Wow, so I forgot I had this thing. It's been a couple years. Funny to see that last post. It turns out I passed my review! Now I have different pressing deadlines to deal with. One of them includes writing a writer's bio. I might as well post that here since I'm actively writing it right now.

Max Nelson was born and raised an only child in Berkeley, Ca. As early as Middle School, him and his friends wrote, drew and published an online webcomic which attained high rankings on several Webcomic lists. He attended Berkeley High School, which has produced such memorable alumnus as Phillip K. Dick and Andy Samberg, Max's favorite comedian and author respectively. In addition to doing the morning announcements for 2 years, he occasionally wrote for the school paper The Jacket, at one point him and some friends published a joke paper titled The Whacket.. In college he did a weekly comic for the school newspaper. He now lives in Oakland where he writes a blog, draws (though not as much as he should) and tutors 1-4th graders in reading and writing.

So thats that. Im gonna write some more stuff now probably. Talk to you soon!

Utter Garbage

So since this blog is utter shit Im gonna kind of use it as a napkin to wipe off the more unwanted of my thinkings. Paramount among unwanted thinkings this week is what I am going to do for my portfolio. It is due Thursday, a week from today. I have not really started it/ dont have much to put in it yet. Maybe like 2 pieces, incomplete. fuck it though I got an itunes full of bassnectar and a brain full of outrageously advanced intellect. Let's do this.

With the customary "Let's do this" out of the way I must now actually start doing this. I'm going to include 10 items in my portfolio, because thats how many sheets come in a pack of Pina Zangaro paper, not that I'm going to order any of that...though maybe I should. Anyway, these thoughts come later. First, what am I gonna put in my portfolio. I want to have alot of corporate stuff. 5 corporate systems + 5 other. The other will be music and school related. The 5 corporate stuff will include
1. My McDonalds redesign (coming soon to an internet near you)
2. My Veja Du Brand (I gotta reprint that)
3. 3 Other Corporations Im going to make up and design systems for.
Each of the systems pages will include various applications of the brand. They will include: Logo (+thumbnail process) website page layout, Signage, Brochures, Packaging,
Ok, fuck an ordered list, Im just gonna unorganizedly list shit That I want to include, and it'll be preserved for eternity in the amber-like aetheria of the internet:
Ticket Stubs,
In store display flag thingy,
CD Labels,
Poster,


Another thing though: This portfolio should include enough process work to function as a comprehensive guide to those with little design experience. One should get the sense that one has learned something about how to design by viewing the pages. One should also be impressed by the work. That is one thing I have a problem with in Graphic Design.
Impressing people feels like showing off, which as reidiculous as that is, it has honestly served as a serious block for me throughout my school career. I think i suffer a severe case of Solipsism; I honestly think that I'm so much better than everyone else, that to display my awesomeness would like, be unfair to all the lame people out there. But shit, I guess I gotta start being awesome if I wanna make some serious cash, which I guess is kinda expected of me. Sooooo, Steps in being awesome include: fuck yeah. Chilling hard. Kicking it. your boy. A dog. A pie. Monkeys. Shit I want a cigarette. Gotta quit that though. S'all bad. Maybe Ill try taking apart this computer. UUGUHGUHFUHFUHEINEIW

Max Nelson: Information Design

up until recently, when people asked my major I would often grudgingly cede that I was 'Graphic Design'. After a while of this, the words completely lost all meaning. what is a "Graphic"? does it include making pictures that move, or only static images? Truly, in our world of dynamic media, the term is obsolete. This gave me quite a bit of trouble recently while trying to draft my Resume, which for a "Graphic Designer" who often relies on his Portfolio to acquire work, is often just a list of titles and buzz words that will hopefully resonate with whatever employer is viewing them. So in my struggle to formulate these buzz words, sifting through innaplicable terms such as "Graphic" and "Art", I found a term that actually fit. "Information Designer". Think about it. Think about it.

"Information Designer"

also, Neo-Futurist, referring to the futurist movement of the early 20th century.

Now deciding whether or not I am actually fit to be a member of this occupation is a matter of whether or not i can successfully complete the design process, in regards to a list of basic assignments i currently have on my plate. but people are talking in the library (about South Park) and disgusted with the standards of twenty-first century conversation I must relocate to somewhere quiet where I can think and not distractedly write down semi-literate statements concerning my future occupations. I also think I could be a really good writer but that's a whole another idea/resume or whatever so yeah gtg ok later bye.

Art and Design can both be defined as the process of displaying information visually. The only difference is in the level of abstraction taken in the display, and thus, the abstraction of the information itself. Example: "The bus leaves at 8:30am" and "the world is a cruel and unforgiving place" are both valid pieces of information that can be displayed visually. Obviously due to the concrete nature of the first statement, versus the dynamic, interprative nature of the second, the visual display of each of these will take on drastically different forms. But both forms, be it a bus stop-schedule, or a painting in a museum, are both displays of information, and thus it is wrong to differetiate between "Art" and "Design"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/technology/personaltech/10basics.html?_r=1