So as if the story with my involvement with Limp Bizkit hadn't been incredible enough meeting Fred Durst and helping them out with their website all thanks to playing some Xbox Live, it's seemily just the beginning of a very special relationship. Fred has been more than kind in reaching out a with hand-full of opportunities. The last couple months have been the start of my newest job, Limp Bizkit's full time photographer / videographer. I have embarked with the band to do several radio based festivals this month, getting to check out Quebec, Mississippi, Connecticut and New York. It has been amazing getting to see the well oiled machine that is Limp Bizkit's process when it comes to touring, and getting acquainted with all the moving parts that make it happen on a daily basis.

From the production manager to the crew, everyone has been more than kind and helpful in making me feel like one of the guys. I've made mistakes in trying to find my role, but stepping on my own toes have only given me a better understanding on how I can improve myself and do my job better. I could not ask for a more understanding and patient team. As a long-time fan of Limp Bizkit, it's been a dream come true to be the one to experience a very rare and special process. Behind the scenes I try to capture the story, life and essence that makes this band so special and unique. While they perform I get to experience the live show from a perspective never seen before. The road to the new album Gold Cobra has been journey but it's only the beginning.

In a couple of weeks we'll be leaving for Europe to continue the Gold Cobra tour. It's a little bit intimidating, especially because I've never really been to another country before... let alone another continent. But I'm the kind of person that doesn't like to be in 1 place for too long, so it's a very exciting opportunity, I cannot wait! I'm very excited about getting to share all the great moments and things I've been so fortunate to see and capture, but all in due time. I want to thank everyone for their support and I'm glad to see so much enthusiasm from the fans I've met and for the tracks that were leaked. Ninja power!!

Popular tutorial and web development tip resource Net Tuts Pus featured the new Limp Bizkit website as part of it's coverage on top 36 musician websites. The article praises the "large typography" as a great asset to it's overall design.  The exact excerpt is as follows:

Large typography tends to be bold, strong and “powerful.” It’s quite often the first and last thing we look at when entering and leaving a website. It usually has the power to tell you the nature of a website. For example, Limp Bizkit’s website uses a messy and grungy typeface for the word “Bizkit” in a bright yellow against a dark background. This immediately suggests loud and intrusive.

The article can be found here.

It was brought to my attention that my hometown Conway's newpaper did a cool little article on my involvement with Limp Bizkit.  Thought I'd throw it up for you guys to check out.

"Max Avedisian, a 2007 graduate of Kennett High School and a telented graphics student, was recently hired by the rock band Limp Bizkit as graphic designer for the group's web site.  Avedisian has had a lifelong interest in graphic art and design.  He entered the graphics communications program, a part of the Mount Washington Valley Career and Technical Center at Kennett High School during his junior year and further developed his skills and interest in the field. During the two years he studied in Theresa Sires' class, he entered a portfolio of his photo montages and designs into the New Hampshire Scholastic Art Awards and was awarded a silver key. Avedisian is currently a student at Full Sail University and met Fred Durst, singer of Limp Bizkit, through X-Box Live.  Durst was familiar with the work Avedisian had done for The Armpit (http://www.thearmpit.net) -- a fansite for Limp Bizkit.  Avedisian has been creating content for The Armpit for 6 or 7 years now. Durst was impressed with Avedisian's work and asked him if he would be interested in making Limp Bizkit's new website. Avedisian immediately pitched an idea and got to work on it.  In the process, Durst invited Avedisian to visit and spend the holidays in Los Angeles, where Avedisian stayed for about a week.  While experiencing L.A., he met comedian Tom Green, among others. While working on the new Web Site at Durst's house and getting to know his family, Avedisian got to check out the sights of Hollywood and see first-hand the recording process for the new Limp Bizkit album currently in works. Avedisian is back at Full Sail University where he will be graduating this June.  Since he has returned he has been asked to go on an international tour with Limp Bizkit, which he has agreed to do.  According to Avedisian, "It is a dream come true, to say the least!". "We look forward to his ongoing success in graphic design", Sires said."

Thanks to everyone who said congrats and sent me kind messages, this whole journey has been very fortunate and I appreciate the love!

I know, I know.  Usually when you hear the word fail on the interwebz, you're promptly thinking of skateboarder eating it, or a baseball athlete player taking a 95 mph pitch to the face.  However, I'm about to make the case that failing is a great thing...well if you happen to be a learning designer.  In a profession that is surrounded by subjective opinions, failing is inevitable.  There are a lot of up-in-the-air day to day decisions to make, and it's not an easy thing to perfect.

You will learn more in a single day of real world work than a month of schooling. While it sucks to miss deadlines, or misunderstand a client's needs, it's these mistakes that will help you perfect your craft more than anything else.  Sure, you can sit in a lecture for days on end, attentively listening to advice and jot down notes on how to manage your work flow and your work ethics, but it's the real life experience that will truly test your instinctive decision making.  After you slap yourself across the face or scream at your wall for an hour, you can get a real understanding of how the mistakes occurred and what you can personally do to fix them.  Failing can not be prevented!

The client is always right. This was one that was hard for me to swallow, but in the end it worked out for my best interests.  After studying design for as long as I have, it's hard to take orders from a client as they can seem so misaligned with your understanding of a project.  I have a lot of pride in my design skills and decisions, as should you.  This is why perfecting collaboration is important.  It's more than deciding "blue is a great color because it calms me, do you like blue too?  Great! Let's use it".  It's about entering a client's psychology and embracing their lifestyle.  Live in their shoes for a moment.  Really understand what makes him/her tick, and why they make the decisions they do.  What are their biggest personal influences / interests?  If you can come in at an angle with design suggestions that are cohesive with your clients personality, then you're much more likely to make your personal design solutions that much more relevant to your client.  However if you can't come to terms with a common solution, then don't be so persistent that you lose business.  Simply take requests as they come... after all, they are the ones with the money aren't they?

Lock down a plan. Don't waste time developing a personal idea when it all boils down to an epic fail - a scrapped project and your monitor thrown off a 30 story building.  Stress your concepts!  Really make sure your client likes the IDEA before it turns into production.  It is much like a house of cards, if your fundamentals are not strong, the whole thing will come down in an imploding mess.  Sketches, comps, and frameworks are great way to do this, but don't just do it once and get approval.  There are always gray areas in potential design solutions, iron out as many as possible before advancing to the next step.  You'd be amazed how far a dinky little sketch will come.

Refine your projects. If there's any 1 thing every designer should know, it's that their work can never be considered complete.  If something in your portfolio suggests even the smallest imperfection, do not flaunt it!  If it's a piece of work that is just sitting on your hard drive dying a slow death, work on it and make it a superstar!  Do not be content with your flaws, this is your passion.  Work diligently and passionately to bring a concept to a whole new level.