REDD-DESIGN | Web, Print & Digital Design

New Site!

2010-06-15T08:49:00.002-04:00

Hello all. In case you've bookmarked this page, the blog that will be updated regularly is now here: http://redd-design.com/blog

Thanks!
- Ashley

Redesigning.

2010-06-07T09:33:00.005-04:00

A lot of blogs/design sites are undergoing redesigns lately. While I think I started that trend with the redesign of this site a couple months ago (just kidding, they paid no heed to me), some of the redesigned sites are works of art, and some still need some work (in my opinion).

The first edition of Jad's 'Weekly Wrap' gives an insight into some of the redesigns going on lately.

Here's a list of the design sites I read that have been redesigned:
Design Cubicle
Design Informer
Creattica
And Jad's portfolio page

So anyway, I'm already tweaking the site a bit more. I wasn't completely happy with the design of the portfolio section. After I finished it I thought the design took away from the content, and it's taken me a bit to figure out what I really wanted. Though it's still in progress, you can take a sneak peak here. Comments and questions are much appreciated.

The back end is a VERY lightweight CMS package called Stacey, and I love it. It was very simple to tailor the template to fit in with the rest of the site, as well as morph the downloaded template into something even more simpler and fluid. I feel that once I've learned it all about the CMS, that I'll be able to ditch the template idea all together and just create my own.

Upcoming over the horizon is also a first-time design for my personal portfolio site. Mind you, there's nothing much there yet, and it ends up linking back to this site. My portfolio site is going to have pretty much the same design examples as my portfolio on here, since, well Redd-Design is a one-woman operation and most of the work I do is for clients anyway. I will be including my photography as well as sketchbook stuff and some other projects, and a couple of pages of the other random hobbies, so besides a portfolio page, I'm expecting it to be a hub of my life.

So there's a little bit about redesigns, don't forget to follow us on Twitter and add us on Facebook!

- Ashley

Just a couple of pics...

2010-06-05T18:46:00.001-04:00

Have a list of changes to do to the site in the next week or so...so stay tuned to that.

Till then, here's a couple of pictures of my pets from this past week.

Print is not dead!

2010-03-09T10:28:00.002-05:00

It's just old and forgetful.

Remember when color TV appeared? Ok, maybe you don't, and I know I wasn't around, but I know I enjoy watching movies in black and white sometimes. Color TV is the mainstream, and it's now a big deal if a director shoots a film in black and white. It's a conscience choice. Same with design.

The new wave with design is the web. If it doesn't work online then it won't work at all! Going viral, social media, web 2.0, who cares?

Print does, poor print.

The fact is, people still like print. It's just the convenience of computers that are making them take over. Check this out: http://boingboing.net/2010/03/04/free-ebooks-correlat.html

There's nothing like picking up a book and flipping through it, or putting up a wicked cool poster on the wall. I enjoy reading articles on my Blackberry while riding the T, but I always have my sketchbook with me to take notes on something or to use as a reference.

The fact is, yes, print is dying, but not in the way you'd think. Print is dying as a standalone against the web, but used as an addition it can be a powerful tool. What are your thoughts on print?

What does freelancing mean to you?

2010-03-04T23:22:00.007-05:00

With the economy on a rollercoaster and people losing jobs by the minute, freelancing has become the new thing to do. In between furthering their education or hunting for the new job (wherever they are), designers are going off on their own. Some are lucky and have clients they pulled from their contacts, but some are just starting out and have no clue where to begin.

Freelancing means different things to everyone. For some it’s a way of making some additional income, and for others it’s their full-time job. Clients can consider freelancers as the perfect opportunity to receive great customer service, or they can see a freelancer as inexperienced and use and abuse them. Regardless, freelancing can only mean one thing…it is what you make of it.

I’ve been a freelancer for about five years now. I started right before college and I’ll continue doing so until the benefits of set hours overweighs the opportunity to go cycling whenever the weather’s nice (or till I go stir-crazy during the month of rain we get in June). I’ve had great experiences, and some pretty bad ones, but overall it’s what I love to do, and I couldn’t imagine another career.

Freelancing to me means:

Staying up late to get a design finished and shipped to the client.
Getting up early to finish a design and ship it off to a client.
Generally getting sleep at awkward times.
Being able to schedule appointments in the middle of the day so I don’t fight the ‘rush’ of those poor 9-5ers.
Deciding that PJ’s are the day’s dress code.
Being bossed around by the cat.

There's a million and one reasons to be, or not to be, a freelancer. So what does freelancing mean to you?

New site is up!

2010-03-03T13:45:00.004-05:00

Hello all!

The new website is now LIVE as you can see. There are still some things in progress, so appreciate letting me know if you find something that's wrong, or see something that I could do better.

I've already heard some great things from fellow designers, and I hope that trend continues!

In other news, have finished up the logo for Boston Charity Poker. Hope to be working with Paul again on a redesign of their website! Next project is the site design for my personal page, ie ashleyhilldesign.com Focus will be showing my work, besides just design, and hosting my resume, and pages of other hobbies.

I have a few designs in mind but I'm always reworking them. Here are a couple of mock-ups(using stock images, and none at the right angle).

The basic idea is simplicity and photos. Coffee cup would be about me, which would link out to my resume, who I am, what I'm about and what I'm up to. Computer would be portfolio, and the home text would be on the screen (kitschy I know, still reworking it). Phone would be contact...let me know what you think...I still have a few sketchbook ideas I need to flesh out. Everything looks great in a sketchbook, and worse in inDesign.

New Year, New Direction

2010-02-17T12:19:00.002-05:00

Within the week there'll be a new Redd-Design web site launching...and I'm excited! I'm making a push to make the site less me and more about clients...ie, separating business from personal stuff. I'm still looking for a full-time position, but I'm still running a design business, therefore I'll keep my personal resume on a new site I'm still working on, and use Redd-Design.com for primarily business. I'll (now we'll) be focusing on getting more clients, and making them happy.

There's a lot more stuff going on the new site...this blog is there, as well as Twitter updates, etc. I'll also be focusing on creating new blog posts related to the design industry, and my opinions on things such as CSS3, HTML5 and how much IE still sucks.

- Ashley

Since the show...

2009-11-08T17:07:00.003-05:00

The last post was after the show in March...so yes, it's been awhile.

Lately I have been working hard at my freelance work. Between part-time jobs I am working on a website for a womens cycling magazine, designing logos for start-up companies and lacrosse teams, and have started to design admin UI for a software company...fun stuff!

I also completely revamped my website, making it more web 2.0...and basically teaching myself a lot more with html and css.

Links of interest:

shePedals: The Journal of Women in Cycling

Redd-Design

Will be posting more as I get client work out the door.

- Ashley

Show and Moving On

2009-04-09T09:56:00.006-04:00

So the show's been over for a few weeks. Looking back I think it was a success, there were a few things that I could've done better but overall it was a learning experience. Crazily enough I'd almost like to be in another exhibition, besides just at school. I really enjoy the business-like, print design aspect where I'm working for clients, but in the future I'd almost like to do more work for myself based on my ideas.

Regardless, here are some pictures from the show:

Overall

Large Accordion

Medium Accordion

Small Piece

Fire Book

Mobile Pics

Here's the text from the label on my work:

Ashley Hill
On the Road

My project is based on the various road trips I have taken, as well as the photographs, experiences, memories and stories gained from each adventure.

Being the first show we had a number of people show up, and overall I'm very happy with how it turned out.

The big question now is "now what?" I'm being pushed into working more on my book series, refining it and also working on more book ideas using the same format. However, something I've started working on is a book based on the mobile pics I've taken. I've since added quite a few since I take photos of everything, and I want to use the random comments and captions that friends and such have posted. I have the format figured out, I just need to sit and organize and do the tedious work. I need to gather comments and put them in with the photos.

More photos from the show are located here:
Facebook Album

If anyone would like the high-res version of any of the pics please send an email (from a non-Montserrat address) to me.

Off and running...

2009-03-24T14:07:00.004-04:00

The show is up.

Let me say that again...the show is up.

People I was a bit worried about pulled through in the clutch, and everyone's...repeat, everyone's, work looks great.

As a group everyone's parts are independent, yet cohesive.

This weekend was a grueling test of emotions...YES my work is done, NO now I need to hang it, YES everything's up, NO there's still work to do.

I'm also happy how the front came out...cohesive yet independent.

Tomorrow night (6 PM) is the opening, if you're somehow reading this and is not in the show, I encourage you to go.

I crossed off everything in my past post that was listed, except for sleep. Absolutely going to crash now, so I'll leave off with some links to websites depicting the show:

http://studio.montserrat.edu/gd/

http://www.montserrat.edu/galleries/301/?PHPSESSID=9be774860e33987b48e246f8c1ed967d

Almost there...

2009-03-20T19:57:00.003-04:00

Crossed off a few things from last post.

Did a LOT of work today, finished the large and medium size accordions, as well as did the major fold of the book, and cut out most of the mobile pics.

Still have a few mobile pics to cut out, as well as finishing the smaller accordion, all of which I'll do tonight, and tomorrow morning will finish the book, as well as start putting stuff up.

Here's some pics...

One side:

Other side:

Medium accordion, book and mobile pics:

SHOW OMG!

2009-03-19T18:42:00.008-04:00

Show goes up this Fri/Sat/Sun.

This is my little public to-do list before the show:

- ~~email Andy about the front window type~~

- ~~figure out shadowboxes? for front window~~

- large accordion:

~~cut each panel apart~~
~~spray mount panels to foamboard~~

- med accordion:

~~buy lighter board to mount to~~
~~spray mount to board~~
~~bonefold/score back to make it fold~~
~~mount to wall~~

- small accordions:

~~mount to board/foamcore?~~
~~mount to wall~~

- accordion book:

~~fold in half and adhesive together~~
~~fold into sections~~
~~make front/rear covers~~
~~put everything together~~

- mobile pics:

~~spray mount to foamcore~~
~~cut out each one~~

- show:

~~install shelf~~
~~mount everything!~~
~~put up type and hang boxes~~
~~freak out~~
sleep for two days

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I went up to NH and picked up my large format prints. Much thanks to Infinite Imaging in Portsmouth and Exeter, prints look great!

Prints Oh My!

2009-03-12T22:15:00.002-04:00

Today was the last class before the show. Scary stuff.

Met with a printer today, who's going to get me a quote on 100 invites as well as a few prints of the folding maps for tomorrow.

Also, met with another printer who can print large-format, and I'm sure their price is reasonable, which just makes me even more discouraged since I can't afford to get them printed.

Not a clue what I'm going to do...

Tiled

2009-03-12T08:55:00.002-04:00

Cutting and Pasting

2009-03-11T13:32:00.002-04:00

I have a meeting with a local printer tomorrow, so I printed out all my work, thus far, and am now in the midst of trimming and taping all the tiled pieces, escpecially for my large accordion piece.

We went to the gallery yesterday to take measurements and such, and using the work I have so far, made a quick sketch of how I think it'll look like. John mentioned putting a medium accordion piece over the thermostat, and I think I will. Not sure if I want to do that one on foamboard though, I think I'll stick to a thicker paper.

Here's the large accordion piece printed and trimmed (will be taped later today):

I'm also going to finally get my books from last semester printed, and created a couple new things based on my road trips.

t-12 days.

2009-03-09T22:30:00.002-04:00

As of right now there are 12 days until the show has to go up. That's not to say that stuff won't be up earlier, but it doesn't give us much more time.

Granted it's a process show, but I like finishing things before showing them off to the public.

I have a list of things to do before I can put up my work, one of which is find a place that will print my bigger stuff (one being very long and double-sided and registered correctly).

Here is the large accordion thing I made:

And here is the image that will go on it:

Each divided area is of course on its own panel, coming together to form an image from two angles. The thing I really like is I'm playing off the scale of the piece and how it should be looked at, and using only 6dpi on the image. This makes the image very pixelated with pixels 1/4" big.

I organized the rest of my mobile pics, but I'm not sure how I want to display them. They definetly have to do with the rest of my work, it's about travel, and seeing, or not seeing, and documenting, and remembering, etcetc. At least that's what I get out of it. An idea I had is to mount them on foam or whatever and have them stretched across a single line at a certain height. Another is to group them grid-like, like I have with the contact sheets. Right now they're about 3" wide and 2" tall or so. I'd appriciate some input on that.

I did a design for a personal invitation and now just need to print them, cut them, and come up with the list of people I want to send them to. I know I have a good deal of addresses that I need! The finished size (folded into a book) is 4.25" x 2.75" so I also need to find some sort of envelope that would fit those well. And then mail them out. This I should probably work on soon so people have time before the show. I believe Scott M is working on an idea for the group card or such. Something about ninja poses...or something...

Oh yes, and we have a title for the show: First come, first served.

*Just had an idea for using data from all my trips...maps: pins, string, labels. I don't know, I think strange things when I'm tired.

Update again tomorrow after class.

- Ashley

some pictures and such

2009-03-01T10:44:00.008-05:00

stuff on the wall

one angle

other angle

haven't done much of anything with these pictures other than to organize them.

What I'm working on now is a much larger scale version of the accordion book-thing on the wall. Finished will be 3ft tall with each panel a foot wide. It's a combination of size that I like a lot. Per John's suggestions I made a smaller mockup (6inx2in each panel x8 panels) that I'll use to check out different images as well as ease of final production. I was going to print out each panel and spray adhesive to the panels, he says to print two panels per sheet of paper and have the joints where that fold outwards. I'll try both.

plans and ideas

2009-02-12T17:44:00.002-05:00

I made some new plans and got some new ideas from people this week. John informed us we only have ten (now nine) classes before the show is to go up.

One idea is using the random bits of info, locations, notes, etc, from the road trips I take. I tend to document them pretty well in photography so I have a lot to work with. I'm currently working on some accordion type pieces that see a picture (and eventual text) from one angle, and another picture from another angle. These would be mounted on the wall somehow, just how will be worked out this weekend/next week.

Another project are books made from a single sheet of paper. These are very versitile since they can be used as pieces for the show, but because they're rather easy and quick to make, I want to use them for personal invites to the show, as well as creating a series for people to take at the show (with trips or such). I want to create a backing for them, with maybe my info, a bit about the project or whatever, at the very least a solid color so it's not just white paper.

Yet something else is working with mobile pictures I take. I didn't work on this at all today, but will start figuring something out over the weekend.

Oh, and yet another idea, is I tend to move a lot, the most recent last week, so I got some info from my mother about all the addresses I've lived at. All in all a total of 12 different places I've lived. Hmm.

Starting to think about the show more, I kinda want to bring in a ton of car parts, since I don't have a lack of those. Ideasideasideas. Oh and I need an idea for the name of the show, I'm at a loss for words (for once).

- Ashley

amazing feat of photography

2009-02-09T19:57:00.001-05:00

My mom sent this to me earlier...amazing work with a camera.

http://gigapan.org/viewGigapanFullscreen.php?auth=033ef14483ee899496648c2b4b06233c

seminar

2009-02-09T15:27:00.002-05:00

I took seminar last semester, and while I started with the idea of investigating automotive aesthetics, I ended up working with much more personal ideas related to travel. I designed a series of accordion fold books dealing with a trip my family took in 2004 to CA and back.

In my second semester of seminar I was planning on continuing with the same idea of working with my road trips/travel. I find that I'm always on the road driving somewhere and want to incorporate that into making 'something.'

I've been playing with something I made in bookbinding a year ago...a book made from a single piece of paper. I'm thinking dual sides, or 'dual' sides on one side...it can be seen as a book or as a flat sheet of paper.

I'm also working on compiling a list of all the places I've gone, mostly on the rally cruises but also as I drive everywhere.

Something I want to work with is the commute I used to do. It was a 30-45min commute one way to school/work six to seven days a week. Almost everyday I took a picture of something, whether it was of my car or of the sunrise or of some random thing I saw while driving. I have all of these pictures uploaded to Facebook, so it has the date I uploaded them, as well as misc comments from people. I can use this information somehow...

check, check...

2009-01-29T10:44:00.000-05:00

This blogthing has been created for my design/art/non-personal/non-car stuff. Used primarily for seminar and maybe some other art-related stuff...

- Ashley