Check out stephaniezilles.com for the further adventures of yours truly.

Why the switch from WordPress to Tumblr? Basically it boils down to this: sometimes I just don’t have much to say. I’ve always felt like WordPress took up loads of my time. Just trying to write a decent entry about anything took all night. I’m sorry, but blogging is not a full-time gig for me. I’ve got a million other things to do. Like watching bad horror movies and plotting my next evil scheme to take over Canada.

With Tumblr, I can show you all the cool things I find, which happens a lot more than the occasional article on letterpress. And I can blog when I have something to say. And it’s a lot easier to post videos. And photos. And links.

Anyway, I appreciate all the support with this blog. I don’t plan on deleting it, and perhaps I’ll one day return. For now, while my life is hectic, I’ve switched to something a little bit more simple…

stephaniezilles.com

(Click to enlarge)

Set of demo handouts for Kellogg's. Short turn-around time called for creative thinking in making these completely different looks.

A campaign initiated by Kellogg's to bring many vendors together for a handout, ad and signage.

The goal of this project was to get employees to try new foods in the break room. It was important to grab their attention.

Kellogg's came to us and asked if we could redesign the 16ct packaging for Pop-Tarts to make it stand out on the shelves more.

When asked to redesign a SkyMall ad, it was important to clean up the client's existing ad while still maintaining the message of comfort and quality.

One program I used in college and miss a lot is Adobe Flash. It was nothing like what I had worked with before. I was used to creating flat, static art. Our biggest assignment for the program was to create a greeting card. I was thoroughly impressed with my own genius of combining a national holiday with my love of pirates.

The animation has been lost until now. We’ve purchased Flash here at work and finally, after three years, I am able to share this wonderful, albeit amateur, attempt at an electronic greeting card.

(You may have to watch it a few times to catch everything. And the fonts weren’t able to load in Flash when we exported it. But you get the idea.)

Music: Two Hornpipes (Tortuga) Hans Zimmer; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest soundtrack

Care instructions:

You need heat to set the design. I use a hair dryer. Wash it inside out the first few times. The design will naturally fade a bit, but setting it in the sun or with a hair dryer will help.

I hope you all enjoyed this. Please leave a comment and let me see your designs!

Wintergreen Oil

Year of the Dinosaur

Sketch Fest 2010

Anyway, I traveled to my hometown in Michigan for Christmas this past year. It was great to see my grandparents from Ohio and visit with my immediate family. There is nothing like a counter full of hors d’oeuvres on Christmas Eve and a ginormous basket of crescent rolls on Christmas day.

My mom got me a new wide-angle lens for my Nikon, so I took just a few photos and thought I’d share them.

My beautiful tree in my apartment.

My awesome snowman ornament.

Just a bit of the mess after opening presents.

My sister, Dani, stirring the creamed corn.

My mom's beautiful place settings, complete with a rooster hot pad.

Dani and Grandma, before dinner.

Grandma, trying to figure out our new Monopoly card game.

And Indy, because he's adorable.

And since I’m having a hard time staying awake (I only have 33 minutes to go), I thought I’d write a bit.

This year was rough. I lost my job in February, moved on to a new job and a new home in March. I basically stopped blogging then because I was so busy with work. And as I look back on this I completely regret it. I started this blog to keep me in line. To keep up with the world of design and remain a student in my field. While my new job has taught me many things, I feel I have lost a bit of my creative soul. So 2010 I’m going to gain it back. My only resolution is to be more creative.

My drawing professor in college told us one thing that none of us took very seriously at the time: “Draw every day.” I’m finally going to take him up on this. I went to Borders this evening and purchased 6 blank Moleskin notebooks. Each has 64 pages. I didn’t have a calculator on me and I’m terrible at math but I figured that would be enough to start. I’ll do my best to post every day’s sketch on my tumblr site.

But that’s not all. I want to become a better photographer. I’m saving up for a new camera (if anyone wants a Nikon D50 let me know) and an iMac (so I also have a MacBook for sale as well). I’ll be taking a picture every day too of my brontosaurus friend (found here), though I need to find a name for him…

I’ll also be writing more hand-written letters. I have a good friend who sends me a notecard or a letter every so often, and it’s about time I return the favor. To her and others.

As for this blog, I’m going to do my best to keep it up. I need to read more design books (I have about a million on my shelves) and report back on them and the design world in general.

I know making my self sketch every single day and take a photo of a small plastic dinosaur every single day is actually a huge undertaking, but I’m incredibly excited about the possibilities and where these projects will lead me.

Happy 2010 to you and yours.

We’ve decided to take a hiatus through the rest of the year, but we’ll be back in January. Happy holidays everyone!

Steph

Allie

noun:
Frank and simple good-heartedness; a good-natured manner; friendliness; geniality.

This one is late because of me. I took a few days off to visit family in Knoxville and forgot my camera…

Steph

Allie

noun:
a blessing; benediction

I have a story behind my photo this week. I wrote in a journal a few months ago about my dog, and I thought I would share the greatest blessing in my life so far. It may seem corny, but rest assured I am not one of those dog owners who dresses my dog up in ridiculous costumes and buys him gourmet dog treats. He eats Pedigree and has a blue collar. Moving on…

“The person I love most in this world isn’t even a person. His name is Indy. And he’s my dog.

I fell in love with him on one of my regular visits to the local animal shelter. There was a long row of dogs in large crates. All of them were barking and jumping and whining–save for one.

Back then his name was Frederick. He was at the very end of the row, lying on a ratty old pillow, staring at me with those big beautiful brown eyes. He looked exhausted, sad. I immediately fell in love.

I had always had a dog growing up, but that dog was never mine. She was my mother’s. And I didn’t mind much because my mother needed her most. But when I found Indy I had been looking for a best friend and companion. Someone who wouldn’t make me sad or depressed or any number of negative emotions. Someone who would always be excited to see me and someone who would help make my big empty bed a little more warm and cozy at night.

I knew immediately that I would be adopting that dog–and changing his name. When I came back we played in a small room. His shaggy fur is a beautiful sandy color. The tips of his paws are white, as is his chest and just one side of his muzzle. He has big floppy ears and large jowls he inherited from his spaniel ancestors. But those eyes could only belong to a retriever.

It was only when I took him home and found out how amazingly well house-trained he was and how lazy he could truly be that I knew he was the perfect dog. Granted, there were the initial first few weeks where I questioned whether or not I was truly ready for the responsibility. But even after all the chewing and general naughtyness, it was the moments lying on the couch together, or in bed, where he would flop against me and heave a great sigh where we both knew exactly who loved us and where we were meant to be–with each other.”

Steph

Allie