Apple Tablet A Long Time Apple Idea

Posted by ryan as Apple, Design, Designer, Technology

Wired’s Gadget section has a report on Apple’s never to market tablet from 1983 as developed by Frog Design. The rumors about the tablet have been around forever, I just never had a clue that the idea was on the table for as long as it has been for Apple. After seeing this it really makes predicting Apple’s release of the so called iSlate / iTablet / iPad even easier. I can’t wait to see what they unveil this coming Wednesday, January 27th.

Not Forgotten

Posted by ryan as Advertising, Art, Career, Design, Designer, Interweb, Life Path

So I’ve been neglecting this site recently. I have not forgotten about this site and plan to start posting often again real soon. I have some things in the works and when the time is right I will make it known publicly. Long story short I’ve moved on from my previous employer and opportunity is knocking. Good times people.

Harsh Truths About Corporate Websites

Posted by ryan as Advertising, Bummer, Career, Design, Designer, Interweb, Web Devlopment

Smashing Magazine is a great website. Anyone who is a frequent reader knows that. They recently wrote a great article “10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Websites”. It is spot on for so many points.

#7 especially hits home for me as I feel this one often. (7. You’re Not Getting Value From Your Web Team)

Whether they have an in-house Web team or use an external agency, many organizations fail to get the most from their Web designers. Web designers are much more than pixel pushers. They have a wealth of knowledge about the Web and how users interact with it. They also understand design techniques, including grid systems, white space, color theory and much more.

Treating designers as pixel pushers wastes their design experience: post from Twitter complaining about being a pixel pusher

It is therefore wasteful to micro-manage by asking them to “make the logo bigger” or to “move that 3 pixels to the left.” By doing so, you are reducing their role to that of a software operator and wasting the wealth of experience they bring.

If you want to get the maximum return on your Web team, present it with problems, not solutions. For example, if you’re targeting your website at teenage girls, and the designer goes for corporate blue, suggest that your audience might not respond well to that color. Do not tell him or her to change it to pink. This way, the designer has the freedom to find a solution that may even be better than your choice. You allow your designer to solve the problem you have presented.

> Continue reading 10 Harsh Truths About Corporate Websites

Great Paper Typography

Posted by ryan as Art, Design, Designer, Inspiring, Typography

Yulia Brodskaya is an artist who has done some really great paper typography. See Yulia’s portfolio at www.artyulia.com

Social Networking For The Out Of Work

Posted by ryan as Career, Design, Designer, Inspiring, Interweb, News

For all of us fortunate enough to have a job right now, there is still a great deal of quality advice in the article written by Robert Scoble, If You Are Laid Off Heres How To Socially Network.

If you are laid off, here’s how to socially network
I’m getting a LOT of chats from people who have been laid off. Most of the time I find that they just aren’t presenting a good face to me for me to help them find a new job.
If you are laid off, here’s what you need to do:
1. Your blog is your resume. You need one and it needs to have 100 posts on it about what you want to be known for.
2. Remove all LOLCats from your blog.
3. Remove all friends from your facebook and twitter accounts that will embarrass you. We do look. If we see photos of people getting drunk with you that is a bad sign. Get rid of them. They will NOT help you get a job. > continue reading

I for one do not have this blog up to par. I need to make that happen sooner than later. As far as the other social network related stuff, being online since I was in college in the late 90s I’ve always been very aware that what I post online is online for good. If you don’t approach it like that, step back, clean house, and never forget that fact of the medium. This article is motivational in the sense, are you prepared enough?

The Value Of Our Passion

Posted by ryan as Advertising, Bummer, Career, Design, Designer, Illustration, Interweb

I recently came across a tweet about people posting requests for free design / illustrative services. While its no new thing for my profession to be under valued, its still a very frustrating thing to deal with. Via the quality blog and website Method To The Mayhem.

Every day, there are more and more CragsList posts seeking “artists” for everything from auto graphics to comic books to corporate logo designs. More people are finding themselves in need of some form of illustrative service.

But what they’re NOT doing, unfortunately, is realizing how rare someone with these particular talents can be.

To those who are “seeking artists”, let me ask you; How many people do you know, personally, with the talent and skill to perform the services you need? A dozen? Five? One? …none?

More than likely, you don’t know any. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be posting on craigslist to find them.

And this is not really a surprise.

In this country, there are almost twice as many neurosurgeons as there are professional illustrators. There are eleven times as many certified mechanics. There are SEVENTY times as many people in the IT field.

So, given that they are less rare, and therefore less in demand, would it make sense to ask your mechanic to work on your car for free? Would you look him in the eye, with a straight face, and tell him that his compensation would be the ability to have his work shown to others as you drive down the street?

Would you offer a neurosurgeon the “opportunity” to add your name to his resume as payment for removing that pesky tumor? (Maybe you could offer him “a few bucks” for “materials”. What a deal!)

Would you be able to seriously even CONSIDER offering your web hosting service the chance to have people see their work, by viewing your website, as their payment for hosting you?

If you answered “yes” to ANY of the above, you’re obviously insane. If you answered “no”, then kudos to you for living in the real world.

But then tell me… why would you think it is okay to live out the same, delusional, ridiculous fantasy when seeking someone whose abilities are even less in supply than these folks?

Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes you look like a twit.

A few things you need to know;

1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity” for YOU to have their work there.

2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”, but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.

3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”. They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should. It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.

4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them. There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who possess these skills.

5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the “experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?

If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.

6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own, reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it, and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best, and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For more information on this subject, please visit www.no-spec.com

So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.

And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.

Duality Of Humanity

Posted by ryan as Art, Designer, Illustration, Inspiring, Painting, Skateboarding

Here is a little video of Shepard Fairy discussing his show, The Duality Of Humanity. Old school skateboarders got love for the ripper.

VIMBY – Shepard Fairey

New Blanket Design Magazine Out

Posted by ryan as Art, Design, Designer, Illustration, Inspiring, Print, Typography

Today a new Blanket design magazine is out. In Blanket’s own words

Blanket is a free PDF art + design + photography magazine that is released bi-monthly. It is aimed at uncovering new, emerging talent from around the world.

This month’s issue is on the Past & Present and they are now 2 years going strong. Happy B-Day Blanket. Thank you for putting out a creative online mag. Check them out here and start downloading some quality design.

Jonathan Jarvis Illustration

Posted by ryan as Art, Design, Designer, Illustration, Interweb, Web Devlopment

Here is an awesome little illustration I seen from Vectortuts. Really all of the Envato Tuts sites are great. For me though, its the Nettuts that have my full attention.

Process as Drawing – 24 from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Great Typography

Posted by ryan as Art, Design, Designer, Illustration, Inspiring, Interweb, Typography

There is a great post on Designfeedr.com called “Stunning illustrated typography on dark backgrounds”. So much great stuff. Here are a few examples from a few of the talented designers.