Blog

I’ve been making artwork since I was a kid, and continue to do so today. Working as both a graphic designer and an artist has given me a unique perspective on design work. Both artists and designers work in the visual realm, but often have very different goals — while artists explore the elements of composition to express personal feelings or ideas, designers apply these principles to solve problems. Creating artwork gives me a freedom to explore ideas visually that I might not have when creating work for a client. The work I create personally often feeds into and improves the work I do professionally. Here are some of the reasons why I feel that exploring the world of fine art will make you a better designer.

First, a disclaimer: I love Google. I’ve used Gmail since it was invitation-only, I’m in Google Calendar several times a day, I have several Hangout chats going at any given time, and it’s my search engine of choice.

However, I don’t like Google for professional and enterprise support. I prefer Microsoft, and Office 365, and I love SharePoint – which is why I’m the SharePoint specialist at MindActive. Before you grab the torches and pitchforks, hear me out!

In advertising, innovation is the name of the game. At this point in time, most people filter out the relentless television and internet advertisements that attempt to sway them. It's time for something different, something novel.

Holograms.

Here at MindActive, I’m the lone Microsoft / Windows person in an office of Mac users, so I catch some good-natured grief for being one of “those people.” With my extensive background in SharePoint administration, it makes sense for me to be more Windows focused, since Microsoft and Windows are built to work effortlessly together. However, convincing my team – a group of Mac using, Safari loving, website image and video manipulating experts - to give SharePoint a try required some major research.

Why use animation for print work? Because, despite the lack of control over the final product, it's awesome.

This “How was it done?” video walks through creating physical imagery through 3D animation software and answers some questions about the process.