Author: russt

  • An Indian’s Paintbrush

    Indian Paintbrush

    Sometimes I’m awfully lucky. For example, with this photo, I didn’t even plan to get out of the car to capture it. But, at the insistence of my girlfriend’s parents, I strolled down into the meadow off the side of the road and captured this shot – which turned into one of the best shots of the whole day. Gotta love it.

  • A Movie… Starring… Me!

    up

    I had to write something about this movie, since it was pretty much amazing. But first, I’ll give you a bit of background.

    I am, officially or unofficially (it really matters not), one of Pixar’s greatest fans. I once doubted them — at the release of Cars — due to my incredulity that a good movie could be made based on Nascar, though soon thereafter I realized the error of my ways, and have since repented. (more…)

  • Rubik’s Cube… In Style

    rubiks

    Wow. I mean, I may like Rubik’s cubes, but this one… Wow… I just wanna buy one to keep on my desk for decoration. I could change it up a bit every day just to keep things interesting. (more…)

  • The Epitome of Laziness

    hammock

    Hammocks are wonderful things. The problem is that I don’t have one nearby. But if I did, oh man… I would use it daily. There’s nothing better than a good ‘ole hammock, skillfully woven together from strands of soft rope… I think I need one in my bedroom. Heck, why don’t I use one as my bed? I think that would be absolutely stellar. Somehow I think it would cause back problems or something of the sort, but it would sure be a comfy way to ruin a back. (more…)

  • Roman Chariot Races

    As the chariot maneuvers to the left side of the track, the other chariots swerve aside – a horrendous collision could’ve occurred had such measures not been taken. The smaller vehicles in this Roman race swerved in and out – a dangerous web of high-speed objects weaving between one another. The Italian music on the radio set the perfect mood for the stunning display of land-based aerobatics. (more…)

  • Wordle.net

    worldle-netI figured that I’d post this in conjuction with the typography post that I made not so long ago, as I found this to be pretty interesting. I found this yesterday by reading a blog post by one of my cousins, in which she used wordle.net to create a new header for her site. (more…)

  • The Hana Table

    Not more than a few moments ago, I realized that it’s been just over two weeks since my last post. And for that I apologize. Well, I guess it doesn’t really hurt anyone but me.

    Anyway, as I realized that, I happened across a stunning table design. And here it is, folks.

    hana_150409_01hana_150409_02hana_150409_03Sadly, I can already hear what my mom’s words would be as a result… “It would be impossible to dust!” Well, shoot dang. It’s awfully pretty, even if it would be kinda bothersome to dust it. Plus, it can go completely flat.

  • Typography

    Typography can be a powerful visual tool, and lately I’ve become quite fond of it. Not only can it get messages across quickly and directly, but it can also be used as a form of fine art.

    So, in light of that, and the fact that lately I’ve seen some amazing examples of typography, I’m putting up some of these examples.

    aca_se_habla_espaniol_by_ejaramillo

    While this one certainly isn’t the most creative, it’s pretty funny – especially if you speak Spanish. c5432cea1d74866e4805921504baa8a1

    While this one isn’t the most amazing thing, I felt that it had a good message to it. Plus, including the names of the victims makes it all the more meaningful.greenant_promo_card_by_caaffamaninmotivation_by_mrbadgernyc_poster_made_with_letters___by_ad_013r2d2_in_helvetica_by_ad_013

    This one is especially cool if you’re a fan of Star Wars, which I happen to be.

    3292148155_a202b4efb8_o

  • Josef Reyes

    josef-reyes-1josef-reyes-2A day or so ago, while I was surfing through my list of blogs in Google Reader, I came across these posted on ISO50, a cool site mostly talking about graphic design.

    I was very, very impressed with this work, done by the Graphic Designer Josef Reyes. It’s pretty stunning design, overall. I am especially fond of the first one, with the words ‘Shortcut Through Time’ cleverly and skillfully split up between the top and the bottom, as if passing through a portal (or, imagine this, a shortcut through time!).

    Mostly, it’s just beautiful.

  • Creativity vs. Productivity

    Regrettably, I don’t remember exactly where it was that I read something about this, but wherever it was, it certainly illustrated an important part of many people’s lives.

    Many of us, myself included, need to exercise a certain amount of creativity in the workplace. Whether it be in creating a graphic, drawing something, coming up with a new marketing scheme, or whatever, it is an important part of what we do. Creativity is an essential part of nearly all business pursuits.

    But, on the other hand, we must also have points in time where we focus entirely on what we’re doing – when distractions make us lose valuable time.

    And these two aspects of work involve completely different approaches. With creativity, we don’t want to disregard or throw out any idea. Distractions, random suggestions, or seemingly ridiculous ideas can prove invaluable. A little flash of inspiration often makes all the difference. Additionally, simply surfing the web looking at random photos or works of art can be one of the most productive parts of the process.

    But when we’re doing in-depth study, creating charts, etc, we don’t want to be random. It is important to focus on the task at hand – without distraction.

    This really came as a surprise to me, truthfully. It makes complete sense when thought through, but before I simply hadn’t realized it – or its potential impact on my life. But it’s helped me much. Now I’ll be able to be much more productive in my specific pursuits – adjusting my environment and mindset to the task at hand, therefore optimizing my use of time and brainpower (however limited that may be).