Design news | Jan 05
Visual pitch? Word pitch? Mike Fretto - new talent on the block for hire who's design forte leans on the print side! Marvelous!
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“I love design and can't stop doing it. I love to make things look good, and see business swell when there's good design or creative pushing it. If you're working hard, feeling passionate about what you're doing, selling, performing, manufacturing, or what not -- you deserve to have the best professional creative tactics to present or sell those things to the people you want to reach. In other words, you deserve good design. There's so much bad design out there. So, I feel passionate about that.”
Realities:united has an immediate opening and is seeking for an apprentice / student in media / architecture /design / informatic for research on topics in the area of media architecture. For 4-6 months at their Berlin office.
Skills and interest in 3D realtime/ animation applications inclusive scripting and programming are very welcome. Contact Tim and Jan Edler.
Here is the Netdiver short list of the BOTY 04 (Best of the Year) nominees.
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ndlr: SOTY (Site of the year): MadeinMTL
Based on a true story - a filmaker embarks on a risky and painful travail to produce Svetlana's Journey. Endorsed by Face to Face (Bulgaria) who works mainly in the prevention and actively amongst the potential victims of child and forced prostitution.
Victims are usually involved by being deceived, kidnapped of physically abused. Support!
How do you see light / lighting in 2025? Visit the FFWD>> for more information. Brought to you by Pantopicon, the Antwerp (B)-based office for future exploration and envisioning.
Newly updated projects and portfolios sites:
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FWA Site of the year award and People Choice award goes to... Vodafone Mobile Future!!!
Talented illustrator portfolio of Andy Smith who uses mostly line art likened to children doodles.
Nope this is not a musician site. Get ready for a surprising travel into the mind of multi-talented Toshiaki Saiki. Definitely the stamp of a great artist in the making - most work is original, can be quirky. But the vision is really personal.
The Well Vetted Special Edition Sites Of The Year 2004 is up, presented through the WV2 sneak preview interface! Check who is Netdiver choice!
Already in its second print a couple of weeks after being released, The Cult of Mac by Leander Kahney published by No Starch Press, is a must read and have reference book.
Read the complete review.
Newly updated portfolios sites:
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\ Momorobo
How about running for a good cause? Steve Marks will in Run for Alzheimers 2005 - The diary of a first time marathon runner. Support!
Get SWOOped off your feet! Cool flash intro and original interface.
Ductype a brand-new type foundry focussing on the devolpment of fresh pixel-fonts. Try the fonts in the font editor (use the dropdown menus).
Coverbank is developing a db driven site on cover artwork of CD and vinyl music releases. For the sake of art. Never finished and therefore interested in any serious contribution to the imagebank. Visuals only, no audio.
Must read article!!! The Credibility Gap - Part 1 by Peter Giffen.
“That kind of attitude drives me crazy, says Warburton. There's this prevailing belief that designers are starving artists who should just give their work away. We don't expect to get paid for it but if we do, geez, we're lucky. That's not the way I look at my business of selling design. And I'm not giving it away for free.”
Leading pundits have called this the decade of design in recognizing that design is now a leading source of product differentiation and a key revenue driver at all price points. Excerpts from Design Trends for 2005, and Beyond by Kenneth Hirst:
“Quality is on the Rise. Product quality will continue to improve across the board, especially in the luxury goods category, a result of ever rising consumer expectations. With quality, but a brand's price of admission, we expect to see the move toward product customization and the bespoke tradition to continue to gain ground as more brands recognize it as an effective strategy to escape the commodization trap, where parity products lose their reason for being and profit margins.
Tech is Getting Real Personal. Technology products, from colored iPods to the platinum Virgin cell phone are becoming key personal branding tools. Who you are and what group you aspire to is a direct reflection of the color of one's earbuds, the functionality of one's cell phone or Blackberry, the brand of one's portable game and DVD player. We expect personal tech to flower as the quintessential fashion accessory in the year ahead.”
“The key to good design is staying invigorated, taking what you know and applying it to new areas...” according to Jakob Tröllback. Ready to hear more? Save the date: January 27 (due to uncontrollable circumstances - event has been cancelled.)
Recently updated portfolios sites:
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/ popsicleriot - don't miss their new 'art' section.
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/ prototype :: experimental foundry
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The Graffiti Analysis project digitally captures the motions used to make a tag. Once recorded, the data is analyzed and used to create visualizations based on the speed and direction of the original movements. Active writers wanted.
When will M$ ever learn? Microsoft browser bugs 'extremely critical' by Will Knight.
It's time to switch to Firefox.
This is an incredible pearl for anyone interested in urban architecture and development: MOMA / Tall Buildings exhibit.
The title for the site and domain I am always hungry (IAAH) was intriguing from onset. Since listed sometimes in 03, whew a lot is going on in the career of Nessim Higsom who is (was?) Associate Creative Director at Genex, an internet solution company that has been listed on Netdiver in the wee early-early days.
The sheer variety and scope of the different projects shown in his portfolio of new and past works does sum up to this: ALL invariably show signs of creative renewal. This alone, states amply what are the skills of this designer.
From a visual point of view - there are telltale signature details that return - but all do successfully without too much redundancy.
I particularly can appreciate the flux between toned down to vibrant palettes with corporate feel mix with urban design without becoming a cliché of what is to be expected.
Avoiding to be cliché is a great challenge and Nassim does it without putting eye candy on a strict and debilating diet.
Be it identity to corporate stationery to packaging and illustration or interactive design... unmistakengly quality abounds.
I suppose what he meant being always hungry for new challenges and self surpassment.
SWIKIRI is a gathering of African creativity through design. It is a platform for collaboration, discussion, inspiration and exposure of visual design, art, music, writing and all forms of creative innovation. SWIKIRI endorses the African experience.
TechVector? Imagine 3D illustrations so realistic that they look real! Some with 'mouseovers' so you can see the line art behind.
CCO? The awekening? Getting Schooled in Innovation by Bruce Nussbaum
“Back to class. Yet innovation by its very nature requires leaps of faith, attempts to do what hasn't been tried before, and perhaps most important of all, an understanding of consumer culture.”
Creativity on Credit! TAXI very own Editor's Picks Hall of Fame top web sites issue 2003/2004.
The next new big thing??? Agregating RSS feeds. Check Plasticpilots example which is just launched. So what do you think?
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Here is another example Feedexpress. And then, how about all readers enabled to read a single RSS feed? Check FeedBurner. Or a Project Management Software using RSS? Check Basecamp by 37 Signals. Steps forward to all devices to the network which is something that I've been predicting and supporting since RSS could well fit better on mobile and handheld devices.
Meltingpop is back! Proud to present WE LOVE HOLGA! Online *popular* gallery. The *shots* are online!
IdN new release! Vinyl will Kill. An Inside Look At The Designer Toy Phenomenon by Jeremy
A necessary reference book and compendium.
Update for Actadivina accounts -> For your information!
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ndlr: It turns out that the hacking of AC was an hoax! In fact, turned unsolvable, they just decided to close it down. After all the hype around being the new player to contend with in the host providing pool, some shady activities later and a huge let down in all the trust that many gave them... and NEVER surrendering the boxes for tentative information retrieval... which for some has had huge consequences. This is a major fallout.
Lesson learned? Don't trust the hype!
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Something awful happened to Actadivina and as a lot of you may know already. Worst, way too many valuable projects have been affected by it, I know first hand, since two clients were still hosted there.
Although the boxes were hacked and severely and maliciously compromised, whoever did this, discounted the sheer ultra power of our community to band together and recoup. Help is on the way! Stay tune for more updates. If I can be of assistance - let me know.
MyNews link sharing community from Greece with Luv!
AIGA|AQUENT Survey of Design Salaries. Interesting data for US based companies.
What What??? Eclectic and extravagant line art illos to explore. Explosion of humoristic imagination and goodies to discover!
Take care of your walls?!?! An ingenious concept “born from the place where photography meets interior design, your 2Canvas frames will be of a distinguishing and eye-blinding quality. You can also have your own pictures printed on durable Kodak photo Canvas and stretched over a thick solid wooden frame.” Pop Art revived!
What is the most cost-effective approach for getting new clients?
Networking (e.g. joining professional associations, attending conferences,
social events, etc.) -> 58%
Advertising campaigns (e.g. print and Internet-based advertising) ->
11%
Hiring a sales/marketing individual or company -> 34%
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ndlr: via Icograda
The book metaphor to display one's portfolio has defnitely been very popular this year and Mattisimo is one of the best example I have seen so far. There are some pretty neat works in there.
Don't let the pared down and incredibly simplistic interface of .: l a m o s c a :. site trick you into thinking that not much is... available. Gosh - the dropdown menus are like an Alibaba cave full of incredible projects and some pretty neat-o flash scripts. To be visited from top to bottom.
How about making an image version in rich text and word? The recipe is offered by Artext!
Do you think 'frames' should be brought back? Aiiiiiii... these were the most maddening html to use although there were some benefits before dynamic html and css design. Anyway, Un.pez.vivo uses the same kind of panel pulling (all in flash) that you can resize at any time. Careful the navigation in the 'frame' can be tricky.
As you probably know, creativity is one of my favorite topic and area of thought and research. As the New Year nears, here is a pearl of wisdom “How to be creative” which is a collection of incredible insights that are sure to open new paths of discovery, wonder and healthy critical thinking.
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ndlr: Thanks to Hugh MacLeod for this invaluable contribution.
“The fine things are always hand made” intriguing statement from a designer online portfolio. But hey, that mouse that is doing zillions of movements and commands, is the extension of my hand.
Nice visual metaphor for Bence Toth in The Suitcase!
To take with a grain of salt, Mena came up with Canada 2.0 as a post November comment. Meant as a somewhat flip of the coin reaction to recent post.
Citing Tufte “Good design is clear thinking made visible” our new powagirrrl and design boutique site - 180Red walks the talk!
Newly updated portfolios sites:
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Tsunami toll rises above 138,000!!! Thousands still missing as search for survivors continues... My friends, Yoel and Muid are safe and sound. But so many are still missing. Let's help - find an organization that will funnel the money directly since the best way to help in the economic reconstruction is to make sure that goods are bought locally instead of being shipped from overseas.
Once lost and found again, an animation fil jewel - My Beautiful Girl, Mari.
After all these years, still clean and lean and best with corporate clients, YEAHYEAH... now has become Fulton Street Design.
This is an extraordinary portfolio for Ives Brechbuehl who is a consumate designer. To be visited from top to bottom. I LUV the site design - everything is sparingly slick.
Like you have never seen something like this before!?!? The New Deal is not only the incredible project about... well go there and find out. This is THE new deal! The future of animations and man, the lighting is so realistic, brillant! I was thrown off my chair. Character design, illustrations and 3D modelling taken to the n step! Kudos to the team (BaBa, 123Klan, Junior Market and Olivier Janin and many others) behind this marvel!
Try the musical box from Popular Front! (IE only)
For people who make websites:
Want to wrap text around images using CSS and XHTML? Cross-Column Pull-Outs by Daniel M. Frommelt
Not exactly the best way to introduce to your mama, a new friend. Nonetheless Bwanavista is an agency that cultivates a humoristic twist pushed to the hilt with their pitch - calling themselves - the other agency!!! The animations are really weird... but the 3D rendering is splendid.
The client one... is ouch! But then, sometimes who and what we do with...does seem a little... alien...ating! What is great - the concept is consistent and innovative!
A thesis site (MA) on interface and playfulness. WOW! Functional Play! Now this an incredible achievement! Will someone hire this guy!
Nostagia? Netdiver Best Sites of the Year 2003. It was a very good year! Now imagine what 2004 had in reserve? You will find out by mid-January.
Syrup is looking for a senior designer and a designer to add to their creative team this upcoming new year. Interested?
Trafik! Stunning studio who has amazing skills. The proliferation of their imagination in all the projects makes this agency a true leader in all things design. The edge is there as a constant. Staff is composed of multidisciplinarians and collaborative creativity is at the heart of their processes... and it shows.
The scope of their projects is really impressive.
Small way too small navigation and typo for STEUH but excellent overall portfolio. Presentation is important when promoting your talent - the cool factor should be reserved to exploratory projects.
Firewheel Design gets a tangy makeover! They are absolute pros at designing pixel icons!
PPAINT is simply a collective of imagemakers who work individually or together. Interesting to see the different styles mostly for streetsmart, urban modern illos.
Type-O-Tones is an eclectic almost chaotic site that offers fonts in a variety of explosive colors and mini-animations. Worth seeing.
David Nakamoto has updated Multifresh which has been displayed on netdiver for many years. This excellent designer is sooo imaginative and creative and just keeps on improving through the years. Hats off.
Fork.de is looking for some fresh talents!
