Well, since I was updating some content on my website I also tweaked the theme a bit. Started from scratch with a blank theme so this one is almost only made by me. Almost.As for my future: I started sketching some of my résumé ideas, but I’m also thinking of turning it into a small animation. Just something simple in AFX, we’ll see what comes out. As for now, you’ll have to do with this funny facial picture.

PS: Notice the fancy randomized header image I added, sweeet!

It’s not that I am a lazy sun’bitch, but I am just super bussy right now. It’s only two months before I have to find and start my new job somewhere here in Cologne (or just outside of it) and I just keep pushing it ahaed of me. The intented daily comic didn’t really work out and made me think a lot about this picture (and the I mean that right panel). So I layed of the drawing and focused more on my job and my bikes. I have been riding a lot lately, but I won’t bother you with the details. I do want to bother you with the fact that I am planning to ride the Eroica next year… Would you just look at this:

But I shouldn’t get a head of myself. First there will have to be another job, but before that happens I am back into updating my portfolio, start writing my résumé, design and create my portfolio (analog or cd?), getting letters of recommendation from my mananger and maybe some clients and whole lot more… Wish me luck!

I’ve spent a long time last night browsing through a webcomic called ‘Caffeinated Toothpaste‘. The American author/writer/drawer/creator lives in Germany, Berlin to be exact and draws a ‘daily diary strip’. Before I knew it I spent my whole night clicking through all his little (and some larger) strips. Being a sort of foreigner in Germany myself and having the urge to draw made me try and start something like that for me too. Well, maybe that’s not the main reason. Maybe it’s because my girlfriend told me I should try it, but hell. Here it is.

My first (sort of diary) strip! Enjoy.

Busy weeks lately… I have been working on some books the last time. And, damn, do I love that! Both projects will get their own pages in the ‘Graphic’ section, but I wanted to give a small preview already. First of all there was a large project for Alliander. Alliander is a large network manager of the electric grid in the Netherlands. About five years ago they launched a large internal program to boost customer satisfaction. It was called the World Class Customer Management, or WCCM in short.

It took five years, but a lot has happened during that time and it’s not over yet. Although they wanted to wrap up this first part of the ‘journey’. Finish it with a inspiring book and not just your average binder with hundreds of graph’s, figures and a lot of numbers. Instead colleague R. pitched the idea of making a sort of journal about the whole WCCM journey. Alliander liked the idea a lot and gave us a lot of freedom to let us do what we are good at. Creating an individual and creative solution to their problem.

As said, R. pitched the initial idea and after a kickoff together with the customer and a copywriter I took over and was responsible for the design and the overall result. A bit much I thought at first, but it all went well. Feels nice when you know that everybody want’s to make something awesome! The final idea was to create a sort of journal that was the traveling journal of some fictitious person during the whole time WCCM was running. We had to look for a nice blend of personal touches and of course some inescapable longer pieces of text. In the end we succeeded and added Polaroids and Post-It notes to the personal pages. Both by design and by font these two forms of information were seperated.

The book was such a big hit that the initial batch of 40 pieces was already followed by a second batch of 90 books. Before they even saw the final result! When they did see it a third batch had to be made, 125 pieces. Last batch, but still over 250 books instead of the 40 that were planned. After all, the WCCM journal was a big hit inside Alliander, but also at TriMM. For me personally it was a big chance do create something that was tangible and not only online. We did create an online version too though, but I focused more on the book itself. I think we can be proud of the results and Alliander can too. What a nice way to end this year!

This project will get it’s own page later on which will show you more of the content and the online version too. Patience…

Well, after the first one I redid another one soon made it’s entrance and I am just talking about bicycles here. My father’s old Gent’s Touring is now all complete and in use. Last sunday I took it for a spin since it was such nice (and cold!) weather. The lighting was awesome and made for some very nice photo’s. Just look at her al shining in the cold freezing sun shine!

The second bike that showed up was the old Gent’s Luxe from my uncle. This used to be a more race specific bike. No lighting, no fenders, smaller cogs and such. Most interesting thing are the front chain rings and the brake levers. They are all drilled out to save some weight. I had to buy a new stem for it, because the one that came with it was just really ugly looking… So after a month of cleaning and polishing it all ended very nice  and clean. Take a look!

This beauty is on eBay now, I’ll only ship it in Germany, but it can be picked up at the end of the auction. Happy bidding :)