Grindhouse
Trailers are up for Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s latest project, Grindhouse, a double feature that includes Rodriquez’s Planet Terror and Tarantino’s Death Proof. The film will be released on April 6 and, I have to say, I am very excited. Both auteurs are clearly working in the style and genre for which they are so well known, with Rodriguez directing a clan of murderous zombies and a machine gun-legged Rose McGowan and Tarantino directing a violence-filled slasher saturated with his edgy style.
I love just how much they have camped up these two films. In doing so, they have taken the excessive amount of violence featured in both and made it equal parts funny, violent, and gruesome. This is different, and in my opinion far more enjoyable, than the countless horror pictures out there that employ violence and gore too seriously, without at least a little self-consciousness of the over-the-top silliness of it all. For example, Rose McGowan, as I noted, sports a machine gun for a prosthetic leg, brandishing it to save herself from a band of zombies. I mean, come on, this is funny stuff people. Or how about the mother that tells her son, “If anyone comes to the door, I want you to run.” “What if it’s Dad,” asks the son, followed by a shot of biochemically sick Daddy. “Especially if it’s your Dad.”
Okay, maybe that last part doesn’t translate well to words, but you have to check out these trailers for yourself. The film is named Grindhouse after theaters that used to play back-to-back films exploiting sex, violence, and other extreme subject matter. FirstShowing.net elaborates:
A grind house is a small theater with usually one screen, popular “underground” a few years back, that would show films that were so “indie” that the reels would be carried around to each theater (no extra prints were made). This means they’d get dirtier over time and sometimes reels would be missing or messed up.
Despite being produced in Hollywood by major studios, it looks like this double feature from Rodriguez and Tarantino will preserve (or at least mimic, as in the intentional film deformation) a good deal of the experience provided by the original grind houses.
Changes, big and bigger
After years of using MovableType to manage the site’s content, I have finally made the jump to WordPress! MovableType, while very customizable, was always getting in the way of my creativity and never very easy to work with when I needed to make changes to the look or structure of the site. WordPress was an instant winner, in my eyes, and I finally found the time (not to mention courage) to take on the task of moving the entire site. I now use it to manage every page on the site, and while there is still a lot of work to be done until all the bugs are worked out (mostly stuff regarding permalinks), I am extremely pleased with WordPress and its powerful simplicity. I think Zeldman put it best when he said that it simply “stays out of the way.”
The other big change, one that should have been made a long time ago, is that all photos are now uploaded to Flickr and served up on the site. For years now I have battled by my lonesome with image resizing, thumbnail creation, tagging, and all the other work that it takes simply to get a photo up on the site. I am ecstatic to have Flickr now taking care of all of this for me, and there’s no doubt in my mind that this will have me posting a great deal more photos than I ever have in the past.
I have decided to update every entry to reflect my using Flickr now, not only for consistency but also because in the past I created photos with a 550 pixel width and Flickr, instead, creates an image that is 500 pixels wide. This is obviously a time-consuming process, involving finding and uploading the originals of each photograph, then changing each photo’s respective entry on the site, however I plan on having it done in the next few days.
As I said, there are a lot of small details and bugs left to work out, so don’t be surprised if things seem off in certains corners of the site. I have hundreds of photographs from my recent trip to London and Paris and simply couldn’t wait to share them, so I wanted to get the site back up as soon as I could, even if it was a little buggy still. Feel free to report anything you notice in the comments of this entry. Thanks!
My very first music vid
Last summer I took a couple classes at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, one of them being music video production. I fell in love with the entire process and since it has been my goal to work in the field, hopefully one day as a director.
The final assignment was, of course, to write, direct, and shoot a music video. We were responsible for everything, including choosing a song, casting actors (who graciously work for credit and lunch only), lighting, shooting, editing… the works.
I chose Imogen Heap’s electronic ballad Hide and Seek. I love everything about the song: the layered vocals that are almost haunting, the heartfelt lyrics, and from what I’ve read and seen on Imogen’s site, it was recorded by a very talented, down-to-earth person. The video features actress Heather Tyson, who did an incredible job conveying the emotions that run through the song, and took about seven hours to shoot. It’s the first and only music video I have directed so far, and although I have considered re-cutting, I am still proud of how it turned out.
Only a few people have seen this, so I hope you guys like it!
Download a higher-quality Quicktime version of the video.
Here I am, Once again
First came version 1.0 - “The Trials & Tribulations of a Young Designer”. The stuff I wrote about usually had nothing to do with my trials, tribulations, or the fact that I was relatively young (around 16 years old). When I started posting photographs and realized that I was basically writing about anything that was design-related, I moved the site into version 2.0. The new tagline? “Everything Design”. Original, I know.
Eventually I grew tired of writing. So I stopped. And version 3.0 was born. Now a photoblog, the site’s tagline read, “Living Life One Photo at a Time”. Ouch. Thankfully a few months later I realized that the tagline was cheesy as hell, so I dropped it, redesigned, and had version 4.0 - a pink and green design that stuck for quite a while. Then purple became the new pink, so I updated to 4.1. Version 5.0 came about mostly as a need for change. Since then, my posting habits have wavered, much to everyone else’s attention.
So now comes version 6.0 - a bit more grown up, an added touch of sarcasm, and, most of all, more focused than ever. The new design reflects a realignment of my goals and interests, away from “everything design” and towards professional photography, film, and cinematography. Face it: I am a film major that wants to direct music videos, and the old site format simply didn’t communicate or allow for that.
Anyways, I hope you guys dig the new look. There’s still a bunch of refinements to be made, so if you come across a dead link or a poorly-styled page, turn around and try back later.
Color Forecast: Hues to Use in 2005
About a year ago, I had the self-righteous idea to “forecast” the in colors of 2004. What I thought most people would simply brush off as “some random designer’s questionable hunch” wound up being quite a hit, and after many emails from supporters hoping for a 2005 edition, I decided to assuage their request.
To all of the nonbelievers, this forecast was derived from more than just a hunch. I take a considerable amount of time assessing design of the year past and the year to come. I take into consideration not only online design trends, but also trends in fashion, automobiles, and television. True, I pay attention to my personal thoughts on where design is headed, but, considering myself a fairly “trendy” and design-aware person, I think that’s permissible.
Take this forecast for what it is: a prediction, not a definition, of the year that follows. In some ways it may be dead on, and in others not further from the truth; regardless, design is in the eye of the beholder, and when it comes down to it every single color in the visible spectrum is a possibility. So, go forth with an open mind and, if nothing else, be inspired. Best, Adam.
The Purples
As everyone knows, there are two sides to every story, and this year’s forecast is no different: some say pink is still the color of the moment, while others insist that purple is the new pink. I agree with both, but, as you can see, moreso with the latter. The whole ooh-la-la pink trend is tired if you ask me, and purple is the perfect replacement.
Purple is one of those colors that will last through the year because it can change with and adapt to the seasons. Dark purples express warmth and sophistication for the winter, while brighter purples and lilacs will express a fresh playfulness for the spring and summer.
Desaturated purples such as DAD1E9 and 5E4D80 will rule all others. Get ready to see these duller purples in both the fashion and car world. They’re great for carrying those of us in the Northern hemisphere through the rest of winter, and, mixed with some more vibrant hues, will transition perfectly into the warmer seasons.
The Browns & Naturals
This year, deep browns and natural hues take the place of 2004’s blacks and grays. Online design can often be cold and “techy” as it is, and grays tend to reinforce that feeling, so this year look to browns and beiges to act as the base colors of your design. Throw in an ochre hue and a purple from above, and you’re set.
Like purples, browns and naturals will easily adapt to the changing seasons. Rich, dark browns are great for the colder seasons, while straw hues and brighter yellows will complement the warm months.
The great thing about this palette is that, like blacks and grays, it goes great with any color: colder hues such as blue and green, or warm reds and oranges. (If you’ve been paying attention, though, you’ll know to match it up with purple.)
A few words of warning: don’t let this palette steer you towards more natural designs; that’s not the point. Instead, mix it with vibrant hues to create a warm, contemporary look for 2005.
The Desaturateds
This palette consists of colors that have been… well, desaturated. These washed out hues are relaxed and warmer than their more vibrant brothers and sisters. For that reason, they’re great for the winter and fall seasons, but perhaps not so fitting for the warmer months. Therefore, these colors might disappear for a while, but reemerge later in the year.
This palette is partly based on the muted metallic fabrics that are popular in fashion right now, such as Gap’s sparkly scarves and Banana Republic’s metallic thread coats and skirts.
Make sure not to be overly vintage with this palette, which would be an easy thing to do seeing as these colors look very aged. Luckily, it’s easily avoidable by utilizing the other colors in this forecast.
The Trippy Tints
The previous palettes have more or less represented the toned down, more natural approach that is likely to be seen in 2005. Come June or July, though, people will grow sick of the whole thing and throw it out the window, instead looking towards these trippy tints for some rebellious fun.
These out-there colors won’t come alone, or even in pairs… they’ll be seen in packs. Designers, desperately searching for something fresh and new, will go balls out, applying this palette to tripped out patterns of stripes, polka dots, and plaids to create looks similar to those seen on the streets of Tokyo. I picture a sort of grunge-goes-neon theme, with shock value being a top priority among designers: who can pull off the most off-the-wall design without scaring their audience away? And don’t be surprised if black resurfaces for at least a couple months, as I see it being quite essential to making this palette work.
If right now you’re scared and asking yourself what the hell am I thinking, don’t fret: this palette is meant to be fun and freeing, like a release from the traditional rules of design. Instead of a pirate draped in red, white and black, picture one tripped out and draped in neon purple, yellow, and and yellow-green. With this palette, everything becomes a little less ordinary.
Color Forecast: Colors Galore in 2004
A brand new year is only a week away, and with it three hundred and sixty-five days worth of evolution in design. Sure, when the clock strikes midnight to announce January 1, 2004, everyone isn’t just going to morph and start designing differently than they did the day before, but the embarkment into a new year definitely symbolizes a step forward into an untraveled world where new styles and trends are going to be born (or, in many cases, reborn).
This past year has whipped through such trends as the dark, and oftentimes depressing, gothic look, the sleek and vibrant “mod” look, and even some throwbacks to the earth-toned ’70s and the fluorescent ’80s. After an acid-trip like that, designers are very likely going to be searching for repose in more laid-back design trends. This leads me to my color forecast for 2004: calming neutrals, peaceful blues and greens, stable dark shades, and a few vibrant hues to add life.
The Neutrals
This palette is the perfect break from the hectic go-go-go attitude of 2003. Gazing at them makes you want to just sit down and breathe for a moment. Nearly every color here is simply a pale gray with a small touch of a soft hue. The result? A color scheme that you could do yoga to!
The Blues and Greens
Blues, greens, and aquas will be a big hit in 2004 because they’re tranquil, but still very fun and enlivening. This palette is very much a reminder of the sea, and who wouldn’t like to relax on the sandy seashore? These clear, airy hues are nicely complemented by exquisite reds, oranges, or other such colors that you can find in the “vibrance” palette below.
The Deep Shades
2003 was a shaky and often unsettling year, so in 2004 it’s time for some stability. Enter black, charcoal gray, and the other shades that make up this palette. They are just what the “neutral” tones need: some confidence. Just don’t overdo it. You want to strengthen your design, not make it gloomy.
The Vibrance
2004 might be a slower-paced year, but people are still looking to have some fun! Use these hues to add accent in just the right places. This palette will keep your designs from becoming overly melodrmatic.
Get the Look Chic Simplicity
Chic simplicity. What exactly is “chic simplicity,” you ask? It is somewhat of an oxymoron: simple yet sophisticated. The design exudes simplicity through its forms, fonts, and layout, and sophistication through its textures, details, and tastefulness. It’s a fantastic “look” that can be used for almost every genre of websites: a professional, yet hip, corporate site; a stylish, yet clean, commercial site; or just a fun and colorful personal site. Whichever style you’re going for, this “look” will fit.
Download the Guides
Download Chic Simplicity Part 1 / Colors and Fonts / 47 kb
Download Chic Simplicity Part 2 / Techniques and Wrap-up / 113 kb
Colors
Colors that will give you the “chic simplicity” look are usually very bright, lively, and fun. To tone down the high values, meaning high brightness, of the colors, use tints and shades of gray, especially a dark gray to anchor the design and a light gray to give the design a clean and airy feeling. The grays will suit the vivid colors perfectly. Think of this principle in terms of an outfit. If you are going to wear an orange shirt, you want to wear a pair of dark pants to complement the brightness of the shirt.
Now it’s time to decide on a color scheme. Here’s the equation that will give you a perfect color combination every time:
dark gray
+ light gray
+ color #1
+ color #2: tint or shade of color #1
+ color #3: complementary color of color #1
= the perfect color scheme!
Therefore, going by the numbered “Colors to Consider” in the guide, combining colors one, two, five, six, and eight will give you the chic and simple look that you’re aiming for. I’m telling you, this will work every time! Just use the colors in the guide to help you.
Fonts
When trying to obtain chic simplicity, you obviously want to keep things clean and simple. So, when choosing a font it is usually good to shy away from serif fonts. Serifs are very decorative and normally will not reflect the look that we’re trying to achieve, therefore I have chosen sans-serif fonts such as Century Gothic, Futura, and Gill Sans. They’re all very slick, clean, and stylish.
Well, now that you know the rule, we can go ahead break it. You’ll notice that there are a couple serif fonts in the list, namely Apple Garamond and Gloucester. Although they have serifs, they exude a certain tailored look that works well with the chic and simple look we are going for.
Another rule of thumb I discovered is that condensed fonts will usually be better at helping you achieve this look than their normal (i.e. not condensed) counterparts. When you condense a font, it’s almost like it loses weight, resulting in an overall sleeker look.
Techniques
1. Simple, Sectioned, Block Layouts
A great way to lay out your page is to use color. Now that you have chosen a color scheme, simply use those colors to section off blocks of content, and note what content will go in each block. Some basic sections to think about are the background, top or side navigation bars, a header, and the main content area, where white usually works best. Doing this will make it easier to come up with a final layout and will guarantee a clean result.
2. One Crisp, Large, Central Photograph
Using one, large photograph is the perfect way to add a punch of color to your webpage. Choose vibrant photographs that work well with your color scheme by having either similar hues or complementary hues.
If you are having trouble finding a photograph that works well with your design, ask yourself the following questions: What color from my color scheme do I want my photograph to represent? What is something, anything, that is that color? So, say your answer to the first question was red. Then, your answer to the second question might be strawberries, raspberries, or big red balloons. Now you know exactly what to look for. When using this method, close-ups and extreme close-ups (macros) are great, such as the example photograph of a basket of raspberries, because you can concentrate on one or two colors and they will give your design texture and vibrance.
3. Simple, Readable Navigation
We’re going for chic simplicity, so simple navigation is the way to go. It is extremely usable, very clean, and allows for an easy change if you ever find yourself wanting to redesign. Check out Dan Cederholm’s CSS tabs, CSS mini-tabs, and CSS mini-tab shapes for more!
4. Transparency and Layers
Overlapping objects that have been made slightly transparent is an easy way to add color and texture to your site. First, draw a shape, fill it with a color from your color scheme, and change its opacity, which is usually possible in some sort of “Layers” window, to somewhere around 50%. Repeat this step with a different shape, but the color the opacity should remain the same.
Once you have all of your shapes drawn, overlap them in a fun pattern. Every time two of the objects overlap, their colors will mix and produce a darker shade. The key here is to experiment! Try using different shapes, colors, and opacities.
5. Tight Text, Using Kerning
Sometimes text, especially when using condensed fonts, just looks too spaced out. The solution? Kerning. Found in the “Character” window in Photoshop and in the “Text Editor” window in Fireworks, kerning will often give your text an even cleaner, slicker look. Want proof? Compare the two columns in the guide and you’ll see that the kerned text looks more polished and refined.
6. White Space
White space is something that is very often overlooked when, in fact, it is one of the most important factors in making a good design look even better. White space can be achieved by increasing the leading or line-height, the space between each line of text, and by padding your blocks of content with anywhere from fifteen to two hundred pixels of blank space. Read more about white space in this great article at Design Matters.
7. Pixel Icons
Though very tiny, pixel icons are a fun and noticeable detail that are easy to incorporate and will add some subtle interest. Use them in place of the standard bullet in your lists, or place one at the end of each section of content, like magazines do at the end of each article.
8. All Lowercase or All Uppercase Text
Changing the case of your text is very easy and adds interest because of the simple fact that it is different than the standard capitalize-first-letter-of-each-word method. A great way of doing this is to implement CSS by using the text-transform property, with either uppercase or lowercase as the value.
9. Subtle Drop Shadows
Drop shadows have a bad reputation because they are so often misused, but when used subtly and correctly, they add a nice touch to any design. In the first example, a very faint and soft drop shadow is used to make the text pop off the background. In the second example, a faint, yet crisp, drop shadow adds dimension and interest. As always, experiment!
Putting It All Together
By simply combining many of the techniques explained above, I quickly and easily created this example webpage design. Notice how well the vibrant colors work with the calmer grays, and how the different sections of the page are distinguished using colors. The photograph in the header adds a ton of texture while, at the same time, incorporating a vibrant blue, one of the colors from the color scheme. The navigation is simple, yet stylish, making it easy for one to find their way around the site, and the pixel arrows are much cooler than standard bullets. The abundance of white space makes the page look very refined, not cluttered, and will make browsing the content easier for the viewers. And finally, the all lowercase navigation is extremely subtle, but a nice change from capitalization. In the end, we have a webpage that perfectly defines chic simplicity. Enjoy!
Get the Look UltraHip
Sometimes you want your design to be vibrant… to scream. UltraHip is just the look. It’s very sleek and ultra contemporary. Think posh night clubs in Los Angeles, Paris, or New York City: vivid colors set off by charcoal grays, combining to form atmospheres that encourage dancing, partying, and lots of fun. Use this look to bring a personal site or blog to life, or for a hip corporation whose target audience is of a younger age group. Have fun with this one!
Download the Guides
Download UltraHip Part 1 / Colors and Fonts / 39 kb
Download UltraHip Part 2 / Techniques and Wrap-up / 110 kb
Colors
UltraHip colors are a great deal of fun to work with. Both vibrant and alive, they seem to jump out of your screen. Try using colors that you would normally consider “on the edge” - colors that you would normally be too nervous to choose. When deciding on colors, try this: add the word “hot” or “neon” before the general name of a color, then go searching. For example, hot pink, neon green, hot orange, and so on. To avoid having too many fluorescents, choose some hues that have an almost glassy feel, such as a very pale gray with a hint of magenta or aqua.
When putting together a scheme of UltraHip colors, there are two ways to go. The first is to use colors of the same hue. A good thing about this method is that you can use 4 or 5 colors without overdoing it. Why? Because the colors aren’t competing with each other: they’re complementing each other. The lighter hues are balanced by the darker hues, and the brighter hues are balanced by the less saturated hues.
The second method for choosing an UltraHip color scheme is to take colors that you never thought would look good together and put them to use. You’ll be surprised at how “hip” the result will be. Good colors to work with are beige or brown. Both are often seen as unattractive colors that don’t work well with bright colors, but you’ll get a very modern look if you use them with a flashy color: magenta and beige, aqua and brown, bright blue and beige — they all yell HIP!
Fonts
As I was putting together a collection of UltraHip fonts, I began to realize that it was really just a bunch of fonts from different design styles. For example, “Magneto” and “Deftone Stylus” are both very retro fonts, but they are so in a hip way. In short: don’t limit yourself to simple, modern fonts. Vintage styles are beginning to show up all over the place nowadays, and the look has slowly transgressed into “hip.” It’s cool to be old. Also make use of cool script fonts, tiny pixel fonts, and graphical fonts like “Ravie” and “Grotto.”
Techniques
1. Monochromatic Design
I touched on this in the color section, and here’s an example. Notice that I’ve used 4 different hues of a magenta-ish color, but the design doesn’t scream “Four colors, too many!” This is because the different hues each play their own role, and together provide a good balance between light and dark. Try this technique with any UltraHip color, adjusting only the luminosity until you’re happy with the resulting hue. When you’re done, you’ll even have room to throw in a completely new, complementary hue. In this case I migh choose a teal color.
2. Variation in Font Size and Layered Text
This is not only a great technique, but also extremely easy to accomplish. Begin with a phrase - a good example would be your company’s tagline. Take the phrase and split it up into small sections of one or two words. Keep important words by themselves, but combine less meaningful words such as “and” or “the.” To put emphasis on the more important words, make the font size larger, shrink the unimportant words, or make some words smaller and others larger — just experiment!
It also works well to use variations of the same hue, such as a pale teal and a dark blue-green. To finish, put the words in the correct order, playing around with their positioning until you’re satisfied. This technique is based on contrast — big and small, dark and light. Try overlapping the words and adding some transparency to get a nice layered effect.
3. 1-pixel Border, Slightly Darker than Fill
No explanation needed: just do what it says! It’s a subtle technique, but it will have a noticeable impact on the final design.
4. Use of Color to Distinguish Sections
You’ve just taken the time to decide on an awesome, UltraHip color scheme, and you want to put it to more use than just your logo? Well, don’t be afraid — go for it! Take each color and use it to distinguish a certain section of your page. For example, one color could be the theme of your navigation, another could be the focus of your header, and the last could be used for the news section. Then just throw in a pale gray behind the content and you’re set!
This technique will not only look good — it’ll heighten the usability of your site by allowing visitors to more easily make their way around your page. Note the 1px border coming into play with this technique.
5. Dashed/Dotted Lines and Borders
Is it just me or has this technique showed up quite a bit? Apparently quite a versatile technique, it can easily add yet another modern tinge to your site. With CSS, you’ll have dashed or dotted border in no time.
6. Photographs: Monotone and/or High Contrast
This technique takes only a few seconds in Photoshop, but will leave a powerful impact on the overall look of your site. Just use your favorite graphic program to colorize your photos and increase the contrast. With this technique, you can make almost any image appear to be cutting-edge. Don’t forget your color scheme when colorizing the photo! It’s a great way to catch a visitor’s interest, without adding hundreds of new colors to your precious combination of hues.
7. Simple Logo - Less is more!
One of the biggest mistakes in logo design is to make things too complicated. Keep - it - simple! Less is very often more, especially when trying to achieve the UltraHip look. Again, try using variations of the same hue to maintain a minimalistic look. Pixel fonts are a great way to add texture or a small message. In the “AP Records” logo I created, I used just one hue and simple effects to create a logo with a bold message — music!
Putting It All Together
Here I created a sample webpage using only the colors, fonts, and techniques mentioned above. Notice how easy it is to distinguish each section from the others, making it very easy to find your way around. The 1-pixel, slightly darker borders are subtle, but they scream UltraHip. A number of different colors come together here, yet they’re not overpowering — balance is key. Take a look at the custom buttons. By using a lighter hue of the original color on which the buttons appear, they pop without taking over the section. By combining a number of simple techniques with a few tips on color, we’ve achieved one very hip design!