fixation.

San Francisco-based freelance motion graphics designer. A couple of things happen here: The title of this blog comes from the fact that I'm slowly working toward opening a design firm called Fixation Creative, which will hopefully open its doors by 2011. I'm a freelancer, so I don't have colleagues to inspire me when I'm lacking in something. Therefore, all my inspiration comes here - and that can mean anything from stunning motion work to bicycles to photos of brutally attractive men. This tumblr doesn't discriminate, and neither should you.

More on me professionally can be found here: http://www.jenrizzo.com or you can email me.

Also, unless I've specifically stated that I created an image, there is a 99% chance I don't own it. If you do and you hate me for using it, or I didn't give credit where it was due, please let me know and I'll correct it immediately.
Nov 29
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I’m giving pretty strong consideration to dropping a lot of money on outfitting my new(ish) apartment. I have lived with free furniture for the past year and a half, and left a home full of furniture that I really loved back in Ohio, so it’s about time I started making California into a home. 
Here, the Salema loveseat from EQ3. I share a 500 square foot apartment with another person and there is simply no room for a full couch. It’s a little more money than I’m willing to spend, but perfectly affordable in the realm of couches.
There’s nothing in the Ikea family that I’m really into right now. I love the Ektorp, but it would look a little awkward and oversized in my space, and I love the Beddinge, but based on room layout and the way I utilize that couch, I need something with fairly deep arms.
Don’t worry. Soon it’ll all be back to posters and sports and dudes in pinstripes, I promise.

I’m giving pretty strong consideration to dropping a lot of money on outfitting my new(ish) apartment. I have lived with free furniture for the past year and a half, and left a home full of furniture that I really loved back in Ohio, so it’s about time I started making California into a home. 

Here, the Salema loveseat from EQ3. I share a 500 square foot apartment with another person and there is simply no room for a full couch. It’s a little more money than I’m willing to spend, but perfectly affordable in the realm of couches.

There’s nothing in the Ikea family that I’m really into right now. I love the Ektorp, but it would look a little awkward and oversized in my space, and I love the Beddinge, but based on room layout and the way I utilize that couch, I need something with fairly deep arms.

Don’t worry. Soon it’ll all be back to posters and sports and dudes in pinstripes, I promise.

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Nov 28
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My mother had a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge all enveloped in fog hanging in her office when I was really, really young. Driving over the bridge this weekend felt as surreal as it always does. This photo is sort of the icing on the cake.

My mother had a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge all enveloped in fog hanging in her office when I was really, really young. Driving over the bridge this weekend felt as surreal as it always does. This photo is sort of the icing on the cake.

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Nov 25
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emrgency:

fraternity fridge starring left hand milk stout, anchor christmas, orange blossom, and a shiner holiday cheer also holding o’fallon cherry chocolate and sweetwater 420.

 It is hella unfortunate that we don’t live in the same metropolitan area, because gurrrrrl, you are speaking my language. Left Hand Milk Stout and Anchor Christmas are in my top five forever and ever.

emrgency:

fraternity fridge starring left hand milk stout, anchor christmas, orange blossom, and a shiner holiday cheer also holding o’fallon cherry chocolate and sweetwater 420.

 It is hella unfortunate that we don’t live in the same metropolitan area, because gurrrrrl, you are speaking my language. Left Hand Milk Stout and Anchor Christmas are in my top five forever and ever.

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Nov 22
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via designworklife
Choosing just one image was god-awfully hard, so you should probably click to see the others. Beautiful branding.

via designworklife

Choosing just one image was god-awfully hard, so you should probably click to see the others. Beautiful branding.

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Nov 20
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Me: You know, the results for “Ying Yang Twins Mein Kampf” are shockingly low.
Ben: Wasn’t it Three 6 Mafia, though?
Me: Oh, yeah, that’s probably the reason.
— Ben and I, regarding a song that came on my Southern Rap station on Pandora last night that I could SWEAR sounded like they were just chanting “Mein Kampf” a whole lot.
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Nov 18
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via twistedsifter.com
Per the commentary on this blog post, I’m confident that my response to this is supposed to be “How could anyone possibly live there?!” But I would live there. I’d even keep the silly blue lights in the kitchen cabinets. I’m really drawn to this place. Probably all the gray in it. (The red tile bathroom is a little much.)

via twistedsifter.com

Per the commentary on this blog post, I’m confident that my response to this is supposed to be “How could anyone possibly live there?!” But I would live there. I’d even keep the silly blue lights in the kitchen cabinets. I’m really drawn to this place. Probably all the gray in it. (The red tile bathroom is a little much.)

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I would not let US Bank try a bite of my sandwich.

It started in April. In April, I received a notice that the APR on my credit card was jumping from 7.15% to 15.24%. This particular credit card of mine was my only credit card, though I also have a personal line of credit. The balance is particularly high (though it has never exceeded my limit). It’s particularly high because of expenses incurred during school, including putting some incredibly major educational purchases on it that would have otherwise forced me to drop out of school. It doesn’t matter - the point is that I had an impressively high balance on it. But, the bank and I agreed that I could borrow that much money. That is what matters to me.

I opened an account with US Bank in 2003 when I was preparing to move to Cincinnati. Two accounts, actually, one for myself and one for my mom. We figured it would be smart, because we could transfer money back and forth to one another easily, which comes in handy when you’re 600 miles away. When my soon-to-be husband and I were living together and starting to combine our finances, we just got another account with them, for the same transferring purposes. They offered me a credit card that was at a significantly better APR than the one I had with Chase, so I transferred my (at the time, relatively low) balance over to them and combined all my finances into one bank. And when I was going to have to drop out of college because my financial aid was maxed out, well, we took out a line of credit that I had to put a couple quarters of school on. The interest rates were low. It all made sense.

And then, it’s April of 2009, and they spike my interest rate on my credit card. I had been paying around $100 more than my regular monthly payment, in an attempt to get ahead on my balance. Barely used the thing anymore - basically only when I messed up and forgot my debit card at home or something similar. The interest rate spiked and my new minimum monthly payment is $330, which means that additional $100 I had been affording was now going to be interest-only.

After weighing the options, I decided to opt out of the rate increase, which means closing the card. I knew it was going to negatively impact my credit, but after doing the math, I was going to be spending about $8000 more over the next four years in interest to pay off the balance that the bank and I agreed I would borrow at 7.15%. At 24 years old, when you’re already handling five years of student loans, you don’t agree to pay $8000 more just for the security of having a credit card. I couldn’t afford their new terms, so I closed the card and we agreed that I would pay off the balance at my previously established APR. I was worried about the hit to my credit, but I still had a great personal line of credit, so things would still work out.

Great. So, as one might have predicted, the next month I receive my statement on my line of credit, and they’ve dropped my limit over $5,000 - incidentally, barely $100 over the current balance on the credit line, which skewed my ratio of debt to available credit off the charts. Now I had no available credit, and couldn’t apply for more with another bank because of how awful my credit looked. Note that at this point, I have not used any more credit. I’m not living beyond my means. This is all punishment I’m receiving as a result of refusing to allow my APR to be doubled on my credit card. Maybe I could have seen this coming, but I certainly didn’t.

And here we are in November. I continue to pay off my balances, with payments well above my minimum, and every single month my credit line is reviewed and decreased to $100-200 over my limit. My credit can’t improve, whatsoever, despite my regular, above-minimum payments. Phone calls explaining my situation have not helped. I realize that in 2009 we’re still experiencing a financial crisis, but I have difficulty understanding how eliminating customer loyalty is the best way to pull you out of it.

Perhaps the most infuriating part is that I am receiving multiple letters every week offering me new US Bank Platinum Visa cards. I know there are different divisions in banking - I worked in pre-foreclosure for awhile in college and we had no ability to speak to anyone else in the company, which simply infuriated our customers that also had bank accounts in addition to the mortgages that they held with us. But really? You more than double my APR, ostensibly forcing me into closing my account, which wrecks my credit and gives you carte blanche to destroy a completely separate account with you, and now you’d like me to open a new account? Where’s the incentive for me to be loyal to your company?

I make a good deal of money for someone my age, and have saved 30% of this year’s income since I’m a freelancer and know that I’ll be owing money in taxes. I’m more than financially stable and have everything in check. And yet, I can’t qualify for a credit card with a new bank to save my life. Six months ago, I had mid-700s credit and was a financer’s dream, and now, based on wanting to save money and not let a bank bully me into their terms that directly contradicted an agreement we already made, I’m a high-risk customer. All without borrowing another dime from anyone and paying more than ever to get my debt in check.

Thanks, financial crisis. I owe you one. And you’d better be damned sure that as soon as those balances are low enough that a company that actually deserves my money will take them, I’ll be shifting my financial future elsewhere.

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Nov 12
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Fixation Creative: Stalled.

It’s been awhile since I sat down and gave any thought to the future of our business, and the truth is that I’ve just gotten down about the creative industry in general. Every day I’m watching agencies go about things the completely wrong way. I’m watching companies try to embrace social media because they’ve heard that’s what they’re supposed to be doing, but end up flailing about with no actual direction. I’m watching smart, capable people searching for jobs every single day and not being able to accurately convey who they are as potential collaborators to companies that would greatly benefit from their contributions. And worst of all, I’m watching myself spiral in a direction I really dislike professionally.

Fixation Creative is stalled, and if we’re being honest, it’s hard to think about it. My home machine’s hard drive is fried, which means working from home is no longer possible. I took a contract through the end of the year working on a production series that stresses me out and keeps me on call 24 hours a day, so I don’t really need the home machine anyway. But, it meant I turned away a previous client that was great repeat business for me, and sent him to another animator. 3D motion graphics clients are tough to snag in this city, and it’s hard to believe I let one go - especially one that kept coming back to me. I don’t have a computer to use, so there went a contract that was actually pretty valuable to me.

So, my through-the-end-of-2009 contract is pretty intensely stressful, and I think it’s just because I’ve somehow managed it poorly. I can’t seem to set boundaries, and as a result I’ve found myself receiving phone calls at 11:00 at night because there’s a problem no one else is willing to manage, and setting my alarm for 2:30 a.m. to refresh a render farm. The situation has gotten out of hand and no one can seem to reel it back in, and I’m just not sure why. It’s affecting my professional and personal attitude in a pretty negative way, which is definitely my fault. I’ve also been working every single day since July. My bank account isn’t complaining, but I’m just professionally drained. I’m trying to get myself back in check, but then something new comes up and I’m just flailing about.

The good news, perhaps, is that a company I’ve been trying to get in with for over a year randomly hunted me out on LinkedIn and made me a very nice offer to come on board with them, in a position that would be perfect for me. They wanted me to start immediately, but my current contract makes that impossible, so I offered to start in 2010. They reluctantly sort of accepted, which means I’ll be starting in a very new direction in 2010. It might be the temporary end to my freelance career, as they really want a full-time employee. I’m not entirely sure I’m ready for that, and hope I can work out a temporary, but extended contract to see if we’re a good fit for one another. I’m not great at salaried positions. I know this about myself. I put a lot of energy and personal investment into my professional life, and I haven’t yet learned how to tone that back enough to be able to maintain who I am as a person in the midst of a heavy, permanent professional relationship.

What does this mean for Fixation? Well, it means we’re moving in a different direction. Ben, who was always meant to be one of our first partners, has finally moved to San Francisco. It’s ultimately great for us and great for him, but right now, he’s sleeping on our floor and sending out a lot of resumes without getting a lot of bites. It’s a hard world out there. I wish we were in a position to be able to offer him something and get started right now, but we’re not.

Harry’s taking on a lot of things at work, and it’s great for him. He’s a little stressed about how things are going, but he’s going to come out of it a better and stronger designer.

And me? Hell, who knows where I am. Stressed and trying to make it to the Thanksgiving break, which will immediately be followed by more stress leading up to the big Christmas move. Plane tickets are purchased and hotels are booked, so it looks like I’m finally going to be a permanent San Francisco resident at the beginning of 2010. I know I’m still not ready, but after 15 months, I think I’m as ready as I can be.

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Nov 11
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DebbieCarlos.com has launched with a new design. I started following her photography way back in 2003, if I remember correctly, and bought a book from her that I still really love. I have also always loved her rabbit.

DebbieCarlos.com has launched with a new design. I started following her photography way back in 2003, if I remember correctly, and bought a book from her that I still really love. I have also always loved her rabbit.

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Meet Axel Enthoven’s Opera.
You’ve heard of pop-up trailers? Well, shit just got real. If you’ve got slightly more money than sense and only want to pretend like you’re camping, we have a solution for you. All the outdoorsy with none of that pesky “let’s sleep on the ground” hassle.
A note, though: This is beautiful, and I want one - and if I had more money than sense, and something to attach it to? You’d better believe I’d pretend to go camping in it.

Meet Axel Enthoven’s Opera.

You’ve heard of pop-up trailers? Well, shit just got real. If you’ve got slightly more money than sense and only want to pretend like you’re camping, we have a solution for you. All the outdoorsy with none of that pesky “let’s sleep on the ground” hassle.

A note, though: This is beautiful, and I want one - and if I had more money than sense, and something to attach it to? You’d better believe I’d pretend to go camping in it.

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Nov 10
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This weekend’s ride was over the Golden Gate Bridge and around the back side of the Headlands. I gripe a lot about San Francisco, but days like this make all the cold nights worth it. The ride was incredibly hard for me, but I made it. Here’s to impressively beautiful days stretching all the way into November!

This weekend’s ride was over the Golden Gate Bridge and around the back side of the Headlands. I gripe a lot about San Francisco, but days like this make all the cold nights worth it. The ride was incredibly hard for me, but I made it. Here’s to impressively beautiful days stretching all the way into November!

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Nov 09
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Nov 05
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via designspongeonline
This is an aesthetic that I’m not usually into, but for whatever reason, it seriously strikes my fancy today.

via designspongeonline

This is an aesthetic that I’m not usually into, but for whatever reason, it seriously strikes my fancy today.

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Oct 30
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But perhaps it’s simply this: Football allows the intellectual part of my brain to evolve, but it allows the emotional part to remain unchanged. It has a liberal cerebellum and a reactionary heart. And this is all I want from everything, all the time, always.

Chuck Klosterman, “Football” from Eating the Dinosaur

(via emrgency)

First and foremost: This went on my amazon wishlist today. I am a working adult that can afford to buy books and I still put things on my amazon wishlist for a year before I buy them impulsively. (See: Michael Ruhlman’s “Ratio”, which I just bought because I wanted free shipping on the $11 thing I bought.)

Second: I love Chuck Klosterman. I do. I know every pseudo-hipster loves Chuck Klosterman, but I love him for these things. The music banter becomes too much for me because I’m just not that good at it, but this is all for me. You wouldn’t look at me and think I’m much of a chest-bumper, but just wait until it’s five seconds to go and we’ve gotta make that Hail Mary or else and then OH SHIT DID HE SERIOUSLY DO THAT and it looks like his feet were out but then his feet WERE NOT OUT and we’re going to the championship. I will come at you like a freight train, because we just won. And that excitement, that unbridled passion for something that is ultimately inconsequential, that is what pushes me through those days when everything else seems to go wrong. The Mets winning the NL East, Andre Agassi playing his last game, Kansas beating North Carolina after losing to Bucknell and Bradley. I know that people who don’t follow sports think those of us who do follow them sound like idiots when we start talking like all this matters, but it matters to us. We’ve all got our stuff. Screaming “suck it” in a crowded bar is mine.

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