I’ve gone on the trip twice so I had some personal experience to bring to this project. A big part of the trip is a 48-hour experience in which students fast in solitude with nothing but the clothes on their backs, a half-inch foam mat, a sheet of plastic (not quite big enough to completely shield from rain), and a page of the Bible. At the end of the experience, students are encouraged to create a circle of stones as sort of a personal monument.

The time I enjoyed most on the trip was at the end of each night when we would sit in a circle around a fire and just talk.

I drew on these two components of the trip to create this logo (and badge):

The only thing I don’t really like about it is the raised bar on the As, but they’re not too bad. That was one of the clients’ ideas to make them seem more like mountains.

So here I am at 1:30am sitting at my computer about to play around with the internet.

<!-- EDIT -->
Somewhat related— my Gallup Top 5 Strengths are:

1. Developer,
2. Restorative,
3. Belief,
4. Responsibility,
5. and Empathy.

The only one of those unanimously agreed upon by those who know me is Responsibility.

My first domain purchase was greenvillegutterpress.com. I purchased this site as an add-on. I no longer wish to continue working on the GGP, so I contacted Lunarpages support about making curtisblackwell.com my primary domain.

My first email to them was at 2:32pm. They asked for verification at 2:54, I got back to them at 3:38, and the job was done by 4:03.

<!-- EDIT -->
Don’t use Yahoo! for hosting (or anything really…). Bad customer support, they have their own (crappy) control panel, and no phpMyAdmin. It allows you to install an old version and upgrade it, but then you get this message:

Your PHP MySQL library version 3.23.49 differs from your MySQL server version 4.1.14. This may cause unpredictable behavior.

If you’re having this problem, I strongly recommend transferring to Lunarpages. You’ll be amazed at how painless it is to work with them.

I found out about the contest through DesignBay. Here’s the info they supplied:

Mana is a polynesian word with the following definition:

1. A supernatural force believed to dwell in a person or sacred object.

2. Power; authority.

I’m looking for a logo that represents the definition above and conveys power, strength and authority. However, I’m not looking for anything harsh or angry like a closed fist or a hammer. I also do not want anything focused on supernatural or sacred. Nothing with religious connotations.

Logo text: Mana Partners

Mana Partners is a small company that does business consulting for internet entrepreneurs. Our clients are primarily startups but include established and public companies as well. That said, I’m not concerned about our logo purveying the specifics of what we do.

Must Have:
Obviously our logo will be used on our website, letterhead, business cards, etc. Therefore it must work in large form and small.

Should Not Have:
I prefer to let designers do what they do best without too many restrictions. I would prefer the logo to not be too complicated or too colorful.

This was my submission. It was 1 of 29 total.

The word mana reminded me of a video game I played a lot as a kid: The Secret of Mana. There are mana seeds in the game that you have to find and seal. The seeds, if I remember correctly, were manifestations of mana, but wouldn’t look all that great in a logo. Final Fantasy VII’s concept of materia is similar to the concept of mana and the materia looks cooler. So I had materia in mind when I designed this logo.

Moral of the Story:

Let your kids play video games; it could bring them inspiration in the future and make them a lot of money.

I went mushroom hunting twice, didn’t find any of the kind we were looking for (morels).

Stuff I got on my trip:

• a new pair of argyle socks,
• Synecdoche, New York on DVD,
• a sweet Yoda action figure, complete with steed (a kybuck, acquired as a token of gratitude from wookies),
• ChangesOneBowie on vinyl, and
• a new Polaroid camera.

Not sure what kind of Polaroid… there are several words on it and I’m not that familiar with Polaroids. My guess as to the model (if that’s the right word) is: Minute Maker Colorpack Land Camera. I’m fairly certain it does not take 600 film like my other two.

I also saw the new Wolverine movie and was a little disappointed. It was lacking something, but I don’t really know what.

<!-- EDIT -->
I also picked up two bottles of wine with which to celebrate my graduation. Both are from Oliver Winery in Bloomington: Pinot Grigio and Camelot Mead.

Right now, I’m off to Jo’s Java to hang out with mi amiga, Bre.