Ldieckmann's Blog

Last day of school ever! Even if there’s a fire!

ldieckmann — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:13:33 +0000

Indeed my time as a full time student has come to an end. My real world experience is just around the corner, and as happy as I am to be done with school, I am dreadfully reminded of what a grown-up stuff will be like. Let me throw out some examples. About a month ago I was no longer a part of my dad’s insurance and my prescription at Walgreens that was normally $50 is now $180, I got my first notice about my loans that I start paying off in January, my parents will no longer pay for my groceries and I am suppose to be happy that I’m done with school?

I don’t know where I am going to get all this money for all these needs but if I learned anything in the past 4 years, it’s that you tackle one problem at a time and to remember things could be worse. I know I should be freaking out a little bit but I’m not and I’m ‘ok’ with that. My plans are pretty open-maybe a little too open but I think that’s the story of my life.

In the next couple years these are a few things I would like accomplish:

grad assist soccer
travel to South America through ASIT to play soccer
go back to school to become a Vet Assistant
coach soccer camps over the summer
intern out of state
or move out of state with my sister for a year or two

I don’t know where I’m going….but I’m ready for the ride!

Peek-a-boo

ldieckmann — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:39:05 +0000

A trend I’ve really come to like is the concealed or hidden image trend.

I’m a junkie of the newspaper when it comes to crossword puzzles along with other mind puzzles because I enjoy a good challenge. I wouldn’t say these are necessarily a challenge but it’s intriguing to find the hidden message when you’re not expecting it, and you’ve been staring at it for minutes. One of my current logos that I’m working on in identity is actually very similiar to this trend but it’s still a much of a work in progress. Definately a lot tougher to design than I had originally thought. Every line can make a huge difference and whether it looks like an image or an amoeba.

I’m addicted to popsop, big deal.

ldieckmann — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:12:40 +0000

Two of my favorite websites to go to for inspiration are thedieline.com and popsop.com. They both reach a wide audience who enjoy package design & brand identity. The designs showcased range from students to well-known designers. I enjoy looking at some of the latest trends in designs and the thinking behind them. I also like how anyone is able to comment or critique the designs. It lets you in on a lot of good advice as well as inspiration.

The Viscious Circle

ldieckmann — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:26:03 +0000

I think this article brings up a good point in the introduction when they talk about your strenghts and weaknesses. I think it’s sometimes hard for me to be honest with myself and say that I am really good at something. On the contrary it’s also hard for me to say the opposite. I think alot of this has to do with my competiveness that comes from growing up playing sports. I tend to always compare everything I do to something else or someone else. I wanna be noticed and stand out but not to the extreme because I’m not good at handling those situations; therefore, I don’t want to put myself in those situations. I think that’s where my weakness sets in. I never think my work is good enough and those of you that know me know that I make 10,000 different drafts and keep changning things until the very end. Then it’s a never ending, viscious circle because I work on it so much that by the time I’m done with it I’m sick of it and want to start completely over.

I think a lot of this article can be applied to not only to graphic design but a lot of other aspects in life. Especially being positive. That statement cannot be more true. How many times have to gone out to dinner and your waitress was in a crabbly mood? It makes your whole experience a bad one.

Under Pressure

ldieckmann — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:02:54 +0000

My inspiration would definately be my dad. He doesn’t come from any sort of design background nor does he know a thing about design. I don’t even think he really understands what I do completely but I know he cares that I accompish and finish what I’ve started. My dad plays everything by the book and believes everything you do should be earned faithfully. I think for sure it makes me a better person and better designer because it pushes me to be something that he is proud of.

An inspiration I can connect with more are other college students. I love when I go onto other design websites and I see great designs that I come to find out are other students like me. Their designs make me realize that I am just as capable as them to create great design.

Cool Business Ideas

ldieckmann — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:04:06 +0000

Ever since I’ve started my capstone project I’ve been looking at random design websites like crazy. My favorite lately has been coolbusinessideas.com. It’s not just one main design I like but a series of designs that single out and simplify the lives of consumers. Their called “trendsighters”-A blog to inspire, stimulate creativity and trend spotting. I would love to be apart of the design processes behind these products. A lot of the designs are things that you say to yourself “why didn’t I think of that?” Simplistic ideas that are, well, awesome.

Information about some of the products.

(first row middle)

Emerging technology from South Korean fried chicken chain BBQ Chicken. Popcorn chicken rides up top; cola chills out below.

It’s perfect for snacking on the move, having it all in one hand. While there’re some concerns in the threats of condensation to your food, we think that the idea’s innovative and some fine tunes to it would make wonders. It will be an excellent implementation at the cinemas – having your popcorns and drinks all in one (obviously in a bigger packaging).

(first row, right)

One thing that wasn’t listed in the Tiffany’s table manners handbook is the difficulty that comes with balancing your champagne glass and cracker delight simultaneously. Well, surprisingly enough, the answer to this complexity comes from Fred & friends: FINGERFOOD™. Mini plates attached to rings that enable you to wear your food. No need to worry about awkward balancing acts. Just small talk…

(second row, left)

Springwise: Offering a self-service system that can be retrofitted anywhere is the TableTender by TableTap.

The TableTender system, available in Britain and the United States, is designed and built for each specific venue. There’s a tap (or several) located at each table, which allows patrons to pour at their leisure—to a point. The system is designed to comply with drinking regulations, shutting off after dispensing around 11 pints of beer and only resuming once a waiter has checked the table. The amount dispensed is displayed on a meter at the table, as well as recorded on the proprietor’s database to monitor sales and consumption by hour, day, month and table.

Information Graphics? Remind Me To Pass Next Time

ldieckmann — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:31:43 +0000

In Typography II we were assigned to come up with “the history of (our choice)” as an information graphic system. There were no hard guidelines to follow and so this project was entirely open.

I wanted to make a piece that I knew could become aesthetically pleasing and something I new could become something fun to work with. Even before doing much research I narrowed in on the idea of a jigsaw puzzle right away. I wasn’t sure what kind of information would even be out there for a jigsaw puzzle but I ended up finding a really incredible book all about jigsaw puzzles.

My first problem I had run into was the overload of information. Everything I just read felt equally important in the evolution in the jigsaw puzzle. My first sketches were for me to come how make this information fit on about a 20 piece jigsaw puzzle that I could conduct myself but I had no idea how I was going to divide this information up separately so that it would make sense when you start piecing the puzzle together.

So I started breaking down what I actually wanted to do. First, I grouped all information into decades (might I add the evolution spanned over about 9 centuries) so that I could actually see how much information I was actually dealing with, and then so I could see if this could be a plausible way to break down this information. Second, I wanted to put this information on puzzle pieces but knew that it could not be a timeline because a lot of the evolution started to overlap other ideas from a previous era. Then I remembered this interactive website (which I cannot remember off the top off my head) that we looked at in Typography I that used an information graphics as sort of like a web with different size circles.

So I decided that each decade could be a different color circle that could be connnected by lines. It was a mess. Nothing was legible. There were lines everywhere and 9 different colors on this 20 piece jigsaw puzzle that already contained lines as it was. Their was no real hierarchy about it. That’s when I knew I needed to figure out an even easier way to divide this information.

Then I looked to the book to see how they divided the chapters and that was my answer. I realized too that a 20 piece jigsw puzzle was way too intense so I dug a little deeper. The main points I was focusing on was the production, economy and education. Three main ideas-three jigsaw pieces.

Dear Mr. Rand, Please Won’t You Hire Me

ldieckmann — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 02:12:06 +0000

Countdown to Graduation

ldieckmann — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:26:16 +0000

september.18

• Business card, letterhead, revised designed resume
• Have photos on savecitytree.org website complete by the end of class

september.25
• Be finished with revisions on flash ad by the end of class

october.9
• Start with Barnum’s website ideas

october.30
• Work on Barnum’s website
• Cut out puzzle piece box over the week

november.6
• Barnum’s website complete
• Puzzle box complete

november.20
• Have all revisions complete

Remainder of Fall Semester
• Finish putting together work into a portfolio

How I ended up here

ldieckmann — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 04:41:06 +0000

I cannot remember my earliest awareness of graphic design to be honest. I went into college thinking that I wanted to be an interior designer but not even too sure with that decision. It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I realized interiors was not me; I just knew I wanted to design for Anheuser Busch. I always had an interest in billboards, Anheuser Busch’s particularly, unaware that graphic design was the field I needed to get into. Teachers thought I should double major but I knew my heart wasn’t in interior design. When I was in high school I always loved working with computers and at one time thought I wanted to be some kind of computer engineer; I guess there was always that interest with the computer but can’t say that I even knew what graphic design actually was while in high school and even well into college. The little that I did get exposed to was from my closest friends who were majoring in graphic design. When I told my family that I was switching majors I think they were just relieved that I was staying in the arts field. My parents and grandparents always felt I had a strong skill for art and did not want to see that go to waste. At times I felt like they had more confidence in my work than I did which I believe really pushed my to stay in this field.

It was a billboard like this that caught my attention