Merry Christmas!
Just Because
A Little Farewell
My little studio, Bell Designs, is currently undergoing a transition, shifting its focus from providing design services to selling unique artifacts online. Originally created for social media, this video reassures everyone that the previous decades of design and production experience will not be abandoned. For these skills will be indispensable when it comes to marketing the new boutique and its products.
A Journal of Detailed Moments
smallrooms® is a journal of past and present detailed moments. You might call it a hobby or a creative outlet. As a graphic designer, adding to this journal allows me to continually hone my skills and experiment with the latest digital trends while chronicling my current projects and future plans.
Sunday Afternoon Time Waster
To some, this may be another time waster but not for me. I had this itch to scratch, which was to learn more about iMovie while creating something pretty. The process included converting an animated gif to video, selecting the music, adding the audio, applying transitions, fade-ins, fade-outs, and many other experiments. Unfortunately, iMovie is limited in its editing features, and I had to upload to Vimeo in order to have a choice on the thumbnail/poster image and then download. I need to learn Adobe Premiere Pro ASAP.
Tricks O’ Treats
What’s in the bag this year? One mummy gummy, one orange glow bracelet, circus fleas, one alien in a test tube full of slime, two chocolate skulls, and last but not least, a glow-in-the-dark stretchy flying snot rocket. The snot rocket should come with directions but doesn’t, so watch out for pete’s sake.
Bags of Booo•ty
What’s in the bag this year? A large can of Tricky Mixed Nuts, a Warheads Pucker Pack, two gum eyeballs, one Witch’s Potion slime pot, and Zombie Finger Bubble Bottles. Hopefully, this will be enough to entertain the trick or treaters for a minute or two. Adult supervision may be required for the littlest ones, and adult supervision may be required for some adults who open the can of nuts. Boo!
Another Quiet Moment
For the first post in two months, I offer something small and quiet. It’s just a piece of stained embroidery that I found in some antique mall back in the 1990s. Because its charm and beauty remained intact, I chose to frame it. I’m glad I did, because after twenty plus years, it still makes me happy to look at it.
A Journal of Detailed Moments
Welcome to the third reincarnation of smallrooms®. This new version doesn’t start with a fancy entry page, but instead opens directly with the journal. The entire site, for the most part, has the same information and images as the 2012 design. But in this reincarnation, the images are larger and sharper, and the overall design is cleaner and less blog-like. Additionally, the copy is set with a sophisticated web font at a larger and looser scale, making it much easier to read. Please remember that smallrooms® is a journal and will always be an evolving work-in-progress.
New Design Coming Soon
smallrooms® is currently going through its third reincarnation. When I designed this second version in 2012, responsive themes were just being developed, and there wasn’t much to choose from. That’s definitely not the case now. This old bloggy look is in desperate need of a new sophisticated, yet simple and timeless, wardrobe. I use the term “wardrobe,” because a WordPress site is nothing more than a database dressed up in fancy clothing. In the meantime, I will not be creating any new blog posts until the design is complete. I anticipate this third reincarnation to be up and running by mid-September just in time for the change of seasons.
Fancy New Business Card
Having a business card is kind of important if you’re a graphic designer. Aside from having the essential contact information, a designer’s card should be something the recipient would want to hold on to, a keepsake. Creating this tactile treasure was more difficult than designing my website, because I knew that once it was printed, there would be no way to backtrack and undo or redo any portion of it.