Read One Way, Kern the Other!

This isn't an elaborate tip, but I wanted to highlight a technique that I've used to help me kern type more effectively. I tend to kern type backward from the reading direction. But this seems counter-intuitive, doesn't it? Exactly.

In most of the Germanic and Romance languages we learn to read left-to-right. As this is the ages old standard, we never question this as a part of our learning and it becomes natural to take in information this way. As this is the direction we read, as we kern and shape the type-spacing of our information design, we are still taking in the information and our brains are analyzing the words we see—even if we are not reading them, per se.

So how do you stop yourself from reading words when it is in our intuitive nature to take in that information? Change the direction of which you are working as to not trigger the brain to read. This almost objectifies your kerning so that you are not "reading" the same direction you are working. I stumbled upon this by accident one day in a rush like the way it felt in my head, so have stuck to doing it whenever possible. By kerning type backward you tend to focus more on good visual spacing rather than understandability of the actual wording. A small detail, but it's helped me a lot.

Try it out and let me know what you think.

--
Steve G.

RDQLUS Plays Well with Others.

RDQLUS CREATIVE is set up to be able to work not only with my own list of direct clients, but—equally as importantly—I work with many studio & agency entities to do work for their amazing clients. For this Communication Friday, I wanted to show a bit of work that I've been up to over the last quarter of '09 and into this new turn of the calendar. Enjoy, and there's more where that came from.



Good "Friends of RDQLUS", Tribecca Designs (New York City) called me with a need for a unique take for a strong client of theirs that manages taxi cab identifications (called: "medallions"). A fun one to work on this logo tended toward an almost cinematic era of NYC Art Deco and the more romantic times for taxis as the main mode of transportation. Happy clients right down the line.






Omaha Public Schools (Omaha, NE) will soon roll out a new program aimed at giving young minority students a more in-depth look at the impact that their cultures have had on the Omaha area and regionally throughout the Midwest. The "Making Invisible Histories Visible" program will use more culturally traditional means of gathering spoken histories, recipes, conversations with community elders and hands-on exploration that delves deeper than shallow archival information. With this information in hand, RDQLUS was set about the task of shaping a youthful—yet serious—new face for the endeavor.






When my personal a dear friend called in need of a favor for her 7yr old niece's dance troop, "Fusion", it took all of 2 seconds to agree to help. I know and agree with the rule of doing business with family, but the truth is there are sometimes when the call is bigger than the rule. This one was a favor for a friend that has literally put a roof over my head and food in my belly without question or fail when I was in need. So sometimes in life you have to pay it forward, willingly and gladly. It's not that I think it's award-winning, but that it was just a labor of love and an exercise in working very light, and very fast. And if you knew all the love and support this friend has shown me… it's already heavily paid for and I still owe. ;-)


More to come stay, tuned…
---
Stevie G.

"SPN Doctors" Throw a Party!

Silicon Prairie News is a power-blog hailing on world-wide frequencies from right here in the ONE (Omaha, NE). Run by Friend's of RDQLUS, Dusty Davidson and Jeff Slobotski, they are hosting the "SPN Launch Party" this eve to celebrate and kick off a new level of offerings and a clean new look to match.

Join RDQLUS and many other SPN supporters this evening @ LIV Lounge (2285 So. 67th St), in the Aksarben Village, or follow the party on Twitter with #SPNLaunch or @Siliconprairie

New Year Communictation Friday brings much RDQLUS'ness

What's good my babies!? Welcome to the first official Communication Friday of 20-10 and did it ever land with a very hopeful thud of a gift with much goodness inside.

First up, is a good conversation I had with my good pal Mig Reyes for the amazingly useful, fun, informative site Humble Pied. Mig uses chat communication in an innovative yet simple way to gather tips, words of wisdom and fun convo from the many people he's had the chance to connect with. He's a link, a connector and fine communicator… and a trait we share—a true hustler in that hard-working sense of staying on the move.



Next, I braved the icy conditions to reach the bunker of my cohorts over at 36point to record a "Review of the Aughts" for the Reflex Blue Show where we discuss the seemingly short 10 years that have transpired since the real crash of the dot.coms and the faux-Armageddon of the Y2K.



A RDQLUS start to the year, and I'm hopeful that this kindo f kick-off is a good omen of things to come.


--
Stevie G

Manifesto of a RDQLUS CREATIVE

Hey world… I require that you have your own opinion. The strong often do and I welcome that, more so… respect that. But I give you this nugget of truth; My reality does not exist to serve your opinion. I can BE whatever I need to, but I AM what I am. I am not your "suit". I am not your executive. I am not a mazed rat in cubical chasing cheese. I am not your drone clone. I AM RDQLUS… far closer to a BMX'ing style-hound in custom sneakers that cost more than your Italian wingtips, carving my longboard to a meeting about your million-dollar initiative. Aw, sorry… you were expecting something different? Your mistake. Not mine. I'm focused. I'm pointed. I'm deliberate. Genuine, to a fault. Candid, but calculated. Yeah, you should indeed keep reading.

I am an unapologetic self-promoter. Self-assured and well versed in self-worth. But you should want this. Crave this. Desire this. I don't wait for your definition because you might not tell me, and if/when you do I might not like it. Not being harsh, that's just truth. So I don't look like the pack. I do not wear suits. I have tattoos and earrings. I boast a sneaker collection that would surely shame your best pair of executive loafers. But you know what—none of this matters because I have what you really want; My brain. My thoughts turned into gold, spun from the straws of our initial meetings. My choices are measured, tested and found true, and all yours for a proper fee. My experience is more vast than you could ever truly fathom because I exist on a time line and its tangents, not one simple plane.

I am not so many years into my profession, and decades into my life, without knowing a thing or two. If there is one thing I have learned all these years, it is knowing your audience and marketing consistently, organically, honestly and relentlessly is the proverbial "stuff". I most certainly know my audience and it has nothing to do with me sporting an executive look, or begging for particular approval. I never have, and I NEVER will. I know my audience and you may not be included, and that's okay. I know what you might be looking for, but did you ever care to think that the real balance may lie in what I might be looking for? This interview goes both ways. If my nameplate necklace is not high-end enough for you, then trust me, my occasional mohawk is an immediate no go, too.

Listen, I am NOT a mold-fitting cog. I don't have meetings about meetings regarding when we should meet. I am a "creative". I live where you imagine. Not one of my clients has ever come to me for looking "executive". Not one of my clients has ever left me for a supposed lack of high-end aesthetic. All have been serviced at the table of my need to bring all that I am to bear for them. If this poses a problem for you, the "chicken exit" is right here, right now. I will hustle hard and rock higher until the day my mind fails me. And at that point, I'll just settle for rocking higher, because even on half a brain, I do work! And I will not let you down if you're on board with me.

But hey, as I said… all opinions are welcome. But you have to clean up after 'it' and take it with you when you leave. I can't let you keep it here.

This is who I am.
This is what I do.
I… AM… RDQLUS.

RDQLUS Pic of the Day

I'm really not sure what happened, but that shocked look is real… nevermind the crown! That's just how I get down.

(Where: HOW Conf. - Austin, TX, June '09)

Abigail & Adam's RDQLUS Wedding Invite

There is widely-known rule in the design world: avoid working with family! As most creatives know, we rarely follow that rule. On top of that, brides are to be feared. Well, I ignored the potential pitfalls to do work for a young lady that is like family and getting hitched. I'm happy to say right away, she was a delight to work with. She had a vision for what she wanted and "married" that (pun intended) to the process and her trust in her designer. Nice! The couple wanted to be very price conscious where they could and still have a quality product with a hand-finished look, the finishing of which the bride-to-be wanted to handle, herself. Add to that, that this is for what will be her and Adam's most special day to date. With that kind of client the weight shifted from shouldering the load of a potentially impossible client to wanting to do all that I could to play Atlas to this globe-sized expectation.



For the design, I drew inspiration from the flowers that she has picked for her wedding day—peonies. A particularly difficult flower to silhouette or interpret, I actually paused on that approach and moved to looking at typefaces. And there it was: 'Affair'. (Ironic name for a wedding invite, but we'll read it in a good way) The sweeps and gentle, yet decisive bends of this font was too much to ignore. As I tested out a few phrases to get a look at letters and ligatures, it hit me; Could I possibly create a peony floral from re-purposing these letter-forms? A bit more serendipity as the forms I'd need to use came into focus: (2) families become (3) families as these (2) people come from each family to form a new one. There's also the fact that they will bound together in the eyes of the & the Holy Trinity. So with the numbers '2' & '3' of the typeface I created the "numeric peony" logo that would be used on both the invite and r.s.v.p. card.





The printing was done digitally to keep the costs within budget, and the paper selection would be critical to the finished product. Both was masterfully done by industry pro, Tanya Patry, rep'ing for Leading Edge Printing here in Omaha, NE. The invites and r.s.v.p.(s) were printed on Cougar Natural Cover and the holder/wrapper was cut from Classic Columns Epic Black Cover.

When Abi came to pick up the parts, she simply said "LOVE them! I'm happy, and the color is better than I expected." A designer could make career of chasing such words. Congrats to Abi & Adam and best wishes for a long, loving future.

(Thanks to Tanya Patry and Leading Edge Printing)



--Stevie G.

RDQLUS Designs Cover For Pulitzer Prize Nominee

It's an amazing thing, the 6º of separation that truly does exist and just how short that space between can seem. Months ago at an Omaha Tweet-Up event, I met a young lady who was looking to help a struggling non-profit organization find a bit of professional design help. I just so happened that this organization was a community center that I had attended as a young man growing up in the inner-city, the 'Wesley House'. Say that name to anyone from North Omaha between the current ages of 25-40 and a proud smile will slide across their face. This place was a hub of my particular neighborhood but mostly in a summer camp setting for those who surely couldn't afford the glorious "Meatballs" experience. That alone would have been a saving grace full of knowledge and arts-and-crafts experiences, but there was a need—more so a call—to be more. Enter the times we live in and the struggles that financial short-comings bring.

That's where Mr. Paul Bryant comes in. To see him now is to see a razor sharp, sure-minded, firm-voiced gent often donning head-wear that would make the "Bear" himself proud to share a name. Paul Bryant is from the same streets where I grew up and found himself in the same predicaments that many of our counterparts faced and didn't escape from. After our introduction, there was first a very long conversation about the old "hood" and where the Wesley House had come since the times I attended. I needed to be brought up to speed because Mr. Bryant had a vision… the arts-and-craft approach had been good but was more akin to babysitting than true teaching. He wanted to see the place become a haven of building, molding and cultivating young minds to not be tolerated, merely lucky, nor babysat, but rather to be those who are found reaching and attaining goals through disciplined approaches to the game. So to that vision has now manifested itself as the 'Wesley House Leadership Academy'.

To the point, Paul Bryant has a message that feeds the vision; Living life, no merely with a goal but with an over-arching purpose that drives us constantly. To aid him in speaking engagements and meetings, he self-published a book 'The Purpose-Living Leader', yet the project had stalled a bit. That's where RDQLUS came in. As he explained his aim with the project, we began to talk things through and as a bit of paying it forward (or backward as the case was), I offered to help by creating an identity for him and his work and cover for the book project.

A few months later I got a call to have a it of lunch and catch up with Paul, where he informed me that the book had been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and the message looked to be taking hold. It's nice to do a bit of "pro bono" work that's more like a return on an investment that someone else made in me long ago.


--Stevie G

REEEEEEMIX!

("Stereo Lab, the Golden Receiver" Qee vinyl toy, designed by RDQLUS… holding down the beat laboratory)

Sometimes a former life comes back—in a good way—reminding me of my journey as a well-rounded and true 'creative', sparking up some of that good mojo that makes me who I am. After getting a Facebook message from an old friend from one of the lives of a previous incarnation of "Stevie G", I was called upon to fire up my musical side and hammer out a remix track. Yes, remix as in music. As the producing outfit 'DUSTLAB' & the crowd-rocker DJ 'Psyrendust', I loved the skill and atmosphere and always on point. I even had a brief legit music industry career that, to this day, I wonder about. Not in regret but more "what if…?"

So after much thought and mental maneuvering, I flipped the switches that brought all of my electronics to life—and made the local power company quite happy— and set about getting lost in the button taps and knob-twists that I used so many times in making a hall full of humanity roar to vibrant, kinetic life. Yes, I still have all of my equipment. Perhaps sadly looking to the horizon for a return to the game? Who knows. Maybe it just cost too much to get rid of?

So… Where's the track you ask? Still under consideration so I have to hold off on that. But rest assured, I rocked it as is my norm. As soon as I can post, I'll do a follow up.

'Til then… here's some other beats from that former life. The DUSTLAB Project

-Stevie G

What'up in the ONE; 11-06-09

I was contemplating, quite painstakingly, about what to write for a new blog post. Toiling over the idea that I needed to write something… anything… was making it more difficult, to be honest. So as I sat back thinking about what all went down this week in the fantastically fractured time-lines in the life of RDQLUS, it hit me. My town is on the come-up. That's it. I'll just pen a brief "What's good in my little burgeoning, no-coast burg this weekend?" So…

It's been a crazy couple months here in the O.NE with an amazing amount of events and hob-nobbery going down on the streets. Meet-ups and culture clashes abound, with much to be seen and done, and hashed out and talked about.

Tuesday, there was another fantastic Omaha Tweet-Up, this go round being held at the Omaha staple, the Brazen Head Pub. It may seem a strange thing to meet with a bunch of folks you met or cavort with on Twitter, but it flies in that face of the skewed reasoning that some have of the web creating this culture of tech-pacified, anti-social zombies. Nay, this event proved that when used properly such technology can extend its reach beyond the circuits it was born and bred in. An good time was had and good info was passed. Oh, and I cop'ed my Omaha Bar Camp t-shirt that night. Jealous? You should be,.

Wednesday night/Thursday morn I had yet another installment of "What the hell are we doing?!" when I met up with my ever-present partners in crime, Megan H. (Princess Lasertron) & E-rock D. (Downs Design) for a late-night Perkins run. Strangely enough, we always seem to glean info from the excursions. you might want to get down with us the next time we re-up.

I hate that I missed the Matisyahu show last night at the Slowdown… if you were there chime in and let me know how it was. "Art & Copy" was last night too. So much goodness going 'round. It's tough to keep up.

Tonight, I'm heading over to 1020 Bistro in Dundeezle to have a libation or two and rub the stylishly clad, incredibly skilled elbows of Megan Hunt aka 'Princess Lasertron' who will be celebrating a release party of sorts for her inclusion in several wedding & event industry publications. On top of that she's kicking of the redesign of her website by personal friend and Friend of RDQLUS, Eric Downs of Downs Design.

After that I'll roll the chariot down to the Bemis Underground, in the Old Market, for the 18th Annual Nebraska AIGA Design Show to see some fine design works from the talented creatives here in the O.NE. Should be a good time, and with any luck perhaps RDQLUS Creative will have a reason to celebrate?

That's just a little chemical rinse of what this week was like in Omaha. There was much more going on and if anyone attended some of the events I missed, drop a comment and let everyone know what went down.

I'm RDQLUS… and I'm from the ONE!
Peaces.

How RDQLUS'ly Sketchy 10/22/09

"SIR… BACK AWAY FROM THE MOUSE!"


Rolling on some black-marker comps for a project with an amazing creative outfit out of LA, Cali.
No, don't ask, because I cant say who or what for… not yet at least! ;-)
Check back, I'll fill you all in later.







Think RDQLUS can help with making your project a little sketchy? Holler this way…
("HEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY RDQLUS!")
sorry, couldn't resist the cheeseball joke. ;-)

"iD-Rx" for NYC-based fashion designer Trudy Williams

It's always fun to get to be creative in ways that are often a bit outside of the stereotypical trappings of pixel-wrangling that we design heads normally find ourselves operating within. Thinking, writing, researching, and thinking (yes, some more!) is something I always look forward to, especially when it's in the process of using my process named "identity therapy" or "iD-Rx" for short.

I recently completed my "identity therapy" brand assessment process for New York City-based fashion designer, Trudy Williams and her upcoming line that will bear her moniker. Ms. Williams is an amazingly creative person with an very particular personal aesthetic that bleeds across into her work. She has a very cool revisionist view on creativity and construction that is not all about doing the next big thing but rather revisiting the refinement and details to give her line that intangible "something" that makes it special to her customer, who are a very particular lot. Let me tell you, her story goes deep and it was a pleasure to flesh out and help her establish some key points for the brand to move forward.


("iD-Rx" - 'Trudy Williams')



(foundation & pedigree)



(brand stance, voice & mood)



(color theory as tied directly to the mood & pedigree)



(birds eye view of visual mood, color palette & an example of possible combinations within the brand)

Peep The Fine Print

Meet my dude from the way back machine, Ryan O'Malley. He, along with his partner-in-crime Joseph Valasquez, are on a roll. Literally. They've set out to blow minds with the complexities of a simple thing; Put a mark to anything that holds a mark. Novel idea. From there it gets even simpler; An old craft made new by showing it to a new audience. A tried and true method of rejuvenating things. All pretty simple so far, right? Okay, so like any endeavor—from art to corporate—one of the first and main thoughts is "where's your location?", because you need a base of operations, a theater by which to put on your show, right? That's where we take a left turn… and a few right turns too.

Ryan and Joe are an artistic duo touring the country in an Honda Element van, staying with friends, sleeping on couches and floors (maybe the occasional hotel room), going to schools, universities, youth groups… all in the name of teaching the ages-old crafts of wood carving and wood-cut printing to anyone who cares to listen, learn or be inspired. But there are a few cool twists to the story. They are housed, clothed and fed by the patronage of the people, schools and organizations who sponsor them and the pedaling of their work. Their work? While some schools may have printing tools and facilities not all can possibly be set up as classroom environments. So how do they do teach or do this work by which they eat? I did mention the Honda Element van, right? Welcome to "Drive-By Press".



I get a message from Ryan, who's an old college friend, that he's going to be coming thru town and giving a teaching demonstration at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. I'm for sure going to stop by, by but I was in no way prepared for what I saw…



Mounted in the belly of the van is an old school printing press. You know, the kind where "press" actually got it's name from? Yes, mounted on a track system to allow it to extend from the van into open working space, hangs a block printing press. Whoa. Consider my mind blown, but it gets better. On the side of the van, the inking station is set up to apply ink to the blocks that will be used for printing on materials. Blocks? Oh yeah, further to the side are a growing range of 25+ wood-cut blocks that these fine artists have cut and carved by hand! Boom! (that was my head… again)

But then comes my very own personal demo of how this all works. In a matter of mere minutes Ryan instructs me to pick a block or two and a t-shirt color that I like and a most delightful symphony of gritty, dirty, artistic movement is set in motion. about 7 total minutes later I have an exclusive, one-of-a-kind, hand-made work of art. I don't dare call it a "t-shirt". Remember, this all happened in 7 min. in the back of a van! There are a lot of things I could do in 7 min. in the back of a van, all of which I doubt would produce art or have a lasting positive effect such as this. Peep the process:
















There's so much more to the story that I could tell, but that's actually part of their gig so I'll let them tell you all about it. The next stop for them was Chicago and then points unknown. If you want to know more, the guys would be glad to hear from you. Drop then a line or an email and prepare for the Drive By!

Joseph Velasquez | 254.228.6016
drivebypress@yahoo.com

A RDQLUS Chat with Jeni Herberger

'Friend of RDQLUS', my best friend and all around creative & biz badass, Jeni Herberger, decided to kick off her new radio show on the Blogtalk Radio network by having a chat with her buddy. I was more than happy to oblige. Have a listen, and stay tuned as she's going to have a lot of good things to ramble on about.



Jeni Herberger Chats w/Stevie G


Jeni Herberger on the Blogtalk Radio Network

The Life & Times of RDQLUS 090918

RDQLUS' 'COLDFOOLISH' CARE PKG 090918

"If Travel is Searching and Home What's Been Found…"

Welcome to RDQLUS' "COLDFOOLISH"–the new weekly drop-shop of just a handful of fly goodnesses that I've come across this week. There's no rhyme, reason, slant or even purpose, except to lace you with a sip of tasty deelish while you zone on a Friday, faking like you're working. Get your [cmnd+tab/ctrl+tab] actions ready for when your boss comes lurking.


Click pics to get up… get out… and get som'thin!

Pullin' Jack(et) Moves… Garbstore @ hypebeast.com


Fix the Rip… PK Ripper "Fixie" @ highsnobiety.com


To tha' Moon Alice… Kid Cudi - Man On the Moon @ iTMS


Shadow Boxin'… food & style @ LuxiRare.com



Site Hump of the Week:
highsnobiety

"Take Me Out to the…" NOPE!

Honestly MLB?! Have you not heard nor seen the benefits of viral mktg. Embrace the medium. Embrace the times. It's football seasons and you're losing viewers in droves. You claim the title of "America's Pastime" but we all know that has belonged to football for decades. Along comes a moment—a genuine, improbable, unplanned moment—where once again you were the darling pastime of America… and you block it. You quell the word-of-mouth buzz for reasons of profit protection?

Look, I get it. I'm a designer. Intellectual property is golden in my world. But every now and again, if someone wants to spread a little good word about me and my work and the goodness that is me… I may actually help rather than hinder. It's just a thought. I'm not even a fan, but I was right then. I wanted tickets to the next game, having forgotten what it was like to chill at the park and take it all in. But hey… way to pass on a goodwill moment, that in these times would have gone for a lot! Yes, even on your fiscal bottom line. Give a little… get more than you could even plan for.

What a cutie! What a dad! What a moment! You could have left a new fan saying "What a game!" Instead, the copyrights are all yours. You win. Or do you. That's just my humble take.

Steve G.

Read the original post by Jennifer Van Grove, that got me to thinking about this.

Thanks to Brian Mays (@brianmays on Twitter) for passing along the original link

You Wanna Talk about 'Interactive' Design?!

It's often said — in our ever-growing technical and web-driven times — that "print" is dead. Well I rail against that because it's my view that paper is not the only medium that we "print" on. My opinion aside, paper continues to last and gain an almost cult status the way that vinyl, CDs, and soon your precious DVDs will enjoy. Ha. There continues to be a definite amount of skill and thought that goes into the tiered process of concept, design, printed output and the lack of instant gratitude or easy fixes. You had better think that design thru to the end result, because there's no CTRL+Z on a Heidelberg!

That all brings me to an idea that had the utmost of thought and planning given to the process of a printed piece. Designed by artist/poster designer Roland Tiangco, the simplicity of the concept and design are amazing. I'll spoil it for you by showing you the end result… but the real treat is the process. Peep the goodness after the link/click/jump!


Caught… black handed?!


Roland Tiangco's Dirt Po(or)ster


(Thanks to my good friend and "RDQLite" Brenda Lyman for the link via Twitter)

Style is not WHAT you do… It's HOW you do it!

Being a creative bloke–doing design and loving fashion, like I do–I run into conversations on "style" almost daily. As is my usual, that got me to thinking on "style" and what it actually means in practice. (I say in practice because dictionary definitions are often too clinical to make any practical sense given the situation, place or time you're in)

It's my opinion that most view style as an absolute–a hard-lined definitive that allows for no flexibility or movement. We define our clothing as a style. We define our artwork as a style. We even define the foods we eat in terms of a favorite "kind". But I have a thought; Perhaps style is not the end result of what we do but how we go about the act of "doing".

For instance, in my oft talked about and cherished sneaker collection there are many "styles" of shoes so to look at them as a collection it would prove difficult to say that I have a style. However, my collection methods do give rise to the idea that I have a process to the actual collecting of said sneakers. I base my acquisitions on factors such as availability to mass audiences, the method and wardrobe with which I will wear them, the venues that I foresee myself rocking them in, and even the seasonal weather in my area. My collection is diverse, but my collection criteria is most certainly my style. For those who have seen me in my various pairs of customs, most have agreed, "Steve, that's totally your style", even given the completely different physical shapes and designs of the shoes. Why? Because it's not what I am rocking, but rather the way I consistently rock it.

Another example is my supposed design "style". In crafting my artworks for clients, I used to be quite reluctant to admit to having a style because I wanted to avoid the pigeon hole that comes from such definition. But recently (during this particular round of silly brain-bending) I've come to realize that I do tend toward a certain stylistic outcome. But the work I do varies nicely, so how is it that I have developed a style? I believe it's in the method and approach. I have a scholastic history in architectural design. My favorite genre of art and architecture bear the same names, in as much that they are a time period of particular display and structure more so than a style; Art Deco. Concentric shapes, balance, strong lines, implied visual kinetic movement from static elements, shading, color and lofty drama… all of these could describe the art or the structures of the day. The very architectural method of rendering structures, products and art produced a result that is timelessly unmistakable. In my affinity for the entire genre of Art Deco, I could never copy it if I tried. Well… I could but it would be far too evident that it was an attempt to copy. However, in personally digging Art Deco, I have a more "industrial" artistic slant to my work that is a heavy dose of "form v. function". This often leaves my design looking very minimal at times and at others somewhat opulent when the function calls for an embellishment of form, yet all with strong lines, a play on balance and a very strong lean toward shape. All very calculated in conveying message and emotion. When I stepped back for a blurry-eyed view of my work, I said "wow, I have a style", and it has little to do with the final look as many pieces look different. It was in the method.

Okay, so in all of this rambling… what am I getting at? From a both a creative and life standpoint, in our attempts to shake definition and be free of labels that hold us to any one thing, we tend to give ourselves definition and attach labels holding us to something else. We escape boxes by jumping into other boxes. If we must apply definition, pay particular attention to how we move more so than the direction we are pointing. How you move may offer flexibility in both journey and destination that a straight, aimed, defined, blocked path may not.

--
Steve G the RDQLUS One, out!

RDQLUS is Going Mobile… T-Mobile that is.

How do I get myself into these situations?! What a RDQLUS life I live.

I've had the chance in the past to work with national telecomm company T-Mobile as an independent creative consultant doing some early idea shaping and writing for some of their marketing efforts. Over the past few months I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to flex the creative muscles behind the scenes with my good friends at T-Mobile on a particularly fun project, the rollout of their new 'myTouch' mobile device. Talk about fun?! My good friend, Jen Whelan, is one hell of a creative force and project management specialist and I was honored to be a part of her very capable creative team and add anything that I could.

Little did I know…



I got a call one day that found Jen asking me if I wanted to give something new a shot. Those who know me know that the answer was first, "Hells YEAH!" and a secondly, "uh, now what is it I have to do?" One thing lead to another and I find myself at T-Mobile's Bellevue, WA headquarters filming a spot for the 'myTouch' microsite and testing my acting chops!



When we've wrapped and it's time for me to go, I get an amazing added bonus: I'm given a 'myTouch' mobile device of my very own to test out! WHAAAAAAT?! Now everyone knows I have a full-on "love thang" going on with my iPhone, but who turns down tech-swag? I mean really! And I'll tell you, it's an amazing device that I carry everywhere right alongside my iPhone at all times.

If you're not a member of the "cult", then you should indeed check out this little gem manufactured by HTC & offered exclusively thru T-Mobile. View the myTouch "micro-site".