December 13, 2011

12x12 for $144 II







I participated in the Harwood Art Center's 12x12 fundraising exhibition again this year. I began my piece by printing out reversed photographs on wax paper then experimenting with transferring them to the wood surface to see what the result was. The process was based off a technique I learned in printmaking class, in which the artist prints an image and transfers it to another surface by rubbing it with acetone. The acetone process works best when the image is printed on a laser printer. With an ink-jet printer, I can get the same result using wax paper.

December 1, 2011

Pop! A Bottle Cap Collection




I started collecting bottle caps early in high school while going through a phase of making bottle cap jewelry. I have saved almost every cap from every bottle opened since then. I am intrigued by the various graphic and typographic treatments. In spite of their obvious similarities each bottle cap is unique, not only telling the buyer who made the drink, but also in some way telling a story about what kind of company they are. Recently I started buying beer and bottled sodas based on how interesting the caps are and if I want more of a particular cap already in my collection. I've also gotten my family, friends, and coworkers involved in saving bottle caps from their various beverages and bringing them to me.

During college I had the opportunity to organize my collection of bottle caps in a web design assignment based on a collection of objects. In addition to the client projects I worked on as a design intern during the last few months, I was also tasked with redoing this project in my portfolio. Throughout the first stages of the project, I looked at books on collections of bottles, ray guns, radios, vintage matchbooks, and tin cans. In looking at my collection as a whole, there is a very apparent retro/vintage feel to the graphics, typography, and colors on the different caps which is reflected in the final logotype and the overall look of the site.

Home
This is a simple "splash" page. The two bottle caps on the left and right of the logo will serve as links to their respective pages. 



Origins
The "about" page contains a brief description and visual representation (infographic) about the collection. 



Sort collection: grid
This will be the default setting for organizing the collection. Here you will be able to explore the entire collection in thumbnail format.


Sort collection: slide show
When a thumbnail from the grid view is selected, the view will switch to a slide show format with a short description of the bottle cap.


In either view setting you will also be able to sort the collection by "graphic style", "location", or "type of cap." Icons in the bottom navigation bar allow you to toggle between the two viewing options.