20/20

2o posts.
Even though I was afraid at first and had little or no blog experience I did it!
Looking back I'm glad I blogged-it's such as great way to get things of your mind.
Three cheers for blogging - hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray! Hip-hip hooray!

Q & A

Q: To be a successful communication designer, do you need to know what is happening in the world around you?

A: Yes. To an extent all we do is communicate. It's in our blood and our social-responsibility. We tend to design for a purpose and that purpose is to get across a certain message. Our grasp on knowing what is happening in and around the world - be it media trends, local news, and world news enriches our ability to design further. As designers we are able to make something good out of something bad.

More Than Meets the Eye

Software.
Such a good thing.

Blaise Agüera y Arcas is the man behind Seadragon and Photosynth.

Seadragon [acquired by MS] changes the way we use screens, from wall-sized displays to mobile devices, so that visual information can be smoothly browsed regardless of the amount of data involved.

Photosynth takes large collections of photos [of a place or object], analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space. The interface is awesome. Photosynth lets you:

• walk through a scene to see photos from any angle
• zoom in or out of a photograph even if it's gigapixels in size
• see where pictures were taken in relation to one another
• find similar photos to the one you’re currently viewing
• explore a custom tour or see where you’ve been
• send a collection to a friend

As much as an Apple enthusiast as I am I'm hoping to possibly see these to applications for Mac in the [near] future. Never say never.

Design is...

type, info-graphics, problem-solving, thinking, circles, triangles, squares, emotion, colour, form, structure, details, deadlines, caffeine, mounting, printing, stressing, struggling, procrastinating, making things look nice, communication, differentiation, remembering, making a difference, making a mark, personal branding...whatever you want it to be.

I recently came across an online poster competition where designers had to define what graphic design is. It's really awesome to see how the meaning of design changes from person to person - for you this, for others that.

Here are a few of the poster designs:

For more posters click here.

Packaging

Do you see yourself wanting to buy something because of the way its packaged? I do.

I don't think I've realized how much of a package noob I've become. I love me some packaging. Package design has evolved since the days of the cardboard box. Our love for type, colour, and form spice things up and give the overall design pazazz.

Here is a showcase dedicated to fine [food ]packaging:




Enjoy!

Ruined iPhone

What do you get when you cross a phone with an iPod?
An a sleek, innovative, tech-savvy gadget the iPhone.

Ever since I can remember I've longed for an iPhone. It's no ordinary phone. It's a smart phone that doubles as a camera and a portable media player a la iPod. In addition to visual voicemail and text messaging it includes services such as e-mail, web browsing, and Wi-Fi connectivity.

When it [the first generation one] launched June 29th, 2007 in the US I was disappointed to find out that it wouldn't make its way down here. Almost a year later on June 9th, 2008 at 2008 WWDC my prayers were answered and it was announced that the iPhone 3G [a second generation faster iPhone] would launch in Canada July 11th, 2008.

So what's my point?
What do you get when you cross two big corporations?
A really big mess.

Apple's iPhone will finally see the light of day in Canada in 3 days and from the looks of it over 45,000 people are saying no to the iPhone. Why? Because of its cellular provider Rogers. I'm a long-time Apple and Rogers' enthusiast. I own a fair share of products from Apple including my Mac and shuffle and am signed up to quite a few services from Roger's including cable, and wireless internet.

I don't understand. If our dollars are on par why can't the pricing for our cellular service be? The plans are outrageous. Roger's has to think of something fast. I really don't want to re-consider my decision to buy an iPhone.