So, today was just any other normal day. I was doing work at my desk, while working on a few side projects at the same time. Every so often, during my days, I see what’s happening in the realm of twitter and other things interweb. Actually, we all know that’s a lie… I’m constantly monitoring what’s happening online and on twitter. Anyway, I saw this update from Popular Science Magazine’s art director, Matthew Cokeley, immediately after my lunch break (I’m betting he waited for me to get back… sly dog).

The picture he provided in the link? Kind of hard to tell where my credit is at, so here’s some help.

What, exactly, did I post in the magazine? Well, in the upcoming issue of Popular Science Magazine, there will be a list of some of the best inventions and innovations of 2009. These will be separated into categories: Aviation, Auto, Health, Engineering, Green Tech, Home Tech, Home Entertainment, Computing, Gadgets, Recreation and Security. The task that I was hired for was to design visual representations of these categories. Basically, I was to make it so that if you didn’t read the category listing, you still knew what the category was, simply by looking at the icon.

It was a little rough, I’ll admit, being my first job, and all. I had no idea what to expect, but I was willing to do whatever it required to gain the experience. I sent in a preliminary, unrefined set of concepts, of a few of the categories first. You can see them here and here (make sure to click on “view full size”).

Next, Matt let me know my concepts were good, better than the others trying to get the job, and asked me if I would do what it took to make this happen? With sweaty palms, I replied to the affirmative. He told me that he didn’t want metallic icons, that he preferred whispey lines for this. So, I went back to redesigning and rehashing old concepts I had already submitted, working on new ones and finalizing the ideas that I felt were strongest. In the end, Matt decided what was published; here, I’ll post the larger versions of the published icons (since they’re 5mm in the magazine) and a few extra.

Please note a few things: (1) I lost my pen for my wacom tablet before this project, am not professional grade with a pencil and was, therefore, doing all of these sketches with the lasso tool. I was glad that I could get the job done & hope they didn’t come out looking too much like clip art. (2) All of these are considered to be property of either me, Evan Zebley, or Popular Science Magazine, and are hereby, and elsewhere, copyrighted as such.

If you don’t subscribe to Popular Science, you should (since it’s $10 a year), and you can check out the published web version of the 100 best inventions/innovations, here.