observed. the jonberrydesign blog

revisiting: saarinen

2012-02-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

As often happens, I'm at a loss for something new to post. Occasionally I've jumped back into the archives to revisit old posts when that happens. Since the blog seems to have a much higher readership now then a few years ago, and in an effort to keep updates regular, I'm going to start diving into the archives more often.

Construction began on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis 45 years ago this week. Five years ago today, that, combined with the fact that I had been in St Louis for the World Series a few months before, led me to write a post about one of my favorite architects, Eero Saarinen. Along with the arch, Saarinen also designed Dulles Airport in Virginia, and one of my favorites: the TWA terminal at JFK airport. He also has two stunning works on the MIT Campus in Boston that I featured in the post below from 2010. You can read the full original posts here:

observed 2.15.07: terminal

observed 8.9.10: great spaces

vegas

2012-02-14T16:31:00.000-08:00

As long as we're back on the topic of Vegas, here are some more detail slivers from my week there in January. You can't go far without finding patterns of light or color. Maybe that's really more my favorite thing there instead of the fountains...hmmm. Luckily, I don't have to choose.

bella

2012-02-13T19:13:00.000-08:00

My favorite thing to see in Las Vegas is free. Now I'm no expert on Vegas, so any recommendation I make should be treated with the knowledge that there are probably a million things I've never seen or done there. That said, easily my favorite thing there is the Fountains at Bellagio. As many times as I've been, I've never gotten tired of them; I could sit and watch them all night. I could post videos, but that wouldn't do it justice, because the experience can't be captured in a camera. Bellagio's fountains are a massive water show choreographed to light and music. I'm surprised how few people know that there isn't just one show (wikipedia lists 32 songs, though I don't know how complete their list is.) I was really glad when I took my pal Curt to see them for the first time and the show happened to be the one set to "Con Te Partirò," easily my favorite of the ones that I have seen. Find a spot close to the speakers embedded in the lightposts and railings, especially if during a crowded time. The fountains run on the half hour starting at 3pm on weekdays and starting at Noon on weekends and holidays. From 7pm to Midnight, the shows are on the quarter hour. (The last show is actually at 11:55pm. Fountains are also scheduled to run every 15 minutes from 11a-2:30p on Sundays during the Bellagio's "Fountains Brunch".) If you haven't seen them, make a point to when in Vegas, and stick around for a few shows - some are far better than others. You don't be disappointed.

unexpected

2012-02-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine messaged me last night to let me know that he had seen a piece of my opening titles for Toddlers & Tiaras on ABC's Nightline the night before. The show has become so pervasive that it has become fun to see it pop up in unexpected places like there or Oprah or Jimmy Kimmel or who knows where else. Honestly, even after doing this for 20 years, there's always a little bit of joy in seeing your work on screen, and even more so when in an unexpected place or time. Aside from my work on NBC Olympics broadcasts, I would guess that the Toddlers & Tiaras open is probably one of my most seen pieces. I certainly never expected that. In fact, after the original project was completed, the show pilot sat on the shelf for almost a year without ever airing. I generally make a practice not to post work for clients until it has already first aired or published somewhere, but in this instance the producers gave me permission to go ahead and post it, since so much time had passed and the show ever airing was in question. Eventually it obviously did, but given that start, I don't think anyone expected it to take off the way it did. We've updated the open since its standard-definition original, and there's also another update on the way with the next season, but it's sorta fun now to see the original blog post back from when we thought it would never air:

jonberrydesign blog post from May 17, 2008: toddlers & tiaras

sanity

2012-02-08T17:09:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the blog silence. As Rick Perry would say: "oops." I guess the week in Vegas overwhelmed me, I think some conflict between spending so much of it working and then beating myself up for being in Vegas but not leaving the hotel room. That often happens when I travel, so you'd think I'd be used to it. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. Or maybe just a week in Vegas is really too long to be there. Anyway, I still felt pretty overwhelmed last week once back in LA, but at least on one of the first days back, I thought to do something I do surprisingly rarely: walk down to just sit by the beach. I hadn't even meant to, but happened to be there just during sunset. It was nice to sit with my own thoughts for a bit and watch the surfers. Some guy was fighting the wind to fly a kite. A stuffed rabbit lay abandoned on the nearby rocks where some kid must have lost him. It was a cold day, but a perfect sanity break that I needed. It was nice. I really should do that more often.

details

2012-01-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Continuing on my post yesterday about Vegas being a plethora of stimulation for creatives, especially visually, these are some details snapped along the way while out and about this week.

jackpot

2012-01-25T19:20:00.000-08:00

I'm spending the week in Vegas. It really hasn't been that much of a play visit, but even just being here is a good change of scenery. I'm visiting my friend Curt, who is here for a conference ("Concrete World!" No really, I'm not making that up.) Most of his time is wrapped up in conference activities and events, while I have plenty of work keeping me in the hotel room most of the time. Luckily nothing shuts down in Vegas, so at least its easy for us to get late dinners or shows or even just wandering the strip and casinos when we both manage to be free. I think for anyone in a creative industry, Vegas is a jackpot of visual stimuli. You can't help but love being immersed in the neverending sights and sounds. It's a theme park for the senses and absolute kitsch taken to the utmost extreme. What's not to love?

med mod

2012-01-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

Last November I broke my foot (of course you'd know about that if the blog hadn't fallen into its accidental hiatus then.) The doctors office was in this nearby medical building in Manhattan Beach that I've probably driven by a hundred times and never noticed. Though fairly non-descript on the outside (except for some kinda cool sheathing panels,) it turned out to be a pretty cool modernist-ish building inside. The finishes may have been cheap, but it had some great spaces. I wondered if it was a once-great building that hadn't been kept up well, but my hunch is that it was more likely just a cheap knock-off version of good modernism from the beginning (that still hadn't exactly aged well.) Nonetheless, I couldn't help but be intrigued by the place. For some reason I would guess it to be from the early 70's. The good side of its age was that the materials and fixtures seemed to be the original ones (both in good and bad ways, and sometimes so bad they were good.) Still, it was better than some attempt at updating by adding faux stone and columns or burgundy and forest green interiors. It may not have been a prize example of modernism, but the degree to which it remained in its original state without being mucked up by "improvements" was worthy of appreciation.

blacked out

2012-01-18T17:19:00.000-08:00

jonberrydesign.com has been dark today and the following has been censored in support of the internet blackout against a bill that gives any corporation and the US government the power to censor the internet. To see the uncensored text and to stop internet censorship, visit: http://americancensorship.org/posts/46383/uncensor

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make a date

2012-01-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

It's pretty much custom in my industry (as I think it is in most) to give clients a Christmas gift. When doing mine, I've always tried to come up with things that have some level of self promotion, but are still nice and/or useful so that they don't just go to the trash. For the past few years, my gifts have also used the blind photography that I shoot constantly for this blog (and just as a creative exercise.) I was pretty pleased with the end result this year, so I've decided to do something I've never done before: put the client gift up for sale to anyone. It's not really a money making venture, because I kinda doubt I'll sell more than a few at the very most. It's more just a way of offering them to everyone, because I'd love to give them to everyone, but there's just no way to afford being able to do that. This years client gift was a 2012 calendar featuring collages that blend three photos in each spread, with dates as a vertical strip of horizontal lines. The calendars are spiral-bound softcover books at 8x6" in size (so 16x6" for a full spread.) Unfortunately, they aren't cheap. Printing and shipping costs a little over $20, so I figure I'll just sell em for $21. Any more than that seems like way too much for a calendar, but I don't want to lose money either. Since this isn't a planned commercial venture and I don't sell "products", bear with my homemade figure-it-out-as-we-go approach. If you'd like to buy one, just drop me an email (jon@jonberrydesign.com) and we'll work it out. (and a reminder: to see the spreads above, click on the image for a full size view)

the scarf

2012-01-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

Spending a few days lately working on some potential designs for ACB soccer scarves (not as easy as you'd think) has made me think about my appreciation for them. I remember first noticing this type of scarf when I was in Torino for the Olympics. On certain days you'd see people all over town wearing them. I even bought a couple then not fully appreciating their significance, just because they seemed a cool souvenir of my time there. It wasn't until I started following American soccer and especially once involved with the Angel City Brigade that I realized what a signature of soccer they are. Football/Soccer scarves are generally attributed as originating in the UK in the early 1900's, first as stripe patterns of team colors and later with team names and slogans. Today there are all kinds of versions with elaborate designs, and like anything in sports merchandising, teams and leagues will add special designs for anything they can think of to make a buck. Naturally, fans gobble them up. In the last year alone I somehow went from one scarf to six, including one I gave away. What I love most about the soccer scarf is its versatility. Its an easy show of support for your team just hanging on your neck at a tailgate, but it also doubles as a banner when held over your head (especially impressive when a full section is doing the same), or as a rally towel twirled while cheering a play, not to mention its actual use as a scarf when chilly enough to need it. It sure beats a foam finger. It's no surprise that they are now starting to show up on baseball and hockey fans in the US, but they will always be the defining symbol of the soccer fan.

d town

2012-01-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Since the blog went on an accidental hiatus for about 5 months, I have a lot of old pics and events to recap. The good news is that it should help give me some content when I can't think of anything to post about (which seems to be pretty often); the bad news is that you'll have to bear with me posting about something that happened 3 months ago. You're welcome. And I'm sorry. Anyway, these are just some slivers of downtown LA from a few different times there in the last months, including when my friend Myron was visiting as well as during two different beerfests that were held downtown. Looking at these makes me feel like its time for another trip to Wurstküche and Spitz, a couple of my favorite downtown spots. If you haven't been, do it.

good girl

2012-01-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

My parents lost their dog Phantom last night. Her legs hadn't been so great for a long time, but her eyes stayed bright and her appetite and spirit stayed strong. She was always a great dog, from her days of competing in the show ring (she loved the agility contests) to her more mischievous days of eating the entire pumpkin pie in the back of the minivan while Mom & Dad were in the store. More than anything, she could never get enough of having her head in your lap or being next to you. What Phantom loved most was to be loved. And boy was she. Dad posted the passage in the link below about Rainbow Bridge in honor of Phantom. I linked to it and received an awful lot of nice messages from friends. But Phantom was Dad's girl. Dad's not known for directly expressing himself a lot, he's usually more subtle that that; but when he does, its poignant. So I hope he doesn't mind me stealing from him again, but what he posted today is better than anything I could say:

"Thank you all for all you kind condolences.

I think I'm not feeling bad for Phantom. I do think she had a good life and wasn't happy that she could no longer do anything she enjoyed except eat and get a nice head scratch.

I think I'm feeling sorry for myself that I'll no longer get to enjoy her devotion and companionship. Each of the dogs used to get a walk of between a mile and a mile and a half each day. Edn's walk was pretty much mostly a teaching experience. Phantom had been through all that so our walks, often after dark, were just a couple of good old friends enjoying each other and where we were. I miss her."

Dad's Blog: Waiting at Rainbow Bridge

last look

2012-01-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

A few last pics from my last day on the Gulf Coast before heading back to California... I made the mistake of not getting any Barbecue Shrimp while in New Orleans because I mistakenly assumed it was a broader regional thing, so we stopped at one of the only places we found it in Mississippi. It was perfect. After getting caught in unexpected traffic and almost missing my flight last time I was there (not that I would have minded), we headed into New Orleans plenty early this time. With the extra time to spare, we stopped for beignets at Cafe du Monde, which in all the times I've been to New Orleans, I had always avoided just assuming it was a tourist trap. We had time for one last swan song beer in Nawlins, and then it was time to head home.

building

2012-01-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the last post, one thing I did get to do during this trip to Mississippi was see a lot of my friend Stephen's work. We often check out architecture by others, but I hadn't seen much of his except in photos. This week, he took me to see a few of his completed projects as well as some buildings under construction that he needed to check on anyway. If you've followed the blog, you know architecture has always been something I get a lot out of. I had always thought about becoming an architect when I was a kid, but decided against it after hating having to deal with rulers and triangles in some high school math or art class. Little did I know that as a graphic design student, I'd be spending my years in college with exacto pens and t-squares and rulers anyway. I'm still endlessly fascinated with the idea of bringing design to full dimension (I independent studied in this as well in school, but more in the sense of designing museums or theme parks), so its fun for me to have the chance to pick his brain and hear about the details of projects. Its also interesting how many similarities we have in dealing with clients or challenges in the process of our work. The biggest difference is how much "in stone" (no pun intended) his work is once construction begins, where my projects are constantly changing up until delivery, and frankly sometimes even still after that. Either way, its always cool to share stories and have some understanding and compassion of the process in the middle of projects, and after seeing these I'll understand his even more.

pieces

2012-01-03T23:15:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Mississippi for a couple days to visit with my friend Stephen (and eat as many poboys, oysters, and fried tomatoes as I can before going back to California.) I've gotten to see more of his work this time, including visits yesterday and tomorrow to projects under construction. Other than that, we've just been roaming around the Gulf Coast in between taking care of work stuff I have going on: basically laid-back decompression days after the holidays. (Of course work always goes where I do no matter what; just the way it works, and no complaints about that.) That all leaves not a lot to say or show, but here are some bits from the last couple days.

happy nawlins new year

2012-01-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

A few scenes from the French Quarter on New Years Eve. Unlike my normal habits, I got a very early start of it, and then tuckered out fairly early (well, early for New Years in New Orleans, at least!) Considering the party all around, it was actually a pretty subdued New Years Eve, which was just about perfect. Hope yours was good too.

contrast

2011-12-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love about New Orleans is what a study in contrasts it is. From have to have not, or from tourist trap at one point to a genuine historic hole in the wall 10 feet away, or from party in the street to peaceful desolate street one block away. These are some scenes from wandering the quarter on New Years Eve Eve. Happy New Year.

mississippi surprise

2011-12-30T15:50:00.000-08:00

On the way to New Orleans from Mississippi, my pal Stephen took a detour to show me the Pinecote Pavilion at the Crosby Arboretum in Picayune. Pinecote was designed by E. Fay Jones, an Arkansas modernist architect who was an apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright. His work is said to have a Wrightian feel, and he often used materials that reflected their surroundings. Pinecote, an open air pavilion that he described as an "asymmetrical shed," seems to float on the water while blending harmoniously into the surrounding trees. As the sun moves over the course of the day, so do patterns created by light and shadow interplaying with the elements of the building. It is most impressive when illuminated at night, but unfortunately not open to the public then. Seeing such a brilliant piece of architecture in the middle of Mississippi was a pleasant surprise, but I'm learning its apparently not as rare as you might think.

nola daze

2011-12-29T22:47:00.000-08:00

I'm in New Orleans now for a few days. Almost immediately I fell into my typical schedule when traveling, especially in Europe. I spent most of the night working, then decided to go out for beers really late (after all, bars don't close here) which of course led to being out until really early, and then sleeping half the day. Its a vicious cycle. But so it goes. And in an effort not to completely break it, but still get a new blog post in, here are just a few basic pics from around where I'm staying in the French Quarter. Time to get out and about before it gets any later...

defibrillating

2011-12-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

Ironically enough, I'm on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi at the moment, the same place I left off in my last blog posts. I didn't do so well at my last attempt at reviving the blog, so after 5 months of near silence, its time for another try. I'm actually en route to New Orleans for New Years after spending Christmas in Virginia and West Virginia. Many of you are familiar with My Dad's Weimaraners Phantom and Edn. Phantom is 15 1/2 now and still hanging on. The hardest part was leaving her yesterday without breaking down. It's the third time in a year that I've left teary-eyed thinking I probably wouldn't see her again. I think she likes proving me wrong. Dad's annual Christmas greeting from the dogs is also a tradition for those who follow the blog, so below is a link to this year's card as well as a link to earlier blog posts that featured the cards (including a link to all the previous year's versions as well.) This year's card is more of a journal of Phantom's last year. Be warned, its a bit of a tear-jerker.

Dad's 2011 Christmas Card from the dogs

previous observed post about the cards & index to earlier years cards

testing

2011-10-01T01:53:00.000-07:00

another settings test. pardon the interruption. move along, nothing to be seen here. keep calm and carry on.

testing

2011-09-30T00:06:00.000-07:00

this is just a test post. Testing the new blogger system with images here to see if they post any differently than in old posts. This will get deleted soon... don't worry, you didn't miss anything.

stand by

2011-09-28T15:51:00.000-07:00

First off, believe it or not, the blog isn't dead. Its just been on...uh... an unplanned vacation. Yeah, thats it. Secondly, if you're seeing this, my apologies for the appearance. Blogger wiped out the format settings of the blog by changing something in their user interface. It may be a little bit of time before I can spend the time to try to fix the appearance, so in the meantime I figured it prudent to post this. Thanks! Hopefully we'll be back soon. UPDATE: if you're seeing this now, its probably pretty close to what the new design will end up looking like.... stay tuned for more.

coasting

2011-07-27T23:09:00.000-07:00

I've been in Mississippi for the last couple days (yes, Mississippi.) I'm here visiting a friend on the southern coast in Ocean Springs, touring some pretty cool architecture (yes, really), and of course eating some good southern food. More details to come, but here's a taste.

transit

2011-07-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today was another travel day; back in Baltimore now. I flew into Baltimore this year to ride down with my sister, niece, and nephew instead of renting a car from Norfolk. At one point I before the trip was wondering what I was thinking opting for a 7.5 hour drive after flying across the country, but it turns out my sister take a more rural highway route from Baltimore to the Outer Banks instead of the interstate, so the drive was actually pretty pleasant. The ridiculous heat in Baltimore, on the other hand, not so much.

island time

2011-07-22T22:56:00.000-07:00

My sisters and the kids and I spent the day on Ocracoke Island today. We took the ferries to the island from Hatteras, a fairly short drive from our homebase for the week in Avon. We met up with my sister Mel's friend, Jane, for a leisurely lunch and then split up, with some of us opting to bike around the island while others went shopping among the stores in the village. We stopped by the Ocracoke Lighthouse, where Mel had been married years ago. When the biking group ducked into a shop, I opted to break away and spent a while just biking among the back roads and neighborhoods of the island by myself. Once I ran out of streets with time still to go (and dripping in sweat from the heat,) I found a bar on the marina docks to cool down with a beer until it was time to meet back up with everyone. Nothing to write home about (though I guess I just did, huh?), but a nice change of pace from our routine days at the beach house.

beachin'

2011-07-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Oops, didn't realize I hadn't posted in so long... I'm hanging this week with my family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I'm here with my sisters and some of their kids, our parents, and their dogs. My parents' dogs Phantom and Edn are here, along with my sister's dog Colby. Colby and Edn are Phantom's sons, and Phantom, who just turned 15, has aged to the point that she doesn't have much use of her hind legs. Its a bit of doggy hospice that's hardest on my Dad, but she seems to enjoy being here I'm glad to get to see her again. I hadn't expected to after my Christmas visit. Otherwise, its a pretty relaxing week. I have some work going on, but not too much. I go to the beach less often than the rest of the crew. We tend to cook seafood from local markets every night and just hang out, which is pretty much perfect.

dedicated

2011-07-14T23:50:00.000-07:00

Finally catching up to Saturday's Galaxy game and another night with the Angel City Brigade: After the big July 4th game only a few days earlier, the crowd overall was smaller than usual, especially for a Saturday, but it seemed like a much more dedicated crowd nonetheless. Eric, a dedicated ACBer and fan who travels from the UK every year, was there with us, of course hanging with the group at the tailgate before the game. The team played better, with Beckham still showing his value with two of his trademark kicks that turned into goals. I even added three new flags that I was proud to see flying among the group throughout the night. Overall, a pretty good night topped off by a win and the players salute dedicated to the ACB and all the fans; just the way we like it.

street smart

2011-07-12T23:30:00.000-07:00

While downtown a couple weeks ago, I made a stop into the Angel City Brewery which has opened a gallery and beergarden (allegedly) in their new downtown space. I can't say I loved the beer, but the show in their gallery was pretty cool. The writeup on their website is a little confusing, but it is clearly meant to tag onto the current MOCA exhibition of street art. I can't identify all of these from the info on the website, but at least one is the work of Cryptik, while another shows works from Becca and a personal favorite, Phil Lumbang. The show just ended, but you can check out more info on their webpage (well, at least until it gets updated with a new event!):

"Street Brewed" at Angel City Brewery

Phil Lumbang

space

2011-07-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

A few shots from a week or two ago when I had some errands to run downtown, catching a bit of soCal color and texture along the way.

golden

2011-07-10T23:58:00.000-07:00

There's a term in tv, film and photography called the 'golden hour' or the 'magic hour' - the last hour or sunlight before sunset that creates warm glows and long shadows for the very best shots of anything outdoors. Inevitably on any film shoot, you find yourself fighting the sun to get in the shots you need during that period before the sun gets too low. Some of these shots were in that magic hour during the bus ride home from San Jose a few weeks ago, others are from other points earlier during the day when we just seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. I guess at any time of day, it is the Golden State, after all.

fourthing, part 2

2011-07-06T23:58:00.000-07:00

A big dilemma this year was balancing the traditional day at the beach on the 4th with joining the Angel City Brigade for the 4th of July Galaxy game, a big deal because of the all-day tailgate, fireworks, and tifo display. The answer came when my pal Alan volunteered to be the designated driver, picking us up from the beach half of the day and joining us for the Galaxy half. The tailgate was probably twice the size as normal, but somehow seemed to be over in minutes (kickstands and all!) The game seemed to be missing some energy and not firing on all pistons. Even our new black uniforms (MLS has succumbed to the sports merchandising trend of having third and fourth kits) seemed to disappear into the field (perhaps because of Seattle's day-glo green kits? srsly?!) It could just be that all of those were just symptoms of a very long day with a lot crammed in. The fireworks felt more like a lullaby by the time they lit up the sky over the stadium after the game. Definitely one very full fourth.

fourthing, part 1

2011-07-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

As usual, Fourth of July at the beach was nuts. If you've followed past years' adventures, you know we normally start with the Hermosa Beach Ironman. The Ironman is one of the oldest traditions in Hermosa, a twist on the traditional Ironman in which hundreds of contestants run a mile, paddle a mile on their surfboards, and then down a six pack; first to hold it in for 20 minutes without ralphing wins. My pal Andrew joined me (very) early Saturday to see the spectacle, but we spent a little too long with our (very) early morning bloody marys and breakfast, only making it to the Ironman in time to catch the post-race mosh pit. After that, we met up with my pal Pat and some of his friends to start our annual pub crawl on bikes, which took us from Poopdeck to Naja's. After a slow start, before we knew it, it was time to head to Pat's house to meet up with our friend Alan and begin a new phase to July 4th: a Galaxy game with the ACB. That part comes in part 2 tomorrow...

the way to san jose

2011-06-26T23:15:00.000-07:00

Well it turned out I couldn't make the full stretch of away Galaxy games without some time with the ACB. After spending a lot of time wrestling with whether to, I finally gave in and signed up for their bus trip to a game in San Jose. Despite 6-hour trips both ways in one day and a 6am departure, I'm glad to report that I have no regrets. It was definitely an experience. Two seats were reserved for kegs, and they were tapped before the bus even left the lot. After many warnings from trip veterans about not overdoing it, I really tried to hold off, but at 8am, a beer with my name on it was delivered to me. Next time, I'll know not to worry about pacing so much. The ride passed faster than you'd expect, without ever needing to open up a book or watch anything I had on the ipod. The game itself was purely surreal. The Quakes play in a stadium that is about at high school stadium level quality. While singing our chants and cheering, we were waiting for the old wood of the bleachers to give way any minute. In the midst of a game full of questionable reffing, our goalie broke his arm while the San Jose fans chanted 'f--k you Ricketts' while he lay on the ground. Then our second goalie was given a red card in what replays showed to be another bad or at best questionable call. Emotions were high, and it was getting ugly on and off the field. We had no goalie. It wasn't even halftime yet. Though he had never played as a goalie before, Midfielder Mike Magee stepped in and the team played one man down. And as the game went on, save after save, it became amazing watching Magee and the team rally around him. ACB didn't already have a chant for Magee, somehow "Magee. Magee. Magee's on fire" organically arose and became our rallying cry. Several times during the game, he would give us signals after a play that he heard us. Those are the moments that drive what we do as a supporters group. It wasn't until I got home and watched the replay that I discovered how loud we actually were and how much tv coverage we got during the game, holding our own against the Quakes group that was probably 4 or 5 times our size. Somewhere in the last few minutes of the game, I realized we might actually finish the game without being scored on. I've walked away from a lot of ties feeling a little negative about the game. This 0-0 tie felt like the greatest win I've witnessed so far, and I've never been prouder of the heart shown on the field by the Galaxy, as well as in the stands by the ACB. As expected, the ride home was hell. But 12 hours later, I was ready to go again.

two fronts

2011-06-23T23:48:00.000-07:00

I've posted a couple recent projects to my website. This first is a graphics package for the recent Discovery Channel series called "Wild Animal Repo." The show is a wildlife series produced by the Jay & Tony Show where exotic and endangered animals are rescued from unfit owners & environments. The open ended up being based on a titletool graphic the network wanted replicated, with the addition of the claw scratch & frenetic elements to enhance a sense of danger. A different direction for this package was originally approved for this and I'm debating whether or not it would be okay to show that - perhaps I will post it in the next few days, along with the original graphic that led to the abrupt change to this direction. The second project is for a new TLC series called "Surprise Homecoming." The show is hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus and features military members surprising loved ones with unexpected returns from service overseas. The open for the show was to highlight Billy Ray Cyrus singing his new song 'Runway Lights,' along with clips of homecomings from the series. For the open and look, the network wanted to reference Americana but not go overboard in that direction, as well as to stay on the warm emotional side and not veer into technical or militaristic references. A home movie like treatment became the signature footage style mixed with warm light leak effects. These combine with closeups of American flag fabric to give a tactile, accessible feel. "Surprise Homecoming" premiered Memorial Day weekend, and remaining episodes begin in July. You can check out both projects on my recent work page here:

jonberrydesign.com: recent work

weekending

2011-06-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

Well I've let the blog slip through the cracks, but I really feel like I just haven't had anything to share. I said a few weeks ago that I wouldn't apologize anymore for the gaps in between posts. So, no apology. Here are a few random snaps from over the weekend and last week...

brigadiers

2011-06-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

Yet another LA Galaxy game with my Angel City Brigade on Saturday. I had my largest group of friends to come with me this week, and like every game, it just gets more fun each time. There were six of us this time, 3 repeats and 2 first-timers. Like last week, the game could have been better. Despite having the best record and being on top of the league, the team is playing pretty crappy lately. Part of learning soccer is learning to be okay with a tie. I'm still working on that one. Of course, being with the ACB makes the games fun no matter what, because we go nonstop from beginning to end regardless (not to mention the fun before and after the game). We even made it on some of the tv coverage. But now comes a stretch of away games for the next few weeks; I'm not sure how I'm gonna manage that. Guess we will see...

signing

2011-06-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

I've passed this sign a few times and finally stopped to grab a few pics of it. Its such a beautiful example of typography and classic neon signage. I haven't seen it at night; I'll have to make a point of checking it out sometime after dark.

hearts of blue, white & gold

2011-06-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

Friday was another great night with the Angel City Brigade at the LA Galaxy game. Every game I meet more folks at the pregame tailgate and post-game hangouts afterward, and it just makes the experience more and more fun. The ACB prides itself on being welcoming and friendly, and it really has turned out to be the case (so if you've ever been hesitant about hanging with us, go for it.) Its a crazy cast of all types of characters, but the way everyone comes together is pretty remarkable. Its non-stop standing and chanting like you'd expect to find in a playoff or championship game for another sport, but its that way for every game: win or lose, good game or crappy game. And unlike other sports, the interaction with people next to you isn't limited just to just a high-five when your team scores. The game coulda been a lot better, but we ended with a draw, which at least keeps LA well on top of the rankings. Easily the best spot during the night was one of the guys breaking out a sax unexpectedly and launching into a rendition of "One Step Beyond" that sent everyone into a frenzy. We only have one more home game before a long away stretch. The idea of making an away game trip is getting enticing.

gallery

2011-06-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

just some recent but random previously unpublished shots

okc gallery

2011-05-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

a gallery of some random shots around Oklahoma City from yesterday... gotta get back on the road today to head back to Dallas.

oh. klahoma.

2011-05-29T09:39:00.000-07:00

Just a few shots from our Saturday. We decided to drop our usual stop into the Big XXII baseball tournament, so it was a pretty laid back day, just hanging out at the rodeo most of the day, plus a new discovery for dinner. We lucked into a place called the Republic Gastropub that not only had a great beer selection (and not 3.2 beer!), but also great food in even better architecture. It may not have been Simmzy's, but it's definitely a new favorite in Oklahoma City. And then of course we topped the night off with a few beers out with friends and the rodeo crowd. Today holds a bit more of the same in store, so off to get going on that: the traditional rodeo, rinse, repeat.

rut roh

2011-05-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

I'm on my Memorial Day Weekend ritual road trip. I flew to Dallas on Thursday and roadtripped with my pal Myron (and his dog Earnest) yesterday up to Oklahoma City for the Great Plains Regional Rodeo. I think this is my 16th year making the trip. We took a little detour this year to discover the village of Muenster, Texas - a little town in the middle of nowhere with a bit of a German theme going on, it made for a fun (and tasty) stop. We ventured on and made another stop that has become tradition - the Fried Pies place at exit 51 in Oklahoma. I still think they're the best fried pies I've had anywhere. Then finally we made it into Oklahoma City and went out for a few beers and run-ins with old friends later that night to kick off the rodeo. Before coming I was starting to think this trip was becoming a bit of a rut; now I think I'm glad I'm in it.

our house

2011-05-23T23:10:00.000-07:00

If you're sick of all the soccer game posts, you can take heart in the news that there is a big break coming soon in home games. But first you have to deal with a couple more posts about em. Saturday was the SuperClasico - a first for me, and something hard to even explain. ChivasUSA is another team that also plays at the Home Depot Center (we call em the renters) and that feeds into a rivalry with the LA Galaxy that I can't come up with an equivalent to. (Maybe imagine the Cubs and Sox playing in the same stadium? And yes, chivas means goats. Really.) The strangest thing about it is that we were the "away" team, meaning we were watching others in our normal seats or tailgate sections; someone else was in our home even though we were still allowed in. It felt weird. Years past have apparently not been the most friendly of rivalries, we had lots of warnings and safety tips to be aware of, and it really made you wonder what to expect. Luckily, as far as I know, it has at least moved to a respectful rivalry and none of those warnings were necessary. But also because of that, the SuperClasico is also the rare time when Angel City Brigade and the LA Riot Squad (the other Galaxy Supporters Group) join forces and tailgate together, march into the stadium together (escorted), and sit together inside. The game was a blast. LA won. One of my favorite players scored and continued to grow into his role on the team. And the team cemented 3 more points in the standings. But best of all, despite just being a small corner of the stadium, our impact was loud and unavoidable. Being a part of the Brigade has turned out to be far more fun and addicting that I ever expected. It's the fan experience I always hoped for in following different sports teams, but only could find in playoff and championship games, but with an added sense of family. That means the connection doesn't end when the game does. I finally found it. I love my ACB.

post hibernation

2011-05-22T23:19:00.000-07:00

A gallery of a few shots from Long Beach today... And with the gallery, like today, I'm coming out of hibernation a bit. That cold/flu stuff I mentioned a couple weeks ago never completely went away. The past week it was mostly just a cough, but it really wasn't going away. At the same time, I've been in crunch mode for one of the fastest turnaround projects I've done in a long time, so all my time and energy was devoted to that. Between that and being sick, I didn't leave the house a lot. By Friday, the project was almost wrapped, and I also finally went to the doctor, so the cough is nearly gone and I'm coming out of my hibernation cloud now. I'm not going to apologize for not posting for so long (only because I've made that apology too many times before), but I figure its time for a note about the evolution of the blog. The short of it is that I'm not planning to end it, though it often crosses my mind. When I started it 5 1/2 years ago, I originally thought it would be occasional updates and project news. It soon evolved into a mix that was more of a personal diary and travelog, especially while working on the Olympics in Torino and touring Europe afterward. At that point I tried to always keep it updated close to daily. I knew how checking blogs like those of my friends Rusty and Bill, who both tended to post daily, had become a morning routine for me every day. And it was a nice way to share with family and friends what I was up to. But this was before social media like Facebook and Twitter were factors. Today those are easier and quicker ways to share interesting bits and stay up to date, as well as ways to pass on a new blog post. But that has also made it harder to come up with content for the blog that I haven't already shared there. So I'll still try to keep updating a few times a week, but I'm easing up on my goal of posting daily. Gaps of several days like the last week hopefully won't happen, but if they do, you can always find out what I'm up to by checking my Twitter feed. That more than anything is always active and up to date. And of course, as always, thanks for coming along on my adventures and letting me share. Plenty more to come.

shooting stars

2011-05-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

Another Saturday Gameday with the LA Galaxy and Angel City Brigade... My friends Andrew and Michele joined me for this one, along with Michele's friend Kimmie and daughter Chloe. Its the biggest group I've had join in so far this year, which made it all the more fun. As usual, I was worried about everyone joining in with the chants or it not being fun for them (especially a kid), but also as usual, everyone joined right in and had a good time. I don't know what happened in the locker room at halftime, but the second half of the game saw the team playing masterfully together with everything clicking and everyone having great games. The cherry on top was a ridiculously perfect goal off a free kick by David Beckham. It's textbook and worth a view (video below.) And always one of my favorite highlights of a game is the salute the players give the Angel City Brigade at the end. Our next game is the Super Classico - an "away" game in our own stadium against rivals Chivas USA, who also play there. I have no idea what to expect from that. At least the pics won't look exactly the same next time!

YouTube: David Beckham Free Kick Goal vs Sporting KC

accompaniment

2011-05-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the radio silence for so long. That sick stuff from the weekend has lingered all week, gradually better each day at least, finally now getting almost back to 100%. So for the most part, I hibernated most of the week and didn't do much outside of work and rest. One thing that did keep me company that may not have been on your radar is the Eurovision Song Contest. Eurovision has been around for more than 50 years, and is an annual contest televised across Europe (and beyond) and voted on by the viewers in the participating countries. Every country decides how their country's entry is chosen - some are chosen by tv networks, others by committees, and many by televised competitions within the country. Eurovision launched ABBA's career with their winning entry, Waterloo, for Sweden in 1974. Some of you know of my love for Schlager, a type of music I could best describe as European folk music that tends to be cheesy upbeat danceable singable pop - its what they sing in the tents at Oktoberfest and Apres-ski gatherings. Though many entries don't, its common to find songs in Eurovision that fit or come close to schlager, and the spectacle of the performances is often pure schlager, thus my love for Eurovision. Today, so many countries participate that they have to have two semi-final competitions, and 10 entries from each move on to the finals, along with 5 countries that are grandfathered into every finals. So those kept me company on Tuesday and Thursday, and the finals are Saturday. You can watch them at the link below, either live at Noon Pacific time, or afterward as a replay (click on past events.) I was glad to discover that this years competition is much better than last years, enough so that there are several I would be happy to see win. The staging and tv direction of Eurovision is always impressive, and this years hosts, Germany, have not disappointed in that aspect. If you can let go and enjoy it for what it is, you might just love it too.

Grand Final of the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest

voice over

2011-05-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna have to find something different to shoot at Galaxy games, otherwise the posts from gamedays are going to start looking the same every time. I woke up the day of the game with a cold and only half a voice, and all I could think was it was the worst day of all for that to happen. Sitting in section 121 as part of the Angel City Brigade means shouting, singing, chanting during the whole game. I expect to be hoarse the next day, but not beforehand! It didn't matter, nothing was going to keep me from the game, so I powered through (the beers from the tailgate helped too, of course). My pal Andrew came along this time, and he was amused by my sad excuse of a voice by the second half. I'm just glad I only have to wait one week for the next game; sure hope this cold doesn't hang on that long.

local color

2011-05-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

With the climate wackiness and inverted seasons we've had for a few months, its hard to know what season it is anymore. While the last week seems to have felt like the start of Summer, we did have a few weeks of Spring before that, sorta. Either way, things are definitely blooming everywhere around LA.

unexpected

2011-05-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Still playing catchup and recapping last weekend now: I was in Palm Springs for the rodeo weekend. As I mentioned before, for whatever reason, going into it, I wasn't too excited about the weekend trip. I will admit to not being the biggest fan of Palm Springs, though a big part of that is probably because of the drive out there, plus the weather often can be a bear if you're not by a pool. But weather-wise, I think it was the nicest its ever been when I was there, with temps just in the high 70's to 80's; not the scorching desert heat I have often found when there. The snow still on the peaks in the distance made the views especially nice, too. As often happens with rodeo weekends, you never know who is going to show up, and you often find a lot more friends there than you expected, and naturally, usually make a few more too. It turned out to be a great group of folks this weekend that made for plenty of fun (and if you're wondering, that pic of our pal "Bunny" in the storm drain was just an impromptu moment he had on the way into a restaurant - no one was harmed.) The weekend kick-started with a pool party on Friday and never really stopped until late Sunday night, with a lot more fun than expected. I guess low expectations can be a good thing. Good to get home in order to rest up from the weekend break!

repetition

2011-05-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

It was bound to happen sooner or later... (and in all this years, I'm surprised this is the first time, at least that I can remember.) For the first time in all my travels (I think,) I forgot the cord to import photos from my camera to my computer. I'm in Palm Springs for another rodeo weekend. I have to admit that for whatever reason, my expectations were pretty low, even though I've had a good time here before. And maybe because of that, the weekend has been a blast and much more fun than expected. It's a common theme to some of my best times; maybe I should try to always keep my expectations low. Lots of friends here that I haven't seen in too long, and the weather has been absolutely perfect. So hang on a day or two for pics, here are a couple from my phone that will have to do for now. I'm off for another day of fun: Rodeo. Rinse. Repeat.

game on

2011-04-27T23:08:00.000-07:00

So I'm a day behind... sorry. write me for a refund. ok, back to the story... As great as a grilled cheese festival may be, for me the main event of the day Saturday was the return of the LA Galaxy for another home game with the Angel City Brigade. My pal Pat joined me for it and we went straight from the Grilled Cheese Fest to the stadium to get to the Angel City Brigade tailgate good and early. We met a few more ACB'ers (Brigadiers?!) and enjoyed how openly the ACB welcomed members of the Portland supporters group, Timbers Army. I guess because of the recent events at Dodger Stadium, that brought out the security guards who stood by and watched, looking a little confused and seemingly unaware that they were invited and welcome guests. Finally we all took our places in the end zone. I wasn't sure how Pat would take to the ACB antics, but he joined right in and played the good sport (and truth be told, I think he enjoyed it.) Best of all, the team really found their footing and played brilliantly to a 3-0 win. And the ACB was on fire. Watching the replay later I was really amazed at how loud we were. I'm quickly learning that the worst thing about being part of the ACB is having to wait for the next home game.

cheesy poof

2011-04-25T23:27:00.000-07:00

For a few years, one of my favorite events every year is the Grilled Cheese Invitational. Its had some good and bad years, and definitely changed drastically in recent years. Saturday's edition was good, though it may have lost its fun by just getting too big (not really faulting the organizers for that; I mean what can they do?) The beer garden got a much needed expansion (though the non-IPA options were pretty scarce) and the non-competing vendor area selling cheeses expanded dramatically. The biggest change this year was in the judging - for the first time you paid extra to judge (not a bad idea,) but they also limited you to 2 chances to judge per person. So for $20, you got to judge two grilled cheese samples. Hmmm. Still, we did fine. We managed to buy some cheeses from vendors before the lines got long and even stopped for beer while others mobbed the judging area. We jumped to that later, so luckily by then, we had had enough cheese to be fine with just the two samples. While not the fun of last year or three years ago, it was by no means the nightmare year they had two years ago. While the crowd was huge and lines were everywhere, they mostly went pretty fast. Will I go again? Hell yeah! After all, its people like me raving in blogs and social media about the event that made it so big, I can hardly give up on it because of that. Luckily for me, it was the precursor to my main event for the day. What better appetizer for fun than grilled cheese? more on that tomorrow...

try lingual

2011-04-20T23:57:00.000-07:00

A project that took up a good bit of my February was a corporate sizzle reel for the global meeting of a large company. It's a 90 second piece using all still photography and text with no voiceover. In the end, the client was thrilled with the final piece, and a couple weeks ago, they asked if we could remake it in both Spanish and French. While working on it, I was surprised to realize that it was the first time I had done a project in another language. At times I thought my head might explode while lost in the minutiae of both language translations, but in the end, it worked out well. I don't yet have permission to show the video, but hopefully I'll be able to share it someday down the road.

well scripted

2011-04-18T23:32:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the graphic design of gourmet food trucks, there are a few well designed ones, and lots of pretty bad ones. Much like toothpaste or soda labels, food trucks seem to be full of overdone graphics falling victim to the desire to "make it pop" with no adherence to the rule of "just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should." But the well done trucks tend to stand out, and far and away one of the very best designs belongs to the Canter's Deli truck. At a recent outing among some of my beloved trucks, my friend Bill told me about the article below by designer Michael Doret, who designed the Canter's truck. It's an amazing story. Doret is a logo and type designer who designed a typeface called DeliScript that was (wait for it...) inspired by the neon sign over the entrance to Canter's. When Canter's was looking to create a gourmet food truck of their own, they found out about DeliScript, and instead of just buying the font, they tracked down the designer to design their truck in totality. And the results show it. There's a lot to love about the whole story, which you should read at the link below. My favorite thing is that even though the truck is a vinyl "wrap" (they have to be anymore,) he still designed the truck to look like it was painted. The details of how the wrap process works (and the way most trucks are designed to work with that) will make any designer who reads the article recoil in horror. Thankfully the truck turned out great and is a model of how intentional and well-thought design can make a difference - even on wheels.

AIGA LA: Art Imitating Life...Imitating Art

small town fair

2011-04-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

I stopped by the local fair again tonight (ok, maybe another gourmet food truck had something to do with it,) but it was a rare warm night and it was kind of nice just to wander around. The fair is so small and (for lack of a better description) rinky-dink that it really felt like a small hometown fair, which I guess it is. It's often said, pretty accurately, that LA is really 40 small towns strung together; nights like this are great reminders of how true that is.

döner card

2011-04-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

I thought I had written about my love for döner many times, but apparently I've just written many times that I should write about it someday. Döner Kebap is a Turkish dish of lamb shaved off a rotating spit served in a variety of ways, but most commonly on bread like a sandwich with sauces and vegetables. I'm always surprised that it isn't found much in the US - in fact, with the exception of one place in LA, I've never been able to find it anywhere in the US. On the other hand, it seems like you can find but it on almost every street in Germany, which is where I fell in love with it. Needless to say, I was thrilled to discover that there was finally a gourmet food truck in LA that specialized in döner, something I had always called for, but never expected would really happen. Tonight the @DankysDoners truck was nearby in Redondo Beach, so I had to make a trip. They steered me toward 'the Turk' sandwich. It was every bit as good as I remember from my travels overseas: shaved lamb and beef piled with cabbage, corn, cucumbers, and other vegetables. Their Danky sauce was great, but a little mild (though perhaps that's intentional for a US audience.) Hopefully they'll expand and offer an optional version with a little more spice (or maybe I just need to know what to ask for.) They were in town for a local carnival, which was pretty dead. Combine that with the fact that not so many people here know what döner is, and I think they had a tough sell of a night. That and a couple friends responding to my posts with "what's döner" were enough for me to finally write about it to help spread the word and spread the love. Hopefully Danky's and döner will develop a healthy following and make it down our way again soon.

DankysDoners.com

half empty

2011-04-10T23:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the 2011 LA Beerfest, an event I only discovered last year and had a blast attending. Perhaps it was just because it wasn't the unexpected fun of that first year or the heightened expectations from having so much fun then, but I have to admit that this years edition did not live up to 2010. It seems that they (might have?) sold a lot more tickets this year, as everyone seemed to agree that it was much more crowded than before; but more importantly, many of the vendors ran out of beer about an hour and a half into it. It became pretty frustrating to be at a beerfest going to tables of vendors and not being able to get a beer. I guess if anything, it lowers my expectations for the next one, so maybe it'll end up being more fun because of that! I ended up barhopping with my friend Andrew afterward, which turned into a fun experience of its own (and I was able to get a beer! not to mention my first Pho...) So all in all, not much to complain about.

snap

2011-04-08T23:51:00.000-07:00

A short winter snap (hopefully short!) brought some amazing low-hanging clouds above LA today...

fields of time

2011-04-07T23:42:00.000-07:00

About three years ago, I wrote about LA's Wrigley Field, the precursor to Dodger Stadium. Today I ran across a post by Nathan Masters with some great photos and a well written history of baseball stadiums in LA, including Wrigley Field, but also Washington Park (near Washington & Main,) Gilmore Field (near where the Grove mall is today,) and also one I didn't know before: that the Chicago Cubs used to have their Spring Training on Santa Catalina Island. Its worth a look (first link below,) even if just for the photos, but its also a good read. With Dodger Stadium being the third oldest major league ballpark in the country, it makes it even more interesting to know about baseball in LA before the Dodgers.

KCET: A History of LA's Baseball Stadiums

observed. March 28, 2008: history

truck detailing iv

2011-04-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

more detail slivers of some of LA's more than 200 gourmet food trucks...

home game

2011-04-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

Up until a few hours before the LA Galaxy game on Saturday, it looked like I was going by myself. Luckily, I managed to wrangle a couple friends, Jesse & Tim, into coming along at the last minute. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that this year I've started watching games with the Angel City Brigade, one of the LA Galaxy supporter groups. I had bought a pair of tickets for the game, but now needed one more. I showed up to the Brigade tailgate before the game and picked up my tickets, mentioning that I needed one more if she knew anyone looking to sell one. I walked over to the person she pointed out and asked if she had an extra she wanted to sell, she said sure, pulled it out and said, "you can have it." Huh? I offered to pay or buy her a beer or something. She said no. The guy next to her said "hey, once you're in the Brigade, you're family." Later after Jesse & Tim got there and were hanging out at the tailgate, a few different ACB'ers came by to introduce themselves and find out about us. As someone who has never been good at meeting new people, it was a gesture I really appreciated. The game was a little more fun than the home opener in the rainstorm a couple weeks ago. Plus we won. The ACB experience may have been a little more than Jesse & Tim expected, but I think they had a good time overall. As for me, I may have just found another new home.

gallery

2011-03-31T23:57:00.000-07:00

some recent slivers...

happy place

2011-03-29T23:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday in the aftermath of being excited about my alma mater VCU's unexpected win into the Final Four, I was suddenly in a mood to celebrate. In the tweets about the excitement, I ended up with a volunteer from my friend Andrew to drive in nearly from the Valley to come hang at my favorite place around: Simmzy's. It's is a small comfortable but well-designed joint that changed the scene in Manhattan Beach. It was one of the first gastropubs in the area and has never lost popularity. Simmzy's has 24 taps of rotating good microbrews and imported beers (sorry, no Miller Lite, Stella or Blue Moon here) and a small menu of twists on comfortable foods that always surpass the flavor expectation. The consistency of their dishes always being great is one of the things that I love best about them. As many times as I have been, its rare for anyone to ever be disappointed. That's no small feat. I shouldn't rave too much, because it will just increase the wait time for a table if even more people start going, but I'm glad to have a place like this within biking distance.

rain dates

2011-03-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

For the past week, my Aunt Peggy and cousin Mark and his family have been on vacation in Southern California from Oregon - unfortunately, our weather was also on vacation, and it was more like the rainy weather they might have. I met up with them on Wednesday for a bit of one of Joe's baseball games (Joe is Mark's son) - before it got called due to rain. And I ended up meeting up with them again during the latter part of their day at Universal Studios yesterday. It was my first time to Universal and I have to say that if you're planning a visit, it would be hard to recommend - unless you have a big emotional attachment to their movies. It's a perfectly nice park, but its very small with hardly anything there. Given the prices, you'd be better spending the time & money at Disneyland or Six Flags. (I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the chance to go, just saying that as a bit of tourist advice for anyone heading to LA.) Luckily (for me) they had gotten free 'rainout' passes from another family that was there during Sunday's storms. Since I grew up on the other side of the country, my time with this side of the family was pretty limited while growing up, so any time together doing anything is good to me. Their week otherwise was full of Disney, baseball, and rain; hopefully the last ingredient didn't dampen the others too much.

gallery

2011-03-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

I spent the day today at Universal Studios with some family visiting from Oregon; more pics and detail tomorrow, but for now, here's a gallery of some slivers from the day.

trending down

2011-03-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

Saul Bass is easily one of the great designers in graphic design history, known both for his pioneering film titles as well as for his logo design. I ran across a great blog post today by Christian Annyas showing how companies have changed (to put it probably too politely) some of his work since it was designed. (In the interest of full credit and disclosure, I found the post from a tweet by @trufcreative, which led me to a blog post by @LogoDesignLove, which led me to Christian's post.) I thought these deserved special attention as great examples of how "improvements" to a logo often end up being much weaker design that dilutes the strength of a brand. These "improved" logos fall victim to treatments that date themselves. While you could argue that these type of treatments might be appropriate in packaging or other materials that work with and around a logo, the logo itself should be clean and strong enough to be timeless. Christian's post shows many other Bass logos, and takes another angle on timelessness by noting the lifespan of them, the average of the examples he shows is 34 years. Lets hope the surviving ones live a lot longer without falling victim to shortsighted attempts to be trendy.

Christian Annyas: Saul Bass logo design - then & now

rain or shine

2011-03-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

LA may be getting drenched by rain showers right now, but I wasn't about to let some rain dampen my excitement for the LA Galaxy home opener today. I decided to make the jump this season into doing games with the Angel City Brigade, one of the Galaxy's supporter groups that fills a section of the stadium and engages in organized chants and songs throughout the match. Considering the rain, I was impressed with the turnout for the pre-game tailgating as well as the game; and watching with the ACB was even more fun than I imagined. I really have to hand it to my pal Alan who was a great sport about standing in the rain for a few hours and putting up with the weather. Hopefully the rest of the season will be a little dryer. I already can't wait for the next game.

yet another gallery

2011-03-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

The latest chapter of the crazy whacked out climate change weather we've been having the last year is that we're actually having a weekend of normal winter weather this weekend: gray skies with clouds and rain. At this point, normal weather seems pretty unusual. Here's a gallery of some slivers from running errands today...

gallery

2011-03-16T23:41:00.000-07:00

A last gallery of the weekend in Dallas; back in California now...

wind down

2011-03-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

A few more pics from the rodeo and my weekend in Dallas; it turned out to be a whole lot cheaper to fly back on Tuesday than Monday, so my Monday became partially a recovery day (late nights, plus time change, plus daylight savings all had taken their toll) and then roaming around Dallas with my friend Myron to some great hidden gems of places I hadn't been before, even when I lived here. I got to hang with my pal Glenn for a bit at one of our first stops before he drove back home, and in honor of Pi day, we ended the night with some pie. That turned out to take quite some effort to find at 11pm here. (who knew?!) All in all, a great low key wind down from the weekend.

growing up tiny

2011-03-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

Imagine being 7 years old, but less than half the size of most kids your age. Everything around you can feel like a maze of obstacles, yet at the same time, you're also surrounded by supportive and loving family, friends, teachers and even doctors. The conflicting feeling of being surrounded by so much is the basis of the open and look for "Growing Up Tiny: Kenadie's Next Chapter" created by jonberrydesign for TLC and Authentic Entertainment. The typographic elements represent the endless and somewhat invisible maze of obstacles that ordinary every-day things present for Kenadie, a seven year old girl with a rare condition known as Primordial Dwarfism; while the organic light orbs symbolize the emotions and support that surround her from all directions in her life. These converge with a warm palette of colors and light effects derived from the fall foliage and sunlight of her hometown to complete the graphics package for the show. Check out the complete open and graphics package at jonberrydesign.com/recent or at this link:

jonberrydesign: Growing Up Tiny: Kenadie's Next Chapter

ain't my first time at...

2011-03-12T23:16:00.000-08:00

It been a while since I've been to a rodeo, but season is back in swing; which is why I'm in Dallas this weekend. Of course between the time change and springing forward, the clocks aren't exactly working in my favor. But Dallas always feels like home, and it's always good to catch up with old friends. Regardless, here are some pics from day one of the rodeo and around Dallas; I'll leave it at that for now so I get some sleep to prepare for day two.

gallery

2011-03-10T23:32:00.000-08:00

I actually had a post ready about some recent work, but given the events in Japan, a self promotional post seems inappropriate, or at the least tone deaf right now. I'm in Dallas for a rodeo this weekend, so here are just some slivers from around town today.

first

2011-03-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

I remember never understanding the 'trade unions' part of this poem as a kid when we studied it in history class, today it sure seems to make sense. From Wikipedia: "Martin Niemöller was a German pastor and theologian born in Lippstadt, Germany, in 1892. Niemöller was an anti-Communist and supported Hitler's rise to power at first. But when Hitler insisted on the supremacy of the state over religion, Niemöller became disillusioned. He became the leader of a group of German clergymen opposed to Hitler. Unlike Niemöller, they gave in to the Nazis' threats. In 1937 he was arrested and eventually confined in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. His crime was "not being enthusiastic enough about the Nazi movement."'

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

-Pastor Martin Niemoller

gras gallery

2011-03-07T23:38:00.000-08:00

In honor of Mardi Gras, here's a gallery of some previously unpublished slivers from New Orleans when I was last there over New Years 2010. Meanwhile, I just discovered today that its Pancake Day in the UK. (How did I never hear of this before now?) Much like Mardi Gras, its a celebration derived from using the fats and "good stuff" before Lent begins. While I love a good pancake, somehow Mardi Gras sounds like a lot more fun.

weekend of favorites

2011-03-06T23:17:00.000-08:00

A strangely relaxing weekend after the manic pace of the last couple weeks; the lucky and unexpected result of having all projects being at a stage of being out for approval or review. Friday was an impromptu tour of gourmet food trucks at Westchester First Friday and then some neighborhood watering holes with my pal Heith; Saturday brought a bike ride on the beach and beers at Simmzy's, my favorite place, with my pal Pat; and Sunday I met up with my brother in law who is in town for meetings/classes and took him to the LA institution Phillipe's (birthplace of the french dip) and a stop at a downtown favorite place of mine, Wurstküche. Not a bad vacation from the usual weekend of late.

gallery

2011-03-03T23:54:00.000-08:00

some previously unpublished slivers...

cameo

2011-03-02T23:54:00.000-08:00

You may have seen when I posted this elsewhere, but in case you missed it: Sunday on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Oscar special, Tom Hanks' guest spot featured a great sendup of the show "Toddlers & Tiaras." The bonus for me was that it included a quick cameo of the open I did for the series. Toddlers is an interesting story for me; it was a rush "emergency" project for a one-episode special for one of my favorite clients. And then the show sat on the shelf for months. In fact, it sat for so long that I finally asked the client if it was okay to post the open (I normally don't show any work before it airs publicly elsewhere) and they said it was fine because we both believed the show was likely to never air. Then later it finally did, and had such response that it became a series. Now the show is in its fifth successful season. Given all the time the original show sat on the shelf, I never expected that quick project would go on to become part of the hit show that it has. Regardless, the spoof is hilarious, and its filled with tons of little details to catch that only make it even more fun to watch. If you've ever seen the show, you'll know that Tom Hanks and his daughter Sophie play the parts perfectly. Check it out:

YouTube: Tom Hanks does Toddlers & Tiaras

jonberrydesign: Toddlers & Tiaras graphics package

captured

2011-02-28T23:42:00.000-08:00

After seeing Scott Hansen's blogpost on these Friday on ISO50, I posted links to them on Twitter and facebook, but I still can't stop watching them, and think they deserve more attention. These are a series of spots done for EF International Language Centers, directed by Gustav Johansson, shot by Niklas Johansson, and designed by Albin Holmqvist. The typography in these is strikingly beautiful (as is the cinematography,) and as Scott said, any of the type frames could easily make a poster in and of themselves. The Barcelona spot is probably the best of the bunch typographically, but all are wonderfully smart and sensitive to their locales. But these spots strike on so many levels beyond design, especially for me. They accurately capture the very personal sense of adventure and discovery and meeting people that you experience in travel. This is brilliantly achieved by focusing on subtle moments, not grand scenes. Landmarks may appear, but they aren't the stars. These spots are all about personal moments. In the London spots, there is a shot of an intersection and a shot out of the bus: both really don't show anything in particular and seem like they could be accidental, but they actually expertly capture the light and surroundings, capturing the moment (its the same sense of moments that I often try to capture in my blind photography.) Similarly, the stories all involve subtle moments of connection between characters. (I think the Paris one my be my fav, but that may be my love for the city causing some bias. However, the spot does feel remarkably like what my time in Paris has felt like.) For advertising to work, it has to evoke an emotion. Its something we forget much too often. Thankfully, these guys got it right.

Vimeo: Albin Holmqvist: Live the Language

truck detailing iii

2011-02-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

third in a series: details from the paint jobs of some of LA's gourmet food trucks

fresh apples?

2011-02-23T23:13:00.000-08:00

Anyone that's a fan of Apple products is familiar with the yellow post-it that occasionally appears on the Apple Store website and what it means: usually that the store is being re-tooled because of a new product or product update. There's nothing worse than debating a purchase and then finally shelling out a bunch of bucks for something, only to find out that a newer version has been released a couple weeks later. The post-it appearing tonight made me realize there may be some out there who don't know about a site I have come to rely upon when thinking about buying an Apple product: the MacRumors.com Buyers Guide: When to Buy page. It lists all Apple products, their past version's release dates, and links to rumors about the next release. From those, they recommend whether to buy or whether to wait. Its just educated speculation, so take it for what its worth, but its at least a resource to check before buying blindly. And if you do end up buying something right before a new version is released, it's always worth checking to see if they will exchange your recent purchase for the model that was just released. Don't take my word on this, but I believe Apple is usually pretty friendly about making an exchange if its within two weeks (there may be a fee); and beyond that it could still be possible at the discretion of the store you purchased it from. Again, I could be wrong on that, but its always worth checking. Either way, its always good to know before you buy.

MacRumors.com Buyers Guide: When to Buy

busy-ness

2011-02-22T23:52:00.000-08:00

Two projects in their final stages has meant a lot of busy days and all-nighters, which by default continues the theme of not having much to share here (and frankly no spare time to share it if I did.) Still, for the sake of not letting the blog go too long without an update, I'll offer a peek. I can't show the projects I'm working on, but here are some slivers of parts of them.

gallery

2011-02-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

just another gallery of local slivers (sorry, for some reason, just not much to share or tell lately)

gallery

2011-02-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

recent slivers around my world

flashback: life changer

2011-02-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

One of the worst things about trying to maintain a blog is the need to constantly feed it. Usually I try to fill space with galleries and random photos when I have nothing to share (or no time to share it.) Lately I haven't even been able to come up with those! So here's another tactic: a flashback to where I was this week five years ago. Luckily for you, it happens to be interesting: I was working my first Olympics in Torino, Italy. Not only did it introduce me to a great crew of folks that I've been lucky to work with every two years since, but it also introduced me to Europe, because it was the first time I had ever been. The travel I took while over there after the Olympics ended opened up new worlds in every way you can imagine, and I haven't stopped going back any chance I get. Here are a few of the pics that were on the blog during this week five years ago - most of the posts were just whatever I had worked on that day (so Mom & Dad could watch for it on the broadcast,) but there are a couple posts of other stuff too. You can check out the full posts in this link:

the jonberrydesign blog: February 12-19, 2006

adventureland

2011-02-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

This weekend a mini gourmet food truck festival popped up in Redondo Beach near the pier. After reading about it, I got a couple pals to join in and make a day of it on Sunday. My pal Jon biked down from Santa Monica (a little farther than he realized!) and my pal Pat met us from Redondo. Since the fest was close to Naja's Place, one of my favorite bars and a favorite stop for beach biking, the idea was that we could make it a back and forth of a few visits to the trucks and the bar. After a foggy morning, the day broke open and was perfect, and I loved how on one of trips, the lot had turned into a bike lot. Throughout the day, we sampled fare from The Shrimp Pimp Truck, The Greasy Wiener, and Coolhaus, but the star was a grilled cheese that No Reservations had on special with a sharp cheddar, pulled pork, apples, and a currant cayenne aioli on top. It was out of control. Though after the sun went down, it made our last stop at the trucks a little chilly. Deciding I wasn't done with the night, I made one more stop at Simmzy's, another favorite place closer to home in Manhattan Beach. It made for the perfect cap on the evening, though I hadn't expected to get accosted by a cougar (really - I still have marks on my bicep!) It kinda serves me right after laughing at the scene before I came into her sights. The truck festival continues the next couple weekends too. Just say the word if you wanna make a run!

gallery

2011-02-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately... Been a busy few days and frankly, just not much to show or say. So as filler, here are some slivers of some projects I'm working on at the moment...

truncate your junk

2011-02-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

It's the season for Yellow Pages being dumped on your front porch and all over your street, and if you're like me, it means about 6 different companies all dumping their versions. I know some of you live in locales that have banned Yellow Pages. They tried to bring a bill to do that last year in CA, but the GOP killed it in committee. I did find the site below where you can register to opt out of some yellow pages - it takes a few steps, but its doable, though I'm not sure if it covers them all. Lately I've also been tossing lots of stacked up junk mail - which led me to search for a way to opt out of at least some of that. I found another website that supposedly allows you to opt out of credit card offers, catalogs, and magazine offers. You also have to register and do each individually, and they disguise it as choosing which you want to receive, but with a few steps, you can opt out of those as well. (Note that if you've done business with a company, they are still allowed to mail you and this won't opt you out of mail from them.) Still, its something. I just registered myself, so it'll be a while before I know if it works. It's at least worth a try...

YellowPagesOptOut.com

dmachoice.org: Direct Mail Opt-Out

truck detailing ii

2011-02-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

more detail shots from the paint jobs of some of LA's gourmet food trucks...

visiting hours

2011-02-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

My pal Matt is already back in Manitoba, where its something like 60 degrees colder than here, but his last day here we pretty just hung out close to the beach. For lunch (or burnch? I prefer breakunch), we dropped into Pann's, a diner I've written about before. Despite driving by it a million times before, I never went in before a year ago or so, and every time I go I love it more and more. Along with being a great piece of Googie architecture that hasn't been ruined my modifications or "improvements," the food is great (chicken and waffles anyone?) and everyone one the staff seems strangely happy. Its either a good act, or they really like working there. After running some errands, Matt wanted some beach time, and I met him down there in time to catch the sunset. Its been cooler the last week, so he wasn't here for our unusual "summer," but it was still mild and certainly warmer for him! One of the best thing about living at the beach is getting to share it with friends who come visit.

star sightings

2011-02-05T12:02:00.000-08:00

A bit of a traditional stop for LA visitors, but at least a worthy one last night. Matt wanted to check out Griffith Observatory at night. We checked out the planetarium show about that connected the legends of the Valkyries to explanations of the Northern Lights (which I didn't know) and Matt liked too, since he sees them in the sky regularly at home. It was a good night for the Observatory: busy (of course), but not so crowded that we couldn't get around, a short enough line to look through the telescope, and free enough just to wander one of LA's best spots.

hoodie

2011-02-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

Another gallery of sights in the neighborhood. My pal Matt is visiting from Manitoba, and between that and work, not a lot of spare time to show much... we'll get out more the next couple days probably, so there should be more interesting stuff to show soon.

stranded

2011-02-01T23:48:00.000-08:00

a few details from along the strand today in El Porto.

trains, planes...

2011-01-31T23:52:00.000-08:00

A gallery of some leftover shots from train stations and airports in some of my travels...

venting

2011-01-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

A bit of an odd post here, but I'm sure someone out there can come up with a solution for this: A few days ago @MacMall tweeted this Kensington iPhone car mount as their daily deal. Since it was so cheap, I figured I'd get it and if it didn't work, I hadn't lost much. To my surprise, its a pretty substantial and easy to use holder, with a remarkably strong grip. It just slides into an air conditioner vent, but the problem is that the vents in my truck are vertical and move side to side to point air in a direction. With the phone holder in, it means when I take a turn, the weight of the phone whips the vent to one side or the other. Its strong enough to handle it, but its an annoyance. Short of slapping some ugly piece of tape across it to hold it in place - anyone have an idea to secure the vent in place so its flush with the dashboard and doesn't turn to one side or the other?

filiping out

2011-01-27T23:25:00.000-08:00

I have a new addition to my favorites among the almost 200 gourmet food trucks in LA. @ManilaMachine is the first Filipino food truck in LA, and its actually one that comes to my part of town a fair amount, but I had still never tried it. Knowing absolutely nothing about Filipino food, the menu items seemed so unusual that I just never knew where to start. But this week at the LAX Truck Lot I decided to finally dive in. I tried a couple sliders - the longganisa and the original manila dip, whose main ingredient is chicken adobo. Their menu says Adobo is "braised in vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay, and black pepper." Its an unusual combination that I really loved - and oddly enough, it really reminded me of the vinegar-based barbecue I grew up with in the south. But what really took the cake was their Ube Cupcake. I had seen tweets raving about it, but never knew what the fuss was about. I didn't even know what Ube was - Google taught me that its a purple yam, common in desserts in the Philippines. The color is almost alarming, but cool to know that its natural (I think?!) And the taste is just plain amazing. Today the truck was nearby again, so I had to go back for a second round. This time I ordered a regular order of Adobo served over rice - turns out its a full piece of chicken prepared the same way, just not shredded as it was for the slider. So many people don't understand my fascination for the gourmet food trucks. New discoveries like Filipino food (who knew?) because of the Manila Machine are a perfect example why.

prostworld!

2011-01-26T23:56:00.000-08:00

This was posted by @Marilyn_Res today on Twitter, and if you know me, you can probably guess how excited I am to discover this. A beer theme park! Even better, its in Bavaria! And geared to Weissbier! Could it be any better? Okay, it could have rollercoasters... The Kuchlbauer brewery in Abensberg revamped their tours two years ago to add animatronics, exhibitions, and some wacky architecture most personified by the Hundertwasser Tower, one of the last works of artist Friedensreich von Hundertwasser. Other features include what could be the worlds largest collection of wheat beer glasses, a mirrored staircase with a starry sky, and an interpretation of the Last Supper (I was hoping they added beer glasses, but I couldn't see any in the pics.) Regardless, sign me up! It's just north of Munich and accessible by rail, so on my next trip there, hopefully I'll be able to make a side trip. And in a sort of related note, I also discovered through this that the brewery of my favorite beer, Weihenstephan, is just north of the Munich airport. How I missed that all these years is beyond me, but at least now I know. You can read the BoingBoing article at the link below, or check out the brewery's website itself:

BoingBoing: Welcome to Bierwelt

Kuchlbauer's World of Beer

fresh start

2011-01-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

With all the trips to LA's gourmet food trucks I post about, as well as roadside attraction type food on my travels, you might be surprised to know that I actually eat pretty healthy at home. I post recipes occasionally for special things, but figured maybe I should share some of the not-so-special things too. Of course, I eat like a bachelor, so using 'recipe' is a little generous of a description. My almost-daily habit for breakfast is pretty simple - its enough to fill you up and get you started, but also sweet enough if you need to fill a sweet craving other times. The bulk is fresh fruit - I tend to use pineapple, strawberries and grapes. Tart fruits like these or mango, kiwi, berries work best; apples, melons and other not-so-tart fruits don't work so well. Cut up a bowl of that, add a single serving container of vanilla yogurt (nonfat or lowfat), and a sprinkle of granola (a not-so-sweet type works best. The bulk of your calories are here, so only use enough to mix in and give texture.) Depending on your specific ingredients, it ends up running around 350 calories. Not necessary low-cal, but low enough and filling enough to be a good start to the day.