Andrew Kim.

Designer Andrew Kim gained a ton of attention last year with "The Next Microsoft", in which he rebranded all of Microsoft's entire line of products: Windows 8, the Surface, Windows Phone, and even Microsoft Office.

It highlighted all issues that Microsoft is guilty of, along with a few sublets ones as well. Enough to make many wonder why the company doesn't just hire Kim, so he can help set things right.

Well, that's just what has happened. Kim has just announced that Microsoft is his new boss. "I can’t talk about the details of how things fell into place but the choice became obvious. I'll be designing for Microsoft as of summer. I promise that I’ll make the my greatest work ever while I'm there."

Kim is fairly sparse on the details, but as evidenced by the big bold letters that kicks off the announcement, it will be related to the Xbox.

This summer, Microsoft is expected to officially unveil their new home console, whatever it might be called. Everyone has been calling it the Xbox 720, but rumors point towards it just being called Xbox, and will represent a massive philosophical shift. Instead of being just a game system, it's expected to a machine that will completely take over one's living room and become the centerpiece of one's digital lifestyle. So anything that lofty will need some fairly impressive and bold branding. Which makes the hiring of Kim such a smart move.

Project 3 facts.

Of the more than 1 million people in the U.S. infected with HIV, nearly half are black men, women and children  even though blacks make up about 13 percent of the population. AIDS is the primary killer of African-Americans ages 19 to 44, and the mortality rate is 10 times higher for black Americans than for whites. For the project, I decided on doing my poster on HIV/AIDS awareness within the African American community. I grew inspiration from my job, The Mocha Center. 

At the MOCHA Center, we pride ourselves on our ability to effectively respond to the emerging needs of our communities through dynamic programming. All of our services are conducted in a culturally sensitive manner that is both confidential and non-judgmental. Additionally, services are provided in a manner that emphasizes wellness, individual responsibility, increased awareness; while promoting self-efficacy through the ongoing support of our professional staff and volunteers.

So for a blog post, I decided to post up a few facts for a post.

• Black men represent 31 percent of all new HIV infections in the United States. 
• In 2010 (14,700) and accounted for 70 percent of new HIV. 
• The rate of new infections among black men was the highest of any group by race and sex.
• The vast majority (72 percent) of infections among black men were among MSM (men who have sex with men).
• By age, the largest percentage (38 percent) of new HIV infections among black males in 2010 occurred in those aged 13–24 years, much higher than the proportion of new infections.

Salvador Dali

Spanish painter, sculptor, graphic artist and graphic designer, Salvador Dali was one of the most celebrated and influential figures in the twentieth century avant-garde art. Dali is best known for is surrealist art of the 1930's. 

Salvador Dali was born on May 11, 1904 in Figueras, Spain. He was born the third Salvador Dali after his father and brother, who died 9 months before Dali's own birth. Dali lived in the shadow of his brother all of his life. This had a great impact on his artwork.  

In 1928, Dali first obtained true international exposure when his oil painting, "Basket of Bread", was shown at Carnegie International Exposition in Pittsburgh, PA. This was one example of his mastery. Dali was determined to become one of the world's greatest painters. Salvador Dali died January 23, 1989 but will still remain one of the greatest artists and whose paintings will always remain.

Dali was the graphic designer behind Chupa Chups! Chupa Chups are sweet lollipops that are an eye catching rendition of a daisy. The name of the brand comes from the Spanish verb chupar, meaning "to suck".

Favorite Album Cover.

There are many different album covers, that strike the eye or pass. From the fonts, to the colors and overall design, many different elements. I have quite a few favorite album covers such as, Calvin Harris' 18 Months, Lana Del Rey's 'Born to Die: Paradise Edition and last Tegan and Sara's 'Heartthrob'.

But there is one that really caught my eye. As I said in the past, I am a big fan of different fonts. Also I love the edgy side of people, such as Rihanna herself and other women in the singing business. The album cover above is Rihanna's album Unapologetic. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 238,000 copies, becoming Rihanna's first number one album on the chart and best-selling debut week.

On this cover there has to be about two to three different fonts. The use of white space is well used, Rihanna is directly in the middle of the album cover. When I first looked at this cover, I was attracted to the album title behind the color black. The white on black lets you know that this is the album title. Other than that, I love the way everything is positioned. I do wish that maybe the album title would have been somewhat centered over the breast area, but that is about it. 

There are a few fonts that kind of model the font on the album cover here: DaFont

Project #2

Overall this project was something new for me. Never thought I would do something like this and how it turned out.

I had a bunch of ideas going in my head, but tried different things. BUT, the reason why nothing was working was because I kind of messed up in the beginning. I wanted to add more pictures and try to do a gradient effect.

After I got everything together, I told myself to just keep it simple at that point since the due date was coming up and I had a lot of other things to focus on. I wanted to make everything clean and make it a little different. I am a fan of three columns and different fonts. I like a font that will jump or make people say, "I like that font, what is the name of it?"

Next project I will try to pace myself and to actually express my ideas and able to feel more confident about it.