Brendel:creative Blog

DIY Planner

2010-01-22T08:20:00.000-08:00

OK, so I needed a planner for the new year and was frustrated on several fronts... first, planners are just plain expensive! I had a hard time justifying spending between $20-$80 on a planner with a bunch of fluff that I didn't need. Next, it was hard to find one with the page configuration I wanted. Monthly, weekly, daily, note-taking space, etc. "If I could design my own planner page, it would be different" I told myself. Third, if I did by one of these faux leather beauties, I be a nervous wreck to write anything in it! I'll have to take up calligraphy to keep from marring these pages with scribbles and notations I make on a regular basis! I finally forgot about the whole rat race and decided to make my own!

The 8.5"x11" Folder Planner

- Cover -

- Inside -

Before you start thinkin' "Good gravy! The boy's gone nuts!", consider the following benefits:

The Folder Planner is not expensive to produce. Many of the supplies you may already have at home or at the office.
It's not too precious to mark up however you like. You can write on any surface, from the pages to the covers of the file folders.
It's completely modifiable, from how YOU choose to layout the pages to, well, anything else! You can lay them out on the computer or you can decorate a blank page by hand.
It's repairable, customizable, and for crying out loud, recyclable! You could almost say it's a "green" product!

Sound like a good deal? Let's talk about the financials then.

Cost
Here are two price lists, one for buying all the required materials in mass if you need to get everything necessary to make the planner. The other list is a breakdown of the exact cost of materials used to make the planner, and it's cheap!

Total Material Cost (according to Office Depot Prices)

File Folders: Box of 24 - $6
Printer Paper: 1 Ream (500 sheets) - $6
2" Prong Fastners: Box of 50 - $4.50
2 Hole Punch: $10

TOTAL: $26.50 (about the cost of a small, low-end planner)

Cost for Materials Used

File Folders: 14 used - $3.50
Printer Paper: 70 sheets used - $0.84
2" Prong Fastners: 2 used - $0.18

TOTAL: $4.52

Construction Steps
This thing is pretty much a no-brainer to create, but it does take a little elbow grease and neatness to be practical. I used a blue folder for the front and back folders, just for aesthetics, but it isn't necessary. I have 14 folders in my planner; 1 folder for each month of the year and 2 for notes or whatever I want to use them for. I also used a label maker to create the names on the tabs, but again, this is optional.

Step 1:
place 5 sheets of paper into each file folder. I chose to have each sheet of paper represent one weeks worth of dates (Monday to Sunday). Looking on a wall calendar, each month usually occupies 5 weeks, though they aren't always full weeks, so having 5 sheets will cover all 5 weeks. Make sure the sheets of paper are neatly stacked and placed in the exact middle of the folder. Neatness will make using this thing much easier!

Step 2:
Arrange the little arm guide on the 2 hole punch and adjust it to a reasonable place so that you can punch the bottom holes and the top holes for your prong posts to be inserted. I adjusted my punch so that the holes closest to the edge were about 1.75" away from the outer edge of the folder.

Again, you'll punch the first set of holes, then flip the folder over and punch the second set. As a result, you will have 2 areas to insert your prong posts in each folder.

Step 3:
As you punch out each folder, slide it into the posts you've inserted into the first folder. Punch and stack until all 14 folders are done and inserted. I found that the folders may not be exactly the same width, but make sure they are aligned well after they are all stacked together, for neatness sake!

Step 4:
Insert the second piece of your 2" prong fastner into the prongs. It is the piece that has the 2 sliding bars on it. Slide it in place and, while pressing down on the folders to make sure they are tight together, bend each prong down into the compression bar and slide the little bars on top of the second prong to keep them in place. (See the photo to find out what the finished piece looks like.) I then used a pair of needle nose pliers to crimp the sliding edges of the little bars tight to keep them from sliding around anymore. This is where a manly man with tools comes in handy!

Step 5:
After compressing the folders together and securing the prongs, your unit is finished and ready for labeling. This is the creative part! Use a regular pen, marker, rubber stamps, scrapbooking supplies, go sketch crazy, or use a label maker to make the names for each month in the inner 12 folder tabs. I labeled the outer folder "2010 Planner" for identification purposes and if I made another for 2011, I could identify the year. Also, I named the last folder "Note" because I am an avid note taker.

The function of the outer folders are up to you; important contacts, notes, recording passwords, need to know info, sketches & drawings, to-do lists, outlines, website URL lists, ideas to remember, etc.

Ideas About Function
How I have decided to use my planner is I'll fill out the weeks and dates a month at a time, just before the month that I will need to keep track of. If I have dates that I need to write down that haven't had the pages labeled out yet, I'll write them on the front cover of that month's file folder. That gives me an "at a glance" list of date information that can then be filled into it's proper spot when I get to that month and lay out the pages with the day and date labels.

If your not crazy about having to lay out the pages by hand, feel free to lay out your pages on the computer and insert them before you assemble the planner. That way it is ready according to your design and is neatly layed out. I tend to be a sketcher and note taker, so having the flexibility of a blank page is liberating for me, but feel free to lay the pages out as you choose.

Sure, it doesn't have a leather cover or a built in calculator, but it's VERY functional and dirt cheap to make! Enjoy, and if you whip one of these little babies up, send me some pictures and let me know what you decided to do in yours!

A Beaver in Central Park

2009-05-03T08:11:00.000-07:00

This idea came as an idea for theme of my last New York Study Tour book for the Marywood MFA program. A fellow student made a funny comment about seeing a beaver in a Central Park lake (thanks Christine), and my brain took over from there! I though about a story where a Beaver longs for his country home while wandering New York City, which is a bit of an allegory of my experience as a country boy in the city. Finally, he comes across Central Park, the one place that reminds him of home.

The Art Archive: Tour Report Books

2009-04-25T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here are several handmade books I produced for the tour reports we turn in after grad school trips to New York City. Sorry for the blue cast. The window light was showing a little cool tint.

My first tour report book. I bought an old $1 book at the Strand Bookstore in New York and removed the cover. It had that old, dirty feel the subway has there.

A detail of the name plate.

A detail of the hinge work.

A detail of the first inside panel.

A view of the second inside panel

Here's the entire book folded out. It has a double hinge so it can fold out in a kind of panorama.

Another Strand appropriation. Cheap and cool to use, those old books!

A detail of the text above the front hinge.

A detail of some inside illustration work.

This is probably the cleanest, most lovely binding job I've done on a book. I love the patterned paper. The paper, binding cloth and cover board all transported on the plane from New York. Not easy!

A detail of the hinge work.

A view of the subway map end papers.

A detail of some illustration work on the front page.

The Art Archive: Bookbinding 2

2009-04-25T12:47:00.001-07:00

Here are more examples of experimental bookbinding projects.

This is a wooden, post-bound book cover with collage and acrylic. The inside of the covers are guilded with gold leaf.

This is an experimental book I made from an Altoids Gum tin, among other items.

There is an accordian fold book inside, which is removable. I believe I designed this as a travel log, but have never had the heart to use it.

Here is a detail of the inside.

The Art Archive: Bookbinding

2009-04-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

I've always been facinated by anything miniature, so I try to encorporate my love of small scale with some of my bookbinding. Here are some examples.

Miniature Book

Accordian Fold Miniature Book

Inside

Small Book with Coptic Bound Spine

Coptic Binding

Inside

The Art Archive: Ceramics

2009-04-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here's some examples of ceramic work from my undegraduate days!

Small Plate 1

Small Plate 2

Ink Wells

Last Grad Trip to New York

2009-04-10T07:10:00.001-07:00

Here it comes, the last Marywood Study Tour trip for me to New York City. The city is far removed from Evansville and the small-town mentality people tend to have around home. It'll be educational, and as always, I'll look forward to getting there and I'll look forward to coming home! Here's the visit list for this trip...

Greg Manchess and Irene Gallo
Ray Cruz
Michelle Pyles at HBO
Rodrigo Corral
Zina Saunders
Edel Rodriquez
Erika Perry, Senior Art Director at Green Team
Victor Juhasz

Accolades from Carver Community Organization

2009-03-02T08:02:00.000-08:00

In mid January I received a note from the Carver Community Organization stating the following..

"Mark,
The illustration and design work you provided Carver for our fundraising event Melodies for Martin was awesome!!! The great work coupled with your professionalism truly set the tone for our event. Thanks for everything!"

Wow! Thanks Carver for the good word!

"Leaving the Sleeping Lion"

2009-01-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

This is my first illustration of the new year! It is an 18"x24" piece constructed of paper collage and acrylic. What a fun way to recycle pages from an old book and manila envelopes from junk mail. The piece was constructed as a donation to the University of Southern Indiana's annual "Toast to the Arts" auction fundraiser.

I love to do work that stirs the imagination, especially my own. Who is the armor-clad soldier? What does he have to do with the lion? Why is the lion sleeping? Questions without answers seem to be the best ingredient for story making!

Photo Deconstruction

2008-12-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

The capability of renewing the old using Photoshop is wonderful thing, but so is being able to age the new! Inspired by the romance of old family photos, I decided to age a photo I took of my wife at a friend's wedding and place it in an old green photo mat I scanned in. When I scanned the mat, I turned the photo it contained over to reveal the white, aged back side for use as a digital canvas. I won't explain the whole process, but it is enough to say that pulling off the look of an old photo lies in the ability to pick apart what makes a photo look old, besides being black and white. It must be contrasty, have a slight off focus veniette, contain the look of years of wear and tear, and so on. The end result was quite fun!

Here is the original photo of my wife.

Here is a detailed view of the finished deconstruction.

This is the final image placed in the old mat frame.

Photo Reconstruction

2008-12-30T09:34:00.000-08:00

History is such a treasure! Family history even more so. This is a photo of my grandfather and his first bike. The photo had really been through the ringer and was close to falling to pieces. As a personal project, I created a digital montage for his funeral, using this photo in a semi-restored state. The photo didn't need to look like it was shot yesterday. The texture and color of old photos has a certain romance about it that needed to stay, but there needed to be some major reconstructive surgery done. Here's how it went...

This is the original size of the photo. Quite small!

Click the image to view the condition of the original photo. The lower left portion is almost completely torn off.

This is the finished reconstruction and restoration of the photo.

This is the photo as it was used in the memorial montage. It is partially restored, but still has unrestored edges for aesthetic effect. You can also see the back of the original photo.

More Work for Mission Six

2008-12-30T09:33:00.000-08:00

Here are the results from some recent work done for the Disney Radio signed band Mission Six. Recent work below includes a tour poster and 8'x8' merchandise table banner. Keep rockin' guys!

Peeking into the World of Children's Book Illustration

2008-12-29T10:46:00.000-08:00

Grad school has supplied me with a wealth 0f opportunities in design and illustration exploration, including work in the area of illustrating children's books. I've always loved the wit, simplicity and pure design of children's books, and I confess, many of the books I buy my son tend to be based on the book's design as much as the story.

Part of the Marywood "Master's with the Masters" MFA Program is a children's book class that carries us through the design and development process of creating an illustrated children's book. The class is lead by Melanie Hall and Megan Halsey, both accomplished artists in the field.

Below is the development and finished product for an inside spread I had illustrated for the story "Something Nasty in the Cabbages," a spin on the traditional tale of chicken vs. fox.

Design Work for "Melodies for Martin"

2008-12-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

I was able to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity to produce an illustration and design work for the Carver Community Organization's upcoming fund raising event called "Melodies for Martin." It is a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. that will include jazz music and a wonderful meal which will benefit the Carver Community Organizations work with children and the elderly.

Here are some photos of the fabrication and final design work.

Robotics Event Graphics for Ivy Tech

2008-12-29T08:45:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple event graphics for VEX robotics and Lego Robotics competitions held by the Technology Department of Ivy Tech Community College Southwest. This is what Lego maniacs do when they grow up!

Ivy Tech Logo & Images © Ivy Tech Community College.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Experiments in Illustration

2008-12-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

There so much worth doing when it comes to experimenting with materials and techniques. Here are a few trials from my illustration frontier!

Hand-inked lines, colorized in Photoshop.

Paper collage, colored pencil highlights.

Hymn & Song Writer's Portrait Series

2008-12-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

Each illustration is constructed on an 18" x 24" canvas board using acrylic, cotton canvas, denim and paper. The pieces have shown in the Evansville Museum of Art & Science this past November and December, and now reside in my residence. I'm hoping to put up better reproductions of them soon. The current images I have of them are a bit off in color and contrast.

Francis Scott Key, writer of the "Star Spangled Banner"

John Newton, writer of the famous hymn "Amazing Grace"

Horatio Spafford, writer of the hymn "It Is Well With My Soul"

Illustrations for Baby Announcement Cards

2008-12-28T10:40:00.000-08:00

Experiments in Hand-Rendered Typography

2008-12-28T10:37:00.000-08:00

Typographic Illustration for Aesop's Fables

2008-12-28T10:35:00.000-08:00

Concepts for "The American Idea"

2008-12-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

Digital Billboards for Ivy Tech Community College

2008-12-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

Ivy Tech Logo & Images © Ivy Tech Community College.
All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Wordybird Press Logo

2008-12-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

Event Graphic for The Ivy Tech Community College 2008 Tech Day

2008-12-27T08:56:00.000-08:00

Typographic Illustration for Martin Luther King, Jr.

2008-12-27T08:49:00.000-08:00

This is a typographic experiment created nearly a year ago for use in materials for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event held by Ivy Tech Community College. I decided not to use it, but presented it to the organizers anyway. They liked it enough to frame copies and give them to speakers and honored participants at the event. It is now being used to advertise the 09 MLK event for the college. What an honor!

The Juror's Reaction to "The Boxer"

2008-11-17T06:57:00.001-08:00

Here is an excerpt from the juror's statement at the recent "Digitized" exhibition.

"With so much terrific work, the most difficult decision was Best of Show. I can honestly say that I was about to begin a round of iny-mini-miny-mo to select the best of my eight or so pieces - I could have made an argument for any one of them being the best. But in the end I decided on the illustration that I woke up thinking about that morning: "The Boxer" by Mark Brendel. This piece uses a single slice of an image of a man in boxing gloves to create a kind of kaleidoscope effect. But it also made me think of cut-out paper dolls or even a Rorschach test or a Tibetan mandala. It's a playful, Warholian piece, but it is meticulously constructed to create mesmerizing pattern that pulls the viewer in to its intricate design. I really liked this one and I'd like to have it hanging in my living room."
- Patrick O' Conner, Nov 2, 2008

Thanks Patrick for your consideration and kind words!

Digital History: "Digitized" Update

2008-11-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

Now that all is public in the Digitized Exhibition, I can now tell you that one of the two pieces entered won best of show! I also found out I made the Sunday Newspaper, being named in an article about the show. Check out the article on the Evansville Courier & Press website.

The piece is called "The Boxer" and is based on a photo of my great grandfather and great uncle, I believe. Those facts are yet to be verified by my grandmother. The piece was one in a series of images created in an effort to resurrect interest in these old family photos, long dormant in drawers, albums, and other dark places long forgotten. The Boxer is about 34" x 36" framed and is stunning due to its scale, bringing even the smallest details of the original photo out into view.

The second piece accepted is titled "World War Heritage" or "WWII Heritage" and is a collage of items from both sides of my immediate family chronicling my family's involvement in the second world war. It was originally created as a gift for my mother and father's anniversary.

Both pieces have previously been shown in the Evansville Museum of Art and Science.

New York City in the Fall

2008-11-10T18:01:00.000-08:00

Central park is most beautiful when her leaves turn shades of yellow and red! Another cool, wet fall study tour has come and gone with many designers, illustrators, agencies and museums visited. Here is this trip's line-up.

Fall 2008
Arlen Schumer of Dynamic Duo Studio
Susan Michell, Art Director for Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
Alex White
Scott Stowell of Open
Joe Chiardello
Robert Grossman
The Society of Illustrators
The Metropolitan Museum

Mark Gets "Digitized"

2008-11-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

I recently entered two digital illustrations into an art exhibition by the Arts Council of Southwest Indiana called "Digitized: An Exhibition." The exhibition showcases images that have been created digitally; digital photography, digital illustration, 3D and other media created digitally. Having seen some of the pieces entered when I dropped my pieces off, I was curious how my pieces would do in the judging. Before leaving on my New York trip, I received great news. Both pieces were in! Until the awards are made public, I'll wait to tell the rest of the news on a later post, along with showing and describing the background of each piece.

New York City

2008-10-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's coming around again! The fall study tour in New York City for grad school. More details on the up-and-coming trip at a later date, but here's a list of artists, illustrators, designers and agencies visited to date...

Fall 2006

John Gall

Eric Baker Design Associates

C&G Partners

Mucca Design

Arnold & David Katz Studio

Spring 2007

Ted & Betsy Lewin

Fall 2007

Coe Displays Inc (Serigrapha)

Ranieri Sculpture Casting

Scott Bakal

Trollbäck + Company

Carbone Smolan Agency

Brad Holland

Spring 2007

Emily Flake
Bob Ziering
Tony Palladino
Daniel Moreton, Art Director of Scholastic Books
Natalie Ascencios
Micha Riss, Creative Director of Flying Machine
Jake Barton of Local Projects, LLC
Christopher Austopchuk, Creative Director of Sony BMG

About the Designer

2008-10-14T08:47:00.000-07:00

Mark Brendel:Principal Designer

Mark Brendel began establishing Brendel:creative in late summer of 2008, with a plan to consolidate his various skills and experiences into a single business entity. He has worked in print shops, in-house design departments and as a freelance designer since 1996. He has also taught college courses in Graphic Design, Design Basics, Photography and Multi-Media Design.

Mark Has an AS Degree in Graphic Design, an AAS Degree in Photography and a Career Development Certificate in Fine Art Photography from Ivy Tech Community College. He received his BS in Graphic Design from University of Southern Indiana in 2003, and will complete his MFA in Graphic Design from Marywood University in 2009.

Mark's Graduate studies have allowed him to spend extensive time in New York City, gaining exposure by visiting major designers, illustrators, marketing firms, design studios and publishing companies in and around Manhattan, with studio visits to Carbone Smolan, Trollbäck + Company, Smart Design, Local Projects, Scholastic Books, and Sony BMG to name a few. Some illustrators and designers Mark has been introduced to are Chang Park, Luba Lukova, Ivan Chermeyeff, among others.

He uses much of his own photography and illustration in his design work. With fine art sensitivities and extensive knowledge in electronic imaging, he is able to use a variety of skill sets in his creative process. His passion for art, photography, illustration and design finds its way into his work, and is the foundation of his ability to create valuable and creative solutions in visual communication.

About Brendel:creative

2008-09-30T06:44:00.000-07:00

Brendel:creative is an effort to consolidate the areas of graphic design, art, illustration, and photography under the roof of a single creative entity.

All of these disciplines involve the same processes of creative problem solving, conceptualization, discovery, composition, craftsmanship, communication, and skilled production. This makes the work of Mark Brendel, principal designer and creative director, more than the mere mechanical production of design, but a calculated effort in developing creative and effective visual communication solutions.

Brendel:creative
The power of image:ination

Quiet Moments & Little Details

2008-05-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

It's in the quiet moments that little details are seen. This was a shot from the table setup for the bridal party of a wedding I shot. Never stand still for long before the wedding starts, you may miss something special in the quiet moments!

Joni

2008-05-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

This photo set contains selections from the outdoor wedding of Joni & Daniel.

Mission 6

2008-05-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

This set contains some of the initial promotional and concert photography done for the band Mission 6, now signed with Radio Disney.

Ermil Andrew Brown

2008-05-27T07:19:00.001-07:00

This set of images were shot for the album cover design and promotional material for Ermil's debut CD "Ermil Andrew Brown & The Best of Friends" outside the Victory Theatre in downtown Evansville, Indiana.

Melody

2008-05-27T07:15:00.000-07:00

This set of images are from Melody's senior photo shoot.

Jonathan

2008-05-27T07:06:00.000-07:00

This set of images are from Jonathan's senior photo shoot.

Jackie

2008-05-27T06:59:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken several years apart. All images were shot for her modeling portfolio.