iphone wallpaper.

So, now that basketball season is officially over (and my Jayhawks did the unthinkable and made the national championship game during a ‘down’ season), I decided it’s time to retire my Thomas Robinson monster dunk wallpaper. Yes, it stings, because the boy is pretty and NBA-bound, but life goes on. I was in search of something new and thought this

was going to be the winner, but then I decided “hey, you’re a designer. why don’t you just make one yourself?” Because, as it turns out, my internal dialogue doesn’t capitalize properly. So create a new wallpaper for myself, I did.

It’s based on a little ditty I found on google reader today. I used a photo I took with my grandpa’s ancient manual camera while I was in Venice, which gives it that nice grainy effect. It’s also the first thing I’ve made that actually utilizes the sweet typeface my friend Luke created.

So now that I know how easy it is to create iPhone wallpapers, I think I’m going to be doing it much more often. At least until Thomas Robinson starts getting some minutes in the pros, anyway.

sweet summertime.

Happy first day of summer, all! I have lots of big plans for the summer, including weddings, lots of travel (including a bachelorette party in Vegas! I’m already nervous…), and starting a spankin’ new job!

More on that later, but for now I’ll leave you with what can only be described as my weekly routine at KVKL‘s Sunday night Game of the Week. Warm weather, good friends, cheap beer, and heckling adults playing kickball. What more could a girl ask for?

photo via The Nifty Fifties

dream job update.

Has anyone ever realized their dream job by randomly stumbling upon it? Because I’m pretty sure that’s what just happened to me.

My constant source of everything relevant to design, swiss miss, just shared that the Department of Advertising and Graphic Design at The Museum of Modern Art updated their website. Now don’t get me wrong, the website is very clean and well done, but what really blew me away was the work itself. I mean, that’s the intention, right?

Anyway, I’m now furiously clicking through every single exhibit design they have created. It’s so amazing that even though they are designing the same spaces over and over, each exhibit maintains its own specific feel. Plus, they’re not just designing for the space within the museum, they also extend all of the identity through advertising each show around the city.

Needless to say, I am utterly green with envy right now. The funniest part is, I’d never really considered going in this direction of design. I created museum collateral for an el Lissitzky exhibit at the Spencer for Typography class, but now that I see what awesome stuff their department does, I definitely think this is a direction I could see myself going in.

I think this is one of my favorite aspects of Design, the fact that there is no limit to what kind of work is possible.

adult spring break.

Due to the extreme tardiness of this post, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. (Then again, Sam hasn’t blogged about my visit yet, so I must not be too terribly late!) Long story short, I reunited with my dear friend Samantha for a whirlwind Euro trip. Although the Travel Gods smiled upon us and then laughed in our faces, we had a spectacular “Adult Spring Break”.

Taking a break in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.Enjoying pints of Guinness in the Gravity Bar.Kissing the Blarney Stone.Enjoying the view of Barcelona from Park Güell.Inhaling an epic feast of seafood paella in the shadow of Sagrada Família.

Be sure to keep an eye on Samatha’s blog, she will have lots more to say about our trip!

the fifth of may.

Hope everyone is as excited as I am to celebrate one of my favorite drinking days of the year: Cinco de Mayo.

I’ll be partaking in the festivities while also celebrating the final portfolios of KU’s finest design students at their senior show. Margaritas, exhausted design students, and seeing my fellow alumni? Olé!

And yes, I have every intention of blogging my recent visit across the pond with my dear Samantha. Despite returning a week and a half ago, I’m just now easing back into ‘non-vacation mode’. I’ll get to it soon, promise!

greensburg, even greener.

When they ever-inspiring folks over at Dwell aren’t being playfully mocked over at Unhappy Hipsters, they’re finding some really awesome stuff. Specifically, they just did a photo essay about the town of Greensburg, KS. Greensburg is a teeny little Western Kansas town located about 2 hours west of my hometown, Wichita.

On May 4, 2007, an F5 tornado completely leveled the town. 95% of the city was gone, leaving virtually all of it’s residents homeless. While most towns of such a small size (about 1,000 people) would consider moving to other communities in the area and leaving the demolished remains, the people of Greensburg decided to do something different. They were going to build the town again, but this time, greener, smarter, and stronger.

It brings so much pride to my Kansas soul to see others who love this beautiful state as much as I do. They love this place so much, they not only decided to stay and rebuild their lives and community, but make it the best town possible. These photos really say it all.

Thank you so much to Dwell for giving this amazing story new life.

All photos taken by Alec Soth.

felice varini.

I’ve come across the work of Felice Varini many times, but I am just now realizing how prolific of an artist he actually is. The best way I can describe his work is ‘high-brow street art’, his site-specific paintings are meant to be viewed at a very specific point of view. Otherwise, they appear to be random markings in a given area.

I love the idea of this. I even love the seemingly ‘random’ markings on different surfaces and planes that come together to create something completely different; the various angles create such subtle color differences, it’s breathtaking. The painstaking care and detail that goes into each work must be immense. I am now making a point to see his work in person, it’s so fascinating!

Found (again) at The Fox is Black. Also see Mr. Varini’s website (if you don’t mind brushing up on your French).