Occasionally here on TDC, I like to share what I’ve been up to, what I’ve been working on and a little horn tootin’, and thought this would be a perfect time to do so, since many of you might have noticed a drop in new articles recently. The past month has been a really busy and exciting month for me (sorry for the shortage of new articles, but that will be changing really soon) and below I have some exciting news and information to share.

A new site for inspiration, resources, and me

Recently I have been working here, there and far in between to finish a redesign and redirection of my personal site, brianhoff.net (see screen shots below). I wanted more of a reflection of my personal design aesthetic (typographic and minimalistic) and focus on content and layout.

I wanted a personal site that not only showcased my work and personal achievements, but also reflected my love of design, learning and sharing — which I used the large bottom footer for.

The bottom footer is an area of my site that I will be updating weekly, with new books, inspiration of the week (beauty of the week) and resources I follow and read.

As an attempt for clients and designers to see what I am currently working on I will be posting images of ‘What I’m Working On’ regardless if they are finished or in the early stages, so you can stay current

Also, the ‘Documents and Link’ section of the footer allows clients to easily access my questionnaires, Standard Form of Agreement, resume and more. Feel free to have a peek.

The About page will also be attended to frequently, specifically in the ‘Eye candy, resources and more’ section on the right. These are items that I found to be helpful in the past week or events I have attended or attending.

Feel free to visit and let me know what you think or resources you would like me to add. Your feedback is welcome.

I’m a new AIGA Philadelphia Committee Member

Recently I was emailed by the chairman of the AIGA Philadelphia chapter as an candidate to write content and articles for AIGA Philadelphia’s website. I will also be taking responsibility organizing more social gatherings for designers and helping designers become more aware of local design events via social media – I might also see me behind the scenes on Twitter via @aigaphilly.

For those unfamiliar with AIGA:

“AIGA, the professional association for design, stimulates thinking about design, demonstrates the value of design and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design, and is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution.”

Interviews, interviews, interviews

Recently, I have been getting quite a few interview requests, which include, Neenah Paper’s Twitter Interview and Neenah’s blog interview, MyInkBlog interview, as well as upcoming interviews that include Spyre Studios, Mitch Smith and a few more – so stay tuned!

Events and Conferences

Lately I’ve been attending a heap load of events and conferences. One in particular that inspired and enlightened recently me was ‘Solving Business Problems for Our Clients, Each Step of the Way’ by the incredible folks of Happy Cog East (Philadelphia office).

You can view the slides from the lecture here, but in short it was an enlightening discussion about Happy Cog’s entire process – from the initial talk and project planning to project management, user experience and creative direction.

I also will be attending The Future of Web Design (FOWD) in New York City on Novemeber 16–17th, a speech by Paula Scher in NYC on October 5th and ‘Sustainable Design Strategy Talk’ on October 7th.

Other things I’m currently working on

In addition to the above, did I also mention I am an independent graphic designer? ;) Here’s a list of the projects I’m currently working on:

1. Complete branding for an brand new online-only-based wedding favors and gift company (that’s all I can really say at this point). Projects includes color scheming, logo design, stationery, e-commerce website and merchandising application guides.
2. Laura’s Biscotti website design
3. Mike Tittel Photography rebrand – includes logo design, stationery, WordPress blog customization and two printed promos/booklets. You can read more about Mike and I’s collaboration on his current blog (new blog design still underway).
4. ‘Dreamvast’ logo design
5. Walkies, LLC Search Engine Optimization, Twitter/Facebook integration and website modifications.
6. One-page website for brand identity and information purposes
7. Just wrapping up a logo design for phEYE, which will be posted soon on www.brianhoff.net and on my logo portfolio.
8. So as you can see I’ve been quite busy, so I apologize for the lack of new posts (I typically try to post two a week plus a weekend round-up, aka. Sweet Tweets) but lately I have only complied one weekly post, plus the weekend feature.

PS. I’m also working on a redesign of The Design Cubicle ;)

How about the rest of you – what fun or exciting projects are you working on? Planning on attending any of the events? Future of Web Design anyone?