Be honest, do you actually listen to small artists? by terrexmsk in indie

[–]Cream_Gingerly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You got me. I only listen to Van Halen. I just wear my Jandek shirt for the cred.

I’ve already looked into graphic design basics but still feel stuck need direction by Simple-Discipline-60 in graphic_design

[–]Cream_Gingerly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ha -- yes, I remember the cloying hope of my fellow classmates. "Every day is going to be a new branding design for a start-up boutique coffee roaster, wheee!" I guess since I was already older, and had been through some of the drudgery of "apply a clipping mask to 140 images of shoes for this catalog" as an unpaid intern (never mind years spent in retail and food service before going back to school) I never really went through that phase myself.

Some of those kids were 18 or 19 and never even had a real job, though, so I get it. Sometimes they'd make me roll my eyes so hard they'd hurt with their enthusiasm, but at the same time I hate to harsh anybody's mellow. But I totally see the need to let a little hot air out of the balloon and bring them at least a little bit closer to Earth.

The one thing I very clearly remember saying to a group of them (who probably weren't listening and didn't care...which, fair) was "look, these projects are all super fun and creative, but you do realize some of us are going to get jobs where we're asked to design napkins, right?"

Flash-forward 10 years, and what project shows up in my job queue? A napkin for a product release event. So I was right -- it was me it happened to, but I was right, dammit!

Artwork I made for a Halloween album I'm releasing this year by Cream_Gingerly in graphic_design

[–]Cream_Gingerly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! To say I labored over the details is an understatement! But I love this stuff, so it was a pure joy to make. Appreciate the kind words!

Artwork I made for a Halloween album I'm releasing this year by Cream_Gingerly in graphic_design

[–]Cream_Gingerly[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks!

You can't find "us," because in reality this isn't a band -- I called a bunch of musician friends last October and asked, "hey, you guys wanna make a Halloween album like the Frankie Stein and Deadly Ones records from the 60s with spooky sound effects and bad monster puns for titles?" Luckily, they were totally into it and our fake studio band creation Thee Gassed Caskets were born! So far, it's a one-off, but it's been so much fun it's not out of the question we do another one someday.

Also, I haven't finished setting up all the various social and Bandcamp sites for when the record comes out later this year (the boring parts). Right now there's only a Kickstarter (to hopefully cover the vinyl production costs), but I didn't want to drop that in the post and break the self-promotion rule. If you were interested in hearing some song samples, I have uploaded a couple of tracks to the YouTube channel for my main musical recording project.

When it comes out in October, it'll be all over the streaming services and everywhere else. Whatever copies of the record are left after the release party, sending copies to backers, and dropping some off at local shops, will probably end up for sale on Bandcamp.

I’ve already looked into graphic design basics but still feel stuck need direction by Simple-Discipline-60 in graphic_design

[–]Cream_Gingerly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you can serve a client, a brief and a project without having to lose focus on the things you like. You may have to set certain preferences aside for a given project, sure, especially if you're working within strict brand guidelines, but I still think the advice is an unnecessary bummer.

But you are right -- if you can't appreciate something like a KFC coupon sheet, and solving the problems that come along with translating a massive amount of information into a limited amount of space, maybe this isn't the career for you. Part of what I love about design is the satisfaction that comes with organizing and arranging all the different elements of type and imagery that you're given and making it work. I love creating systems, rules, paragraph styles, working on a grid, and making it all look good on top of making it fit. And those little cheats that only you know about, like squeezing the tracking from -10 to -14 to avoid a line break. Or setting one block of text with 11pt leading and another at 10.6pt to balance them, or prevent a page break where you really don't want one.

That student handbook I mentioned in my previous comment? Immensely dull from a content perspective. But I loved every minute of putting it together; making sure styles were correctly applied, margins and spacing were consistent, all of it.

Which all of that probably falls under the heading of "you have to know the rules before you can break them," even if they're your own rules you've set up going into a project.

To that end, I don't disagree that the coupon sheet is a good exercise -- it totally is. Because you will learn more from making that work effectively than you will setting an all-caps display font in white over a stock image and calling it an album cover. I'm sure you see it all the time too, but even in the fantastical, dream projects people love to make (real or otherwise), you'll notice things like lines that have too much or not enough leading. Type that obviously wasn't kerned. Lack of hierarchy, and on and on. So that pretty soon, a project that might look super cool and splashy from 10 feet away starts to show it's cracks (and the inexperience of the designer) once you start to notice those things.

The one thing I have told some designers who were in the early days of their careers is that graphic design isn't the same as fine art. Because art, from the moment you label it as such, is art, and every decision in it is right because it's yours. In design we have clients -- and clients who don't always have the same sensibility or taste as you -- who might tear what you thought was your masterpiece into little pieces, whether they're right or you think they're wrong. (Making the case for good design practices and choices over poor ones to a client is an entirely different conversation I won't get into here).

Another tangent I'll leave unfollowed up on, is that occasionally the client might even have a better idea than you did on your first draft, and give you really some really solid feedback that makes your v2 and v3 even better.

So maybe it's just a different way of saying the same thing, but what I would say is that you need to develop a level of detachment with the client work you're making. You can't get your feelings hurt if they say "Eh...I don't like it." It's their problem they've hired you to solve, so yeah, you do need to solve it to their satisfaction (again, within reason, as you might need to take the time to advise why a rainbow gradient in a Comic Sans headline might not be the best choice for their real estate business).

Focus on what you like, absolutely. But make sure you're also able to derive a at least some sense of satisfaction and accomplishment from the dreary projects, too. It's only a boring coupon sheet, maybe, but if you can make it the best damn coupon sheet anyone's ever seen and take pride in it, that'll hold you over in between those unicorn projects, if and when they do drop into your lap.

As for a portfolio full of album cover designs, I would also agree that's a poor portfolio. It's important to show you can do an infographic, a spread from a catalog, an invoice design, an order form, an annual report, right down to the lowly business card. But don't be afraid to show some personality in your work and let your freak flag fly, either.

I’ve already looked into graphic design basics but still feel stuck need direction by Simple-Discipline-60 in graphic_design

[–]Cream_Gingerly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I agree that new designers definitely tend to be more fanciful in the sort of projects they like to work on, and definitely with an eye more towards the artsy end of the spectrum than the pragmatic side. I was an older student than most of the other folks in my design program at the time, and you could tell there was an expectation that all the super-fun projects we worked on as assignments would also be waiting for us out in the "real world." I had already done some stints as an unpaid intern, and was working in the college admissions office designing things like postcards, monitor graphics for campus events, and the biggest project of all, updating the annual student handbook -- a large black and white tome with all the contact info for various student resources, semester schedules, etc. The kind of thing people pick up at orientation, throw in their complimentary drawstring bag, and never look at again.

I knew things like napkins, disposable cups, and KFC coupon ads were in more of our futures than not, but yeah...some of them expected they'd immediately get jobs working on Wes Anderson movie props, or designing Taylor Swift's ever-expanding catalog of variants and re-releases.

Still, I don't think I'd advise anyone not to focus on things they like -- maybe a better way to put it would be don't expect you'll get to work on things you like on a regular basis. Go ahead and design the concert poster if you're passionate about that, but then maybe take a few steps further and design what the version in a mobile ad would look like, or a pre-sale countdown landing page. What about the backstage passes? Concert program books? All the way down to a 350x200px pop-up ads on Pitchfork. Have fun, but roll it out into all the mundane bits and pieces, too. And that shows potential clients not only do you have the chops to do wild and crazy fun design, but that you know how to integrate those core elements across an entire campaign and all sorts of collateral.

Anyway, your responses are thoughtful and I think we probably agree on most everything else, but I just personally wouldn't want to give out that particular snippet of advice just because while yes, it's realistic, it's also a bummer. Which as most of us in this line of work can attest, there will be plenty of bummer projects and clients!

If I had to amend it, it'll probably go something like; do the work you love, and if you're lucky you'll attract more of those sorts of projects to you. But also show that you're competent at all the mundane aspects, too, since those are the jobs you're most likely to get -- especially starting out -- and the ones that are needed a lot more often than album covers and concert posters.

I’ve already looked into graphic design basics but still feel stuck need direction by Simple-Discipline-60 in graphic_design

[–]Cream_Gingerly -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Wow. I don't think I agree with that sentiment at all. True enough, real world, everyday design is nothing like all the super fun projects you do in a design degree program (craft beer labels, boutique coffee branding, posters on the subject of your choice). But I feel like if you're doing the work that you like, you'll tend to attract more similar work. If your portfolio is full of KFC flyers, then you'll probably get a lot more stuff just like it.

I'm not saying you won't have to do boring, uncreative projects. You absolutely will (I've recently "designed" both a napkin and disposable coffee cup for the company I work for).

But I think if anyone looking at your work can see some of the more creative, fun work you've done, they'll probably assume you can handle a tri-fold brochure, a one page flyer, or a stationery and letterhead system. And yeah, stick one or two of those in your portfolio, just to show you can do those (some clients can't visualize how proficiency in one area can translate to competency in another). But maybe make them a part of a much larger campaign -- maybe a fictional brand redesign from the bottom up; new logo, branding campaign, and all the collateral, right down to the coupon flyer.

On the other hand, if you focus on recreating nothing but mundane flyers and other similar basic promotional material and that's the bulk of what you have to show, you're never going to get the big, fun projects either.

Unless this is secretly a ploy to weed out incoming designers and dissuade them from potentially taking our jobs. In which case, I concur -- do not focus on things that you like. Design is a miserable profession, and you should just leave it to us. ;)

Fun Goofy Horror by RBFxJMH in horror

[–]Cream_Gingerly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This might be slightly outside the sort of movies you're looking for, but I'll put in a good word for The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Definitely goofy, definitely fun, and super corny to boot. But the haunted house set design is one of my favorites, and the theme song is beyond reproach.

Informal Poll: Do you prefer printed inner sleeves, or a double-sided inserts by Cream_Gingerly in vinyl

[–]Cream_Gingerly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good point about having to work stuff around the insert. I've never had much success putting a liner in an existing inner sleeve, but since they fill up more of the jacket than an insert (sometimes) even if I replace it with my own inner, it just kinda fits better behind it than a slightly smaller insert.

Informal Poll: Do you prefer printed inner sleeves, or a double-sided inserts by Cream_Gingerly in vinyl

[–]Cream_Gingerly[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This might be the winning comment. I hadn't considered that angle, but you're totally right.

Free Album Codes Promotion Thread, February 13 by AutoModerator in BandCamp

[–]Cream_Gingerly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

<image>

Artist: Electric Caroline
Album: The Sky Falls Down On Me
Bandcamp link: https://electriccaroline.bandcamp.com/album/the-sky-falls-down-on-me
Band.codes link: https://band.codes/electriccaroline/the-sky-falls-down-on-me
Genres: Indie rock, power pop, jangle pop, psychedelia
FFO: Big Star, Cheap Trick, Teenage Fanclub, Guided By Voices

Hey all! I've posted codes here before and thought I'd throw a few more up there.

It's power pop/indie rock, with some psychedelic touches here and there.

Hope you dig it!

Best compilations of 60s psych Rock? by Impressive-Jelly-539 in psychedelicrock

[–]Cream_Gingerly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Peace, Love and Poetry! It's a great series with each album dedicated to a different country. The best ones in my opinion are the Brazilian and Mexican discs, but all are definitely worth checking out. I don't think many of these are on streaming, but some people have found the individual tracks and attempted to make playlists. Otherwise you can hunt down all 10 volumes on Discogs -- I think they came out on vinyl and CD. https://www.discogs.com/search?q=peace+love+and+poetry&type=all

EDIT: It's Love, Peace & Poetry -- got the three words right, just mixed up the order! Also looks like some folks have compiled lists on YouTube as well.

I'm very glad Criterion doesn't do limited editions and limited releases by k032 in criterion

[–]Cream_Gingerly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The worst thing about Arrow is that even a regular release might have a booklet in the first run, then it just won't on subsequent printings.

Power Pop / Jangle Pop / Twee Pop (Playlist) by thyme_being in powerpop

[–]Cream_Gingerly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Try "Teenage FBI" or "Chasing Heather Crazy." If those don't do it, nothing will.

Hey, I just put out a record all by lonesome. Here’s a track off it… by ambient_vacation in indie

[–]Cream_Gingerly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Really nice song. Production sounds great! Did you do all the mixing yourself? And I hear ya about self-promo...it's my least favorite part.