Design Blog tag:www.sugarsock.com,2010-02-05:/content/blog//2 2013-01-19T05:27:13Z Movable Type Pro 5.01 Instagram Inspiration tag:www.sugarsock.com,2013:/content/blog//2.903 2013-01-19T05:08:59Z 2013-01-19T05:27:13Z If you're in a creative rut, consider Instagram. Most of us know Instagram because of its recent $1 billion acquisition by Facebook or from celebrities using it to inject the web with more images (usually grainy, self-indulgent self-portraits). If you... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
Most of us know Instagram because of its recent $1 billion acquisition by Facebook or from celebrities using it to inject the web with more images (usually grainy, self-indulgent self-portraits). If you haven't used it before, Instagram is a mobile app that allows you to take photos, apply filters to make them more attractive, and share the images online -- either publicly or with a trusted, private group.

Faced with the knowledge that the boringness of my everyday life might become widely known, I have been a reluctant user of the app... but I recently started using it as a tool to inspire creativity. By search specific hashtags, I can pinpoint images related to my point of stall. And it's not just for designers:

  • When I'm wanting to cook something new, I search by ingredient to get ideas in a jiffy.
  • If I'm having trouble creating a color palette, I search by color to see what combinations are in style or occur in nature.
  • To remind myself to keep developing my lettering skills, I search hashtags like #handlettering and scroll through other designers' work.
  • Searching fitness-related hashtags yields tons of before-and-after shots and health-related images, which helps me remember to mind my habits and be healthy.

All hail the creator of the hashtag!
]]> Site Launch: SalmonSkolnick.com tag:www.sugarsock.com,2013:/content/blog//2.902 2013-01-02T19:09:55Z 2013-01-02T21:39:25Z Specializing in corporate and transactional law, litigation and dispute resolution, and intellectual property (IP), SalmonSkolnick is a boutique law firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. The partners of SalmonSkolnick have extensive experience counseling startups, venture capitalists,... April http://www.sugarsock.com/ SalmonSkolnick is a boutique law firm with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. The partners of SalmonSkolnick have extensive experience counseling startups, venture capitalists, and family-owned small businesses in all matters of corporate law.

Take it from me (and a couple of bad experiences that I will cover soon): If you are starting a new business, bringing on a partner, or finding yourself overwhelmed by other legal issues, it is easier, faster, and more effective to consult with lawyers like Martin, Michael, and Sarah, who specialize in these things, than it is to try to navigate on your own. (And if you are a new or existing business needing design or development, go to an expert like me instead of an attorney. Ha.)

As they focus their efforts on launching the new firm, SalmonSkolnick requires a website that is can adjust as their team grows and needs expand. This site combines the easy-to-use Wordpress content-management system with a clean front end that follows the brand identity established by a talented designer (and good friend), Sophia Roe.

Congratulations, SalmonSkolnick; I hope 2013 is a success for your firm.

SalmonSkolnick.png

P.S. With this latest law website under my belt, I am considering adding a portfolio section just for law firm web development.

]]> The Accordion Repertoire tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.901 2012-12-15T06:52:41Z 2012-12-15T07:19:41Z Franklin Bruno is a music critic for The Village Voice and Time Out New York. He's also a writer, musician... and mighty-fine fella. A while ago, I was flattered to receive an email from Franklin inquiring about using my photography... April http://www.sugarsock.com/ Accordion-Repertoire-Bruno.jpgFranklin Bruno is a music critic for The Village Voice and Time Out New York. He's also a writer, musician... and mighty-fine fella.

A while ago, I was flattered to receive an email from Franklin inquiring about using my photography on the cover of a forthcoming book. Once the deal was made, I had to wait... and keep the secret... and wait some more.

I'm happy to report that The Accordion Repertoire was released by Edge Books on November 6. 

The cover features tilt shift photography of my Los Angeles neighborhood, Los Feliz, which was taken while Griffith Park was glowing with a wildfire.

ยป The Accordion Repertoire at Amazon

Congratulations, Franklin, and best of luck with the book!
]]> September Updates tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.897 2012-09-19T03:58:21Z 2012-09-19T04:10:41Z The web development section has been updated with a few screen shots of recent projects. Updating my portfolio has been a low priority, since I am spending most of my spare time on a few personal projects. I don't want... April http://www.sugarsock.com/ web development section has been updated with a few screen shots of recent projects. Updating my portfolio has been a low priority, since I am spending most of my spare time on a few personal projects. I don't want to share all of the details yet, but I can say that I'll be launching three or four personal projects within the next month or so. Besides that, this little guy is taking up a bunch of my time (and making for a very happy September)...

da68ccacfc6d11e1934a123138141956_7.jpg


]]> Outing Forever 21's Sins on Fashion's Night Out tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.893 2012-09-06T22:04:18Z 2012-09-06T23:45:13Z September 6 is Fashion's Night Out, the industry's global initiative to "restore consumer confidence" and "bring the fun back to shopping." Fashion is a tricky thing: We all want it, but we can't all afford it. When I hear people... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
Fashion is a tricky thing: We all want it, but we can't all afford it. When I hear people talk about how expensive clothes are or how they get all of their wardrobe at Ross, I think of two films:

First, I am reminded of The Devil Wears Prada. When Andy ignorantly scoffs as the magazine staff debates which of two similar turquoise belts to use in a shoot, Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly delivers a great speech to explain the way innovation and craftsmanship from talented designers and tradesmen paves the way for the cheap discount-store knockoffs many of us buy. Secondly, HBO has a great documentary called Schmatta: Rags to Riches, which profiles NYC's formerly bustling garment industry that has been all but replaced by low-quality overseas mass production.

Any artist can understand the injustices of being unpaid or underpaid or of having their work copied by imitators. (The detriments are both monetary and theoretical: Unlicensed derivatives don't financially benefit the true innovator, and credit for stolen ideas often goes to the thieves.) Since my husband has worked in fashion for the past few years, I've gotten the impression that such injustices are greatest within the fashion industry. Week after week, year after year, in one of the primary fashion centers of the US, Craigslist and other sites are bulging with fashion industry positions. Unpaid internships, underpaid freelance design jobs, audition-for-a-chance-at-work interviews, and spec work requests are the norm.

Today, I am singling out a company that is alleged to have committed some of these sins and has been rewarded with popularity and devoted consumers, Forever 21. I want to be clear that these are allegations only from an anonymous ex-employee and are not based on first-hand experience o knowledge.

Forever 21's large mall stores are overloaded with flimsy apparel that can be purchased cheaply to keep up with trends. Most of their merchandise is casual, and a lot of it is screen-printed with topical and/or tongue-in-cheek designs. Do you shop there? Would you if you were opposed to their business practices? Following are some of the allegations against the company.

1. Design theft. The company is continually being accused of design theft, the hypothesis being that many ideas are simply spotted online and copied by Forever 21's in-house staff. Historically, Forever 21 has been accused of theft (and required to settle) by large brands -- Diane Von Furstenberg, Anna Sui, and Harajuku Lovers -- but since is alleged to lift from independent designers who cannot afford to take legal action. The similarities between original designs and Forever 21's allegedly stolen designs are sometimes astonishing. (For example, check out Jon Contino's allegation about his anchor-and-text tee.) In fact, there is a whole site -- WTForever21.com -- entirely devoted to documenting allegations of design theft by Forever 21.

2. Audition-for-a-chance-at-work interviews. As part of their interview process, Forever 21 is alleged to have required candidates to submit designs to show that they possess the required skills. Legitimate, professional companies in this industry know that reviewing an interviewee's previous work and portfolio is enough information to determine whether they are skilled, so this is sketchy.

3. Requiring a release of "audition" work. As if requiring spec work to interview isn't bad enough, Forever 21 is alleged to have required candidates to sign artist releases when the spec designs are presented. Do you see what happens there? Under the pretense of reviewing their skills, Forever 21 allegedly gets designers to come up with fresh designs... then has them release their rights to the designs with no promise of employment, freelance work, or any compensation. (If you think this is pessimistic thinking, my source alleged that, after having been employed by the company for some time, he/she ran across her "audition" designs being used in a season's line.) Hypothetically, the business could thrive without actually hiring enough designers by simply having a perpetual interview process in practice.

4. Discrimination for legal protection. Forever 21 has been alleged to immediately stop considering a candidate if he is found to have worked for or to particularly like a fashion brand that happens to have a legal claim against Forever 21. I don't know that this is illegal, but it seems pretty crappy. 

5. Wage and labor disputes. Allegations of payroll disputes and sweatshop labor are well-documented.

6. Workplace oppression and religious intimidation. Now I am about to blow your mind. If a company runs the way Forever 21 is alleged to, what is one of the least likely adjectives you would use to describe it? How about Christian? Allegedly, Forever 21 is run by "devout" Christians. (The quotes are necessary because none of this sounds like Christian behavior.) Upper management is alleged to encourage employees to wear crosses and discourage them from leaving campus for lunch (except for trips to church). Employees are subject to random property searches, and in some cases, employees are allegedly subjected to workplace evangelism.

I can't remember who said it, but there is truth in the sentiment that "whenever we make a purchase, we are buying a vote." When you purchase from a retailer that appears not to value its employees or others' intellectual property, you are saying that you would rather have a five-dollar shirt than support what is right.

I am happy to say that I have never made a purchase at Forever 21, and now that I'm aware of these allegations, I'll be more conscious about the fashion choices I make. If I can decide to buy mostly local produce and pay a little more to ensure that my beef is grass-fed, then I can commit to supporting local fashion craftsmen who will directly financially benefit from clothing me.
]]> 3 Great Things tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.892 2012-09-06T04:55:26Z 2012-09-06T05:13:58Z Tomorrow, I will write about some not-so-great things -- allegations of questionable practices within the design department of a well-known major brand -- but today am focusing on great things. Six weeks ago, I gave birth (to a boy), and... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
Six weeks ago, I gave birth (to a boy), and I was lucky enough to have all of this time free, just to get used to him and concentrate on family and home stuff. I did manage to do a bit of work too, but only for an hour or two here and there.

I'm only just getting back into the swing of a normal-ish schedule, which includes regular work and personal projects, plus my much-missed exercise routine that I credit for giving me a totally pleasant pregnancy and for helping me to shed all of the pregnancy pounds within a couple of weeks. Since I had to stop exercising in my last trimester, and since working out was the last thing on my mind in the past month and a half, getting back to my routine (five to ten miles of walking a day, plus Tracy Anderson method) has not been easy. I feel tired and slow, and my feet hurt. To help this along, I decided I will give myself an assignment: Photograph three great things spotted on each day's walk... this will require me not only to get out of the house for a walk everyday, but also to forge beyond my immediate surroundings.

For my initial 3 Great Things from Today's Walk, I snapped:

- a bright red hibiscus
- a sun ornament on a whitewashed fence
- a parking reflector nailed to a palm tree

3-great-things.png

Want to see what I come up with? Follow me on Instagram: aprilcgrant.

]]> Site Launch: AfterWicked.com tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.891 2012-08-14T13:22:41Z 2012-08-14T13:46:25Z Mara Sandroff is a high school senior who acts, sings... and writes. (How fitting that she attends a school for gifted and talented students.) She contacted me a few weeks ago about building a site to showcase her writing, specifically... April http://www.sugarsock.com/ and writes. (How fitting that she attends a school for gifted and talented students.) She contacted me a few weeks ago about building a site to showcase her writing, specifically fan fiction she has created around the Broadway musical Wicked. Her two-volume The If Duology follows the citizens of Oz and the main characters of Wicked as they recover from the trauma they endured in the play.

I'm not often approached by teenaged clients, but Mara has proven to be a professional client despite her age: While developing the After Wicked logo and website, she has been decisive, collaborative, and willing to "do her homework" to understand how to use the content-management system.

In addition, she has employed an illustrator to complement her writings and worked on enhancements like music, a trailer with animation, and a mobile site. It's no stretch to think the site we made together, AfterWicked.com, will be well cared for and an ongoing source of quality entertainment for other Wicked fans and those who appreciate YA books.

On top of this, she has been a pleasure to get to know.

Congratulations, Mara, on the launch of your new site and for embarking on what is sure to be the first of many creative journeys ahead.

screen shot of AfterWicked.com]]> Piece of the Fame tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.890 2012-07-14T18:05:55Z 2012-07-14T18:34:15Z Jaunique Sealey is a former digital and social media marketing executive and the author of Piece of the Fame: Rockstar Social Media Marketing for Everyone. We have been working together for years on various projects, and I was thrilled to... April http://www.sugarsock.com/ Piece of the Fame: Rockstar Social Media Marketing for Everyone. We have been working together for years on various projects, and I was thrilled to collaborate with her once again on the POTF book and related materials. Jaunique is full of great ideas and a total pleasure to work with.

Piece of the Fame covers general information about how to get started with social-media marketing. It also includes case studies and interviews with experts in web development, social media, and online distribution (including yours truly). Here's an excerpt from my interview, which covers web design, site development, and social media integration:

I think that a great site has style. It should be an extension of whatever you're doing outside of the website. So, in some cases, you want to have a really showy website because it fits in with the rest of what you're doing. It just always has to be form following function, which means that you are not obscuring what the people are coming to get. If somebody is trying to get to information, you can't have them stuck on a page going, wow, this is really cool, but what do I do?

And POTF is getting attention: Jaunique was interviewed on Mashable in June and has been a featured speaker around the world in recent months. Her latest offering is a complementary video series, which expands on the concepts of Piece of the Fame in highly digestible, easy-to-understand, three-minute episodes.

If you want to learn more about or brush up on your online promotion skills, subscribe to the Piece of the Fame video series at PieceOfTheFame.com. The book is available in paperback (14.99), Kindle (4.99), and iBookstore (4.99) versions.
]]> Portfolio Website Launch tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.888 2012-06-07T04:12:43Z 2012-06-07T04:37:21Z I've been promising my husband for ages that I'd update his website to be more SEO-friendly and better-looking. (The unfortunate thing about being swamped with client work is that personal projects get left in the dust... way too long. I... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
Hubby is so talented, and I thought it was finally time to take a second to just stop and concentrate on his site for a day. I saved myself a little time by installing Wordpress so it's easy to manage, then customizing a theme from WooThemes that had most of the elements he wanted. I may have taken a shortcut by starting with an existing theme (my usual Wordpress work involves completely custom themes), but I spent some time doing some hand-lettering for his name/site title.

Working on this reminded me of how great a solution Wordpress can be for many sites -- and how far it has come over the years. Over the past few months, I've developed a bunch of Wordpress sites, which seemed to have fallen out of favor for a while but are coming back with a vengeance. I am excited again to be entrenched in WP again and looking forward to not only building more sites with it, but also developing some plugins to flex my coding muscles a bit.

Check out DanielGrantIllustration.com for more information (and lots of eye candy).

Here's the custom logo I created for him.]]> Site Updates Coming Soon... tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.867 2012-02-27T06:31:08Z 2012-02-27T06:40:37Z I've been busy busy busy... with work and with life. I recently wrapped up several projects (both web and print) and will update the site in the next few days. In addition, in the coming weeks, Sugarsock will roll out... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
I recently wrapped up several projects (both web and print) and will update the site in the next few days. In addition, in the coming weeks, Sugarsock will roll out some new services that have been in the works for a while. I look forward to sharing the details.
]]> Spring is in the Air... tag:www.sugarsock.com,2012:/content/blog//2.865 2012-02-01T20:06:15Z 2012-02-01T20:28:06Z Even though we have a couple of months of winter left, the weather has made it feel like spring in these parts. Each year around this time (weather permitting), I get the itch to do spring cleaning, organize, and tidy... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
The past few months have been filled with so many great experiences and new beginnings: I have started a couple of side ventures, gone on a few trips with family and with friends, and worked on some fun projects with existing and new clients. I'm just getting a chance to breathe and reflect on these accomplishments.

One dpotf-cover.pngevelopment I'm particularly proud of is contributing to a client's book, in multiple ways. I not only designed and performed production of the paperback, Kindle, and iBookstore (ePub) versions, but also lent my branding and web development expertise in the form of an interview for her manuscript.

Jaunique Sealey is a former digital and social media marketing executive for Lady Gaga and other marquee brands and artists (I was lucky enough to participate in some of those projects), and now she's condensed the best of her knowledge into this handbook for artists, business-owners, and job-seekers looking to get recognition online.

Besides easy-to-understand how-tos for the most important social media tools and applications, Jaunique interviewed social media stars (Necole Bitchie, Paul Carrick Brunson) and behind-the-scenes experts (Ryan Babenzien, Jeremy Caverly, and me) for even more insight.

Piece of the Fame is available at Amazon (in paperback or Kindle format) and iBookstore.

Enjoy! And look for more updates about other projects... soon. ;)
]]> Updates tag:www.sugarsock.com,2011:/content/blog//2.864 2011-10-21T00:18:56Z 2011-10-21T00:25:16Z I've been working on some exciting projects, both for clients and for myself. I am particularly jazzed about a new partnership with a couple of talented people, and I look forward to sharing more about that in the coming weeks... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
Before you decide that I'm pathetic for not having written in about five weeks, I'll have you know that any (tiny bit of) writing energy has been going into some private projects--personal blogs, stories, and even some music, which I haven't done in ages. I am grateful for the energy and inspiration I have right now... and also thrilled to have so many meaningful collaborations with clients and partners at the moment.

There are a few updates in the portfolio, mostly in the hand-lettering section (1) (2) (3). More eye candy is on deck to be uploaded here, so I'll try to do that in the next few days.

Happy Thursday!
]]> 9/11 tag:www.sugarsock.com,2011:/content/blog//2.859 2011-09-11T18:05:12Z 2011-09-11T18:08:21Z I'm sure everyone remembers their personal circumstances surrounding September 11. I could tell you where I was, whom I was with, how it felt when what seemed like a fluke accident became a realization that we were under attack... but... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
For a short time, we shared it all: shock, terror, confusion. There was subsequent grief and anger that eventually divided us into the overly vengeful and the overly government-dependent.

How do you describe that day's sensation of feeling both brotherhood for and suspicion of those around you, balancing sympathy for the terrified Middle Eastern gas station attendant with the logic that it's possible he was secretly joyful about the event?

Life changed for everyone. Some lost life or loved ones, and some, like me, lost their relatively innocent and simple view of the world. Although the horrific images and emotions of that time will never completely fade from memory, each time I revisit 9/11, I try to think about good things that may have grown from it. I understand the controversy of that statement, and it's not to lessen the gravity of that time. Whenever there is a large-scale tragedy--natural disaster that wipes out swaths of homes, a bombing that takes lives in the name of religion or politics, a freak accident that maims many--isn't it natural to pause for a moment on the preciousness of life and the good fortune to have escaped fate for another day?

9/11 gave me an opportunity to stop giving my soul solely to work and avoiding the biggest challenge of my life: loving without fear. In an instant, cliches like "Life is too short" and "You only live once" became gravely important laws of fulfillment. Minor relationship infractions--losing touch with old friends and flaking out on social commitments--suddenly became major trespasses.

While I can't claim that I immediately stopped struggling with working too much or being a good friend, I can say that my demeanor began to skew toward love, generosity, understanding, forgiveness... and not sweating the small stuff. I'm a different person--a better person--because of 9/11, and I hope that a periodic memorial isn't required to hold onto the principles that were given to me because of it. ]]> Where Children Sleep tag:www.sugarsock.com,2011:/content/blog//2.858 2011-09-04T22:51:36Z 2011-09-04T23:01:40Z James Mollison has created an enchanting series of photographs about where children sleep. With a simple premise, taking photos of children and their sleeping areas (not necessarily bedrooms, tragically), Mollison has provided a global glimpse at our cultural differences and... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
Look how seven-year-old Nepalese Indira already has the hardened stare of a manual laborer; Kentuckian Alyssa wears the dirt and expression of desperation beyond her eight years; and nine-year-old New Yorker Jaime bears the smug eyelids of the overindulged. Fascinating stuff--I can't stop revisiting these haunting images.

Enjoy here:

James Mollison's Where Children Sleep
]]> Smell of Art tag:www.sugarsock.com,2011:/content/blog//2.857 2011-09-03T21:54:25Z 2011-09-04T22:50:43Z Yesterday, we decided to head to Culver City for a day of art gallery-hopping, something we haven't done in a while. (First, we stopped at the Counter for a burger--which was really good--since we both were starving and craving meat...... April http://www.sugarsock.com/
Once we got to our favorite stretch, we realized the district was totally dead. A couple of galleries were still installing their shows for their next openings, but otherwise, not one was open! (On the other hand, if we had been in housewares-shopping mode, the nearby furniture district was totally swamped.) What a bummer. I guess we should have checked first.

Since we were already driving around the area, we decided to stop at Pearl to get some sketchbooks, which we have been putting off ordering for some time.

As soon as we walked through the doors, memories of art school flooded back to me. How many hours have I spent inside a Pearl store? The smell is the same, whether it's Chicago and Franklin in 1995 Chicago or La Cienega and Pico in 2011 Los Angeles. The Chicago store isn't even open anymore, but isn't it something to know that 15 years and 2,000 miles doesn't make a difference to smell memory?

I was simultaneously irritated and amused by the knowledge that some things about an art store never change, whether it's the smell of supplies or the poor selection, shabby organization, and lackluster customer service. It also made me realize that maybe that little sliver of artist in me that pops out once in a while is getting smaller and smaller with every year... manual art is a hobby I have little patience for anymore, and my idea of an "art project" these days is a web app that most would call "social experiment."

Does this mean I'm settling down (not that I was ever wild) or just more boring (I had my wild moments) than I used to be? If I have artistic talent, am I obligated to use it, or is it kids' stuff? I'm not sure, but I did pick up a sketchbook that I plan to fill with ideas... for something.
]]>