HAPPY

Summer Unemployment Bucket List: Update

1. Learn a new language. Preferably German.
I'm slacking because of #3

2. Give away a bunch of clothes that I don't need anymore.
Done. I made a grand total of $7 off of about 20 pieces of clothing, thanks for nothing Plato's Closet

3. Learn more CSS.
Rockin with < div >s

4. See my grandparents in Florida.
Negative. Not happening either :(

5. Paint 3 pieces minimum in New York.
July 11-18

6. Sit as close as possible to an ATP Finalist during their warm-ups again, i.e. Federer '07 and Novak '08.
August 23rd

7. Work-out more than I lay-out.
Very valid. Ratio is around 5:1

8. Google Earth as much as possible.
Kind of.

9. Visit a friend somewhere.
July 19 Cleveland Kimber + Renee :) !!

10. Watch "The Big Chill" in honor of my college roommates/house.
I'll save this for September

Do Whatever You Want; Make A Mess

Rejection Letter of the Week

As Seen on Under Consideration

urbancartography.com
Simply brilliant infographics

Research for Author Websites

For my next freelance gig, I will hopefully be creating- from scratch- a website for a book/author. Here is what I have found in preliminary research. I like to call it The OK at Best, The Bad, and The Ugly.









if you find anything better... PLEASE let me know.

In Need

of a design project to work on in my spare time. Here are some of my ideas:

take a children's book that i have downstairs and re-create it, cover-to-cover. illustrations are 100% hand-drawn. make a web version as well.

take "oh the places you'll go" by dr. seuss and make a modern, personal version. hell, create a website too.

... more to come. it's 3:20am again suddenly and i need to actually sleep.

My Role Models

1. My Mom
2. My Grandma Pickett
3. My Aunt Marcia
4. My 5th Grade teacher, Genie Long
5. Jackie Kennedy
6. Wonder Woman
7. Michelle Obama
8. Anna Wintour, VOGUE
9. Katy Perry
10. Ari Gold, Entourage
11. Farrah Fawcett
12. Lucinda Heekin

i'm sure there's more but that's all i could come up with in 5 minutes.

i hear invoices 2

Clearly I have a lot of personal information on my invoice, so this is the closest you're going to get to seeing what it looks like:

i hear invoices

tonight i conquered creating an invoice template for my freelance services. i think i expressed my feelings the best on my twitter page:

Real World Cancun <3

I am so glad the newest installment of MTV's The Real World is in MEXICO! Cancun is a liiitle American and literally like Vegas, but I still love my Mexico! The Senor Frogs that they go to in the first episode is the exact one my four good friends and I went to the one night we visited the Mexican Sin-City. It was one wild and crazy night, so much fun, but I never want to go back to Cancun again. Why go to Cancun when you could go to the tiny island off of it, Isla Mujeres? It's non-commercial and beautiful. The hostel we stayed at cost us $6 a night. BEST. Side note: you know you're getting old when everyone on the Real World is younger than you. Thank you CJ for being 2 years older than me and saving my sanity.

*Little HAHA off of a Real World Cancun Cast Bio:

Emilee

Age: 21 -- South Hamilton, MA

Emilee is a sensitive girl who can let her emotions get the best of her, but as the daughter of therapists, she is also on of the few people in the house who is looking to learn and grow and change as a result of every new situation. And while she could probably have any guy she wanted, she's been trying to change her perspective on men, sex, and love. She says she's now looking for love and someone to settle down with. Will she find that in Cancun?

3am I must be lonely

well it's my first saturday night at home in months, and i have to say i don't mind. when you're unemployed all of the days weld together. i often find myself having to check a local source to find out what day of the week it is so i don't miss any haircuts, lacrosse pick-ups, etc. speaking of lacrosse, tomorrow i am getting a pick-up game together. it will be one of the first times i've played lacrosse in way too long. hopefully there is a good turn out so i can refine my mad skills. lacrosse has/hasn't always been there for me when design and life are hectic. it truly is an outlet. i say it hasn't been there for me because i went to college to play lacrosse (and of course become a designer) and it was cut short. the athletic dept ran out of money, long story short, and i choose to stay and become a designer than transfer because of the game. i have had to be creative in ways to stay connected to the game, but luckily i still can play occasionally.
i have the assistant coaching job at my old school, sycamore, for the 2009-2010 season. i am seriously looking forward to becoming a coach. i'm sure there are area varsity head coaching positions open for the upcoming season, but there is no way in my first year out of college that i can handle being a head coach. i'm sure i could, but i want to focus on #1 which is being a graphic designer. maybe next year. i love teaching girls how to play and spreading the game. i've been so fortunate to play with other players with such passion, zeal, and skill. my high school team was the most passionate group i've ever been apart of, and the chemistry was like an out-of-body experience every time we played. my club team was coached by a world cup player along with girls from all over the country; from california to florida. my team at ou was the most fun and outrageously entertaining group i've ever been around, and also the most emotionally tough (especially after what we went through in 2007). i love following how all of my old teammates from high school, club and college do today, especially the super sweet ones that are played in this year's world cup in prague.
i hope that when i coach i have fun, and that the girls have fun. my teammate of 7 years told me yesterday how no matter if you win or lose, if you love your team, you don't care. of course you always want to win over losing, but it's about the people. i'm excited to start a club team one day with my old teammates and take girls to places they've never been and possibly get them noticed by college coaches. if it wasn't for my hs coach and even my club coach, i wouldn't have been at ou.
bottom line: i'm very grateful what lacrosse has brought to me in the last ten years, and i look forward to what it brings me in the future, on the side of my usual design life :)

Will Staehle

Lately I've been spending more time at Barnes & Noble than I have in the last 8 years of my life now that I have free time, and I always come across Michael Chabon's "The Yiddish Policeman's Union". The book cover is listed as one of the 30 Novels Worth Buying For the Cover Alone on AbeBooks.com. I stopped to open the book and find out who the genius was behind the book design and came across Leah Carlson-Stanistic and Will Staehle. Leah and Will are both art directors for Harper's Publishing. It is very reminiscent of Chip Kidd's work, but almost with a little more splash of vibrant color.

I went to Will's website, http://willstaehle.com/, and couldn't really find much of his work. He listed clients such as Disney, but I was redirected to lonewolfblacksheep.com which does commercial work. Check it out!

FB Friends with Someone Famous!

And I'm not just talking about JestyBeatz!

As I near 1,000 friends on Facebook, I am thinking my latest request will be one of my coolest friends. Currently I would have to say that my internet "friendship" with former UK Basketball standout and NBA stud, Kelena Azibuke would be the coolest, but he has since dropped off the 'book, leaving me without any totally rad celeb friends. Until today when I was reading a blog by one of my favorite authors of all time, Laura Weisberger. She is credited with Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing. The latest masterpiece is Chasing Harry Winston, which unfortunately I have not gotten the time to get through (although I bought it the opening week!). She just joined the 'book and wants everyone to request her as a friend. Maybe someday I can design a book interior/cover for her! It's all about networking these days!

index pages as of 7pm

CSS

Today was the day I tried to crack down on CSS, and right now my brain is on serious overload. I got onto lynda.com and was reading my Dreamweaver book at the same time. I think I need to just focus on one or the other and start from the beginning. I really want to be able to create rockin' websites, and need to learn it the right way. Today I learned to use frames successfully, as well as rollovers, and menus bars. I feel like I'm getting a bunch of puzzle pieces and I need to be able to put them all together. CSS and Dreamweaver are so much different than any sort of print design program, and I never learned any of this in school. I guess I can use this unemployed time and buckle down on it, and in the end hopefully I will have a wide knowledge of it all.

German phrase of the afternoon

Effort to Learn German

Until I receive Scott's generous Rosetta Stone in the mail, I will be using Michel Thomas's "Speak German". I had three options at the library:

1. 6 Casette Tape set (I actually checked it out first, then had to return it once I realized I wouldn't be able to listen to it)

2. 2 CDs, with no design, just librarian handwriting of title on case

3. Michel Thomas's 2 disk-set. Apparently, he has used this system to teach languages to people like Mel Gibson, Woody Allen, and even Princess Grace of Monaco.

Here goes nothing, ya?

Daytona 500 + Bounty

This is what is on shelf now











These are one pillar of sketches I created for the project:

This project was definitely a challenge in trying to take graphic elements from the Daytona 500 logo and incorporate them into Bounty packaging. A lot of big brands have seriously strict branding guidelines in their manuals. This leaves seemingly little room to show creativity, which is the real challenge. Turns out checkered patterns are very successful in conveying NASCAR!

so tonight i hung out with some other cincinnati designers and got some good advice/tips for what to do with my life in this world of unemployment. i even got a freelance job! the job is for a website, which i'm alright with, so i bought a book on CSS today. it is my ultimate goal to become a complete master of CSS and dreamweaver to build awesome sites. maybe this project is coming to me for a reason- to push me to really learn html+css. i'm excited! i've had the book for about 6 hours and i have already taken big steps in what i know. css really isn't as scary as it looks!

I've grown addicted to watching Entourage (HBO). It is available for free online off of a Japanese website called tudou. I love looking at the subtitle characters, they're so complex! I think Chinese or Japanese is next on my list of languages to attempt to learn.

I think I know why Entourage has grabbed my attention so hard; the dynamic between the four characters is reminiscent to that of Sex and the City. The witty writing and bold characters mixed in the intelligent humor totally drags me to watch episodes until 3am. I have New York blood in my veins from both sides of my family so perhaps that's also why I fell in love with the characters.

I started this whole addiction when I rented part of the second season at the library yesterday. Unfortunately our state legislature and executive branch are thinking of slashing public funding for libraries in the area. I don't know what I would do without my library! I know I've stayed away from it like the plague for years, but I have come to appreciate the service! Being unemployed leaves the library as such an imperative resource for knowledge, entertainment, and more! I hope people realize what a bad decision it would be to slash funding.

Also, today I took to one of my unemployment bucket list items: I donated a bunch of my clothes and even went to Plato's Closet to sell some other articles. I could only sell 3 items for $7, but it worked out perfectly... At Kroger while grocery shopping for fajita ingredients, I saw Daytona 500 promotional packaging on Bounty paper towel packs that I helped design! It cost $7 exactly! Of course I had to buy the pack so I could marvel and the work my team did at LPK! (my sketches are now up on my site, www.meredithpost.com check it OUt!)

Now back to watching Entourage :)

whitespace shmitespace

wow
whitespace is golden

Wise Words from Rev Run

Let's focus on how we can be a blessing instead of how we can get a blessing. How can we help our customers, boss? How can we serve? Let the people leave you saying, "Wow, you are great at what you do!" Try to give more than you take from your job. Make others feel that you are so necessary. The real fun is seeing other people satisfied with your efforts.

-"Words of Wisdom" by Rev Run
Great book, I highly recommend purchasing it!

Design for Democracy

I came across AIGA's Design for Democracy program, and am in contact with them to see what possibilities can arise. I missed the fellowship application deadline (probably because I was graduating and moving out of Athens the day it was due), but I needed a Master's degree anyways. Hopefully they can see my resume and find something for me to do. It would be incredible to help design election ballots or have anything to do with voter initiatives!

image: USA Today





one of the creepiest / most brilliant looking things i've seen since... captain jack sparrow?

click on image + shake the browser

-scott sullivan
sketch for firmo diseno nuevo

NIKE.

words of wisdom from "401 design meditations"

the more i look at it, the more it looks like these came off a movie poster.

Places I Want To Go As Soon As I Can

I know, I'm feeling super ambitious at 12:03am. Judge me.

1. South Africa/Cape of Good Hope. See a Waterfall and an Elephant.
2. Toyko. Buy more Lucky Cats.
3. Denmark. See where my family is from.
4. {back to} San Francisco.
5. {back to} Texas. But this time go outside the airport.
6. New Orleans. Definitely hit up Bourbon Street.
7. {back to} Isla Mujeres. Because it is Heaven.
8. Athens. Greece, not Ohio.
9. Rio de Janeiro.
10. Basel.
11. London. Because Kimber and I have to.

Summer Unemployment Bucket List

1. Learn a new language. Preferably German.
2. Give away a bunch of clothes that I don't need anymore.
3. Learn more CSS.
4. See my grandparents in Florida.
5. Paint 3 pieces minimum in New York.
6. Sit as close as possible to an ATP Finalist during their warm-ups again, i.e. Federer '07 and Novak '08.
7. Work-out more than I lay-out.
8. Google Earth as much as possible.
9. Visit a friend somewhere.
10. Watch "The Big Chill" in honor of my college roommates/house.

hola cholula.

you can see the hotel we lived in, in the bottom left of the frame
in the top right of the frame is the market (big "L" shape building)

John Mayer Design

Many know how I am a huge fan of John Mayer- but what I like about him isn't just his music, quick wit, humor, sarcasm, or charm and good looks. I absolutely love his design sense. I read somewhere that he designs a lot or even most of his own album art and merchandise. To start, his "JM" logo reminds me of a letter-letter combination I did sophomore year of college in my typography class with Chris Palacios. It is simple and classy, seen here on a keychain:


I don't know if he took any Swiss-style design classes in his tenure of education, but it seems like he knows what good design is... or at least his "in-house" designers do. Here are some of my favorite designs from his brand:
















I am very excited to see the brand develop for the new "Battle Studies" album. I assume he is the principal in the album artwork for this album since you cannot fully create the brand until you hear/understand/truly feel the essence of every track. Right now it looks more elegant/archaic/darker than his previous albums. "Room For Squares" was very pop-looking and youthful, and made him look like just another guy with a guitar. "Heavier Things" and "Continuum" are where the design really took off. "Heavier Things" had an intense cover, showcasing his tattoos.. maybe showing maturity/growth/change. "Continuum" was brilliant as to sell not just his image but his name and feel. John Mayer really became a BRAND. The gray and blue kept that soberness and calamity that the music owned. It wasn't a total departure design from "RFS" but the type held its own. The Mayercraft poster looks straight out of a How-To-Create-Your-Own-Swiss-Poster book. I appreciate the fact that his brand is true to himself and his art/music, and is classic. It is fantastic design.

Portfolio Binge

Amidst all of my newly found spare time, I decided to clear out my portfolios from junior high, high school, and college. My dad wanted artwork for Father's Day so I had to come across some old work anyways. It's funny how old pieces from seemingly useless studies now appear to be beautiful works. The work above was in my first college drawing class when we went to The Ridges establishment for the day. I think it'll look really nice, framed in my city apartment one day.

Why.

A week ago I graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree in Graphic Design!

After months of job searching I am still unemployed. This blog is merely a means of filling some spare time while I go through the journey of finding a job. Okay, enough with this entry, time to design it up.