And Speaking of Claremont…

L.A. is in the high-90’s today. We shouldn’t be complaining, though. Yowch. Thankfully, Mays are a bit more comfortable out in the Inland Empire so we hopefully won’t have any wedding guests spontaneously combusting.

Wedding Planning

If you know me in real life, chances are you know that I’m recently engaged to this lovely woman. If you didn’t know that, well now you do. Huzzah! I put together a web site, jonwyn.com and was planning on using that as the repository for all things Jon + Bronwyn (Jonwyn), but haven’t gotten around to doing too much with that site. So for the time being at least, I’ll be writing about the wedding process here.

After a month-and-a-half of planning, we’ve finally set a date and a venue. I expect that this was probably the most difficult decision we had to make. Two of the places we seriously considered were the Marvimon in Chinatown, and the Castle Green in Pasadena. I’ll say straight out that the Marvimon was our favorite of all the venues we toured. It was originally built to showcase automobiles in the early twentieth century. The owners found it and converted it into a loft, tearing out parts of the roof to reveal beautiful wooden rafters, and the whole roof entirely in the back to create an enclosed garden. The space was so intimate and unique, classic and historical yet modern and hip. It best matched our tastes and personalities more than anywhere else. The problem was the price (at $5,500 plus additional necessary clean up, staffing, and valet costs it was our most expensive option) and the capacity. It could really only hold about 120 seated, and Bronwyn and I have big families. Our guest list will probably approach the 150 to 200 range. Additionally, while the venue and atmosphere match who we are, there was concern over whether our numerous relatives would be comfortable there, seeing as it’s located in a more downtown and urban place than some would be comfortable with.

The Castle Green would’ve been slightly cheaper than the Marvimon, and in the more tourist-friendly Pasadena. While it didn’t have exactly the same hip vibe that the Marvimon had, its Moorish and Spanish architecture and interior design are extremely charming and unique, which we dug a lot. Most importantly, we’d be able to host all of our guests. We liked it, but we weren’t absolutely madly in love with it like we were with the Marvimon. So the question then was whether or not we spend all this money on something with which we weren’t 100%.

What we finally ended up doing was choosing to go with our mutual alma mater, Pomona College. We only finalized this decision a few days ago and I’ve been increasingly satisfied ever since. To be honest, at first we tossed around the Pomona idea jokingly. We’re still rather fresh graduates, I in ‘04 and her in ‘06, so the idea of heading back to school felt too soon. But the more we thought about it, the better an idea it seemed and it soon became one of our top three choices. First off, we both have personal connections to the place. It’s where we met and it’s where we spent four years of our lives. The place where we would have the reception is the school’s ballroom which is where we spent A LOT of time (we were both on the ballroom dance team). We could even do school-related inside-jokey stuff, like ride off in a “Just Married” golf cart. Second, it’s an extremely beautiful campus. Living there for so long day-in and day-out, one almost forgets that. Third, it is DIRT CHEAP. Seriously. To book the ballroom, all one needs to do is pay for catering, which is $45-$50 a heard. That’s pretty much industry standard for catering alone most other places. At Pomona, the price includes venue, tables, chairs, linens, and flatware. Right there we saved ourselves $5000.

Oddly enough, Pomona being so affordable made it less desirable than the Castle Green for the longest time. At least in my head, I had the silly idea that because we’d be paying much less it wouldn’t be quite as impressive an extravaganza. Truth is, that’s bullcrap. It sounds stupid now saying it out loud, but that’s essentially what I was feeling and that kind of thinking is a product of the wedding industry machine that encourages couples to spend, spend, spend to make things “perfect.” It’s an influence we’ve both been trying to avoid, but it’s something that’s not hard not to get swept up by.

Not until we had received some very sage advice was I able to get over this. Basically, one needs to really prioritize what’s important. We could spend our money to choose some fantastic, elegant, chic, exotic locale, or we could spend the money on, say, traveling around Europe for two months. What’s more important? Some people do want the fantasy wedding and that’s fine. Me and Bronwyn? We want the traveling.

This put other things in perspective, too. We want our wedding to be special, memorable, and fun (emphasis on the fun), but in the end it’s just one day, perfection is impossible, and memories don’t come with a price tag. A place is just a place and a wedding is not about a place, it’s about bringing people together to share in a moment.

So there we go. The wedding is at the end of May. If we can just keep focused with a healthy dose of perspective everything should be smooth sailing from here on out, right? I guess we’ll find out.

Fuck It Dude, Let’s Ride

Time to start off the weekend with some bicycle fun. I’ll be going out on the Lebowski Ride starting near USC. I don’t know what to expect, but I do know I’ll be digging up the old pleather pants and dressing up as a Nihilist. No bowling ball, though. I don’t have one and I wouldn’t want to lug around the spare pounds.

To get myself pumped up, I’m watching the movie, though I suppose I could always just watch the abbreviated version.

My original plan for the evening was to go on The Bad Idea Ride which is going to be an 80-mile ride across four counties starting at midnight. Unfortunately, I only had four hours of sleep last night due to a long evening of poker with friends. I’m thinking The Bad Idea Ride would be a really be a bad idea for me. At least I’ve got options. I love this city.

10 lbs of shit in a 5 lb bag

There’s a fantastic designer rant on Craigslist making the rounds, so here it is posted for posterity.

re:Graphics person able to bring my logo to life ($100)
Reply to: [deleted]
Date: 2007-08-23, 12:37PM EDT

It is not my purpose to bash the OP, or call them cheap or whatever.
I realize that you might not have a large budget to get the type of work you need. Probably have no idea what the current rates are, and what goes into a logo package.
I’m sure there’s someone out there who will “bring your logo to life” for $100.
That person is not me.
That person isn’t most designers with any real talent and skill.
And this isn’t just for you, Mr. do-my-logo-for-a-hundred-dollars, this is for everyone who devalues the work of good graphic designers.
If only “designing” was my job, life would be so much easier.

Here’s why:

When a potential client comes to me, basically asking the same thing you are, I tell them my price. Never less than $400. Of course, I get scoffed at, and am told any number of things including:
My nephew/cousin/brother-in-law/friend, whoever, has Photoshop, and said they’d do it for $xx or free.
Why should I pay so much for you to design something that I can’t even touch?
Well so-and-so over at logomilldotcom told me he can do it for much cheaper…

the list goes on and on, and I won’t bore you with it.
Working designers know what I’m talking about.
We deal with it every day.

Now, I’m going to tell you why I would charge you $500 –at the least.

When you hire me to make your logo, I not only have to come up with numerous ideas based on what you think you want, I also have to take into account where you’ll be using it, and what for.
I have to explain you out of many poor decisions based on your lack of understanding why your idea won’t work. We LOVE it when you have a great idea, but it happens rarely.

What kind of business are you in?
Who are you marketing towards?
What do you hope to do with the logo in the future?
Is it a trendy look that will blend in and disappear?
Is it too ambitious and full of unnecessary elements that take away from the message?
Does it make any sense in any way?
Am I taking someone else’s work and digitizing it so you have a proper .eps file?
Why didn’t you have them do it in the first place?
Was it because you got it for $50?
I could spend hours rehashing the millions of questions I’ve come across, talking with potential clients.

The last logo I did, I charged 1k.
That 1k got my client almost 25 different ideas to choose from.(could’ve been more, ended up with the original idea -doesn’t negate the hours I spent on other mock ups)
It got him the proper colors that best suit his business and work well in print and on the web.
It got him letterhead and business cards.
It got him branding and marketing strategy.
It got him the proper files so that he could send the logo out to be printed on everything he needed for his business.
Ultimately, it got him more business.

Now I design brochures for him and frequently update his website(that I also made)… because his business is growing, and the strategy worked.
I get emails from him all the time, thanking me for everything.
Why? because it was professional, and it was well thought out and it meant something. I didn’t hand him a cd with a logo on it and say “good luck”.
That’s what 100 bucks gets you.

100 dollars also ensures that no matter how bad your idea is, or how ridiculous you logo looks, the “designer” will keep their mouth shut and give you the exact crap you’re asking for.
Then you’ll wonder why it isn’t working, or why you have to keep getting it in different formats for different people.
You feel robbed, and now think that, what designers do is bullshit.

I can’t tell you how much more than just designing, I do with my clients.
I’m regularly walking them through everything. I’m dealing with teaching them how and where to use the files to accomplish their business plans.
I’m always consulting them. I can be counted on for ideas and strategies to get their business seen, in a market that is flooded.

If you can get all of that for $100… then you’re a lucky man, and should never tell anyone about your guy -Of course, you will also in a way be putting him out of work, but that’s ok, because you got your cheap logo.

I will however apologize in advance if I misrepresented you in this post.
More so than anything, it’s what I want to tell every person who looks for low priced work.
I know from years of experience and hand holding, everything that goes into designing your logo, and everything else I do in that process, is what the future of your business is hinging on.
Stop thinking of designers as people who make pictures, or who do work that has no real value, because you’re wrong. A good designer with any marketing savvy can take your shitty idea for a logo, and turn it into the centerpiece of your prosperous business.
Great design is not stuffing 10 lbs of shit in a 5lb bag.
And it’s definitely not happening with $100.

If you don’t have the money, work out a deal, make payment, but please, stop undervaluing what we do. I swear, once you shop around and talk to some people, you’ll see that if you care about the future of your business, it’s money well spent.

I have to say, though, the author’s described $1k logo project is still pretty under-valued for most designers, especially considering the fact that he made 25 mock-ups, business cards, and letterhead. It varies by location and by client, but it safe to say that much full and intensive branding and identity work should cost at least double his rate - triple in Los Angeles.

Sometimes I wish I did more freelance work, rather than the same ol’ same ol’ everyday, but not having to deal with low-ballers and the rest of the issues involved with the business side of creativity is pretty refreshing.

Eye Candy: SHCH

SHCH Graphics Group, which I think is just one guy in Ukraine, has finally collected his (their?) amazing calligraphy and illustration work into a portfolio site that is utter hotness. With decorative vector illustrations being all-the-rage in a lot of design these days, it’s really impressive to see someone who can not only rule on the Wacom, but also exhibit manual mastery with good ol’ fashioned pen and paper.

42 Below Vodka Ads

Saatchi & Saatchi of New York won the Clio Award, the Oscars of the advertising and design world, for their 42 Below Vodka campaign. Their clip art mastery gave me a solid fifteen minutes of chuckles today. Check out the whole campaign.

Slice of Random: Bunnies

I’m a pretty avid fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and all other things Whedon. In fact, I wrote my college thesis on the show. It won an award, which is not to brag, but just to point out that the show is serious bid-ness.

Anyway, anyone who’s familiar with the show knows of the running joke that one of the primary characters, Anya, has a never fully-explained phobia of bunnies. I saw this picture today and I’ve got to say I can’t blame her.

Seriously now, what is going on? As if the guy in the bunny suit in Donnie Darko wasn’t enough. At least with that a body is able to sleep at night, comforted by the fact that “it’s just a movie.” Not so with this Easter bunny. The knowledge that this diabolical, costumed menace will haunt me until the end of my years. Fighting terrorism starts at home, folks. Easter bunny, beware, you’re on notice!

Speaking of people in creepy animal costumes, the Bat for Lashes video for “What’s a Girl to Do” keeps popping up on various bicycle message boards and blogs I frequent. It’s for good reason, too; even if you’re not a big fan of the music (like a lot of the punk-centric urban cyclists that populate aforementioned boards), you’ve got to admit this video is pretty rad.

Myself, I am seriously digging the new album, Fur and Gold. I managed to catch the band when they played at Spaceland a couple of weeks ago. I snapped a few pictures that I need to get around to tagging and organizing properly in my Flickr.

La Grand Crew ‘007

Last weekend, the handsome geniuses Alex and Evan over at Hot Knives held what promises to be the raddest event of August (and believe me, there is some cool shit going on in the city even just this weekend). The idea was so simple it’s a wonder it hasn’t been done before - a 40-mile bicycle tour of L.A.’s best beer stores. A group of about twenty, we ended up hitting six astounding locations and amassing copious amounts of brew.

At the end of the ride was the afterparty and tasting where we attempted to reach the mythical “99 bottles of beer on the wall.” Alas, in the photo are only 77. However, I think that at least 30 bottles of beer had to have been consumed along the way. I had two. Next time we’ll just need to hold on to our empties… or work on our tolerances.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the fantastic hot nuts prepared by the Hot Knives crew to complement the fine beers at the after-party. Delicious and oh-so-satisfying.

The Hot Knives have a write-up on their blog. Additional photos are available from the Flickrs of Wildbell, Existential Media, and Hair of the Dog Dave.

Mic Check 1, 2 - An Introduction

I’m a web designer by profession and a couple of years ago I wanted to have a side-project just for fun. One of my favorite bands, Headlights, had recently put out their first EP and I, enthralled by the release, decided I wanted to make my side-project a fan site. “The joke is up” is the opening lyric to a song off of that EP.

I emailed the band, who are all super nice people, and I had all these grand schemes going on in my head about what I was going to do with the fan site, but as it turns out I ended up being too busy with my actual work. Ah well, so it goes.

The domain name sat unused for years with nothing more than a “fan site coming soon” image. Fast forward to today and the Headlights have a mighty fine looking site themselves, plus a myspace page, plus a virb page. All that makes a fan page a little obsolete. So instead, I’ve decided just to make this a blog. What about? I’m not sure, really. Music, bicycles, scooters, design, food, beer, bourbon, random YouTube videos… I guess we’ll find out as we go along.