I've Moved! Update Your Links!

Hey all, if you haven't already heard, I am no longer running Pulse of Thought or Vigilant Studios anymore. These two entities have bridged into one new endeavor: Sonata Creative.

Please be sure to update your links and RSS feeds accordingly. Can't wait to get your feedback on the new site format.

Click here to go to the new website homepage.
Click here to go to the new blog.

Featured at FreelanceSwitch

I was excited to discover that a blurb I had written awhile back was recently featured in a posting over at FreelanceSwitch. My 'tip' was selected as one of their top ten "Ways to Create an Incredible Client Experience". Sweet!

FreelanceSwitch graciously gave a free subscription to freshbooks for a year to all those they selected to the top ten. I was particularly excited about this because I have been interested in the possibility of using freshbooks for quite sometime. This will give me the opportunity to play around with and decide if its something I'm going to use longterm. I'll keep y'all posted with the outcome.

Building Tomorrow's Church

We just got back from a wonderful weekend of fellowship. After 1.5 years of preparation, we finally launched the Building Tomorrow's Church Conference in Prescott, Arizona. Many thanks go out to everyone who was involved and participated in making this conference a reality. Here is a video I put together that should give you an idea of what the conference is about. Start making plans to attend next year!

Typography: Appreciating Your Roots

As graphic designers in a modern, technology driven world, it's often easy to forget about the roots of our artform. Through an RSS feed I follow (Design Daily News) I was led to this site: TypeCulture. This site has some really great resources for type enthusiasts or those looking to learn more about the history of typography. I highly, HIGHLY recommend viewing the type videos (you can click on them to watch a small version of the video without purchasing). Mark Jamra and Jamie Peloquin have done an excellent job documenting some of the 'ancient' processes of typesetting. My favorite is the video in Douglas Coffin's letter cutting workshop - talk about an art form; simply beautiful! Check out this quote from Coffin's website:

"Coffin carves predominantly in slate, but also works in limestone, marble, granite and brownstone, designing and cutting beautiful letterforms, decorative motifs and bas reliefs. Coffin brushes out his letterforms calligraphically, fine-tuning his work on paper before transferring the finished design to the face of the stone and settling down to v-cutting the letterforms. Raised lettering is sometimes called for. Carving in slate creates a naturally-occurring residue of dust in the carved letter that enhances readability. Lettering in limestone, granite and marble is usually slightly darkened for clarity. If appropriate, gilding in 23 K gold or palladium draws special attention to the lettering, particularly when carved in slate, which is then oiled or waxed."

Nice Business Card Concept

Thought that these business cards for web.burza.hr were awesome! Great concept and execution.

Typography and Site Changes

To say that a lot of changes are going on behind the scenes, may be a bit of an understatement. However, I've found that the minute I promise a big change, it always ends up taking a lot longer to complete and becomes much less dramatic when that change finally does hit. SO... I'm not going to promise anything or throw out any completion dates at all. Just wait and see what happens to this site in the near future. :)

I've also been on a design rejuvenation kick recently. There are times in your life where, suddenly, everything just seems to take a leap forward and take on new meaning. I had been in a design rut for quite some time, but the dam finally broke and I'm discovering new inspiration which has enabled me to push my boundaries. This is due in part to a fantastic RSS feed list, some really great design books, and a personal decision to reinvent myself as a designer. God has been good!

And just so this post has something substantial to offer, check out Fontsruct.com. This site allows you to design your own fonts online! Pretty neat! I was also introduced (via his blog) to font designer Jos Buivenga. Check out this interview with him if you have time- it was a refreshing read.

If Fonts We're People...

My friend Lauryn sent this video to me. This one is definitely dedicated to all of those design/typography geeks out there! I must say, my stomach turned a bit when I realized Comic Sans was the hero, but Wingdings more than made up for it. ;)