So now that I have something worthwhile and productive to do with my time, I look forward to enjoying my free time by continuing to work on and develop this site. When I made the transition from a static HTML/CSS site to a dynamic WordPress CMS site, I didn’t have time to do much more than get it up and running to assist in my job search. In the months to come, I look forward to trying some new things and developing more content. I have a couple of friends for whom I have done some web design and development work. I would like to take what I’ve done for them and power it up by moving them into WordPress CMS with its easy to use interface and powerful plug-in options.

Ideally, I want to build a site that is more reflective of all my interests. I have a lot of video I would like to add to my site, as well as many photo albums from recent trips that I would love to share. Now that I have upgraded to Adobe CS5 Master Collection, I have the tools I need to do a lot of things that have been just out of reach before. It is so nice to have the right tools to do the work I love to do! So keep checking me out from time to time. I may not be able to update daily, except my Twitter posts, but I will update at least a few times a week.

Designing and developing for the web is a constant learning process, which is fun! Technology evolves at a rapid rate. New standards evolve making old ways of doing things irrelevant or just plain wrong. So staying relevant means keeping up with what’s going on. This makes time-management an essential creative skill.

When it comes to code, it is counterproductive to reinvent the wheel for every project. So I try to write solid code that works and validates the first time. Then I know I can use it over and over again, making adjustments for display purposes. I have developed my own snippets resource book to tap into when I need to do something I’ve already done before. There’s simply no sense reinventing the wheel.

A blog I follow regulary is Chris Coyier’s CSS Tricks. This past week, he added a new feed called Code Snippets. Practically overnight, it has become one of my favorite resources for web development solutions. It’s not a new idea to use snippets, but it’s an amazing new central location for solutions to common problems. Now if we could just get Internet Explorer into the 21st century…

The only hitch came when I tried to copy files stored on my Time Capsule. My Time Capsule backup files are fine, but I had other valuable files on the same disk that did not exist elsewhere. When I tried to copy several gigabytes of files to my computer, the procedure failed repeatedly. So I ended up going out to purchase new external drives for secure storage of my most valuable files: my portfolio. I will now keep those valuable files on one drive with a separate backup. I’m still slowly copying those files over, which I will complete over the next few days. I definitely gained a better understanding of how these things need to be set up to be (mostly) fail-proof.

All-in-all, I am very pleased with the new system. It runs quickly and improves on the previous system, which was already the best operating system ever. Owning a Mac definitely costs more, but I still believe I get a good value for the dollars spent. Snow Leopard adds further value.

As all this has unfolded, there have been several side projects, too. My plan to set up all my feeds in Google Reader is finally finished. It will be so much easier to simultaneously keep up with my job search, track design trends, etc. I also finally focused on the Photoshop-to-XHTML work flow. By focusing on some tutorial resources, I will be able to master this skill quickly. It’s not terribly difficult, once I sat down and focused on what needed to be done. Today’s sideshow was finally organizing all our bookmarks and putting them up on Delicious. It seems the big lesson of this visit has been to be resourceful. No sense reinventing the wheel! We still have a few things to do, but my “working vacation” is not even half over.

I don’t know what I’d do without my buddy, Kevin. We met in school when we were both in the early stages of career changes. We had many overlapping interests and life experiences. It’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime friendships. We challenge, teach each other, encourage and support each other personally and professionally. The picture in this post is from our recent visit to Flash Camp at the Adobe offices in San Francisco. I’m already wondering what fun memories our next visit will bring…

My role in this project was production of flawless press-ready digital files from approved design files prepared by the design team at Landor Associates, a renowned international branding agency in San Francisco.

Additionally, I prepared logos, wordmarks, brand guidelines, stationery systems, InDesign stationery mechanicals, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint templates, and maintained the Citi Brand Resource Site which provided a central point for distribution of approved artwork via the Internet to Citi locations around the world.

Unnecessary masks were eliminated. Gradients were positioned in-place in the triangle and trapezoidal shapes. The gradient mesh highlight on each ribbon was simplified.

This art was produced in flat spot backgrounds with gradient overprints, in addition to the four-color process versions displayed. One-color blue and one-color black versions were produced for limited use in one-color applications.

I worked on this project during my freelance engagement at Landor Associates, a renowned international branding agency in San Francisco.

The event invitation is a three-panel, c-fold, three-color job measuring 10” wide by 10” high. A matching full-bleed, oversized, non-standard envelope completed the effect for a dramatic impact when it was received by the select MGM MIRAGE Players Club members invited to the annual invitational.

MGM Grand requested a high-end piece with a teaser out front followed by a dramatic reveal on the inside. I worked with the provided admat supplemented with additional source art, including sheet music from one of Eric Clapton’s earlier compositions.

The invitation is a 2-color piece accented with foil and a dramatic die line used to reveal the guitar on the inside spread when viewed from the front. The full impact is impossible to appreciate on the screen, but the client was delighted by the subtle and sophisticated elegance of the related tones across a wide range of materials.

This high-profile, much-sought-after invitation combined photography and line art to create an energetic, electric front-side presentation followed by a dramatic reveal across the inside spread. The complex mask complemented the Billboard web site at the time.

Using cited research material, the project displays beautiful photographs and a brief history of each of California’s 21 missions. In order to fit the format, the coastline of California is turned 90 degrees on its side. Each of the missions is identified by a star button which loads the content and images into the center movie holders. El Camino Real, identified by the brown trail, is also a hidden button that loads information about California’s first highway when it is clicked.

Included throughout is information about the impact of the missions on the native peoples of California from San Diego, the birthplace of California, north to Solano.