Brian Paul Nelson – Branding / Design / Illustration">Brian Paul Nelson

This past week has been one of the most intense and incredible weeks of my life. Graduation. Portfolio Show. iheartatlas.com. Work. Celebrating with family and friends. Relaxing? Definitely one for the record books.

So school is finally over and graduation went off without a hitch yesterday! It is hard to believe that I will never walk the halls again at UNF, it makes me happy and sad at the same time. Five years of my life have never gone by so fast. The Graphic Design program required a lot of hard work and dedication, but it was / is a great program filled with a variety of classes that creatively push students to new boundaries. My portfolio and website have expanded into something I once dreamed of and now I have it and it’s so surreal. Thank you to all of my teachers and the friends I made while at UNF, it was such a great experience. Big thank you to my family as well, especially my momma.

Back track a week ago to Friday, December 4. A long day of review with my teachers, the first official day of iheartatlas.com and the Senior Portfolio Show that night. There was a great turnout and I met a lot of new people along with seeing some old friends. I had such a fun time showing my work and talking about design as well as other random things that stirred up. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on hand so the pics above (taken by my mom) are the best I have. I had a nice size table where I had some of my work out, as well as my portfolio book (more on that in a future post) and my laptop showcasing my website. There were also some promotional items such as business cards, flyers and stickers of my logo for everyone to take and give to their friends. It truly was a great night. Seeing everything together on the table all at once after months and months of preparation was an unbelievable feeling. Thanks to everyone who made it out!

School might be over, but Atlas has only begun. Prepare for more work, posts and design goodness to come. Thank you!

Currently spinning Rules by The Whitest Boy Alive. I’ve been listening to it a couple times a week since its March release earlier this year and it has yet to get old, and I don’t think it ever will. Below are some of the tracks that I dig, however, the album as a whole is a solid house/indie/down-tempo mix. I really enjoy the clearness of the instruments and how each can be distinctly heard on top of one another. Great record for a gathering with friends or for an afternoon of browsing the web and getting work down.

The Whitest Boy Alive — Keep A Secret

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The Whitest Boy Alive — Intentions

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The Whitest Boy Alive — High On The Heels

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The Whitest Boy Alive — 1517

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The Whitest Boy Alive — Dead End

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Purchase

Prepare to have a good chunk of your time taken up if you are going to look at these because there are many more once you click the link. Eric Carl posted to his flickr what seems to be every page from the mid-70′s edition of the book World of Logotypes, which holds many classics, along with some old gems that are still around today. This stuff is pure awesome and is always a great place to turn to when you are looking for a collection of logos to get you inspired. The book is of course out of print, but if I could find a copy, it would definitely be a part of my library.

View the collection. Thanks Eric.

Sounds From The Ground’s, High Rising was on repeat this whole past weekend. The album is always a good listen when you need some relaxing music to just escape too after a long week. Below are some of the standout tracks from the album. Each song is beautifully layered with electronic goodness and makes me feel as if I’m lying on a deserted city street looking up at the scene that’s on their cover while time moves incredibly slow. Enjoy.

Sounds From The Ground — Rotorblade

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Sounds From The Ground — Modo

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Sounds From The Ground — Speedbumps

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Purchase

What better way to start off the Atlas blog than by taking a step back and showing some love to one of my favorite designers ever, Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron, better known as A.M. Cassandre. He has always been a huge source of inspiration, I am constantly blown away each time I view his work. Seeing that he created such posters as above, well before computers were around just amazes me, especially when it comes down to how he handled type. If only I could go back in time and watch him work. The above images can be viewed along with much more of his incredible designs here, courtesy of www.cassandre.fr.

I can’t believe I’m saying this…wait yes I can…but Atlas has arrived. School is just about to wrap up with a portfolio show tonight where the past 2 years of my life come together to showcase my work. You don’t even know how excited I am!

Here at iheartatlas you will find what I love most about design and the visual culture that inspires me on daily basis through my blog. My portfolio embraces many selected works created over the past few years including my entire graduating portfolio, all of which Im very proud to showcase. Many, and I mean many more posts and work to come. Stay tuned. Thank you!