A post in Design Shack teaches you how to make a presentation on power point. If you follow the tips... the presentation will very well look professional-- even if you're not. I love it!
Part one here and part two here
Like I said, it's Art Direction in a nutshell. If you're still using comic sans for instance... it's so unprofessional. It's a kiddie font that you used in grade school to send emails to your friends. Using that for a presentation gets you a minus in credibility at once. Here's my favorite video about fonts here. It makes me laugh every time.
Splashing Photoshop filters left and right is just insanity. There is no form. Art doesn't have to be so cerebral like a deep dark secret hidden under each brush stroke, waiting to be revealed by the correct person like a treasure hunt. Tori Amos coined it: "What's so amazing about very deep thoughts?" A presentation is not an art gallery. If nobody understands what they are looking at... well... bye-bye audience.
I was trained under a strict Creative Director who I will always credit for the skills and maturity I have now. He made sense about art, though method of course could have had more finesse. The basic tips that Design Shack shared covers a whole spectrum of graphic design today. As simple as photographs, quick editing, point of sale artworks and layout... and many more will be way easier on the eyes. I have to point out that the distance of your eyes to your brain should describe the speed of translation from what you see to what you understand.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Generator Rex
Taking a finger off Capoeira for this post, it's a Wednesday after all.
Here's something that is obviously work related. If only imagination is what work pays for haha.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
One day I woke up holding an Orange Green Cordao
A message popped in my inbox. Instead of reposting what I've said before, I thought about My Capoeira again... one year later from the last My Capoeira post. In one year I wondered what was different from the Beju writing the article then and the yellow green talking now.
"What attracted you most to capoeira? (the fight aspect? or the cultural aspect -- meaning, the music or the dance-like, non-violent interaction? the fantastic friends? something else?)
Do you feel you are able to personally relate to this Brazilian art form? How do you bridge the gap between being a Filipino and embracing this foreign culture thru the practice of capoeira?
For those who have been to Brazil and have seen capoeira in its native habitat, do you see any differences in the way capoeira is practiced or understood or taught here in the Philippines?
Capoeira mestres always say that capoeira is a “way of life”. What does this mean to you? And if you HAVE embraced it as a way of life, in what way?
Capoeira is said to be a form of expression: during pre-revolution Brazil, it expressed subversion; afterwards, it expressed nationalism. These days it is seen as a showcase of Brazilian culture. When you practice capoeira, do you consider yourself showcasing Brazilian culture? Or do you think there is something else being expressed in your game?"
I want to fly! :) Capoeira was first introduced to me by Maori. He knew from College that I had a background in TKD and through random meetings and conversations we would talk about Martial Arts and how Capoeira has changed his life. The one time that I was convinced to actually join a class was when I saw a demo in Fete de la Musique at Podium. The big guy did a cartwheel and I knew that if he could do it, I could too. I only really wanted to learn to do a cartwheel and kick people. It sounds so shallow now, but then it naturally snowballed after that, wanting to do more, try more, read more, learn more etc etc. Meeting fantastic friends of course was a great help since because of these people, my snowball kept rolling. I think to know one part of capoeira leads you to want to know more about another aspect of it.
Being that 'Brazilian martial art', of course hit the twangs of awesome and exotic. It didn't matter to me personally since it's half a mysterious world away and as long as the group wasn't asking for blood sacrifice, it's all good. The cultural references of Capoeira unfolded to me in the years that I've been training. One thing I notice about the Filipino culture (myself included: filipino-chinese raised), is the ability to absorb anything as make it its own. Once change has been accepted, it becomes the norm. So with our different roots in one land, we change and grow with Capoeira in our lives. We take what is given and make it ours. We play Capoeira the filipino way, and I don't mean the infusion of both traditions into one art... I mean the attitude that we bring, the axe that the filipinos have (fiesta!), the love and respect for our siblings-in-culture (kabayan!). We see the similarilities in both cultures and this is what we cultivate in our practice as capoeiristas. What we nurture as Familia, as axe and good vibes... the positive elements that bond the two cultures together.
Capoeira as a way of life: in my opinion is putting into practice what you experience. The subtle things that you discover from the capoeira-culture, (again, the positive notes) is the same attitude you want to discover in yourself. Capoeira is molding me as a person, as much as Art defines my life in what I do. It has taken root and builds me, like the values taught in school that you will never forget. (I'd like to think that this is what Maori meant when he says that Capoeira changed his life.) It is not a separate thing, that we train for 1.5 hours and leave and go on with the rest of our lives, as though nothing ever happened, just stretched a few muscles and broke sweat. After training, during the day, listening to music, seeing a nice open space somewhere... capoeira is there.
For me Capoeira has always been the art aspect of its Martial Art. We aren't just learning kicks and moves and how to fight, we're learning a lifestyle in Brazil, to feel how it is to be Brazilian. I'm going with Pixote's quote of Art as being an expression of oneself. From the outside perspective (I've been one before) Capoeira aptly looks like the exotic Brazilian martial art showcase that it epresents. However in the game, in the training, in the practice of this... we are taught to express, to think, to move. This keeps it all as unique as the next people to play in the game. We could always do a routine, but we don't. It's to my understanding that not doing a routine is how we want to show that this is the art of capoeira, not a dance. ♥
-------
That's what I said. What do you say?
And after that Batizado Blast... I think I have more and more things to share from the Mestres who have spoken about their Capoeira, and the Capoeira around us.
"What attracted you most to capoeira? (the fight aspect? or the cultural aspect -- meaning, the music or the dance-like, non-violent interaction? the fantastic friends? something else?)
Do you feel you are able to personally relate to this Brazilian art form? How do you bridge the gap between being a Filipino and embracing this foreign culture thru the practice of capoeira?
For those who have been to Brazil and have seen capoeira in its native habitat, do you see any differences in the way capoeira is practiced or understood or taught here in the Philippines?
Capoeira mestres always say that capoeira is a “way of life”. What does this mean to you? And if you HAVE embraced it as a way of life, in what way?
Capoeira is said to be a form of expression: during pre-revolution Brazil, it expressed subversion; afterwards, it expressed nationalism. These days it is seen as a showcase of Brazilian culture. When you practice capoeira, do you consider yourself showcasing Brazilian culture? Or do you think there is something else being expressed in your game?"
I want to fly! :) Capoeira was first introduced to me by Maori. He knew from College that I had a background in TKD and through random meetings and conversations we would talk about Martial Arts and how Capoeira has changed his life. The one time that I was convinced to actually join a class was when I saw a demo in Fete de la Musique at Podium. The big guy did a cartwheel and I knew that if he could do it, I could too. I only really wanted to learn to do a cartwheel and kick people. It sounds so shallow now, but then it naturally snowballed after that, wanting to do more, try more, read more, learn more etc etc. Meeting fantastic friends of course was a great help since because of these people, my snowball kept rolling. I think to know one part of capoeira leads you to want to know more about another aspect of it.
Being that 'Brazilian martial art', of course hit the twangs of awesome and exotic. It didn't matter to me personally since it's half a mysterious world away and as long as the group wasn't asking for blood sacrifice, it's all good. The cultural references of Capoeira unfolded to me in the years that I've been training. One thing I notice about the Filipino culture (myself included: filipino-chinese raised), is the ability to absorb anything as make it its own. Once change has been accepted, it becomes the norm. So with our different roots in one land, we change and grow with Capoeira in our lives. We take what is given and make it ours. We play Capoeira the filipino way, and I don't mean the infusion of both traditions into one art... I mean the attitude that we bring, the axe that the filipinos have (fiesta!), the love and respect for our siblings-in-culture (kabayan!). We see the similarilities in both cultures and this is what we cultivate in our practice as capoeiristas. What we nurture as Familia, as axe and good vibes... the positive elements that bond the two cultures together.
Capoeira as a way of life: in my opinion is putting into practice what you experience. The subtle things that you discover from the capoeira-culture, (again, the positive notes) is the same attitude you want to discover in yourself. Capoeira is molding me as a person, as much as Art defines my life in what I do. It has taken root and builds me, like the values taught in school that you will never forget. (I'd like to think that this is what Maori meant when he says that Capoeira changed his life.) It is not a separate thing, that we train for 1.5 hours and leave and go on with the rest of our lives, as though nothing ever happened, just stretched a few muscles and broke sweat. After training, during the day, listening to music, seeing a nice open space somewhere... capoeira is there.
For me Capoeira has always been the art aspect of its Martial Art. We aren't just learning kicks and moves and how to fight, we're learning a lifestyle in Brazil, to feel how it is to be Brazilian. I'm going with Pixote's quote of Art as being an expression of oneself. From the outside perspective (I've been one before) Capoeira aptly looks like the exotic Brazilian martial art showcase that it epresents. However in the game, in the training, in the practice of this... we are taught to express, to think, to move. This keeps it all as unique as the next people to play in the game. We could always do a routine, but we don't. It's to my understanding that not doing a routine is how we want to show that this is the art of capoeira, not a dance. ♥
-------
That's what I said. What do you say?
And after that Batizado Blast... I think I have more and more things to share from the Mestres who have spoken about their Capoeira, and the Capoeira around us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)