AGI

AGI, Originally uploaded by Avenue53

Ben just found this photo on Flickr. It's a pretty cool feeling seeing my work on someone else's page. I worked on the typeface with Rick Valicenti, and Ben Animated it for the conference.

Merry Christmas

I hope everyone is warm and with family today. Peace, goodwill towards men (and women), and all those type of things to you all.

I've got a brand spankin' new feed!

This is for all of you rss subscribers our there. I know there's at least 2 of you! I've just burned my feeds with feedburner. So I'm asking you to please updated your feed reader with these two links:

This one's for my blog
feed://feeds.feedburner.com/BudRodeckerWeblog

This one's for my work page
feed://feeds.feedburner.com/BudRodeckerWork

I'm going to leave the current ones running for awhile but I imagine I'll take them down sometime next week. And hey, if you're not a subscriber yet now's the perfect time!

Also, let me know if you have any problems with the new feeds!

Writing a Bio is Hard

I had to write a bio because I'm speaking on a panel discussion about Helvetica, the film and typeface. Emily helped me get started, and I tried to fill in the rest. Here it is... Ya'll should help me and add to it!

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Bud Rodecker studied Graphic Design at University of Minnesota Duluth where he learned the true meaning of cold. He took on the role of president of the Student Design Organization (SDO) from 2005 to 2007. Following graduation in May 2007, Bud came to Chicago for an internship at Thirst. At the end of the summer he stayed on as a full-time designer with Rick Valicenti and John Pobojewski.

He discovered his passion for design at age 14 when his brother gave him his first copy of Photoshop, but he didn't put a name to it until he took Commercial Design in high school. To this day, seeing Papyrus in a font menu makes him cry inside.

Bud is a multidisciplinary designer, creating work in close collaboration with Valicenti and Pobojewski for a variety of clients including Detroit's College for Creative Studies (CCS), the Merchandise Mart, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. While at Thirst he as created TV commercials for CCS' new MFA program, a website for architectural photographer Wayne Cable, and has worked on the branding campaigns for Lyric Opera and The Merchandise Mart's cultural events including NeoCon and Art Chicago.

While in Chicago, Bud has presented at an AIGA Small Talk hosted at Thirst and spoke about "What I Didn't Learn in College" for the design program at Harrington College. He was invited to participate at Design Inquiry, a week-long design conference that brought designers in varying fields from all across the country together to discuss the topic, "Fail Again."

Dear Chicago

Dear Chicago,

Where are all your Plows!?
It took me an hour to drive 3 miles today.
None of the roads had been cleared off.
I highly suggest you get on top of that.

Sincerely,
Bud

Adobe! I put a doom upon you!

Dear Adobe,

What the hell are you thinking? Why is it that in illustrator, and photoshop it is possible to save to any previous version of their respective programs, but to do that with indesign you have to use something you've dubbed an interchange file? It's the same program! Why can't we save down to a previous version? Also, why the HELL does an interchange file put a black 1pt stroke around EVERYTHING. Do you realize how much of a pain in the ass this is? Or is this some kind of built in bug to force everyone to upgrade lest they go completely bat shit crazy from chasing black strokes around everything! Not to mention that first you have to package the file, then export an interchange file if you don't want your links to turn into gray boxes.

And now you've released CS4! And from my first browse though the program I'm not sure CS4 deserved to be a completely new upgrade. It seems that this version should have been reduced to a free update to all those frustrated CS3 users who found indesign harder to use than before.


Picture 2, Originally uploaded by budr


Now back to the Interchange problem! Look at this note on Adobe's official help page. REALLY ADOBE!?!??!?!?!! I If I'm a CS2 user and someone who works on CS4 wants to give me an indesign file one of us has to own CS3 and have it installed on our system!? How is that even remotely a smart design decision?

So to conclude this open letter.
WTF.

Oh Sweet Jesus

This week was insane.
I'm so stressed out still, and I have everything finished.
We had a freelancer here this week and I'm pretty sure he thinks we're all crazy.

An Interview with Rick Valicenti

There is no distinction between the day job and the night job. In fact, there is a blurred boundary between them. One informs the other . . . they are symbiotic in my nature.

24-7 Design Heaven has a nice interview with Rick from Nov 14.

1976 Honda CB750F

IMG_1822, Originally uploaded by budr


My latest project at home has been my '76 Honda. I bought it this summer as you see above and rode it all summer. I'm storing it at my parents house in Minnesota for the winter. Where my Dad has been working tirelessly on it.



New drag bars.



New, smaller turn signals.



I want to get it looking closer to this when I'm all done with it. Check out my Flickr set to see the in progress shots.

Counting Down the Days

Today Topher and I went into a Starbucks. They were selling an advent calendar, but it didn't tell the story of the nativity? Isn't that the whole point of an advent calendar? Or have they been reduced to merely a tool for counting down the days until you get presents?

Department of Redundancy Department

Department of Redundancy Department, Originally uploaded by budr

Getting back on the blog train. To start, here is a glimpse into my world.