Pieces of advice, moments of insight

These are a few tidbits of knowledge I picked up from the senior reviews today. Putting them here so I can use them in the future.

Package Design
-how many can you fit on a pallet? shipping is just as important as the individual
-user guide- new way to make packages less of a carbon-footprint-leave behind vs packaging one thing

"Edu-tainment"- education and entertainment

Retail space
-can be an experience
-stores with nothing for sale

Through living your life you can better create
-more fun, less stress, better design

Car Free Cities
-"Be an advocate for social causes"

The homeless use graphic design to ask for money
Questions have power- why do you do anything you do? Why not?

fin. <- will become important later.

NA: Show Opener, Final

I used moving video because I have never really done so for any particular purpose. This allowed me to capture real textures and forms of the printing world but also gave me a more engaging opener than something such as photos would have. This was pretty difficult for me since I was not used to editing moving footage. This helped me grow as a designer by introducing me to a new media.

I don't know if this was a success or a failure. It's pretty interesting to look at, but I don't think it ended up being something that I wanted it to be.

I enjoyed the ability to choose what I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it. I don't know what I would have done differently if I had to change things. I'd definitely start over if I had the same amount of time, if for no other purpose than to simply see what else I could have come up with.

Less text would have been nice. I know it's already minimalist but less would still have been better or else I just needed to rework it.


Show opener from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.

Favorite quotes of winter09- comment please?

"boiled eggs and bleu cheese on waffles with bananas and syrup. great way to start your morning. high five. back flip. crawl through a tunnel and get out your brayer. over and out." -Lance


"No, no balls and tape needed." -Jamie


"You need a big bus!" -Kidwell


"Stop doing that shit." -Kidwell


"Get out your brayer and just..." -Lance


"Look at me, I'm Sandradee." -Lance (sung of course) 


"She was just waffling some rubbish." -Tom


Kidwell: That's a cute little car. It's blue! Me: Is it yours? Kidwell: No. I spilled yogurt on my shirt earlier and I'm not too happy about it.


Sean: It'd be cool to be a jet pilot since they don't have dog fights anymore.
Mo: Yeah they do, in the south...


Digital Kitchen guy: Well I guess that one didn't really matter- BWAH-HA-HA-HA!


Lance- You remind me of the Cheshire Cat
me- Why?
Lance- because of yoouurrrr jack-at!
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Lance added:


"That would be zippy!... yeah..." -Kidwell


"Take a little nugget... or nip out of it... yeah...." -Kidwell


"Well what do you carve wood with? Oh I dunno, termites?" -Kidwell


"This could be an opportunity to go half to wonkin..." -Kidwell
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Please add your favorites in the comment section. I know I'm forgetting some good ones, help me out!

Vislang: Communication Model vol 5.0 Final Statement and artifact

This was a great project for me. Experimentally, I decided to render my entire animation using cut paper and minimal digital effects which is a style I had never attempted before. After learning about the communication models general principal I decided my view of it became something that was very hands-on for all participants. The cut paper reflected the hands-on nature and physicality of the process. I decided to take a very linear approach in order to form a narrative. This allows for a more engaging and entertaining learning experience for the viewer of my animation. This project really drove home all aspects of the communication model and I realize that it is something that I need to focus on every day I work as a designer. Even while making the video, I constantly thought about clarity and tried like hell to minimize noise. 


Narration: Written by myself, read by Jason Gongaware
Song: Edited and looped by myself, from the original riff of Xoxo, Panda's "The Boys and Girls (Good Morning)." 



Untitled from Abby Gallagher on Vimeo.



This year really helped me step out of my box. I experimented and opened myself to failure with the expectation of self-improvement and gain. Though I may not have always acted receptive in critiques, I really took each comment to heart and will use those small utterances to shape my design-mind and my work process and ethic. Every failure was a success. Every mistake was (eventually) a blessing. This year it has become my new-found goal to continue pushing myself beyond my own limits and find my own brand of greatness.