Digital Defiant Studios: Visual Communications Blog

blog moved to primary domain

2010-09-29T15:57:00.000-07:00

Hi all, just in case you were checking out my blog, I've moved it over to my primary portfolio site: dxdstudio.com

Here's a recent branding article to check out, otherwise browse that site for everything else!

AllOurStock featured on makeuseof

2009-11-03T08:36:00.000-08:00

So I found a bunch of traffic (via Google Analytics) was coming from makeuseof.com and after a bit of searching I see someone how written an article about the site! Things have definitely been evolving over time and its great to see the site is catching on! So to those over @ makeuseof.com, thanks!

Visit the article here: http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/allourstock-free-stock-vector/

Better web experience, shifted web paradigm

2009-10-20T12:45:00.000-07:00

I've always questioned the current direction of the web, with its seemingly infinite hyperbole and useless, redundant and outright diabolically plagiarized content streams (such as spam websites, fake aggregators, spambots, etc...) which always contribute a whole lotta' nothing to the web.

Sadly there is a catch-22 to the web: it's wild west territory, where heaps of trash content, sites and more get created, yet its already a hugely important factor for everyone, especially business. The internet is no longer (and hasn't been) an optional conduit for revenue and consumer focus. It is VITAL to most businesses, especially the smaller ones that have little exposure. Bearing this in mind, the web is the last bastion of true freedom, where anyone can do just about anything. This contributes a lot to society as it allows innovative thinking versus the "hivemind" that is prevalent in a dissent-controlled society. It is the very neutrality of web that has given us most of what we now take for granted in the digital world. We stifle dissension at our own peril -- hence the catch-22.

Right now, the web is almost like a landfill, with a few, hugely valuable gemstones hidden about. The only problem is how to locate these gemstones while wading through rubbish.

Hopefully web 3.0 will solve that.

Web 3.0? What about 2.0? What's it all mean?

Web 3.0 is what I (and probably others) consider to be the semantic web.

A web that is more functional because of more robust technology inherent in the webpages themselves, that allow the applications to do more efficient and targeted work.

Web 2.0 was the phase of social networking, trendy (but well-designed) websites, and of course, spammers and "SEO-behemoths." These things are still very much here, and will probably stay for quite some time.

Web 3.0 is an attempt to correct the path of the internet towards a more targeted and useful web. It uses new HTML5, more robust applications with technologies like python and C, and continues to bring dynamism to the forefront. It will help correct blackhat SEO practices, and only those in the know will be using best practices. Hopefully, the days of overzealous link-building to increase SEO versus creating original and useful content is over! But what about all those hard-working chums that worked so hard to get their web rankings #1 in Google through the use of frantic link-building, comment-spamming and other nefarious means!!!? Well I have a few words for you buffoons. These are the same people that pollute our world with no regard because they won't see the effects of it until they are gone. Except, they think it's okay because they pollute in the digital world.

OK. Ending rant now, back to reality.

Along with those technologies is the new trend of API building. I liken API's to legos: they are very modular and can be used to build further creations. From Flickr to Google maps to now, WolframAlpha (and a TON of others) the ability to add meaningful tools to websites is becoming popular. Looking at the web (and a lot of things really) in modular terms is very useful in developing new applications for the web. I think the future of web ideas and website success is going to hinge on things like modularity and usefulness. Pretty and unique designs will still be there, but they need to be inherently intuitive and easy-to-use. After all, technology was supposed to free up our lives, not make them more complex and convoluted. People checking facebook after sex? Come on people, it's time to get real.

Always busy but always good -- New stuff for All Our Stock

2009-10-13T22:09:00.000-07:00

Well, there's plenty of great new updates and content on All Our Stock. It's made some great headway but I've been working towards new improvements and implementing a mass amount of new stock to infuse the site. There has been plenty of new additions, including new categories like Transportation, Flowers, Objects, Plants, *breath* Animals, Landscapes, Technology/Industrial, and Food/Drink. What's great is the quality AND quantity of photos I've had the opportunity to look at and add, I've made some new projects and will continue to make more, using the very same stock! For example, I've added a new design over at DeviantArt.

And I've just added 116 new public domain photos in the Flowers section!! Go check it out and of course, tell your designer friends!

10 Useful textures to give your projects that extra bit of detail

2009-09-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

Textures are a great way to add well texture, making a drab design into something great, or that last final touch to an already amazing piece.

Here are some great textures from AllOurStock.com

Mossy Bark (detailed)

http://www.allourstock.com/product/product_id/983

Grunge Spray

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/301

Waves

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/186

Pink & Gray Collage Grunge

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/51

Splat Darkspace

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/287

Watercolor Angles

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/343

Space Dust Abstract

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/95

Halftone Grunge

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/45

Precious Alien Metal

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/117

Dark Grunge Rainbow

http://www.allourstock.com/product/path/36_37/product_id/174

Just wanted to say

2009-09-11T12:49:00.001-07:00

Hooray! www.allourstock.com has jumped significantly in rank, and is now #2 (from nonexistant) under the broad search term "all our stock" (no quotes) in only a few short weeks. I'll likely detail my process at some point, but suffice it to say, hard work and a bit of adsense combined with buysellads is helping a ton.

While I'm here, check out some of the new stuff that's been added -- tons of photos, collages and drawings, along with a few website updates, optimizations and UI additions. In the future I'll be implementing a top-secret COLOR based search application that will allow you to search using a color picker (ala google et al) So things should be heating up!

Also, check out the twitter channel for quick updates to new product categories!

Bruce Mau: AN INCOMPLETE MANIFESTO FOR GROWTH

2009-09-07T11:03:00.000-07:00

I was doing some research for a side project of mine, and I came across this useful list from Bruce Mau's "Incomplete Manifesto"

Looks like something useful to incorporate into daily life.

AN INCOMPLETE MANIFESTO FOR GROWTH

Written in 1998, the Incomplete Manifesto is an articulation of statements exemplifying Bruce Mau’s beliefs, strategies and motivations. Collectively, they are how we approach every project.

Allow events to change you.You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
Forget about good.Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.
Process is more important than outcome.When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child).Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
Go deep.The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.
Capture accidents.The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
Study.A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.
Drift.Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
Begin anywhere.John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
Everyone is a leader.Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.
Harvest ideas.Edit applications. Ideas need a dynamic, fluid, generous environment to sustain life. Applications, on the other hand, benefit from critical rigor. Produce a high ratio of ideas to applications.
Keep moving.The market and its operations have a tendency to reinforce success. Resist it. Allow failure and migration to be part of your practice.
Slow down.Desynchronize from standard time frames and surprising opportunities may present themselves.
Don’t be cool.Cool is conservative fear dressed in black. Free yourself from limits of this sort.
Ask stupid questions.Growth is fueled by desire and innocence. Assess the answer, not the question. Imagine learning throughout your life at the rate of an infant.
Collaborate.The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife, exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential.
____________________.Intentionally left blank. Allow space for the ideas you haven’t had yet, and for the ideas of others.
Stay up late.Strange things happen when you’ve gone too far, been up too long, worked too hard, and you're separated from the rest of the world.
Work the metaphor.Every object has the capacity to stand for something other than what is apparent. Work on what it stands for.
Be careful to take risks.Time is genetic. Today is the child of yesterday and the parent of tomorrow. The work you produce today will create your future.
Repeat yourself.If you like it, do it again. If you don’t like it, do it again.
Make your own tools.Hybridize your tools in order to build unique things. Even simple tools that are your own can yield entirely new avenues of exploration. Remember, tools amplify our capacities, so even a small tool can make a big difference.
Stand on someone’s shoulders.You can travel farther carried on the accomplishments of those who came before you. And the view is so much better.
Avoid software.The problem with software is that everyone has it.
Don’t clean your desk.You might find something in the morning that you can’t see tonight.
Don’t enter awards competitions.Just don’t. It’s not good for you.
Read only left-hand pages.Marshall McLuhan did this. By decreasing the amount of information, we leave room for what he called our "noodle."
Make new words.Expand the lexicon. The new conditions demand a new way of thinking. The thinking demands new forms of expression. The expression generates new conditions.
Think with your mind.Forget technology. Creativity is not device-dependent.
Organization = Liberty.Real innovation in design, or any other field, happens in context. That context is usually some form of cooperatively managed enterprise. Frank Gehry, for instance, is only able to realize Bilbao because his studio can deliver it on budget. The myth of a split between "creatives" and "suits" is what Leonard Cohen calls a 'charming artifact of the past.'
Don’t borrow money.Once again, Frank Gehry’s advice. By maintaining financial control, we maintain creative control. It’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s surprising how hard it is to maintain this discipline, and how many have failed.
Listen carefully.Every collaborator who enters our orbit brings with him or her a world more strange and complex than any we could ever hope to imagine. By listening to the details and the subtlety of their needs, desires, or ambitions, we fold their world onto our own. Neither party will ever be the same.
Take field trips.The bandwidth of the world is greater than that of your TV set, or the Internet, or even a totally immersive, interactive, dynamically rendered, object-oriented, real-time, computer graphic–simulated environment.
Make mistakes faster.This isn’t my idea -- I borrowed it. I think it belongs to Andy Grove.
Imitate.Don’t be shy about it. Try to get as close as you can. You'll never get all the way, and the separation might be truly remarkable. We have only to look to Richard Hamilton and his version of Marcel Duchamp’s large glass to see how rich, discredited, and underused imitation is as a technique.
Scat.When you forget the words, do what Ella did: make up something else ... but not words.
Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it.
Explore the other edge.Great liberty exists when we avoid trying to run with the technological pack. We can’t find the leading edge because it’s trampled underfoot. Try using old-tech equipment made obsolete by an economic cycle but still rich with potential.
Coffee breaks, cab rides, green rooms.Real growth often happens outside of where we intend it to, in the interstitial spaces -- what Dr. Seuss calls "the waiting place." Hans Ulrich Obrist once organized a science and art conference with all of the infrastructure of a conference -- the parties, chats, lunches, airport arrivals — but with no actual conference. Apparently it was hugely successful and spawned many ongoing collaborations.
Avoid fields.Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex, evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the fields.
Laugh.People visiting the studio often comment on how much we laugh. Since I've become aware of this, I use it as a barometer of how comfortably we are expressing ourselves.
Remember.Growth is only possible as a product of history. Without memory, innovation is merely novelty. History gives growth a direction. But a memory is never perfect. Every memory is a degraded or composite image of a previous moment or event. That’s what makes us aware of its quality as a past and not a present. It means that every memory is new, a partial construct different from its source, and, as such, a potential for growth itself.
Power to the people.Play can only happen when people feel they have control over their lives. We can't be free agents if we’re not free.

New product at ALLOURSTOCK.com:

2009-08-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

Alright y'all, it's that time again. I'm going to create some cool graphics using a new product from the stock site: http://allourstock.com/product/product_id/439 (now I think THIS is my favorite so far, but I think that will probably change soon.)

1. First make a document that is 800x600. For these projects I like to do small stuff.

2. I'm going to drop the collage in as the background. But I don't just want to use it as a background this time, I think I'm going to go the route of type treatment.

3. I typed out some text -- "Typophile" that will be my theme for this project. You can use any font you like, I think I'm going to do some typographical experimentation and break it into two lines: "Typo-" and "phile" and make each line a different font. For the first line, I've chosen a great classic, Avenir. It's a well design sans-serif font with many weights and a very precise design. It's like a more modern helvetica with some actual character. (by the way, if you're interested, you can buy it here) My other font is a slight modification on the classic Bodoni: Bauer Bodoni. You can also check that one out at MyFonts.

4. Since the type is going to be the "figure" in this figure/ground relationship, I want to make it prominent. I'll do that by using the collage as a mask, vs. letting it fill the entire background.

5. Before that process I'll just clean up the font by kerning the letters and adjusting the leading to make it nice and neat and make sure none of the characters are running into each other.

6. After masking the background with the type outline, Voila! Instantly a great looking piece. For simplicity we could leave it as-is and it would still work well. But let's see if we can't touch it up a notch (or "BANG" ala Emeril.)

7. I want to maintain the clarity of this piece but I still want to add some flare to it. Firstly I think I'll add a radial burst for the background, the ramp gradation going from white to yellow.

8. Then I'll turn down the opacity a notch just to make it more subtle and keep the background from garnering all the attention.

9. I think now I'll duplicate the original background collage, and set it to soft light with 70% opacity to get a subtle texture going on.

10. This is purely optional, as we've got a nice looking graphic to use, but I want to keep the theme of typography going and add some little graphics to enhance that feel. I'm going to add some lines along the horizontal of each part of the type (baseline, x-height, descender and ascender.) I'll make these white and put them behind the type. Very subtle, but still a nice finishing touch.

And here's the final product:

Woohoo!

Now head on over to www.allourstock.com to check out more free stuff! (And email your results so we can showcase it!)

New product at ALLOURSTOCK.com:

2009-08-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

So to date, this is one of my favorite stock pieces that has been up on the site. As it continues to roll forward I really think even more robust and quality stock will be put up! I'm going to use the original stock to make something cool and show some of the potential uses for these products.

Here's the product itself: http://allourstock.com/product/path/36_38/product_id/337

It's a nice dadaist-like collage that I've created with random elements from old projects. It's great how versatile some design pieces are, in that you can reuse them all the time in various ways without watering it down or seeming copied.

I'll type out my instructions vs. loading up a bunch of in-between screenshots.

Since this is a nice big, high-resolution image, I'm going to shrink it down for a smaller project.

1. First I'll take the original image and resize it to 600x800 -- I want a vertical layout, I think it will be very engaging and dramatic.

2. I'm going to use solely the texture, and not the color of this image, so I want to change the hue to a yellowish color. I'll pick my color, then in photoshop change the layer property to hue. Now I've got a much more dramatic play of shapes with one solid color.

3. Of course I'll just my logo as a foundation, and to give it some edge and allure with the logo's shape. Since I want to bring attention to the logo, I'm going to mask the background slightly, so it has some nuances that are subtle yet powerful. This gives depth to the piece because of the 2 layered effects created by the logo and the background. Now we're getting somewhere.

4. I think I'd like to use text as well, namely the typeface and name of the company. I don't think it looks good horizontally though, as the text is more of an artform when its presented vertically, and it families with the orientation of this piece.

5. I like the way it creates an artistic nature to the typography, but all white text is too much, so I'm going to make "studios" black to break it up. Now its looking really good.

6. For added effect, I'll add a vertical bar of pink and then set it to darken so the layeres show through. This creates some heavy contrast, sets the stage for the symmetrical nature of the piece, and adds some flare to the more subdued nature of the piece.

And voila! It took me a total of 5 minutes to make this, even longer to write the post. But what a result, way cool!

Spec work -- NO NO and.... HELL NO!

2008-10-26T04:50:00.000-07:00

Great article about spec work and how bad it really is.

http://www.davidairey.com/a-conversation-about-spec-work/

another good link:

http://www.no-spec.com/

Style degradation and the emergence of evolving context

2008-10-26T04:20:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking with a friend, discussing the importance of context and how we need to understand what we surround ourself with. You see, for the longest time I believed I could watch horrific images, videos and stories, and become stronger by desensitizing myself by overcoming the disgust of it all. All the classic internet underground stuff, from beheadings to perverted acts – sites like stileproject, ogrish and rotten (I know, I know, terrible stuff.) I had also been interested in the idea of “creating reality” where you supplement your life with positive thinking to help manifest your own desires. Intrinsically, I think I’ve always felt that “attraction mechanism” to be a little bullshit, but it has been recently linked to some theories of quantum mechanics, (the observer theory) and I realized that we still pretty infantile in our understanding of reality, so I thought “hey, maybe this IS possible!” But after a while, I’ve come to the conclusion that surrounding yourself with certain things works, but not as effectively as many of those activists might tout. It can be explained simply by science: the waking memory is a place that records relevant experiences that are later transcribed to the other part of the hemisphere, and then used conceptually. But during that process, some information is lost, so the quality of the data is degraded. It’s sort of like upscaling a raster image – you lose pixels along the way, and the clarity of that image suffers. And the most important part of our ability to memorize experience is our ability to understand the context of that experience. So in that respect I think trying to surround yourself with pain and misery, simply to desensitize yourself and thus make you less vulnerable is a fallacy, because over time there is a degradation of context and the reasoning behind it begins to blur, leaving you with negative feelings that are hard to grasp.

Well having said all that, you might wonder, how does this relate to ARTISTIC STYLE?! Well, I think the same principle of quality degradation applies – but in this sense it’s actually more of a positive result. I can’t think of any artist that hasn’t gained some foresight without idealizing someone else, or without the help of a mentor. It’s the “standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants” principle, and it has worked time immemorial to help evolve the styles of every profession throughout the ages, just like genes evolve through natural selection. But in the process of this foresight, an artist seeks to copy the style of another artist (and as we know, imitation is the highest form of flattery) but is not able to keep the context and clarity of that experience 100% in their mind. So this, in conjunction with each daily experience, and the individual talents and physiological structure of that person, creates a “degraded” style that is unique to them.

Testing... freedom of speech

2008-10-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hi there, this post is sort of a quirky one, I doubt it will cause concern, but I'd like to experiment nonetheless. I heard recently the FDA is banning the posting of customer testimonials for health products and while this seems only to apply to the manufacturer's website, I might as well use it as an opportunity to spout some opinion from my experience with natural remedies. Whether fact or fiction, I think its a good idea to create content about it.

Here are some of the wonderfully useful supplements I take. I would like to note that I RARELY if EVER use ANY prescribed drugs. The occasional ibuprofen is about it for me.

Things I like:

Echinacea: GREAT for boosting the immune system, especially during the onset of a cold/flu. I take it every day.
Zinc: Ditto. This is probably the best immunity booster I've read about, easily ousting vitamin c. Zinc is important for Cell production and the immune system.
Cayenne Pepper: An unknown gem to most people, Cayenne Pepper is great for blood circulation and the heart. In a recent cold bout I found the effects of Cayenne to help combat the cold amazing, but make sure to take this on a full stomach, otherwise you'll get very queezy from the capsaicin.
Realfood Organics brand multi-vitamin: If you've pontificated on whats in your multi-vitamin, you'll definitely want to do a bit of due diligence and find out the manufacturing ingredients. After some homework, I found most vitamins (the 6-10$ bottles) to be very poor indeed, some having ingredients that are BAD for you (obviously nothing huge, but why take vitamins when they contain harmful ingredients?) On top of that, they contained the cheapest forms of each respective vitamin, and in very low dosage. Realfood Organics runs me about 23$ a bottle, but it lasts a month and the difference is noticeable. Not only that, they are ORGANIC vitamins, which means the supplement comes from an organic source (i.e. from grown plants rather than what I can only call rocks.) I take 2 a day and they're great. They have two multi-vitamin lines, formulated specifically for men and women.
Ginko Biloba: Nothing particularly amazing about this one, but I take gingko on a regular basis and I noticed some improvements after I did. I'm very confident I'd find better results if I used a higher quality brand.

Things I Don't like (I hesitate to say hate, if only to keep from sounding like a zealot):

The FDA
Merck
Pfizer
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
99% of what the the previous three manufacture

In conclusion, my sort of health manifesto is simply that the U.S. is statistically extremely unhealthy, especially when compared to similarly developed nations. Is it merely coincidence that we have the most overbearing, bureaucratic...dare I say, fascist health policies, dictated by the FDA? I find that their health concerns directly correlate to the benefit of "Big Pharma" and are structured on remedy not prevention -- and in most (read: all) cases they do not cure, only subside.

Comcast limiting bandwidth usage!

2008-08-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here's an article from Reuters "Comcast to limit customers' broadband usage"

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Comcast Corp, the largest U.S. cable operator, said on Thursday it will cap customers' Internet usage starting October 1, in a bid to ensure the best service for the vast majority of its subscribers.

Comcast said it was setting a monthly data usage threshold of 250 gigabytes per account for all residential high-speed Internet customers, or the equivalent of 50 million e-mails or 124 standard-definition movies.

"If a customer exceeds more than 250 GB and is one of the heaviest data users who consume the most data on our high-speed Internet service, he or she may receive a call from Comcast's Customer Security Assurance (CSA) group to notify them of excessive use," according to the company's updated Frequently Asked Questions on Excessive Use.

Customers who top 250 GB in a month twice in a six-month timeframe could have service terminated for a year.

Comcast said up to 99 percent of its 14 million Internet subscribers would not be affected by the new threshold, which it said would help ensure the quality of Internet delivery is not degraded by a minority of heavy users.

U.S. Internet subscribers are typically not aware of any limit on their Internet usage once they sign up to pay a flat monthly fee to their service provider.

As Web usage has rocketed, driven by the popularity of watching online video, photo-sharing and music downloading services, cable and phone companies have been considering various techniques to limit or manage heavy usage.

But Comcast has come under fire from a variety of sources for its network management techniques.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission investigated complaints by consumer groups that it was blocking peer-to-peer applications like BitTorrent, and earlier this month ordered Comcast to modify its network management.

Comcast has said that by the end of the year it will change its network management practices to ensure all Web traffic is treated essentially the same, but has also been exploring other ways to prevent degradation of its Internet service delivery.

One consumer group said while Comcast's new 250 GB limit was "relatively high," it could eventually ensnare customers as technology progresses.

"If Comcast has oversold their network to the point of creating congestion problems, then well-disclosed caps for Internet use are a better short-term solution than Comcast's current practice of illegally blocking Internet traffic," said S Derek Turner of Free Press, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group that filed a complaint about Comcast's network management practices earlier this year.

The Philadelphia-based company is not alone in trying to come up with ways to limit heavy Internet usage.

Time Warner Cable Inc, the second-largest U.S. cable operator, said in January it would run a trial of billing Internet subscribers based on usage rather than a flat fee.

Comcast spokesman Charlie Douglas said Comcast was also considering so-called consumption-based billing, but no decisions had been made.

Original article...
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN2833325220080829?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

2008-07-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Check out MoveOn.org for more.

Tutorial: Increasing clarity and crispness of pixelated photos with photoshop

2008-07-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

So I picked this technique up after doing some client work involving small thumbnails that inevitably had to be stretched or were just poor quality.

First, might I say, this kitty is amazingly cute. Like, wow, I think I'm going to have an aneurysm this cat is so cute.

Anyway, back to the tut. Say you want to get decent quality from a poor photo after downsizing it. What I've done here is taken a photo, stretched it, saved it as a jpeg (like 400% it's size) on 1 quality, then resaved it again to cause even more data loss. Why? Just to prove a point.

Here's the initial photo:

Decent clarity eh?

Well let's say you started out with something of quality...

(click for full-size)

Well what many people may usually do is, resize the photo, then sharpen it. But if you sharpen it many times before downscaling, you can increase the clarity without making it look grainy and fragmented. Because you're adding pixels by sharpening, then decreasing pixels by way of Photoshop's bicubic downsampling. This order of operations produces very different results which are actually quite pleasing. Take a look at the last photo:

First slide is the original. 2nd slide is the upscaled lossy version, downscaled again, using no sharpening (strictly Photoshop's bicubic downsampling algorithm.) The 3rd one is the upscaled lossy version, but sharpened 2 times (same settings) and then downscaled. Actually looks a bit crisper than the first! You could get the first crisper, but it would undoubtedly look grainy.

Nifty art

2008-07-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

Wee, look at that cool curve effect, created simply by loading a couple albums. I wonder if B12 made their album Time Tourist that way intentionally? IDM and ambient are known for their weird subtleties...

Anyway, that is all.

Lieutenant Dan VS Optimus Prime

2008-07-07T11:09:00.000-07:00

I thought marketing couldn't get any more ridiculous, but then I heard the Lieutenant Dan voice-overs for the Army's latest recruitment video. I thought to myself, well, who better than the character for a suicidal alcoholic with no legs to help harness the power of the Army for their latest TV spot? I guess aspirations are all relative, but from where I'm sitting that commercial doesn't quite do it for me. Maybe the Army will get their recruits some of those "magic" metal legs too!

BUT THEN -- I didn't think it could get any sillier. I heard the Optimus Prime voice-over for the Navy. At first I thought, is this real? Am I really hearing? But lo and behold, the transforming Auto-bot (or at least his vocal humanoid counterpart) is certainly the voice responsible.

So is this what it's come down to? Who's got the bigger, more badass voice-over? I think if that's the case, Optimus Prime wins by a long shot, but don't you think that's fucking overkill? I mean, REALLY -- Optimus Prime!? HE'S NOT EVEN FROM THIS PLANET! Does the Navy think they're gonna get their hands on the All Spark? And if you really want to get down to brass tacks, I could have sworn Prime was helping out the Army in the movie? I don't remember OP being such a sellout, and I refuse to believe that's the case. So, damn you Navy, damn you for trying to corrupt my childhood memories!

I must say, I find it somewhat repulsive that many famous actors/actresses have taken the role of corporate cheerleader, but I guess that's to be expected. However, this new trend of military advertising is worrisome, especially when childhood heroes are now pandering to a pandemic that infects the mind of the overly patriotic.

KGB subversion propagandists are so jealous right now.

20 Minute Logo a Day: Style

2008-07-03T00:28:00.001-07:00

This is really not so much a logo as it is a type-treatment, but it was a quick little experiment in adding some curves to a basic font. I was inspired by the insane work of Joshua Smith of Hydro74. His stuff is extraordinary, I definitely recommend having a look. I think I'll be doing more illustration of this sort in the near future, but with more complex designs and more time. Be on the lookout!

20 Minute Logo a Day: Jet

2008-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

This came randomly about 2 minutes after creating the previous logo, so I thought I'd throw it in. Same story -- it's for nothing in particular, but it's a cool little logo.

20 Minute Logo a Day: ChaChing

2008-06-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Can't really say what drove me to pick this name or anything for that matter but I wasn't 100% I'd create anything today so I did mostly blind experimenting. But I like the results of this project -- a unique name with some funny character to it. In reality it took much less than 20 minutes, more like 10 :P

Ode to Google Analytics

2008-06-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well I forgot how awesome Google Analytics was, and so I set it up on a few of my sites. Well after 2 days of existing, I see that I have several visitors going over to www.dxdstudio.com, many of which are staying! There is a 40% Bounce-Rate which at first blush I thought was quite terrible, but after some research it looks like that's considered good or even quite good! Thanks to everyone who visited and checked out my works, I always appreciate it!

<3

Things that are dumb...

2008-06-24T01:37:00.001-07:00

1. Preloaders for "coming soon" sites

That's all for now.

20-Minute-Logo-A-Day -- PDP Gangsterized

2008-06-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

So I was messing around with some gothic fonts, experimenting with flipping letters, and I accidently made pd upside down -- well since I work for PDP, Punch Drunk Productions, I decided to just go that direction and see what I could make. I made a neatly connected gothic styled logo, reminiscent of urban wear like caps and clothing logos. Here is what became of it, with a few color styles applied. I may or may not get this printed as a shirt -- my ideas for that are super fresh. I'd like to make it into a polo, with the emblem applied in the chest corner, most likely red or similar, with a light yellowish colored polo, white collar, and some artwork in the bottom corner of the shirt. Tell me that wouldn't be kickin!

Anyway, have a look

20 Minute logo a Day - Hayaii Aftermarket Parts

2008-06-16T00:46:00.000-07:00

So in trying to keep up with my "20-minute-logo-a-day" project, I'm adding this new one to make up for my lost days :D This is for an aftermarket parts company called "Hayai." Hayai means fast in Japanese, and this company would most likely offer Japanese import aftermarket parts. Simple bar gradation helps push the idea of speed, while still being simple and bold which works for it's market.

PHOTOSHOP: Gradient map + Luminosity = Great way to add dimension to photos

2008-06-14T23:51:00.001-07:00

So I was experimenting with colorful designs, and one great way to do this is with the gradient map feature. I usually create different parts with the gradient map, and overlay them on top of each other in a layer of blended colors, to get an amazingly bright and colorful look without a boring looking, banded gradation that merely tints the photo. Well, as I was doing that I discovered that the luminosity overlay is a great way to add depth to a photo by using it in conjunction with the gradient map. This allows you to add deep colors into the photo, rather than working with what's only in the image. Above is the original photo, untouched by photoshop. Great composition, beautiful model, but really quite unspectacular. But by adding a gradient map you get a semi-psychadelic image like this:

Pretty cool in it's own right, but this is what we'll use to work with on our luminosity. You'll have to play around with the points on the gradient map to get a desired look, but it's well worth the results.

Once you have your desired gradient-map-ified photo, paste it above the original, and change it's layer properties to luminosity. Voila! That is all you really need to do for some quick enhancements, though you might take it a step further with levels, hues, curves, etc...
Here is the image after said adjustment:

Have fun, hope this was useful!

Paul Van Dyk - Other Side (feat. Wayne Jackson)

2008-06-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

Ahh I forgot how awesome this song and video are... have a look see!

Check it out: Basecamp collaboration tool

2008-06-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to throw a link out there for something that has changed the way I've done business. Both my company and the company I work for utilize a nifty little tool called Basecamp, which is an online CMS (content management system) that is built for communicating to clients. It has a lot of great features, but also keeps out the superflous ones.

You can upload files, create message threads, have to-do lists, create "writeboards" that save each iteration and even chat (though the chat feature has gone unused by me, it's not too bad.)

I have used the free version and it's pretty amazing for free, but if you are serious about your business and don't want to deal with limitations like off-site hosting or lack of full features, I'd definitely get a paid plan. The amount of money you save in the logistics and efficiency of communication will easily pay for it.

You can also integrate all milestones with your ical or google calendar, which makes it super nice to keep track of things.

The uptime and support is very good, I think in 2 years it's been down maybe 5-7 times (around there, it's so small I don't remember,) all of which were for a couple hours or less (except for one upgrade to the entire system.)

I use backpack and tadalist as well, both great products from 37 signals as well.
I also respect the philosophy behind the people and tools. If you're interested in some good reading (free online, or buy the book,) you can check out their book called Getting Real: The smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web application

So if you're interested, feel free to check it out!

McClellan to testify on Bush Impeachment hearings

2008-06-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

From my email newsletter:

"After all of our hard work pushing for impeachment hearings for Vice President Cheney – the McClellan hearing provides our cause with a legitimate opportunity to showcase the crimes and violations of this Administration for the American people, the mainstream media, reluctant members of the Democratic party, and sensible Republicans. This hearing provides us our first genuine opportunity to enter the public consciousness and change the dynamics that have prevented true accountability for Bush and Cheney.

Mr. McClellan was a major figure in the Valerie Plame/CIA scandal, as well as a leading propagandist for the Bush White House's deliberate attempts to hide the true costs of this war from the American public. As such, Mr. McClellan will testify under oath (and be subject to perjury charges should he lie) and be asked about the following matters:

What role did President Bush, Vice President Cheney , and key administration officials take in the effort to reveal the identity of covert CIA agent Valeria Plame Wilson – thus destroying her network and putting lives in jeopardy?
What role did President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and key administration officials take regarding the firing of U.S. Attorneys or political reasons?
What role did President Bush, Vice President Cheney, key administration officials take in conspiring to blatantly break U.S. and International laws prohibiting the use of torture?

I call on Mr. McClellen to immediately accept this invitation and testify under oath as he previously agreed to while being interviewed on national television.

During the hearing I will have roughly five short minutes to question Mr. McClellan and undercover the illegalities committed by this Administration – which is why it is critically important that every representative on the Judiciary Committee hears your voice. Please let them know that you demand answers to these questions.

Nor should it stop there: Karl Rove has thumbed his nose to the Judiciary Committee's subpoena – joining Harriet Miers, Joshua Bolten and Vice President Cheney's Chief of Staff David Addington as the only Administration officials in history to claim Congress has no power to even bring them before a committee to be questioned.

I have called for Karl Rove to be held in inherent contempt and for the other renegade officials to appear as required by their subpoenas, or be forced to do so by the House Sergeant of Arms.

What the Judiciary's request of McClellan proves is that if we stay vigilant – if we call loudly and repeatedly for accountability - that we become very difficult to ignore."

http://wexler.house.gov/

A call to action

2008-05-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

Gung Ho! Gung Ho! Gung Ho!
Folks, I think it's time we rally the troops for this one. I am adamant about the necessity to flood the market with benevolence into design. We are approaching an interesting juncture in the global structure -- countries are shifting weight and the flow of business, economics and power structures is starting to move in a new direction not seen before (at least in this configuration.) What I mean by that is the acclaimed leader known as the United States is in a power struggle to contain it's accelerating departure into economical turmoil, and there has been a fast ripple of fragmentation across the world.

South-American countries are beginning to capitalize on their small overhead and are venturing into global services, while China is attempting to become the new juggernaut. The European Union is doing OK, but it is in kind of a stalemate. Whether or not this will happen, whether or not the world wants it to happen, neither is relevant now. What is important is that those in marketing (et al) are in a position of power and need to weigh moral options accordingly. Whether it's the CEO of a worldwide agency or a junior designer, the rules still apply.

This goes hand-in-hand with my previous post about Design for Change, the website devoted to teaching designers to harness their power for sustainability in design. But this goes further than environmental concerns (though not many can argue, that is near or at the forefront.)

So what needs to be done?
Common sense; listen to your gut; think about how it affects the world. Is your design meant to be deceptive? If so, don't compromise -- take it up with your peers to make a design that influences the world in a positive way. If you can't change it, then maybe it's time to find a new job. Not feeling so feisty? At the very least do something to balance it out-- creative positive messages, designs, campaigns, etc.... It's important to feel good about what you do. Design is a fun job and can be very rewarding, but there needs to be a real net value of good happening-- a lot of times designers are illusioned that their talents are harnessed for good. There is a good reason that the marketing world has been regarded with disdain by the commoner.

Design these days goes even further than the face value however. Branding programs are meant to infiltrate specific areas by targeting consumers. This is done with the help of new technology, research into habits, trends and other values. While this seems intrusive, (and currently it very much is,) it has the potential for good. What we currently see happening is product placement tailored to each individual. This is most prominent online with the help of contextual advertising, but it is also popular IRL via mail and through targeted campaigns.

Are we targeting for the right reasons? Does airbrushing models build self-esteem? Do we need to hire designers to design custom cigarette packs? Yes, the exposure and creative control do wonders for one's ego, but is it helping our fellow person? We can assume that everyone is in control of their life and will shop accordingly, but in that train of thought we are inviting social darwinism to our doorstep, letting it in, and treating it for a cup of tea. Do we really want to do that?

How about improve the quality of life instead. It will improve the quality of our world and energize our very spirit.

The best innovators were also charitable thinkers.
Not only is it great for the self, it happens to be a historically common trait among some of the greatest innovators. Einstein, still considered the world over a genius and possibly the smartest man, was quite possibly the biggest innovator at all. His creative thinking allowed him to uncover the very fundamentals laws of our existance, creating new equations that are ringing true decades later, and have opened doors for more theories.

Not convinced? Consider David Carson, whos disestablishment attitude towards typography has set a new precedent in experimental design. Consider Stefan Sagmeister, whose timeless work have been immortalized in the pages of countless design annuals. Or what about newer innovators, such as the impressive interactive and abstract programming works of Joshua Davis.
We can't forget Paul Rand, who was considered basically a father figure of logo design and creative thoughtful brands that are still iconic today. Other great figures are Milton Glaser, Wally Olins, Michael Bierut, Armin Vit, Paula Scher, etc....

Writers like Goerge Orwell and figures like Bertrand Russell were active in politics and made powerful statements against common rationale. There are countless others in countless fields, but this serves to illustrate the point.

I hope this will serve as a call to action for those working in the field, to bring a bit of inspiration for benevolence in design. Design is the language that defines us, and we must define it for a common good.

Santa, is that you?

2008-05-27T11:41:00.000-07:00

Take with a grain of salt, but still funny interesting find...

Recycling is bullshit

2008-05-23T01:01:00.000-07:00

After a post about sustainability through design, I'd like to inject a bit of common sense to stave off the disinformation that has become more abundant than the trash we create (though this rhetoric itself, is largely trash.) Here's a video discussing recycling myths, from a great show -- namely Penn & Teller's bullshit. I love the quick wit and no-nonsense approach, and here I present to you some urban legends about recycling:

Recycling is good for the environment since it reduces the amount of virgin products we use.
False. Recycling requires tons of manpower, energy and pollution to transform one form to another. Energy to sort the garbage, energy to move the garbage, energy to process the garbage.

Recycling saves forests.
True and false. J as plants are grown in a CONTROLLED environment for harvesting, so too are trees grown for industrial use. We don't go around cutting down the amazon rainforest to make notebook paper.

Landfills are dangerous and bad for the environment; they're dangerous to live around.
False. Landfills require the lowest net amount of energy to get rid of garbage, and they are well-kept under strict regulations. A great example of this is the largest landfill in the U.S. held in California. (More on this in the video.)

These are just a few of the little gems you might be surprised to find out about, but there is a ton more along with resources, interviews and factoids on the video itself.

So in conclusion, sustainability is great! Recycling, for the most part, is bullshit. Just remember the old adage, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." If we don't create as much trash to begin with, we don't have to worry about the bullshit that comes with it.

Design Can Change

2008-05-22T10:53:00.001-07:00

I just found out about this great flash site, Design Can Change. It goes over the effects of global warming and how designers have impacted this through ineffective design, tonnes of paper waste, and un-targeted, un-solicited mail. As designers we are a contributor to the problem, but we are also poised to solve it, since (most) are not in a bureaucratic position, and thus have an advantage of appeal. Once you visit the myriad of slideshows, whether it be for natural disasters, facts about global warming, design waste, or future problems that might arise, you can take the pledge to be more responsible in designing and your studio will be featured in the directory.

Also, since I'm on the topic of sustainability, I'd like to throw a link out for a recent blog I found through the Behance magazine's "100 Tips to Improve Your Life" list, namely No Impact Man.

Enjoy, and hope you sign up as well!

20 Minute logo a day

2008-05-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

So I've decided to try a new experiment: each day I'm going to spend 20 minutes creating a logo for a made-up company. I might extend it further to a redesign of a current identity, but the goal is to jumpstart creativity and increase efficiency. Plus it will be a fun, carefree change from the usual stipulations. We'll see how it goes!

For today's logo, I made a brand consulting firm called simply "Balance". Balance uses a vibrant percentage sign as it's focus of attention and mark. This represents the financial aspect of consulting, through a simple, elegant, recognizable symbol .

Thanks for viewing and stay tuned for the next logo!

More historical quotes

2008-03-16T02:50:00.000-07:00

"The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist."

- Winston Churchill, Nov. 21, 1943

Corporate identity recognition (CIR)

2008-03-04T14:13:00.001-08:00

So I was perusing the internet(s) as I like to do, and I came across some revised logos, specifically web 2.0fied logos (for example.) After a quick perusal of various logo "revamps" I decided to test the identity recognition of various major logos by running them through photoshop. I am also partly inspired by the book "IT'S NOT HOW GOOD YOU ARE, IT'S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE" by Paul Arden; this book covers a lot of great rules for emerging into the marketing world a leader. There is a picture devoted to a Nike brand, where the logo is set in a hall and blurred -- the logo is still very recognizable. With this same premise I took 6 logos and pixelated them as much as possible before I lost the recognition. I think this could be a useful rule-of-thumb for gauging logo designs, though keep in mind this kind of recognition comes with many years of umbrella branding schemes designed to adhere to the "essence" and market share that allows vast globalization. Can you guess them?

(From top: Starbucks, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Google, McDonalds, Nike)

Real ID opposition making headway!

2008-02-28T16:27:00.000-08:00

From Charleston Daily Mail...

Bill attacking REAL ID wins Senate passage despite long odds

After seeming dead in the morning, a bill objecting to a federal driver's license law passed the Senate Wednesday night after passionate debate.

The measure, ultimately passed with three dissenting votes, would block state participation in the REAL ID Act, which aims to create a national standard for driver's licenses and other identification cards in the name of homeland security.

The bill's prospects looked grim Wednesday morning, when the powerful Senate Rules Committee took it off the Senate calendar, a parliamentary move meaning it wouldn't get a vote before the full body unless it returned to the calendar.

Bills taken off the active calendar are often removed so they can die without coming to a vote. The bill blocking participation in the REAL ID Act has drawn opposition from the state Division of Motor Vehicles and Gov. Joe Manchin.

Support for the measure was rallied on the Senate floor by Sen. Clark Barnes, who has passionately argued against the REAL ID Act since the beginning of the session, distributing literature critical of the federal law.

"As West Virginians, we have some tolerance of the federal government, but very little,'' the Randolph County Republican said.

Noting that the Senate bill was supported by the American Civil Liberties Union as well as the National Rifle Association, Barnes said the REAL ID Act amounts to a violation of privacy because it would tie state DMV computer records in with a national database.

"Let's load up the muskets and draw a line along with 17 other states and holler 'montani semper liberi,''' Barnes said, referring to West Virginia's official motto, which means "mountaineers are always free.''

More...

Murray Rothbard Quote

2008-02-24T18:18:00.000-08:00

Cool quote I found in the Wikipedia article:

Capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism, and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism.
-Murray Rothbard

Ultimate Spy Law passed

2008-02-13T02:14:00.001-08:00

clipped from www.nytimes.com

WASHINGTON — After more than a year of wrangling, the Senate handed the White House a major victory on Tuesday by voting to broaden the government’s spy powers and to give legal protection to phone companies that cooperated in President Bush’s program of eavesdropping without warrants.

“This is a dramatic restructuring” of surveillance law, said Michael Sussmann

Democratic opponents, led by Senators Russ Feingold of Wisconsin and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, argued that the plan effectively rewarded phone companies

“This, I believe, is the right way to go for the security of the nation,” said Senator John D. Rockefeller, the West Virginia Democrat who leads the intelligence committee. His support for the plan, after intense negotiations with the White House and his Republican colleagues, was considered critical to its passage but drew criticism from civil liberties groups because of $42,000 in contributions that Mr. Rockefeller received last year from AT&T and Verizon executives.

_

2008-02-10T23:38:00.000-08:00

"The only thing harder to budget than money is time"
—Anon.

Taking your brand to the garage

2008-02-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

{If I had access to something besides paint I'd probably make an illustration depicting a generic logo (maybe something like this?) being worked on by hand-tools of various sorts, but alas no such illustration shall grace this post.}

This article idea came on a whim, when I was doing some design comps for a client. I was trying to fit a tired identity into a new website that was supposed to establish major clout which had not already existed, while being viewed as major player in its field. My first instinct was (and usually is) to assess the logo— is it going to help or hinder everything created from this point on? Is it doing its job? Is it easily applicable, does it have sufficient positioning? It seems while under any major transition most companies are fond (whether by finances or fear of losing the beloved logo) of piecemeal solutions. They usually assume it won't any adverse effects, but what tends to happen is a quagmire is created, and the brand inconsistencies shine through unfortunately hovering in the limelight, when they should not even exist.

Another (rarer) situation is companies feel they aren't getting full compensation if the designs are similar (and almost identical in application) because it seems "copied" and that time may not have been spent effectively or the results were lazily produced. They want each project to be a masterpiece of its own, with creativity galore. This is sometimes the case, and in some tiers the status quo, but it is diametrically opposed to the real reason for consistent branding. In our EXTREMELY saturated world, good is hardly good at all. You've got to stand out; you've got to push the envelope. Yea, we've all heard the corporate design thesis with mind-boggling variations and superfluous rigamorale but the necessity to gain attention is still there. And one of the tried and true methods of doing just that is through consistent branding.

All this knowledge well-in-hand, it's easy to see why brands become shifted and incongruent, why companies can't seem to gain a foothold even through repeated marketing, and why the strong brands unknowingly stick in our heads, deeply influencing their decisions.

I like to call this particular subject "transitional branding" and I like to think of it like fixing a car. I'm sure we can all remember our first car, most likely a beater that needed some fixing up. It seems that once you fixed one glaring problem, another one came out of the woodwork, keeping you on your toes. So you'd fix that problem, thinking "no big deal, what do you expect for a beater" with your positive rationale, crescent wrench and handy "Chilton." But then even more problems pop out, and before you know it you're bombarded with a whole mess of them, trying as best you can to fix on your own the simple things, and taking it to the shop as necessary. So after all the "surgery" is complete you finally take the beast out and it runs like you expected it to in the first place. You might be upset at the expenses, but you've got to take into consideration the cost/benefit ratio. You could have bought a better, still used car with that same money, and it would probably be superior. But if you had done that you'd be out a ton of money and you've got 2 old beaters— more problems than solutions. But by fixing up your original you've just extended its life by quite a bit, and now its almost guaranteed to work for a while.

Brands work exactly the same. Sometimes starting from scratch is just not cost-efficient, time-efficient, and/or resource friendly. You need to revamp the persona but without throwing that equity away. This is where brand revitalization is best applied. Say you start like I did, making a brand new website, with a brand new aesthetic, new direction and new goals for the company. BUT you have to use an old logo. This disconnect becomes apparent as soon as you begin work and so in a best-case scenario you can use the aesthetic from the new direction and apply it to the old identity, freshen the look, boost morale and "energize" the brand in one fell swoop. If you can convince the client this is best (because they are always right, right?) then you will begin to uncover even more flaws in the companies brand. Print pieces like brochures and business cards will no longer be aligned, because of both a different logo and a different aesthetic. It may seem like an uphill battle, especially if the company is severely fragmented in marketing collateral and logistics. You will undoubtedly need to assess every aspect of the companies brand from print to web to signage, but the outcome will be a significantly stronger brand that is still memorable and still has that brand equity, but with a look that is willing to drive forward instead of being parked in neutral, or worst, driving in reverse.

Ron Paul gets least speaking time in debate

2008-01-28T11:19:00.001-08:00

Irrefutable, it's no wonder people don't argue these facts, they don't have a leg to stand on.

clipped from www.lewrockwell.com

As usual:

Total Times
Romney: 21:11, during 13 times

McCain: 16:00, during 13 times

Giuliani: 13:50, during 11 times

Huckabee: 12:11, during nine times

Paul: 6:31, during six times

The Game of Life: really a game?

2008-01-20T01:49:00.000-08:00

I just watched a really interesting video discussing concepts of science, cosmology and philosophy. It talks about John Conway's "game of life" and how the complexity of the world is created by the simplicity of a few rules. It also discusses the concept of a "multiverse," that notion that our universe and it's laws are adherent only here, and other universes have different governing laws.

It also makes an interesting connection to computers and information, relating computer "universes" to our universe, and the idea we are a simulation by a higher power just as video games are a simulation created by us. Nick Bostrom is a proponent of this concept and offers philosophies of evolution and intelligence, and using technology to augment superintelligence. (http://www.nickbostrom.com/) I think this is an extremely intriguing concept, especially since we currently are unable to measure the perception of reality of simulated characters.

you can check it out *and* download it at google video HERE

Other interesting links:

the World Transhuman Association
Java version of John Conway's "game of life"

LIES AND DECEIT USED TO SMEAR RON PAUL

2008-01-16T14:52:00.001-08:00

clipped from www.newswithviews.com

by Alan Stang
January 16, 2008
NewsWithViews.com

Ron
Paul a hater, a racist, a conspiracy kook, etc.? What? A few times,
during the past few months, I have warned that were Dr. No to show
signs of shattering orchestrated media containment, were he to become
a real threat to the conspiracy for world government’s triumph – now
so close – they would concoct some accusation in an attempt to discredit
him.

I
use the word “concoct” rather than “expose” because there is nothing
to expose. Dr. No is defiantly humdrum. There are no women. There
are no men’s room incidents. He is the only known Member of Congress
who refuses to take the lucrative pension. Recently, as usual, he
returned to the federal treasury his unspent office expenses for last
year, in this case $75,000. He has been married to the same lady for
fifty some years. Paradoxically, what makes him exciting are his electrifying
ideas, beside which every other candidate looks stale.

Political checklist

2008-01-16T13:29:00.000-08:00

Have you...

Signed up for impeachment hearings for Cheney?
www.robertwexler.com

Signed the petition for Comcast net-neutrality?
http://www.savetheinternet.com/comcast.php

Registered to vote?
http://www.rockthevote.com/

Switching to Solid State HDDs

2008-01-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official. The next drive I'm buying is going to be a solid state drive. Why? Well, yesterday, my external 500gb hard drive (LaCie) crapped out after about one year of use. Yesterday it reported read and write errors, and even though a windows checkdisk (an almost worthless utility, especially to compared to linux' fsck) reported 0 bad sectors, the drive was unreadable at random intervals of access throughout the day. I backed up all my project files and attempted to use it afterwords, but today it is at the point of no return -- now I'm backing up extra data when it decides to work (less and less each time, because of exponential sector corruption.) I also had a previous drive crap out, but this was to be expected -- an internal 120gb Maxtor that I've had for 3 years that has been through 10+ format/reinstalls (thanks again Windows.)

But solid state may be a solution, especially since it can't be damaged via movement (no moving parts.) The only qualm I have is the INSANE price for these drives (128gb = 3219.99 @ www.newegg.com) but it's only a matter of time before it comes down -- right now I'm not too strapped for drive space (919Gb excluding the failing 500gb.)

The only other note I'd like to make is why drives stopped featuring the ability to auto-park themselves? Old drives used to do that, and even linux utilities offer the ability to park a drive (if that drive could do it.) But to my understanding, currently no new drives offer this, and the drive is parked until the first time it's powered on -- then it's no longer available. Seems incredibly stupid to remove this feature, unless it's an attempt to cause drive failure earlier than normal and thus generate more sales. A hypothesis that would not surprise me in the slightest.

US drafting plan to allow government access to any email or Web search

2008-01-14T13:00:00.001-08:00

clipped from rawstory.com

National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell is drawing up plans for cyberspace spying that would make the current debate on warrantless wiretaps look like a "walk in the park," according to an interview published in the New Yorker's print edition today.

Debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act “will be a walk in the park compared to this,” McConnell said. “this is going to be a goat rope on the Hill. My prediction is that we’re going to screw around with this until something horrendous happens.”

The article, which profiles the 65-year-old former admiral appointed by President George W. Bush in January 2007 to oversee all of America's intelligence agencies, was not published on the New Yorker's Web site. (It can be read here in pdf).

McConnell is developing a Cyber-Security Policy, still in the draft stage, which will closely police Internet activity.

hilarious truth

2008-01-13T14:19:00.001-08:00

clipped from www.mnftiu.cc

Dr. Paul's cure for apathy

2007-12-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

As a proud Ron Paul supporter I'd like to post up a graphic I made -- if anyone wants to use it for anything, feel free to do so. Here's an article I stumbled upon detailing the mind-boggling support of his fans:

"NOW talks to Congressman Ron Paul and his supporters across the country about Paul's surprisingly popular run for the Republican nomination, led in large part by people acting on their own without help from Ron Paul or his campaign."

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/350/index.html

Logo design Process

2007-11-13T01:13:00.000-08:00

I am looking for recommendations into this area of books. I need something that specifically details different methods of the design process, rather than case studies and examples. Anyone happens to see this, I'd love your suggestions!

Rebranding ENTERPRISE IG

2007-11-13T01:01:00.000-08:00

What happens when a top-tier branding agency completely redefines itself after years of consistent relevance and recognition?

A Union of all entities is formed.

In an effort to re-align all the shifting offices around the world, the previous branding giant, ENTERPRISE IG has become "The Brand Union"

This bold move seems to prove beneficial, and the new brand and alignment certaintly breathes fresh life into an old company. You can check out more detail into the "saga" by checking out the website:

http://www.thebrandunion.com/

No End in Sight Movie

2007-11-13T00:37:00.000-08:00

"The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality. "

Paramodel

2007-10-04T08:57:00.000-07:00

Amazing using graffiti style techniques with classic playground elements:
http://pingmag.jp/2007/09/28/paramodel

Whoa - 10 dimensions?

2007-09-17T15:52:00.000-07:00

Interesting video originally on ohGizmo!

Dirty Hexadecimals

2007-09-13T23:29:00.000-07:00

Original article by Angela Genusa here

FF00CC
F0CCED
F0CCEE
CC00CC
DD11CC
696969
B0FFED
362436
44DDDD
DCDCDC
EFF0FF
F0CF0C

Animal Rescue Site

2007-09-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

Irrelevant but cool.

http://www.animalrescuesite.com

Click a link, and poof! Animals benefit. Pretty straightforward, so get to it!

Design Jokes

2007-09-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

Reprinted from Biz Community (original article here)

UNSPOKEN GRAPHIC DESIGN RULES

1. Your fonts will default to the worst possible font available on the machine you are showing your work on.

2. The less time you have the more useless your computer will become

3. If you have two versions of a photo, the wrong one will make its way to the printer.

4. Promises made by the sales staff have no basis in reality.

5. The sales staff will promise anything.

6. If the text consists of two words, one will be misspelled.

7. Speed.Quality. Affordability. Pick two.

8. If the run is wrong, it's never the press operator's fault.

9. Spell checkers don't.

10. Grammar checkers don't, either.

11. Proof raeders are useless.

12. Global search-and-replaces aren't.

13. The index entry you leave out will be the first one the client looks under.

14. Optical Character Recognition(OCR) is good comedy.

15. If three designs are shown to a client, your least favorite will be chosenor any combination of worst components of each.

16. If two designs are shown, a third will be requested. If provided, then one of the first two will be chosen.

17. If you ask for more copy it will be sent as a Jpeg. If you ask for images they will send powerpoint presentations.

18. Clients don't have their company logo in a usable print ready format so don't bother asking.

19. Blue line proofs reveal previously invisible errors.

20. The best designs never survive contact with the client.

21. You will misspell the name of the client's spouse.

22. Your best idea is already copyrighted.

23. The best way to find errors in your code is to show a client "a new feature"

24. There is no stock photo ever made that matches the image you have in your head

25. Creative inspiration flows in inverse proportion to the distance from the studio.

26. Time allowed to complete work is inversely proportional to time taken by client to work out what to complain about

27. Doctors, astronauts, and plumbers need training to do their jobs, but anyone with a computer is a graphic designer

28. No matter how detailed the tech support FAQ is, nobody has ever heard of your problem

29. The number of colours in a client's design will equal the number of colours in the original bid specs, plus two

30. The client's disk won't run on your equipment & when it does will contain unusable copyrighted images

31. If you purchase new equipment to read your client's disk, it will be the last disk of that type you will ever receive

32. Your client will often not like your design but not quite know why.

33. Computer crashes always happen exactly 30 seconds before saving.

34. A client who knows exactly what he wants is worse than one that has no idea.

35. Clients who do not provide content upfront will complain about the use of Latin Copy

36. Everything has to be done immediately, deadlines are incredibly important unless client has to provide materials or approve your work

37. The customer is always right . & an idiot.

There are at least 5 things you could think to add to this list if only you had more time.

Cool animation technique

2007-09-13T22:40:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine showed me some examples of a growing animation trend called "Motion Type," so I thought I'd pass it along. The premise is simple: animating type as the basis for narration, to function as the main content and help drive the message.

Original article with examples:
http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/2007/08/13/motion_type/

YouTube selection:
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=motion+type&search=Search

Recommended book

2007-09-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here is one of the more recent design books I've purchased; Ellen Lupton's, "Thinking with Type." It's a great add to anyone's design library and it's medium size makes it perfect for at-home reading or traveling.

Like most books on type, it covers the usual history and technical details behind typography, but it also covers past trends and the contextual use of type throughout history, through different mediums and different practices. It has excercises that showcase how different methods are employed, from the paragraph to the character level.

It's design is thoughtful, and covers the famous avenues of type design, so it's examples will be familiar to most in the field. It also has a handy appendix which serves as a quick reference to many typography questions and practices.

Back

2007-09-13T22:28:00.001-07:00

...and I'm officially back from my blogging sabbatical. I will be working to post new content on a regular basis, so stay tuned!

Identity 2.0

2007-06-27T13:02:00.001-07:00

Cool forum :)

2007-03-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd throw a link out to one of the new forums I've joined, it's been very useful and has a lot of good users / critiques. It covers development and design and it's based on acceptance so the userbase is more specific and of higher quality... check it out!

www.mintpages.net/forums

Five Principles to Design by

2007-03-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

I discovered these 5 principles at Information Design; below is some comments I've added to expand upon the ideas. Original article: (http://www.informationdesign.org/archives/2007_03.php#004123)

Technology Serves Humans.
Often times, we confuse which role humans have in technology. We need to remember that technology is only here to benefit humans, to make things easier, or more efficient. It seems the internet has gone in a different direction; instead of making our lives easier and enabling us to spend more time doing things outside, we've allowed ourself to become enslaved over the device with which we meant to do the work. Understanding that technology serves humans is a great tool for UI Design, along with many other types of design engineering.

Design is not Art.
A colleague once said "design is problem-solving, art is self-expression" I think this sums it up nicely. Design has a specific goal, and is not meant to be open for interpretation. Many creatives have a hard time understanding that substance is more important than style.

The Experience Belongs to the User.
Design your product/brand in a way that reflects your end-user. Remember you're not designing for yourself, for your client, but for your clients clients — the one's that keep them in business.

Great Design is Invisible.
I have learned this slowly, but now it makes perfect sense. My way of looking at is this: understand different methods and techniques of design, but employ them in a way that cannot be easily discovered by your end-user. Essentially, a great design is great because, well, you're not quite sure, it just is. It leaves little room for speculation, and allows the user to focus on more important things — namely your message.

Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.
Everytime I design, it works like osmosis; moving from high concentration to low concentration. I will make a design and build it up to be a complex machine, with many parts. After poking and prodding at the idea however, it inevitably becomes stripped of most it's parts.. to a simple, lean-mean-message-machine. It is true for most things in life, especially design; the simplest solution is most often the right one.

Logo design — a lost art?

2007-03-08T16:18:00.000-08:00

DISCLAIMER: I apologize if you find this offensive. However, I will disregard your opinion unless you leave me a comment/email with logical reasoning for your argument.

I'm a bit discontented about the state of identity design these days. It seems everywhere I look, a new "logo design" company pops up on the internet, touting to deliver quality, affordable designs for new companies. Many of these companies are one-man startups operating all over the world, but generally they cater to U.S targets... being the free enterprise nation we are, new startups are sprouting up every day and we are therefore a perfect target (along with the fact english is the international language of business). Coupled with the internet's inter-connectedness and constant stream of content, you have marketing "guru's" looking to make a quick buck on a regular basis. While this is fine and dandy, the approach is handled as gently as massacre — namely a brutal one.

More often than not, I am seeing little thought put into the importance of a logo, especially in the area of research. After reviewing several internet logo creative's, I've noticed that many of these sites' logo portfolios can be easily written off as false companies (through either researching registrars, the U.S Copyright office, or cross-referencing); While there is merit in creating for practice and building skill/technique, I do not think it should be exhibited by a (supposed) full-service design agency/firm/studio/thinktank — this should be left to personal portfolios as a way to establish a connection to future employers. If you're entire portfolio consists of "made-up" comapnies and you are not new to the business or you claim to be a company offering these services, I suggest you go back to the drawing board.

A lot of the visual sputum that has made headway is due to the ever-dominant trends we create. The design trend nowadays is "Web 2.0" (another topic with which I am equally disgusted) and I think it has been taken WAY too seriously. A red flag should pop up immediately to anyone with a pulse when it's advised to design logo's based on a trend. Just think for a second why logo's exist in the first place — to establish a UNIQUE identity for a company. So wait, that means I shouldn't be designing like everyone else? Correct! Another no-brainer is that you shouldn't design a logo that pertains to a medium you do not operate in. I can't count how many times I've seen a logo for a company that is stylized, includes elements relating to, or flat-out connotes something web-related... for a company that doesn't have anything to do with the web, and sometimes doesn't even have a website!!

My biggest pet-peave however, are the "package" designs or "logo templates" that are constantly being funneled onto the net, like feces through a tube. I agree some things work best as packages, such as restaurant orders or insurance, but trying to offer identity design in a one-size-fits-all package is a quick road to failure.

Vattenfall — Next 100 Years

2007-03-01T11:35:00.000-08:00

Check out http://www.vattenfall.com/next100years/ if you're interested in Global energy conservation and reducing harmful emissions.

Crew12

2007-02-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

Crew12 is a flash site commemorating the 60 graduating students from HyperIsland school of design in Sweden. Includes bios and links to individual portfolios. Awesome design, both for the flash and html/css pages.

http://crew12.se/

Recommended book for 2/08/07

2007-02-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

Visit the link HERE

This book is a MUST-HAVE for anyone looking to find concrete rules for design. Offering 100 principles from A-Z, it covers a broad range of disciplines from industrial design/engineering to product design to branding, even illustration. With citations to various seminary works it gives endless resources for studies, books, exhibits and institutions. It focuses on the engineering aspect, and is a great resource for double-checking the effectiveness of a design. This is easily the most important design book I own.

Moto Colors

2007-02-01T21:46:00.000-08:00

Moto Colors — An interactive art generating tool that allows you to create beautiful artworks for wallpaper, screensaver and phone uses. Check it out!

http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/colors/

Here's one I made:

Designing for Change

2007-02-01T15:37:00.001-08:00

I've always felt empowered by what design has the ability to do, and I think it's gaining momentum in our society as a catalyst for improvement to the human condition. Some of the best and brightest have used design to campaign for change . I read in CREATE magazine (Fall 2006, Article by Marc Friedland) a quote from the World Economic Forum that design was named "the zeitgeist of social change". It is no doubt a very potent and powerful tool, especially in the right hands. What I have almost always noticed among the agency juggernauts is that there is a sense of responsibility to improve the world and solve problems through design. It's this kind of progressive thinking that has kept me excited about being a designer — there's infinitely more to it than making "artsy" brochures, business cards, etc... a level of enlightenment is continually awarded through understanding design, and the socio-economic role it plays.

I've collated some resources that debate issues and talk about design as a vehicle for change:

World Changing
http://www.worldchanging.com/

Gluenetwork Bridge (collaborative design effort for world issues — join now free!)
http://bridge.thegluenetwork.com/

Design for Peace
http://www.designforpeace.com/

Designing for Change @ MIT
http://web.mit.edu/dfc/www/

MASSIVE CHANGE (part of Bruce Mau Design)
http://www.massivechange.com/

CABE UK
http://www.cabe.org.uk/

Sydney EcoDesign
http://www.changedesign.org/

Urban EcoloDesign @ WSU (Washington State University)
http://www.campusecology.wsu.edu/page_012.htm

Ecology in Design
http://studentgroups.gsd.harvard.edu/ecology/

Design for Humanity
http://www.designforhumanity.org/

Best of Business Card Design 2007 — Call for Entries

2007-01-30T14:27:00.000-08:00

Rockport publishing is once again having another call for entries... this time for best of business card design. There is no entry fee to enter, and those that are selected get 50% off the book (sounds like a great deal to me) It's always nice to have fresh work from leading designers in a well-thought out book, so any design annual is a great investment for designers in the field — plus the exposure is invaluable to any up-and-coming designer.

Check out http://rockpub.com/entries.asp?id=73 to enter.

Doomsday Clock

2007-01-29T09:57:00.000-08:00

If you don't know what the Doomsday Clock is, you might have recently found out from news stations worldwide, which have just published the article telling of recent changes to this global "metaphor". The Doomsday Clock is an official U.S clock that is governed by political happenings — it goes forward and back depending on the increase or decrease of hostilities in the world. It serves as a reminder of our actions and the necessity to be aware of escalation towards total destruction. Due to recent events in the on-going war in Iraq, the testing of nuclear weapons by North Korea, and the ever-growing awareness of terrorist factions worldwide, the clock has been advanced forward 2 minutes, leaving us at "5 minutes to total annhilation" — a serious reminder that our actions may jeopardize our existance if we don't resolve these issues. Why am I covering such a political issue when my focus is design? Because the symbol for this "Doomsday Clock" has been updated by one of the Agency juggernauts, namely Pentagram. Out of this serious issue you may find a positive, that design has the power to influence political awareness, global changes and evolution of society as a whole. To read the news article directly from Pentagram's site, check out http://blog.pentagram.com

Reference to the Doomsday Clock:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doomsday_clock

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:
http://www.thebulletin.org/

Carpal Tunnel Magazine Collaboration

2007-01-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

I was recently invited to do a collaboration for
Carpal Tunnel Magazine — featuring some great artists:

Von
hellovon.com

Lisa
paperbullet.com

Aaron
abidevisuals.com

Angel
angeldamico.com

Check out the magazine here (or click the image)

Tutoring!

2007-01-27T18:45:00.000-08:00

Yep, I'll be a tutor soon. From being the slacker that didn't do any homework to being somewhat of a role model, I am glad to have received the job. The pay isn't bad either, and I don't even have to leave my college campus to work, so major ease there. I'll be teaching Adobe Illustrator, the premier vector illustration program. This is definitely exciting as it will be a great opportunity for my career, along with extra pay, and the ability to learn new ways of effective communication with people (especially since most of my tutoring students are foreign and have a language barrier). So, I am psyched about it, and if by some strange grace you're reading this and happen to attend Lake Washington Technical College and are in the MMDP program, hit me up and I'll teach you everything you need to know about Illustrator :)

An abundance of design magazines

2006-11-25T20:16:00.000-08:00

I've compiled a list of magazines that feature many different art/design categories ranging from architecture, programming design, information design, traditional art, graffitti, and much more. Most all of these accept submissions for the content of their magazine, some openly to the public and others to a handpicked few. Each link will explain the contents of the magazine along with whether or not they have public or private submissions. Enjoy!

1. Carpal Tunnel Magazine (http://www.carpaltunnelmag.com/)

Covers: Covering fashion, design and art, music and DIY ideas.
Submissions: Open to the public, but you must email them to review your work in advance

2. ILOVEFAKE Magazine (http://www.ilovefake.com/magazine/)

Covers: Sketches, photos, graphic, typography, illustrations, paintings, graffiti, fashion, writing, articles, collages.
Submissions: Open to the public, each issue is themed around a certain criteria, and thus all submissions

3. Encore Magazine (http://magwerk.com/)

Covers: Fashion, Film, Design, Interviews, Upcoming Events / Travel (Encore is probably the most polished and professional online-specific design magazine)
Submissions: Invitation

4. HEAD Magazine (http://www.headmagazine.co.uk/)

Covers: Photography and design (although most of it's selected features revolve around fashion design/illustration and photography)
Submissions: Open to the public

5. Net Diver Magazine (http://www.netdiver.net/)

Covers: All sorts of design / art related topics, really too many too list. This is more of an e-zine than magazine
Submissions: Invitation

6. Crapazine Magazine (http://www.crapazine.com/)

Covers: Design / Lifestyle
Submissions: Open to the public

7. The Royal Magazine / KDU (http://www.theroyalmagazine.com/)

Covers: Design / Art / Fashion / Music / Lifestyle
Submissions: Invitation

8. Faesthetic Magazine (http://www.faesthetic.com/)

Covers: Design / Art
Submissions: Open to the public

9. PRINT Magazine (http://www.printmag.com/)

Covers: Design / Art / Trends / Jobs / Business
Submissions: They are not an online magazine, but they do offer competitions for their internationally published print magazine.

10. ID Magazine (http://www.idonline.com/)

Covers: Design / Art / Trends / Jobs / Business
SubmissionsThey are not an online magazine, but they do offer competitions for their internationally published print magazine.

11. Creative Behavior Magazine (http://www.creativebehavior.com/)

Covers: Design / Illustration / Art
Submissions: Open to the public

12. EYE Magazine (http://www.eyemagazine.com/home.php)

Covers: Graphic design
Submissions: Invitation

13. The International Illustrated (http://www.theinternationalillustrated.com/)

Covers: Illustration, usually around a themed subject
Submissions: Invitation

14. ROOT Magazine (http://www.rootmagazine.org/)

Covers: Design / Illustration / Art
Submissions: Open to the public

15. BIGMAG Magazine (http://www.bigmag.net/bigissue/current.php)

Covers: Art / Photo / Illustration / Design / Production Studios
Submissions: Open to the public

16. Ladies & Gentleman Magazine (http://www.lagmag.com/issue.html)

Covers: Art / Photo / Design / Writing / Interviews / Music
Submissions: Invitation

17. Slash Magazine (http://www.slashmagazine.com/)

Covers: Art / Fashion / Interviews / Design
Submissions: Invitation

18. Honey Eat Your Salad Magazine (http://www.honeyeatyoursalad.org/)

Covers: Design / Illustration
Submissions: Invitation

19. Swindle Magazine (http://www.swindlemagazine.com/)

Covers: Design / Fashion / Lifestyle / Culture / Music
Submissions: Invitation

20. Freshness Magazine (http://freshnessmag.com/v4/)

Covers: Design / Graffitti / Fashion
Submissions: Open to the public

21. PIG Mag (http://www.pigmotel.com/it/mag/)

Covers: Design / Art / Illustration / Fashion / Culture / Internet
Submissions: Invitation / Hand-Selected

22. Nothing Magazine (http://www.nothingmag.com/)

Covers: From Site: "Every month we will feature an illustrator, graphic designer, artist, fashion designer, film-maker, writer, photographer, and somestime just random people"
Submissions: Invitation

23. Empty Magazine (http://www.emptymag.com/)

Covers: Art / Design / Illustration
Submissions: Invitation

24. Less Common Magazine (http://www.lesscommon.com/)

Covers: Art / Design / Illustration / Interviews/ Articles
Submissions: Invitation

25. KUDOS Magazine (http://www.kudosmagazine.com/)

Currently In Development — Stay Tuned!

Rockport Publishing Call For Entries

2006-11-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

Rockport Publishing, authors of the most widely known logo annuals, is offering to publish entries for FREE in their newest in the series "Logo and Letterhead Design 10" The winners will not receive a free copy of the book since the entrance fees are waived, but they will receive a 50% discount which is way more than satisfactory. To obtain an order form which must be printed and mailed to the Sussner Design Company, you can visit http://www.rockpub.com/entries.asp?id=33

Good luck! I'll definitely be submitting a few entries.

30 Days of Threadless

2006-11-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

Threadless, an online t-shirt company if you haven't heard, is having a "30 days of threadless" holiday sale. You can get custom designed t-shirts for only 10$ As a participant of the threadless t-shirt contests, I can tell you the quality of the t-shirts is top-notch, compared to other online stores. GO check it out! www.threadless.com

Microsoft Interactive Designer

2006-11-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

While attending a meeting with special guest Micheal Greenwood ( http://www.creativefactor.com/) I learned a good deal about Microsoft's new product, "Interactive Designer" it promises the ability to create immense 2d and 3d websites, presentations and environments, can handle almost any known extension for importing files, and can work on any platform and any browser, by use of a proprietary plugin. I have mixed feelings about this new product, given the track record of MS. But I do not doubt it completely, and after the presentation I was a bit excited to delve into this product, and at the very least, learn it and offer it as a skillset to employers (in the same way Powerpoint knowledge is a powerful asset to any design portfolio, even though it produces such cheesy graphics and transitions)

I have downloaded the trial, and am going to test it soon enough, so I'll let you know what I find and if I like it, love it or despise it.

New Printing Technology

2006-11-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

After touring the Print West facilities in Woodinville, WA (www.printwest.net) I learned a great deal about high-end offset lithography and digital printing, and got to see some really amazing machines, including a 1,000,000$ Komori 4-color offset that was running full-spreads at several hundred a minute. During our tour, we learned about a new technology, the HP Indigo, which produces crisp and vibrant colors like that of a traditional offset, but with digital features, and off-press processing built directly into the machine (die-cutting, gluebinding, etc) .

Another thing I learned about, is a method of marketing called "variable-data printing" this process involves collating information about users into a database, that is then turned into custom advertisements targeted towards each person and/or demographic. Similar to what is being done on the web already (ip-based locations, welcome messages, etc) variable-data printing has been seen to increase ROI (return on investment) significantly, from the standard projection of 1-2% ROI to 7-16% — pretty dramatic difference.

Intership!!

2006-03-16T11:51:00.000-08:00

I have applied for an internship with FITCH (www.fitch.com) who is a rather large design firm with offices in Seattle, Hong Kong, London, etc (much more) so I'm pretty excited about that. They used to be "The Leonhardt Group" but merged and became a larger company. Fortunately it's just a hop skip and a jump for me to arrive in Seattle from Bothell, so this should be perfect. I sure hope I get it!!!!!!!!