Cleaning house, setting up

Yes, I design stuff and write. I've also been taking a lot of photos, iPhonotography or iPhonography, I guess. I've done so housekeeping, literally and figuratively.

With only so many hours awake each day and many of those dedicated to dealing with my disability, I found it necessary to eliminate certain distractions and time sinks. I still actively read and play video games, collect marketing material and good packaging design, but I'm much more selective when it comes to friends, projects, and people in general.

I don't go out as much. I don't like dealing with the drama, the late night phone calls, fair-weather friends and advice-seekers. It's not all bad, and there's value to almost everything, but I can't take chances and dump hours into those pursuits. I'm older now.

Quitting smoking and coming back from southern California clarified things for me. I love that sensation, as you leave LA and drop into the valley, when the smog lifts and your vision becomes razor sharp. Spend enough time down there, you forget what it's like to really see. Spend enough time up here, it's easy to forget that there's more.

I'm going to put together a portfolio I think. A small one, along with a simple site. Maybe even a business card. I'll make it easier for some people to reach me.

Not everyone will appreciate this change, I'm sure. Well, I've had to deal with years of Obama and excruciating physical pain. People think and say: tough.

And that's the way it is.

But I will post pretty pictures and possibly some sketch work — I've been doing more illustrations recently. The iPad 2 is so wonderful.

Soon, I'll be able to share 8MP photos with the iPhone 4S. I'll finally be back to Sprint, where the phone will actually work as a phone. Yes, EVDO is slower than HSDPA, but WiFi is everywhere, and I'll take that trade to eliminate constant dropped calls. AT&T just hasn't been working out.

If you have an interesting project that needs a designer or branding expert, feel free to let me know abou it. If you'd like to hang out, maybe try me again in a few years.

Inspiration

Created 2011 Brad Chin. Rights Reserved… don’t steal art!

Inspiration… where does it come from?

I have been asking myself that quite a bit over the past few days. Last week, I quite literally dreamt up an idea for a fictional story, something that I may turn into a novel or a screenplay, or a series — I don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve never felt anything like that before, and I feel like I must share this story.

It doesn’t feel optional. I feel like if I even make an attempt to hold it back, it’ll tear through my brain, gush out my face and rip apart the remaining seams that hold my sanity together. No one wants that to happen. That would be amusing for some, but probably quite the mess for crime scene cleanup. 

The necessary tools.

Fortunately, I feel like I’m finally properly equipped. I feel like I have the tools to create the world; the brush, the paint, the canvas and the spirit. Reality has this mean reputation for shattering dreams; it takes some willpower to overcome boot camp, hell week — the rigorous tests that separate greatness from mediocrity — and the stigma against “creating art” for a living (instead of getting a “real” job). 

Recently, I sent an inquiry to the fine folks over at Literature & Latte. Long story short, I’m now using Scrivener to organize my writing projects, and I’m thrilled — because Scrivener is incredible. Bradtastic Approved. In my (excellent) opinion, Apple makes the finest computing equipment for creatives and has engineered a wonderful backbone for some of the most amazing software designed by the friendliest, most sincere, dedicated, and down-to-earth programmers in the world. If you have Mac OS X, check out Scrivener — also available in the Mac App Store.

Another crucial asset is ThinkBook by bitolithic. It’s just incredible; well-built, incredibly usable, powerful, intuitive… if you like to plan anything, you can benefit from ThinkBook. 

I’m still doing what I’m doing, trying to recover and heal, deal with my pain and reduce it as much as possible. I was thinking about how to go about sharing my recent eureka moment, and I created the image above in Sketchbook. I wasn’t going for anything in particular; I just let my muse guide me, and the colors, shapes and strokes above is the result.

What, or whom, inspires you?

Some new art

A little bit about how my mind works. Yes, I suppose I'm slightly odd. I hbe some eccentricities and strange habits.

I remember telling a friend of mine several years ago before she came over about a few of my interests; I needed her to be aware of what I'd been studying a lot of at that time, because my Comcast DVR was filled with crime specials, Dateline on ID, Investigation Discovery forensics shows, and interviews with sexual sadist serial killers (such as Dennis Rader). Had she decided to turn on the TV and peruse the recordings without any warning; well, I'd probably have to chase her to the elevator after she bolted — and I highly doubt that that would've gone well.

I've heard countless times: "don't talk about religion or politics."

I don't buy that nor bother with it. So, according to that advice, I'm only supposed to talk about inconsequential things... unimportant things?

"Yes, let us not discuss matters of a serious nature. What would be the point of your college education, if you were to actually use and benefit from it? Just plain silliness. Let us now discuss the finer points of Jersey Shore."

If you believe that, maybe you shouldn't read my blog. Especially if you get emotional about politics in particular. It won't get easier for you when I accuse your "side" of using mustard gas — and then blaming "us" when the wind changes and it blows back on your own people.

What in life should we take seriously, and how many young people are there meandering, directionless?

I was discussing "happiness" with a friend earlier, because it bothered me how we treat emotions in America. People aren't allowed to be sad anymore. Because there's a pill for that. Or a drug for it.

Get high, get drunk, forget about your worries. Isolation stimulates creativity; but I suppose young people need none of that, as they have YouTube and Hulu.

I'm going to post a new piece of art soon. I've been working on something... revealing. You may like it — I'm still looking at writing about "Locked Up Abroad" again, and the messed up laws, double-standards, hypocrisy and corruption in the Philippines.

Why you shouldn't steal fonts.

Language, communication, and the beauty of words… in part, an introspective. Reader beware: the following may challenge your beliefs — prepare to throw out your incorrect assumptions.

Designed very quickly by Bradtastic Brad Chin on the iPad using Sketchbook Pro. Copyright © 2010 — don’t steal art… even bad stuff.

Typography represents language directly; it’s the art of setting type. Modern fonts are so convenient; even restricted to less than one dozen web fonts at the turn of the millenium, the average person could detect distinct differences between Times New Roman and Helvetica/Arial.

Fonts make words come alive.

Great text can sit on a page, dull and boring — distasteful even — and still have great power, meaning and purpose. The difference is, set properly, words on a page become more; attaining and almost ineffable quality, something similar to the magic that happens when a great script is given to an incredible actor.

Finding a font could be considered similar to finding an actor to play a part — the role remains even without a star. A stand-in could work just fine — laymen might not even notice. Art, however, demands more.

Writing as a tradition, a prime element of culture and history, even on a blog.

Reading The Cult of the Amateur changed my stance on blogs and blogging as a pastime for the masses. Publishing, due to its inherent cost, was limited before the computer revolution. Type was carefully set, text was proofread, words were carefully chosen and fonts were limited.

Our time now is one where free font making software can be downloaded by any amateur and a plethora of sub-par, incomplete and broken fonts can be purchased for next-to-nothing. Many fonts are given away — worse, many are stolen.

Piracy of any artistic endeavor diminishes our future. Artists need to make a living just like everyone else; when music is stolen, movies are torrented or fonts are downloaded and traded illegally, many creatives stop creating. The quality of art descends holistically. These damaging actions aren’t usually malicious or intentional, but the consequences remain.

Piracy, specifically of fonts. (too broad a subject in general)

The completion of a proper, complete, well-crafted OpenType font (the best format, in my opinion) is quite an achievement. It takes careful craftsmanship, refinement, testing, modification… and finally it can be published. It might take a typographer one year to create a single font set — the letters and ligatures themselves are art. Using the font without paying for it is akin to stealing an image and using it, or relabeling a piece of music to claim ownership over another’s music, lyrics, and voice. It’s disheartening to see stolen art used for commercial purposes, and it’s absolutely pitiful that so many people are unaware of it.

Most people believe that they have the right to earn a living, especially here in America or in other major nations, but the anonymity of the Internet makes it easy to take from others for personal gain.

For the beauty of it.

I hope that others take a moment to appreciate language and the written word, especially in this age of video and high-fidelity audio. Keyboards are replacing pens, but when are keyboards going to be replaced? Eventually, we’ll speak to our computers to issue commands — beyond that, our thoughts alone will carry out machine functions. I cherish the opportunities I have to enjoy the beauty of a printed page, and I hope devices such as the Kindle encourage others to keep print from becoming a thing of the past. I have handwritten journals that will likely survive intact longer than the hard-drives of my current computers — there’s something wonderful about that. In its essence, typography represents our history as we want to remember it and present it.

American newspapers generally use serif fonts — European publications tend toward sans-serif. This simple difference of type-style represents large cultural differences… so elegantly.

Proper punctuation, spelling and grammar shouldn’t be cast aside. Our keyboard shortcuts, slang and 140-character limit “tweets” are changing English in ways difficult to predict. These trends will spread to other languages, and communication will adjust — it will advance, or dissolve. Language should adapt and change, but personally, I like a language with rules and etiquette.

A simple way to support type.

First, make sure you buy your fonts legally.

Obviously, don’t steal fonts. There are many ways to buy fonts, on-and-offline, but not all sources are legal. Buy from reputable sources. If you find a font discounted more than 40% — beware. If you’re looking for some really great stuff, check out Linotype and Hoefler & Frere-Jones. Also, a favorite of mine, Adobe offers an amazing collection called Font Folio 11. [all Bradtastic Approved!]

Don’t let others use your fonts.

Basically, don’t let other people steal fonts. Most fonts aren’t “purchased” — they’re licensed — meaning the creator or foundry maintains rights over the font, and when you “buy” it, you’re buying the rights to use the font. The license agreement will likely specify what you can and can’t do with the font.

Spread the love.

Share this with others; hopefully there are people out there who like writing and reading, and enjoy nice-looking type. Explain why it’s important to respect the rights and work of the typographers and artists who spend so much effort, energy and money to create these wondrous letters, and tell them what the rules are.

There’s also a great, simple way to share new and amazing fonts online — Typekit. I won’t go into too much detail here — there’s an about page — basically, the type designers are paid, and Typekit code allows splendid, unique fonts to display on most major browsers as highlightable, regular text. The days of using images for fancy fonts are over; they’re even figuring out how to get this tech to work on mobile browsers like the iPad and iPhone. For an example of Typekit in action, check out Bradtastic Defined, my very personal site. I need to re-familiarize myself with coding first, but I’m planning on implementing Typekit fonts on all of my sites. 

Please, share your thoughts; comment, ask questions…

and definitely share your favorite fonts with me!

Updating my presence.

The past few months have been an incredible journey — I’ve met interesting people, created some great design, and have been reinvigorated… I’m excited to see where this new path takes me. I’m in the process of creating new cards, new materials, new websites — new branding — and I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to share it first with my family and friends, and then everyone.

I hope you like it.

Meanwhile, I will continue to update Bradtastic Defined with thought-provoking entries as time permits; I’m able to set-aside very little for recreation, as whatever time I’m not working, I need for rest. Creativity is greatly hindered by sleep-deprivation — in order to remain Bradtastic, I must be rested!

Check back soon, or follow me at Twitter!

Website mods.

Making some changes to this website and a few others…

What a race!

Over the past few weeks, my life has been project after project,

With no time to relax. I'm not complaining — not really — because it's been good. I've been in a position to help some friends get things done while simultaneously making some money. Altogether, not bad.

I haven't had much downtime, however — no time to relax. With a disability, that's a bad thing. Yesterday I was really run down.

A perfect storm.

I was struck with medication side-effects, heartburn — extremely intense, despite taking acid reducers, and I had a horrible stomach ache plus a head-splitting migraine. It was my intention to meet with a friend for dinner and a chat — but I wasn't in a reasonable condition.

Fortunately, with some rest, I started to feel better... a few hours ago. I'm still being cautious about what I do and specifically, what I eat. I've been watching Star Trek and I played some Red Dead Redemption (awesome game). I managed to get some work done as well.

It's during these gaming sessions, while relaxing, when I come up with many of my ideas. I've been thinking a lot about blogging/writing and my websites, and i'm thinking about using Disqus for comments here. Squarespace's default system just isn't working for me. I don't get email notification when new comments are posted, and I don't understand the spam filter.

Video games are fun with friends!

I'm excited about co-op gaming: Red Dead Redemption will have multiplayer missions soon, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (Sony PSP) was entirely designed with co-op play in-mind and at-heart. If you have a PS3 and/or PSP, please let me know.

Yes, this post is random. It's early in the morning and I'm in a lot of pain still. Later I'll post about my project for San Francisco magician Peter Morrison and his show at The Marrakech Magic Theater (located near Union Square)...

and the upcoming Starcraft II launch event here in the bay area!

New Designs, Fast, Furious!

Once again, I’m working on new designs. Right now, I can’t show them off… so instead, enjoy this photo I took in Forza Motorsport 3 — a 2003 Infiniti G35 with a few mods, and painted Athens Blue. I’ve designed some custom decals, too; I’m still working on nicer stuff, and I haven’t quite figured out the decal editor. I’ve yet to create anything truly stunning.

The US release of the game was October 27, so it’s not like I’ve had a lot of time.

Hopefully the flu (or whatever it was) has passed… I’ve got stuff to do, writing to finish, blog posts to share. I’m keeping this entry short and sweet, but before I go —

A Thank You to Daniel “Sullivenom”

Recently, Daniel sent me gifts (yay!) — a Moleskine Info book and a Behance Action Pad mini. If you’re into steampunk, check out his blog “Steam Effort.” Perhaps there are still undiscovered goodies awaiting me in my mailroom… exciting!

Last, but not least…

Do you need design?

I have some availability during mid-November for comprehensive design and marketing work. 2010 is only a few months away, and now is a great time to think about gloriously re-emerging next year with new, striking graphics and advertisements. If you’re just looking for a new, punchy logo design or brochure, don’t hesitate. Contact me. I can squeeze that in… especially if you’re likeable.

New Feature: Email Form

Contacting me directly: problem solved.

In a better world, I’d simply post my email address, boldly… proudly.

Unfortunately, that’s asking for spam and fraud… and worse.

For messages unfit for public comment or guestbook posts, I can be reached with ease from this page. (A direct link also exits under “Navigation” on the sidebar.) 

Several people have contacted me through my Retaggr widget or Facebook because my email address isn’t clearly available. (It can be found, if you dig!) I do my best to respond to all legitimate messages, however they come. If you’ve tried to contact me and haven’t received a reply, please leave a comment here (with valid email — don’t worry, it’s not displayed to the public), or try my new email form.

Thanks again for all your support. I’m having a blast with this blog.

Other modifications and changes.

I’ve added several things to my sidebar after some rearranging, including a direct RSS FEED link. I’ve also increased the number of entries displayed per page, from five to nine. I’m blogging more, and it’s great; in-part, because of this platform. Squarespace feels extremely powerful… its UI and customer support has handled everything I’ve wanted and asked for, and I’ve barely dabbled.

I know that I can do so much more here, and I’m happily experimenting somewhat, in preparation for my rerelease of the Bradtastic Premier business website. In-tandem with “Superfluous,” it’ll represent the online-epitome and essence of Brad Chin — and that’s thrilling.

New content will appear frequently — I’m shifting gears for 2010. This isn’t about “get rich, quick” — my business associates and friends create classy, responsible, quality content. If you’re working on something that coincides with my endeavors and would like to contribute or collaborate, please let me know — no guarantees, but I’m open to many possibilities.

Always thinking ahead and beyond.

If you have a feature-request, please don’t keep it to yourself. This UI allows for many additions and modifications without extreme-coding — perfect for me at the moment, as I’d rather spend spare-time focussing on writing and typography. Squarespace would likely make a great host for your website (not just “the blog”) — click here to get started with a 14-day free trial. [Using that link with my affiliate ID will help to offset some of the costs here, and it’s a nice way to boldly state: “I like your blogging, Brad.”]

For the artists:

If you can design and/or code and are looking for new projects, let me know. I can offer many opportunities and commissions to serious people almost immediately. I’m more interested in dedication and work-ethic than talent; if you’re new to design, but you’re willing to work, don’t be shy just because your portfolio isn’t perfect.

If you have a friend who may be interested — and qualified — let them know that Bradtastic is looking. Help your buddy find quality work!

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In a few hours, I’ll post my next ink blog entry. Articles in-progress include: a Canteo Classeur A5 lined notebook review (a Swiss-made journal previously-unavailable in the US… and still incredibly rare!), and an “art of impression” recap — a culmination of my experiences with relationships, marketing, sales pitches, pickups and presentations… so if you’re not subscribing to my feed, you should follow @bradtastic at Twitter or my Facebook!