30 Sets of Free Tech Interface Brushes for Photoshop.

Few times ago I have re-discovered  the pleasure of opening a notebook.

Smelling the paper, the ink. Something that I can touch, feel, remember. I always have a dozen of notebooks following me all the times. Empty. I just love the object. In all sizes, material.

But I must admit the ones I love the most are the Moleskine ones. Suddenly, one day, I decided to buy some and USE them. But as a creative, I HAD to customize them! No Sir, I don’t want the same notebook as yours. I want my version. Of course I think the best material to do it is leather, but this time I wanted a “Baroque” stylish one. For the first try.

Red Velvet. That’s it!

Of course it’s a first try, stay tuned…

I will soon make one in leather.
The problem is: what to put inside! : )

Picture of my 2 Moleskine before customization, selected in Moleskine website:

Links:

• MOLESKINE website
• SCRIPTION
• Moleskine en masse (set on Flickr)

Most of you will answer that we can call with it. Yes. Errr… Yes. But it’s boring to use it just for calling right?

The right answer is: a billion of things. This is why it’s the best smartphone ever. ( I’m not addicted! ) The genius idea was to create a phone that won’t be just a phone. 2 iPhones are exactly the same from the exterior. What is important is inside… The Apps. Then you can have your unique iPhone. It’s an extension of you.; )

How do I use it:

• I use it for calling
• To receive/send my emails
• To schedule my appointments
• To get all my contacts from Linkedin, Facebook, Gmail etc in ONE place
• To record sounds, notes, ideas (mic)
• To read my RSS feeds
• To see all my photos, videos, movies
• To listen to my music
• To get a map
• To text/ SMS
• To take photos/Videos
• To Chat (Yak Messenger)
• To be on Skype
• To be on Linkedin, Facebook, MSN, Friendfeed, Twitter
• To Blog with WordPress, Tumblr
• To send a video where I am (Qik)
• To get all my notes from the Mac (Evernote)
• To share my location (Brightkite)
• To create/retouch my photos (Hipstamatic, ClassicPan, TiltshiftGen, Camerabag, DXP,Autostitch, Lofi, Genius, Fotomuse, AddLib…)
• To create/retouch my videos (Qik Video, HolywoodFX, VintageMaker, SilentFilm, Animoto,ReelDirector…)
• To draw (Brushes, SketchBook, TypePhoto, EasternDrawing…)
• To post photos (Flickit Pro…)
• To create music (Noise.io, Beatmaker, Flourish, Bloom, iDrum, Otto, VoicePlus, RJDJ,BleepSynth, Nanoloop, ProLoop…)
• To wake up (NIght Stand, Alarm Clock…)
• To write ideas (Momento, iThoughts…)
• To choose a color for my creations (myPantone..)
• To read Word documents, PDF (Quickoffice)
• To see what on TV (Télérama TV (French))
• To identify what music is on the radio (Shazam, SoundHound…)
• To Buzz (Google Buzz)
• To see where I am (Boussole)
• To play with games (Spore creatures, Fieldrunners, SimCity, Monster, DoodleJump,DoodleArmy, BIA2…)
• To play and create fantastic backgrounds (Bubble Harp, Gravilux, Chromocam, TurnAround, SpawnHD, Pulsar, iPsychedelic, Musophobia…)
• To see what books I bought (MyBookshelf)
• To see the Movies I saw in my life (Movies)
• To save all my passwords (1Password)
• To make the tea (mySelf) I’m kidding here.

And then, you can MIX!!! Create Music with the sounds of one of your game etc. Etc. Endless… ; )

And you? What do you do with yours?

What to do with an iPhone?.

Made this crazy video, made the music and “lyrics”, part with my iPhone and also the Mac (of course).

What is the idea?
Errr… Well, let’s say the non-communication between creative candidates and the world of HR. I think, sometimes, they are on different planets each of them. Like Aliens.

Who are you? Graphic designer? Creative director? Artistic director? What does this mean? What is your job exactly? What do You Want??

Showcase Of Web Design In China: From Imitation To Innovation – Smashing Magazine.

We (creative people) and you (all the others) often don’t have the same idea on WHAT is creative.

You can say you are but who can really define creativity right? When I mean creative, it’s for me, far, very far from the “average” ads done for the mass consumers and 50 years old housewives. (not that they don’t deserve ads too…).

A Creative Ad is an ad that touch the target of the product (or service) to buy. Touch because it’s relevant, because it’s so funny that you would want to make YOURSELF the buzz around you (and become the ambassador of the brand… ; ), because it’s shocking, whatever, it has to move you, in a good way. Very rarely it has to make you think. But that’s an other debate.

A creative ad, you would like to be part of it; in showing it to people, it’s a bit like you did it yourself, or, at least, you show and tell WHO you are, this person that really love this ad. Follow me…?

Then, for the best of us, we will remember this brand, its values. (at least the ones they want you to believe). And hopefully, BUY it in the supermarket for our puppydoggytinypet!

Bravo Pedigree…

Slow Motion Dog Treat Commercial Beguiles Internet [Randomly Viral].

Article from Mashable – Brenna EHRLICH

For some reason, a Pedigree commercial featuring dogs leaping through the air in super slow motion has taken the Internet by storm, appearing on multiple video-sharing sites and racking up the YouTube views.

According to Creativity Online, the video was shot with a Phantom camera at 1,000 frames per second, which explains the underwater-like quality of this viral commercial. Director Bob Purman explains the spot thusly:

“The ‘Catch’ spot was to be a series of shots of dogs looking with anticipation as a piece of dog food is flying through the air towards them. We shot close-ups of the dogs at 1000 fps. The result was really wonderfully anthropomorphic. The super slow motion really captured this intense sense of desire in the dogs’ eyes. To me it was equal parts awe inspiring and hilarious to see so rich a palate of personality in a dog’s facial expressions. A few days after the shoot I started to get emails from Mark, Steph and the editor Chris Parkins with the different iterations of the spots cut to different music selections, all of them interesting for different reasons. But then they put footage from the two spots together to form this new greater whole that really exploits the dynamics of the dogs’ athleticism and their emotive personality in slowed time.”

Well, that’s all very inspiring and poignant and whatnot, but the reason behind why this vid has become so popular is quite simple, really. In fact, it can be boiled down to a rudimentary mathematical equation (get out your notebooks, kids):

Cute dog + Silly activity/article of clothing/amusing prop = Viral Gold

From CREATIVITY-ONLINE:

Playing catch the Phantom camera way

Director Bob Purman used a Phantom camera at 1,000 fps to capture these expressive canines in action.

The director was initially charged with shooting two spots, a “Catch” and a “Jump” execution. The director says: “The ‘Catch’ spot was to be a series of shots of dogs looking with anticipation as a piece of dog food is flying through the air towards them. We shot close-ups of the dogs at 1000 fps. The result was really wonderfully anthropomorphic. The super slow motion really captured this intense sense of desire in the dogs’ eyes. To me it was equal parts awe inspiring and hilarious to see so rich a palate of personality in a dog’s facial expressions. A few days after the shoot I started to get emails from Mark, Steph and the editor Chris Parkins with the different iterations of the spots cut to different music selections, all of them interesting for different reasons. But then they put footage from the two spots together to form this new greater whole that really exploits the dynamics of the dogs’ athleticism and their emotive personality in slowed time.”

Full Credits

Agency:

TBWA, Toronto

Client:

Pedigree

Creative Director:

Mark Biernacki

Copywriter:

Mark Biernacki

Creative Director:

Steph Mackie

Art Director:

Steph Mackie

Producer:

Margaret John

Sound:

Joey Serlin

Editor:

Chris Parkins

Flame Artist:

Mike Bishop

Director:

Bob Purman

Director of Photography:

Bob Purman

Production Company:

Imported Artists Film Company

Date Feb 22, 2010

Category TVC

➜ 2

Is this Plagiarism?

See the same shot here: http://www.joelapompe.net/2010/02/24/dogs-slow-motion-pedigree-catch/

As one comment say: “plagiarism is the new creativity pass it on“…

The thing is, nothing is clearer than an image to understand complex facts or ideas, it’s an ideal way of presenting them. With a stunning design it’s even better.

Here are some links and places to check.

http://www.wallstats.com

Uploaded with plasq‘s Skitch!

http://dataviz.tumblr.com/

http://www.datavisualization.ch/

Data Visualization

Smashing Magazine

AIGA, the professional association for design, stimulates thinking about design, demonstrates the value of design and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force. Founded in 1914, AIGA remains the oldest and largest professional membership organization for design, and is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) educational institution.

What is graphic design?

Article from AIGA Career Guide

Suppose you want to announce or sell something, amuse or persuade someone, explain a complicated system or demonstrate a process. In other words, you have a message you want to communicate. How do you “send” it? You could tell people one by one or broadcast by radio or loudspeaker. That’s verbal communication. But if you use any visual medium at all—if you make a poster; type a letter; create a business logo, a magazine ad, or an album cover; even make a computer printout—you are using a form of visual communication called graphic design.

Graphic designers work with drawn, painted, photographed, or computer-generated images (pictures), but they also design the letterforms that make up various typefaces found in movie credits and TV ads; in books, magazines, and menus; and even on computer screens. Designers create, choose, and organize these elements—typography, images, and the so-called “white space” around them—to communicate a message. Graphic design is a part of your daily life. From humble things like gum wrappers to huge things like billboards to the T-shirt you’re wearing, graphic design informs, persuades, organizes, stimulates, locates, identifies, attracts attention and provides pleasure.

Graphic design is a creative process that combines art and technology to communicate ideas. The designer works with a variety of communication tools in order to convey a message from a client to a particular audience. The main tools are image and typography.

Image-based design
Designers develop images to represent the ideas their clients want to communicate. Images can be incredibly powerful and compelling tools of communication, conveying not only information but also moods and emotions. People respond to images instinctively based on their personalities, associations, and previous experience. For example, you know that a chili pepper is hot, and this knowledge in combination with the image creates a visual pun.

In the case of image-based design, the images must carry the entire message; there are few if any words to help. These images may be photographic, painted, drawn, or graphically rendered in many different ways. Image-based design is employed when the designer determines that, in a particular case, a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

Type-based design
In some cases, designers rely on words to convey a message, but they use words differently from the ways writers do. To designers, what the words look like is as important as their meaning. The visual forms, whether typography (communication designed by means of the printed word) or handmade lettering, perform many communication functions. They can arrest your attention on a poster, identify the product name on a package or a truck, and present running text as the typography in a book does. Designers are experts at presenting information in a visual form in print or on film, packaging, or signs.

When you look at an “ordinary” printed page of running text, what is involved in designing such a seemingly simple page? Think about what you would do if you were asked to redesign the page. Would you change the typeface or type size? Would you divide the text into two narrower columns? What about the margins and the spacing between the paragraphs and lines? Would you indent the paragraphs or begin them with decorative lettering? What other kinds of treatment might you give the page number? Would you change the boldface terms, perhaps using italic or underlining? What other changes might you consider, and how would they affect the way the reader reacts to the content? Designers evaluate the message and the audience for type-based design in order to make these kinds of decisions.

Image and type
Designers often combine images and typography to communicate a client’s message to an audience. They explore the creative possibilities presented by words (typography) and images (photography, illustration, and fine art). It is up to the designer not only to find or create appropriate letterforms and images but also to establish the best balance between them.

Designers are the link between the client and the audience. On the one hand, a client is often too close to the message to understand various ways in which it can be presented. The audience, on the other hand, is often too broad to have any direct impact on how a communication is presented. What’s more, it is usually difficult to make the audience a part of the creative process. Unlike client and audience, graphic designers learn how to construct a message and how to present it successfully. They work with the client to understand the content and the purpose of the message. They often collaborate with market researchers and other specialists to understand the nature of the audience. Once a design concept is chosen, the designers work with illustrators and photographers as well as with typesetters and printers or other production specialists to create the final design product.

Symbols, logos and logotypes
Symbols and logos are special, highly condensed information forms or identifiers. Symbols are abstract representation of a particular idea or identity. The CBS “eye” and the active “television” are symbolic forms, which we learn to recognize as representing a particular concept or company. Logotypes are corporate identifications based on a special typographical word treatment. Some identifiers are hybrid, or combinations of symbol and logotype. In order to create these identifiers, the designer must have a clear vision of the corporation or idea to be represented and of the audience to which the message is directed.

Graphic Design: A Career Guide and Education Directory
Edited by Sharon Helmer Poggenpohl
Copyright 1993
The American Institute of Graphic Arts