The Nine Star Story » News

So Long

Christopher — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:21:27 +0000

It’s close to the end of my years in university—tomrrow it will be all over. I went back to school to strengthen my design skills, and going to Texas State has helped a lot. After graduation I will be back in Houston ready to work start a career. However, Houston will have to wait if I get a job offer somewhere else. I had a great time here in San Marcos; I’ll see you soon.

Announcing!

Christopher — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 05:00:25 +0000

I finished designing my graduation announcement over the weekend. It’s a bit non-traditional, but it still has class. I’m delivering it through print and on the web. What else would you expect from a design major? The website is up now, but the printed announcements will be sent closer to the graduation date.

Graduation Announcement!

2009 Redesign

Christopher — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:24:28 +0000

I’ve used my site to practice many design concepts through the years; I think it’s something web designers should do. This redesign has been in the works since October. The finished design is the third and last layout that I had worked on since then.

This first layout was wider, had more open space, and it had a similar color scheme to the final design. I wanted to use the monogram, but after awhile it didn’t seem right just floating to the left by itself. I need to somehow reuse the icons I made for the navigation.

The second design never made it to the coding stage. It wasn’t as great to me after a week so it was deleted. Although, it did have a nice header and used the 960 grid system.

For the final design I wanted to stay simple and have a minimal work space. I made my own eleven column grid to work with. It also has a few elements that I have been wanted to add to my site for awhile. However, the “work” page still needs work. I’m happy with the way it turned out

All’s Well, That Ends Well

Christopher — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 19:27:15 +0000

It is always a bit sad once the Christmas season is over. There isn’t much to look forward to other than the new year during December. Christmas morning was really nice; my eldest sister’s kids had the most fun. I’m looking forward to the next year and have a big resolution & project planned

The gifts I received this Christmas:
Adagio Glass Teapot
Vanity Fair, January 2009 – Tina Fey
Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Star Wars Trilogy
Black & white tartan blanket
Sushi Pack – Tako Note Pad
Sushi Pack – Magnets
Sushi Pack – DVD
Dynex Memory Card Reader
Fleece snap snug blanket
A really nice set of pens

Progression

Christopher — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:31:45 +0000

I believe I did great on the quiz, but I didn’t read the bonus questions correctly so I bet my teacher will think I’m dumb; they’re only bonus questions. Afterwards I had “Victory Chili”, and watched The Clone Wars. It was an alright movie — I think better than the reviews I’ve read. I don’t think the plot could stand on its own, but I guess thats what the TV show is for. It was a lot of graphics and heroic poses. I’ll start watching the television series.

I just found this band called Alestorm, and play what they call “True Scottish Pirate Metal.” It gives a mix of sea shanties and power metal that I enjoy. “Wolves of the Sea” is a good example, and my favorite song.

Mind mapping is something that I never thought would help me brainstorm, but recently I’ve been planning projects with this process. I’m starting to believe that it helps the flow of thinking better than what I have been doing, which is making lists. This is very progressive for me because making lists on the computer have become useless. A great online app is MindMeister, but hopefully I can switch to a desktop app like Mind Manager. There are a few free apps but Mind Manager nicer design.

MacBook Pro

Christopher — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:18:59 +0000

This past weekend I replaced my PowerBook G4 with the updated MacBook Pro; it’s a five year upgrade. I’ve had a good week with it, and I really like everything about it. Just keep in mind that this is a five year jump between Macs.

First of all the case design is amazing; seamless design always is. The glass screen is extremely beautiful. I know some people are complaining about the reflective qualities of it, but I sure don’t care. My reflection is there, but that can be ignored. I haven’t worked on graphic projects yet. Maybe I’ll come across something annoying whenever that happens. I’ve only been working on my coding as of late. Now the new trackpad has a few new things. All the gestures and the fact that there is no physical button make it pretty cool. I’m just glad now that I can scroll windows without having to drag a blue pill.

This is also a jump from Tiger to Leopard OS. I can see the speed bump, but that might be because of the 2.4 GHz. There are changes that I have to get use to. The GUI — not so much; I’ve taken the time to make the Tiger UI look similar. Although, all the applications I’ve been admiring that were Leopard only are now downloaded. My favorite apps so far are: Anxiety (to-do list manager) and Delicious Library 2; I’ve had Delicious Library before, but version 2 is Leopard only.

Another

Christopher — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:49:07 +0000

I’m going to change the design of my site again. The one I have now isn’t working for me anymore. I know it has only been a month, but by the time I’m finished with the new one it will be two months more. Something more graphical is in the works.

Is it really this cold in Houston?

Christopher — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:10:29 +0000

I wanted to check the hurricane in Houston, and this is what I found on the Houston Chronicle weather page:

Reading, writing, and sculpting

Christopher — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 03:48:40 +0000

My first class of the semester was a British Literature class; it was preempted by a fire alarm. It seems like an alright class. I do get to read Beowulf again. The textbook has a different translation than the one I have — night and day different. I did want to read the poem again for fun.

Today was Modern Art History, Sculpture, and Design Seminar. The Modern Art class will be a lot different than the one I took last semester, but then there is also an essay we have to write. Then the test during the third week of class. It may be a bit much; however, the Design Seminar class has an eight page paper that will be due. So it’s a battle of which one will stress me more. The Design Seminar class meets once a week at night; this class is already winning The sculpture class will be my “cool” class of the semester though. I just hope I can do all the work I am imagining.

So basically I have three “history” classes and a studio class. Three of them being reading and writing intensive, and the other being a learning experience. I am now glad I didn’t continue with taking a science course.

Reorganized

Christopher — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:41:03 +0000

I finally got around to upload the reorganized design of my site. I thined elements down and simplified almost everything. It looks a bit too simple; so in the days to come I’ll make more changes. I didn’t have time today to update the work page.