Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Sold Product Post: Bonjour (blue text & red smiley face) Apron
Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Doing my 'made a sale' dance :-)
Bonjour (blue text & red smiley face) by thelanguageemporium
Many more cooking aprons online at zazzle
Bonjour (blue text & red smiley face) by thelanguageemporium
Many more cooking aprons online at zazzle
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Hola Tote Bag: Spanish Flag Colors & Smiley Face
Hola (Spanish Flag Colors & Smiley Face) by thelanguageemporium
More Famous than 'Hasta la Vista': a Great Everyday Design
'Hola', of course means 'Hi' or 'Hello' in English. It is probably the best known of Spanish expressions. With the possible exception of 'Hasta la Vista', made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger in James Cameron's 1991 sequal movie 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'. Of course, in the case of 'Hasta la Vista', most of us anglophones can only understand the expression if it is accompanied with the word 'baby' and said in a heavy Austrian accent :-)
This 'Hola' design forms the Spanish part of a series I made of greetings in other languages. I also made 'Bonjour' in French, 'GutenTag' in German and 'Ciao' in Italian. I love to learn useful everyday phrases and expressions in lots of different languages. As a dyslexic, actual linguist fluency in another language is highly problematic for me (if not impossible). It is, therefore, much more rewarding to me to learn useful snippets of many languages.
I think the word 'Hola' makes for a great 'everyday' design. You are going to make people smile wherever you go with this series of products. And that is the main motivation behind my work. I want to make people smile. There is enough grey and cynical in the world. Let's share some love!
What could be better than saying a big smiley hello to everyone you meet?
A Simple, Friendly Design for a Simple, Friendly Message: a Friendly Hello
This 'Hola' design is a very simple design. As I mention in my introduction to my online shop The Language Emporium, I am not an Artist in the painting and drawing sense of the word. I love color and form. And I love language. I try to create visual representations of how a language should 'sound' to me. A visual reflection of how the language is used in everyday life.
'Hola' is a friendly greeting so I wanted a friendly font to go with that friendly greeting. 'Hola' is also a simple greeting, so I wanted the font to be not only friendly, but also simple. It is also very important to me that the text on my designs is easy to read. Perhaps it is because I am dyslexia, but I have never been a fan of 'cursive fonts'. I find them difficult to read. As a side note, even though I am now 34 years old, I still can not write cursive handwriting. I still print - or scrawl - when I write :-)
The 'Smiley Face' is probably the most used of all the emoticons. I think because we like to smile at each other. A smile can mean friendship. A smile can mean sympathy. A smile can even mean sadness. In the case of this 'Hola' design, a smile means a 'friendy hello'. I really like to mix text with graphic. I feel a proper use of text and graphic can enhance the effect of both. I feel in this design, the effect is very positive.
Finally I used the wonderful warm colors of the Spanish Flag to color the text and smiley face. The 'hola' sits in a rich, warm red. The smiley face sits in a summer yellow. I think the overall effect is one of warmth and friendliness. If you would prefer this design in the colors of the Flag of Mexico, I have also created this 'hola' design in the Mexican Flag colors.
Hola (Spanish Flag Colors & Smiley Face) by thelanguageemporium
El Sol The Sun in Spanish Summer Vacation Coffee Mugs
This is a brand new design I made today specially for the summer!
I wanted to make a series of Spanish language gifts / presents that celebrate the best things about summer. I wanted to design Spanish language products that expressed the things you most think of, when you think of summer.
A Spanish language gift / product perfect for summer days out and parties with friends!
'El Sol' of course means 'The Sun', as you can see from the graphic on the design. Once again I've used the colors of the Spanish flag for the text. I think the warm red, yellow and red of the Spanish flag really suit the summer feel of this design.
I wanted a happy font with a summer feel to it for the text. I love the liberal way in which the font bends and moves around. Summer is a time for freedom and happiness!
One of my favourite things about this Spanish language design is the happy sun face.
I love the simple, free feel of this image. It feels like it could have been drawn by a child. There's a real sense of celebration and freedom in its liberal form.
The Spanish 'el sol' Gift / Present featured is on a pink background. You can also buy this product with five other color backgrounds :-)
This Spanish language 'el sol' product is the perfect gift / present idea for people who love summer and Spanish!
You could give this Spanish design to speakers of Spanish, learners of Spanish, linguaphile and linguists. Perfect for the summer, but also great all the year round - spread the summer love and warmth to every season of the year!
This Spanish language design is available on 83 different products - each a little different gift / present!
'Life's but a Walking Shadow' Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 (24 - 28)
This is out and out my favourite quote from Shakespeare. I first studied Macbeth at school when I was 16. I loved this quote from the moment I read it. I decided to learn it. Now, at the age of 33, I still find myself reciting it. Over the past 17 years, the way I recite the quote has changed a lot. I am still finding new secrets within it, new ways to say it. For me this typifies the immense depth of Shakespeare's writings, you spend your whole life trying to learn them.
Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 (24 - 28)
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth says this upon hearing that his wife is dead. His ambition has brought him to ruin. He is sunk deep into indifference, 'signifying nothing'. His tone is mocking, 'told by an idiot'. He is resigned to the inevitable, pointless end of life, 'And then is heard no more'.
Macbeth talks of the irrelevant highs and lows of life, 'that struts and frets', but frames them as desperate 'a poor player that struts and frets'. All of this desperation is temporary, 'his hour upon the stage', an hour, a fixed period of time. He can't help but build things up, 'full of sound and fury', only to bring them down, 'signifying nothing'.
He feels disconnected from the whole process, 'Life's but a walking shadow'. The movement of shadows are controlled by the movement of the sun, and just as Romeo and Juliet are 'star crossed lovers' destined to fall in love with tragic results, Macbeth feels all his ruin was destiny.
Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5 (24 - 28)
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth says this upon hearing that his wife is dead. His ambition has brought him to ruin. He is sunk deep into indifference, 'signifying nothing'. His tone is mocking, 'told by an idiot'. He is resigned to the inevitable, pointless end of life, 'And then is heard no more'.
Macbeth talks of the irrelevant highs and lows of life, 'that struts and frets', but frames them as desperate 'a poor player that struts and frets'. All of this desperation is temporary, 'his hour upon the stage', an hour, a fixed period of time. He can't help but build things up, 'full of sound and fury', only to bring them down, 'signifying nothing'.
He feels disconnected from the whole process, 'Life's but a walking shadow'. The movement of shadows are controlled by the movement of the sun, and just as Romeo and Juliet are 'star crossed lovers' destined to fall in love with tragic results, Macbeth feels all his ruin was destiny.
El Padre Número 1 #1 Dad in Spanish Father's Day Shirts
This is a special Spanish language gift / present I designed to celebrate Father's Day (Dia de Los Padres)
'El Padre Número Uno' means 'Number One Father' in Spanish. I love the sound created by the combination of the words 'Número' and 'uno'. It's a truly beautiful sound to hear and to say :-)
As with all my Spanish language gifts / presents, there are two versions of this Spanish Father's Day (Dia de Los Padres) design: This version is in green, white and red colors of the Mexican flag. There is also a version in the red, yellow and red colors of the Spanish flag.
I selected more of a masculine font to reflect the fact that this Spanish language gift / present is aimed at Fathers. I also placed the font in all capital letters to give it a high degree of impact. I think this helps to make the design look like an official award.
I added a graphic of a cup with '#1' written on it. I really like mixing text with graphics. I think it creates an interesting contrast and each element (text and graphic) help to bring out a stronger effect from the other.
This Spanish language design makes for the perfect Father's Day (Dia de Los Padres) for Spanish speaking Fathers.
It doesn't have to be just for Father's Day, this Spanish language product also makes for a perfect birthday gift / present for Spanish speaking Dads.
This 'El Padre Número Uno' will also work perfectly for many special occasions: as a Spanish Language gift / present for a Spanish speaking Father or Grandfather's retirement.
Or simply give this Spanish language gift / present to your Spanish speaking Dad just to say 'you love him' :-)
Perhaps your Father is a lover of the Spanish language. Why not give him this 'El Padre Número Uno' on his birthday, Father's Day (Dia de Los Padres) or special occasion.
This Spanish language design would also make for a great gift / present for a Dad who is learning Spanish or a Father who is also a linguist or linguaphile :-)
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