36 Point: 1PT.Rule

1Pt.Rule Comic: Always There for You.

2009-07-10T15:46:20Z

Still going strong 101 comics later! Hey-o!

1Pt.Rule Comic: #100!

2009-07-07T21:17:55Z

Having 100 comics is awesome because big, round numbers are awesome. Also because reaching that milestone in under a year feels pretty neat, to boot. Thinking of 100 different comics makes me feel like they've got some weight, and maybe that's why I'm trying out some character-based comedy of late. Time will tell if that pays off, but rest assured you haven't seen the end of this particular tangent.

By my count, the other longest-running graphic-design webcomic, which has been at it for a few years I believe, will be eclipsed in sheer volume in a number of weeks. This is my way of saying I'm the shit over here, and recognize.

The first comics in this series pain me to both view and read, and I know that's half the fun of watching any artist over time. Looking at early Peanuts and Garfield strips, or Calvin and Hobbes to a lesser extent, is always fun and charming, seeing where character started visually and comparing them to where they end up. The webcomics version of this is Penny Arcade, whose early strips look like a monkey drew them when compared to their radiant current form. Of course, there's ten years of difference there, and thousands of strips to grow as an artist. In my neck of the woods, Newton's nose eventually overpowered his face, and --as some assert-- portions of other characters came to overpower other portions. Such is evolution. Hopefully Rob thinks I'm getting better at drawing black people, too.

Looking back, I'm happiest with the camping excursion and our foray into detective fiction, Force Justify, aside from the random gag here or there. Then of course, there's other's I'd just as soon forget exist. I have to believe other cartoonists feel the same way, but that's one of the benefits to this. There's really no endless iterating of ideas. You do a strip, it's done, you move on and you do the next one. So when one turd pops out, there's always a chance the next one can be solid gold.

Admittedly, most end up in the middle. Thanks for everything,

--nv--

1Pt.Rule Comic: A Different Approach

2009-07-06T06:01:01Z

Coming into our 100th comic at what seems a staggering pace here, people. Please don't expect anything on the awesome scale of the 50th strip (that was a product as much of lucky timing as anything), but go ahead and expect something a little bit special. I mean, I [heart] you. I want to give you nice things when I can.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Of Wings and Men

2009-07-03T12:33:42Z

We are two comics away from the odometer clicking over that first zero to a "one" and this is the part where I tell you the big-ish plans we were hatching for the 100th comic have been slightly delayed as the complicated web we've woven to bring you this strip is complicated. So these plans will be replaced by smaller, still fun plans, in the interim.

Last week I wrapped up my first set of illustrations as a Veer Marketplace Contributor, and I'm here to report on that process. Smooth as silk, though as the site warns, requiring of patience. In abundance. Patience while you wait, like waiting for a blood test, with no indication of success until word comes all at once. Happily, I shot 10 for 10 from the line, and later this summer you'll be able to buy some Nate Voss artwork on the cheap -- er, on the reasonable -- from Veer.

It's what amounts to a Veer-branded iStock site, which I guess people are calling "microstock" these days. I am okay with that, though there was a time (before my independent employment) when I found the practice somewhat less savory. iStock is the Wal-Mart of image-sites, and Veer has always been like a smaller, cooler boutique chain. Sure it's a chain, but it's cooler. It's like the Apple Store before the Apple Store was everywhere. I've always felt like they "got it" from their wallpapers to their blog, and especially their Merch section, from which I scored a few shirts that has in the past years have become worn from wear. So becoming a part of that brand feels very good to me.

So right now there's 10 Nate Voss's that will appear on Veer later this summer, and now that I know that whatever it is that I'm doing is what they're looking for, you can bet there will be more. Have a great weekend.

Also -- HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!

1Pt.Rule Comic: Ill Tidings from The Panda Kitchen

2009-07-02T18:06:02Z

Panda Kitchen is, I believe, the name of the restaurant where our scene today takes place. This is... somehow related to graphic design, I am sure. Actually I have this whole thing plotted out and yes, yes it does. Somewhere around 100 comics you start looking for ways for your characters to interact in new ways. Here's too people that have never met. I wonder what might happen when they do? Let's give our secondary-tier supporters some screen-time, shall we?

1Pt.Rule Comic: Welcome Back!

2009-06-29T13:07:20Z

Late for a very important date, here's today post-HOW comic. Hope you had fun!

1Pt.Rule Comic: What Happens Not At HOW Stays Not At HOW

2009-06-25T14:13:01Z

The HOW Conference is alive and well, and it you have the right combination of twitter accounts coupled with our amazing coverage, well it's damn near like you're there right now. Which I'm not. I expect most of my next few days will be spent chasing the turmoil that is the #HOWconf tag, and looking for sweet twitpics, and most definitely not getting anything done.

If you're keeping track, this is our 95th 1PT.Rule comic, so as we count down to the über-special occasion of #100, go on back through the catalog and get caught up.

Shoryuken!!

1PT.Rule Comic: Make Sure You Don't Forget Anything!

2009-06-23T10:00:00Z

Get on the bus to Austin if you're going to the HOW Conference this week, ooooooooooor stay right where you are if you're like me and you're not going, and try to prepare for days and days of #HOWconf tags assaulting your senses in Twitter.

Just like in real life, one of our intrepid designers is making the journey, the other will stay behind to man the fort. We'll have live-ish podcasts from the conference all week long with anyone who is willing to sit in front of the mic, so you'd best add us to your bookmarks right now so you don't miss a thing!

Also, we started a new lil' thing on the site today, so be a friend and check it out.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Incredible Plans

2009-06-19T15:43:51Z

Sometimes the most ruthlessly evil ideas will occur to me, and it is during these moments I am glad I have to comic strip as an outlet. I fear that if I did not, I would be absolutely compelled to follow-through on completely awesome ideas like the one in today's comic.

You want to know how to step it up a notch? I will tell you: Students. Students designers. Ooooh, ouch. No, that's a little too evil, even for me. Don't do that. Forget I said that.

I had a great deal of fun last night as I attempted to let the hurt begin to heal at the local AIGA's social night -- it's a lot like social media, only you interact with actual human beings instead of their avatars. I spoke to one young lady last night for about 15 minutes before realizing that I follow her on Twitter. Worlds collided there, if only momentarily. If your local AIGA has bar nights like this, I highly recommend getting yourself out to one. I even managed to snag a "Become and AIGA volunteer" card, so, *snicker*, we'll see where that leads, I guess?

1PT.Rule Comic: Focusing on What's Really Important

2009-06-17T11:45:29Z

So if you missed Monday's comic, that's because I missed Monday's comic, and it happened to fall on Tuesday this week. You may want to read it to give today's strip a little more context, but, if not, no biggie. I'm sure you get the gist.

It's been a somewhat distracting week for me as my partner in crime has been tracking pinball and arcade machines with the restless zeal of Aragorn himself. Of course, me being a tremendous gaming nerd, I've found myself bitten by the bug as well, learning way more about MAMEs and JAMMAs and replacement joysticks than I ever thought possible. Did you know it's theoretically possible to pay a pretty low price for a random, crappy arcade cabinet, drop in a new motherboard for the game you want (purchased at 1/10th the cost) and just sort of, slip it in and go to town? Well you do now.

I do believe arcade games will soon become the design office accessory to have.

1PT.Rule Comic: Print Envy

2009-06-16T14:31:53Z

A day late and hopefully not a dollar short.

1PT.Rule Comic: The High Cost of Low Guilt

2009-06-12T15:12:43Z

Before we begin, do check out our latest, news-heavy episode of the Reflex Blue Show. I've listened to it, it's a gas.

I have found that, now that Debbie is indeed the President of AIGA, I am experiencing some guilt about not being an active member. There's not a whole lot to be done about it today, as today's strip suggests it would take some draconian plans to work the colossal cost of membership into my current professional budget. It would be nice if that number could come down somewhat -- maybe chill out on expenditures of supporting design in China for a while -- or that (and I'm just throwing this out there) qualified sole-proprietors/independent designers could merit a softer point of entry during the current economic climate.

I won't hold my breath if you don't.

1PT.Rule Comic: Feature Creep

2009-06-10T11:56:37Z

This strip really took off for me at panel three. Of course he has an eyepatch. At some point something is going to go down and that eyepatch is going to be a necessity. This is officially a part of the cannon now. It is in continuity. Apparently so is ear hair.

There's a new podcast on the way tomorrow with some exciting official announcements about our show and some mammoth design conference that is quickly approaching, and sometime in the next seven days we plan on finally getting a brand new feature for 36 Point out to the world, bring the reasons you have to visit this site from a paltry two to an unfathomable three. Get ready.

1PT.Rule Comic: He'd Never Really Ask Us to Keep Anything Classy

2009-06-08T12:14:00Z

I'm on a short clock today, so I must be brief. First, sorry for today's horrible art on the strip. Second, this announcement did indeed find its way onto my TweetDeck yesterday, and I'm pretty excited (for him) about it. I think a Chip Kidd-written Batman book could only be described as "a hoot." Chip can only really be described as the world's biggest Batman nerd, as well as the King Geek of Design, so this project has to be one of those life-long, dream-come-true situations. I get it: Read books. Read Batman books. Design books. Then design Batman books. Then write books. Then write Batman books.

Like Paul Rudd's character's line in Knocked Up, "I wish I loved anything as much as my kids love bubbles," I'm not sure I can relate. This would be like me making a Star Wars movie, Halo game, and X-Men comic all at once.

Don't believe me? Listen to our barely-safe-for-work interview with Chip Kidd and hear for yourself!

1PT.Rule Comic: Of Deeds That Need Not Be Named.

2009-06-05T14:59:45Z

And our camping adventure comes to an end, the only way it ever does. With sadness and tears, and long, long walks home.

Today is National Donut Day, and I am going to partake. The rest of the day will be spent at the new eleven19/36 Point HQ testing out some big, big ideas we've had. If you follow HOW's twitter, you already know about one of them, and we've got two more we're working on. More soon.

1PT.Rule Comic: This Air Haz A FlavR

2009-06-03T18:20:56Z

Hey, let's have a comic!

Getting out and doing some hands-on creative stuff -- for simply the sake of doing it -- is a damn relief for me as a designer. Putting the research, planning, study, and fundamentals aside for a damn minute and just making something the way you want to make it just feels good. The last proper creative retreat I was on was a mix of creative exercises, departmental planning, and guilt-laden "why aren't you better" management speak, and I'm not sure about anyone else, but the battery-recharging didn't really take. Designer Camping is a thing, I 'spose, we've done in our neck of the woods -- we have hats -- and for some reason always serves as a proper refresher. Fresh air and great weather do wonders, and I'd recommend everybody go get some as soon as possible.

Go Summer.

1PT.Rule Comic: Mysterious Words Spoken in a Dead Language

2009-06-01T17:23:28Z

Nate Voss http://www.vossome.com

1PT.Rule Comic: The Kern of the Wild

2009-05-29T15:34:42Z

I don't have a lot to say about today's strip other than you will see this story continuing next week. Also, that's maybe my favorite middle-panel of all time. What luscious, amber-hued locks that mofo must've had in college! All the ladies swooned during critiques, of this I am certain.

Be sure to check out yesterday's amazing Reflex Blue Show, too. Talking about critiques and the very Tip of Mig himself.

Monday should also bring a Supporter-Goodies update (by the end of the day) and a more in-depth look at how those work in conjunction with our store and donations to the site. WORD/..

1PT.Rule Comic: Once You Go Reverse-Out, You Never Back Out

2009-05-27T14:13:50Z

I had this wonderful conversation yesterday with my partner in crime, who is producing some goodies for people attending the HOW Conference. I won't spoil it, but should you spot Donovan Beery and perhaps drop a secret password on him (or perhaps not), you may receive something of perceived value. What I can tell you is, when you see this package of fun, you will find a piece of it is dead sexy in white type reversed out of a black background. I take 100% full credit for this design direction, as the first panel of today's comic was essentially the entire above-mentioned conversation. Black type on white will always fall to white type on black. Always. It's like math.

1PT.Rule Comic: Dueling Yellow Fates

2009-05-26T15:56:31Z

Hello! Welcome back from Memorial Day, I guess. As a working man, 4-day weeks always mess up my clock. Let's pretend it's Monday and call it comic day. We're still going to pretend tomorrow is Wednesday, which it is, so we'll have a comic then, too. Then Thursday is podcast day, and everyone will live happily ever after.

I want you guys to check out The Brads, if you haven't yet, and add it to your bookmarks in a folder called "Awesome Webcomics Based Around Design" right after 1PT.Rule. It's a weekly, but creator Brad Colbow makes up for fewer updates with full-color and an ability to weave the very structure of comics in a web-based format into the humor of his strip that I find myself very jealous of. Check it out.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Begin Your Reconnoiter

2009-05-22T15:52:58Z

Raise your hand if you've done this. Now, the rest of you, raise your hands because you're lying.

Since Wednesday, there have been developments in the ongoing Nebraska License Plate Debacle. And by developments, I mean the kind head-removal-from-anus that cannot be called anything other than "heroic" in the world of politics. What was once stonewalling and inability to admit failure has transformed into someone in local government actually standing up and saying "you know what? This is a little fucked up right here and we may have to do something about it."

Throughout it all, the gang at CollegeHumor.com (which has only been identified as "a college humor website" by the local press -- subtle, right?) has floored me as the strut about as some bizarre peacock-unicorn hybrid with their insistence of victory and balls-out unapologetic manner. They remind me of those two dudes who punked Boston with the Moonenite graphics for Cartoon Network a year or two ago. It's sort of totally awesome. If I lived anywhere else I'd give that guy a high five. Living here, probably I'd fake the high-five and punch him in the balls.

But really, if these recent developments hold, his actions will actually guarantee that the worst option never gets made into the newest license plate, something we should all be thankful for, should it come to pass. The real problem here is how the designs themselves are "commissioned" and selected for presentation for the state to vote on. Until that's fixed, we're all just picking out our favorite turd to smear our cars with.

1PT.Rule Comic: Licensed to Thrill

2009-05-20T15:09:48Z

So yesterday this happened, followed swiftly by the general discovery of this having happened, followed moments later by College Humor taking credit en masse like insurgents from a cave. Officials deny the massive prank had anything to do with the outcome, but I'd wager the results would be quite different if they removed votes that came via the site. Not that we'd have better plates in two years or anything.

The plates, which vertically read "NEERASKA" (but don't worry because it says "NEBRASKA" again right fucking next to it) was designed "professionally" by a dude or lady at the manufacturer of the materials that are used to make license plates. This is exactly the place I want my artistic representations of the state I call home because all of the most creatively talented and inspired artists work in the office of a metal shop.

The government response has been Political Sidestepping 101, with officials spouting platitudes such as "You can't please everyone" and "nobody ever likes the license plate designs" coming from either the Gov'nor himself or the woman in charge of the situation, though I would posit the following:

I you gave everyone you know a present every year, but that present was always you kicking them in the nuts, you may come to believe "Well people just don't like presents."

While I don't think the state would ever eliminate voting, they certainly could commission actual artists to deliver the selections the voters have to choose from, ensuring that any winning design would have actual artistic merit, and while no, it may not please everyone, it also won't make us look like a bunch of idiots when we go on a road trip. I would be happy to spearhead a subcommittee to select these artists, Mr. Governor, and my door is always open to you.

1PT.Rule Comic: Managin' Relations

2009-05-18T14:44:48Z

Sometimes the process of writing these comics astounds me. I cannot recall the intended joke of today's strip, only that it was far, far removed from what I wound up with. Somewhere around panel two things took a seriously unexpected turn when Newton started explaining his technique of meeting new clients. This is, of course, derived somewhat from reality. I do have a client meeting today and I do not intend to bring along a portfolio of work.

Some time ago I became a no-go-portfolio guy. I had a few meetings with potential clients that went famously well, and at the end, there I was, with this big black case filled with my previous work just sitting there, unopened. Once or twice I actually asked if they wanted to see it as we were winding down, and I cannot recall anyone answering in the positive. I occurred to me that I sent along my portfolio's webpage (newest version here) long before the initial meet-up, and by the time we were in a face-to-face, it was really more about people getting to know each other and each other's business, and less about "check out this sweet poster i did."

So I'm a confirmed No-Go-Portfolio guy. Are you?

1Pt.Rule Comic: A Momentous Audioccassion

2009-05-15T13:47:28Z

When we were children, my brother and I play-fought quite a bit, usually with toy guys or, better yet, toy lightsabers. It was all good fun until someone got whacked in the hand inadvertently and the beat-downs began. There was a secret phase the accidental aggressor could say to help stem the tide of these retaliatory beat-downs, and I will tell it again now:

SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY SORRY!

That being said, we love Debbie Millman over here, and would like to congratulate her on 100 great episodes of Design Matters. You're the best Debbie. Hugs.

--nv--

1Pt.Rule Comic: What Horrors Lie Beneath These Streets

2009-05-13T17:34:21Z

You ever have one of those days where something you do doesn't live up to your own expectations for yourself? So I had this sweet experience the other day...

I went to a skateshop to attempt some research for a client project that so far hasn't actually materialized. I found, upon entering, that I had a full 90-seconds worth of imagined street cred to be standing there in my khaki's and polo/Express shirt, pretending to be cool enough to actually look at anything in there. I could not muster the strength to look behind Skinny-Totally-Disinterested-In-Me guy to see any real skateboard designs. Mostly I looked at shoes. Owning one pair of cool sneaks myself -- which of course I was not wearing that day -- I figured this might be an adequate way for me to inch closer to people who actually have cred. For as it stands now, I know that I have none.

My wife has cred, and does not understand this in me. I believe that I am somewhat a master of the subset of cool known as "geek" and a few of it's subsidiaries, but when it comes to anything that is actually cool -- indie music, skating, scrapbooking -- I become instantly socially incompetent. This is, I suppose, mostly imagined on my part, but is nonetheless the last bastion of my teenage insecurities that remains.

At least I have a boss-hog Star Trek movie to keep me safe.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Credentials. Of the Street Variety.

2009-05-11T16:35:10Z

Hey! I don't have much time to chat about today's comic -- other than it is based on real-life experiences and will continue this week on Wednesday and possibly Friday. Happy Monday everyone. Enjoy --

--nv--

1Pt.Rule Comic: Stratactrickery

2009-05-08T19:13:09Z

Hey everyone. I wrote a whole post for this strip and the Movable Type, our (non-webcomics friendly) publishing platform was kind enough to delete it. So whatever. Here's a recap:

• Two "middle-panel-as-screenshot" strips in a row was totally by accident

• I am excited about Star Trek

• The art on this strip kind of sucks because I'm illustrating on Donovan's GIGANTOR iMac today, and you almost have to re-learn how to draw on a Wacom at that size.

Word up. Have a great weekend everybody!

1Pt.Rule Comic: You Can't Handle My Flot, Yo.

2009-05-06T16:47:10Z

I had another strip in my mind, all ready to go today, and then last night I was checking out the differences between AIGA Design Jobs' portfolios and the straight-up Colorflot set. I was speaking with a friend of mine recently who jumped back into freelance life and as a longtime AIGA supporter was going to use their service rather than Coroflots's, and I became curious as to the differences. I've gotten way into Coroflot lately because of upgrades they made late last year that make it a lot easier to use and give some pretty basic friend/follow functionality. I believe (because no-one I'm following ever seems to make any updates) that when they do, Coroflot will let me know if Steve or Jeff drop some new work up there.

In theory, again due to a shortage of people thinking it is as awesome as I do, this would be a fantastic way to keep up on the work my friends are up to. I pretty much always want to know what my friends are working on, because many of them are better designers than me, and I want to see what I should be doing if I want to stay cool. Rather than hitting up 25 different websites that probably never get updated, if everyone just plugged their new work into their Coroflot page (and dude that part is easy), everyone gets to stay up to date with everyone else.

That's not to say there isn't room for improvement. The profile summary and resume text field's inability to handle even the most basic html styling comes to mind. But it's when I looked over the port to AIGA Design Jobs -- formerly my mecca of online portfolios -- that I saw something that really needs some fixing. The AIGA set is basically a stripped-down version of the full Coroflot feature set, meaning that when paying for your AIGA membership you actually receive less functionality. Also, it bares stating that Coroflot's site is set up with a prettier and easier-to-use UI design, so when you port it over to AIGA's CSS styles it just kind of goes all ugly and, in typical aiga.com fashion, becomes harder to use.

As I recall from my days on the AIGA site, there is a button to publish on Coroflot simultaneously, a feature I wholeheartedly recommend. When you do this, I believe the AIGA sticker is added to your profile and that's what you get for your membership. Hopefully full feature parity is in the works, because many of my friends have, for some reason, chosen not to hit that simultaneous button on their profiles.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Hog-Wild for Design? Pigs for Information? I dunno... "Swine Flu."

2009-05-04T14:39:29Z

I was driving home with my wife yesterday and the sheer metrics of the swine flu "pandemic" hit me in a way that rarely hits anyone living outside the world of graphic design: as an info-graphic. Sadly, today's comic -- while accurate to my rounded mathematic calculations and official projected U.S. population -- only visually demonstrates 1/384th of our total population. Bandwidth and Photoshop's ridiculous limitation to 600,000 pixels prevented me from drilling this thing out to an actual comparison.

As it stands we're at about 6,000 pixels tall today, so imagine this chart 100 times taller, then understand that would require more than 500,000 more pixels to finish the chart off properly. In other words: it would be a very, very big chart.

At screen resolution, 72 dpi, the chart would be almost 15,000 inches tall, which is equal to 1,250 feet, filled with all green "people" and one pink "pig."

For your easy comparison, the Empire State Building is 1,250 feet tall. So soak that in for a second before you start canceling your lunch plans.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Self-Demotion

2009-04-29T23:12:04Z

I gotta admit, working on this strip kinda brought me down today. Thankfully we had a really great chat with Bryn Mooth of the HOW Empire late this afternoon that we will be turning into podcast happiness to share with all of you sometime tomorrow (Thurs), and that was more than enough to snap me out of my funk. Enjoy!

1Pt.Rule Comic: Free Advice From the Superfamous

2009-04-27T19:24:57Z

In my twitter-life I often seek out advice for my real, independent-professional-designer life in the form of articles and lists linked and retweeted up the mountain that must surely contain the sweet nectar of the divine -- new business. Often I am shocked at how valueless these lists are. Not that they all suffer from some massive dearth of actual content, but that the content they share usually has little to do with how to find new clients, or establishing new connections, and falls more along the lines of: 1. You should get some new clients, and 2. You need to establish new connections. As helpful as a 12-year-old may find that advice, to struggling indies it hold little value. But the Twitterverse loves its lists, and so my search goes on.

Then there are advice columns from the über-stars, or mega-designers, or, I don't know, graphic design world-devourers where the advice seems to be like that of a parent admonishing their child for doing the exact same thing they themselves once did all the time. Like they've forgotten what it means to be starting out. It's easy, they say, just invite the VPs of Marketing from the top four employers in your city to golf at your private country club. Oh yes, I forgot, it is that easy. How silly of us all.

Almost forgot -- big thanks to superstar designer Drew Davies for essentially writing this strip in an iChat last Friday and Prescott Perez-Fox for our design megastar's nom de guerre.

1Pt.Rule Comic: A Winner Is You!

2009-04-24T16:12:35Z

Hey. Logo contests are bad alright? And by bad I mean totally awesome bad. I've always felt like there's some serious untapped potential for mayhem in those, and I feel it's our duty as professional designer to... wait, I just said "dooty." LOLZ.

Sorry for a low count on comics this week -- my brother was even giving me a hard time about my launch schedule yesterday -- planning to get back on track next week. And, for you Reflex Blue Show listeners, we just lined up a great interview for next week's show that we're really excited about. Not sure HOW we managed it (wicked-awesome pun win!!), but be sure you tune next Thursday!

Update: If you want to know how I really feel, check out this article on Vossome.com.

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Winter, In Courier

2009-04-22T15:48:59Z

I'd be lying if I tried to tell you I do not covet the Winterhouse writing award. I do. Like Boromir, I fear this desire will destroy me, or at least drive me to beat up Elijah Wood, which is something I really wouldn't want to do.

Every year Design Observer puts out the call for entries and that amazing $10,000 prize taunts me like Mohammed Ali, letting me know that as much writing and commentary as I produce on design on a weekly basis, it is not worth $10,000. This could be a false assumption, because I do believe the first prize went to a girl who obsessively dissected emoticons. And that seems to be it: like most of the over-long and painfully dull (re:non-Bierut & Heller) articles on DO, you have to write obsessively about something nobody cares about. Like coffee-filter packaging or something. I'm sure somewhere right now there's some obsessive-compulsive design writer putting together a three-part thesis on coffee-filter packaging and that's probably going to take the 2010 prize.

I was looking through the 70 (if you count the one currently-produced Special) strips I've got here and feel pretty good about a few of them and the medium's ability to comment on design, and then the rule set of the Winterhouse took over and I remembered the part about everything needing to be set in Courier. This, by the way, is basically designers removing the design from their papers, and I get it. It's supposed to remove any typographic context. Maybe the judges have a hard-on for mono-spaced fonts, I don't know.

With a relatively low entry fee (only $25), I am still considering entering the strip, if only to piss off the judges. However, I think I will wait for next year, in all seriousness, when my journals of milk-cap sticker designs and their impact on the American consciousness are completed.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Pile On While The Pilin's Good

2009-04-17T19:24:34Z

I had very mixed feelings when the closing of SpeakUp was announced this week. Throughout the years I had a very pleasant love/hate relationship with that website. I loved what it did for design, I hated what it did to designers. With all the high talk of promoting a dialog and/or discussion of design, my experiences there often boiled down to calling the person who disagreed with you a fuckwad and vice versa, or piling on some poor bastard's logo design even when, let's face it, there really is nothing wrong with UPS's logo these days. They were just ahead of the curve. By the way that fisasco went down (which was the first time I found SpeakUp) you'd think they clubbed a baby seal at Peta convention.

But on the other hand, SpeakUp opened my eyes to a lot of things. Some intentionally -- like finally realizing I don't have to agree with or support everything the AIGA does just because they do it. Or my severe dislike of the word "just" when discussing projects. Or, eventually, the fact that just because you have a strong opinion on design, doesn't mean you absolutely have to shove it down everyone's throats. It certainly taught me how to be mindful of the comments I make online to others.

I've had a few conversations with Armin, some pleasant and supportive, some less so, but never anywhere near the length of yesterday's interview. Love it or hate it, no designer can deny that SpeakUp essentially created the online graphic design community -- which I would describe as thriving -- and that we are all richer for the experience.

--nv--

1PT.Rule Comic: Manny Way You Slice It

2009-04-16T15:08:57Z

This is a thing that really happened about a week and a half ago. Huge job shows up on my doorstep, practically gift-wrapped. And it's big, it's a lot of work. I send out a fair price, the client comes back, and we settle on something a little lower but still doable. Life is good.

A few days later I get the "guy knows a guy who'd do it for this." And THIS turned out to be 10% of my bid. My response to this was, well, who the F is this guy bidding huge jobs that low? Was it a teenager? Because I can counter that in a conversation. No, it turned out to be a guy who makes a great living doing something completely unrelated, and just does crap like this on the side to make extra money for ipods or something. Crap Like This being the thing I make a living on.

And I wrote on my page: "I lost a job to someone who bid 10% of my price and in walked a man 10% of my size."

1PT.Rule Comic: #savejon

2009-04-13T20:06:16Z

What started out as a horrible story of one man wronged by the powerful, fighting tooth and nail for his livelihood and reputation, not to mention thousands of dollars to feed this hulking evil behemoth which pursued him, quickly turned into a zany flip-flop of animosity once his pleading case was looked over with the slightest amount of scrutiny. It is my understanding the founder of said evil conglomerate StockArt.com has entered the fray, while the original post by Mr. #savejon seems nowhere to be found this afternoon.

The lesson to learn here is that whipping up a frenzied mob using your blog and carefully-constructed tweets is very easy, and indeed, very fun. So far, this has been my favorite graphic design moment of 2009. There's a few months left to top it, though, and my sights are set high.

1PT.Rule Comic: A Promise Made is a Promise Kept

2009-04-10T14:53:47Z

Don't ever let anyone say that when I tease a kick in the balls, I don't follow-through.

Sorry I didn't ever get around to posting anything to go along with Wednesday's strip. I got pretty comfortable with my buffer and apparently decided I didn't need to do any work at all that day. That buffer, if you can tell by the time of this posting, has evaporated already, but was nice. I will have some time this weekend to myself, I may spend it getting up to speed again. I already have next week written, no reason to sit on my duff I guess.

If you haven't heard it yet, be sure to check out our interview with Timothy O'Donnell about Sketchbook. Despite the underwater "effects" that seem to have hampered our recording, it really is a great interview. Leave it to us to try haphazardly to step up our remote-recording systems on an episode that actually carries some weight.

1PT.Rule Comic: As True As Possible

2009-04-08T12:48:26Z

Nate Voss http://www.vossome.com

1PT.Rule Comic: A Glimpse Through the Loupe

2009-04-06T06:02:03Z

The heroic story of Preston McPressman can finally be told! Talk about your exciting surprise character inventions -- I have a feeling he's going to stick around for a while.

Hopefully you've been noticing some changes we've been making around here at 36 Point. Some of these are cosmetic, some are a little more functional. I woke up over the weekend to find each and every 1PT.Rule comic now had a little preview comic off to the side if you stumble across the story on a non-comic-only page. Big enough to see, but small enough that the possibilities engage your brain like a still-wrapped present on Christmas morning. My partner in crime insists the code for this MT hack appeared to him as an apparition, in a vision, and that he felt compelled to create lest its secrets departed his mind for greener pastures. As is often the case in these situations, I found myself going along for the ride.

Do you follow me on Twitter? You should -- it seems we've started giving away free stuff there once or twice a month now. Also I'm quite dapper.

1PT.Rule Comic: McPressman, Preston McPressman

2009-04-03T15:00:57Z

Golden rule, gang: Always be nice to your printers.

This will be continued on Monday, and then hopefully Wednesday, then Friday. I reall have to apologize for all of the late strips lately. The end of March and beginning of April have been just about hell and it has been very difficult to find time for the strip. But never fear! 1PT.Rule isn't going anywhere, I just need to take some time, hopefully this weekend, to get back in front of my buffer. Fingers crossed!

--nv--

1PT.Rule Comic: You Know Not What You Have Wrought

2009-03-30T21:27:59Z

A little while back I was surprised when I paired Conrad with Marie for a strip about our Kung-Fu Priest. What struck me as odd was how Marie, who is no stranger to working an angle for her own benefit, went right along with Conrad's over-the-line fawning over his new pastor. As a creator it's not uncommon to have mental snapshot of each character's personality constantly floating about, but it's great when that snapshot brings about an answer to question you didn't expect. These two characters have very devious sides to them that seem... unholy... when brought together.

So, no stranger to bringing interns along on press-checks myself, I thought I might explore this dark cavern of storytelling a bit further. My mind is already reeling of possibilities.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Now and Then

2009-03-27T15:04:47Z

Sometimes I think we all like to reminisce, and when times are tough in your current situation -- let's say freelancing -- it becomes easy to remember all the fun things about your old jobs, and less of the reasons why you left them all in the dust to blaze your own trail. I'm sure Sagmeister can totally relate.

So I'm giving the FreelanceSwitch job board a trial for the next month. You have to pay a low dollar sum to take part -- well, you can read but not apply for free -- whereas the job posters themselves get to toss them up for free. There's a sort of logic at play here which they express on their site: encouraging low-budget clients to post jobs for their audience by not charging them, and weeding out amateurs and aggregate services by charging a fee to their users. They also offer, via their blog and twitter, a handful of articles on how to win at applying for these posted gigs. Mainly these tips amount to "cut to the chase" and "make your subject line stand out." The first tip you can do via their application form, the second you cannot. The application form gives a basic "you just got an application for job XXYY from FreelanceSwitch" header that you have no input on. So I just imagine you're Low-Budget Client on the other end of these things, and you get 50 to 100 e-mails a day, all with the same header, and no indication without reading and checking cross-links in each one whether or not any person is going to be a good fit for the project. I shudder to think that some people might actually include prices in their applications -- creating a tidal wave of undercutting and lowest-bidder design wars that ultimately sink the entire ship. If I land a gig through it, my opinion may change. We'll see.

On a more positive note, I did receive a review-copy of 100 Habits of Successful Freelance Designers (from the fine people at Rockport) yesterday, which I already believe will yield better results for my career than the aforementioned.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Salesmanship

2009-03-25T20:04:21Z

I know a designer this happened to. New client. Meet in a garage. Client bails. Designer remains in garage. It's a universal story, really.

1Pt.Rule Special: The Hunt

2009-03-23T13:56:14Z

Hey! Here's the first of what may be many 1PT.Rule "Specials," an attempt at long-form, full-page, full color comics. For now I'm aiming at having one of these a month, because fitting it in around everything else we have going on -- and there's always something going on here these days it seems -- is difficult. So anyway, I hope you like it, and the regular strip resumes Wednesday.

--nv--

1Pt.Rule Comic: How to Find Clients, Lesson 26

2009-03-19T13:08:03Z

Expect a few comics in the coming days about self-promotion, which seems to be the Mum-Ra to my Lion-o, the Skeletor to my He-Man, and the Wandering Plot to my Mysterious Cities of Gold. For some people, promoting your own business seems to come as easily as breathing, for me, it's like breathing underwater: I've seen animals that can do it just fine, and I am determined to become one myself, no matter how unnatural it feels.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Not a Course of Action I'd Recommend

2009-03-16T14:27:16Z

Took a double-strip to pull this little endeavor to a close.

I have to say, for the record, that I am a huge fan of Mighty Muggs. I have four: Chewbacca (the best), Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and Beat-Up Luke Skywalker circa Empire Strikes Back, complete with black eye and removable hand. I am quite the fan of the new G.I. Joe models, as well. They do make blank Mighty Muggs, and on my giant to-do list is to get myself a pair of those and make a Conrad and a Newton to share on the site. That order should go in soon. I have also learned that some Muggs are collectible, but not, apparently, in the vague sense.

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Preciousss part 2ssss

2009-03-13T18:51:45Z

So the Munny saga continues, painfully so. I am happy to report that some of the lucky locals invited to take part in this exclusive design merry-go-round have actually begun work at this point. Some are adopting previous works and other are doing entirely new pieces. Donovan finished his Monday, and it looks like something that would kick you in the nuts if you met it in a dark alley. And here I sit, alone, with no Munnys to keep me company. I'm spoiled, though, because I keep getting these little sneak peeks out of sympathy. I want to encourage that. I love seeing my friends make really cool, or really beautiful things, and I figure I'm going to have a tough time picking out just one to buy when all is said and done.

I'm working on The Professor to get him to set up a gallery show of all the finished Munnys. Question for people in the area: is that something you'd like to see?

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Preciousss.

2009-03-11T17:01:54Z

So, diary time, folks. Let's say you start an online comic, and the first you do pretty much bashes your local AIGA for doing something you didn't like. Now let's say that local chapter is doing something so totally awesome that you would cut off a leg to be a part of it. Well it turns out that you might not get invited over to play, on account of you being some sort of complete dickwad.

Pretty soon here, as soon as I get me some jpegs from our main man The Professor, I'll show you the totally dope custom Munnys (Munnies?) that he's done up for a special Munny-designing thing AIGA Nebraska is doing. It is somehow tied to a student portfolio review event they are cooking up, but really, who cares when you get people like Donovan, Steve, and Drew Davies rocking up custom toys. These will eventually be available for auction, with the proceeds presumably going to a local scholarship (but don't quote me on that).

My reaction to this exclusive awesom-nomaly could be described with many grotesque, lengthy adjectives, eventually reaching the point where I decided that chronicling my all-encompassing emotional spectrum in some strips seemed completely appropriate. Whenever you find yourself acting with a greater degree of lunacy than your actual comic strip character, well, my mind tells me that's pure comic gold.

Update: Here's what Paul has made so far:

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Power of My Shoryken Compels You.

2009-03-09T14:45:14Z

There's still a part of me that believes this comic may be the worst thing I've ever made, and poor Marie shares my conflict on the matter. On the one hand, there's something sketchy about thinking your pastor is a total badass due to nothing more than his cultural accent; on the other hand, the prospect of him throwing fireballs during communion is so awesome that, no matter how slim the odds, it consumes one's imagination. My wife and I have decided that if God sent this man to make going to service on Sundays more enjoyable, then we should not be ones to argue. At some point he's going to shout out a wicked Tat-su-maki Senpuu-kyaku!! and I want to be there to see it.

1PT.Rule Comic: Who's 'Da' Master?

2009-03-05T17:21:22Z

As I was finally, finally putting my eyes to 'Breathtaking', my running theory that nearly every global branding agency to put out a controversial redesign in the past ten years -- dating all the way back to UPS -- is led not by the designer at the helm, but by the guiding hands of the world's most talented bullshit artists. And let's not make any bones about it: the people steering the ship at Arnell are Bullshitters. World. Class. Bullshitters. With a capital B. The sort of post-creative justification on display in a document they refuse to say is not theirs is the work of a mad genius. For all the ridicule we've given them, you just try to tell me that if you could draw even a tenuous line from your last logo design to the birth of Christ in order to get it sold you wouldn't do it. I've been down that dark path many times, and have found my reserves for selling that kind of flagrant excrement to be wanting. There are, however, men (and presumably women) with such a talent for that game they can hardly stop themselves from rising to the top of the pile, so to speak.

Not that I'm condemning, or condoning. It's just something I've noticed.

36 Point: 1PT.Rule

1Pt.Rule Comic: Always There for You.

1Pt.Rule Comic: #100!

1Pt.Rule Comic: A Different Approach

1Pt.Rule Comic: Of Wings and Men

1Pt.Rule Comic: Ill Tidings from The Panda Kitchen

1Pt.Rule Comic: Welcome Back!

1Pt.Rule Comic: What Happens Not At HOW Stays Not At HOW

1PT.Rule Comic: Make Sure You Don't Forget Anything!

1Pt.Rule Comic: Incredible Plans

1PT.Rule Comic: Focusing on What's Really Important

1PT.Rule Comic: Print Envy

1PT.Rule Comic: The High Cost of Low Guilt

1PT.Rule Comic: Feature Creep

1PT.Rule Comic: He'd Never Really Ask Us to Keep Anything Classy

1PT.Rule Comic: Of Deeds That Need Not Be Named.

1PT.Rule Comic: This Air Haz A FlavR

1PT.Rule Comic: Mysterious Words Spoken in a Dead Language

1PT.Rule Comic: The Kern of the Wild

1PT.Rule Comic: Once You Go Reverse-Out, You Never Back Out

1PT.Rule Comic: Dueling Yellow Fates

1Pt.Rule Comic: Begin Your Reconnoiter

1PT.Rule Comic: Licensed to Thrill

1PT.Rule Comic: Managin' *Relations*

1Pt.Rule Comic: A Momentous Audioccassion

1Pt.Rule Comic: What Horrors Lie Beneath These Streets

1Pt.Rule Comic: Credentials. Of the Street Variety.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Stratactrickery

1Pt.Rule Comic: You Can't Handle My Flot, Yo.

1Pt.Rule Comic: Hog-Wild for Design? Pigs for Information? I dunno... "Swine Flu."

1Pt.Rule Comic: Self-Demotion

1Pt.Rule Comic: Free Advice From the Superfamous

1Pt.Rule Comic: A Winner Is You!

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Winter, In Courier

1Pt.Rule Comic: Pile On While The Pilin's Good

1PT.Rule Comic: Manny Way You Slice It

1PT.Rule Comic: #savejon

1PT.Rule Comic: A Promise Made is a Promise Kept

1PT.Rule Comic: As True As Possible

1PT.Rule Comic: A Glimpse Through the Loupe

1PT.Rule Comic: McPressman, Preston McPressman

1PT.Rule Comic: You Know Not What You Have Wrought

1Pt.Rule Comic: Now and Then

1Pt.Rule Comic: Salesmanship

1Pt.Rule Special: The Hunt

1Pt.Rule Comic: How to Find Clients, Lesson 26

1Pt.Rule Comic: Not a Course of Action I'd Recommend

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Preciousss part 2ssss

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Preciousss.

1Pt.Rule Comic: The Power of My Shoryken Compels You.

1PT.Rule Comic: Who's 'Da' Master?

1PT.Rule Comic: Managin' Relations