Recently in 1PT.Rule Category

Last week I wrapped up my first set of illustrations as a Veer Marketplace Contributor, and I'm here to report on that process. Smooth as silk, though as the site warns, requiring of patience. In abundance. Patience while you wait, like waiting for a blood test, with no indication of success until word comes all at once. Happily, I shot 10 for 10 from the line, and later this summer you'll be able to buy some Nate Voss artwork on the cheap -- er, on the reasonable -- from Veer. 

It's what amounts to a Veer-branded iStock site, which I guess people are calling "microstock" these days. I am okay with that, though there was a time (before my independent employment) when I found the practice somewhat less savory. iStock is the Wal-Mart of image-sites, and Veer has always been like a smaller, cooler boutique chain. Sure it's a chain, but it's cooler. It's like the Apple Store before the Apple Store was everywhere. I've always felt like they "got it" from their wallpapers to their blog, and especially their Merch section, from which I scored a few shirts that has in the past years have become worn from wear. So becoming a part of that brand feels very good to me.

So right now there's 10 Nate Voss's that will appear on Veer later this summer, and now that I know that whatever it is that I'm doing is what they're looking for, you can bet there will be more. Have a great weekend.

Also -- HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!

If you're keeping track, this is our 95th 1PT.Rule comic, so as we count down to the über-special occasion of #100, go on back through the catalog and get caught up.

Just like in real life, one of our intrepid designers is making the journey, the other will stay behind to man the fort. We'll have live-ish podcasts from the conference all week long with anyone who is willing to sit in front of the mic, so you'd best add us to your bookmarks right now so you don't miss a thing!

Also, we started a new lil' thing on the site today, so be a friend and check it out.

You want to know how to step it up a notch? I will tell you: Students. Students designers. Ooooh, ouch. No, that's a little too evil, even for me. Don't do that. Forget I said that.

I had a great deal of fun last night as I attempted to let the hurt begin to heal at the local AIGA's social night -- it's a lot like social media, only you interact with actual human beings instead of their avatars. I spoke to one young lady last night for about 15 minutes before realizing that I follow her on Twitter. Worlds collided there, if only momentarily. If your local AIGA has bar nights like this, I highly recommend getting yourself out to one. I even managed to snag a "Become and AIGA volunteer" card, so, *snicker*, we'll see where that leads, I guess?

It's been a somewhat distracting week for me as my partner in crime has been tracking pinball and arcade machines with the restless zeal of Aragorn himself. Of course, me being a tremendous gaming nerd, I've found myself bitten by the bug as well, learning way more about MAMEs and JAMMAs and replacement joysticks than I ever thought possible. Did you know it's theoretically possible to pay a pretty low price for a random, crappy arcade cabinet, drop in a new motherboard for the game you want (purchased at 1/10th the cost) and just sort of, slip it in and go to town? Well you do now.

I do believe arcade games will soon become the design office accessory to have.

I have found that, now that Debbie is indeed the President of AIGA, I am experiencing some guilt about not being an active member. There's not a whole lot to be done about it today, as today's strip suggests it would take some draconian plans to work the colossal cost of membership into my current professional budget. It would be nice if that number could come down somewhat -- maybe chill out on expenditures of supporting design in China for a while -- or that (and I'm just throwing this out there) qualified sole-proprietors/independent designers could merit a softer point of entry during the current economic climate.

I won't hold my breath if you don't.

There's a new podcast on the way tomorrow with some exciting official announcements about our show and some mammoth design conference that is quickly approaching, and sometime in the next seven days we plan on finally getting a brand new feature for 36 Point out to the world, bring the reasons you have to visit this site from a paltry two to an unfathomable three. Get ready.