Grafikheart.com

I have transferred my blog over to my own domain at grafikheart.com which I am updating regularly. Come over and check it out !

it’s been too long!

Grafik Heart has become a low priority over the past couple of months due to the biggest influx of work I have ever experienced! It’s been madness trying to get everything done and dusted before christmas, and it’s not over yet!

But with that comes exciting news that my blog is going to be relaunched in the New Year. So stay tuned for that. In the meanwhile, here are some things that have been getting me excited:

- Since I left design school (just over a year ago, wow!!) Computer Arts Projects magazine has been a neverending source of awesomeness. It has cool projects, plus also shows you whats going on in the world of design. I also follow them on twitter.

- I began to feel stressed and overwhelmed at work, which led to some evenings of unhappiness. It made me realise that I wasn’t dealing with all the work to the best of my abilities, so I have been working on changing the way I work to be more productive and less frustrated.

-Two things that have really helped are It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be by Paul Arden, and (don’t laugh) Tony Robbins Personal Power. Sometimes Tony can be pretty cheesey, but what he says really makes sense. If you are in a rut, I suggest you give it a chance.

So there you have it. This will be my last blog post til I relaunch my site in January 2011. Happy holidays!

Digital Portrait of Kat Von D

This is my first attempt at digital illustration using photoshop. I’m quite happy with how it turned out cos I wanted it to look a bit like paint on canvas. The eyes were the most difficult part!!

“Buttermilk” by Jessica Hische

Buttermilk – a font designed by Jessica Hische has been on my wishlist for a while (xmas present maybe??) but I haven’t ever seen it printed anywhere here until today. Farmers catalogues are a mailbox staple in New Zealand, and don’t usually get much of a view, however, the current one utilises the Buttermilk font. I like the bevel texture they have used to make it look like nail polish.

More Holga Photos!

I just got 2 more rolls developed, and when I took them up to the lab I accidentally dropped one and it came unstuck and unravelled a bit… you can tell which ones got a little bit prematurely exposed! I also took a lot more photos in darker scenarios this time to see how well the blue and red flash held up. I need to use the other flashes more often

I love packaging design!

photo by clogozm

When I was at MDS last year, the most fun projects involved designing packaging. It is definitely something I want to do more of, and if you looked in my journal you’d see a whole bunch of sketched ideas for packaging. One of my favourite things to do to pass the time if I have any, is browse Lovely Package, a website dedicated to all things packaging. It showcases real projects for companies, as well as student work and other misc concepts. Here are some links to some of my favourites from the last couple of weeks.

Star Wars Adidas trainers
ducobi toy company from Korea
Big Rock Brewery – I love the hand rendered type!
some student work to solve the spaghetti problem
House Industries Eames Alphabet blocks.

there are so many awesome packaging designs and ideas, it makes me want to start making more things!

5 examples of Amazing Type

Origami Typeface by Gesa Hansen

Typography soap from Fred Flare

Neon Alphabet by Adam Slowik

Alphabet Drawers by Kent and London

Chair by Eric Ku

My first Holga photos!

I took two rolls to be developed last friday and got my pictures back today. They look awesome! I love the coloured flash and the vignettes… I also love the double exposures! Can’t wait to get some more developed. Below are some of my favourites.

The Miller Thieves

I made a gig poster for my friend Sam’s band, The Miller Thieves, for their upcoming gig.

Fauxmo Leigh Sawmill

Last weekend I went up to the Leigh Sawmill Cafe to see a band, which was really cool. However, cos my digital camera is pretty crappy I couldn’t get very many good photos on the night. So the next morning I wandered around taking photos of various things I saw around in and around the Sawmill. I later used my fauxmo action I created in photoshop (see my muriwai photos and wellington photos done with the same action) to retouch my favourite snaps.