Spot* by / MadInSpain

MadInSpain 08 international design event will take place in sunny Madrid.

Upcoming: September 12-13

Design and digital culture NEWS // April 2004

boolicube •°•°• is the first portfolio of Zack Dolin. Simple vectors with a direct message. Showing enough skills to induce interest! Some of the elements are known references but mix and match is intriguing and interpreted in a personal and original way!

Grace, elegance and poetic describe the art and eye of Nicole Sloane photography. The colors are so rich and vibrant you feel like jumping right in. The nonchalance of subjects salutes her capacity to direct well and to set people at ease, a rare quality demonstrated to such excellence.

Pay attention to the navigation and how the 'section' moves to the top.

A corporate site? This is as close to perfection as it gets check out 31Three.

Easy to navigate, concise and to the point copy. Excellent portfolio sections that set the projects in their best light not forsaking the visuals which are crisp and beautiful.

As I just mentioned environmental issues will become more and more forefront and we, as designers, have a unique lever to raise awareness around us. Seams.la is THE first great example on how design is applied to such a challenge.

One of the most important 'environmental' issue is one related to 'economy'. Environmental economy has to do with the fair useage of resources... and one resource that is too often time at the bottom is human resources.

I am most concerned with slave/sweat shops and the horrible situation these people have to accept in order to survive. Forget about savings. Forget about having a fund to cover school for the kids or build their Rivieria Utopia retirement.

Seams.la is THE first great example on how design is applied to such a challenge.

With the author permission, follows is an exerpt of the brief Adriana Parcero followed to develop this amazing project!

“Seams uses clothing as a vehicle to comment on the garment industry, making visible and wearable the information little known to consumers, but all too real to garment workers around the world. Seams maps the social and economic reality of the global garment industry onto its designs.

Seams aim is to raise awareness, educate and make us think differently about the stories and processes behind everyday products. Seams began when I started to think about the intersection between clothes and women.

The most interesting fact for me is not that women consume and wear more clothes than men, but that women manufacture more clothes than men. There are millions of female garment workers all over the world constructing garments under sub-standard conditions.

As both a consumer and media designer I asked myself one poignant question on which to build the project:

HOW CAN I USE MEDIA DESIGN TO GET CONSUMERS TO FOCUS THEIR ATTENTION ON SUCH SWEATSHOPS?

Seams clothing catalog has four levels of information: the first is factual information on the garments, which refers to the manufacturing process.

The second level is the narrative of a woman wearing the garments, who represents the potential customer.

The third level of information is the catalog text and diagrams that complement the photographs, providing the reader with more specific information about the industry.

The fourth level, the index section, deploys an innovative iconic language that describes the complex participants in the garment industry.

Seams uses clothing as an information system to communicate socially relevant content. The clothes themselves are narratives that give voice to garment workers in a unique manner.

Seams places activism within higher fashion by blurring the boundaries of the clothing industry; using high-end goods to comment on sub-standard production practices.”

More power to you! Shall we not follow suit?

Nice 'out of the box' design for industria01 which loads really fast. Like how the nav works and the screening area to view projects.

High contrast black & white shots from Toni Rodriguez whereas the absence of color does not deprive the viewer from a lack of details.

ISAR site which has just been launched for a new 'contemporary urbanity' housing development in Sydney / AU. Save one for me on the top floor! Excellent 3D renditions.

Into music? Electa is comin' out on Cd and dubble Vinyl and they are lookin' for new talent.

What do you think? Didn't get my morning coffee? I did not pick the right snapshots? You decide what is going on here: #1 or #2 which is the copycat???

This is as cute as it gets: PVcartoons. Promising talent and original transitions to and from different sections.

Red the new en vogue color? M|T interactive goes Gustav. and presents a la Roger Black their temp site with gusto. The black over text is a good idea to get your attention towards content and to use as a visual element too.

A good use of flash is making it possible to operate smoothly from a single browser window. Honestly pop-ups are beginning to irritate me a lot. BTW there are some 'good' uses for these... but in my view - we should shift to trying to make the user experience the site in an engaging and simple way.

Its not always easy to find the best way to integrate content and projects. I think, this new design firm Ionami Design does it with brio! Excellent portfolio!

Environmental issues will become more and more forefront around the world. Designers can be a lever to help raise awareness. Here is a good place to start: BioGems.

Yellow, red and visual eclectism for the music site of Air Liquide. Red is such a difficult color to work with. This is one good application and use of it.

Magnify is a band who spell their convictions with stunning words: “He loves prostitutes, murderers and thieves...” Then it all made sense: “He sent his Son to die on the cross for us all, sometimes, you just have to stand in wonder...”

I am told site was coded by a 16 year old!!! The music player rocks and the music rocks and the band will rock more than your soul if you let them.

“The skillful pursuit and applications of artistic invention” is the liner for Glitschka Studio and they certainly meet up to it.

Gee they are good.

Filling your ears Gulp Music can do that! Nice site to display the work of many artists that supply tracks for film, TV and every other imaginable applications. The music genre in the db is astronomous and search engine well built.

Amazing illustrations by Fu-design. Designed with this old comic books washed out palette and the characters are way cute! The 'alien' character on the right mimicks human expression quite well!

Not your average photographer. In M. Schwarzer pictures you sense composition was researched at length. Patience, a lot of it, is required to capture almost trivial or mundane subjects in a slightly weird yet very artistic way. Even the navigation is unusual...

Describing as industrious art & design, Thinkmule specializes in print and is all about a grungy, spunky and retro collages style operating under a very personal signature.

Mucho talent at work here!

“The initial concept was to find a path to encourage diversity, promote cultural pluralism and provide new opportunities to aspiring designers across the world...and plug a path between East and West... Designers represented here are commended for the depth of their thinking...”

Joyn:Design (Cyan, Jian and Frank) have done an incredible editorial work in picking and assembling this project. The Plugzine02 - OSMOSIS is now released.

Although I did make a review of a print book LosLogos — it is the first time I review a digital magazine compilation and collaborative project.

“The initial concept was to find a path to encourage diversity, promote cultural pluralism and provide new opportunities to aspiring designers across the world...and plug a path between East and West... Designers represented here are commended for the depth of their thinking...”

I was stirred deeply by the approach and concept for which - after many years of research - is confirming what I am thinking altogether: DESIGN is a communal language the world around and given the right opportunity - it can bloom to prove itself.

Joyn:Design approach is courageous and exciting. Asking designers to express about a topic that is usually relegated to the atmospheric spheres of high intellectualism which is not bad, but mostly and usually worst, relegated to 'socio cultural' politics.

I am prompted to capture this dialogue and set it up in this permanent installation so that - in fact - I do attempt to fill the gab and build a bridge.

Although there are a lot of snapshots collated here - I intentionally left out most - please take time to see the project in 'context' - only then will this powerful concept take full effect! Some of the better pieces hold on half-pages as well.

The essence of these designs has moved me and affected me. WE, as designers, are NOT sleeping and drifting... That's what each piece is telling profoundly!

In this world of mass indifference fed by mass media whereas we are told over and over how impotent we are to affect and make changes... this assumption is challenged in this project! The spirit and heart of designers are pulsating at a different level and are questing!

In fact, they are pointing and asking hard and harsh questions that need answers... now! Not another massive dose of comforting and empty advertising babble and/or corporate happy talk wanting to control culture.

In my opinion, there is a huge difference between an urge to design and an urge to communicate! The set of skills are the same - the mindset is altogether completely different!

We, the creative giant, is awakening... imagine what we can DO when fully awaken...

If you have references to both Eastern/Western cultures you will see and feel the subtle and brillant connotations. I am proud! I am filled with hope!

Indeed we can build a better world, one design at a time, one effort at a time, one communication at a time! To all participants thanks for sharing your time, talent and thoughts and to Joyn:Design (Cyan, Jian and Frank) who have done an incredible editorial work in picking and assembling this project.

Expressing and achieving osmosis makes us strong! It grants a powerful tribune where we can speak loud and clear!

_ _ _ _ _

ndle1: Print version of this project is available.

PLUGZINE Where to start? / No 1

Stiftung Pfadfinden is an outstanding project dedicated to the Girls & Boy Scouts! Hyper-realist, immersive and well adapted experiment and content.

Another Poster for Peace is about creating copyright-free anti-war posters available free of charge to the public. Since January of last year, hundreds of thousands of posters have been downloaded world-wide. Support!

Student interactive installation project: The Other Self to engage naturally. Must see.

They describe themselves as one stop creative boutique! Dynamo walks the talk! Crisp grid, wonderful signature - I really like the 'ticket' metaphor. Clients web projects mostly in the apparel industry.

[ witold szlachta | photography | advertising | editorial | corporate | portrait | travel ] with such a description it might be perceived as being over the top! Well if someone is capable of photographing buses in an artistic way... I guess it's right to think that he will be good in a lot of other fields as well.

(The original site is no longer online - get a look at the brief) The Adventures of Seinfeld (and Superman???) guarantees a refreshing moment! How about shorts (5 min) films for advertising using the product placement model? Amex's done it!

Don't miss the behind the scene footage. What I like most about this project is that two artists (comedian + film director) decided on pitching to a company to do something completely original!

Metadaddy project by Wandering-Monsters! Nothing scary about it if complexity is something you enjoy. As Ben put it: “This a Flash/XML driven site with dynamic sorting/filtration. It's kind of an experiment in data-mining!”

Try the different boxes on the right side to alter rendering... click some to see snapshots of work. Genial!!! It's been a long time since I have seen something as clever!

Modern artist Thomas Newbolt site begs you to explore. Based on the 'typewriter' effect, the navigation system - is simple and non-obstrusive. Some of his paintings are breathtaking and the soundtrack just the right classic choice.

If you're going to do it anyway might as well do it 4REALDOUGH! Music designers for games and new media! Crank up the speakers and hear out their 'cover' themes! LUV it!

See the power of shorts using flash... 20,235 frames of fun!! Use the red cursor to move around through the projects.

Amazing videographers... photography work, storyboarding and production definitely makes Acht Frankfurt a top agency in their field.

Luv the simplicity and edgy print work of ÆShoukas. Monitor his work on D-Realm.

YEN wants to celebrate the achievements of young women making their mark in fields that are shaping the direction of the world we live in, and we need you to help.

Together we want to find the 50 most influential young women in the world today in every field from music to medicine, from the commendable to the controversial.

Sweet and short: Media Kitchen Rules of engagement point to 12 things to do now in ref with communication, marketing and branding.

“Remember it's communication, not exposure”

IndustryScoop 25 principals (sic) of Success... Pick and choose - there is good advice there. Luv this one:

“Do not go to lunch with someone who is only looking to pick your brain”

The Way Forward with Web Standards. Abstract: “Even though Web standards are being embraced by many Web authors, some businesses are reluctant to invest in standards-based Web sites without concrete reasons to do so.

To help Web authors interested in advocating Web standards, this article assembles arguments and information about Web standards into one document and explains Web standards in terms of how they affect business.”

Explorative navigation and out of the box presentation for Page Media Design who specializes in fashion & entertainment!

The mill used to be owned by farmer's cooperative until the '60s and was renovated to become the Watermill Hotel who is running a smooth operation here. Nice site.

Check Egill Hardar mini-galleries sections -> Tilbúningur -> Anatomy + The Dreams... Talent!

Into this stuff? u-c-e-r* is a group of instalation/video people with several upcoming shows and stuff like weird flash games and warp zones on the site.

If you're interested in accessing the FITC presenters' notes online - here ya go!

In the vein of good industrial design site, Elegant Mouldings follows suite. Check how the navigation indicates which section you're in. Excellent product display.

SUMOxl would implied a 'heavy' load but this site loads in a blink! They're shooting for the sky and from the list of projects delivered so far they're on the way! Good work!

You've gotta see Estudio INGENIA! I luv the way the vector elements build up the final picture. Original! Excellent all around portfolio.

Well Vetted new issue #20 is out!

Publisher dedicated to Parents & Children books. We like TARA Publishing. Simple and to the point!

Hand Craft Product is to be checked out! Brought to you by powagirrrl Christine Domanic.

Fuel Industries is looking for talented individuals for these positions: Senior designer, Shockwave/Game Designer and Art Director. If you are interested please contact Mike Burns - mburns@fuelindustries.com.

Retro modern feel combined with a substantial portfolio for Randall McMaster who happens to be looking for the next challenge. Definitely good to be hired!

Revoir le jardin de Jeannette is the photography portfolio of Marc Ayrault. Amazingly poetic, the photographs of nature, the contrast quality of the stills are like walking through a garden.

Disponible en français pour l'instant.

If you are interested, Pixeltable has just published its accessibility statement and sitemap. Use Mozilla to see all the features.

Welcome a new powagirrrl! Half-Past is the design studio of Jennifer Stinsman. Simple and professional.

If, like me, you are into the parnaphelia of science-fi design you will LUV ** ROBOT::MANIA **. The pictures are of incredible quality and the collection... my gosh... how can someone ended-up with compiling such an extensive one? I mean they seem to be all in perfect condition.

Have a look at the way it was back in the '50s & '60s. Have we come a long way... Must see! Aside from the content - this flash site rocks! Attention to details, the look and feel. I am wowed!

BrowserMedia (a software and web development firm located in metro-accessible downtown Bethesda, Maryland) is looking to hire a senior designer/flash guru for our staff. If you live in the Washington DC/VA/MD area or you'd like to move here, we're interested in talking to you.

Candidates should be proactive and focus on exhibiting their raw talent. Photoshop, Flash, and Illustrator skills are required. Submit your resume, sample URLs, or just really good digital art.

Please mail all responses to jobs@browsermedia.com.

25g - Community für Pixelbrüder und Codingschwestern! Needless to say you to speak deutsch! ;-D

Belated one (1) year anniversary for Blue Vertigo ran by Guillermo Fernandez!! I heard there is a brand new section POSER DOWNLOADS (90 links about characters, textures, props, morphs, poses, clothing...)

Luv the pitch: “Kissing the paper with inky lips!” Cool retro feel for Bargarr Letterpress!

§§§ Danny Snell §§§ is a consumate collage + illustration artist. It's always interesting to see how familiar and retro objects can be used to communicate a message.

Terminus1525 claims to be an open-space for emerging creators now entering Phase 2. It is a collaborative work space brought to life on the web and on the street, fueled by the ingenuity and imagination of a new wave of young Canadian creators.

It is a platform for soon-to-be-discovered creative voices in all forms, from communities across the country.

I have a propensity towards minimalist sites. I luv design and to have an eye-full is delightful but what attracts me towards minimal presentations is how a group has to gathered and condensed a presentation to have the highest impact.

The Stylo Design site grid leaves plenty of white space. Now you gotta see their work.

Don't say I did not warn you - 256greys is an experimental site that probably ONLY work on IE. I find it interesting because it indicates how future 'interaction' can be immersive and stand alone where the 'browser' window would minimize on the desktop for example. This site is NOT like that... but...

This illustrator has worked hard to achieve his portfolio! Check Kle Dergi \\

Did you know that TAXI+ has added some new features and improved the existing ones to better showcase the designers\' creative portfolio?

Some of the enhancements are ::
1) Enlarged Thumbnails
2) Minimal External Links
3) WYSIWYG Editor w/ Preview
4) Customisable Page themes
5) List your clientele
6) Appear on the front page with every update
7) Advanced search allows people to find you
8) Safe spam-free contact form
9) Allow others to drop your artworks to their faves folder
10) Your very own personal page and easy-to-remember URL!

Thorogoodd.kids was launched as a sub-site dedicated to illustrators specializing in children's projects.

April's Fool anybody?!?!? Check what Bowman and Shea did... If you are familiar with Stopdesign & Mezzoblue - will have new appreciation for CSS design... and me, this am, while completely sleep deprived 'cause leaving for FITC (btw if attending - come up and say hello) in the coming wee hours... blasted a colleague about it... yepp, I was caught... I thought it was true!

Recently updated sites worth visiting again:

/ carbon design

 / expodesign!

/ Framfab|Paregos

Absolutely original. Mike Tucker via Ludovico il Sabato, line art illustrations are awesome. Don't miss the auto-drawing portrait! Luv it.

Ty latest project is now up and running. It's a collection of redrawn 19th century Wood Type specimens.

Another corporate site that manages some level of pizzaz. The 'puzzle' like top area is interesting considering that these are geeks at work!

There is consistency throughout the site with attention grabbing graphics. Well done Browser Media.

Twinsparc smart design for web and print. When minimalist design works with User Centric Design, Accessibilty & Web Standards concerns.

Get some facts about dyslexia from Read Regular. With good examples that explains what it is about.

Another promising talent! The graphic design is awesome! Check Ashi out!

Time to let your voice count - vote for the FITC People's Choice Award recipient!

Force KBK breaking the mold!!! Finally an original interface design. Funky enough - different enough - good pictures and some movement that is not dizzying but makes the flow enjoyable!

Subtle and elegant!

A new kind of agency? A new kind of pitch? Both? Why not? Check the Mouse Mechanics naughty and imaginative site. Refreshing!

Are you into robots? Well it seems that Rabblerouser Media has a special interest in these and other kind of illustration as well, check the library! Incidently met Kenn at sxsw and realized that he is the winning entry for this year's swag bag (which I think is awesome)!

So what do you think? Copycat or not? Have a look! Reported by Shane from Cantdesign.

Ambienta is colors in action! A well done flash site for Comex paint company. Pick a room and colorize it. The color controls and panels are seamlessly & fast redrawing your choices.

This is a cool concept. Adzone site complete with pixel graphics invites you to play to discover their company.

A comprehensive in-depth article: The End-All Guide to Small-Screen Web-Dev by Heidi Pollock

“Nothing is more fun than seeing your Web page nestled nicely into a teeny tiny handheld screen; and nothing is more excruciatingly horrendous than trying to figure out how to get it there. The number of devices, screen sizes, operating platforms, and support levels for small-screen browsing is mind-numbing.”

Talent! | skoota | retro feel is a smooth operating site. The mini-thumbs make for a delightful exploration. The logos are simply awesome.

Early this am I published XTR.PXL - just got an email from Joost of Renascent! Like he said...suggesting we visit his site... mmm...make up your own mind. As of Mar 29, matter resolved. Copycat was taken down.

MMPeople have been around since '97 and the flash intro to one of their previous site version is worth a look. Intriguing but makes a good pitch.

Lost Humans another example of the age of the machines style of interface! Somewhat busy (the grid is a bit tight) - but well executed and definitely worth a see.

Need a lesson in cross-culture etiquette? How-to-bow is such an intro to the peculiars of Japanese business relationships, of visiting a home or having a drink. Complete with 'serious' illustrations and steps.

Go ahead learn and be amused.

In the true tradition of classical painting so is Daniël Douglas (1984) work. His website is like a jewel box! That is an excellent example on how a portfolio site should be designed!

Possibly one of the most prolific contemporary photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand has a deep layered site where you can learn about is work philosophy, behind the stages and see some of his wonderful work. Probably best known for this picture from his book: The Earth from Above.

Oh! Tim had shown me this project in its early stages and now - Cloud King looks glorious! CSS built (look ma' no tables) and check roster of talent. Impressive. Like the mission statement: “Cloud King is a place to see and be seen.

Cloud King was created as an alternative to poorly designed, mass-market online art galleries. Cloud King is the brainchild of Tim Murtaugh, who wanted a way to help art find eyes.”

Urban vibe is all over NASTEE+74+ probably what I would call this new generation of designers who can draw, tag, flash, print, web dev, design Ts, and shoot digital photography with brio! Check his video files for a good show of his style. A must see.

You have gotta see this! Cool interactivity on Create your state site. Use magnifier and voila! Nice toys!

Althought this article is somewhat old - the topic is a hot one. A Visual Rather Than Verbal Future by Leslie Walker

“With all due respect to fellow computing gurus around the world, the University of Maryland's Ben Shneiderman doesn't think speech will ever become the main way people communicate with computers. He's convinced our eyes will do better than our voices at helping us control the digital machinery of the 21st century.”

Well what do you know? A marketing firm goes CSS, section 508 and validates! Pay attention to how the portfolio displays. Luv their pitch: “Advertising Stinks (but somebody's gotta do it)” and how the graphics supports this... coinciding with their company's name: Fish Marketing!

Anybody knows what's going on with Cov3r Lab? Their site is 404.

Saluting a new powagirrrl whose work is already on netdiver: B R E T T, Wall-to-Wall Studios, D S I X Design. I was completely unaware of this.

Hats off to a versatile and talented web designer Sarah Lamont

An introduction to early works from extraordinare illustrator Gardiana! Indulge.

An unusual and original interface + navigation design for a photographer! Check smi.art.pl | simulations.

Swiss designer gone NYC, Tina Roth is a multi-talented powagirrrl who relaunched her project 2.0 site. Keep it up girrrl!

While it last March is the D7 Killer Sale - for cool Ts!

Bakan’s most recent book, “The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power”, was written during the making of the film THE CORPORATION (Co-created with Mark Achbar) and formed the basis of the research and writing for the film.

Check the store section for the book and other goodies.

Update your bookmarks The CSS Vault has changed domain.

Oh! A rare pearl!!! MWI is a corporate website but... stay tune for a subdued palette which I have rarely seen, wow factor + pictures and pay attention to the navigation. This is a site I would have like to work on!

Nice play on words for i_kre8 (I create) and actionscripting for visual engineer Keith EVans. What I like most is the 'enlarge' feature well done!

Why not share the goodies? PILLs for the creative mind is a presentation I am giving today at FITC. Can't attend? No problem! Access the presentation online ...almost in sync. (To see the content just click on each current page nav button). I will read your comments when I return.

For those interested, this is a cross browser CSS designed layout. Beware, heavy download. Eye candy garanteed!

Core77 Discussion Board RoundTable. Topic: Design and the Media. Moderator: Paola Antonelli / March 04

“A truly unique and international panel of writers, designers, and editors is gathered here to discuss the role and position of design in the media, in an attempt to learn what we can all do to give our beloved field of action the stature that it deserves in popular culture.”

First thread: “Are you satisfied with design coverage in the media? Are you satisfied with the coverage of design in the large-circulation press in the country where you live? Do you feel that design is portrayed fairly and completely, and used for all its worth?”

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