Happy Thanksgiving!

This fall hasn't been the best for me as far as Holiday's go. I missed everything to do with Halloween - the pumpkins, the haunted houses, the Zombie Pub Crawl, the costumes, the parties, the costume parties... and today I missed Thanksgiving. The Irish don't celebrate this particular holiday, as I'm sure all of you know.
I just got home from working 13 hours.

Then I realized, this is the first Thanksgiving I have ever missed. Last year's was a little weird too because I didn't go home to the fam, and although we were eating with new friends, (who just so happen to be amazing chef's,) the food wasn't what I had hoped for. I'm a turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie kind-a-gal. And Olives. Lots and lots of olives. Instead we had an array of fancy Hors d'oeuvres, pickled carrots, sausages, lard-encrusted turkey and mini peacan pies. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious, just different...

So then I got to thinking, is that all Thanksgiving is about now? Eating turkey and mashed potatoes? I can do that anytime. No; it's a time to slow down and take one day out of our busy, chaotic lives to really appreciate everything we take for granted. For most, it's a time to come together as a family - thankfully in my family that's usually not a stressful situation as we usually don't have many relatives over anymore; it's just us.

It's not so bad to be alone on a holiday like today. It's not about the food (although, who wouldn't love a slice or three of pumpkin pie?) It's about self-reflection, which, maybe you can't do with a giant house full of relatives anyway... so perhaps I'm not missing out after all.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

Moneylands Brochure

This past week (Thursday night) I went to a local fashion show, and I wanted to share with you the photos I took, but I uploaded them onto the computer at work (as we might put a little ditty about it in the next issue of the Messenger) and I forgot to put them onto my hard-drive to put them on my own computer.

Instead, since I still wanted to update my blog with something now that I have a moment of free time and my internet started working again after taking a few days to go on strike, I have a brochure re-design that I made for Moneylands Farm; the place where I'm currently staying.

First, the original. It's actually not a bad brochure, it's just a bit dated and the photos aren't the best.











Below is the redesign. I think the most difficult part was trying to choose which photos to use, since I took about a million for this project. I plan on giving them a c.d. with all of the photos so they can use them for their website as well. They have some nice ones already of the interior of some of the rooms, but not many of some of the views around here, which are pretty amazing.











Well, I'm off. I'll try to update with those fashion show photos soon - so long as my internet continues to work.

-k

The Bluebell

We're extremely busy at work, so sorry I haven't updated this in a few days. But I do have a little ditty - a logo - for a local shop here in town.

Alright, I'm back to work!

Photoshoot Fun

Today is pretty nice (dry) out after having been pouring rain for the past week, so I thought I'd do something fun. There's not a whole lot to do in this town if you don't want to go shopping or to the pub, so I've been entertaining myself in other ways, and today I decided to do a little photoshoot.

Even though it is dry out today, it is still very windy and cold, so this photoshoot didn't last as long as I had planed, because my hands were numb in the first 5 minutes (and I don't want to end up sick) Also it was kind of difficult setting up the camera. I don't have a tripod, so I brought out a chair and piled my sweaters up on top of it to make a mound for the camera to sit on.

I started by taking a few "test" shots:







I love this one -- the camera had started to fall off of the chair and I had to dive for it, haha




Then I took my sweats off for the "real" thing. I doubt I'll use these photos for anything, it was just for fun. I had planned on going barefoot but the ground was too muddy and I was cold enough as it was. Here are my favorites out of the bunch. Enjoy!

November Wexford Messenger + Personal Work

We just got the Wexford edition back from the printers today. What day is it? Oh yeah, that's right, it's the 12th.... So much for being out on the first...

Anyway. This month, like the Arklow edition, it's thinner than usual. The Wexford edition is usually smaller than the Arklow edition, (it's still pretty new) but this month it's only 14 pages. So, quite thin. But I will say, that I think this is the best, most cohesive edition that we have. It's very clean and easy to read, which is my personal aesthetic. (I like a lot of white space on a page..) The others are a bit, uh, chaotic to say the least. It's difficult designing a nice looking magazine when each story is only a page long, followed by a page full of ads, without making it look too static or clinical. So, it's a process for sure; finding a balance between readability and eye-catching elements. Also, finding a balance between my contributions, and ones from the other designer. We have very different styles, and we always have very limited time (i.e. busting out the entire thing in the last week of the month,) so it's been difficult making this magazine the best that it can be; making it congruent. For me, it's very easy to tell the difference between a page I designed and one the other designer did.

I think if we had more time, and perhaps more direction, we could come up with a really nice looking publication. Unfortunately, I only have just a few short weeks left, which will be solely dedicated to working for the GAA - not the Messenger, so I think our balance will go unreached for now. Also, as I've said before, the sole purpose of this magazine is to sell advertising, and it's free, which tragically means that striving for stellar design falls to the wayside.

But I'm happy to report that working here has been an amazing learning experience. I'm still relatively new to "design" if you will; certainly not as confident with it as I am with illustration, but I think I've made some serious headway - and what better place to do it than at a publication that lets me experiment and have fun, as opposed to following a strict grid? So I am really happy for that, even if maybe it's not the most 'stellar' design.

Anyway, here are some photos of the printed magazine. Again, not the best photos.. I feel like a broken record saying it every post, but the lighting in my place is something awful!

Cover: (don't you love how Santa and Ice-Skating are separated by a place that sells military supplies... haha)


Inside Front Cover (I actually didn't do any of this, I just wanted to show you)


Age Action article:


Enniscorthy News and Events:


Appreciating Our Senior Citizens - illustration only


Kids Page:


Apart from constantly working at work, I have also been constantly working at home too (what else is new?) It's been great though because usually I'm complaining that I don't have enough time to work on personal things. I know I would kick myself down the line if I didn't take advantage of all of this "me-time" I have right now, because I'm guessing it won't happen again anytime soon.

This first piece I did for my friend Joe over at prrtyfood. He decided to use just the black and white sketch, which can be seen HERE Below is the colored version, which he may or may not use for something, I'm not sure.



The rest are just sketches and fun with watercolors. I have some ideas for these, but I'm not sure what direction they're heading in yet. I made this sketchbook over a year ago with every intention of selling it, but I never did and I'm glad. It's come in handy.











Well, I better get going. I told my boss I'd design him a t-shirt for his dart team, so I need to get started!

Cheers,
K

all work copyright Karen OBryan, 2009.

Beautiful Day!

It's so gorgeous out today, and I'm inside.. working. Hopefully the sun will still be out when we're done!



I took a few photos of the office today because I realized that I haven't done that yet, and I always tend to take for granted my daily surroundings. Once you get used to what's around you, you stop noticing.

My co-worker went mad a few weeks ago and planted over 100 bulbs of tulips, iris', and I'm not even really sure what else. They have been steadily sprouting since, and they really make the office so much nicer. Everyone who walks in here comments on them, saying, "it's a greenhouse in here!" No flowers have bloomed yet, but I can imagine it will be beautiful when they do! I think when I get back to the states, I want to have lots of plants around, and I'll do my best not to kill them - and keep the dumb cat away from them so he doesn't either.






I took a short - very short - break to walk around the building and I realized that you can see that abandoned graveyard I took photos of when I first got here! I don't know how I didn't notice it before... In my defense, it's right next to a corn field, and it looks like it was only recently cut down.



Well, I should get back to work. I'll leave you with a little flier I did last week that we just got back from the printers today. Cheers!

November Messenger and Other Work

I have more printed work to share with you. (Sorry the photos are terrible - again - but it's really difficult to get a good shot in my place because of the lighting/glare)

We got the Arklow Messenger back from the printers on Friday, I just forgot to take one home with me to photograph it over the weekend. The Wexford edition actually hasn't even gone to the printers yet!!! Personally, if I had been advertising with us, I'd be super pissed. It's the 9th already - the magazine was supposed to be out by the first. I knew it was going to be late - both of them - because we waited until the last week of the month to even get started on designing any of the inside spreads. The Arklow edition actually got cut in 1/2 because they were hoping to get more advertising and it just didn't happen. So this month, instead of the usual 46 - 48 pages, it's only 24. I actually had designed more spreads that didn't make the cut, and I had to revise some of them and make them only a 1/2page instead of a full, or make room for another advert.

I honestly don't even know what is holding up going to print with the Wexford edition, I think it's someone's advertisement..? As far as I know, it's all put together and ready to go. At least, I've moved onto designing other things. (More work for the GAA, which is going to be pretty much the only thing I work on for my remaining time here.)














Today we received an interesting phone call from an angry citizen. Luckily I didn't have to deal with him, my co-worker did, but I heard the whole conversation. She was actually very professional and extremely nice, much more so than I would have been.

I'll explain; the Messenger is a free publication, which is possible because of the advertising that we sell. We are a non-political, non-religious based publication. Basically that means if you're legitimate, legal, and give us money, we'll print just about anything.

There are legal headshops in Ireland, including one in the town right next door (Gorey,) which is included in the distribution of the Arklow Messenger. (Technically it's the Arklow/Gorey edition.) This particular store has advertised with us since they opened. They are a steady, well-paying client, so naturally we work with them. There have been complaints before (before I got here) about their adverts. The ads used to be bright yellow and have a giant pot leaf in the center with the store's name and address. Now it's a white background with the store's name, address and a map. If you didn't know what the store was for, you wouldn't really be able to tell just from the ad.

So this guy today calls up and starts giving my co-worker hell about this ad - basically saying "How could you put this advertisement in your magazine.. you're a family oriented magazine... I don't want kids around here getting any ideas.. yada yada yada.." He said he's working for an organization trying to get rid of these legal headshops out of Ireland, saying that kids get high and then go cause car accidents and kill people.

My co-worker responded saying, No, we are not a family oriented magazine. We are a non-party based publication that provides, quote "advertisers with a great way to target customers in their area" (which is printed in the inside front cover of every issue) Also printed is, "The views of our advertisers don't necessarily represent the views of The Messenger." Explaining that we can't discriminate against any business because then we would be political, and that is not our aim. This is legal business, they pay us to advertise, so we do. It's quite simple. We have even changed the design of their ad to be more discrete because we don't want upset the general public, but at the same time they still have every right to advertise as the next guy.

She also made an excellent point saying that we also do a lot of advertising for local pubs, and plenty of people drink too much and drive home drunk and kill themselves or other people and yet no one is calling up to complain and say we should stop their adverts.

Which got me to thinking - Should we open up every door then? Stop advertising for lingerie shops because there could be extremely conservative people who get offended? Should we stop advertising for fast food joints because people will eat too much of it and become obese? Stop advertising for butchers because it might upset vegetarians? Not advertise hardware stores because someone could get the supplies there to make a fucking bomb?

When does P.C. become too P.C? I mean I understand the guy's point, but at the same time, I wanted to tell him to get a fucking life. If you're so worried about your kid walking into a headshop (which, by the way, you have to be 18 to do, so technically they aren't kids anymore at that point,) maybe you should have a conversation with them about it, and educate them as to why drugs are bad. Or perhaps call up people who are party members and talk with them, and not target some second-rate, free magazine that you pick up at the grocery store. It just seems like there are so many other important issues to worry about.. like the war for example. How about the recession? eh? Ireland is one of the worst countries hit with over 20% of people unemployed. Why not try raising some hell about that?

I just don't understand why everyone feels the need to please everyone. Why is it socially acceptable to print 1/2 naked hot chicks in bathing suits to advertise fake-tans, and people getting loaded to advertise a bar or club, but not okay to print a business' name with a map? It's fucking ridiculous. If you don't want your kids to see the magazine then be a fucking parent and take it away from them, or better yet, educate them to not make stupid decisions.. now there's an idea!

Anyway she handled the call well, saying that she understood his concerns but thinks he'd be better off talking with the boss about it. Customer Service at it's best, pawning off the angry man onto the boss.

I didn't mean to go on a rant about all of that but I just couldn't believe it when he called. At the same time, I do commend him for sticking up for what he thinks is right, I mean, hats off to him on that. However it just seemed like mis-guided anger onto the wrong people that's all. Feel free to disagree with me.

Now that I've said my 2 cents, let's move onto some more pictures shall we?

This is a pizza menu I did a few weeks ago now, but just came back from the printers. (again sorry for the crappy photos!)









And lastly, a shop local voucher book we've been working on for about 2 weeks or so as a way to not only generate business for ourselves, but for the community. I think it's a really good idea and hopefully it will bring in some revinew to the little guys around here.

My boss just realized last week that I can illustrate.. haha, go figure. So he wanted me to draw a "Santy" for the cover, so that people start thinking about shopping for Christmas. Apart from the cover, I also designed about 1/2 of the coupons on the inside as well, I took photos of a couple of them.







all work copyright Karen OBryan