Category Archives: design

New WordPress Theme

Screen shot of BaseLayer three as used on my home page

I’ve been developing a new version of my wordpress theme for quite a while now and finally have it to a point that I like and have installed it on my site (you’re looking at it right now). There are a few artists using the theme already, and I worked with a design friend to come up with a nice, flexible overall layout. It has a stronger grid than my last design, and many more typography tools that are accessible within the WordPress admin area.

 

I’m giving away the theme for free and will be gradually updating the documentation to explain what it can do. For example, I personally don’t use pop-up galleries, but a lot of people use them so I have several versions of Colorbox built into the theme. Simply typing in the shortcode [gallery_colorbox] will create a default pop-up gallery. More info and downloads can be found here.

Instructor Position Announced

We have posted our new instructor position in Digital Design:

https://www.jobsatcu.com/applicants/jsp/shared/position/JobDetails_css.jsp?postingId=231058

The deadline for applying is pretty quick, July 27th. This is a full-time position and we are looking for someone to teach here at the University of Colorado Denver in Digital Design. We are a screen-based design program, so are looking for someone to teach both professional design skills and interactive, motion. You can apply online only, and I would imagine we will make a decision pretty quickly after the 27th.

Posting Description
The Digital Design program integrates aesthetic, creative, and critical thought with expertise in advanced electronic media. Configured as an interdisciplinary arts and design laboratory, Digital Design offers a hands-on education combining new art technologies and design concepts within a concentrated theoretical framework that promotes an understanding of the cultural impact and uses of digital technologies. Through this interdisciplinary approach, combining arts and communication, Digital Design strives to produce artists and designers who will use technology in innovative ways both in commercial and artistic spheres.
Required Education/Experience/Skills (Minimum Qualifications)

    1. 2-3 years professional design experience
    2. Expertise in Typography and Interactie Design
    3. Expertise in Design Fundamentals as applied to one or more of the following aread of specialization: graphic/multimedia/Web design, interactive design and motion graphics
    4. Active engagement in Design theory, history and criticism
    5.Knowledge of conceptual and design-based principles as applied to professional practice and experimental design
    6. Working knowledge of applications as applied to raster/vector media and motion graphics
    7. An ability to teach and work with a diverse student body

Desired qualifications

    1. 2-3 years teaching experience
    2. Scholarly or creative research focused on the design field, including: Informatiojn Design, Publication Design, Professional Practices, Design History, Environmental Design, Social Design, etc.
    3. Knowledge in human-centered information, experience and interactivity design

Special Instructions to Applicants
Electronic Portfolio of Design work, including web site addresses if applicable is required of the applicant.
Electronic address to send portfolio: brian.delevie@ucdenver.edu

Salary is commensurate with skills and experience. The University of Colorado offers a full benefits package. Information on University benefits programs, including eligibility, is located at http://www.cu.edu/pbs/.

Deadline to apply is July 27, 2010.

Applications are accepted electronically at www.jobsatcu.com, refer to job posting #810818.

Designers take the Meyer’s Brigg test

Thanks to Scott Hull for pointing me to this Fast Company article about what personality type makes the best designer. It seems to be inline with what I would expect, it also makes me wonder (beyond it’s incomprehensible design graphics). To see a trend, I would need to know how other professions would fare with the same criteria. I would think investment bankers would also be good at “intuiting”.

Communication Arts Design Annual

The new CA Design Annual is out and I’m not sure if it’s just me not noticing before but I really like the new online format. They have a small motion graphics section and we can actually click to see the winning videos – for a price. Most of my reading is done online anymore, so I’m glad to see that there is an alternative to the way they used to show motion through a series of images. If Microsoft products were as nice as the ads they produce, we’d be in business!

Data Visualization

This New York Times article has a good overview of the amount of data we are collectively generating. It is literally mountains of information, and the real problem is how do you make sense of the 40 billion photos on Facebook? Is it possible, is it useful? I hope to explore how to use Processing to visualize data in that way. I feel that as artists we have a unique ability to take complex ideas and fix them in a visual form.

Joan of Arc: A Constellation of Voices

Set Design Comps

Here are the comp proposals submitted by the Digital Design students. We will use this area to comment about the ideas and to decide on the 3 basic set designs to use for the show. Through lighting, textures and animations the environments will be customized for the specific scenes to be performed.
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