Freedom of Speech

As the very few of you who read this blog know I took down a post last week that pointed out questionable graphic design/computer practices. The fact is I heard some feedback and there was concern for what was posted, that it would come back to haunt me. I took it down because I really didn't think the post was worth any tension.

BUT… this does bring up a much larger issue which my Dad and my Grandfather went to face wars (Vietnam & WWII) for; our freedoms of speech granted to us by our U.S. constitution. We are truly blessed to live in a nation such as this—but we must never leave the vigil of guarding these rights. Certain organizations/people may think they have the right to silence their own fellow citizens in this country, but they are dead wrong.

As designers/visual communicators and as U.S. citizens this issue is so very important, especially in this booming information age. Imagine having this information controlled/filtered by the elite few. You may think that the media already does this filtering, which may be true, but there are many increasing ways to get information through alternative news/information/viewpoint sources such as (in a smaller extent) this blog. These venues must be bolstered with our support as citizens to send a clear message that the common citizen ideals, thoughts and ideas still makes a profound difference in this country.

Wikipedia explains freedom of speech as this:

Freedom of speech is the concept of the inherent human right to voice one's opinion publicly without fear of censorship or punishment. The right is preserved in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is granted formal recognition by the laws of most nations. Nonetheless the degree to which the right is upheld in practice varies greatly from one nation to another. In many nations, particularly those with relatively authoritarian forms of government, overt government censorship is enforced…

Freedom of speech is still on of the many things that makes this country great. Lets all do our part to keep it that way.

Screened Bitmaps with Gradients

I seem to be drawn to work with bitmaps with a slight gradient or color variation in the background. I'm feeling that it may be going back to the 80's or early 90's but people/clients seem to like it. Below is an web ad/banner I am doing for my company (an adoption agency). Should I continue using this technique (I don't mean all the time) or is it cliché?







Detail:



















What do you think?

Having Fun with the Forcast

Okay so it is like mid-April here in Michigan. So it snows 8 hours then it rains 8 hours then it snows again. It was 70º one day a few weeks ago, then the next day 35º. Literally the state is so confused with the weather. So what should we do? Laugh about it.


Here is a illustration of our weather (of biblical proportions) done by Chris a fellow Graphic Designer at my wife's work. It really captures a Michigan's resident's feelings of this type of freakish season we are experiencing here. If Michigan was a designer it would be the most inconsistent designer of all time.

Snow

I'm starting to hate snow. Again, just thought I'd share.

Tuesdays

I hate Tuesdays. Just thought I'd share.

To freelance, or not?

So I've come to an interesting point in my life—stressful really. I need to be creative, this is how God created me an artist through and through. I also need to provide a living.

While I've always loved the thought of freelancing; the creative freedom, setting your own hours, feeling like your work is really your own, etc… I've always have been afraid of the loss of dependable, residual income. In some ways I currently feel like a sell-out chicken, or a "life-er" if you will. I feel like I'm not being true to my calling of creativity and that my talents are being stunted. In other ways I feel like a responsible adult who is building work credibility in a real job environment. So I'm stuck in deliberation with creativity and responsibility

What are your thoughts on this?