Graphic Design
To be clear: Julian drew a draft of Sockeye Sam on our campaign office whiteboard. I vectorized him, tidied him up, and provided various colorways and contexts. This was a collaborative logo.
Placed at a major intersection in Portland.
Placed near a Catholic church, at a major intersection in Portland.
Placed near Mt. Hood, in the line of sight of likely snowboarding enthusiasts.
Placed at a major intersection in Portland.
Listen. I didn't choose or agree with "fixing" climate change as a slogan. It's not scientifically accurate. But Julian was adamant that it was emotionally effective. And the more I dealt with the voting public, the more I agreed that emotionality was what drove people. That being said, the imprecision of language never ceases to bother me.
Brown's "landmark" Coal2Clean bill was drafted in collaboration with the fossil fuel companies and major utility companies, and was ultimately another pro-fracking ("natural gas: the cleaner solution!") bill disguised as abolition of an already dying coal-industry in favor of a more lucrative anti-environmental lobby. No doubt she and her minder Tina Kotek profited heartily off of it in one way or another, cos you really can't get the Oregon Democratic Party out of bed with the fossil fuel industry. Pre-MAGA, Oregon Republicans were actually more favorable to sustainable solutions due to the job-creation incentives in rural precincts, but post-MAGA, most candidates have represented an onslaught of human sludge and/or at very least misguided yet idealistic social climbers with minimal sway, so the problem remains.
OVERVIEW
Once in awhile, something turns out looking really damn cool, but in terms of the 2D stuff, mostly it just looks passably "official". I'm not really innovating very much in this field, though the opportunity for innovation exists, though that's probably on me and I intend to step up my game in future projects and try to break out of my geometric comfort zone a bit more.
Why I did it
I wanted to do art but get paid for it and there is more demand for graphic design than illustration. At other times, people need help and don't have much of a budget and people who would charge them more will do worse work, so I take mercy.
What went right
I'm excellent at greeting cards and pretty solid at cool package design.
The more I deviate from the sterile templates of rigid rhomboidal elements, the more I treat it as actual art, the better it tends to go.
Challenges
The ever present tension between: What is fun? What grabs attention? What is legible? What is alienating?
Typography remains a bit of a challenge, but I've definitely improved over the years, taking typography courses online, practicing calligraphy and learning to design custom fonts.
Quality note
I'm okay at graphic design. Sometimes I think the hatred seeps through.
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