hannah-love blogs

december was lovely

2012-01-02T18:23:00.005-05:00

2011 was definitely not the year of getting-things-done (well, besides 3 semesters of grad school), however I did churn out a couple stellar projects in December. My personal Christmas cards were a hit (hit = 3 extended family members said they were cute) and it only took 2 proofs for ma and pa to approve the fam Christmas cards. Petrnotail and I fit in a craft day at the beginning of December as well—she worked on her Christmas cards while I got all inky making a bookmark set. And then I rounded off the year with delish chocolate coffee stirrers. My mother even donated 20+ spoons to the cause.

And now on to 2012!

grad school update

2011-10-03T21:44:00.010-04:00

Grad school update: Project 1 [Advanced Design] has officially been printed, photographed and crossed off my list!

Not to bore you with the details, but here's a quick project summary:

1. We had to choose a real company and create a fake campaign/product/exhibit for the client. I chose Whole Foods Market and created the brand "City Grown," an indoor gardening line.

2. Along with a unique identity, the idea needed to be actualized in 3 separate treatments including an environmental treatment. For this portion of the assignment, I chose to create seed packets, a kiosk and an iPhone app. The seed packets would be sold exclusively in self-serve kiosks in front of Whole Foods. The back of the packets have a QR code that would direct the purchaser to the City Grown app.

caffeine monday

2011-08-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

Exercise #15: That's Not The Words!

Task: Get that song out of your head by rewriting the chorus about a person or object near you.

"Think Twice" by Eve 6 has been stuck in my head since my morning power walk (feel free to judge on both accounts). If the single happened to escape you in 2003, watch the video here courtesy of YouTube. It will help you to follow along with my version about the empty cup of coffee sitting in front of me.

Think twice before you drink that cup

You'll be up until half past twelve

Think twice before you drink that cup

Shoulda made it, shoulda made it half caf

Think twice before you drink that cup

You'll be up until half past twelve

Think twice before you drink that cup

Shoulda made it half caf

It was too late

I drank that cup

And now I can't

Shut myself down

I drank too much

I blame myself

And now I can't

Shut myself down

*Note: This was written after my 6pm coffee cut-off which is generally only loosely adhered to.

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

and now i tweet

2011-08-28T17:05:00.003-04:00

Just in case you weren't sitting at home googling my name during the hurricane, I started a Twitter account this past week. I'll just go ahead and pull a direct quote from a convo I had with an office mate in which I said ridiculous things and he nodded politely: "I'm pretty good at Twitter."

For other choice phrases and #fails, follow me at @hannahdashlove.

caffeine monday

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000-04:00

Exercise #14: Stupid "K"

Task: We don't usually see letters or numbers as anything more than their true forms. Because of this, we don't appreciate their individual loveliness. This week's task is to take your name and recreate it using any letters or numbers except the actual letterform of each letter.

Just in case that "task" description was a little bit confusing, here's a for instance: I couldn't use an "H" to represent an "H" so I used 2 big "I"s and 1 little "i". Actually, because my name is made up of mostly straight-lined letters, I used mostly "I"s and "i"s. I chopped the dot off the little "i"s but I added them back using blue so you could see where they would have landed.

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

caffeine monday

2011-08-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

Exercise #13: Bugs Just Wanna Have Fun
Task: Design a carnival ride for a bug using only materials in your immediate area.

I call this carnival ride the lamp-post push. Once the bug’s antennas are securely wedged in-between the car’s safety belt, the ride launches the car downward at lightning speed. Remnants of bug vomit can be seen at the base of the ride.

*Note: I skipped exercise 12 because it was an exercise in calling objects different names. For instance, a refrigerator is a refrigerator, but what if I start calling it a chair? Or table? Or cockroach? You see where I’m going with this, right?

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

i went to maine

2011-07-31T14:28:00.006-04:00

I never thought this summer would be made up of so many trips, however here I am unpacking and photo-editing once again. Apart from Third Eye Blind on repeat and some major BFF bonding moments, the Maine trip can be summed up like so: sleep, coffee, read, coffee, hike, coffee, pool, coffee, write, tea, sleep. If only real life could be so lovely.

i went to utah

2011-06-25T09:50:00.002-04:00

It was prettier than Baltimore. It was quieter than Baltimore. It was cleaner than Baltimore. But it was not Baltimore.

collections

2011-05-31T15:32:00.003-04:00

Between photographing, Photoshopping, adhering, and mounting, I think my final digital photography project—a series of personal collections—was a success. Goodbye spring semester, hello summer semester!

excuses, excuses

2011-04-19T07:39:00.014-04:00

Instead of spending a portion of the last few weekends doing a Caffeine exercise, I've been spending most of the weekend drinking coffee and doing class work. So...this is some of what I've been working on.

caffeine monday

2011-03-21T07:49:00.001-04:00

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been putting off learning the guitar for years now. Besides dusting the guitar cover off every couple months, this exercise is the closest I’ve come to doing anything musical.

Exercise #11: Rock Star!

Task: Turn 5 things you own into instruments, and then pretend your kitchen’s a stage and assemble them for your upcoming show.

1. Cat tunnel / paint brushes = drum / drum sticks

2. Oversized wrapping paper roll = microphone stand

3. Pot covers = cymbals

4. Cat toys = egg shakers

5. Dish drying rack = guitar (warning: must use pick)

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

caffeine monday

2011-02-28T07:24:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the no-post last week—I was buried in school work, real work, work work, various other work, oh and of course a free screening.

Exercise 10: The Love Bug Returns!

Task: Paint or redesign the exterior of a bug to portray “confused”.

After multiple throwaways, I settled on just one small change...

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

caffeine monday

2011-02-14T06:56:00.004-05:00

Exercise 9: I think My Seven-Year-Old Could Beat Me In A Race

Task: There are tons of things kids do better than adults—name 20. And while you're at it, do one!

Here it goes...

Writing bubble letters, playing don't touch the hot lava, playing house, playing in general, going to school, eating pb&j with no crusts, being sick, not being annoyed, sending out 100 Valentine's cards, having birthday fun, dress up, tea parties, reading a series of books, petting dogs, making a cannon ball, making ice cold lemonade, watching cartoons, being a daddy's girl, sleeping soundly, waking up at Christmas.

Heart-shaped PB&J sandwich, anyone?

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

countdown to love day: 1 day

2011-02-13T08:31:00.003-05:00

In preparation for Valentine's Day, Girl of the North Country and I (is that the proper grammar?) went to Baltimore Print Studio for their V-Day workshop. To summarize: 10 people at 30 cards each + 2 presses = RUSH! But it was perfect. And there was coffee. And I would definitely recommend coughing up the $35 the next time their holiday workshop rolls around.

In related news, Whitman's Sampler boxes are buy 1 get 1 at CVS. I feel ... a little ... sick.

caffeine monday

2011-02-07T08:03:00.011-05:00

Exercise #8: If all the electricity was out in the office, the standard work day involved you being chained to your desk, and you could.not.yell. how would you communicate with your coworkers?

Ok, because this solution might be hard to explain, I’ve added a picture to show the process. It is of me calming my mind so I can hear other people's thoughts. BTW, that's the solution.

Notice: it is cold with no electricity, and that calls for 2 sweatshirts and a jacket - I really got into my role.

Ah, ok, I’ve got it - I can hear thoughts other than mine.

Me: Help?
Coworker: Help!
Me: HELP!

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

caffeine monday

2011-01-31T07:23:00.001-05:00

It's Monday! Yawwwwnnn.

Exercise #7: I Could Have Sworn that Sign Means “Walk Stiffly”

Task: Find alternate meanings for 5 common road signs

1. Say NO to good moods

2. Tunnel ahead—follow the light

3. Stay cool

4. Eat meat

5. Say YES to swerving

Honestly...I had to look up the plus sign. It loses all context in black and white.

Note: This image is a scan from the original book.

Get the skinny on this ongoing personal project here, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

caffeine monday

2011-01-24T21:55:00.007-05:00

Today is post #6 of Caffeine Monday, my ongoing personal project. Refresher: I'm working along with the book “Caffeine for the Creative Mind” by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield and posting my results every Monday.

Exercise #6: Circular Heaven

Task: Take 20 pictures of 20 circles framed exactly the same way.

It’s 27 degrees here, and my heat has yet to turn on since I got home from work (3.25 hours ago), therefore I stayed inside for this task, bundled up in a ridiculous ensemble of three sweaters and a hat and scarf. A tenant in one of the apartment’s above me is staying warm by practicing scales on their flute(?) ... yay. I kept warm walking to and fro the 2 rooms of my apartment with my iPhone, hunting for circles. From left to right, top to bottom: veggie dinner, Werther’s Original candy, neglected fan, light, reupholstered stool, chair knob, door knob, tub drain, Balsam Fir candle, dying plant, grimy toothbrush holder, sparkly tin, hard drive clock, oversized clock, paper lantern sans lantern, ikea rug, roll of large paper, massive headphones, photo of a photo, stove knob.

Look out for next Monday’s caffeine, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

caffeine monday

2011-01-17T20:39:00.010-05:00

Today is post #5 of Caffeine Monday, my ongoing personal project. Refresher: I'm working along with the book “Caffeine for the Creative Mind” by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield and posting my results (almost) every Monday.

Exercise #5: This Exercise Puts So Much Pressure on Me...HEY!

Task: Pictogram the following words—pressure, delirious, lucky, suspense, dangerous, and joyful—using only 4 straight, undivided, equal-length lines and one circle, kept whole.

Look out for next Monday’s caffeine, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

redesign

2011-01-13T10:15:00.007-05:00

Intro web class, taken and passed—check! Redesign personal website using HTML and CSS—check!

I feel that I can now honestly say that I have a basic understanding of HTML and CSS. Next up, digital photography!

See the redesign here.

caffeine monday

2011-01-03T07:23:00.006-05:00

The holidays are over and Caffeine Monday is back! Refresher: I’m working along with the book “Caffeine for the Creative Mind” by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield and posting my results every Monday.

Exercise #4: High Fructose Corn Syrup Is Not a Banned Substance

This week’s task was to turn an empty soda can into a vehicle. I pondered the project over the Christmas holiday . . . and then pondered it over the New Year holiday . . . and then I finally popped that soda can tab and dove in.

Step 1: I gathered the elements together, which included 2 large cardboard circles, silver spray paint, a ruler and pencil, 2 screws, a handheld drill, and a Diet Coke can.

Step 2: It’s been freezing here, so boyfriend held the back door of my apartment building open while I quickly spray painted the cardboard circles to match the soda can.

Step 3: I marked the middle with a pencil and ruler,

Step 4: and then I used my handheld drill and some leftover screws to attach them to the can.

The wheels don’t actually turn, but the entire can/wheel vehicle rolls! Bravo, me!

Look out for next Monday’s caffeine, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

1st birthday of the new year

2011-01-02T08:50:00.010-05:00

Wrapping for boyfriend’s birthday this year was a huge success thanks to Parasol’s August freebie. I used the patterns to make mismatched wrapping paper, tags, a CD label, and a card and lined envelope. Twine worked perfect with the pattern, and I added a label design to each element. Yay for birthdays!

i spent 2010 in front of the big screen

2011-01-01T09:59:00.011-05:00

I spent the entirety of my young adulthood working at a movie theatre. There were multiple downsides. Minimum wage, for one. And a uniform that included a maroon vest and a fashionably tragic clip-on bow-tie. And not to mention the popcorn smell that permeated through my clothes, my skin, and into the car seats of my Ford Tempo was worse than the smell of cigarettes. Imagine dating the girl that smells like popcorn, by the way. Oh, you wouldn’t? Well neither would any of the other boys I knew.

To be fair, the real reason I dutifully served less-than-fresh, five-dollar hot dogs to complaining moviegoers every Friday night was the free movie tickets. To the relief of my parents, I gave that up to go to college and get a real job that doesn’t include the perk of free movies, so now I spend my free time obsessively checking every website for the chance to score movie passes. I check Film Metro every morning. Every Wednesday I check City Paper’s promo section, and twice a week I check the contest section of the B paper’s website. I’m signed up for Atomic Popcorn’s emails. I have an account with GoFoBo. I’m a member of the “I love free movie tickets!” Facebook group (free), and a member of the Maryland Film Festival (subscription based but pays for itself). As an added necessity, I’m always online via my iPhone, and I stick close to a printer at all times.

Suffice it to say, I went to a good number of movies for free this year (20 in total), but when I couldn’t, I laid down the dollars (for a whopping 13 films). 2010 was a pretty good year.

Sherlock Holmes
Crazy Heart - FREE
The Lovely Bones - FREE
Young Victoria
Broken Embraces - FREE
Leap Year
Valentine’s Day
St. John of Las Vegas - FREE
Hot Tub Time Machine - FREE
She’s Out of My League - FREE
Alice
It’s Complicated
Remember Me - FREE
The Jones’s - FREE
Letters to Juliet - FREE
Get Him to the Greek - FREE
Iron Man 2 in IMAX
Cyrus - FREE
Dinner for Schmucks - FREE
The Disappearance of Alice Creed - FREE
Inception
Karate Kid
The Switch - FREE
Going the Distance - FREE
Wallstreet - FREE
Easy A
Conviction - FREE
Morning Glory - FREE
Harry Potter 7, Part 1
The Fighter - FREE
How Do You Know - FREE
True Grit
Tron in 3D

decaf monday

2010-12-20T19:15:00.005-05:00

I’ve been so wrapped up in Christmas that I didn’t fit a caffeine exercise into my super packed schedule - whoops! I did manage to check off quite a few things on my list, including but not limited to Christmas shopping, present wrapping, cookie eating, and card designing. Plus, all cards are addressed, stamped, and sent out!

Happy Christmas! Hannah-Love, ~~Santa and his elf,~~ Finnegan and Piranha

BTW, if you’re not on my mailing list you should be! Shoot me your address at hello@hannah-love.com and I’ll make sure to send you a Christmas card next year.

diy christmas gift

2010-12-17T07:53:00.008-05:00

Some people are too hard to shop for—my cousin’s in-laws, my other cousin’s new boyfriend, my boyfriend’s parents—and I wasn’t looking forward to another year of aimlessly walking around Target searching for an appropriate gift. I remembered seeing cookie jar mix’s passed around last year, so I googled the recipe, designed tabs and labels, and headed out to Safeway. It was easy and fun, and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a personal gift that won’t end up in the trash.

Try it at home: I found the recipe here and the mason jars here. The jars look perfect paired with coffee and tea in a gift bag (I recommend Starbucks Christmas Blend and Tazo Awake). Oh, and word of advice: let the flour mixture sit for a couple minutes before you pack everything else in, otherwise your ingredients won’t fit.

very merry and very blessed

2010-12-15T07:57:00.006-05:00

After (just one!) family photo reshoot, the votes are in. Check out this year’s family Christmas card.

caffeine monday

2010-12-13T20:01:00.013-05:00

Today is post #3 of Caffeine Monday, my ongoing personal project. Refresher: I'm working along with the book “Caffeine for the Creative Mind” by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield and posting my results every Monday.

Exercise #3: I Actually Have a Need for a Hacksaw at My StudioEvery designer has a billion things they use every workday, and this week's task was to list all of the essentials.

First and foremost, coffee, and then in no particular order: MacBook Pro and external harddrive. iTunes library and headphones. CS5. Printer/scanner combo. Camera and tripod. My two cats. The friends I bounce ideas off of. Heat. Sharpie pens and scrap paper. Everybody else's blog. Chocolate, tea, and TV. Timetracker. Ruler, X-Acto knife, and 24x36 self-healing mat. IMAP email account. iPhone 4. Graph paper notebooks. HOW magazine subscription. Facebook. Google. iStockphoto. Brain. Fingers. Eyes. The end.

Look out for next Monday’s caffeine, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

i love birthdays

2010-12-08T07:54:00.010-05:00

I love birthdays. And cards. But every time there's a birthday, or anniversary, or noteworthy occasion, I find myself wasting away my lunch break standing in the card aisle at Safeway. Thanks to my sudden jolt of motivation yesterday I can cross that time-consuming task off my to do list for the next couple birthdays.

These cards measure 4.25x5.5 and are printed on C1S stock (so they're glossy on the front and matte on the back). Oh, and they're flat! I'm all about minimal paper waste, and the card sums the occasion up well on the front, so I can pretty much just add a heart and a signature on the back, and they're ready to drop at the post office.

Next on my list to design: a matching set including a thank you card, anniversary card, and 2 holiday cards.

caffeine monday

2010-12-06T07:32:00.010-05:00

Today is post #2 of Caffeine Monday, my ongoing personal project. Refresher: I’m working along with the book “Caffeine for the Creative Mind” by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield and posting my results every Monday.

Exercise #2: How’d That Get There?

The task: take 10 pictures of 10 things that don’t belong where they are.

This one was a toughy, because I keep my place pretty immaculate. I managed to find 4 things out of place (I really did look hard, btw).

1. Christmas costumes for my cats - they should be with the Christmas stuff, but they’re hanging up in my foyer as a reminder that the cats are due for a photo shoot.

2. Dirty dishes in the sink - they should be washed and on the dish shelf.

3. An envelope template on my printer - this should have been thrown in recycling weeks ago, but I never finished my DIY envelope project.

4. The letterpress poster I just made at Baltimore Print Studios - I’m not sure where this should go, but it definitely shouldn’t be laying on my file crate.

Look out for next Monday’s caffeine, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

sneak peek: family christmas card

2010-12-01T07:56:00.013-05:00

Thanksgiving has turned into the family portrait holiday. There are 7 of us - my mom, my dad, my younger brother, and my three younger sisters. I believe there has been a decent photo of us taken in the past, possibly when the youngest two were babies, but we have since become incapable of taking one. We devote at least an hour to this task after Thanksgiving dessert. My mother corrals us down to the basement, where we complain bitterly and fake smiles. We inevitably give up the couch position for the pig pile position (where someone’s face is always crunched up in the photo, evidently trying not to be kicked), then we all complain more and disperse, as my mother pleads with us to come back down for one last shot.

All of this torture is for a worthy cause, though - our family’s annual Christmas card! I, being the graphic designer of the family, am enlisted every year to design the holiday card. Not only does that entail designing the card, but also ciphering through everyone’s opinions of said card and photo choice for the year. This year’s most positive comment award goes to Abbi, age 15: “our picture looks h-o-r-r-i-b-l-e.” The quote was taken directly out of an email she sent me entitled: “Christmas card epic failure.”

I decided to opt for a 5x7 flat card this year, instead of folded, which cuts the cost of cards in half. Yay! Here’s a sneak peek of the first draft - feel free to leave comments or criticisms, and keep an eye out for the final.

Update: final design here.

caffeine monday

2010-11-29T11:02:00.014-05:00

To be fair, everyday is a caffeine day for me. I wake up, lunge to my coffee pot, and go from there. Caffeine Mondays, however, are going to be different. I am forcing myself to work along with the book “Caffeine for the Creative Mind” by Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield, and I will be posting my results every Monday. The book is a compilation of 250 exercises to train your creativity, much like marathoners train everyday for a marathon. This book has been sitting on my shelf for about a year now, but my recent habit of staring at a blank InDesign screen warrants it’s dust off.

Exercise #1: Pimp My Red Flyer (think “Pimp My Ride” but for a wagon). I managed to pimp my red flyer out with 9 additions to the original model.

1. A robot to pull the wagon along.

2. A light covering.

3. A built-in iPod dock.

4. Chilled side walls with soda holders.

5. Control dock (manages robot, lights, side walls, speakers).

6. Comfy chairs.

7. Spare chairs for friends.

8. Listening stations.

9. Monster wheels.

Look out for next Monday’s caffeine, and if you want to follow along you can purchase the book here.

the obligatory introductory post

2010-11-28T10:23:00.006-05:00

I used to spend my time holed up in my bedroom, cutting up pictures of famous people and collaging them into scrapbooks. Apparently that habit didn’t tip me off to a career choice, so in college, after flip-flopping from undecided to business to undecided, I went to the career center and took a test. It said to be a graphic designer.

Now here I am, a real life graphic designer, working a 9-to-5, freelancing on the side, and midway through grad school. I live in an old Baltimore apartment with a leaky clawfoot tub (it’s been fixed, twice), two whining cats (I say shhh but they don’t listen), and three magazine subscriptions (How, ReadyMade, and Spin). I am always caffeinated, I rarely leave my house without a blazer, and I’ve yet to master the art of parallel parking. This would probably be the appropriate time to mention that I make lists. A lot of lists.

I love hellos, so send me one: hello@hannah-love.com.