Art-O-Matic is by far my favorite local DC event. Now, an annual event, this gathering of creatives takes place in an uninhabited building that has been donated so that artists of all kinds can take it over for about a month. The experience is unique in the wide range of art forms and mediums represented, all juxtaposed right next to each other.
This years event has over 600 visual artists and 300 performers participating with two music stages, a theater space, dance space, a poetry room, a film room, and a classroom. If you decide to visit during the peek hours you can see anything from open mic to burlesque or even fire dancers (my favorite part so far).
When I first moved to the DC area from Richmond, a town that has a tight-knit alternative art scene, I was astonished at the lack of art community in the area. After going to Art-O-Matic for the first time last year I learned that it is not that there is a lack of an art community, but that there are many little ones spread all over the DC area. Art-O-Matic which is completely run by volunteers and donations, does a fantastic job pulling together the scene and throwing an engaging and eclectic party.
I went Friday for Opening night and tried to take it all in.With 10 floors of stuff to do and see you just can’t. I highly recommend checking Art-O-Matic out, and if you can… a few times because it is such an overwhelming experience.
Urge the Boys
I love the jewelry being sold on this site as much as I love the logo. The mix of vintage and modern is what really gets me exited about these pieces of art. Too bad it has to be shipped all the way from Australia, but perhaps that is what supplies all the fantastic inspiration.
Book By Its Cover
An exquisit little blog that highlights interesting books and book illustration. I can just tab through here for hours, if not for ideas but for a little taste of nostalgia.
Cuban Poster Art
This blog highlights some very interesting examples of cuban poster art. I really enjoy the variation in styles and background on history.
Sweet Napa
Chocolate is an art. This blog really is delicious. I am not sure how long it will last in my feed reader, because it temps the crap out of me, but a great find none the less. I found this via KV’s post
What you see here folks, is the first time I have ever been severely delinquent on a “Choice Links” post. I apologize, I am sure you all just sit waiting by the feed reader for me to drop some delicious links on you (not), but I feel the need to apologize… you see I have developed a severe case of ridiculous blog guilt. In an effort to reinforce “blog guilt” ’s sheer ridiculousness I have made it a point to say “nice weather comes before the blog”… inspired by Chris Glass’s T-shirt pictured above. Now go on… get out of here… take a walk, ride your bike, or shred some on your longboard…. because you aren’t going to become a better designer rotting away in front of the internet on lovely days!
I had heard of Kiva before… received invites via e-mails and read blog posts, but it wasn’t until I saw this Pod aired on Current that I decided to participate. After jumping in and choosing an entrepreneur to lend to, I really got hooked. The site is clean, friendly and very usable. So far, the experience has been positive one. I recommend checking the pod out, and participating, if you can.
As I pointed out in a post just a few months ago I recently joined the super-awesome team at Viget Labs. I’m not just saying they are super-awesome, you can see for yourself here. Along with all the fun design work I have the privilege of working on with them, comes the Viget Inspire blog. It was an idea that was conceived before I joined the company… a series of blogs that focused on specific audiences, rather than one blog trying to knock all the pins down in one throw. I will be honest… when I saw the comp of Inspire in my interview process a little gong rang in my head and I said to myself… “snap, this place is for me”. Recently the whole initiative has gotten a lot of attention on the web, both for the content being written and for the stunning designs. Even the Web Designer wall posted an entire piece on the process. Overall, It is kick-ass to be a part of the whole thing.
So, that brings me to the point of this post, if you like what you read here on Bad Ass Ideas please take a moment to check out the stuff I am writing for Viget Inspire ( you can find my past posts here). While there is no rhyme or reason yet to what I post on that blog versus this blog, I am making it a point to never double post and to post as often there as I do here. My colleagues at Viget are also fantastic bloggers and have written some enormously engaging and interesting information. I recommend you check that stuff out too. And not just on Inspire, there is great stuff across all four blogs . You can subscribe to a master feed of all four blogs here.
Last Wednesday I visited the graduating Design Students at my alma mater James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. I really enjoyed my visit, the students were inquisitive and (judging by the work displayed in the hallways) very talented typographers and creative thinkers. The conversation raised many interesting questions and started some engaging conversation.
Since I was in school “Creative Hotlist” has been the destination online when seeking employment opportunities for the overall creative industry (not just the web industry). Their online description is:
Creative Hotlist: Job Searches, Portfolios and Recruiting for Graphic and Web Designers, Writers, Photographers and Illustrators.”
When I do a basic nation-wide search on this site my results include all sorts of different occupation titles. All but a very few of these job descriptions require some knowledge of web or interaction design, and more than half are in the web industry.
While at JMU many of the students asked about “PDFs” as a means of sending their work to employers. I found this very interesting because every place I have worked since graduation has had a minimal requirement of an online “web presence” for consideration of any design position. Other alumni who were present seemed to think that PDFs were a fine practice for sending out work, and having an online portfolio was really more of a “web designer” qualification or an addition to your overall portfolio. This advice concerned me so I asked a designer who worked at a predominantly print studio what they expect prospective hires to send and the response was what I expected. They told me they accepted PDFs, but often did not even look at them or consider them because a web portfolio is more convenient to view when looking through tons of applicants. It also shows that the applicant is versatile. Should we as an industry advise students that the bare minimum is acceptable?
With so many jobs in the creative industry moving towards the web, shouldn’t there be less of a divide between the idea that there are “web designers” and “print designers”? Shouldn’t the basic understanding of interface & interaction design, user experience and information architecture be a requirement for all seeking design jobs and not just those seeking web jobs? Should the industry not try and encourage students to stay ahead of the curve and strive towards the future.. (even if it is a little more work and sometimes really uncomfortable for those old-schoolers)?
I’m not writing this post as a way to alienate those who don’t understand those concepts but to inspire them to broaden their horizons and realize design is design no matter what the media. The creative industry runs parallel to advances in technology and in the future there will even be more lines blurred between print and web. So why not get a jump on it?
I sat down on Saturday morning and put together a resource list in response to many of the questions I was asked on my visit to JMU. Basically I went through my feed reader, & books … and typed it up into wordpress until my eyes bled. So there may be some room for improvement, if you take a look at it and have suggestions for additions, feel free to comment or contact me. I hope that the list serves as a helpful starting point for anyone approaching the exciting industry of Web Design.
