When all you can do is drink hot chocolate

Disappointment.
Thats a common word in design.
When something don`t work out the way you thought.
Sometimes you put a lot off effort in something,
maybe you even get exited.
Feeling that this is going the right way.
How can it not be?
You did put your heart in these papers.

You show up.
Proud as a child, on first day of school.
So exited.
Then you start to realize that something is wrong.
Critical words.
They hit you.
More than one time.
And life hit you in the face.
You realize.

You should have learned,
that this is the way things work.
That this is what make you a good designer.
That you need to be pushed.
But some days you are unable to see that.
And you just wanna be angry.
Drink hot chocolate  (with cream),
and feel sorry for yourself.

Until you feel ready to swallow your mistakes.
And forgive other for their mistakes.
To get up and get going.
Open your sketchbook.
Not to erase what you have done,
but to make something better out of what you already have.
And to put an perfect ending to this emotional,
and (just a little bit cliche) story of a up and coming graphic designer.
You get by with a little help from your friends.

Darkroom and other curiosities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It must been about two weeks ago we had a workshop, learning to use the darkroom at Uni.
Guided by the cheerful Rosy, we had a awesome time.
Using different items(found in the abandon Fine Arts classrooms) like candy, a toy gun,  transparent  overhead paper, some leafs and a lot of randomness, we created black and white photos. By exposing light sensitive photo paper, with the objects on top, and then making a huge, roaring, machine “eat” the paper, we got some artistic outcome. I would love to explain the process in more detail, but I am afraid I am not capable of expressing myself correctly on this area.
Tomorrow waits an other workshop, exploring the use of pinhole camera!

 

The last few weeks have been filled with a lot off research and a lot of  long hours working with graphic design. When they said this would be a hard working year, they where certainly not lying.
Planing, reading, designing and more than a few cups of tea.
So thats life.
More curiosities than that is not to be found in my life by the moment.
(Thats not perfectly true, but I don´t have the time to write more blogs right now.)

 

 

Level up!

I am way to late to say ” First day of School”.
So I rather say “Hallo second day”.
Yesterday we got introduced to what’s up third year of BA Graphic design.
Year 3. Level 6.
There is no question.
We gonna have a lot to do during the next 26 weeks.
We have 3 units.
Final major project, Professional contexts and Visual Communication research.
Profcon consist of four smaller tasks.
Lightly confused, but exited.
My brain and calender are slowly processing the information given.
And realizing how amazing it actually is to have a new brief(s) in my life.

In between everything else I have to do this year, I am trying to fit in JAM.
The Japanese Arts and Media Society.
I went to the first meeting last night, and got a good first impression.

Got my friends to pick me up afterwards.
But thats a totally different story.
But if you are interested about that story and other tails look up:
http://www.oluffen.blogspot.com/, http://www.hbroadstone.blogspot.com, http://anli.blogg.no/

Heres a couple of sketches I worked on during the last couple of weeks, that I thought was appropriate to this post.
A little Japan, some feelgoodness and off course, my new calender.

 

 

Så lenge hjärtat slår

I feel like I have gone back in time for the last few weeks.
It was like It turned summer over night when I moved to Southampton.
I left Norway ready for winter.
But ended up buying a pair of shorts today, because it is to hot for anything else.
Weird.
You can se the signs of autumn.
But the heat messes with your mind.
Not knowing what to believe.
All you can do is enjoy.

I took my time to enjoy the autumn before I left home.
Constant wind, cold rain and the fact that a leaf breaks really fast made the result.
Not perfect, but a reminder that colder days are approaching.
The text is inspired by Kents “Kevlarsjäl”.
One of my personal favorite bands to listen to when the days get darker.

About life

Nothing wakes you up like moving to a new place.
It might be the sound of ships approaching the dock.
Or the restless feeling of a new and unfamiliar bed.
Or the boiler next to your room making a roaring noise.
The sound of laughter.
Or the summer warm sun shining on your face.
Even if its soon October.
The sound of a new beat.
The trill of discovering a new favorite shop.
Dancing and singing between the shelfs at ASDA.
Your pulse getting higher when trying to cross a busy  road.
Full concentration while introducing yourself and trying to remember the the name of your new friend.
This is a busy time. And its only the beginning.
10 months.
Hard work and kick ass fun.
Graphic design ftw.
The days when you live.
The days life hit you in the face.
Because you asked for it.
These are the days I am living right now.

Cup of tea

Autumn is like a guest arriving to early without you noticing.
It can sit at your table quiet, waiting for you to notice its presents.
And when you first do, you have no choice to offer it a cup of tea.
To break the chill tension.

You sit down.
Drink your tea.
You draw.

Brukbart

I found it.
The USB to my camera.
Here we go.

Last month I visited Bergen.
Walked in the rain.
Met some friends.
And enjoyed the city I used to live and study in.
Went to an exhibition  called “Brukbart” (Useful) at Vestlandske Kunstindustri Museum.
I am always reminded, when attending exhibitions that I should do this more often.
But I don´t.
Thats why I get so exited every time I do attend one.
This one had reuse as topic.
Material and objects found new home in different environment.
My personal favorite  is the bag made out of can tops.
Its brilliant.

Reusing is a concept I keep close to my heart.
Its a wonderful way to be creative and at the same time do something good for the environment.
Also when working with graphic design, I enjoy using alternative materials.
Like a empty cardboard box for wineglasses…
That can become an EP cover.

This is the result from our second task at NKF. Grotesque typography.

Pictures from the exhibition.

Home is where your heart is

Currently my hart is located at my moms place, at the countryside outside of Oslo. But within a month my home will be Southampton, England. Hopefully my hart agree. After a lovely week at Øyafestivalen in Oslo, we left for England to find a place to live. So the last two weeks I have mostly been to concerts,drinking beer and done intense research on the internet, preparing  our trip. Creative chaos.  And in chaos you lose things. Always. Between the battles I have been trying to find the USB for my camera. But is is gone. So until I find it, I have no fun stuff to post on my blog(maybe not the time either) But you never know. Maybe there is a rainbow around the corner. Or a new USB.

We own the sky

We Own The Sky

I tumbled upon this song the other day.
What a chill song. Exactly what you need on a sunday.
M83 have a lot of other good stuff.
I also noticed the cover design, and decided that it was worth checking out on google.
What I found was a lovely collection of design.
Design as chill as its music.
They really found the right way to communicate their spirit.
Its sensitive, alive and cute and weird at the same time.

Keep walking

Moving on might be some of the hardest things in life.
Because there is a fine line between holding on and losing it for ever.
When the terror attack here in Norway bacame a fact, my mind wouldn’t believe it.
I tried, but it only felt like a dream.
I started distancing myself from it.
I think most people do.
Not because they don`t care, but want to protect themselves.
Afraid that it might hurt to much.
That the pain would come to stay.
And not being able to keep walking.
People deal with things different.
This is my way.
Quoting  Neil Gaiman.
Using hours cutting out letters and work with the details.
Let some feelings turn into type and some fade in colors.
To understand that no school can prepare you for life.
You learn along the way.
Letting go, but keeping the parts that make you human.