I got an email today that asked me if my work could be used as an album cover, and I am delighted.
To Mr Lemasney
My name is Guy Joynson. I’m a UK based musician and photographer. I hope you’re well. I’m currently recording my first EP which is a covers EP featuring four songs which are: Jolene- Dolly Parton, Used To Love You- John Legend, Only Love- Ben Howard and Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show. I love your stormtrooper print and was wondering if I would be able to use it on the front cover of my EP? It’s only to give out as a demo and will make no profit. I have also attached a copyright notice to the back cover of the EP. I have attached a layout of the EP to this email. I hope you like it. I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Guy Joynson
Web: www.guyjoynson.com
Tel: redacted
E-mail: redacted
Twitter: @GJ_Photography
: @Guy_Joynson
The album cover, including attribution to me is here:
Album cover, Guy Joynson
The original work is on 365sketches.org, here.
Decorative classic stormtrooper mask by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org #cc #design #art
There’s of course the issue of the use of an item from the Star Wars universe, and the fact that Lucas et al. have always strongly protected their work, but I doubt that anyone sees either Guy or I as any kind of monetary threat. Also, I highly doubt that anyone thinks that I was the designer of the original classic stormtrooper design.
My response was as follows:
I’d be honored. I use a creative commons – attribution license, and not copyright, which asks only that you mention me as the artist (preferred: “Stormtrooper helmet by John LeMasney via 365sketches.org (cc-a)”), but you have more than met the requirements of the license.
Congrats on the release, and I really appreciate that you asked!
Pods and Sods logo by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
My very good long time friend Craig Smith recently reached out to get some visual branding work for his new podcasting venture, Pods & Sods, which focuses on a love for music. Craig has always enjoyed vinyl, a Gen X sense of retro style, and sensitive, thoughtful conversation, so I think this venture will be a hit. Craig generously asked for my help. We started, as always in this kind of work, with font choice and color palettes. I wanted to meet his needs for vinyl centricity, funkiness, and urbanity.
I submitted this:
pods and sods font and color study by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
I had my personal favorites in this batch, but Craig responded quickly that he loved the upper right font, and the top most palette. I took this information and played with the font and color to show the ways in which the branding might be expressed.
pods and sods logo set 1 by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
In this set, I wanted to play with that retro style, emphasize or de-emphasize certain colors in the palette, and speak to the conversation and love for music. There are more and less elaborate solutions, but I like to give a range of possibilities. Craig responded that he really loved the upper right solution, and we began to talk about formats for Facebook, iTunes, and other uses.
pods and sods final branding set by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
In the final set, I played with a blue linear element, duplicated the groovy record image to balance the overall weight, and created solutions for a square, rectilinear, and profile image. I really enjoyed this process, it only took a few hours, and it resulted in a very fun portfolio piece. Special thanks to my dear friend Craig for the opportunity and willingness to share. I can’t wait to subscribe. If you love good conversations about good music, make sure to like https://www.facebook.com/groups/podsandsods/ on Facebook! If you’d like to have visual branding development for your business or venture, I’d love to help you! I’m always at lemasney@gmail.com and 609 553 9498.
There are a few phrases, rules, really, that I say to my boys more than once. I have thought about what they all mean, and wanted to share.
Stay to the right.
30 07 11 Road rules (Photo credit: Kikishua)
As you might imagine, my boys and I spend a lot of time walking. Sometimes on a sidewalk, often in the mall, from time to time in a store. I spend a great deal of time reminding the boys to step to the right, in this culture recognized as the key rule of the road. Recently, my oldest said that when you walk on the road, you walk against traffic, and I agreed. I reminded him that that the rest of the time, we walk to the right. It seems to relate to my belief that politeness is mostly nonverbal. When we walk to the right, we show a certain kind of respect for others.
Not a contest.
My boys want me to be impressed by, proud of, and delighted with them. They know very well that I am enthralled with their behavior. Their want to impress me is always present. Very often this comes in the form of being the first to open the door for others, which I love and reward. Sometimes, though, it comes in the form of the statement “I can drink milk the fastest.” I say “not a contest” to remind them that some things are not worth mastering.
No unnecessary arguments.
The Argument Sketch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
My 5-year-old will often cite corrections to my 9-year-old because his beliefs, now, do not always align with reality. My 9 yo is a born teacher, and always moves to correct. Sometimes the back and forth goes on for some time. I find myself letting the conversation go until the point of simple correction, and try to shut down longer arguments of philosophy and ideology when they concern whether, for instance, trees or flowers are more alive than one another, or whether a clock says 4:15 or 4:16. I feel like this is one of my key lessons from my boys to me: Sometimes we are inexplicably dedicated to one idea or another, and sometimes they just don’t matter.
Please eat with your mouth closed.
My boys have the best table manners. I really adore the way they eat, sit, and thank servers, myself included. Every once in a while, a chewing sound emerges, and I squash it. I once worked in a cubicle where the guy next door would eat all day. Candy, noodles, coffee, or licorice, all of it came with a snap, crackle, gurgle, slurp. I wanted to quit. It was so rude, so overwhelmingly invasive, that I was ready to leave. I don’t want my boys to ever be the source of that kind of inconvenience.
Please sit in your seat.
Sit down, please. (Photo credit: Natalia Romay)
Sometimes, as we drive, the boys get kind of restless. As you might imagine, they start to move from their designated space in the car, straining the limits of their seat-belts. I think for a moment what might happen in the event of a sudden stop, and ask them to sit in their seats. There are certain rules, borne of the infinite impossible intrusion of fate, and I’ll do my best to prepare them for it.
Why are we screaming?/Can we have some quiet time?
I believe that there is a need for quiet in one’s life. I am addicted to a certain quiet. Sometimes, especially when my oldest is excited, he’ll raise his voice as he talks. I can always tell when he’s excited about something, because his voice increases in volume, and he begins to present, like he’s seen me do so many times. I love that he is adopting a skill of presentation, but I always they to remind him that there is a time for volume, and a time for quiet. He’s just as good as describing what he’s excited about in a normal voice.
I think that my fathering can be described as preparatory, safety-oriented, and kindness-heavy. I think that these rules give my boys the opportunity to be prepared, safe, polite and human. I don’t know that I can do any better than this.
Leaf illustration by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
Leaf illustration by John LeMasney via lemasney.com
I saw a beautiful illustration on Pinterest that made use of clipping, and decided to play with the idea for myself. In Inkscape, if you import an image, like the palette in the illustration above, and make or import a shape, such as the leaf here, you can place the leaf shape on top of the palette image and apply object/clipping/set clip which results in the clipped image above. I added a rectangle in white, set transparency to 50%, and added the word leaf in one of my favorite fonts, Bebas Neue, and applied a skew.
It’s an interesting way to visually share two ideas in a single image. Both the palette and the leaf have their own visual message, and together they send an interesting combination of the two. I could have used a photograph instead to possibly make a statement about love or business or nature, or all three. Open up Inkscape and try this technique for yourself.
If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to this site by using the subscription form at the bottom of this page. Maybe Facebook is more your thing? Like our Facebook page at the bottom of this page. We’re also on Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and other social networks listed at the top of this page. Please like, comment, and share if you found this post useful, interesting, or kind.
So, Brian Kelley and I did the third installment of Technology and the Arts, our weekly/seasonal podcast that focuses on the connections between technology and art. I thought it was one of our better shows, low on glitch, high on value. Please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwg8Pl-qWSc?t=30m50s where I give a brief demo on MIT‘s Scratch project, a block programming platform for games, art, animation, and more. It’s targeted at kids who want to jump right into programming, but I find that it’s a great platform for any age to work out programming ideas. In the demo, I show you how to get to it, what a project looks like, how to open it for editing, and how too find other projects. Please visit the video in its full form to hear us talk about the rest of our topics, which this week included Google Easter Eggs, a great podcast called It’s a Thing with Molly Wood and Tom Merritt, Jay-Z‘s Picasso Baby art happening as video, and more. Like, subscribe, and find the rest of our online presence at the youtube page.
If you liked this post, please consider subscribing to this site by using the subscription form at the bottom of this page. Maybe Facebook is more your thing? Like our Facebook page at the bottom of this page. We’re also on Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest, and other social networks listed at the top of this page. Please like, comment, and share if you found this post useful, interesting, or kind.
“Making Sense of the Google Chromebook” Free Computer Program September 3
Color study (Photo credit: lemasney)
Ewing, NJ: “Why would I want a laptop that only runs a browser?” This is the critical question New Jersey technology consultant and graphic designer John LeMasney will explore when he presents The Computer Learning Center’s newest, free Computer Tips and Tricks program on Tuesday, September 3. “Making Sense of the Google Chromebook” will begin at 2 p.m. in the Ewing Senior and Community Center at 999 Lower Ferry Road. It will be preceded at 1:30 p.m. by a question and answer session during which the audience can direct computer questions to the CLC’s all-volunteer faculty. Both programs are free and no prior registration is required. “Come learn why I stopped carrying around my MacBook Pro and exchanged it for a Chromebook, Google’s low-cost laptop that runs just one application,” says LeMasney. “Chrome begins to make a lot of sense when you look at several converging factors, namely, the increasing availability of high-speed connectivity, the emergence of applications and cloud-based services for real-world functionality, and the ability to stay connected in rather light ways. I plan to look at both why the Chromebook works for me and the incredible power of this platform, but also why keeping a MacBook around still makes sense for some things.” John LeMasney describes himself as an artist, designer, technologist, and consultant whose passion is to help people use technology in sensible ways to enhance their work and life. His career most recently included work as Manager of Technology Training at Rider University where he assisted faculty, staff and students in integrating technology into their work, classroom, and extracurricular activities. A Fine Arts graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, he holds a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership with distinction from Rider University, as well as LPI Level One Certification in Linux Administration. The non-profit Computer Learning Center at Ewing, which sponsors the Computer Tips and Tricks programs as a public service, also offers a variety of PC and iPad computer skills courses for adults in central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. For further information about the September 3 program, courses or directions, call 609-882-5086, 609-883-1776, Ext. 6205 or visit the CLC website at www.clcewing.org.
Telephone
Totally Awesome Halloween Costumes for Boys #WishCraft
