From the desk of A. Stro...

New job and new website – ACCESSline and ACCESSlineIOWA.com

astro22gazguy — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:23:31 +0000

Hello everyone,

I am proud to announce I now have two jobs: I am now the Assistant Editor of ACCESSline – Iowa’s LGBT newspaper. I also subcontract web site work for Breur Media Corporation.

ACCESSline is a LGBT non-profit newspaper that was recently picked up by Arthur Breur of Breur Media Corporation and myself along with Cory Tenney, our Advertising and Sales Director.

The newspaper promotes LGBT news and resources around Iowa such as One Iowa and Iowa Safe Schools. For more information or to subscribe visit the ACCESSlineIOWA website.

The other company which subcontracts me is Breur Media. I work on various projects from pet stores to real estate architect web sites for the company.

Consulting outlets…

astro22gazguy — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:06:16 +0000

The nearest place for opportunity is not going to be right next to your house. Sometimes you have to search far and wide for a venue to promote yourself. I recently had to do this myself. I needed a place to display my art so I could start on new projects. I went to my favorite hangout, The Coffee Emporium that was close to my house. They could not help me with displaying my art. I asked to display my art at Hamburger Mary’s down by Lindale Mall. They said they were not sure they could because it was franchised-based. I then went to Brewed Awakenings down on 1st Avenue and they gave me a contact to show my art. It’s a start, but it’s also a matter of perseverance.

The beauty of branding – 1

astro22gazguy — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:04:34 +0000

Branding is the core of good design in business. Does a brand necessarily need to represent a monetary cause? I don’t believe this to be so. A brand can be used as a signifying prescence to make people aware there is something there. What would have to be in such a brand as to promote awareness of a concept?

1.) A symbol identifying the issue being addressed:

One cannot hope to convey a message without using symbols that are synonymous with the cause or the party involved in the problem at hand.

2.) Use of color

Different colors mean different things to people. Orange can have different levels of importance, for example. It can be a symbol of freedom or it can simply denote Protestantism for those of Irish descent.

3.) Shape and texture

I have always been a person who wants to be able to have tactile access to a product rather than simply seeing it electronically. Shape and texture define what an object really is. In an earlier blog I mentioned how I did not approve of a gallery simply being an entity posted online. The sense of touch evokes more vivid thoughts rather than just seeing something in a picture. The picture takes away dimensionally.

With these three concepts in mind it is easy to create something that will bring attention to an important idea.

Time management in the midst of commotion

astro22gazguy — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 18:26:27 +0000

So, I am taking time to celebrate some birthdays today at my house. That does not mean that I necessarily will stop thinking about graphic design. When one is confronted with a challenge like this, they must be ready to keep a mental notepad so as not to distract them from their work completely.

Book update – 2

astro22gazguy — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:44:55 +0000

The plot thickens as the outline grows bigger. Two worlds, completely unrelated except for the people who fall into them. One world is similar to dimensions portrayed in games like 6 Days A Sacrifice by Benjamin “Yathzee” Croshaw. The other world is a creation of a man’s imagination. Who are these creators and what happens in these worlds they created? Only time will tell as the full story is now written from the outline! Next update hopefully will be a sampling of the prologue and/or first chapter!

Book update – 1

astro22gazguy — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 17:22:23 +0000

Good morning everyone,

I have finally come up with an outline for the book I am going to write! The subject of my book deals with three plots intertwining through both contained dimensions and the real world. I’m thinking of something for a title to this book along the lines of portals.

The subject of religion is a big question in today’s world. I plan to incorporate that into my writings lightly, but not to force something down anyone’s throat. I find it fascinating everyone’s different perspectives on it. I have had friends on Facebook who was incensed everytime someone tried to bash Atheism, but yet I had friends back at Clarke College who were very in touch with their religious bases.

Adz – a sampling of the “Stroschein” font

astro22gazguy — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 21:34:35 +0000

This font is based on my handwriting. It also gives the viewer a sense of calmness. The smooth letters, curly serifs, and inside letter designs add flair to the font making it lively.

What is an adz you ask? Its a tool that is similar in ways to an ax. It also makes a darn good word when playing Scrabble!

So now…

astro22gazguy — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:59:19 +0000

I am learning web languages for my new job. It can be very taxing, but at the same time rewarding. There is a lot to know about how people make websites. After a while it becomes easy to understand. Some web sites are one big Flash application, other sites are a series of tables.

Cosmic Cataclysm and my new ‘Stroschein’ font

astro22gazguy — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:24:03 +0000

I am excited! I am getting the chance to demonstrate my game trading card game Cosmic Cataclysm for an audience! I also will show some font work before I post it here in WordPress land. I have decided to name the font my last name: Stroschein. I hope that my TCG becomes marketable. People have looked at my designs and have said I should demonstrate my idea to a big company like Wizards of the Coast. Who knows what my ideas could bring?

People say good things happen all at once and for me they are still happening. First I get an ADDY award for work I refined from my senior art performance and now my gaming work is catching even more attention. It is only the beginning, but it is surreal something like this is finally starting to happen.

I have a few designs to post here, but they will come tomorrow. My gallery on my website is being an artificial arrogance. I may have to send it to its room if it won’t shape up after recoding. I have much to do tonight to finish what I started for the dinner tomorrow night, too. Does anyone know if there is a way to upload files from a computer instead of linking?

Logistics of a font

astro22gazguy — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:12:02 +0000

I have made my own font and now I am tweaking the details. Sure fonts may look like just simple sets of letters, but there is so much more to these letters numbers and glyphs than anyone could imagine.

First one must establish the look of the font in rough draft format. Is it a decorative font? A script font? how do the letters fit together in conjunction when they spell out a word such as ‘fish’?

The second problem for me was the ‘x’ height of each letter. The ‘x’ height simply is the height of an x in the font. This sets the standard for all other lower case letters minus the ascending and descending letters (ie: g, h, p). These may be the same as two x heights stacked on one another.

Next one must decide on kerning and tracking if they decide to use this font in something such as a flyer or book. They must also decide if there is an associated font family to go with this particular font. can there be bold letters, is there a version of this font in italitic letters?

It seems like such a long and detailed process, but we are surrounded by fonts each day.

I have figured out my font, but yet I must make a medium decision for it. I don’t want to just recreate t on a computer and then realize it loses its originality. I will make more progress today if I ever find time between submitting job applications.