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Evolution of Madness
By Corvus | May 20, 2009
Having a new quasi-permanent address without an apartment number attached, and in a city I really like no less, was partly to blame–but it was when I hit upon calling myself a semionaut, that I knew it was finally time to design and print up new business cards. My original concept design received a lot of positive comments, but all it took was one or two Bioshock references to send me scampering back to the drawing board like the OCET that I am.
Of course, while the original was a quick vector sketch done in Inkscape, the follow up design involved Blender 3D and was a bit more Verne inspired, not to mention a bit more ambitious.
I’d initially intended to rough out the helmet in 3D in order to ensure the perspective looked all right and to experiment with various means of representing the big glass globe. Once I had the basic proportions down, I imagined the new card design (seen on the left) wouldn’t be substantially different than the original.
But of course, since I was poking around in Blender 3D anyway, well… I wound up with a 3D model that was a bit more complete than originally intended. Did I mention the OC tendencies–perhaps in an acronym somewhere in this very post?
Regardless, while I like this design well enough, I felt that I could do better. Perhaps integrate the idea behind my current double sided (and rather verbose) card, while using the fully rendered semionaut helmet and making the Edwardian explorer/showman message even more clear.
And here is what I came up with. The front of the card (shown here in gray-scale and full-color versions) bears the semionaut helmet with my hallmark curly moustache and bowler. The back is reminiscent of an Edwardian playbill. You can click any of the images below and navigate between the three of them in a lightbox.
The maker’s mark on the semionaut helmet collar reads:
Semionautics, Inc. M37A4 A Division of Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems..
The playbill text reads:
Zakelro! A Story Studio presents Corvus D. Elrod, Semionaut & Narrative Design Consultant. Join us as we explore the intersection of STORY, PLAY, & COMMUNITY through the art of PARTICIPATORY STORYTELLING wherein AUTHOR and AUDIENCE are engaged in meaningful discourse through the language of literature, theater, film, & videogames. Contact Zakelro! to book PERFORMANCES & LECTURES, or to engage OTHER SERVICES: [redacted for privacy]. Or visit Zakelro! A Story Studio at: www.zakelro.com
I know that common wisdom suggest you leave enough room on your business card for the people you meet to jot down their own notes. And you might wonder why I, with my strong belief in the importance of the audience’s fabula, would hog all of the card space. In part, I’m making some assumptions about what people are going to write about me in the space available on a business card and going ahead and providing them with that information–moustache, bowler, story guy, complete nutter–all of these memory-jogging scribbles are nicely provided in a way that isn’t befuddled by uneven writing surfaces, free low-quality pens, poor lighting, and/or mild inebriation.
Additionally, I’m a big believer in the power of the imagination. And fabula’s tend to morph as the participation in the narrative fades into the past. Often they grow, becoming more significant, more (one hopes) wondrous, more ripe with potential, as they tumble about in our minds. Writing down too much information about the initial experience, I contend, has a mollifying effect on this process. So by filling the card with a short textual version of meeting me for the first time, I’m inviting my fellow semionauts to rely upon their imagination in interpreting and remember our mutually crafted temporary storyworld.
And if they don’t do that. If they come away from meeting me, card in hand, only to look at it later and think to themselves, “Who is this,” or, “Why did I talk to this guy,” then it’s probably better for both of us if they don’t pick up the phone and give me a call.
Bu then, as the title of this post suggests, this may simply be the evolution of my madness.
Tagged:business card. | 7 Comments »
May 20th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Amusingly enough, I recently made some business cards that say “My name is Deirdra Kiai, and I create games that are socially conscientious and personally meaningful. Let’s have a conversation.” and have nothing else on them except some contact info in a small font on the back.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
That’s absolutely perfect, Deirdra. Exactly what I’d expect from the designer of Pigeons in the Park and Dreaming (which I’ve started playing).
May 20th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Really enjoyed the “metaphor” detail.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
*eltrohc* I’ve been wanting that as a bronze plate for my office door for some time now. I couldn’t not include it on the helmet once I was working at that level of detail!
May 20th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
My only advice: Don’t mention it was made in Blender.
I read that word in your post, looked at the picture on the card, and now all I see is a jaunty 40′s-era blender with a mustache.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Ha! That’s awesome.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I was wondering what you were doing it in when I saw your first textured screens! I’ve done the Maya and now know I don’t like it. Need to try Blender, because after a semester of texturing in Maya I don’t know if I could get anything to look all pretty and cel-shaded like that. Totally cool. Card is great, of course. I don’t really understand the value of them yet (something you have to learn for yourself, I think), so I don’t know about the whole leaving white space thing.