Posts Tagged "design"

Velocity Medical Solutions Website was designed and created by Dave Caselli and 23 Designs.

http://velocitymedical.com/

I use photoshop more than any other program.  I use it at work, I use it for freelance at home, and I use it for personal stuff like this blog.  I use it all the time and I have to say that I’m pretty damn good at using it.  I’m not saying I’m a pro or anything, as there are plenty of things I never use in photoshop that other people use all the time.  I use what I know and I get by with that.  But I know most of it.

So anyway, I always like to get my hands on the new releases of photoshop whenever they come out, which is about once a year nowadays.  This year we got Adobe Photoshop CS4.  I don’t really understand the CS nonsense, but whatever.  Photoshop “Creative Suite” 4 even though it is technically just Photoshop 11, but who’s counting?

I always like to upgrade as soon as I can because I figure I will have to anyway, so I might as well learn the new stuff now before CS 12 comes out and I have to take a class just to catch up.  Plus, I figure if there are new cool features in the new Photoshop, that might just help me in my everyday work flow.

 So I got CS4.  So far it’s not all that great.  I’m not completely downing it just yet, but from what I have seen so far, I’m not about to switch over completely.  The first thing I couldn’t stand was just pure performance.  Maybe I have a bum copy or maybe they just need to put out some updates, but whatever it is, it does not work as smoothly as CS3.  The only other thing I can say negative about the new program, is the new window “docking” aspect of the images.  The way the document you are working on is “docked” on the top of the screen.  Then you get a “tab” for each additional document open.  I theory this sounds great cause you can see all the images that are open all the time, but it makes it extremely difficult to have two documents open and drag one layer from one to the other.  I do this all the time.  Now I am forced to just copy and paste which is similar, but it does give the same freedoms.  OK, I am done giving the negative side.  Lets tackle all the new fun stuff.

First of all the interface got a remake.  It looks awesome.  I have always personally loved it when any programs mix up the their interface because it gives me something new to stare at all day and most of the time it just looks cooler.  Second, the inserted the ability to turn the document you are working on.  Now this doesn’t really effect me all that much, but if I was to draw a picture with my wacom freehand on the computer this feature would be extremely helpful.  Also, the new photoshop has new abilities to incorporate 3D (which I think is pointless, but cool) and it has new windows like the adjustment and mask windows.  Also, it can now zoom in to a ridiculous 3200% using OpenGL.  It’s cool, but most likely unnecessary.  

One giant thing CS4 brings is the ability to utilize 64-bit processing.  This means you can utilize 8 gigs of ram which will help with overall performance.  I have not tested this out, but I’m not gonna lie, I am pretty excited about it.

All in all CS4 is similar to CS3, but with a cooler look and feel. It needs work and needs updates, but maybe I just need a newer computer.  Only time will tell.

I didn’t go to college. I couldn’t take it, so I went to the next best thing. Art School. Now, I was nineteen and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I loved art. And I knew I hated school, so I started asking around about what Art School options were out there.

My Dad ended up setting me up with an interview with the people down at a local Design Agency in Downtown Sacramento. Two of the guys there told me that they moved to Atlanta to attend a small design school called Portfolio Center and that one of them had actually taught there for a short time. Now, at this point I was looking at all my options. I had looked into schools in Oakland and San Fransisco, but none of those schools really sparked my interest.  Plus, they were 4 year degrees, and PC was a two year specialized school.  In other words, you get a certificate and they help you get a job. Sounded good to me.

I moved to Atlanta in March of 2001.  I grew up pretty fast there as all my friends were four years older then me.  You see, most kids at Portfolio Center actually go to a normal college first.  They then graduate and decide they want spend more money on school.  But really, most people use PC as a graduate school, or finishing school.  I was the baby, yet most people I came across claimed they wished they had done what I had done and skipped regular college.  I guess I just knew what I wanted.  I just like to draw pictures.

So after being at PC for a while, I realized that I am one of about ten Illustrators.  Portfolio Center is a very small school made up of about 300 kids.  I would say over half are designers, a quarter photographers, and the rest are made up of Art Directors, New Media, and then Illustrators.  It was strange, but I ended up liking the fact that I was in the minority.  Plus, the designers were put through hell, and all we did was paint and draw all day.  I was a 19 year old stoner from California; I loved it.

Most of my friends were designers.  They were all very talented but had a lot more work then me.  I got the nickname “Danger” because I was such a bad influence on my overworked designer friends.  Now don’t get me wrong, I did work.  It was just that I was so talented, that I didn’t need to work that hard.  (sarcasm)  But really, I did learn a lot about drawing and painting.  Plus, I did take my first classes in After Effects, Flash, and Lightwave which I use on an everyday basis now.  PC was a great starting point for my career, and I loved every moment I was there.

Portfolio Center, with the help of my Illustrator instructor Gary Weiss, got me my first opportunity in the real word.  They set me up with an internship at Indigo Studios.  I have worked there ever since.  PC gave me the knowledge and professionalize that I needed to get a job in the real world and succeed at that job. 

And plus, if I hadn’t gone to PC, then I wouldn’t be here in Atlanta, and I would never have meet my beautiful wife Priscilla.  I can’t deny that PC was one of the best decisions I have ever made and It was a major turning point in my life.  I suggest that if anyone out there wants to be a designer, or wants to work in the creative advertising business, then Portfolio Center is the way to go.