Blog

CONNECT Design Conference

Submitted by mjvesper on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 12:29am
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The CONNECT Design Conference is this Friday. It is a speaker series organized by The Illinois Institute of Art - Chicago which brings together speakers from a variety of design disciplines and takes place in Chicago at the Merchandise Mart. It runs from 10 AM to 4 PM.

I am speaking as a web designer, but the focus isn't on web design per se. The audience will run the gamut of both design professionals and students so the topic will be more about leveraging technology and the context of its use in design.

It's been a while since I've had to do anything in front of an audience and never in this capacity. It's a little scary but exciting. According to the organizers of the event, there should be around 300 people.

Sneak Peek: tello

Submitted by mjvesper on Sat, 02/06/2010 - 10:01pm
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Tello Films LogoThe blog has been silent for quite some time. Why you ask? Buried in iPad press, elections and Superbowl? No, no, no!

We're working hard on something new and exciting! The midnight oil is burning by the tanker and all pistons are firing... But it's not QUITE ready yet. However, let me introduce you to the new logo for tello!

Mum's the word aside from that until the end of the month!

The Art of Human Rights 2010

Submitted by mjvesper on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 1:05am
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Art of Human Rights 2010For those that don't know, Heartland Alliance has changed the name of the Art Against AIDS event to The Art of Human Rights beginning this year. It is coming up fast on February 19th, 2010 so you should get your tickets soon!

It is an event/fundraiser that I have been affiliated with for over 3 years now benefitting the Heartland Alliance. Artists donate their work for both silent and live fine art auctions. Proceeds from the event will help Heartland Alliance provide housing, healthcare, economic security, and legal protections services to more than 200,000 people whose lives are threatened by poverty and danger, including those living with HIV/AIDS.

Photography 101 - Depth of Field

Submitted by mjvesper on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 4:10pm
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PhotographyI'm posting the first of what hopefully will be an ongoing category of tips on different subjects. This first one will cover a photography tip on how to use the aperture on a camera to creatively leverage depth-of-field in photographs.

Aperture and shutter speed control is Photo 101, which I unfortunately never took. How to use those basic principles to creatively to control depth of field is a new "discovery" for me and one of the most creative tools that photographers have.

Depth-of-field is, basically, the distance in front of and behind your subject that stays in focus. Let's say you're shooting a portrait of someone. Based on your decision, you can make the flowers in front of the person sharp and detailed or fuzzy. Same goes for the trees behind them.

So what does that do?

Design in Nature

Submitted by mjvesper on Tue, 10/27/2009 - 12:35am
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Sometimes it's easy to look around at design in everyday life and forget to notice one large facet. Man-made design - The products, advertisements, technology, STUFF - is constantly in our faces and we have become so attuned to marketing that we sometimes don't see past it.

Morning Glory Clouds

I live in a major city and I certainly understand. But even amidst the steel, stone and glass of Chicago skyscrapers lies an intricate and complex architecture built with cellulose and water vapor. We just have to force ourselves to look up or down from time to time to notice.