All Entries in the "Featured" Category
Customize My Designs.Com – Exercise your creativity!
One of the most satisfying things for me as someone who creates graphics, is to see those graphics on a commercial product. Normally the cost of doing that is too much for those of us that are not in the printing industry, not any more. I’ve developed an online designer tool to allows you to create your own products and purchase them.
Exercise your creativity with my online apparel designer. Use vectors from the clip art gallery, add text and create away to your hearts content. You don’t need to have image editing software or skill, nor do you need to have an online store. Just create your designs and purchase them online, all in a within this website. It’s quick, it’s simple – instant gratification! http://www.customizemydesigns.com/
The designer interface is intuitive and easy to use. You can see from the picture below that you can:
- Choose a product
- Add clip art
- Add text
If you want just one t-shirt, or just one product, that’s okay. There is no minimum (or maximum) limit. Scroll down the product list and you’ll see some novelty items too! There’s underwear, hats, bags, mugs, aprons, teddy bears and more.
Once you are done designing and your masterpiece is ready, click “ADD TO CART” and a button will appear on the bottom right saying “PURCHASE NOW”. This will take you to a cart where you can change or delete the order. Once satisfied you click on “PROCESS TO PURCHASE” and your design will be uploaded to Cafepress and you will see the Cafepress cart. This is a last sanity check to make sure you have the correct design, number of items purchased and size set.
At all times during the purchasing process you can abort. The last thing I want is people feeling like they are press ganged into purchasing, which is why I left in a few steps to check, and double check.
All transactions and printing is done through Cafepress. They are an excellent source for fulfillment and they don’t charge to use their services. Obviously they get a cut of the profits from printing. So, why not go on over the http://www.customizemydesigns.com and have some creative fun?
Below are some products with one of my designs on them. This design matches the images I have used on the front page here, and in this post. It goes to show just how create you can get!
Music is Art – Forever Evolving
I had made a mistake when creating the above image. It should have read “music is art, forever evolving” but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the way it came out. Since music can create so much in us, it’s fitting that it is ‘life’. Albert Einstein said he loved music more than he loved physics, and look at his passion for physics. Powerful no?
My Music:
I have written and produced three CD’s so far, with a fourth on the way. I’m still exploring methods and ways to dive into more styles, and to diversify the style I currently work in. I don’t get a lot of time to write right now, but the inkling is always there. Here’s the breakdown of three CD’s that I have released, in chronological order:
INSPIRATION – first release – designed to tickle the world of music and see what style would work best. The closest style I would say this resembles was New World Fusion – quite the eclectic mix of sounds and styles – somewhat New Age (ish), definitely different. The question was, do I write music that I love to write and try to sell that – or – do I write music to the market? The answer depended on what I hoped to achieve, and I ended up thinking it best to write music that I love to write, but that would also do well.
Listen to the tracks HERE. Purchase the tracks (MP3′s) HERE.
REDEMPTION – second release – drilling down the style from what I had learned from the first release, and for the goal I set. In writing for this CD I concentrated on a style that’s somewhat like Vangelis meets Enigma on steroids. The problem is a lot of people haven’t heard of either Vangelis, nor Enigma. Clue – Vangelis wrote the soundtrack for the movies Blade Runner and Chariots of Fire. To cut a long story short, this music seems to do well in the European market, although it’s style that is still developing. I’m still working on how to better market this one!
Listen to all the tracks HERE. Purchase the tracks (MP3′s) HERE.
ACQUIESCENCE – third release – spill over from Redemption – I wrote too many tracks for one album so decided on two, but thought that using the same CD cover design would be a good idea. Looking back this has caused a lot of confusion – people didn’t seem to look past the design, the words are different – note to self, don’t do that again. From the minute I sent them to CD Baby for release I’ve met with confusion – even though the name is completely different.
Listen to all the tracks HERE. Purchase the tracks (MP3′s) HERE.
DesignArt – The Color of Diverse Design
Design, art, graphics – things I could not do until computers came along. Armed with a computer the sky is the limit for me. And having a talent for the creative, and the intellect for technology (left and right brained), the sky is the limit. There is so much opportunity to venture into different realms of design using technology that I know I’ve just scratched the surface – but look how far I have come already!
Creativity and the product of artful design. You’ve seen some of my designs on pages on this web, and I’m going to post them again – just in case you missed them the first time around!
I’m not limited to just these styles and I am touting my services here. I can create and / or customize designs or your choosing. You can purchase my designs from the product page (see the link over there on the right?), ok – here’s the link, to make it easy – or you can request or customize my designs that you have seen on my other sites. Here’s my Cafepress store so you can see more examples of what I can create, and bear in mind that I design websites too.
http://www.cafepress.com/steveshead – Have fun with it and, more to the point, purchase something!
Here’s another plug – all the graphics that I create are available for sale or customization. Email me steve@steve-shead.com with your requirements and contact details and we’ll make it happen.
Subverted Tees:
Here’s three designs I created on the flight back from Hawaii earlier this year. They are all based on a tattoo style – the originals are in Illustrator format, and the PNG’s I use for printing are 6000 x 6000 pixels @ 200 dpi.
[nggallery id=1]
Evil Clown:
I’m not sure what was going through my mind when I created these, but they seem to sell well on apparel! I started with black and white outlines for each of these, and worked in layers to add color – then added the extra ‘stuff’ to form the final images.
[nggallery id=2]
Skulls:
Here is a selection of skull designs that I have created. I love the grunge look with skulls and other abstract design elements mixed in. The eclectic mix of styles in these three make for diversely different styles, but all have their own impact.
[nggallery id=3]
Abstract Color:
These are all very colorful images so classifying them isn’t so easy. What I really like is the diversity of them all. A mixture of styles within each image and that’s why I have put them together – for now.
[nggallery id=4]
Information Technology and Security
Information technology and information security are my fields of expertise, and I have the pleasure of working within those fields as a career. The abstract thought process and mix of technical knowledge make it almost like play time. Thinking outside the box is outmoded – you have to think even more abstract since you are trying to see all points of view – from CEO to hacker – from tactical to strategic, and even political.
I’ve posted a lot of information technology and information security related post to this website. I learn from the information I gleen from around the web and I wanted a place where I could refer back, since some of the command line and shortcut stuff is priceless. It doesn’t matter what status I hold at work, I’m always interested in cleaning up my skills, and learning new ones. There should never be a point, even in the executive layer, that we should let go of those skills.
Information Security is an area I have a lot of passion in. I am the Director of Information Technology and Information Security Officer for the company that I work for and, as such, have to keep my finger on the pulse. I have done hacking course and am technically proficient, but I would not say that I am anything other than someone who sees how it can be done, and wants to prevent it happening to the company I work for.
Here’s a Standard Penetration Testing Checklist. See how involved it is, and that is just the entry point. I didn’t write this by the way – why re-invent the wheel, but it’s a great reminder and backbone for penetration testing. All that I am trying to illustrate is the complexity of information security, and that it is all too often overlooked by executives for no other reason than not arming them with enough information. Yes – we should take the blame for some of that. When I presented the base level of hacking techniques to our executive staff I immediately got budget money. I meant to scare them, and boy did I.
You’ll notice in the tech section there is a ton of useful information. This is just a piece of what I find useful – I don’t have time to post it all so I try to post the most interesting – well, to me anyway. More as it comes to me.
Web Technologies and Design
Technology and design go hand in hand, for me. I have developed an online apparel designer – a web application – and I’m not an engineer. This goes to show that it’s not out of the grasp of anyone that uses a computer, assuming you are interested of course. The good thing is there are a lot of free applications out there if you look hard enough, dependent on what you want to achieve.
Web technologies and design – where to go with this? Let’s start with my web technology – at least the web application that I have built. If you’ve been parousing this website you will notice a few references to http://www.customizemydesigns.com – that is an online apparel designer that I have been bringing up – and it’s finally working. I have some design work to do, but the application is fully functional. It is an example of what can be done on the web. Once you have the application you need a website to wrap it in and off you go. I chose a flash based theme and I wanted a grunge look. I created the graphics and recoded the site to do what I needed. I won’t bore you with the details but instead of creating a PDF and sending to a print house, my application creates SVG templates and uploads through Cafepress. Since Cafepress is a print fullfillment company that allows singles, as well as bulk orders, it was a no brainer. The coding wasn’t so easy, but it’s done now. Check it out!
Inspiration and Genius – One and the Same
“Inspiration and Genius – One and the Same” – Albert Einstein. I’m struck by the thought (or misconception) that being both left and right brained is unusual. It is just another state of being. Einstein was left and right brained, and some say he was bordering on insanity – or was it that people didn’t have the capacity to understand him in those days?
I’m a creative writer also – noone said you had to center on just one talent. The text below is something I wrote a few years ago when musing about Einstein and his quote “inspiration and genius – one and the same’. You can knock the theory of what I have written, but the style is a little interesting. That being said, it’s an interesting read. This was written as I was moving through mastery training in martial arts.
IMAGINATION AND EXPRESSION
Imagination and expression are such unreal words in our real world. Take a trip through imagination accomplished visually through surreal based design, and mentally through drifted thought. It is and idea; it is a concept; it is an opinion, nothing more and nothing less. In this case it’s called “Imagination and the Expression of our Inner Self”. Life is a journey of learning, seeing, doing and even being, if you can make sense of that. If you are not learning, seeing and doing, then you are not being. For all that we are and for all that we will ever be is never more so pertinent than it is right here, right now.
by
Steve Shead
THE ROAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT
QUOTE: Littering a dark and dreary road lay the past relics of our lives, incompatible and broken by today’s standards, yet strong and resilient with the lessons of time. Today we must clear the mind of past practices. Enlightenment can be achieved with tireless efforts of mental growth and the fruit of imaginations running free, coupled with meditation and the knowing that all we see is not all there is. The invitation is to relax and meditate on the important lessons of the masters. Begin to see with clarity; learn to use the (yet to be) time-honored techniques in a new and invigorating fashion; become one with your inner self. UNQUOTE
There is clearly a need clarity in our own lives. The general status quo today is over and above the hum of every day life and that, in itself, presents issues. What I mean by that is that we live in our own insulated world by the rules we impose on ourselves through the society we are part of. That is the status quo and we do little to change that most of the time. Life then passes us by and we complain about this and that and how hard life is. You see where I am going with this? The hum of everyday life is the goings on around us that we don’t seem to notice, nor do we affect or effect, and some of those things are very special.
Where am I going with this? Well, having been some places and done some things I have a pretty unique view on the world around me and how much of an affect I have on it, as well as it has on me. What does that have to do with imagination and expression of your inner self? Profound as it may sound, it’s just another way of saying “how I think and dream and how I show that to the world”. We are all perceived in one way or another and there are those that like us, and those that don’t. The main point there is that, if you truly like yourself, does it really matter what others think? If you can truly trust that the majority of who you are and what you do is true to your life, then you know it doesn’t matter that you are not perfect and it doesn’t matter that you make mistakes. You know you are going to learn from the mistakes, so there is always the plus side.
What I have personally found is that, the more aware of your surroundings you are, the more alive you feel. If you take time to daydream even, you are, in a sense, almost in a state of meditation. You are controlling the thoughts and directing them to where you want to see yourself, doing what you want yourself to do, and you could actually use that experience to anchor a goal and strive towards it. If you know anything about goal setting you will know that if you can see yourself doing it, you can achieve it. So, therein lies the first key to imagination and expression. You can call it zoning, daydreaming or whatever word you like but, as long as you follow the basic principles of focus and concentration then you are on the right road. There isn’t really a predefined way, it’s all a matter of how we perceive it and that’s okay as long as it works for you.
So where do imagination and expression come into it? Well, to daydream you need imagination, so we all have that. Expression is how we show ourselves to the real world, and we all do that. That can mean in our actions, deeds and words so it can be quite all encompassing. The inner self is not to be confused with the inner child. The inner self is the part of us that only we know. There are elements to everyone’s lives that aren’t shared, and rightfully so! The inner self is the core of who we are and how we deal with ourselves, let alone the real world. If we can embrace our inner self as true to who we are and, again, accept that we are not perfect, then we are well on the way to self enlightenment. So, these terms that we hear all the time, such as inner child, inner self, enlightenment etc., are really other words for parts of us that we already know. Does that make sense?
So why do people want to use those terms instead of words we understand? Well, I think they want to set them aside from the norm because the norm to us is that hum-drum dreary road that we spoke about earlier. To make a change you have to break a habit and changing focus through words might just be a way of doing just that. I’m not saying I am ultimately right here, just that this is how I perceive it in my reality. What you should be looking to do is to incorporate the basic principles into your own life, in your own words, during your own time with your own thoughts and experiment to find what works for you. Like I said, there isn’t really a right way, more a way that works for you. You have to want to change, and that is another hurdle along the way. You may not be at a stage when you can accept enlightenment, even if you want to call it that. Conversely you may be looking for something that is missing in your life. This is then the best way to get started because it will lead you to a fuller, happier life. I’m not trying to preach here, just thinking out loud!
Why participate? For recognition, inspiration, success or for a sense of belonging? There isn’t really a set in stone answer to this. The rewards are personal to you. I know for myself that unlocking my inspiration allows me to write inspired music that others love to hear. The fact that the music I write can touch so many people in so many different ways is a fantastic reward to me, and it makes me feel like I have done something worthwhile. In writing my music I am expressing myself at an emotional level, in a sense bearing my soul with my music. It can reflect so many things, so may emotions, so many events that are turned into sounds that it’s almost un-limiting in it’s reach. Inspiration isn’t there all the time. What do we do when it’s not there? That’s when we sit and daydream or change our state in other ways. Meditation, if you choose that method, changes your state of being, your state of mind, your state period. That breaks cycles, habits, moods or whatever and leads to a refreshed, relaxed and calm inner feeling. From that point you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything. In reality you are the only limiting factor to what you can do! Try breaking a mood by changing your situation. Change your situation by going out, maybe to the gym or a long walk.
Strange as it may sound, the conclusion is that there is no conclusion. The limits are imposed by ourselves to ourselves and, every now and then, we try to impose those limiting beliefs, thoughts and emotions on those around us, be it knowingly or otherwise. You don’t need to understand how it works, just know that, with enough practice, it does work. How do I know? I have had some major successes and some stupendous downfalls. Each I look at in a separate light and ask myself “why did that happen?”, and I will find the reason, good or bad. Sometimes the way we are makes these things happen (remember habits?) and sometimes fate is telling us something. There will never be a perfect world and there will always be good times and bad times. The trick is in knowing how make good out of bad. Remember what I said earlier? There is always a lesson to be learnt, even from bad experiences. Just with that thought you can turn your world around!
Life is hard enough as it is without imposing our own limiting self beliefs on the world around us. It takes an open mind to truly see that we can change ourselves; that we can effect and affect those around us; that we create what we perceive to be and that we are deserving.
