85mm 1.4: For Sale
Been absolutely behind the 8-ball recently; apologies for not updating more regularly. Please stay tuned. Meanwhile.…
For the past several months, I’ve been going on and on about how much I love this Nikon setup. However, in order to better equip myself for the tasks to come, I’ve decided to put my beloved 85mm on the auction block.
If you’re a Nikon user, this is the “bokeh master” and a great lens. I’m sure that no matter how much I enjoy its replacement, I’ll miss it — but my loss is your gain. Bid, buy, and enjoy.
Thank you!
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at 1:51 AM.
Posted to Business | Flickr | Love | Personal | Photography
Power Tool
There is mucho behind-the-scenes work going on here at Foreword. Much of it is thanks to this:
A little Nikon love, late this Monday evening.…
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, July 17, 2007, at 2:19 AM.
Posted to Flickr | Love | Personal | Photography | Technology | Whatever
Remember These?
Found this 1970s-vintage calculator while photostrolling (for lack of a better term):
I remember using stuff like this. Makes me feel old.…
Posted by Giles, Friday, July 13, 2007, at 11:37 PM.
Posted to Flickr | Photography | Technology | Whatever
iPhone: Revolutionary
iGrab
There was an iPhone at a party I attended tonight. The proud owner, who without shame would accept the label “geek,” needed little coaxing to show off his new toy.
What was interesting, though, was what happened next. I got scant time with the device initially, as a crowd formed — made up of not just geeks, but housewives, businesspeople, even senior citizens. The hype, it seems, has penetrated the American psyche. (Remember: I live in the middle of Georgia, 75 miles from Atlanta. Small-city, USA — and deep in The South, at that. That people are excited here.…)
Later, when the crowd had cleared and I had a better chance to look, touch — ahem, MultiTouch — and seriously think about, I have to say: it is revolutionary.
I’ve been an Apple user for a long time; indeed, since the Apple II days. My first exposure to a Mac is clearly etched in my mind, and although it took a while to be able to afford one, I eventually landed a (much-upgraded, for the time) Mac Plus. I’ve had nothing but since, and have to say that I enjoy using my Mac(s) every day.
The reason is because, way back when, the combo of mouse and graphical interface “clicked” immediately with me. (Pardon the pun.) Perhaps it is the visual learner, perhaps the artist, perhaps the geek, some mix of the three, whatever — but from that moment forward, IMHO, no one’s done it better than Apple. For me, there could be nothing but.
While the iterations have meant significant developments — the MultiFinder, iMac, OS X, Aperture — only the original Mac exposure itself has had a greater impact. The iPhone brings together several disparate items into something that’s usable. Something that makes every other phone/PDA/smartphone/ultraportable I’ve ever seen look like a complete piece of junk.
Admittedly, I only had a brief exposure, and I can immediately see some problems. The interface requires extra clicks to get places — you can’t immediately dial a number from the music section, for instance. Or the keyboard, which is just too small for fat fingers (true of other smartphones and PDAs, but still). The portrait/landscape switch is both easily fooled and sometimes flat-out wrong. And, I’m sure, more details Apple will certainly improve in iPhone 2 or 3. Knowing them, it’s already the drawing board.
That said: in the big picture, it’s still a revolution. The truly mobile computer is here.
Am I going to get one? No. Holding strong; the price and improvements needed are still enough of an obstacle to prevent purchase. As I said, though, an iteration or two down the road.…
Steve Jobs and Apple, nicely done. Congratulations — no Reality Distortion Field™ needed. This one’s the real deal.
Update: Forgot to mention in the original post that the iPhone’s owner waited in line with as many as two dozen others at the same North Macon store I mentioned below. Apple may have some left over from iDay — or not — but two dozen, there, is astonishing. Living up to the hype, Apple?
Posted by Giles, Sunday, July 1, 2007, at 1:24 AM.
Posted to Computers | Flickr | Personal | Technology
It Takes a Village!? Hell, No. It Takes a Crisis!
Okay, it’s been a week. month. year. FINE. Couple of years.
I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen in a while recently; she said, “I heard your life has turned into something of a blues album.” Exactly right, IMHO.
Case in point: the web site. Foreword hasn’t been updated nearly often enough, because it seems like all I have time to do is put out fires — and blogging on book design, photography, or anything else after a long day of bouncing from one panic to another isn’t always possible.
Having said all that, a couple of divergent items have unexpectedly snapped into focus in the last few days, and it’s been very helpful in moving the ball.
One of them, obvious to anyone who’s tried to access the site in the last few days, has been, well … the lack of a site. Woohoo. Takers for panic on panic?
The good news: the looooong-overdue overhaul of the site’s underlying structure — its server — is complete. Upgrades abound, from tons more space to better (and more) bandwidth. So, while the site may look the same, thanks to a little panic, it’s now on much more solid underpinnings.
The better news: With a very few exceptions, and despite the recent site crisis, I’m almost completely caught up with the “to do” list. Time to finally finish the rest of the upgrades, the main site redesign, and to get the rest of the comment stuff working.
Oh, yeah — need to take more photos, too:
Double Rainbow
Saw this outside the other day and at least had the presence of mind to go out and take a photograph. (And daydream, briefly, about finding the pot of gold…;)
Right now, however, time for another rare treat these days: a good night’s sleep. Back with more tomorrow afternoon.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, January 24, 2007, at 10:11 PM.
Posted to Flickr | Personal | Photography | Site news
Happy Holidays
Bee — herself a gift — enjoying her new favorite spot. Typical!
Wishing you and yours the best of holiday seasons this year.
Posted by Giles, Saturday, December 23, 2006, at 5:46 PM.
Posted to Flickr | Whatever
Uh, Sorry?
Sometimes, things just don’t go as planned:
Fessed up. Still had a great time.
And can’t help but to think that this would make a cool cover for something. Heh. Story of my life, perhaps…;)
Posted by Giles, Friday, December 1, 2006, at 1:07 AM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Flickr | Personal | Photography
Happy Thanksgiving
Well, it’s been a week.
Okay, that’s wrong. It’s been like this for quite a while now. I’m sorry. Between the divorce and the heavier-than-expected fall season, I’ve just been snowed in. And it shows.
Thankfully, the camera’s a good stress reliever. Even a walk around the neighborhood yields dividends:
From the other day — an experiment in highlighting only some leaves while leaving the rest for text overlay. Now to find a use for it.…
Meanwhile, couple more posts for today, then taking the rest of the holiday weekend off. Enjoy the turkey tonight if you’re in the US; see you all on Monday.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, November 23, 2006, at 2:46 PM.
Posted to Flickr | Personal | Photography | Site news
'Nuther Nice Weekend
…away with the camera:
Cold and wet Friday night and Saturday morning, but once the weather cleared, the top of Tray Mountain, 4430 feet up (the second sixth [thanks, Phillip!] highest peak in Georgia, if I recall correctly), was a beautiful spot to photograph from.
Strapping on a pack and hiking into the woods for photography. My kind of business trip!
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, October 31, 2006, at 10:44 AM.
Posted to Flickr | Personal | Photography
Georgia Literary Festival
Until recently, I could honestly say (when speaking with folks in Macon) that I didn’t have any local clients — all done through email and the phone.
No more:
Nuthin’ like making a splash — with a poster (x5000, statewide), a bookmark (x10000, statewide), a program, a bunch of ads, a quick reference guide, and a billboard. Whew. Original plans called for a web site, too, but that never came to pass. (Shame, too, as the current one is, well, lame.)
Many thanks to Dr. Katey Brown of Historic Macon for being such a delight to work with — and the nice people kind enough to lend their likenesses to this great cause.
If you’re in the area, stop by High Street in Macon next Saturday for the Georgia Literary Festival. See you there!
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, October 24, 2006, at 7:22 PM.
Posted to Design | Flickr | Photography
Waxy Photography
A while back, in a post on HDR — a special form of photography — I cited Waxy Poetic on Flickr. Now, he’s opened a pro site: Waxy Photography.
Would potentially make an interesting cover, no? Text on an angle, following the stairs.… (Please note: I’ve cropped this image to typical cover size. The original could wrap. See it under “Abstraction” here. )
Good stuff.
Thanks, John!
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, October 11, 2006, at 10:28 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Flickr | Photography
Yet Another Personal Post: Why, #12
A client said something to me the other day that I hadn’t expected — and welcomed gratefully:
Giles … you nailed [this cover]. I didn’t expect to come home tonight and
find this gift. I’m downright excited about it.
Gift. Few things have made me feel as good about the work I’ve been doing recently, and emails like that are exactly the reason I’m a freelancer doing what I love, rather than sacrificing standards or autonomy to work at a firm or — gasp — publisher.
As most of you know, 2006 has not been an easy year; divorce aside, too many ospreydesign-related items have been started and not enough finished. A good chunk of that is because I always put my stuff at the bottom of the “to do” list, but I’d honestly rather do book covers than web site updates any day.
Thankfully, the quality of my book design continues to improve as I learn — from you, Foreword’s readers, from my fellow book designers, and from photographers. This is especially important to me; understanding the components I use most in book cover design is vital to where I want to go professionally.
So, a big thank you for your help — and patience — this year.
As a stop-gap measure ahead of the updated main site, which is still waiting on a related project (that’s been suffering delay after delay, grrrrr) before the almost-completed redesign can be finalized, I’ve updated the gallery with eleven new items. Most have been posted before, here or on Flickr, but some are new to all. Hope you like.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, August 23, 2006, at 8:06 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Book design | Books, design, art | Flickr | Personal | Photography | Site news | Whatever
Nice Weekend
A good description — and the title of this photograph:
Camping is not luxurious, but it’s an amazing playground for photography — especially when you’re playing in a 16,000-acre nature preserve. I remarked to a companion how wonderful it was to be swimming in the Atlantic (thankfully, sans camera at that moment…;) and look ashore — to see nothing but sand and trees for miles and miles. No lights, no buildings, no nothing resembling human habitation.
“Like being the only people on the face of the planet,” he said. Sure felt like it.
Nice to be home to a soft bed and cats, though. The picture series will continue on Flickr tomorrow — uh, Tuesday — and Wednesday.
Oh, and bonus: already used a photo from the weekend on a book cover draft. More on that in a couple of days.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, August 22, 2006, at 12:16 AM.
Posted to Flickr | Photography
Everyday Art
Slowly, I’ve been learning about the Nikon and how to use it effectively. It’s more than a different feel — it’s a whole new animal. One capable of pretty astonishing quality.
What I like even better are the opportunities that the camera system presents. I try to take it with me as often as possible, including unlikely events like helping friends move:
Oh, someone please write a tell-all on the American icon that is U-Haul. Have I a cover photograph for you…;)
Was back in their house the next day, and set up this shot intentionally — wanted to see the light reflecting off the surface:
This one’s been fooled with in Photoshop a little, but minimally — the originals are of such high quality that it’s now a question of tweaking or artistic touches instead of “fixing.”
Moving weekend — a camera expedition. Whoda thunk it? Yet two shots (well, more, actually — click thru to Flickr to see the rest) that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Glad I brought it along.
Posted by Giles, Monday, August 14, 2006, at 7:34 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Flickr | Photography
NYT on HDR
One of the many benefits of Flickr is seeing trends in imagery before they get out into the mainstream. HDR, or “high dynamic range” photography, has been around for a while on Flickr — but the article in today’s New York Times definitely means it’s hit the mainstream.
They have uses on book covers, but so many that I’ve seen are just overdone — the “high” range produces something that looks artificial. (We’re used to seeing range constrained to the “usual” range offered by cameras, among other reasons.) Plus, far too many people are enamored with the process, producing images that neither need nor work with the HDR technique.
Both of the examples in the Times article and many of the images in Flickr’s HDR group are fall into that “too much” category, in my opinion. But before you dismiss the technique and something that’s only good when “artificial” is appropriate for your book cover, consider that it’s useful for helping “pull” an image from flat into something more, well, dynamic:
From Waxy Poetic. Says “postcard” to me — even some months later, this was one of the first images that came to mind when I read the article. Improved, not overdone.
HDR is definitely a tool worthy of photographers’ and book designers’ attention. Please, though, do it well.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, August 3, 2006, at 2:00 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Book design | Flickr | Photography
Astonishing.
Perhaps love is a better word:
The quality of photography in my work is about to take a quantum leap forward.
More over the weekend.
Posted by Giles, Friday, July 14, 2006, at 4:23 AM.
Posted to Art | Book cover photography | Flickr | Personal | Photography | Technology
Panasonic Lumix TZ1: A Mini-Review
Okay, I started this post on Friday. Wound up working on my web site this weekend instead; long story, but at least that ball a moved a little — more in a few days.
My mother’s been wanted a new camera for a few months now; her old Sony, a tiny 3.2 megapixel point-and-shoot, was advanced at its time but is clearly outclassed today — and she wanted to take advantage of new innovations (image stabilization, especially) and a larger screen. Budget? Under $400, preferably less.
We’ve been looking for a while, but it seemed that most of the cameras with things she wanted — large zooms, especially — were too big. Then I heard about Lumix’s TZ1:
Took a while to get one; I wanted to see some reviews, and actually touch one before I went and actually recommended she buy it — but once I had, recommend I did.
One word: Wow. Only one major problem, too. In summary, a great little camera. Detail and some sample pictures after the jump.
Continue reading "Panasonic Lumix TZ1: A Mini-Review"
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, June 27, 2006, at 12:33 AM.
Posted to Flickr | Personal | Photography
On Photography and the Canon Digital Rebel XT, Part 1
Phew: Survived. The last six weeks have been out-of-control busy, in case you couldn’t tell by the lack of posting (or comment moderation). Why? Well, six book covers (including the two Bush covers I’ve posted about), two magazine ads, a new edition of a 56-page catalog, and 100+ hours into this POD project I yapped about a few days ago now. Speaking of which, I’m starting with this because it’s fresh on my mind, then will work my way backwards through my list of once-intended posts over the next few days.
This post is a little off-topic for a book design blog, but I’m posting it for two reasons: One, uh, well, I can. Great thing about blogs — built-in soapbox…;)
Two, some of our “regular” readers might be interested either in this particular camera and how it worked (and didn’t work) for me in a very demanding test, or might be thinking about professional protography and are interested in the opinion of what amounts to an amateur shooting his first wedding — with a camera he’d used for only a few hours, didn’t have a manual or more than one effective (in my hands) lens for, and who undertook this project more than a little ragged after weeks of eighteen-plus-hour days.
Am I glad I did it? Yes. Absolutely, emphatically yes. I learned more about the hoops necessary to do this effectively than a thousand lectures from the best professionals in the world could have given; got to gift a good friend with more than a thousand photographs of his bachelor party, rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception, and a kickin’ party afterwards; and find out under the most grueling conditions possible whether a certain camera system will work for me before I put down the investment.
Couple of notes before I get the review proper underway: Product reviews are not my forté, so I’m hoping you’ll forgive a bit of a haphazard style. I’m going to give you good and bad, followed by a sample gallery of photos, posted through my Flickr account. Some photos are straight out of the Rebel XT (or my current Sony f828), some are altered in Photoshop. No matter what, it’s my opinion. There are Canon vs. Nikon wars aplenty; we don’t need one here. I’m not qualified to speak with authority on anything other than how I feel about this camera equipment, relative to what I have now, as someone serious about taking the step from “amateur” to “professional” photography. (I’ll explain that better, too.)
Continue reading "On Photography and the Canon Digital Rebel XT, Part 1"
Posted by Giles, Monday, May 22, 2006, at 4:24 AM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Book design | Books, design, art | Business | Computers | Flickr | Personal | Photography | Site news | Technology | Writing
Not Exactly Book Design, But
…wanted to show a catalog spread I finished up yesterday:
Custom photography makes all the difference here. The client had originally asked for a Fotosearch image, but I really wanted something to use large and put text on — and wound up going with a custom photo.
Helps with exclusivity, too — nothing like using a stock image for a big spread like this, then seeing it in an ad selling something else tomorrow.
The catalog’s a few days out from completion, making the above still a draft. Comments — and suggestions — welcome. Thanks.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, May 2, 2006, at 6:39 PM.
Posted to Advertising | Design | Flickr | Photography | Type and typography
Photographs I Love Tonight
Took a dinner break (at 11:45 — heh), spent a few minutes with Flickr, and ran into a photo begging for a book cover, if ever there were one:
A cropped version of regularjoe’s Laying Blame. See it much larger, uncropped (see if you agree with my crop — and you bet I’d use the rest to wrap), and in much better quality here. (Gotta be a matte finish on this one, by the way.)
P.S. If you’re a Flickr member, join the discussion on whether the leaf should stay in this photo. I agreed with the suggestion that it should come out, but I’m in the minority. (Not suprisingly…;) Thinking from a book design perspective, though, unless the leaf specifically plays into the book’s story, I’d rather use that space for text and put the emphasis on the grasses above. Where to crop the photo would play into it, too. ’kay, dinner break’s over.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, April 27, 2006, at 11:44 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Flickr | Photography
Bush: Okay. Not Great.
Well, finally:
My feelings could best be summarized as “a shrug.”
Continue reading "Bush: Okay. Not Great."
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, April 25, 2006, at 4:14 PM.
Posted to Book design | Flickr | Jobs | Personal | Type and typography
Flickr Fave Update
Simply put, approaching it the way I did — trying to put something together quickly, rather than tying to a project I could devote the time to — was a mistake. Quality should always be first.
Stepping back for a few. I’d very much like to use photographs from people on Flickr in addition to the usual sources we all have for cover photos. All that’s required now is going about it intelligently.
Posted by Giles, Tuesday, April 18, 2006, at 11:29 AM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Flickr | Photography
Preserved for Posterity
Found myself downright barking at a professional photographer tonight who had argued that restricting access to her work online was better than dealing with a few people out to cause trouble. I felt kinda bad afterwards; I was perhaps a little harsh. (Who? Me?)
I’m not a professional photographer, in the sense that I earn a living exclusively selling photographs, but I do sell photos, deal with photographers’ rights, and sell a creative, copyrighted or work-for-hire product/service that, while not as easily “stolen for use elsewhere,” is subject to a good deal of competition. Above-board, honest people and grab-your-ideas-and-undersell-you-later types alike.
Pushing your work farther and farther out into the world instead of walling it off clearly works. Foreword is my evidence.
Click through to Flickr and look at all the little notes by moving your mouse over the boxes on the photo. They’ll run you through all the stuff in the picture, including the icons, menu items, etc. (Warning: geek alert…;)
Sure, there are hassles. (Looking at new web servers [hosts] this week, for instance, so we can rebuild pages in the middle of the day without timeouts. You wondered why so few mid-day posts…?) It’s definitely a challenge to post regularly with the quality we’d all like to see — and that keeps traffic growing. Oh, and have I mentioned there’s still the rest of the web site to finish?
But it’s so worth it. Glad we can be here together, learning about book design. Whether it’s your first visit or your thousandth, thanks for coming by.
Posted by Giles, Monday, April 10, 2006, at 5:51 AM.
Posted to Book and design blogs | Book cover photography | Book design | Books, design, art | Business | Computers | Design | Ethics | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Jobs | Love | Personal | Photography | Public domain | Publishing | Site news | Technology | Type and typography | Whatever | Writing
Sometimes....
Rainy Saturday here in Georgia, so sorting the week’s pictures ahead of some work later, and was surprised at how well this one came out. Rare is the photo that I intentionally set up — but Coke Glass satisfies on lots of levels:
Forgive. It’s not even necessarily something that would make a great book cover — just wanted to share.
Sunday update: Took this one early Saturday morning (hadn’t gotten to when I wrote the above) — and would love to make it into a book cover:
At the Table. Big thank you to philosophy professor Dr. Creighton Rosental for his patience in setting up the above photo. Think it’s a good, philosophical result.…
Posted by Giles, Saturday, April 8, 2006, at 2:42 PM.
Posted to Flickr
Reasons I Love Flickr Tonight
Some of the sheer artistry:
No idea what/where this is. Doesn’t really matter; I’d love to use it on a book cover.
Found because someone with the nickname Daydream Scream tagged a photo of mine as a favorite. There’s no way I’m not going to follow up on a name like that — and found this.
Sweet Flickr.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, March 23, 2006, at 8:48 PM.
Posted to Art | Book cover photography | Computers | Flickr | Photography | Technology | Whatever
Photographs I Love Tonight
Can’t let Foreword’s third birthday weekend pass without a post on one of our newer areas of emphasis: photography. Especially the intersection of photography and book covers.
Here’s one I’d love to use on a cover:
From the always-wonderful heavenuphere, shooting at an architecture exhibit in Rotterdam.
She’s also a librarian, and I covet her garden, too. Multitalented!
Posted by Giles, Sunday, March 19, 2006, at 8:37 PM.
Posted to Book cover photography | Book people | Flickr | Libraries | Photography
The Vagina Monologues
Poster for two performances of this amazing play:
I’m glad to have been able to use a model (it’s an original photo) that isn’t a supermodel, because it just feels more appropriate for the material. The jeans and black shirt are the “costume” for the play; the purple is from the folders the actors will be holding. I’ll be up front and say that I would have gone for something a little more racy (unbuttoned jeans, for instance), but erred on the side of conservative — Mercer is a Baptist school.
Major kudos to the director, student Calvin McCullar, for making it happen on campus in the first place. (For the second year in a row.) Happy to donate a few hours to this one, even at the last minute.
Heads off to press in the morning. Any suggestions before it does?
Apologies, once again, for the lag in posting. Been mired in what’s become an all-consuming project. Realized I had to break that into pieces and will keep working on; the above was a “break.” More posts tomorrow and over the weekend, however, in celebreation of Foreword’s third birthday.
Posted by Giles, Wednesday, March 15, 2006, at 12:05 PM.
Posted to Art | Design | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Photography | Type and typography | Whatever
MSC Arts Festival Poster, Final
They went with this version, with one major change: maintain the margins!
Also, Dystopos’s suggestion to justify the “Lectures…” and “Macon State…” lines has been rattling around my head, and works well with the type off the bottom — reinforcing the margin box. Thanks.
So, now that it’s off to press, let’s bleed on it. What should I do better next time? (The previous versions of this poster are linked through Flickr if you’d like to refer back.)
Posted by Giles, Friday, February 3, 2006, at 10:39 PM.
Posted to Art | Design | Flickr | Photography | Type and typography
Poster, V2
Okay, here you go:
Past even my usual four-something posts; I’ll try to be brief. But I thought you’d appreciate some details.
Ironically, the same day I was on a soapbox about culture, the poster was rejected — for a lack of cultural understanding.
The three artists talking about their work are from India and the Caribbean, areas of the world culturally sensitive to being grouped (generally) with the African culture the mask represented.
Monica and I discussed it a little, and her take — she chose the mask photo, by the way — was that the mask was a “diverse take on comedy/tragedy.” Worked for me at the time, but both Dr. Young-Zook and the “esteemed designer” learned a lesson. I said in one of the comment threads that I’m glad it’s not easy, because it’s more interesting. You also learn more. Case in point.
So, Monica wanted to go back to the panel of fellow doctors, to coin a phrase, with some photo options. I sent her to iStock, where she found a few good potential photos — but I really didn’t want to see something that I’d liked that much go to an iStock photo. I wanted one of my photographs. Thankfully, I knew I had this. I’d just taken it (December 26th, as part of the Ringling Museum photo series that My Life is from) and knew as soon as I’d seen it that I wanted to use it for something.
Non-offensive, it fits both India and the Caribbean — the palm shadow works especially well, I think — but needed, well, work. Five hours later, here we are.
Am I going out on a limb, taking this time for something that could — might very likely be — rejected again? Maybe. But the “panel” will get this developed poster and the two iStock photos undeveloped. Hoping it’s enough to nudge them to using a design based on my photograph, and I enjoyed the exercise. It was worth the time.
And damned if I don’t like it just as much as the first one, for a ton of very different reasons. What do you think? Leave a comment.
Note: In the interests of full disclosure, I wanted everyone to know that I posted a (very) slightly tweaked version Saturday evening.
Posted by Giles, Saturday, January 21, 2006, at 5:21 AM.
Posted to Art | Book people | Books | Books, design, art | Design | Flickr | Personal | Photography | Type and typography
Software Conflict 2.0
On the subject of why we’re all here, here’s a book cover design:
Worked on the interior this afternoon and evening; it’s, finally, almost there — precariously balanced between white space and line height. Need to sleep on it before showing it to the client. The cover, though, was tweaked for the final time a few days ago (hopefully…;) and both the client and I am happy with.
It’s 7.5 x 9.25, by the way — a cool size and an interesting creative challenge. Good call on the publisher’s part.
No where near sleep yet tonight, though. Instead of “creatively lighting” the above, I have other plans for Photoshop: this — and another swipe at the poster.
Posted by Giles, Saturday, January 21, 2006, at 12:06 AM.
Posted to Book design | Books, design, art | Business | Computers | Design | Flickr | Jobs | Technology | Type and typography
Follow-Ups
Trying to break the (bad) habit of posting at four in the morning. Wish me luck…;)
If you haven’t alredy, read yesterday’s entry first. Thanks.
1. The poster went down in flames today. One word: “groupthink.” Monica defended it well, I understand, but that’s the way it goes. They’re going to pick another photo and we’ll try again. (Will save the details for another time, heheh.)
2. Managed to get through the missive last night without mentioning Google. Foreword is the #1 response to a search for book design, with or without quotes. Ahead of Amazon! That’s seriously cool.
That’s also exactly why I’d love to spur more conversation. The description on Google, a community in the service of books and book design, is exactly the purpose. Yes, it’s about me. But it’s also about Todd, Chip, Joseph, J., Amanda, and so many others, past, present, and future. Us. A diverse “community,” in the best sense of the word.
3. I don’t feel the “arrogant American” thing was worded well. I absolutely do not care where you physically work from, what language you grew up speaking, what color you are, or how you live your life. I do care about the quality of your work a great deal, however. And I want to help make it better. Because I learn — we all learn — as part of that process.
No matter who you are or where you’re from, if you’re here, it’s for the same reason I am: to have a greater knowledge and understanding of book design.
When I said “quest for expertise,” I meant “collective quest.” By posting a comment that brings an idea to the table, we all benefit. Good design ideas can, thankfully, transcend cultures — someone, somewhere, will look at that idea, and it will lead to another.
For freelancers in a trade such as book design, the internet is the great equalizer. It no longer matters where you live, only that you know what you’re doing. But that doesn’t remove culture.
Foreword is American-centric because the posters and active commenters are mostly American. I’d love to broaden that — we’d all benefit. Bring something to the table, though. Don’t just ask how to do it. Get involved in how to do it. That’s why we’re all here. Let’s share those ideas.
4. Speaking of sharing, I welcome feedback and ideas for improving how this site actually functions. The redesign includes some improvement in code related to comment moderation and posting, but will mostly be a visual thing. I’m currently going around (and around) regarding “quickie” posts; whether I’d do enough “Hey, this is cool…” posts to justify a third column and the CSS tricks necessary to do that properly. Probably not. Site loading speed’s a consideration, too. Simple code with striking visuals (well, and good posts…;) works best for me.
Now is the best time to talk about it. What would you like to see next? Leave a comment.
Posted by Giles, Thursday, January 19, 2006, at 10:46 PM.
Posted to Art | Book and design blogs | Book cover photography | Book design | Books | Books, design, art | Business | Design | Flickr | Freedoms and rights | Personal | Photography | Publishing | Site news | Whatever | Writing
How do I...? Well, that's the question. Every day.
Been meaning to write this post for a while. It’s a good, mid-life crisis kind of entry. Pull up a chair.
First off, let me apologize — again — for the lack of posting. As I’ve mentioned before and no doubt will again, the past few months have been, shall we say, interesting. In no particular order, I’ve watched my marriage spring a leak, run around entirely, then finally sink into an angry sea; a business that I loved and, for a while, did together with my (former) wife, suddenly get very complicated; moved; been depressed and excited, both about life and work; moved again; rediscovered the joy of photography, Flickr, Photoshop, and, well, how much I suck as a photographer; ran behind in work; caught up; ran behind again; worked too many hours; ate too little; the list goes on. Generally, what was needed to get by and more only when I could get it.
When you’re self-employed or run a business, your personal life is so much more important to the daily goings-on — it’s impossible to take a few days on the employer’s dime to recover (you know what I mean — we’ve all been there). You either produce or you starve.
Perhaps that was on my mind when I named this photograph My Life:
A statue on the grounds of the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, gets overtaken by and slowly cumbles under the most relentless force of all: nature. His expression seems, I think, appropriately horrified.
Worse, there’s the constant swirl of everyday business pressures, including (the current lack of) health insurance, for instance — and don’t even get me started on the IRS. Been around and around with CPAs and have finally had to hire a tax attorney to sort it all out. I’m an artist, for cryin’ out loud — isn’t there someone who can just tell me what to do and where to sign?
Absolutely. With varying sizes of hands out, depending on how good they are. Just like all of us.
I’m thankful to be on my own, occasional contractor aside. I’ve watched people torn apart ethically and profesionally, and met more than a few for whom the money is more important than the ethics or the professionalism, in the quest to sustain employees. Once you’re a “business,” it’s this whole other thing. Like a child, it can be nurtured or exploited, but just like a child, I think that if you’re going to put it out there, it should be the best it can be. My approach (to either, honestly, which is absolutely why I don’t have kids — yet) demands that I not back down from what I believe in. Employees, like children, people who depend on you, make those beliefs seem less like “lines” and more like “gray areas” that can be tread upon when the payroll’s due (or the shareholders want to know why this year’s profits “aren’t growing sufficiently”). It’s easier to starve yourself for what you believe in any day — and I have respect indeed for those that somehow manage the balance.
Parenthetically, my old boss at “Trop” — another family member, and yes, I have been lacking sanity at times — and I have never really talked about my leaving corporate life to forage on my own. Here it is, Tanya: I think we both know I’m more like Blair (yet another family member — long story) than either of us were comfortable with, or were prepared to admit at the time. But we’ll save the details of “days spent working for [a graphics contractor for] a major juice company” for another post…;)
In my life, right now and for the foreseeable future, I need lines that represent those professional and ethical obligations. I need to make sure that every piece put out there, whether here on the blog (present entry excepted, perhaps), on Flickr, or, especially, in the work that I do, is the best it can be. Even if it means bending over backwards, moving, dealing with attorneys, going without food or sleep, whatever’s necessary to make sure those lines stay sharp. With all the crap going on, though, it’s hard to do in a timely manner.
A couple of clients have bailed because of the delays, reschedulings due to personal problems, and the like; one was comepletely professional, and the other was, well, an asshole. (Ahem. Excuse me. It’s late, and we’re being honest.) Either way, though, I understand and wish them well.
Those clients who have hung tough, though — some of whose projects have come through almost on time, and I haven’t even started on the troubles my iMac has given me this week (and will again next — but that’s yet another post) — have gotten some of my best work. That I haven’t been doing a good job of putting up on the web.
Trying to do better with that. Like the poster. Or this catalog, for instance:
A number of things stand out regarding this photo:
— It represents progress graphically. The Sunshine State Cookbook was relatively early project I did for this client, but the page around it is infinitely more sophististicated. Some of that’s better software (ahem — InDesign? Will post on that and the Quark 7 beta soon), but most of it’s several years of working every moment I could to make myself a better designer. (I didn’t do The Florida Bounty, and while I did do Mastering the Art of Florida Seafood, it’s okay if it’s a little lost off the bottom…;)
— It represents progress, especially, in terms of photographic (and Photoshop) skills. I’ve bitched about my camera’s shortcomings, both here and on Flickr, but the reality is that it does exactly what I need: takes good enough pictures. Some are great out of the box, but most need some Photoshop skills. Flickr’s various groups, especially Photoshop, have really allowed me to explore what others have done and work on doing similar things myself.
The shot of the catalog above is entirely fake, and it’s a fake I’m proud of. The catalog page only exists electronically — and is a draft. (Forgive. A recent bad habit.) But it doesn’t seem right to just post the page anymore; now it’s possible to “throttle” it. The lighting and shadows, the subtle (and hopefully natural) curve to the page, the perspective and cropping, the background and background page edges, the three-dimensionality, if you will — all exercises to highlight the design of the page itself. While learning about Photoshop. (25 layers in the .psd file; about half an hour all-inclusive to put together, including deciding to go back and add fanned pages in the background and re-uploading the photo, but a pristine hi-res PDF ain’t a bad starting place for Photoshop experimentation.) Never stop learning.
— It’s absolutely not perfect. The mistake caught on Flickr (see the note) aside, it’s already evolved from its original design and will again. Other mistakes will be found — please comment away! — and probelms solved. I’m sure, too, that months or years from now I’ll look back both on the catalog and photo and perhaps wish I’d done something differently. But that’s what evolution’s about.
— It (and My Life, above) represent the first photos posted here actually hosted by Flickr. Might cut down on the 4-5GB of bandwidth Foreword pushes through the internet every month — or, at least, source part of it from someone with better servers…;)
The “self-taught” thing is no small deal, either. I have a college degree, but not in graphic design. I figured out in high school that I was as good — okay, better — at making papers look good than writing the content. (Still probably true. Witness this post, for instance.) I figured out how to make money off of that skill on college, and ospreydesign was born, to use the child analogy again, nearly twenty years ago. Every