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#i also want to make a cool edit for the legacy 1 year anniversary
buglaur · 1 year
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baby is on the way!
bonus
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only good screenshot i’ve ever taken of an ea baby. still hate them though, they were immediately aged up lol
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groovysaber · 7 months
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EPIC Art Collection (part 1, yes there's more)
I suppose the best way to introduce myself to this site first is an epic recap on all the cool and epic things i have done and made on the internet
so an epic recap of all the things i made, you shall get my friends
Below is a collection of my favorite things i've made over the years, yipper-doo!
This includes alot of FNaF, but also other fandoms which i will add to the tags!
It doesn't include everything, because i want to post some things seperately later
Note: donut steel
Note: All art has been hugely downsized to combat ai scraping, high res versions are on Newgrounds etc!
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FNaF Gang
Here is a moment of silence for all the different art styles i put these animatronics through in one piece This is the first fully colored FNaF piece i ever made!
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Laggle is my LEGACY
This holy and all-mighty creature is from Sandwichingaround, go look at her videos NOW
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Ballora Shall Commence Le Attac
This is a random ballora animation, yay
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BALLEGLA
We all know the amazing and very holy Laggle, but i have come up about a year ago with a new creature of it's kind
The Ballegla!
Ballegla supremacy
Ballegla: https://toyhou.se/22306122.ballegla
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I may have bought a wrong copy of the movie
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An epic halloween SL piece, groovy
This was made for Halloween + FNaF SL's Anniversary!
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deltarune art! how [[BIG SHOT]]!!
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my [[groovy]] glamrock bonnie design from before RUIN came out
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UCN Roster Redraw! (Note: my back disappeared during the making of this, i've gained alot of respect for people who make UCN roster redraws)
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An SB version, with 10 more characters ! (Note: spine dissolved completely after this)
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Fetch art!
Fetch is one of my favorite characters from the FNAF Fazbear Frights books so i've been planning on making this for a while and we're finally here!
(based off of the Fazbear Frights ''Fetch'')
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Cab Driver Foxy at yer service
(drawing based off of the Fazbear Frights ''Room For One More'' and the illustration of cab driver foxy portrayed in Dawko's Video about the story)
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Fazer Blast art redraw!
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Back at it again
spring bonnie commiting arson, as one usually does on a tuesday
(Inspired by the sub urban cirque fnaf short by sandwichingaround)
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Glamrock Walk (Redraw of the SB decals)
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ourple man (Made for a dtiys by _night_0wwl)
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Roxy Racing Decal redraw!
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Cartoon version for my G bonnie design
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experimental art using a different style for FNaF characters (tall roxy real)
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The #NoBeakSquad
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withered bonnie roasting/symphathizing with roxy
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epic doodles
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Happy Easter!
here's some very wholesome easter art, ofcourse
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G'',am,e' O',VE,R I was inspired by this: https://www.deviantart.com/inkbennie/art/SFM-FNAF-Game-Over-856220461 to draw this!
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this is funsized foxy
a demonic entity that lives rent free in my head, and also my house
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HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY FNAF!
This is a redraw of the first Digital FNAF Drawing ever posted onto Crimsonsaber!
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Dark Deception Anniversary art! (mspaint edition) (part 1)
made completely in mspaint yippee (except the coloring)
This is part 1 (yes there's more, help)
part 2 will follow soon after this, yipper-doo
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intrepidguardian · 5 years
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How Design Miscues are Failing Portrayals of Relationships in MTG
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Discourse? Discourse. 
Love is a difficult topic to discuss because it can encompass so many things that aren’t “love” - you know what I mean, the kind of stuff that would get a fanfic tagged as “fluff.” My wife’s and my third anniversary is coming up, and more and more I find myself still learning about what love is. I love the study, but I know that I could fill hundreds of external hard drives with epitaphs and musings about every interaction my wife and I have had, each exemplifying a different aspect of our love and still not get the point across of just how much I love her.
(Btw I love you Ash and thank you for helping me edit this)
So how could you get an idea as complex as love across in the 25 words you’re allowed on your average Magic card? More to the point, why bother portraying love in Magic: The Gathering?
"Players won’t care until they are cards.” - Matt Cavotta, Senior Art Director for Wizards of the Coast, discussing the motivation for implementing Planeswalkers as a card type. 
A few years back, and I’m sorry that I can’t find the actual post, someone asked Mark Rosewater something to the effect of “Red is supposed to be the ‘emotional color,’ yet the only emotion we tend to see out of Red is anger. WTF?”
Mark responded that R&D was working towards showing different aspects of the emotional spectrum in Red, but was hampered by the fact that Magic: The Gathering is a game about fighting and it was difficult to portray anything other than MAD RED in a game about fighting.
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“No, my battlefield only has room for more Goblin Chainwhirlers.” - Solid Snake, probably. 
A little while later, they apparently cracked the love code and printed Cathartic Reunion in Kaladesh, which was meant to portray Chandra finally reuniting with her mother Pia Nalaar, when both thought that the other had died years ago. 
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Shoutout to all my Dredge opponents that keep beating me with four-card hands thanks to this card.
Like yeah, it’s a nice moment and a nice piece of art. It’s not romantic love, but it’s familial love. You can see the love between Chandra and Pia in their embrace, and I think this might be one of the first portrayals of a hug in Magic: The Gathering [someone prove me wrong]. When you only have 25 words to explain love, the art and flavor text can pick up the slack. But mechanically, what is this saying about maternal love, or love in general? Is love just more inherent deck consistency? Is drawing cards the greatest display of love in Magic: The Gathering? Artistically and flavorfully, this card is trying to say a lot. Mechanically, this card could have easily been called “Super Rummage” or “Elicit the Dredge” and no one would be able to tell the difference. This card is trying to show what love is, but without any sort of mechanical tie-in, Cathartic Reunion just tells you what love is. 
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Wow, my opponent loves me A WHOLE LOT!
I would say that the best way to explain love is to show love. And I think the best way to show love is to show people who love each other interact positively with one another. Like, love is hard to explain but is easy to see. When you see two people who love each other interact, you can just tell. Maybe it’s small physical gestures or communication purely through facial expressions, but when love is there, it’s obvious. Yes, the art of Cathartic Reunion clearly shows a tender love between Chandra and Pia, but both Chandra and Pia Nalaar were given cards in Kaladesh! Show us how they interact where we are most likely to see both of them: on the battlefield!
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What are these cards doing for one another when both are on the battlefield? Not a lot. Chandra’s second +1 makes enough mana to use Pia’s first activated ability one additional time. 
That’s cool, I guess.
Pia has a tag-along flying creature that can block for Chandra once, so Pia is essentially two blockers for a planeswalkers.
Yeah, but Whirler Rogue can make a bunch of Thopters to block for Chandra, so what does that mean? There’s no love between Chandra and some random Vedalken just because the three-drop blocks real good. 
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</3
There isn’t any mechanical unity here. Chandra doesn’t care about artifacts, and Pia doesn’t care about card advantage or incidental damage. They can do some things for each other, yes, but there isn’t anything for a deck builder to go “Hmm, how can I maximize this?” It’s the mechanical equivalent of Pia and Chandra getting Amazon gift cards for each other for their birthday - a display of love, but not a particularly meaningful one. 
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Well, here you go. -Chandra
But maybe this isn’t fair. Pia Nalaar’s card maybe wasn’t supposed to work well with Chandra, it was supposed to convey a sense of emptiness from missing Kiran, her husband who had actually been killed. They had been shown on their own card in Magic Origins, which is powerful enough that it hovers around Modern whenever Jund or Grixis are good. Pia’s card is cheaper, but comparatively weaker, and even when you look at the art, Pia Nalaar is significantly dimmer and emptier than the card Pia and Kiran Nalaar.
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“What does Kiran bring to this relationship? DO THE MATH!” -My Grandmother-in-Law, maybe
Maybe before we can show a good example of familial love in card mechanics, we need to show people in love working together on the battlefield! 
So let’s grab some examples. Three couples right now in Magic that people are really talking about are Jace x Vraska, Tomik x Ral Zarek, and Chandra x Nissa. If you wanted to show some cozy couples, what’s cozier than being in a deckbox with your significant other?
Jace x Vraska
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Well, these cards could maybe work together? Not a lot of decks can make two blue mana on turn three and then turn around and make black and green mana on turn six.  
Mana problems aside, they kind of work well together. Jace is looking for creatures to get through combat damage and Vraska makes difficult to block creature tokens thanks to Menace. However, there’s also a cost problem here, which is that Jace wants to come down turn three and Vraska, the muscle of this relationship with all the free blockers, doesn’t come down for another three turns, so Jace has to try and hide behind a Bird that goes away if you look at it too long while Vraska’s trying to get mana together. If you can find a way to get both on the battlefield in the same deck, maybe it works, but it’s a lot of work without a lot of payoff.
Okay, what about a more recent example? Chandra and Nissa both got new cards in War of the Spark and they’re supposed to be canon, so they probably have something going on between their two cards. 
Chandra x Nissa 
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This is a pretty symbiotic relationship - Chandra finds extra cards to cast, and Nissa makes a lot of mana to cast those extra cards and creates blockers so the player has time to do so. It’s the RG formula we see in a lot of ramp decks in this color combination - Green makes the mana, red makes the otherwise-unwieldy payoffs. But much like Chandra’s mechanical relationship with Pia, this doesn’t feel special or unique. Yeah, Chandra finds extra cards, but she also comes into play before Nissa, so there’s a turn of vulnerability where Nissa might arrive too late to actually help Chandra. And anyone could  do that “find extra cards” job. See, look:
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It’s like the dating game, but for really, really sad people
They all can do the same “get extra cards” thing for the player the way Chandra can, and all benefit from the blockers and extra mana that Nissa produces.. Mechanically, there is some synergy between Chandra and Nissa, but there’s nothing that speaks to the relationship between the two characters - it feels more like a convenient coincidence that these two cards work together rather than two people who finally came together when it mattered most. 
Maybe what we need is a mix-up - people represented on different card types could have more design space for synergistic effects. 
Tomik x Ral
So the last pairing is Tomik x Ral. I don’t know if any of you have bought a “Planeswalker Deck,” but a big selling point to those cards for beginners is that there is usually a creature in the deck that benefits from having that deck’s planeswalker in play. They’re flavorful and fun to get out ahead when when you find your planeswalker, but they’ve never been really viable for tournament play. A planeswalker like Ral being in a relationship with a non-planeswalker seems like the perfect fit for creating a competitive-level combination of creature and planeswalker and could really highlight the relationship between Tomik and Ral. 
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Yeah, they didn’t even try with this one. Double white on turn 2 into Red and Blue on turn 4 is already a tall order, but these two cards have entirely separate goals. Tomik, a card designed for Legacy, really wants to hate on his opponents trying to manipulate their lands. 
Ral doesn’t have the word “land” on his card, and is a card designed with card advantage and maybe some combos in mind. 
They’re two totally different cards designed for two totally different decks. I get that. My point is that they shouldn’t be. Wizards clearly knows how to design “planeswalkers matter” creatures, had an opportunity to do so, and instead opted to design a Legacy card to hate out cards that don’t exist in Legacy anymore. 
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You barely even deserve this, WotC.
That last bit was a little dense. I get it, it’s hard to read without caring a lot about flavorful mechanics, but I am trying to get my point across that Wizards had so many opportunities to make cards that could work together and mechanically create a sense of a relationship between characters and repeatedly chose not to, instead prioritizing other design goals. If I’m coming on a little strongly, it is because I know Wizards knows how to do this. In fact, Wizards had the opposite problem to the Chandra x Nissa issue, waaaay back in Battle for Zendikar. 
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“...and the Lord of the Multiverse said to Gideon, “It is not good for a planeswalker to be alone,” and so the Lord created Nissa and brought her to Gideon who jubilantly exclaimed: ‘Voice of my voice! Planeswalker of my heart! I shall call you Nissa, Voice of Zendikar! Together we shall grow plants and make Ally offspring and they shall have dominion over the entire plane of Zendikar!’ And the Lord of the Multiverse saw that it was very good...” -A very tongue-in-cheek quote by Craig Wescoe discussing Nissa, Voice of Zendikar in the upcoming Oath of the Gatewatch set. 
Do you see this? Do you get it? 
These two cards were made for each other. 
There are a lot of similarities between these cards, and because they’re similar, they work well together in a lot of ways, all of which scream “PLAY US IN THE SAME DECK.”
1. Both Planeswalkers make tokens without losing loyalty. 2. Both Planeswalkers have an ability that gets better with more tokens, and can boost each other’s tokens.  3. Nissa curves into Gideon and can help make a safe battlefield for him. 4. Nissa coming down late is still good for Gideon, and she can even boost him with a +1/+1 counter when he’s a creature.  5. Both Planeswalkers have the same naming convention: Planeswalker, Whatever of Zendikar. We’re battling for Zendikar, of course I want Zendikar’s Ally and Zendikar’s Voice!
“But wait!” somebody wanting to say something said. “Two green mana on Turn 3 could be tough, and needing two white mana on turn 4 is even tougher!”
Well, hold on there buckaroo, because have I got the love note in a Magic card for you:
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We didn’t see it, but Gideon planeswalked to a high school on Theros and had a popular girl fold this card up into a little triangle before giving it to Nissa.
This card is the perfect mechanical tie-in for a Nissa x Gideon deck. Card selection has rarely ever been afforded to white decks, and GW token decks have often struggled with getting their mana right to cast their white payoff cards without making room for superfluous mana decks, and even then that might not fix it (just ask Richard Bland about his GW Tokens deck in the Worlds 2011 finals). And as a little bonus, this card can get either Nissa or Gideon or, you know, whatever creatures you wanted, and what color combination was going to have more efficient creatures AND planeswalkers than Green and White Mechanically, these cards work so well together and they look like they’re supposed to work together. 
In fact, this was the core of an incredibly powerful GW Tokens deck that won Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad in the hands of Steve Rubin. 
And when I was younger and looking at this deck for the first time, I thought Wizards would leap at the opportunity to pair these two up. Two reasonably popular planeswalkers paired up together to save a plane and worked really well together when I sleeved them up together? For a time, I was locked in - I thought Nissa x Gideon was going to be canon, and the lead-up to Kaladesh was where we’d see a little fluff between the two, or at the very least some genuine bonding between the flagship planeswalkers of the two colors most-interested in community. Instead, we got this:
Nissa: You’re being a little extra for me.
Gideon: My bad lol. 
I was a little salty about that interaction (mostly because it felt like every color combination in the Gatewatch has had a good or at least interesting interaction, except green and white), but I was down with Nissa x Chandra. It seemed like they had some chemistry in the story, and I was excited to see that chemistry reflected in the cards. Instead, we got a whole lot of nothing, which is infuriating because Wizards knows how to mechanically tie-in planeswalkers. 
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Okay Wizards, here’s your second fifth chance...
So why is all this important? Why go into this deep dive about card mechanics trying to convey something that is decidedly not a mechanic in Magic: the Gathering? 
It’s because love can be expressed in this game’s mechanics, which is really hard in a game about fighting, but also a very unique opportunity. A card can care about what another card is doing, can subtly emulate what another card is doing or how it is presenting, and other cards can tie the two together. That kind of mechanical interlinking has a real-world analogue: a genuine, deep love for another person. Wizards has clearly struggled with the problem of portraying relationships in a way that its multiple player bases will care about and want to play with. The solution to that problem is creating powerful cards that mechanically care about one other and attributing those cards and mechanics to characters that emotionally care about each other in its stories.
Wizards, you clearly know how to do that, so...
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sizzites · 6 years
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Upcoming May Releases
Since it’s May 1st, I felt like it would be fun to talk about some of the awesome games that are coming out this month! There was a huge list of releases this month, so I tried to narrow it down to a couple big releases to keep this post from ruining anyone’s timeline today… so here we go.
Destiny 2: Warmind (5/08/18)
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This is an interesting entry to start with. Personally, I never quite got into the Destiny community, but I know that those of you who did get into this community are quite invested in this game. I’ve also heard from those same players that the release of Destiny 2 has not gone exactly how a lot of you were hoping. Destiny is one of those multiplayer games that is supposed to have longevity and that just hasn’t quite happened for Bungie yet. This expansion that is being released may fix a few of the quirks that people have been less than excited about, but the biggest upside is what happened just recently in Seattle, WA. Bungie recently had a large group of players from the Destiny community in to talk about the future of Destiny. This is out of character for them as a company (they usually take the secretive route with development), but it seems like a good step. They genuinely want to improve Destiny and give it the longevity that players really want. Taking input from the community in this forum would seem to be the best way to course correct and, although all of this may have been too late for the Warmind expansion, I think Destiny is going to be one to watch going forward.
Little Nightmares: Complete Edition (5/18/18)
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Here’s a release I’m very excited about! For those of you who missed this little gem when it was released almost exactly a year ago in April, 2017… it’s time to get back in the loop. Little Nightmares was a brilliant little platforming/puzzling game which captured my heart and never gave it back. I’m a huge fan of horror games, so the foreboding atmosphere of the levels in this game really spoke to me. It’s puzzles ranged from simple puzzles that might take only a minute or two to solve all the way up to some real head scratchers that you might force you to put the controller down and come back later with a fresh mind. All in all, it’s a great little game to have and I’m glad to see all your Switch players out there will soon have the complete edition available to you!
State of Decay 2 (Xbox One & PC, 5/18/18)
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Let me start by saying, I am a huge fan of just about anything involving zombies… the first State of Decay game was fun, but I barely played it enough to really appreciate it. That being said, I am all aboard the hype train for this new game! The fact that this new game veers away from the previous game’s linear sequence of fetch quests and fights by introducing a more open world concept is very exciting, in my opinion. I’m also excited for some newer methods of zombie slaying… I’ve seen videos of everything from exotic weapons to mowing down Z’s in a 4-door sedan. It seems like this game is going to be a playable mashup of the movie Zombieland and GTA. The community building aspect of this game is another thing to look forward to. The need to upgrade skills, weapons, and housing for an ever-growing community brings a level of realism to this game. I’m interested to see how it pans out because the characters in your community are not only playable, but they can die permanently… Sorry, Sally, didn’t plan that raid out very well! I absolutely can’t wait to play this (and maybe get my hands a little dirty cleaning up the Z’s) and I’m thinking a lot of you are just as excited!
Mega Man Legacy Collection (5/22/18)
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This release will be a cool nostalgia trip for a lot of you! The Megan Man Legacy Collection is going to include the first six installments in the series along with some extra goodies. Now, this has already been out for quite some time on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo’s 3DS… but it’s finally making its way to the Switch for those of you who have been so patiently awaiting its arrival! The updated 16-bit graphics are great and this collection is a terrific addition to any gamer’s library. Even if your console or PC version is already out, make sure you snag this collection!
Runner 3 (Switch & PC, 5/22/18)
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Runner is one of those addicting side scrolling games that you just can’t get enough of. It seems too simplistic until you suddenly realize you’ve been rage-playing this game for hours on end! The newest installment is coming out for Switch and PC gamers later this month. If you’ve never played one of these games before, I highly recommend picking up a copy of the new release… unless you can’t wait that long and then the older releases are just as great! This game provides endless hours of fun as you sprint through a variety of levels with interesting little tasks and collectibles along your path. Developers Choice Provisions have done a phenomenal job with these games in the past and I have no qualms over assuming they’ll deliver again with Runner 3!
Dark Soul Remastered (5/25/18)
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This is a big release for all those of you much more skilled than myself. The remastered Dark Souls game is to be released on PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC this month and it’s tempting even to a talent-less game n00b like myself for the updated graphics alone. This is one of those iconic games that was not only beautiful, but extremely difficult. Dark Souls is known for being completely unapologetic and unrelenting and you’ll likely be finding yourself stubbornly refusing to give up or rage quitting with this game. If you enjoy a challenge, this is definitely a title worth picking up at the end of the month!
Detroit: Become Human (PlayStation exclusive, 5/25/18)
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This is probably the game I am most excited about on this list. I have always been a huge fan of games which force you to make game altering decisions throughout their story. After playing the short demo for this game multiple times (I NEEDED to know what all the possible endings were), I was already more than hooked. The graphics are phenomenal, the voice acting is spectacular, and the tension this game can build throughout scenarios is unlike any other game I’ve ever played. In fact, I think that’s the most important piece to mention here. The weight of the decisions you make causes them to genuinely feel like they matter (at least in the free demo). I was a huge fan of Until Dawn because of the choices available and how they affected your story along with clues you needed to discover, but this game takes that concept to a whole new level and somehow just feels… different. This is one of those games I’ll be rushing out to bring home right away… and possibly having to call off sick from work the next day to keep playing.
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection (5/29/18)
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As you’ve probably noticed, May is a month full or rereleases and special collector’s editions, but this is probably the biggest nostalgia moment of them all! Street Fighter is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a BANG by releasing this collection on all the modern platforms (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC). Personally, I never owned one of these games, but they have always been my go to choices whenever I find myself in an arcade with a handful of quarters and nowhere to be. Street Fighter has always had a fun solo/story mode, but the best way to play is (and always will be) with friends! So, when you grab this game, which I know a lot of you will, make sure you’re not forgetting to set aside some time to play against friends and strangers alike in the online multiplayer mode!
So that’s my list of upcoming releases this month! Like I mentioned before, there are TONS of games coming out this month… so what are you excited for? Let’s chat in the comments! As always, don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe and thanks for stopping by!
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wineanddinosaur · 3 years
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From Mixologist to Master Taster, Old Forester’s Jackie Zykan Is Officially a Major Name in Bourbon
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Old Forester master taster Jackie Zykan became a household name earlier this year — albeit in a literal sense.
When the brand released the first expression of its highly coveted 117 Series “High Angels’ Share” in March 2021, Zykan etched her name in history by having her signature on the label. The unique packaging design also meant Zykan’s name would soon populate whiskey collections up and down the country — or at least, those of enthusiasts who were lucky enough to get their hands on the limited-edition run.
Any exploration of Zykan’s career cannot ignore that she is among the small number of women to hold a high-profile role in bourbon, an industry that has has a long legacy of male founders, owners, and master distillers. In fact, hers is the first name to adorn an Old Forester label that doesn’t belong to a man. But focusing on the historic nature of her signature on the 117 Series bottle risks distracting from the whiskey inside, and from her growing force within bourbon as a whole.
While the 117 Series is the first Old Forester release to be solely directed by Zykan, it is not the first expression she has had a hand in that had an impact on the bourbon world. Last year, she worked alongside master distiller Chris Morris to comprise three separate blends from 150 barrels for the Old Forester 150th Anniversary Bourbon. Released with a suggested retail price of $150, bottles quickly became collectors’ items and now command four or five times as much in retail channels (and even more in illegal online marketplaces). During the pandemic, Zykan also spearheaded Old Forester’s Master Tasters selection, a popular program that saw single-barrel releases sold for curbside pickup, with a portion of proceeds donated to charities in Louisville.
In a recent virtual sit-down with VinePair, Zykan discussed the singular nature of her role as a master taster; how her previous professional endeavours have led to more “resistance” in the whiskey industry than her gender; and what exactly the release of the 117 Series means to her.
[Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]
1. Your official title at Old Forester is “Master Taster.” Can you explain what that role entails and how it differs from a master distiller or a master blender?
As it stands right now, my job focuses more on the post-maturation side of things than the pre-maturation side. I take what’s already been laid down and then decide what to do with it from that point forward. There is no clear-cut, industry-standard definition for master taster. My role, in particular, is half production and half global marketing.
New product development also comes through me. I’m transitioning more into the master blender side, but the main difference between my role and a master blender is the authority to make decisions on certain things. Right now, I’m still working very much hand-in-hand with Chris Morris on a lot of our projects, especially things that he started before I was with the brand. I do lead our single-barrel inventory, though, and programs like the 117 Series and President’s Choice. Every day, I’m getting more involved in projects and taking over Old Forester — whether they want me to or not, I’m doing it.
2. You studied biology and chemistry, then later worked in mixology. How do those different fields inform and help your day-to-day work?
The science education background has been crucial not just to my own understanding of our processes, but also to be able to communicate with a variety of audiences. We’re never just talking to whiskey nerds or bartenders, or the random consumer that only drinks vodka and wants to switch over. The audiences are very diverse. When it comes to new product development, the science background also helps to understand what’s going on from a molecular standpoint, and how to curate different whiskey flavor profiles.
The mixology part is interesting because, while I can’t speak for our competitors, I think I’m the only master taster [Old Forester parent company] Brown-Forman has ever had that has actual experience in the bar industry. Knowing what we can and should be doing with cocktails adds another layer of being able to connect with potential consumers.
3. What trends do you see leading bourbon right now, whether from a “purist” standpoint or the broader market in general?
Different perspectives will give you different answers on this. I think we’re still in the midst of the high-proof movement, and we definitely see that translate into what moves in our portfolio. I wouldn’t say that’s a new thing, and I think there’s a lot behind the high-proof whiskey surge. People get acclimated to the category and realize, “Oh, I actually am not afraid of the taste of this brown spirit.” Then, it’s not enough to just be able to drink bourbon, you have to drink the biggest bourbon and the most expensive bourbon. For somebody that has access to barrel-strength liquid and chooses to not drink it on a regular basis, the race to see who can consume the highest percentage of alcohol is fascinating. Back in the day, nobody was searching for Bacardi 151. Now people wait in line for it.
[Another trend is] single barrels. They’re all very unique, and they’re not replicable; I think the snowflake appeal is a huge part of it. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from retailers that I’ve done tastings with in recent weeks that want to come to the distillery for single-barrel selection. They don’t want to grab the core stuff anymore.
[We’re also seeing] people play around with mash bills — and you’re always going to see that until people realize that novelty is not sustainable. It’s nice to have fun every now and then, but making sure that you are transparent about your process and doing things from a quality standpoint is timeless.
4. We are around two decades into a “bourbon boom,” the likes of which we have probably never seen before. What can producers such as Old Forester do to ensure that bourbon never goes the way of vodka, which still enjoys incredible sales but doesn’t quite have the cachet that it once did?
There’s a lot of interesting things to unpack here but I [should first say] we are very grateful for the boom. People such as myself have amazing jobs with great brands because of it.
I was once told that alcohol trends go through 30-year cycles, so if we really are in the second decade of this, that would mean that we would start to see the decline soon. The thing is, in the U.S. especially, we’re so much closer to the trend, so the boom seems much bigger to us than it is on a global level. It is creeping into global markets now, and we are seeing a lot more movement out there, but I think that there’s still a lot of opportunity for growth until we get to a point of saturation and exhaustion.
[When] other markets further from home (and maybe less regulated) start catching wind, that’s when we risk compromises to the category. I think we are in for a fight that most people probably haven’t anticipated, trying to [enforce] more rigid regulations, especially in more global markets.
We definitely don’t see [the boom] fizzling out any time soon and, fingers crossed, we hope it doesn’t. It’s not like the vodka industry where you can just pluck a flavor off a tree and you have a new product. We’re sitting on inventory and hoping for the best.
5. What is the most exciting time of the year for you in your role, and what do you look forward to most on the bourbon calendar throughout the year?
It used to be that you had the “busy” seasons: September is always busy because of [the annual release of] Birthday Bourbon, and it’s Bourbon Heritage Month. And when the weather starts cooling down in general, you start to see more interest in aged spirits. That is just not the case anymore. It’s a year-round season that does not slow down. From my perspective, Derby season is always equally as chaotic as it is enjoyable; very media-heavy and very taxing. It‘s full-throttle but these are great problems to have.
6. Can you describe how having your signature on the 117 Series felt for yourself, and what it might mean for other women wishing to follow in your footsteps in the bourbon industry?
It’s still surreal, to be honest, and I forget that my name is on the thing. It wasn’t my idea; it was brought up when we were doing label design for the series and [Old Forester president and managing director] Campbell Brown said, “It’s time to give credit where credit is due.”
I think it’s a big deal as far as normalizing [women in] an industry that was, and still is, very male-dominated. I never set out to do that; I didn’t grow up to one day to show them that girls like whiskey, too. More often than not, though, I feel resistance in the whiskey category not from being a woman, but from having a background behind the bar. You get categorized as “once a bartender, always a bartender.” Not a lot of people in roles like mine have that background, as I mentioned earlier. A lot of them either have family members that got them into the business or they have marketing degrees, which I do not. I feel more “black sheep-ish” — if I can use that term — from that sense, rather than from being a woman.
While it is surreal, I will say that when that product came out, it was very nerve-racking. It set the stage for what I’m going to do from this point forward in my career. If I didn’t get it right, it would be a constant fight against the current, trying to prove myself. If I came out of the gate with something solid that people embraced, it would be more smooth-sailing. I’m very happy that the series was well received because that gives me a lot less stress for the next expressions. I know they won’t be all home runs — and that’s OK. It started with a really good one that’s near and dear to my heart.
7. I’ve read that your preferred pour for the 117 Series is over ice to enjoy it over time. That seems to speak to your background in mixology versus pure distillation, especially as some “purists” might raise their eyebrows at that?
I’ve definitely gotten mixed feedback on that since we released the series. I could have bottled it at a higher or lower proof and I would still say, add water to it. The idea remains that when you have barrels that have such concentrated flavor to them, it’s an experience. It’s not taking a sip and then going on with your day. It’s a sit-down, share-it, and talk-about-it whiskey. The moment of whiskey is just as important as the actual liquid itself. It’s a ritual. I didn’t want to shortchange that by going ahead and skipping to the good parts. Letting people explore with it was really part of the intention.
The article From Mixologist to Master Taster, Old Forester’s Jackie Zykan Is Officially a Major Name in Bourbon appeared first on VinePair.
source https://vinepair.com/articles/jackie-zykan-old-forester-bourbon/
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johnboothus · 3 years
Text
From Mixologist to Master Taster Old Foresters Jackie Zykan Is Officially a Major Name in Bourbon
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Old Forester master taster Jackie Zykan became a household name earlier this year — albeit in a literal sense.
When the brand released the first expression of its highly coveted 117 Series “High Angels’ Share” in March 2021, Zykan etched her name in history by having her signature on the label. The unique packaging design also meant Zykan’s name would soon populate whiskey collections up and down the country — or at least, those of enthusiasts who were lucky enough to get their hands on the limited-edition run.
Any exploration of Zykan’s career cannot ignore that she is among the small number of women to hold a high-profile role in bourbon, an industry that has has a long legacy of male founders, owners, and master distillers. In fact, hers is the first name to adorn an Old Forester label that doesn’t belong to a man. But focusing on the historic nature of her signature on the 117 Series bottle risks distracting from the whiskey inside, and from her growing force within bourbon as a whole.
While the 117 Series is the first Old Forester release to be solely directed by Zykan, it is not the first expression she has had a hand in that had an impact on the bourbon world. Last year, she worked alongside master distiller Chris Morris to comprise three separate blends from 150 barrels for the Old Forester 150th Anniversary Bourbon. Released with a suggested retail price of $150, bottles quickly became collectors’ items and now command four or five times as much in retail channels (and even more in illegal online marketplaces). During the pandemic, Zykan also spearheaded Old Forester’s Master Tasters selection, a popular program that saw single-barrel releases sold for curbside pickup, with a portion of proceeds donated to charities in Louisville.
In a recent virtual sit-down with VinePair, Zykan discussed the singular nature of her role as a master taster; how her previous professional endeavours have led to more “resistance” in the whiskey industry than her gender; and what exactly the release of the 117 Series means to her.
[Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]
1. Your official title at Old Forester is “Master Taster.” Can you explain what that role entails and how it differs from a master distiller or a master blender?
As it stands right now, my job focuses more on the post-maturation side of things than the pre-maturation side. I take what’s already been laid down and then decide what to do with it from that point forward. There is no clear-cut, industry-standard definition for master taster. My role, in particular, is half production and half global marketing.
New product development also comes through me. I’m transitioning more into the master blender side, but the main difference between my role and a master blender is the authority to make decisions on certain things. Right now, I’m still working very much hand-in-hand with Chris Morris on a lot of our projects, especially things that he started before I was with the brand. I do lead our single-barrel inventory, though, and programs like the 117 Series and President’s Choice. Every day, I’m getting more involved in projects and taking over Old Forester — whether they want me to or not, I’m doing it.
2. You studied biology and chemistry, then later worked in mixology. How do those different fields inform and help your day-to-day work?
The science education background has been crucial not just to my own understanding of our processes, but also to be able to communicate with a variety of audiences. We’re never just talking to whiskey nerds or bartenders, or the random consumer that only drinks vodka and wants to switch over. The audiences are very diverse. When it comes to new product development, the science background also helps to understand what’s going on from a molecular standpoint, and how to curate different whiskey flavor profiles.
The mixology part is interesting because, while I can’t speak for our competitors, I think I’m the only master taster [Old Forester parent company] Brown-Forman has ever had that has actual experience in the bar industry. Knowing what we can and should be doing with cocktails adds another layer of being able to connect with potential consumers.
3. What trends do you see leading bourbon right now, whether from a “purist” standpoint or the broader market in general?
Different perspectives will give you different answers on this. I think we’re still in the midst of the high-proof movement, and we definitely see that translate into what moves in our portfolio. I wouldn’t say that’s a new thing, and I think there’s a lot behind the high-proof whiskey surge. People get acclimated to the category and realize, “Oh, I actually am not afraid of the taste of this brown spirit.” Then, it’s not enough to just be able to drink bourbon, you have to drink the biggest bourbon and the most expensive bourbon. For somebody that has access to barrel-strength liquid and chooses to not drink it on a regular basis, the race to see who can consume the highest percentage of alcohol is fascinating. Back in the day, nobody was searching for Bacardi 151. Now people wait in line for it.
[Another trend is] single barrels. They’re all very unique, and they’re not replicable; I think the snowflake appeal is a huge part of it. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from retailers that I’ve done tastings with in recent weeks that want to come to the distillery for single-barrel selection. They don’t want to grab the core stuff anymore.
[We’re also seeing] people play around with mash bills — and you’re always going to see that until people realize that novelty is not sustainable. It’s nice to have fun every now and then, but making sure that you are transparent about your process and doing things from a quality standpoint is timeless.
4. We are around two decades into a “bourbon boom,” the likes of which we have probably never seen before. What can producers such as Old Forester do to ensure that bourbon never goes the way of vodka, which still enjoys incredible sales but doesn’t quite have the cachet that it once did?
There’s a lot of interesting things to unpack here but I [should first say] we are very grateful for the boom. People such as myself have amazing jobs with great brands because of it.
I was once told that alcohol trends go through 30-year cycles, so if we really are in the second decade of this, that would mean that we would start to see the decline soon. The thing is, in the U.S. especially, we’re so much closer to the trend, so the boom seems much bigger to us than it is on a global level. It is creeping into global markets now, and we are seeing a lot more movement out there, but I think that there’s still a lot of opportunity for growth until we get to a point of saturation and exhaustion.
[When] other markets further from home (and maybe less regulated) start catching wind, that’s when we risk compromises to the category. I think we are in for a fight that most people probably haven’t anticipated, trying to [enforce] more rigid regulations, especially in more global markets.
We definitely don’t see [the boom] fizzling out any time soon and, fingers crossed, we hope it doesn’t. It’s not like the vodka industry where you can just pluck a flavor off a tree and you have a new product. We’re sitting on inventory and hoping for the best.
5. What is the most exciting time of the year for you in your role, and what do you look forward to most on the bourbon calendar throughout the year?
It used to be that you had the “busy” seasons: September is always busy because of [the annual release of] Birthday Bourbon, and it’s Bourbon Heritage Month. And when the weather starts cooling down in general, you start to see more interest in aged spirits. That is just not the case anymore. It’s a year-round season that does not slow down. From my perspective, Derby season is always equally as chaotic as it is enjoyable; very media-heavy and very taxing. It‘s full-throttle but these are great problems to have.
6. Can you describe how having your signature on the 117 Series felt for yourself, and what it might mean for other women wishing to follow in your footsteps in the bourbon industry?
It’s still surreal, to be honest, and I forget that my name is on the thing. It wasn’t my idea; it was brought up when we were doing label design for the series and [Old Forester president and managing director] Campbell Brown said, “It’s time to give credit where credit is due.”
I think it’s a big deal as far as normalizing [women in] an industry that was, and still is, very male-dominated. I never set out to do that; I didn’t grow up to one day to show them that girls like whiskey, too. More often than not, though, I feel resistance in the whiskey category not from being a woman, but from having a background behind the bar. You get categorized as “once a bartender, always a bartender.” Not a lot of people in roles like mine have that background, as I mentioned earlier. A lot of them either have family members that got them into the business or they have marketing degrees, which I do not. I feel more “black sheep-ish” — if I can use that term — from that sense, rather than from being a woman.
While it is surreal, I will say that when that product came out, it was very nerve-racking. It set the stage for what I’m going to do from this point forward in my career. If I didn’t get it right, it would be a constant fight against the current, trying to prove myself. If I came out of the gate with something solid that people embraced, it would be more smooth-sailing. I’m very happy that the series was well received because that gives me a lot less stress for the next expressions. I know they won’t be all home runs — and that’s OK. It started with a really good one that’s near and dear to my heart.
7. I’ve read that your preferred pour for the 117 Series is over ice to enjoy it over time. That seems to speak to your background in mixology versus pure distillation, especially as some “purists” might raise their eyebrows at that?
I’ve definitely gotten mixed feedback on that since we released the series. I could have bottled it at a higher or lower proof and I would still say, add water to it. The idea remains that when you have barrels that have such concentrated flavor to them, it’s an experience. It’s not taking a sip and then going on with your day. It’s a sit-down, share-it, and talk-about-it whiskey. The moment of whiskey is just as important as the actual liquid itself. It’s a ritual. I didn’t want to shortchange that by going ahead and skipping to the good parts. Letting people explore with it was really part of the intention.
The article From Mixologist to Master Taster, Old Forester’s Jackie Zykan Is Officially a Major Name in Bourbon appeared first on VinePair.
Via https://vinepair.com/articles/jackie-zykan-old-forester-bourbon/
source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/from-mixologist-to-master-taster-old-foresters-jackie-zykan-is-officially-a-major-name-in-bourbon
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I was tagged by @eternallydaydreaming2015 to pick my five favorite fics I’ve written in the past year. ^_^ Thanks! :D
I did a fair amount of fics this year, and choosing five isn’t easy but I was able to narrow it down.
Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 favorite works you’ve created this year (fics, art, edits, etc!) and link them below (say why if you want) to reflect on the amazing things you’ve brought into the world in 2017. Tag as many writers/artists/etc as you want (fan or original!) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works. <3
1: Prompto and the Three Little Clones. 
This is one of my favorite little AU’s I’ve created. Before Episode Prompto came out and confirmed cloning as a thing in the FF XV universe, I’d theorized that this was actually a thing and was trying to get a fic put together where a clone of Noctis existed. Following this first fic, four others exist with two endings to the third sequel (I was doing alternate endings before Episode Ignis made it cool!). 
2: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow.
This, like Prompto and the Three Little Clones, comes from a particular fic idea I couldn’t quite wrangle into submission, but, unlike P&tTLC, that fic never behaved enough for me to get in place even after other DLC came out with more story content. So, I took my favorite (most painful) part of that fic and made it into a one shot. I might revisit this AU in the future.
3: Make the Clock Reverse.
A fix it fic that was pure self-indulgence. I wrote this in early 2017 but didn’t get around to posting it until November, in time for the 1 Year anniversary. This wasn’t the first Fix-it fic I wrote, but the only one I finished and posted. Out of it came a new OC I adore, who will appear in other fics as well as a cast of next gen OC’s I’ll probably use in other fics. It’s fun and it also uses time travel and time loops in a way I hope actually makes sense.
4:Through the Eyes of a Child. 
This fic is tied for my number one favorite fic I wrote this past year. I was inspired by a couple comics I saw floating around tumblr dealing with Noctis getting chibi-fied and the fact I adore 8-y-o Noctis from the Platinum Demo. It’s temporarily on a hiatus but I do have the last few chapters outlined. I just...can’t make myself write them.
5: Lucis Filium Alterum.
My multi-chapter KH/FF XV crossover. Lots of ups and downs with this fic and other things from outside the fic....Anyway, it’s mostly fun to write.  The title is Latin because if I used my working title, a plot twist I had planned from the start would be been a lot more obvious. Like Through the Eyes of a Child I do have this outlined through the end, but in light of some Episode Ignis information, I have some re-writing to do with my next chapter.
Bonus fics:
My Heretic Legacy Series. 
A sort of twisted AU with a lot of possibilities I can play with. Featuring: Aulea Lucis Caelum as Ardyn’s daughter, her mother as black magic witch, and Aulea having Lucii powers.
Tagging: @peachdoxie & @jazztastic-panda
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dawnajaynes32 · 5 years
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Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, and Seeking Justice with Design
How can my work make an impact? If you’re a designer, you probably ask yourself that very question, wanting to create unforgettable design experiences, moving people to act, creating change. In-house designers at The Southern Poverty Law Center do those things on a daily basis, designing award-winning work, making the complex understandable, and educating the masses. Their designs are so significant that not only do they impact their audiences, but they also impact the in-house designers who create the work.
Photo from left to right: Alex Trott, designer; Sunny Paulk, designer; Hillary Andrews, designer; Cierra Brinson, designer; Shannon Anderson, designer; Russell Estes, design director; Angela Greer, design assistant; Scott Phillips, senior designer; Kristina Turner, senior designer; Michelle Leland, senior designer; photo courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Located in Montgomery, Alabama, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a nonprofit organization with an in-house team that designs materials for litigation, legislative advocacy, and public education, all of which are tools for change according to former SPLC staffer Valerie Downes. She joined the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2000, working there until June 2018. “My experience was so rich and layered,” she said. The content they work with and the designs they create make it rich and layered. “The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.” That mission, clearly stated on their website is monumental in scope, so it’s hard to imagine a small team taking on that work. But in 2000, Downes was brought on as just the third designer, originally working on direct mail for development and fundraising endeavors. Since the SPLC is driven entirely by donations, that work carried a lot of weight, and continues to do so.
The Civil Rights Memorial, as showcased on the SPLC website, the Memorial is located on the south side of their office building, putting history all around them, “in a very physical sense,” according to former SPLC designer Valerie Downes.
But the team has grown over the years, led by Russell Estes, SPLC’s design director. Estes joined in 1996 on the 1-year anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building attack. Estes has many roles, all of which he takes on with enthusiasm. “In my role as design director, I’m involved with hosting events for our supporters. When you meet the person who’s been giving $20 a month for 40 years, you can’t help but be moved by their dedication. It drives home the power of the work and our responsibility to the communities we work in. And when you’re able to contribute to projects that make a real difference in people’s lives, you realize the value of where you work. It makes you want to deepen your understanding of the issues so your work can be even more effective.” Estes will celebrate twenty-three years with SPLC in April 2019.
Cover, Immigrant Family Preparedness, A Guide for Georgia Families
During her own tenure, Downes moved up the ranks, promoted to senior designer in 2005 and then deputy design director in 2017. Although she left the organization in 2018 to bicycle the TransAmerica Trail—from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA—Downes still works as a freelance designer and art director. She is no longer designing for the SPLC, but focuses on personal projects and select freelance assignments. Reflecting on the work she created with the SPLC, and the recognition her and her colleagues have received, Downes said, “Awards are nice and getting recognized by your peers is an honor, but the mission is the most important part.”
Typography and image come together to create an important call to action, exemplified in the campaign to get college students to vote in 2018. Their social media channels such as Instagram reinforce the importance of these and other issues.
            View this post on Instagram
                        A post shared by Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) on Oct 6, 2018 at 6:28am PDT
Opportunities Born Out of Necessity
And what a mission it is. SPLC designers tell human stories, according to Downes, “those of detained immigrants separated from their families, of incarcerated individuals without access to health care, of victims of bigotry and hate along with those rallying against it, of educators in classrooms across the nation.” Downes sees a majority of the design used for educational purposes, as well as law enforcement, law makers, the general public, and donors, whom she says make all of the work possible. It’s a privilege to call yourself a designer at the SPLC because the work makes an impact. And there’s so much work to do that designers get the chance to frequently spread their wings.
One of the benefits of working in-house at SPLC—and really, working in-house anywhere—is having the opportunity to cross-train. Want to work on video? Design a website? Tackle social media? Do claymation? It’s all possible, and in fact, Downes did some claymation while at SPLC, crediting Estes for that opportunity and all of the others she experienced. “Any given day or week I could be working on a combination of trial demonstratives, special publications, an issue of the magazine, postcards, posters, presentations, image shares, filming interviews, editing video, or shooting portraits. This goes for any and all members of the design team. And the entire staff leans on one another, relies on one another. Although individuals manage their own projects, we are in constant dialogue with one another. As the Design Director, Russell has always encouraged us to expand our skill set… to anchor all of our design work with solid typography and then jump off from there.”
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youtube
When asked about inspiration, Estes cited Edward Tufte, and took time to explain how type plays an instrumental role in their work. “Good typography is our secret weapon, but the imagery and graphic elements are what bring our message home. Images are so important to our storytelling. Clean type and design makes it all accessible. Or course, it all starts with good, compelling content. We’re also fortunate to have relationships with award-winning illustrators and photographers who help visualize our message.”
Publications that educate readers about tolerance, teaching challenging subjects, and confronting hate (photographed by Jason Tselentis).
Clarity and content matter a lot to Estes, but even before they begin the actual design, they identify the story they’re trying to tell. “When we present information, we strive to present it with clarity because good design can be the catalyst that compels the public to understand and care about an issue.” So how do those issues get assigned? Do SPLC designers get to choose where they work, on what content? Teamwork plays a big role, as Estes explained, “Everyone on the design team is paired with an internal department or practice group whose work they support and whose subject matter they specialize in. But we also cross over and collaborate on projects such as Teaching Tolerance magazine and the Intelligence Report. We’re always trying to figure out cool new ways to tell stories. The claymation video was one example of how we were able to illustrate a complex topic like intersectionality; we also used animation for a video on confirmation bias. These choices are organic and usually borne out of necessity. With such abstract topics, we don’t have any footage or images to work with, so we have to decide how to best tell each story.”
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Many Design Opportunities, Many Privileges
Sometimes, the best way to tell a story is with clay. Or maybe it’s print design. Video and social media also factor in from time to time. When faced with the decision to work in-house, designers might see it as a place where you’ll always work with the same content, the same client. How might Estes convince somebody to come work in-house at SPLC, especially when they might have reservations about being “trapped” in-house? “From my experience, being in-house has been extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Some of the advantage is a function of working at SPLC due to the variety of communications channels and topics we engage. We work with educators, attorneys, investigators and journalists—all in-house. We’ve also moved from the print world into digital, video, podcasts, etc., and we’re always experimenting with new platforms and media. We’ve historically been a small staff, so it’s been necessary at times to flex and re-invent ourselves to work on these different kinds of projects and find the best visual solutions to storytelling challenges. That—and the nature of the work itself—has kept us fresh, and that’s needed now more than ever.”
The team designs materials for a range of media, including but not limited to print, web, and video, helping to push educational assets, such as Teaching Hard History, through a number of channels.
When Downes first came on board, one of the first projects that she worked on outside of fundraising and development was for Teaching Tolerance, a project providing free classroom materials to educators across the country. ”A film kit called Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks was in development in 2001 and I was tasked with photographing participants from the Montgomery Bus Boycott along with their family members from subsequent generations. It was incredibly powerful to hear the stories, to witness the stories shared with grandchildren. I don’t even think the images made it into the final film, but it was a great privilege to share such an intimate space for a day or two with these brave individuals—I knew in that moment that SPLC was the place I wanted to be for years to come.” In 2005, Downes worked on another Teaching Tolerance film kit about human rights activist and Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein. She called it an awesome opportunity. “I flew out to her home and spent the day photographing her personal family documents (items that miraculously survived the Holocaust) and hearing her stories. She is such a generous, wise and loving person—I’ll never forget the experience.”
Although she’s no longer a full-time member of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the time Downes spent with the organization made a lasting impact, one she fondly remembers, and will always keep close to her heart. “When you’ve spent the last 18 years designing while engaged in conversations about race, economic justice, and gender equality, you walk away from the experience with a desire to utilize design to continue the conversation—and being better for it.”
Designs by the Southern Poverty Law Center, created by the dedication of many hardworking people.
The post Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, and Seeking Justice with Design appeared first on HOW Design.
Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, and Seeking Justice with Design syndicated post
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tiresomeappendi10 · 6 years
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Nintendo Download: 31st May (North America)
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It's the time of the week yet again as the Nintendo Download update brings in all manner of fresh games and other virtual delights to an eShop near you. As mentioned through the biggest programmer team with regard to .This week we've got something for everyone, ranging from Switch indies to 3DS titles and Wii U oddities. As always, drop a vote in the poll and leave a comment below with your potential purchases. Switch eShop Pokmon Quest (Nintendo, Free) - Set off for adventure in the Pokmon Quest game. Venture out with your Pokmon buddies on expeditions across Tumblecube Island in search of loot in this free-to-start action-adventure for the Nintendo Switch system. Modify your Pokmon buddies with discovered Power Stones to make your ultimate expedition team. Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection (Capcom, $39.99) - Celebrate Street Fighter's historic legacy with the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. In this massive collection of 12 Street Fighter titles, which encompass the Street Fighter I, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter III and Street Fighter Alpha series, perfect arcade balance makes it to consoles for the first time ever. Hop online and relive the arcade experience through the online Arcade Mode or play with friends in the online lobby within four of the most definitive Street Fighter titles in the collection. Yoku's Island Express (Team17, $19.99) - Meet Yoku, the pint-sized postman protagonist of Yoku's Island Express! Yoku has arrived on Mokumana and hes ready for the easy life, soaking up the sun and delivering parcels on a tropical paradise! Read our review. ACA NEOGEO NINJA COMBAT (HAMSTER, $7.99) - "NINJA COMBAT" is an action game released in 1990 by SNK. In order to defeat the evil ninja clan KAGE ICHIZOKU, justice-seeking ninjas head towards the NINJA TOWER. Enjoy battling with a wide array of weapons and ninja magic as well as the ability for a friend to join the action. Defoliation (COSEN, $9.99) - It all starts from searching the house. The player can solve puzzles or look for hints for solving them, by touching the screen or moving the mouse pointer to click on the places they want to search. There are various tricks in the house, and you can move forward as you solve the puzzles along the way. You can also master the use of items to increase the chance of discovering unexpected breakthroughs. Click the Hint Button when you are stuck. It may give you hints about what you may have missed in the screen. ICEY (X.D. Network, $9.99) - ICEY is a 2D side-scrolling action game. As you follow the narrator's omnipresent voice, you will see through ICEY's eyes and learn the truth about her world. Johnny Turbo's Arcade Joe and Mac Caveman Ninja (FTE Games , $6.99) - Grab your club and get ready to go on a wild, prehistoric adventure with the Cavemen Ninjas - Joe & Mac! Help Joe and Mac, two cavemen who fight against enemy cavemen and dinosaurs using prehistoric weapons. Just Shapes and Beats (Berzerk Studio , $19.99) - "Just Shapes & Beats" is a chaotic co-op musical bullet-hell based on three simple things: avoid Shapes, move to the rad Beats, and die, repeatedly. Its a new spin on SHMUPs, adding a layer of coop that's at the core of the game: 'cause everything is better with friends. Lost Sea (eastasiasoft, $9.99) - After a freak storm over the Atlantic, you find yourself stranded on the shores of a mysterious island. Do you have what it takes to escape the Lost Sea? Pirate Pop Plus (13AM Games, $4.99) - Join Pete Jr on his quest to defeat the nefarious Bubble Pirate, an evil villain who has trapped the innocent townsfolk in bubbles! Dodge and pop bubbles with your anchor while collecting power-ups and managing Bubble Pirate's constant gravity-switching mischief! Quad Fighter K (Aksys Games, $7.99) - In the far distant future, a mysterious alien race set its sights on nothing less than the conquest of the Earth and the total annihilation of the human race. To counteract this threat the nations of Earth formed the EDC (Earth Defense Corps) and launched an all-out counter attack. Despite humanity's best efforts, the alien invaders superior technology proved too much to overcome and they took over most of the planet. Smoke And Sacrifice (Curve Digital , $19.99) - Smoke and Sacrifice sees Sachi, a mother forced to give up her son, adventure into a grotesque underworld on a quest that will lead her to a darker truth. Read our review. West of Loathing (Asymmetric, $11.00) - West of Loathing is a single-player slapstick comedy adventure role-playing game set in the wild west of the Kingdom of Loathing universe. Traverse snake-infested gulches, punch skeletons wearing cowboy hats, grapple with demon cows, and investigate a wide variety of disgusting spittoons. World Soccer Pinball (EnjoyUp Games , $1.99) - Enjoy World Soccer Pinball, a perfect reproduction of a real pinball machine, with all the graphic details and sounds. Discover all the secrets, complete all the missions and become number 1 in the world or the best among your Friends, posting your high score on the online leaderboard. Yesterday Origins (Microds, $29.99) - Join immortals John Yesterday and Pauline Petit in Yesterday Origins, and experience an epic adventure through time and across the world in a story full of intrigue and unexpected twists. Them Bombs! (Yellow Dot , $9.99) - A text message leads you to a ticking bomb. Tic-toc! Tic-toc! Every second counts. Which wire to cut the blue or the red one? How to set the control knobs? Tic-toc! Tic-toc! Only two minutes left Your flashlight battery runs out. The adrenaline kicks in. Will you keep a cool head and defuse the bomb? Die for Valhalla! (Monster Couch, $9.99) - Die for Valhalla! is an action RPG where you hack, slash and crush your enemies! Possess and take full control of heroes, monsters and other things to help Vikings save their realm! Read our review. Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory (NIS America, $39.99) - Return to the battlefield of Fenumia, where a besieged nation stands on the brink of war. Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition (Natsume , $39.99) - Looking for a fresh start and some new surroundings, you set off on a voyage to begin your new life! Unfortunately, the weather has different plans, as your ship is hit by a storm, and goes down! You drift into a small harbor town, now in shambles from the storm, where a young doctor named Jeanne saves your life. The town has been deserted, but you're never one to back down from a challenge! It will be up to you to help rebuild the town and save the lighthouse...but it won't be easy! Ikaruga (Nicalis, $14.99) - A rebel pilot named Shinra must battle an enemy nation using a specially-designed fighter called the Ikaruga, which can switch between two energy polarities (black or white) at the touch of a button. Bullets that are the same color. If you want further strategies on the subject of the most popular jailbreak news about Nintendo Console, click through here.as Shinra's ship can be absorbed, while the opposite color will do damage - this polarity-switching mechanic is the game's core feature and the foundation for its stage and enemy design. Read our review. Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deluxier Edition (Plug In Digital, $14.99) - Set out on a grand adventure in this turn-based, retro style, pixel-art RPG, inspired by the great titles of the 90's. Take on the roles of in-game players taking on the roles of their characters in a traditional pen and paper RPG session in the ultimate meta roleplaying experience. Legend of Kay Anniversary (Nordic Games , $29.99) - 10 years after its initial release, Legend of Kay - Anniversary is a thoroughly remastered version of the original game: high-resolution textures; new, more detailed character models; modern rendering techniques and crystal-clear surround sound give this great classic a new shine. Shift Quantum (Red Panda Interactive , $19.99) - Axon Vertigo, the world's leading authority and most trusted friend in cerebral contentedness programming, promises to deliver better life quality for everyone with the Shift Quantum program. Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood (Artifex Mundi. $14.99) - A year has passed since the events of Maple Creek. But for the past few months, our detective has been hot on the trail of the demonic preacher she fought one year ago. Yet he has managed to always stay one step ahead. FOX n FORESTS (EuroVideo Medien) - Switch between various seasons on the fly, shoot and slash with your magic melee crossbow and snatch loot to unveil the mystery of the 5th seasons. A thrilling pixel art fable with rewarding super secrets, screen filling bosses and thriving exploration. This is 16-bit how you remember it! Read our review. Happy Birthdays (NIS America, $39.99) From legendary creator Mr. Yasuhiro Wada (TOYBOX Inc.) comes Happy Birthdays: a sandbox game in which players create cube-shaped worlds that give rise to diverse and unique lifeforms. With careful experimentation, players can shape the geography and alter the temperature of the world to create the conditions for life and witness the birth of an entire ecosystem! Shape of the World (Plug In Digital, $14.99) The world that grows around you... The environment and flora constantly flourish and fade as you wander in Shape of the World, a serene and surrealist first-person explorer. You'll travel through dream-like forests, aquatic caves and peaceful shores accompanied by psychedelic wildlife. No ticking clock or hidden perils laying in wait will prevent you from enjoying your journey... A couple of hours escape from work, anxiety and stress. Available June 6. SilverStarChess (SilverStar, $5.99) - Easy-to-play, traditional chess game. One of the standard board games in the "SilverStar" Series of SilverStarJapan. Our latest offering: the game of chess. The top-class "SilverStar" board game engine also plays outstanding chess games. Super Sportmatchen (DANGEN Entertainment, $14.99) - Enjoy a fine selection of sport disciplines, ranging from the frantic and fast paced to the relaxed and playful! Invite your friends, foes and family to a game of fun competitive sports! The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker (Wales Interactive, $12.99) YOU are a psychiatrist, trying to solve a murder whilst treating the unusual patients of the recently deceased Doctor Dekker. Available June 5. Trax - Build it Race it (Sabec, $14.99) - Speed through stunning 3D tracks you created and discover the magic of Trax! 3DS eShop Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (INTI CREATES, $9.99) - Battle with swords and whips in this retro-style action game brought to you by game creator Koji Igarashi and Inti Creates! Dragon Lapis (KEMCO, $9.99) - Make a return to the golden age of RPGs with 8-bit graphics and chiptunes. By unlocking growth plates, characters are able to strengthen parameters, learn skills, and increase job rank! Master multiple jobs and live an adventure full of challenges and dungeons to explore! Wii U eShop Masked Forces (R.G.B., $2.99) - Masked Forces is an action-packed game where your main purpose is to eliminate your enemies by any means necessary. Demos Kid Tripp Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Neonwall Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Available June 1 Activities Mario Tennis Aces Pre-Launch Online Tournament Demo Event The Mario Tennis Aces game launches June 22, but were offering an early chance to polish your skills in the Pre-Launch Online Tournament demo event featuring online tournament mode. Jump online and fight your way to the top of the in-game bracket in frenetic tennis matches. The more rivals you beat, the more points you will earn, which will unlock more playable characters in the demo. This event will only be active for the short time period between 6 p.m. PT on June 1 and 11:59 p.m. PT on June 3. By participating and keeping your save data, you can unlock Marios classic outfit in the full version of the game once purchased, so dont miss out! My Nintendo Rewards My Nintendo is kicking off your summer vacation with new rewards. You can redeem your points and receive up to 50 percent discounts on some fun select games: Getting together with friends? These games feature multiplayer* fun! *Tank Troopers, Kirby Fighters Deluxe, Luigis Mansion: Dark Moon Try these fun adventures that are even more fun with friends. *Fantasy Life, Pocket Card Jockey Traveling to France this summer? Get the Nintendo 3DS Guide: Louvre software! *Having a staycation this summer? These games are fun to play by yourself or with a buddy.* Paper Mario: Color Splash, Mario Strikers Charged, Mario Hoops 3-on-3 * Additional games and systems are required for multiplayer mode and are sold separately. What are you downloading this week? (232 votes)Pokmon Quest19% Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection13% Yoku's Island Express6% ACA NEOGEO NINJA COMBAT1% Defoliation 0% Johnny Turbo's Arcade Joe and Mac Caveman Ninja4% Just Shapes and Beats3% Lost Sea 0% Pirate Pop Plus 0% Quad Fighter K 0% Smoke And Sacrifice2% West of Loathing4% World Soccer Pinball 0% Yesterday Origins1% Them Bombs! 0% Die for Valhalla!1% Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory 0% Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition1% Ikaruga13% Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deluxier Edition1% Legend of Kay Anniversary 0% Shift Quantum 0% Dragon Lapis1% Masked Forces 0% Enigmatis 2: The Mists of Ravenwood 0% FOX n FORESTS2% Happy Birthdays1% Shape of the World 0% SilverStarChess 0% Super Sportmatchen 0% The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker 0% Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon12% Nothing for me!8% Please login to vote in this poll. So that's your lot for this week's Nintendo Download. Be sure to leave a vote in the poll and a comment below with your hot picks for the week...
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williamemcknight · 6 years
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Hartley Botanic showcases value of history on its RHS Chelsea stand
History Factory
To celebrate 80 ‘trusted years,’ British greenhouse and glasshouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic has unveiled a ‘provenance and history’ themed trade stand at RHS Chelsea this year which provides a snapshot into the incredible stories and plant hunter origins behind some of their best loved and most familiar plants. Designed and planted by RHS winning Lee Burkhill ‘the Garden Ninja,’ with landscaping by award winning G.K. Wilson landscape services, the stand celebrates the fearless work of ‘orchid hunters’, the passion and ambition of Victorian plant collectors and the pivotal scientific discoveries which came about through botanical study. The stand’s provenance and history theme has been inspired both by the increasing importance of thoughtful plant sourcing as a way to control quality and stop the spread of disease, and by its central importance in Hartley Botanic’s own story – for 80 years the company has been making its beautiful, handmade aluminium greenhouses from the same Lancashire factory, beneath the base of the dramatic Pennines’ Chew Valley.
Provenance continues to be a subject of key importance and concern for the food industry and it is growing in momentum as an issue to take seriously within the horticultural sector. There is an increasing commitment to support UK plant production as a means to stop the spread of plant pests and diseases[1] and this year, the RHS has banned some high-risk plants from the flower show[2]. The use of chemicals is also a key argument in the battle for more responsible and informed plant sourcing with studies showing some plants for the domestic market contain the same levels of neonicotinoids as agricultural crops.[3] Industry experts are also more vociferously encouraging consumers to use independent growers and nurseries[4]. The Hartley Botanic stand will encourage visitors to discover more about where plants come from, allowing this to inform their own gardening at home. Where possible, all plants on the stand have been grown and sourced in the UK.
Of the stand Tom Barry, managing director of Hartley Botanic said: “Our 80th anniversary is a time of celebration but is also an opportunity to speak to customers of our company’s heritage and back story. While our greenhouses and glasshouses look very beautiful and enticing on our stand, it is Hartley Botanic’s long history and our products’ provenance which points to their quality and uniqueness. This is what we wanted to communicate through our stand, mirroring our heritage message with the history and stories behind plants as prosaic as the humble pea. We hope it will give gardeners an even greater appreciation of the plants they already love and encourage them to interrogate new additions to their garden – not just according to look or personal taste but also according to their provenance.”
Garden designer Lee Burkhill of The Garden Ninja added; “It’s a great honour to have been chosen by Hartley Botanic as the designer for their 2018 stand at the Chelsea Flower Show. Working with Gareth Wilson of G.K. Wilson Landscape Services, who have been taking the RHS Show Garden category by storm over recent years, is really exciting for an up-and-coming designer like me. Gareth and I will be looking to ‘break the mould’ this year with our combined design energy and plant enthusiasm. Taking inspiration from the plant explorer stories, the design will showcase the history of UK garden planting in an immersive and arresting way, paying homage to those who risked it all for our gardening pleasure.”
Stand overview and external plantings
The Hartley Botanic stand’s history and provenance theme features four of its handmade greenhouses and glasshouses, a modern Opus glasshouse, a Victorian Lodge, a traditional Grow and Store and a contemporary Hartley Planthouse, each with an intricate and striking display, telling an individual and compelling botanical history story. Beautiful greenhouses in stylish green, grey, stone and bronze colours are surrounded by woodland-styled external plantings which provide a soft exterior. Woodland style plants including Thalictrum, Anthriscus and Actea provide an intriguing backdrop whilst the likes of Achillea, Waldsteinia and Nepetain mellow yellows and oranges, planted in staggered heights, give enticing views through to each of the greenhouses. These natural-looking exterior plants are the unsung heroes of woodland canopy planting and thrive in the UK’s climate. The stand also features a special edition Hartley Botanic Patio Greenhouse in ‘ruby red’ to mark the manufacturer’s 80th anniversary.
‘Orchid hunters’ – Hartley Botanic modern Opus glasshouse
A bronze coloured Opus glasshouse, the most modern and contemporary structure on the stand, is filled with a variety of orchids including Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium and Epidendrum, all shown in their natural growing state as epiphyte plants. The orchids, in pretty ‘sweet shop’ colours, bely the gruesome history behind the Victorian race to bring them to the UK, referenced in the historic plant explorer equipment displayed alongside. Orchids, although commonplace now, would have been incredibly exotic in the early 1900s and represent the legacy and personal sacrifice of British orchid hunters such as William Arnold, David Bowman and Gustavo Wallis who died in the pursuit of bringing this species to the UK. Orchid hunting began following their discovery in 1818 by William John Swainson when collecting plants in Rio de Janeiro. The orchids, which bloomed on their arrival into the UK, astonished Londoners with their unusual shape and colours, triggering ‘orchid fever.’ The orchid hunters who travelled to the Philippines, Papa New Guinea and Columbia as a result were subject to treacherous and dangerous journeys. They faced tropical diseases, wild animals and aggressive natives, not to mention fierce competition from their peers, and some disappeared without a trace.
By W. Swainson (probably William Swainson (1789-1855)[1]
‘Fern Fever’ – Hartley Botanic Victorian Lodge
A Hartley Botanic Victorian Lodge in Olive Leaf, the largest glasshouse on the stand, has been transformed into a fernery, an archetypal image of Victorian botany when Pteridomania (or Fern-Fever) swept the nation and glasshouses were commonly used to protect ferns from the air pollution of 19th century London. The lush interior, filled with cool, architectural ferns has a refreshing feel, providing respite from the bustle of the show. Container-grown ferns spill out from white washed terracotta pots and organic looking hessian planters. The Victorian fashion for fern hunting and collecting swept the UK from the late 1830s when the countryside, and improved railway infrastructure, attracted increasing numbers of amateur and professional botanists. There was a race to discover and name new and unusual species, as they had been less studied than flowering plants. For some it was a serious scientific pursuit and others it was a fashionable hobby which united the social classes and informed much decorative art during the period. Aside from the reminder of a botanical trend which inspired the imagination of an entire nation, fern fever is also a history lesson in species conservation, as the zeal of Victorian collectors led to significant reductions in wild populations of rarer species.                                                                                                                                                                     By Thomas Moore; edited by John Lindley; nature-printed by Henry Bradbury – The ferns of Great Britain and Ireland.
How the pea influenced modern genetics  – Hartley Botanic traditional Grow & Store
At one level, the Hartley Botanic Grow & Store greenhouse in Verona Stone celebrates easy to grow, long enjoyed edibles such as the pea plant, which as well as producing a delicious crop, also boasts a pretty flower. The display pays homage to the genetic discoveries of friar and scientist Gregor Mendel, made while he studied the humble pea. Mendel worked with seven characteristics of pea plants (plant height, pod shape and colour, seed shape and colour and flower position and colour) during experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863. His studies traced the transference of key traits as the plants reproduced and led him to discover the principles of ‘recessive’ and ‘dominant’ inheritance, as well as establishing many rules of heredity which helped usher in our modern understanding of genetics. Mendel’s paper ‘Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden’ (‘Experiments on Plant Hybridization’) was ignored by the scientific community at the time but is now considered a seminal work. The glasshouse’s ‘Plant Lab’ display also features herbs and Nasturtium companion planting. These offer natural protection against common garden predators – for pea plants and other edibles.
‘Versuche über Pflanzenhybriden’ (‘Experiments on Plant Hybridization’) by Gregor Mendel
Alpine hunters – A contemporary Hartley Planthouse
An ‘Iron Grey’ Hartley Planthouse has been transformed into an ‘Alpine House,’ with delicate looking alpine treasures filling the greenhouse and displayed on raised staging. The alpines are mirrored with hardy Sedum succulents, planted at a comparative height but providing contrast with their more defined, waxy shapes. The theme has again been inspired by the Victorian plant hunters who traversed the globe and endured huge risks to allow us to enjoy such a variety of plant species in our own gardens. The alpine display includes the species Lewisia which was discovered and brought back by the American Meriwether Lewis and popular alpines such as Saxifraga and Sedums all of which are easily grown here in the UK even in the smallest planters. Alpines are a particularly special gift from the plant hunters of history to the modern gardener as, despite their fragile appearance, they are notoriously hardy, making them incredibly popular and accessible for amateurs and pros alike.
The Lewisia plant, named after Meriwether Lewis who discovered the species in 1806
80th anniversary – The Hartley Patio Glasshouse
Also on the stand is a special edition of Hartley Botanic’s Patio Glasshouse which is available for a limited time in an arresting ‘ruby red’, allowing customers to mark the manufacturer’s 80th anniversary this year. Founded in 1938 by brothers Vincent (RHS fellow) and Norman Hartley, Hartley Botanic is one of Britain’s oldest and most trusted greenhouse manufacturers and was, to their knowledge, the first to develop and make entirely aluminium structures, representing a new class of greenhouse building in terms of practicality and engineering design. Vincent and Norman Hartley’s drive and ambition to create the finest greenhouses money can buy is still central to the company’s ethos which still specialises in handmade, made-to-order horticultural buildings which truly stand the test of time. Some of Hartley Botanic’s original structures are still standing and in full use, such as the Hartley Botanic greenhouse at Belgrave Hall, installed in 1950 and the glasshouse in Glasgow Botanical Gardens installed in 1988.
The post Hartley Botanic showcases value of history on its RHS Chelsea stand appeared first on Pro Landscaper - The industry's number 1 news source.
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dawnajaynes32 · 5 years
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Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, and Seeking Justice with Design
How can my work make an impact? If you’re a designer, you probably ask yourself that very question, wanting to create unforgettable design experiences, moving people to act, creating change. In-house designers at The Southern Poverty Law Center do those things on a daily basis, designing award-winning work, making the complex understandable, and educating the masses. Their designs are so significant that not only do they impact their audiences, but they also impact the in-house designers who create the work.
Photo from left to right: Alex Trott, designer; Sunny Paulk, designer; Hillary Andrews, designer; Cierra Brinson, designer; Shannon Anderson, designer; Russell Estes, design director; Angela Greer, design assistant; Scott Phillips, senior designer; Kristina Turner, senior designer; Michelle Leland, senior designer; photo courtesy of the Southern Poverty Law Center
Located in Montgomery, Alabama, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a nonprofit organization with an in-house team that designs materials for litigation, legislative advocacy, and public education, all of which are tools for change according to former SPLC staffer Valerie Downes. She joined the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2000, working there until June 2018. “My experience was so rich and layered,” she said. The content they work with and the designs they create make it rich and layered. “The SPLC is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.” That mission, clearly stated on their website is monumental in scope, so it’s hard to imagine a small team taking on that work. But in 2000, Downes was brought on as just the third designer, originally working on direct mail for development and fundraising endeavors. Since the SPLC is driven entirely by donations, that work carried a lot of weight, and continues to do so.
The Civil Rights Memorial, as showcased on the SPLC website, the Memorial is located on the south side of their office building, putting history all around them, “in a very physical sense,” according to former SPLC designer Valerie Downes.
But the team has grown over the years, led by Russell Estes, SPLC’s design director. Estes joined in 1996 on the 1-year anniversary of the Murrah Federal Building attack. Estes has many roles, all of which he takes on with enthusiasm. “In my role as design director, I’m involved with hosting events for our supporters. When you meet the person who’s been giving $20 a month for 40 years, you can’t help but be moved by their dedication. It drives home the power of the work and our responsibility to the communities we work in. And when you’re able to contribute to projects that make a real difference in people’s lives, you realize the value of where you work. It makes you want to deepen your understanding of the issues so your work can be even more effective.” Estes will celebrate twenty-three years with SPLC in April 2019.
Cover, Immigrant Family Preparedness, A Guide for Georgia Families
During her own tenure, Downes moved up the ranks, promoted to senior designer in 2005 and then deputy design director in 2017. Although she left the organization in 2018 to bicycle the TransAmerica Trail—from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA—Downes still works as a freelance designer and art director. She is no longer designing for the SPLC, but focuses on personal projects and select freelance assignments. Reflecting on the work she created with the SPLC, and the recognition her and her colleagues have received, Downes said, “Awards are nice and getting recognized by your peers is an honor, but the mission is the most important part.”
Typography and image come together to create an important call to action, exemplified in the campaign to get college students to vote in 2018. Their social media channels such as Instagram reinforce the importance of these and other issues.
            View this post on Instagram
                        A post shared by Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) on Oct 6, 2018 at 6:28am PDT
Opportunities Born Out of Necessity
And what a mission it is. SPLC designers tell human stories, according to Downes, “those of detained immigrants separated from their families, of incarcerated individuals without access to health care, of victims of bigotry and hate along with those rallying against it, of educators in classrooms across the nation.” Downes sees a majority of the design used for educational purposes, as well as law enforcement, law makers, the general public, and donors, whom she says make all of the work possible. It’s a privilege to call yourself a designer at the SPLC because the work makes an impact. And there’s so much work to do that designers get the chance to frequently spread their wings.
One of the benefits of working in-house at SPLC—and really, working in-house anywhere—is having the opportunity to cross-train. Want to work on video? Design a website? Tackle social media? Do claymation? It’s all possible, and in fact, Downes did some claymation while at SPLC, crediting Estes for that opportunity and all of the others she experienced. “Any given day or week I could be working on a combination of trial demonstratives, special publications, an issue of the magazine, postcards, posters, presentations, image shares, filming interviews, editing video, or shooting portraits. This goes for any and all members of the design team. And the entire staff leans on one another, relies on one another. Although individuals manage their own projects, we are in constant dialogue with one another. As the Design Director, Russell has always encouraged us to expand our skill set… to anchor all of our design work with solid typography and then jump off from there.”
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When asked about inspiration, Estes cited Edward Tufte, and took time to explain how type plays an instrumental role in their work. “Good typography is our secret weapon, but the imagery and graphic elements are what bring our message home. Images are so important to our storytelling. Clean type and design makes it all accessible. Or course, it all starts with good, compelling content. We’re also fortunate to have relationships with award-winning illustrators and photographers who help visualize our message.”
Publications that educate readers about tolerance, teaching challenging subjects, and confronting hate (photographed by Jason Tselentis).
Clarity and content matter a lot to Estes, but even before they begin the actual design, they identify the story they’re trying to tell. “When we present information, we strive to present it with clarity because good design can be the catalyst that compels the public to understand and care about an issue.” So how do those issues get assigned? Do SPLC designers get to choose where they work, on what content? Teamwork plays a big role, as Estes explained, “Everyone on the design team is paired with an internal department or practice group whose work they support and whose subject matter they specialize in. But we also cross over and collaborate on projects such as Teaching Tolerance magazine and the Intelligence Report. We’re always trying to figure out cool new ways to tell stories. The claymation video was one example of how we were able to illustrate a complex topic like intersectionality; we also used animation for a video on confirmation bias. These choices are organic and usually borne out of necessity. With such abstract topics, we don’t have any footage or images to work with, so we have to decide how to best tell each story.”
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Many Design Opportunities, Many Privileges
Sometimes, the best way to tell a story is with clay. Or maybe it’s print design. Video and social media also factor in from time to time. When faced with the decision to work in-house, designers might see it as a place where you’ll always work with the same content, the same client. How might Estes convince somebody to come work in-house at SPLC, especially when they might have reservations about being “trapped” in-house? “From my experience, being in-house has been extremely rewarding and fulfilling. Some of the advantage is a function of working at SPLC due to the variety of communications channels and topics we engage. We work with educators, attorneys, investigators and journalists—all in-house. We’ve also moved from the print world into digital, video, podcasts, etc., and we’re always experimenting with new platforms and media. We’ve historically been a small staff, so it’s been necessary at times to flex and re-invent ourselves to work on these different kinds of projects and find the best visual solutions to storytelling challenges. That—and the nature of the work itself—has kept us fresh, and that’s needed now more than ever.”
The team designs materials for a range of media, including but not limited to print, web, and video, helping to push educational assets, such as Teaching Hard History, through a number of channels.
When Downes first came on board, one of the first projects that she worked on outside of fundraising and development was for Teaching Tolerance, a project providing free classroom materials to educators across the country. ”A film kit called Mighty Times: The Legacy of Rosa Parks was in development in 2001 and I was tasked with photographing participants from the Montgomery Bus Boycott along with their family members from subsequent generations. It was incredibly powerful to hear the stories, to witness the stories shared with grandchildren. I don’t even think the images made it into the final film, but it was a great privilege to share such an intimate space for a day or two with these brave individuals—I knew in that moment that SPLC was the place I wanted to be for years to come.” In 2005, Downes worked on another Teaching Tolerance film kit about human rights activist and Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein. She called it an awesome opportunity. “I flew out to her home and spent the day photographing her personal family documents (items that miraculously survived the Holocaust) and hearing her stories. She is such a generous, wise and loving person—I’ll never forget the experience.”
Although she’s no longer a full-time member of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the time Downes spent with the organization made a lasting impact, one she fondly remembers, and will always keep close to her heart. “When you’ve spent the last 18 years designing while engaged in conversations about race, economic justice, and gender equality, you walk away from the experience with a desire to utilize design to continue the conversation—and being better for it.”
Designs by the Southern Poverty Law Center, created by the dedication of many hardworking people.
The post Fighting Hate, Teaching Tolerance, and Seeking Justice with Design appeared first on HOW Design.
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