As some of you may know I’ve been in Australia for the past month or so now. I haven’t found the time to post on a regular basis and I’d like to apologize for my lack of consistency on the blog. Since I have been quite busy lately I thought it would only be fair to share with you all what has been keeping me so preoccupied. If we are friends on Facebook then chances are you may have already seen these photos, if not here are some photos of my first month in Australia.

Icebergs in Bondi Beach

Hanging out on a not-so-safe cliff in Bondi

Ferry ride across the Sydney Harbour to Manly

The ever-so-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge (I have yet to do the climb, but I plan on it)

Skyline view on the city and the opera house

It really isn’t as big as it looks…

These pictures are from Currumbin Zoo on the Gold Coast:

This emu was quite fond of me…

Sharing a tasty treat with a friend!

Enjoy!

In January I stumbled upon an internet contest and the grand prize seemed pretty awesome: Win a free trip to Sydney, Australia and work and play there for a year. I am not one to enter contests but this one just seemed too good to be true! So, I followed the entry requirements and made a 60 second entry video.

In February I received a phone call telling me I was a finalist in the Work and Play in Sydney contest (contest’s MySpace). It took my mind a quick second to process the phone call because I forgot I even entered!

Long story short: I will be moving to Sydney, Australia on July 19th. I am still in search for an in-house design position, but hopefully freelancing will get me by until I do find a design position in Sydney.

Here is my entry video. I can honestly say it is my best videography work (hence the shaky hand effect!), but it sure got the job done! (If you are reading this via RSS you can click here to view it in the web.)

I am Australia bound! I will be living (and hopefully working) in Sydney for at least a year. If you currently live in Sydney or have visited Sydney in the past I’d love to hear about your experience and what you recommend I check out while I am there. Please feel free to share everything with me!

I have been hard at work sprucing a couple of things up around the VelvetAnt site. I have just switched servers so now I will be bigger and badder than ever. Be sure to look out for the new site design, as well as a couple fun contests to go along with the new site look!

In the mean time here is a hilarious video for you to watch.

Your Business Card is Crap!

For people reading via RSS visit this post to view the video

PS: Sorry to anyone reading this blog via RSS. You probably got a little ‘welcome to wordpress!’ Update from my site in your RSS reader yesterday! Apologies.

Who doesn’t love Helvetica? I know I do! Today I received my first tattoo. I wanted to get something that would never go out of style, so I went ahead and got ‘Helvetica’ tattooed on the back of my arm just above my elbow. To be more specific, Helvetica Medium.

A lot of people who don’t know much about typography and graphic design keep asking me what Helvetica is and the importance of it. My response is something like this:

‘Helvetica modernized type as we know it today. It sends a message to people in a very noncontroversial way. You can’t judge Helvetica. Helvetica can say it all. It can say ‘I love you, I hate you, Will you marry me?’ in a way that communicates effectively and always looks good. Helvetica makes life simple.’

Helvetica Trailer

How do you show your love for Helvetica?

Welcome to the Velvet Ant blog! This blog is a resource for you, others, and myself to showcase our creativity and share our knowledge as designers. This blog will mostly focus on Graphic Design, Logo Design, Typography, Web, 3D Design, and many other tools to apply to your everyday way of living in hopes to better yourself as a professional.

Quick Background about myself:
My name is Antonea Nabors and I am a Graphic Designer who lives and works out of Melbourne, Florida. I am employed by a company where I do mostly print and web work, but I also love to freelance in my spare time. I majored in Digital Arts and Design at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida about 2 years ago and I have not regretted my career path for a second! I have been intrigued by computers and what you are able to accomplish on them since the first day I connected to the internet with my 56k modem! I love everything that is design and I don’t know what my life would be today without it!

Never go see a movie with me because I will tell you how many titles in the opening previews are using the Trajan typeface. I have been surfing since I was about 11 years old, and I almost love it as much as design. I am easily inspired by nature and I love being faced with situations that really make me think on my toes. I like solving problems. I love music and finding new music to listen to. You will find me posting entries here and there that will tell you what I am currently listening to, so if you feel that you might have new music that I’d be into or that I should give a listen to, please leave me a comment! I have never blogged a day in my life. I wouldn’t consider myself much of a writer. I am just a Designer looking for a way to effectively communicate with other Designers and Creatives.

Now, what is this whole ‘VelvetAnt’ thing about? When I was graduating from college and was setting myself up with a marketing plan, I didn’t want it to be boring. I didn’t want to market myself just as ‘Antonea Nabors.’ So, why VelvetAnt? My nickname is Ant, and a velvet ant is actually a type of wasp that closely resembles an ant. A velvet ant is known for its painful, venom-filled sting, whose fur resembles the appearance of velvet. In a nut shell, VelvetAnt is my way of marketing myself as a small, yet powerful freelance designer.