Venetian – Ride in a boat! Be serenaded! Get stared at by everybody not in a boat getting serenaded!

Fremont Street – It was day time so we didn’t get to see the lights on, but it’s an interesting side of Vegas nonetheless

Familiar Faces on Fremont Street

By Thursday I had watched enough in-room gambling channel “This-how-to-not-lose-money” shows that I felt confident enough to tackle some tables. So I decided that before we left I would do some Roulette and Blackjack no matter what. Just those two though. Because, basically, after watching the in-room Craps tutorial 5 times, I was still confused.

So we hit the Roulette tables first. They say, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” Well after two quick spins of the wheel, $20 dollars of Gibson money was staying in Vegas. I quickly abandoned my interest in Blackjack and we wandered around to find a less expensive means of gambling. Hello penny slots. (Side note: I don’t know if anybody’s done this joke, but it’d be really funny to set up a Penne Slot. Ding. Ding. Ding. Jackpot! *Noodles pour out of the tray*)

So we settle in to a seat and plug away (after learning how to actually play from a cashier person). I guess Vegas wanted to make up for my startlingly rapid loss of $20 bucks at Roulette, because we won $25 on the penny slots. That was easily the best it got as far as the slots. I think all together we lost about $45, but we had fun. (Thanks for the $20 Aunt Marti!)

After figuring out how to lose money at a slower rate. Note the smiles.

We also spent a lot of time poolside at the Luxor. The music was awful. Thank God for my iPod and Moleskine. By Saturday, the stimulation overload was starting to get to me and I was longing for the quiet country nights.

But all in all, it was an extremely nice trip and a great anniversary with my best friend, TV. Just kidding. It’s Amanda.

If you made it all the way through to this part, God bless you. And thanks for being interested.

the RVA

2008-05-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I had a ball in Richmond last night. We hit up Friday Cheers with friends from work, which is an awesome FREE concert series on Brown's Island (more info on Friday Cheers here), and saw the reunited Arrested Development. Then we hopped over to Sette with Maya and Chrisang for some killer grub and good times.

Nights like that make us really look forward to moving to Richmond.

Also, I promise that the L.A./Vegas write up is coming soon.

Home Sweet Home

2008-05-20T07:09:00.000-07:00

As expected, L.A. and Vegas were a blast. I'm working on a mega-huge write up of the trip. Not that anybody cares, but I doubt I'll remember it all unless I write it down.

Westsiiide

2008-05-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I will depart shortly for a week-long trip to the West Coast that will include an all-day Saturday Thai-Buddhist wedding in L.A. Then Monday night we're hopping over to Las Vegas to celebrate our 5th anniversary.

I'm sure there will be plenty of interesting pics and stories to come.

.

The Swing of Things

2008-05-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've added a '2008 Softball Season' section to the right side of the page under 'Currently Enjoying'. This is partly to keep anybody who may care updated, and partly to remind myself so I don't forget to show up for a game.

Got it good

2008-05-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

The new Got Milk site is pretty rad. There are games that you can play and download carton creature prizes if you win. They're even doing a crossword puzzle contest with the winner receiving a MacBook Air. It's only open to residents of California though. So that's lame. Check it out nonetheless. Great way to pass the time.

Point of View

2008-04-27T15:24:00.000-07:00

Attention Designers: When you design your next logotype, be sure to view it from all angles.

New Favorite Addiction

2008-04-22T08:34:00.000-07:00

I'm really digging on 'skine art. Check it out.

Pics of the Day

2008-04-21T17:53:00.000-07:00

So here are a some of pics that touch on a couple of today's highlights:

Notice anything interesting here? Yeah, windshield wipers aren't supposed to go that far, are they? So those broke this morning and we had to make the rainy 3 hour round trip to work and back armed with nothing but Rain-x. It actually sufficed.

Here's the money shot though. Today I unveiled my new look. I caught so much hell for shaving my head bald, I figured my new look should be a little safer. So now I'm rocking this fu-manchoo/soul patch/lambchop combo. I kinda dig it.

Dad's Thank You Card

2008-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:00

My dad asked me to make a thank you card for the folks at UVA that took such good care of him during his lung transplant. He mentioned the idea of him chasing a lung, and I kinda laughed it off. But when I started thinking about it, it seemed to have the potential to be really funny, so that's what I did.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out so I wanted to share a little of the process with everybody. Also, daddy hasn't seen this yet either. So, if you got any input for me, big guy, speak now!

Here are my initial sketches of different "Chunks" (He's in a hospital gown, by the way.)

This is the final image I decided to run with and flesh out (puns intended).

And here's the final illustration. Yeah, it's creepy as hell, but how often do you get to illustrate your dad chasing a lung? This was fun for sure. Hope you like it pops.

There Are No Words

2008-04-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

I know they think people will read anything if it has Jr.'s face on it, but this is stretching it. I mean, it's not even grammatically correct.

Celebrate!

2008-04-04T09:14:00.001-07:00

Today is Amanda's 27th birthday. Be sure to drop her a line and wish her well:

434-774-5461 or email her.

Happy birthday babe.

Send Chunk Your Love! - UPDATED

2008-04-03T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hey folks. Here's how to get in touch with daddy if you want to send him any goodies or cards during his recovery:

UVA Health Systems
1215 Lee Street
Charlottesville, VA 22903
Room #4174
David Gibson

Plus, you can even call him at 434-982-1226. Keep in mind he'll probably be pretty worn out and probably won't talk too long. But I'm sure he'd love to hear from everybody.

Heads & Shoulders: A tale

2008-04-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

If you are planning on shaving your head, I'd like to share something with you. The one thing you should keep in mind and may overlook is: sunburn. I just want to paint you a picture for a moment.

Imagine you shave your head one day, then the weekend rolls around. And what is the purpose of weekends? Exactly. Frolicking merrily outside. Well you run and rip and do you thing. For hours. Day turns into night turns into morning turns into day and you realize your melon is a little riper and sorer than usual. Great. Sunburn. Well, not much you can do now aside from play the aloe game, huh? So you wait out the healing process, neglecting your hats for a while.

Well, what happens when your sunburn heals? Yep. Peeling. So what was your reward for being an active human and enjoying the sunny weekend? That's right. Mutant Dandruff. Dandruff large enough to cast shadows as it falls. Dandruff so heavy that you feel it hit your shoulder before noticing it in your peripheral.

Good luck masking that, my friend. People notice crap like that. And what's worse, no matter how impeccable you hygiene practices, there's a stigma about foreign objects propelling from your cranium.

So next time you plan to shave and play, just remember to SPF it up there, hoss. And if you forget, you can always write a post on your blog explaining the situation in a format that appears to be a warning and not an embarrassed plea for acceptance and understanding.

By the way, this didn't happen to me. A friend of mine. You wouldn't know him.

April Fools

2008-04-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

So, I was going to do an April Fools post about how I'm giving up design, or getting a sweet neck tattoo or something, but I wasn't feeling it for some reason. So instead, I'm just going to recap a few of my favorite gags from April 1, 2008.

New Gmail Custom Time Feature
As much as I tried to stay on my toes for April Fools, this got me for a second.

Helvetica Serif
I knew this couldn't be serious just by the kerning on the H-e-l.

Noah's Mug-A-Day
I think everybody breathed a sigh of relief when they realized this was hoax.

Project Virgle
I can't wait to see the video submissions they get for this one.

Also check out the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time.

Pops is Good for Business

2008-03-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is a chart of activity and hits on my site. For those who didn't already know, daddy is WAY more popular than I am. Check out the spike in visits after his video was posted.

Dad's Thank You

2008-03-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

David "Chunk" Gibson - Lung Transplant

As most of you may know, at 7:11 p.m. Thursday evening, daddy got the call that there was a donor available for his lung transplant. He and mom hauled butt to Charlottesville and dad went under the knife at about 1:00 a.m. Momma, Sarah and I tossed and turned in the waiting room until about 7:00 a.m. when we got a call that the surgery went well and daddy had a new lung.

They wanted to put in two new lungs, but it took about 2 hours to get out daddy's right lung, whereas it usually takes about 20 minutes to remove a lung. The doctor's couldn't afford to risk putting that much stress for that lung on the sole new lung while trying to remove his left lung. While daddy may still have his "bad" left lung, it was doing most of the work before the surgery anyway.

Throughout the process, daddy has consistently surprised us with how well he has handled the surgery and recovery. He was responsive and aware mere hours after the surgery when we were told he'd be out for days while they had the breathing tube in. Since then, they've removed most of the breathing assistance and he's been moving about and progressing faster and better than I think anybody has really anticipated.

Although all has gone well so far, he is far from being out of the woods. He is still at risk of infection and rejection of the new lung. As daddy mentioned in his video message, he'll have to be very conservative with visitors and social activity for a bit after surgery. But all the concern and prayers have been a real blessing and we couldn't thank everybody enough.

If you have any other questions or concerns for Chunk, just contact me, mom, or Sarah. Thanks again!

ABC3D

2008-03-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

I wanted to pass along a really cool video that Jason was kind enough to send my way. I just think this is the coolest thing:

ABC3D

Enjoy!

Reactions

2008-03-21T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of the reactions I got after shaving my head.

Around the Shop

2008-03-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I decided to explore my in-law's mechanic shop in search of some design inspiration. I've posted what I think are the more interesting images in a set on my Flickr page. Check 'em out and let me know if you find any of this as interesting as I do.

Service with a sneer

2008-03-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

Carter went to the post office yesterday and came back with one of the longest receipts I've ever seen.

MINI-MEeting

2008-03-19T18:14:00.001-07:00

Lindsay took this random shot of me and Karl hanging out at my desk. Amanda said I should put it on the site, and since I've got nothing else worth posting, here it is. Two bald guys hanging out. I've also had two people say I look like mini-me, so let me know if you think that's the case.

Friends Keeping it Fresh

2008-03-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

I noticed today that two of my talented friends have updated their sites, so I wanted to give a big shout out to both and let 'em know that I dig it. Coincidentally, both sites now incorporate music that had me bobbin' the melon to the groove today.

Check 'em out:

PK (Definitive Doodle)
Meena Khalili

Those Crazy Gibsons

2008-03-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

Amanda and I have decided to mix things up a bit with new do's. No Photoshopping was used in the creation of these haircuts.

Dear Poison Ivy

2008-03-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Poison Ivy,

You have made my week a living hell, and I hate you. I don't care if I never see you again.

Hugs & Kisses,
Aaron

Lazy Saturday

2008-03-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

My wife rocks

2008-02-19T10:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was President's Day. I had to go to work. My wife did not. When I got home, I discovered that she had done this.

How awesome is that? Yeah, pretty awesome. Sorry fellas, she's all mine.

The Brand of Graphic Design

2008-02-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

"Imagine what difficulty your own business would have if you had to fight not only competition, market conditions, buying cycles, your own short comings and issues unique to your category - but ALSO a general public perception that anyone with a computer can do what you do cheaper if not free. That is the world of the graphic designer in the year 2008."

Is Graphic Design the Worst Brand Ever? Ed Roach thinks so.

|| via Quipsologies ||

Valentine's Morning Commute

2008-02-14T18:24:00.000-08:00

The commute in to work this morning was significantly prettier than usually.

Emergency V-Day Kit

2008-02-14T11:09:00.000-08:00

Did you just realize that it's Valentine's Day and you're empty-handed? Fear not! My designer buddy Maya Lee has put together an Emergency Valentine's Day Kit that will take you from callous to Casanova in no time.

Taken and Single versions available. Download them here:

If You're Taken
If You're Single

.

Future Me

2008-02-11T10:10:00.001-08:00

And to lighten the mood from my previous post. I think this is awesome:

Dear Future Me,

Yes We Can Song

2008-02-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

First off, I don't endorse Barack Obama. For no other reason than I don't really endorse any of the candidates. I've tried to care about politics, and while I understand and appreciate the national and global impact our political leaders have, I just can't bring myself to get into politics. I just can't.

But, I can say that from a designer's standpoint, Barack Obama's campaign has been the best executed. In addition, somebody recently forwarded me an Obama-related link that I thought was pretty phenomenal. Regardless of your political views, (or maybe because I have a permanent seat on the fence) this is a pretty powerful piece of work. Check it out:

Yes we can song.

Shocking

2008-01-29T18:43:00.001-08:00

I did this illustration for a Christmas card for the folks this past year. We got them a puppy for Christmas 06, and well, that cute little black lab grew into a strong ball of teenage doggy energy. So for Christmas 07 we pitched in half of the cost for the electric fence to contain her, and this was on the card we gave them with the dough. I wanted to post it earlier, but I couldn't post it before Christmas, then it was off to Puerto Rico, and well, I just remembered. So here it is.

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Good Ideas

2008-01-25T12:05:00.000-08:00

J H I launched a new blog site not too long ago. We're all pretty busy but we're working on posting more. I recently contributed with some thoughts on the Rembrandt rebranding. Check it out.

Huge Portfolio Updates

2008-01-19T17:55:00.000-08:00

Hey folks, if you're sitting around with nothing else to do, cruise on over to the portfolio section and check out the massive amount of updates and new work.

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Puerto Rico Pics

2008-01-06T19:46:00.001-08:00

Pics from Puerto Rico are online. Check 'em out.

Corporate Planning Associates

2008-01-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

I just wrapped up this logo for Jay Denny and Corporate Planning Associates. The idea is pretty straight forward. Corporate Planning Associates can help you achieve a comfortable and successful financial future. Golden egg. There it is.

Camp Hanover

2008-01-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

I've been working with PharrOut and Camp Hanover to develop a new logo for them, and here's the final product:

Throughout the process we presented different directions that used imagery
of a flame, trees, a cross and a person. When the client asked for a direction that incorporated all of these images, I knew it'd be an interesting challenge. I wanted to avoid an approach that was a simple row of icons over type, so I worked the icons into the name and they liked it. And, I'm happy with the end result too.

Buenos Días

2007-12-27T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hola,

I'm writing this from the 'lobby' of The Gallery Inn in old San Juan. Our trip so far has been great. We got in Christmas night and stayed in the Mango Inn which was, quite honestly, scary as hell. We were startled awake several times during the night by mutant cat squalls and odd bright lights.

But since then, we've reached our hotel in old San Juan, explored El Morro, found a nice secluded beach, shopped and had ice cream, which we are about to do again. So, we're going to go do that, but maybe I'll be able to write more later.

Adios!
Aaron & Amanda

Merry Christmas

2007-12-20T19:12:00.001-08:00

Warmest holiday wishes from us Gibsons.

Also, here are the past years' newsletters in case you want to check them out:

Gibson Holiday Newsletter 2007
Gibson Holiday Newsletter 2006
Gibson Holiday Newsletter 2005
Gibson Holiday Newsletter 2004

S.H. United

2007-12-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Robbie has a local soccer team that needs a logo, so I did a couple of things for him. I think this is the one they'll probably go with. I knew I wanted to try an option with an eagle since they were playing off of the D.C. United thing, but I wanted to use an eagle and soccer ball in a way that I haven't seen done before. So I started with a circle, carved out the eagle, then used the negative space from the wings as another circle for the soccer ball. I've seen quite a few eagle soccer logos, but I haven't seen one quite like this. And if you have, well, keep it to yourself.

The 6-1-9

2007-12-04T13:53:00.000-08:00

Amanda and I just got back from a really fun weekend in San Diego. Amanda went out there for business so I tagged along for our first taste of the West Coast. The trip was well documented so there should be a video online soon, but for now I'll just mention the more memorable moments.

Highlights:
- The weather. Turns out California 60 degrees is much more comfortable than Virginia 60 degrees. I don't get it either.
- Morning jog around a new city with Amanda
- Relaxing on my butt all day Saturday
- All day Gray Line tour of San Diego, Coronado, La Jolla and Tijuana
- Two plus hours in line at the border was fun at times.
- Finding out what's in that little beat-up box suitcase that all pilots have. (Ask Amanda)

Lowlights:
- The weather. It was a California winter weekend. Windy and rainy.
- Glass elevators to the 20th floor.
- Tijuana
- Two plus hours in the line at the border was not fun at times.
- Missing flights
- Missing pets

All in all, a great weekend.