Hear Ye!

Hello all! This site is no longer active; the Magnetic State Blog Department has moved here.

Check out the brand-spanking new Magnetic State portfolio site! I decided to attach the blog department to the portfolio site by building a customized blog on a fresh installation of my favorite blogging platform, Wordpress. Blogger is very convenient and user-friendly but Wordpress offers extensive customization and I'm a big fan.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you'll subscribe to the Magnetic State Blog Dept. at its new location!

Shirt and Destroy.

On a skateboard, I am a disaster waiting to happen. Nonetheless, I think the skateboard industry is home to some of the most inventive apparel graphics on the market. Of course, you have to wade through plenty of bad trends (spoof advertising, emulation/plagiarism of horror movies and rap stars, simplistic glorification of drugs, et cetera) but you can usually find some interesting garments if you look hard enough and find the reputable or adventurous brands. Here are a few cool shirt designs I found while browsing today.





An interesting take on the stripe pattern from Atwater. I love the color scheme too - it stops just short of too loud.




Another variation on the stripe theme from Volcom. The asymmetry of the blank sleeve is pleasantly jarring to the eye.




You can always count on Nor Cal for gorgeous, sophisticated type. These antiquated typographical styles are so classy, they make my eyes drool.


All product photos from Zumiez.

Out for a Stroll.

This image is part of an in-progress series I've been working on in my free time for a while now. I just decided to share one because they've been fun to make and they are totally different from much of my work. Click the image to view full size.

Coldfront Redesign

I recently completed a website design for online poetry purveyors Coldfront. I began by designing their logo, using a decorative cloud element from their previous site as the primary image. Then we embarked on the task of designing a website that would include an ambitious front page that would feature a multi-tiered magazine-style layout. As always, I chose Wordpress as the platform with which to power the site and customize its appearance. The Coldfront editors have yet to migrate the entirety of their content to the new site, but I hope you'll stop by and take a look at the results of our hard work!

And of course, if you're in the market for a new website or blog, please send an email to dan at magnetic state dot com!

www.ryanmcmenamy.com

Illustration by Ryan McMenamy

I am pleased to launch my most recent website design: the online portfolio of the very talented fashion illustrator Ryan McMenamy. Please visit www.ryanmcmenamy.com. This site is built entirely with valid HTML and CSS, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it, internet!

Robogeisha

Oh man. This is gonna change your life so drastically, you will mark this date on your calendar. "Today marks the anniversary of the first time I saw the trailer for Robogeisha," you'll reminisce next year, as you gleefully uncork a bottle of fine champagne. "I've truly evolved since then." The only thing better than the ludicrous special effects concepts in this trailer is the creepy, whispered voice-over of the narrator, who manages to pronounce "fried shrimp" like it's a dirty secret. In this movie, it probably is. You're welcome.

'The Bear' Shirt

Check out the shirt I designed for my friends in Stephen Kellogg and The Sixers. Their new album The Bear is due out in early September.

Photo by Elmo Thamm.

Here's the design triumphantly emblazoned on the bass drum of Brian 'Boots' Factor. Many thanks, gentlemen!