Raised in a barn? Yep!

So here i sit in the school pub/lounge area yet again...i just finished an over priced turkey baguette, which was a steal since the overpriced fruit salad just wasn't very fulfilling yesterday. I sit down, grab my computer, and start to do a little work...to my left is a table of a couple students who are talking to each other, and to my right is a table of 4 students, all talking at an overly loud volume. Neither of these things really bothered me, until the table to my left began blasting rap on their laptop, and the table to my right began matching them, listening to the same song and commenting on how awesome Eminiem is.

OK, first, Eminem is a has been. No one gives a shit anymore, because his lame immature pop-rap bullshit is a thing of the past, and frankly no one cares anymore...but anyways, so here i am stuck in the middle of this rap fest, that of which i am growing sick of very, VERY quickly. So i put my headphones on, and listen to actual music....

Shortly after that, the table to my right got up to leave. I was happy about this because they were sitting at the ONLY table with access to an outlet for my laptop (nice going, school. You can get away with charging $5.75 for a fruit salad but you can't put in a couple plugs!?) So i begin to gather my stuff so i can switch tables....only to watch in COMPLETE disgust as all 4 of these students walked away, and left the table COVERED in their garbage.

Now, as i have mentioned before, i was raised well. I was raised with manners, and i was raised with knowing what is proper, what is rude, and what is just plain courteous...and in my books, leaving a table full of your shit is NOT courteous, OR respectful. These students were not the typical 18 year old chumps who just have a lack of respect for everyone, these students were at least 21, and SHOULD know better. They just up and walked away.

Don't get me wrong, i KNOW that it's the job of the employee to clean the tables. I get that, but frankly i am SICK of hearing people say that...YES it's their job, but who are YOU to make their job harder? Who are YOU to leave your shit around? Did your parents not teach you manners? And i am not talking about a couple napkins or an empty pop can, i am talking about plates, wrappers, apple cores, half full pop cans, the works. It was disgusting. Like, it's a school, and there are 2 ladies working in the pub... one of them is a sweet little italian woman named Vivian...she works her ass off serving your fat asses all the pizza and hot dogs you can eat, she deals with your attitude, and then you slap her in the face by leaving your shit there for her to clean up? I mean, she's already in a thankless job, why not show just a LITTLE bit of human decency and just throw your shit out...it's not hard!! Walk a few steps, put your garbage in the garbage pail, and you're done!!

It is beyond me how many people just have a COMPLETE LACK OF RESPECT for other people. I ALWAYS say thank you, even when i don't need to. I say sorry even when i don't need to...i am always trying to ensure that people are having the best time possible, if i am at all able to. There is no reason why these 4 trailer trash, sideways hat wearing assholes couldn't just throw their shit in the garbage.

That's my rant for the day...seriously. I don't care if you're at taco bell, or at school, just throw your shit out. Seriously.

The Error in design.

Ok, first and foremost i want to say that i have just discovered a very cool new search engine type thingy. It's called Swagbucks, and it's sick. Basically, you register for free, and you use their search engine instead of google or whatever...periodically they award you e-dollars, that you spend at their store. But it's COOL shit. Like ipods and stuff. And here's the best part. You refer your friends. For every friend you refer that signs up, every time they earn a dollar, YOU earn double! and on and on...so please check it out, and register with THIS link!

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/CitizenThirteen

Now on to today's rant!

As a long time enthusiast in design, I have learned a lot in my life, and am very eager to learn much more. But what really bothers me is when people call themselves "designers" or think they are good at what they do, when in reality they really aren't. For example. We got some posters printed for the bar for some upcoming events. Sure, they look decent at first glance, but upon closer inspection, i realized a lot of things. The person that 'designed' these things is just as clueless as most other 'designers' when it comes to the power of simplicity, and the ultimate power of type. Sure the posters are pretty and flowy and blah blah blah, but really, does anyone notice them? No. they SEE them, they LOOK at them, but in the end maybe 50% of people actually READ them, or catch their meaning. Why? Because they look like just a piece of cluttered artwork on the wall. The 'designer' has concerned themselves more with the overall look of the poster, as opposed to focusing on the purpose at hand, which is informing people of an upcoming event or promotion. The typefaces chosen are awful, and blend in with the rest of the design, and the whole vehicle just doesn't work.

Then, as you walk closer to it, you see that the picture this person chose to use was just a very small, low resolution picture, that they decided to blow up. So sure, from a distance it looks fine, but if you look at it from 3 feet away, it's blurry, fuzzy and pixelated...what 'designer' does that!? I mean, being oblivious to what typefaces convey which emotions is ONE thing, but not even taking the time to use a proper photo? That's just purely unprofessional and lazy.

Now, i am NOT saying that I am the world's best designer. I do not have my diploma yet. I am still a student. BUT i can, and will say that I recognize what good design is, and am quite adept at creating good design, specifically at using typography in my designs. for example. I designed 2 posters whose purpose was to simply sell drinks. What did i do? I didn't take a stock photo picture of some slutty broad and throw "Try a whiskey bomb" in the corner somewhere....why? because drunk dudes would have just stared at her tits and moved on, and chicks wouldn't have even acknowledged it. What did i do instead? I made it a purely Typographical poster that simply said "Try a Whiskey Bomb RIGHT NOW" I used a typeface that caught peoples' attention, and made them want to buy it. And guess what. It worked. I made another poster with 10 different types of shots on it....i gave each shot it's own personal attitude and personality using type, and made the layout very VERY simple. And guess what. It worked.

Now how is it that a design student can make posters that WORK, and someone that is a professional Designer can make such travesties like they have been? I mean, if you're putting a poster up INSIDE the bar, why are you making the name of the bar the main focus? You take a GIANT picture of a slutty broad, a couple big stock photo guitars, and make the title HUGE, then in little letters mixed in with everything else, you put "$3 whiskey, $13 pitchers"...the main focus of the poster gets completely lost in the mix, and nobody notices. it just becomes background noise, and that's it. It's very obvious to me that this person takes the "Sex sells" concept way too literally. it's very simple. Say what you want to say. Say it clearly, say it creatively, say it in a good looking way. Done. Everything else is just noise.

I guess that's my rant for the day. Oh, one more thing. if anyone reading this does any, ANY sort of work with typefaces or 'fonts', please...PLEASE stop using Comic Sans font. Have some respect for yourselves ;)