Overcast, feels like rain. David Burke and Tim Reep are in the side yard rebuilding the pump house. The floors are being finished in the back room and in the new powder room we are putting into the apartment by Mr. Ungleich who is doing a remarkable job of matching colors and microsanding (I am sure he would not call what is doing as microsanding-- but he is very precise and accurate). Chet, the Lawnmower man is here doing the once over. And, I have 22 Ithaca College architectural history students coming for less than an hour for a first floor walk through and a exterior tour of the house.
Had a great meeting with my Cornell client who is up to her eyeballs in work, new aspects of her job and aspects of her personal life expanding. We are working on an annual report which we are deliberately making less expensive in price and to some degree looks...moving from a glossy presesntation in full color to uncoated paper with two color inking (combined inks to create a range of colors from black to mahogany, to warm grey to pink combining screens to pull the most color out of the two. This is almost "depression era" production--the whole "I dont care how much it costs, just make it look cheap" headset of the early to mid eighties. That was the rage then...and since then, between four color getting cheaper and expectations that most jobs print 4 color, this whole high quality cheap job approach has slipped off of most designers radar screens. So, we gotta roll on this one...Its going to be about a 50 pp book.
We also had a bit of an issue here in our little Hamlet with the HS Yearbook last year. There were some major logistical screwups that resulted in some of the students who had paid and gotten their forms in, not getting their books. So I got my back up and complained...about the loss of the books (Kitty was one such student), the big price of the piece (cancelling out a large portion of the student body) and relevancy of the preexisting process and method for production. Guess who is helping with the yearbook this year? You got it.... But, the hope is to produce a book that more folks can access by producing both hard and softbound copies via Lulu--using real live computer programs (InDesign) versus some cobbled up Yearbook magic, and even if need be, for those students who really do not want to buy a hard book; they can download a pdf and burn on a cd. So, everyone can have one (more democratic); we dont have to place orders for them (you can order online); lead times go from 2 months to 3 weeks (shorter lead times so more opportunity to cover the spring); and you can have a choice of binding etc. Plus, as it's print on demand and will not need printing plates, the cost per book goes down dramatically from $50. per book to (based on b+w) to less than $20.
Will tell you all about the non Christmas Holiday card. My client had a genius idea that might turn out to be fun. I am struggling with learning live paint to pull this off as the approach is perfect for this work. Additionally, I will be bringing work into painter to render in pastel/chalks as an option. Gotta go work.
The students are right around the corner (1/2 hr away!) Yikes!
I am always thrilled and secretly amused by the crazy naming we have in this area. I love going to events and seeing the names of Ancient Rome, Roman writers and philosophers, towns and personalities blazed across these young chests proudly stating that they are: Tully, Seneca, Ovid, Romulus, Manlius, Ulysses, Homer, Rome, and so on. Ancient Rome takes on Native America with teams that evoke those names and places. 
