The Blog of Evan Stremke

April 7, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:45:23 +0000

Special thanks to @nikkidots for this:

April 7, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 02:40:09 +0000

It's always better to have thick skin than a thick skull.

April 4, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 00:59:08 +0000

I received some nifty gifties! The Menomena poster is from Chris Streger. And the letterpress print is from Matt Braun. Thanks, fellas! -Ev

March 29, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:45:55 +0000

Thanks to @BlameDesign for pointing out this awkward mess.

March 22, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 04:10:08 +0000

Sheer Coincidence. It seems like every sunrise is met with yet another scandal involving the lifting of a creative mind's work and intellectual property. And it seems as though the Internet is downwind of this news at all times. Twitter, Dribbble, popular design blogs across the web. All full of haters and naysayers. Cynics and defeatists. Prophets of doom, and damp smelly blankets that have only just recently been removed from the dark corner of the hallway closet. Every one of these negative Nellies is quick to point out that someone's work might be the result of conscious theft, as if the world isn't already fully aware of the concept of stealing. They are at the ready, fingers on the comment trigger, aiming at anything that might potentially win them thanks and gratitude of not only the original designer, but the admiration of said designer's friends and fellow creative brains. And to a certain degree, that's what this business is about. It's perfectly acceptable to want to receive recognition for your efforts and hard work. And yes, It's nice to feel like you've righted a wrong. In fact, we're taught from an early age that this is the responsible thing to do. To bring justice to an unjust world. Justice might be blind, but that doesn't mean we need to judge blindly. In the Fall of 2009, I was contacted by a designer who pointed out that some of my work very closely resembled his own, and the work of another creative. The sender of the email, without hesitation, accused me of flat out stealing his work. And I can understand the fire and passion with which he wrote me. I too would be furious to find another designer claiming to own my original work. But at a certain point, you need to take a step back, breathe, and try to think logically about whether or not this was malicious or purely coincidental. While this experience was terrifying and debilitating on many levels, the designer who contacted me about the work handled the affair very well. Though he was rather abrasive and quick to assume, I wholly understand why. In such an immediate world, we demand immediate answers. We assume that because everyone has just about equal access to just about everything nowadays, that it's impossible to not know you're stealing. But some fail to realize that the Internet is fucking big. Not everyone scours the web before moving forward with a concept. Sometimes we trust others that we are collaborating with. Sometimes accidents are had, and coincidences are experienced. Good design might be seen, forgotten, then remembered later on without knowledge of the original creators. When these designs are used as inspiration, parallels can be drawn. And while mentioning these similarities publicly on the web can result in quick and immediate removal, it can also damage the reputation of someone who might have made an honest mistake. And if the misappropriation truly was intentional, the best way to handle it is not with a smear campaign, but with a respectful email or phone call. If it's an obvious rip, people will know, and it's their choice whether to act with that knowledge in hand or not. Don't rope innocent bystanders into your affairs. Berating someone on Twitter? Asking others to retweet and demand a lynching? That is not the high road. And for an industry and craft that prides itself on putting our best foot forward, this type of behavior is a blemish—the fugly ass cousin we don't want people to know we actually think is kind of cute. Newsflash. It's your cousin. Even if others join you in looking past the bald spot and acne. Even if others attend your wedding or help babysit your kids. Everyone ends up feeling a little dirty, and the rest of society will look down on you for it. And they have every right. And fuck you if you don't understand that allegory.

March 21, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:37:45 +0000

Seems like there's been an awful lot of apartment showcases on design blogs lately. There's nothing cooler than getting a sneak peak of fellow designer's digs, especially when done in an infinitely classier fashion than MTV's Cribs. (Ever notice how you never see an actual baby crib on that show? What gives?) It occurred to me today that nobody has ever seen my room except for a maybe few family members and close friends. But I have yet to pull back the hilarious and dashing curtain I've put up on my Twitter, Facebook, and BlackPlanet accounts. And since my place is nowhere near cool enough to get featured on the blog of your choice, I figured the only shot I had at revealing the room that makes the man is here on my own personal blog. So won't you join me on a brief tour of my bedroom studio? Interesting things to note: • I don't know how to play the guitar, but I keep one in my bedroom because I'm convinced I'll learn it to play it one day. And I will. • The left closet door is broken and doesn't open without a great deal of force. Meaning I force it open every morning because I don't accept failure as an option. • My room is drafty, so there's a bath towel at the bottom of the sliding doors (covered by drapes in the photo). I prefer it hot like the bayou. • During the winter my bike serves as a coat rack. The people of Madison (mostly Oriental women), are terrible drivers. I like to play it safe and take the bus. • JFK is my favorite historical figure, and crowding the walls with anything but his portrait would be blasphemous and an insult to his legacy. • I use one pencil at a time, and move on to the next one only when the first one is completely used up. • I own only two hats. One is a fedora, and the other is a Lundberg Stetson. Those are the only two hats any man needs. Maybe a baseball cap. • My iPod follows me just as much as my iPhone and iPad. It's done so faithfully since December of 2005. • I don't even sleep in my own bed. I prefer the floor. It's better for my back. • I keep a box of tissues and a bottle of lotion between my bed and desk. I have allergies and eczema. Well that's it. I know most of you reading this aren't actually in the Madison area, but if any of you find yourselves in Wisconsin's capital city, please let me know. I'd love to have you over for dinner. I'll make homemade chicken curry, and you will like it. -Ev

February 25, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:30:30 +0000

If you don't know the work of Kyle Tezak yet, then you will soon. Kyle started at Swink back in November, and not long after that he started telling me about this idea he had for a personal project. He said he was going to summarize films and stories in four explanatory icons relating to key elements of the corresponding work. Kyle's project took off and made the rounds on Internet almost instantly. Not just on Twitter, but NOTCOT, Zeldman, The Guardian, Quipsologies, and even NPR picked it up. Pretty soon Kyle's work was featured on just about every design blog there is. Admittedly it became a little tough to live in Kyle's shadow, and the walls started to close in around me. My world started going black, my personal relationships were strained, and I eventually became so physically and mentally ill that I spent three days in the hospital. Kyle recently got Delicious Design League in Chicago to print the two most requested designs (The Life Aquatic & The Big Lebowski), and is now selling them on his site. He gave me mine in person when we met for drinks tonight and they are superb! If you're interested in picking them up—and you should be—you can buy them here. Great work by a great designer who is also a great person. Doesn't get much better than that. -Ev

February 25, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:09:37 +0000

It's happening again. I decide to start blogging, and other stuff gets in the way. I make a promise to you and to myself that this is the time. This is it. I'm going to blog. Then, you know, things like personal projects get in the way. They're slow moving, but they're obstructive mentally and I end up staring at my screen for hours with episodes of Arrested Development playing in the background (I know the show so well that I can clearly visualize what's happening based on sound alone). But I can't blame my lack of blogical contributions solely on personal projects. Earlier this month (the first day to be exact), I started a new gig at Planet Propaganda. I'm not one to get into the details with personal decisions like this, but I'll say that the gang at Swink are some of greatest folks I've ever had the pleasure of knowing and we're going to be friends for a very long time. Or at least until I "accidentally" forget to tie Kyle Tezak's rope into my harness while rock climbing together next weekend… Now that things are settling down and I'm finding my groove at Planet, expect to see posts on a more frequent basis. I'm hoping to start posting some snippets of work in progress, but I don't want to just duplicate my Dribbble shots, so I'll see if I can divvy up the content. Get creative, that's what I'm good at after all. Okay, Ev

January 15, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 02:21:07 +0000

I've been trying to settle on a direction for a new personal project for awhile now. You might recall my idea for redesigning books covers for famous fairy tales. Unfortunately, I wasn't going to be able to compete with Mikey Burton in that realm. That, and my good friend and coworker Kyle Tezak is doing a much better job of illustrating stories and films with icons than I ever could. With this rejection in mind, I decided to stare off into space like I often do in my home office. As it so happens, the only thing hanging on my wall is a photo of JFK. Those of you who know me know that I've been fascinated with JFK since I was young, especially his assassination. I'm a fan of conspiracy theories, so the JFK assassination has held my interest for years. So this seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally put this love to use. Thus, 'Invitation To An Assassination' A series of prints devoted to history's most famous assassinations. The list, in no particular order, is as such: Julius Caesar MLK Jr. Robert F. Kennedy Lee Harvey Oswald John F. Kennedy John Lennon Malcolm X Franz Ferdinand Abraham Lincoln Gandhi Looking forward to sharing these with you. -Ev

January 14, 2011

The Blog of Evan Stremke — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 03:46:40 +0000

I few days ago I was featured on Design Work Life. "This morning I’ve been admiring the diverse portfolio of Evan Stremke, who is currently a designer at Swink." Special thanks to Courtney and Brian over at Seamless Creative.