By Brian Grimmer
In remembrance of D-Day - June 6th, 1944. A salute to those who served in the liberation of Europe.
Created in Adobe Photoshop.
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Weaving through the flak over Normandy. |
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
Combining Work with Seattle Pride and a Subtle Tribute
By Brian Grimmer
Occasionally, the creative process and the universe merge in strange yet beautiful ways. Initially, I had planned to create the below graphic so that the logo was a nice warm blazing sun in celebration of the coming summer season. I had just placed the sun and was adding a gaussian blur for the glowing effect when my music service played Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun. With recent events coming to mind, I followed the creative divergence and came up with this.
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| Homage to Soundgarden and Chris Cornell. His spirit lives on. |
Monday, June 5, 2017
How to customize your Twitter page header and look great!
By Brian Grimmer
When creating a custom header image for use on Twitter, create your image to be 1500 pixels wide by 500 pixels tall. You should design your image so that the bottom area underneath the first arc of the dotted line is empty of any important information. This area will be covered by your profile image. If you don't get things just right the first time, don't fret. You can edit your image, save and easily upload the edited revision to replace the old image.
By the way, your Twitter profile image is set to display at 200 pixels x 200 pixels. Keeping Retina displays in mind, it is recommended to use a 400 x 400-pixel image and let Twitter do the resizing.
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| Creating a custom header for your Twitter page is simple once you know what the dimensions need to be. Check out the above header image on Twitter. |
Brian Grimmer is a freelance graphic designer, web developer, and proprietor of Grafx.One, a freelance design studio in the Seattle area. Brian has more than thirty years of design experience in the creative arts industry. Call Grafx.One to take your business to the next level with a professionally designed logo or website.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
Sports Car Market magazine - Cover layouts
By Brian Grimmer
Just posted some work from the past in my Behance portfolio. While serving as the art director for Keith Martin's Sports Car Market (SCM) magazine back in 2001-2002. I learned a lot about collector cars and developed an appreciation for classic automobiles during my time working with the company. Published by Keith Martin in Portland, Oregon, I transitioned SCM from Adobe PageMaker to InDesign 2.0 and significantly streamlined the production process.
Assembling the cover was always my favorite part of the monthly publication process. Using artist supplied artwork, the challenge was developing a masthead that complemented the artist's work yet still worked within the readability needs of the informational content. Today we have tools and mobile apps like Adobe Color which assist in making color selection an easy, if not enjoyable process.
Features within InDesign allowed the design process of the SCM cover to be sped up and simplified by using a template. Further revisions for the next issue only involved replacing the textual data, changing the colors, and linking to the cover artwork in the InDesign tool panel. Under the similar but more complex PageMaker publishing process, any changes to the masthead had to be applied to a separate Adobe Illustrator file and relinked.
The method of using a color flexible masthead and commissioned artwork inclusion was popular practice for publications who enjoy a strong name recognition in their particular industry and market. Wanting to expand beyond the niche though, (and likely to increase the efficiency of the overall production process as I recall the artwork selection and subsequent artist negotiations were very consuming of Keith's time) SCM has since updated their look and feel significantly to appeal to a broader audience.
Keith Martin knows his cars and Sports Car Market magazine exemplifies his vast knowledge on the subject. If you are into classic and collector cars (or are considering owning one), I invite you to check out Sports Car Market magazine before you even think about car shopping.
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Brian Grimmer is a freelance graphic designer, web developer, and proprietor of Grafx.One, a freelance design studio in the Seattle area. Brian has more than thirty years of design experience in the creative arts industry. Call Grafx.One to take your business to the next level with a professionally designed logo or website.
July Specials:
Logo Design - $50
Logo / Business Card / Letterhead design - $100
Website design - $100 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available
eCommerce website - $300 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available
Just posted some work from the past in my Behance portfolio. While serving as the art director for Keith Martin's Sports Car Market (SCM) magazine back in 2001-2002. I learned a lot about collector cars and developed an appreciation for classic automobiles during my time working with the company. Published by Keith Martin in Portland, Oregon, I transitioned SCM from Adobe PageMaker to InDesign 2.0 and significantly streamlined the production process.
Assembling the cover was always my favorite part of the monthly publication process. Using artist supplied artwork, the challenge was developing a masthead that complemented the artist's work yet still worked within the readability needs of the informational content. Today we have tools and mobile apps like Adobe Color which assist in making color selection an easy, if not enjoyable process.
Features within InDesign allowed the design process of the SCM cover to be sped up and simplified by using a template. Further revisions for the next issue only involved replacing the textual data, changing the colors, and linking to the cover artwork in the InDesign tool panel. Under the similar but more complex PageMaker publishing process, any changes to the masthead had to be applied to a separate Adobe Illustrator file and relinked.
The method of using a color flexible masthead and commissioned artwork inclusion was popular practice for publications who enjoy a strong name recognition in their particular industry and market. Wanting to expand beyond the niche though, (and likely to increase the efficiency of the overall production process as I recall the artwork selection and subsequent artist negotiations were very consuming of Keith's time) SCM has since updated their look and feel significantly to appeal to a broader audience.
Keith Martin knows his cars and Sports Car Market magazine exemplifies his vast knowledge on the subject. If you are into classic and collector cars (or are considering owning one), I invite you to check out Sports Car Market magazine before you even think about car shopping.
 |
| Check out the magazine cover layouts created for Sports Car Market magazine using Adobe InDesign 2.0 back in the day. |
Brian Grimmer is a freelance graphic designer, web developer, and proprietor of Grafx.One, a freelance design studio in the Seattle area. Brian has more than thirty years of design experience in the creative arts industry. Call Grafx.One to take your business to the next level with a professionally designed logo or website.
July Specials:
Logo Design - $50
Logo / Business Card / Letterhead design - $100
Website design - $100 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available
eCommerce website - $300 and up:
- monthly maintenance services available
Saturday, June 3, 2017
Turning a mistake into portfolio gem
By Brian Grimmer
Earlier today I found an ancient 16 MB USB thumb drive (yes, they made them that small) in a little tin I've had since the 1990s. Within a folder on the drive, I found an old portfolio of mine with the associated image files. Looking through I found an image I had used successfully in my portfolio for a few years even though it had a glaring error on it. The error was pre-acknowledged in the presentation and highlighted in the portfolio to show that even with the best efforts, Murphy and his law will pay a visit at some point.
The image below is a screenshot of a website I built overnight for a client back in the early 2000s. Back then people thought web developers and graphic designers were technological witch doctors that magically made websites and artwork appear on computers. Visual-based web-builders of the era were clunky and produced horrible code, it was a talent to code visually and understand early versions of HTML & CSS. With such reverence, it wasn't long before a prima donna personality set in thanks to the constant ego feed via adulation from satisfied clients.
Designers need to have an ego in order to be assertive and courageous enough to think outside the box to provide the "in-the-box" solutions clients expect. For talented designers, it was often an accepted behavior. Like Patton and Montgomery, two World War Two generals who were known as prima donnas, the ego allowed them to push the limits and think outside the box to defeat their nemesis Rommel in combat. The success of these generals in combat depended greatly upon their ego and allowed them to surmount the challenges they faced.
Designers pushing the edges of the norm is what got us from that "video-game console-era web design like above to the amazingly interactive websites we have today. The ego provides a designer the necessary backbone to say "Hey, I need that content tomorrow or the deadline is toast." Like the Enterprize's "Scottie," the designer has padded the time estimate by a few hours for themselves to seemingly pull a miracle out of the hat.
So the client finally gets you the new content at 10:00 pm the night before the site is scheduled to launch. An all-nighter later and miracle made... However, as the image below clearly shows the blue box outline, an element of the button was incorrectly coded... Ooops!!! Miracle now imperfect...
Embarrassingly, typos are the gremlins of code and can slip into the code easily and at any time as shown in this "Turn of the Century" website build proof that was sent to the client after an all-nighter coding session.
There's no need to feel bad about such "human" errors though ... One missed " />" tag in your HTML code and a professional design (for the time) becomes a moment of humility with the client. The designer still is the hero of the day in the client's eyes as they recognize that the designer spent all night entering new changes to and performing last minute edits to content. A quick-fix and we're done...
A missing closing tag, after all, takes only a few minutes to fix, and he got it done overnight... Wow! I successfully used this image as part of my portfolio to show I am human too and won't cop an attitude as I know how easily such simple mistakes can be overlooked and fixed.
What has your experience been with regard to past mistakes? Respond below your comments and discussion.
Earlier today I found an ancient 16 MB USB thumb drive (yes, they made them that small) in a little tin I've had since the 1990s. Within a folder on the drive, I found an old portfolio of mine with the associated image files. Looking through I found an image I had used successfully in my portfolio for a few years even though it had a glaring error on it. The error was pre-acknowledged in the presentation and highlighted in the portfolio to show that even with the best efforts, Murphy and his law will pay a visit at some point.
The image below is a screenshot of a website I built overnight for a client back in the early 2000s. Back then people thought web developers and graphic designers were technological witch doctors that magically made websites and artwork appear on computers. Visual-based web-builders of the era were clunky and produced horrible code, it was a talent to code visually and understand early versions of HTML & CSS. With such reverence, it wasn't long before a prima donna personality set in thanks to the constant ego feed via adulation from satisfied clients.
 |
| A website screenshot from the early 2000s used successfully in a portfolio despite containing an error, |
Designers need to have an ego in order to be assertive and courageous enough to think outside the box to provide the "in-the-box" solutions clients expect. For talented designers, it was often an accepted behavior. Like Patton and Montgomery, two World War Two generals who were known as prima donnas, the ego allowed them to push the limits and think outside the box to defeat their nemesis Rommel in combat. The success of these generals in combat depended greatly upon their ego and allowed them to surmount the challenges they faced.
Designers pushing the edges of the norm is what got us from that "video-game console-era web design like above to the amazingly interactive websites we have today. The ego provides a designer the necessary backbone to say "Hey, I need that content tomorrow or the deadline is toast." Like the Enterprize's "Scottie," the designer has padded the time estimate by a few hours for themselves to seemingly pull a miracle out of the hat.
So the client finally gets you the new content at 10:00 pm the night before the site is scheduled to launch. An all-nighter later and miracle made... However, as the image below clearly shows the blue box outline, an element of the button was incorrectly coded... Ooops!!! Miracle now imperfect...
Embarrassingly, typos are the gremlins of code and can slip into the code easily and at any time as shown in this "Turn of the Century" website build proof that was sent to the client after an all-nighter coding session.
There's no need to feel bad about such "human" errors though ... One missed " />" tag in your HTML code and a professional design (for the time) becomes a moment of humility with the client. The designer still is the hero of the day in the client's eyes as they recognize that the designer spent all night entering new changes to and performing last minute edits to content. A quick-fix and we're done...
A missing closing tag, after all, takes only a few minutes to fix, and he got it done overnight... Wow! I successfully used this image as part of my portfolio to show I am human too and won't cop an attitude as I know how easily such simple mistakes can be overlooked and fixed.
What has your experience been with regard to past mistakes? Respond below your comments and discussion.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Mainstream Media Silent As West Virginia Becomes 29th State to Legalize Medical Cannabis
By Brian Grimmer
With the exception of U.S. News, the mainstream media has been quiet about West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his signing of Senate Bill 386. As Quinn Marie reported in Culture Magazine, SB386 the Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law on April 19, 2107. The signing of the bill made West Virginia the 29th State to legalize medical cannabis.
Searching Google, the legislation is making its way through the news feeds of the counter-culture. The only other "mainstream media" reporting anything as of the penning of this report is WSLS, an NBC affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia. Their headline "West Virginia medical marijuana legalization could cross state lines - Fear is it will carry over into more illegal use in Virginia" shows the fear-based difficulties cannabis activists still face in parts of the country.
With the exception of U.S. News, the mainstream media has been quiet about West Virginia Governor Jim Justice and his signing of Senate Bill 386. As Quinn Marie reported in Culture Magazine, SB386 the Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law on April 19, 2107. The signing of the bill made West Virginia the 29th State to legalize medical cannabis.
Searching Google, the legislation is making its way through the news feeds of the counter-culture. The only other "mainstream media" reporting anything as of the penning of this report is WSLS, an NBC affiliate in Roanoke, Virginia. Their headline "West Virginia medical marijuana legalization could cross state lines - Fear is it will carry over into more illegal use in Virginia" shows the fear-based difficulties cannabis activists still face in parts of the country.
Monday, April 24, 2017
Biteable - the World's Simplest Video Maker
By Brian Grimmer
I just can't knock free. Even in the world of graphic design, free combined with simple and straightforward makes for a hands down winner. The draw of video editing software made simple is that it only takes a few minutes to throw together a quick customized video for a potential customer.
As an example, I made a short video to promote my freelance efforts (we all gotta eat), It was actually fun making the little presentation video. Selecting from the many options, I was able to put together the test example in about 15 minutes.
While limited in application for the free version (a shareable link to a You-Tube-like video being provided instead of an actual or editable video file), the paid service provides many more options for the user and removes the watermark. The true power of Biteable is in it simplicity. What Biteable can produce can be a useful tool for almost any office scenario where a quick self-labeled light-weight video would be useful.
At $99/year, the cloud-based video service is very attractive for many situations where the heavyweight desktop apps are just too much of an investment as well as just too complicated for the typical daily needs,
Brian Grimmer - Portfolio Sample on Biteable.
About Brian Grimmer
Mr. Grimmer is a thirty-year veteran of the Graphic Design industry and the proprietor of Grafx.One, a Seattle-based graphic design and web development studio. This article was republished in Replica Life on July 12, 2017.
I just can't knock free. Even in the world of graphic design, free combined with simple and straightforward makes for a hands down winner. The draw of video editing software made simple is that it only takes a few minutes to throw together a quick customized video for a potential customer.
As an example, I made a short video to promote my freelance efforts (we all gotta eat), It was actually fun making the little presentation video. Selecting from the many options, I was able to put together the test example in about 15 minutes.
While limited in application for the free version (a shareable link to a You-Tube-like video being provided instead of an actual or editable video file), the paid service provides many more options for the user and removes the watermark. The true power of Biteable is in it simplicity. What Biteable can produce can be a useful tool for almost any office scenario where a quick self-labeled light-weight video would be useful.
At $99/year, the cloud-based video service is very attractive for many situations where the heavyweight desktop apps are just too much of an investment as well as just too complicated for the typical daily needs,
Brian Grimmer - Portfolio Sample on Biteable.
About Brian Grimmer
Mr. Grimmer is a thirty-year veteran of the Graphic Design industry and the proprietor of Grafx.One, a Seattle-based graphic design and web development studio. This article was republished in Replica Life on July 12, 2017.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Oofffdahhh yummm!!! Rootworx Amazeballs from Dockside Cannabis
By Brian Grimmer
Happy 420 2017!!!
In recognition of 420, Dockside Cannabis was selling grams of Amazeballs at a very friendly price of $15/gram. Five dollars off the regular price. Trust me, at 67.53% a gram of this stuff packs a wallop.
Made by Rootworx, Amazeballs (available in sativa, indica, or hybrid varieties) are buds soaked with rosin and coated with kief.
Moments after opening the jar, one is immediately aware of the flood of piney and citrusy terpenes and sweet aroma of rosin emanating from within the jar.
The smoke is flavorful and sweet. Check out the kief and rosin in that bud! Thanks to the rosin, the first pull provided a nice uplifting high that makes one appreciate life and the simple pleasures that make it wonderful. A few tokes in and I was set for a a good hour and a half of contemplating life. Amazeballs was definitely a good choice for celebrating 420.
Cheers!
Monday, April 10, 2017
Cannabis Provisions, Inc. - A strain called Narnia
By Brian Grimmer
Cannabis Provisions, Inc. operates in a space tucked up on the second floor at 938 N. 200th Street in Shoreline, Washington. There is ample parking and the location is just a few minutes walk from the Aurora Village Transit Center. However, a steep and narrow set of stairs leading up to the shop makes this location less than ideal for people with mobility issues. Store hours are 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Once inside, the staff are quick to greet you with a genuinely friendly hello. Not only are the staff friendly, but they are knowledgeable about their products as well. Often, supplier representatives from such companies as Big Sur Extracts frequent the store to educate and familiarize customers with their product line.
At Cannabis Provisions, the selection is vast with concentrates, edibles, topicals, and flower. Cannabis Provisions offers a 10% off for Happy Hour (2:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to close Monday through Friday) as well as Veterans and senior discounts. Taking advantage of Happy Hour and a Veterans' discount, I picked up a gram of Narnia for just under $13.00.
Narnia is sativa-dominant strain produced by Soulshine Cannabis. A hybrid of Jack Herer and Trainwreck, the effects of Narnia come on fast. Loaded with trichomes, the terpine-rich flavors include citrusy notes balanced with a sweet spicyness. The buds in the gram were small but dense popcorn buds that burned slow in the pipe.
Being a sativa-dominant strain, there is no couch lock with Narnia, the strain is definitely great for inspiring conversation and creative expression. The euphoric high lasted about 45 minutes to an hour. Throughout the high, complete functionality and focus was maintained. Definitely a good "pick me up" strain, at $15/gram or $50/eighth Narnia is sure to please.
Strain:
Narnia
Grower:
Soulshine Cannabis
Harvest Date:
10/06/2016
Potency Analysis:
CBDA: 0% CBD: 0.03%
THC: 18.28% THCA: 0%,
Total THC: 18.28% Total CBD: 0.03%
Total Cannabinoids: 18.31%
Cannabis Provisions, Inc. operates in a second location at 11811 Mukilteo Speedway #111 in Mukilteo. According to the company's website, a third location is coming soon to Wenatchee at 831 N. Miller St. An online rewards program is offered: every tenth purchase earns you a 15% discount. Cannabis Provisions can be found on FaceBook, be sure to give them a like. The company also lists their product menu on Leafly and updates frequently - 2-days ago as of the writing of this article.
Cannabis Provisions, Inc. operates in a space tucked up on the second floor at 938 N. 200th Street in Shoreline, Washington. There is ample parking and the location is just a few minutes walk from the Aurora Village Transit Center. However, a steep and narrow set of stairs leading up to the shop makes this location less than ideal for people with mobility issues. Store hours are 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Once inside, the staff are quick to greet you with a genuinely friendly hello. Not only are the staff friendly, but they are knowledgeable about their products as well. Often, supplier representatives from such companies as Big Sur Extracts frequent the store to educate and familiarize customers with their product line.
At Cannabis Provisions, the selection is vast with concentrates, edibles, topicals, and flower. Cannabis Provisions offers a 10% off for Happy Hour (2:00 p.m. - 4:20 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. to close Monday through Friday) as well as Veterans and senior discounts. Taking advantage of Happy Hour and a Veterans' discount, I picked up a gram of Narnia for just under $13.00.
Narnia is sativa-dominant strain produced by Soulshine Cannabis. A hybrid of Jack Herer and Trainwreck, the effects of Narnia come on fast. Loaded with trichomes, the terpine-rich flavors include citrusy notes balanced with a sweet spicyness. The buds in the gram were small but dense popcorn buds that burned slow in the pipe.
Being a sativa-dominant strain, there is no couch lock with Narnia, the strain is definitely great for inspiring conversation and creative expression. The euphoric high lasted about 45 minutes to an hour. Throughout the high, complete functionality and focus was maintained. Definitely a good "pick me up" strain, at $15/gram or $50/eighth Narnia is sure to please.
Strain:
NarniaGrower:
Soulshine Cannabis
Harvest Date:
10/06/2016
Potency Analysis:
CBDA: 0% CBD: 0.03%
THC: 18.28% THCA: 0%,
Total THC: 18.28% Total CBD: 0.03%
Total Cannabinoids: 18.31%
Cannabis Provisions, Inc. operates in a second location at 11811 Mukilteo Speedway #111 in Mukilteo. According to the company's website, a third location is coming soon to Wenatchee at 831 N. Miller St. An online rewards program is offered: every tenth purchase earns you a 15% discount. Cannabis Provisions can be found on FaceBook, be sure to give them a like. The company also lists their product menu on Leafly and updates frequently - 2-days ago as of the writing of this article.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Introductions
I am a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, AmeriCorps alumni, and United States Army veteran with extensive research, analysis, communications, creative design, and leadership experience. I possess a proven ability to manage people and projects while providing excellent leadership. My dynamic people skills and strict attention to detail allow me to keep projects running smoothly. I have had the great fortune of working on some truly inspiring projects while networking with many influential and creative individuals along the way. I believe in the power of working together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. For more information about my career experience and past projects, please review my current art work portfolio. Writing samples are found below. I welcome you to get in touch with me today for your next project.
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