happy halloween.

It’s Halloween. Have a happy one.

depthCORE.com

There’s some beautiful, glossy work over at depthCORE.com. Maybe it’s just me, but I love intricate, dark sites. It’s essentially laid out like a nice blog, but feels like even more. AVClub 2.0, maybe?

sorry IE peeps.

I just realized last night that my site’s all screwy in Internet Explorer. If you’re reading in Internet Explorer, first I suggest you go get Firefox. And I’ll try to tweak the site today so it’s not all broken and stuff.

*** UPDATE – found the problem. Darn those crazy < div> tags. ***

misprinted type.

Nice works over at www.eduardorecife.com/ of misprinted type.

Sketch society opens

Today, the Sketch Society experiment opens with its first challenge. The signups are now closed for this month. Watch the action, and if you’re interested in joining up, we’ll start another round in December.

You supply the caption

Halloween 2006

Originally uploaded by avclub.

This feature absent for a while, but it’s back… a Halloween themed “You supply the caption.”

Boomerang

Boomerang

Originally uploaded by avclub.

This knife will now be known as boomerang, for I lost it nearly four years ago. I thought it fell out of my pocket when I was out. I’ve attempted to replace it with several alternatives, but there’s nothing like a Spyderco blade. (You, Mr. Gerber, can still ride in second place and I’m sure you’ll find room for your newly returned friend).

My mother-in-law brought it to me yesterday… it fell out of the bottom of a recliner. Simply amazing. Until the point where I’d lost it, I have carried this knife on me every single day for about 4 years. Now it’s back.

backpack mobile.

I just discovered a merging of two of my favorite things, Backpack and my phone. This describes how to access Backpack on your mobile device. Those who know me know I’m currently in a quest to eliminate my PDA from my workflow. We’re getting closer. This now takes care of my To-Do lists.

We’re I’m at right now in this endeavor: I have the beloved LG Chocolate (the VX8500). I don’t have the time to go into the details of my love affair with this phone, but it’s been a life-changer for sure. I have Google calendar managing my scheduling details. With a simple TXT message, I can have gCal send my itinerary for the day. I can access my mobile Gmail. I have my work and personal mail running through Gmail to facilitate easy reading when I’m away from a computer. I have mobile bloglines providing my reading of RSS feeds (which is about the only thing I monitor on the web). With the addition of Backpack, I now have To-Do lists moving to the phone. I still lack a good way to organize contact info. And I’d like to sync my calendar a little more efficiently. Then we’re done. See, this backpack thing just hit a nerve.

I don’t know why.

…I just thought I should share this with the world.

moo

Moo mini cards, printed directly from flickr.

Target ad.

Beautiful piece inspired by the pop-up books you probably enjoyed as a child. Nice work for Target by Brand New School.

web design.

Church Marketing Sucks has amassed a list of Web design pitfalls. I’ve found myself guilty of some of these. In the end, all “tricks” and “styles” are just tools. Use the right tool for the right job and be intentional about your design choices. Be able to explain or defend your idea. Put thought into it, don’t just try the next cool thing.”

sketch society.

So here’s the quick (and important) announcement. I’m launching a new, 1 month creative venture and I’d like to know who’s interested. As a designer, I’ve found it’s easy to drift away from the fundamental things that keep you grounded in your art, namely, sketching. Always sketching is one trait of a great designer. Try new ideas out, quickly capture a mood, line, motion, or whatever inspires you.

I don’t do enough of it.

So, I’m starting up the “sketch society.” It’s a group of discipline-varied designers who will have one week to respond to a sketching challenge. Call it an assignment if you will. The goal is that we’ll develop a good habit of alway carrying our graphite pencils and Strathmore sketch pads everywhere. I hope to turn to my sketchbook more often than my PDA when my hands are idle.

The site is located at avclub.us/sketchsociety

JOIN: If you are interested in joining, contact me or comment in this post. I’ll send you an account name / login for the site.

SCHEDULE: Things to note, if you choose to join in, deadline is 9:00AM, Monday morning to post your results. The next challenge will be issued Monday afternoon by 5:00PM.

As these types of things can fizzle, we’ll commit to doing it for one month. At the end of the month, we’ll evaluate if it was worth it and start another round.

FEEDBACK: The community will offer whatever you need. If it’s critique, we’ll provide. If it’s just accountability, we’ll make sure to remind you to keep it up. If it’s ideas, we have those, too. Also, I’ll freely take suggestions for sketch ideas.

MEDIUM: pencil (or graphite, no color) on paper. Output can be scanned or photographed (should you not have a scanner) and uploaded to the sketch society site. Word Press has a nifty little FTP client built right in. Instructions will be provided.

GOAL: To develop better creative ideas, to network with like(and unlike) minded designers, and to encourage more sketching.

So who’s in? I will take submissions for this round until Sunday night, as the community begins this coming Monday morning.

Dad in China.

So, my Dad is in China right now. Here’s a picture.

launchy.

I love Quicksilver. It’s my favorite pal on the Mac. I’ve rambled on about it incessantly, so I’ll spare you today. But if you’re a PC user, I would suggest Launchy so you’ll feel more like a Mac. It’s a “hidden launch bar” application for PC. I don’t seem to notice a CPU or RAM hit on using it, so it may be a viable alternative.

Also, stand by later today for an AV Club exclusive. I’m launching a new creative-oriented project and I’m inviting the AV Club to be involved.

firefox 2.0 released (and add-ons)

Firefox 2.0 is released. Go get it. Now. And then enjoy Tech Crunch’s recommendations for add-ons.

Halo.

halo.jpg

Originally uploaded by avclub.

Last night, I finished the first Halo. You know, I think this Halo thing is going to take off. It’s pretty fun.

hotwired

My copy of Hot-Wiring Your Creative Process came in today and I just enjoyed the first chapter. One of my goals for this year is to read 6 non-fiction books that stretch me. I want to grow spiritually, professionally, and creatively and plan to read books that help me with this. Quote of the day from the book:

Life is too short to keep cranking out mediocre crap. Ask any commercial designer ‘Why did you get into design?’ and none of them are going to answer, ‘I got into it so I could crank out mediocre crap.’

blog design.

Stevan had a great link today about How much should a design cost? Granted, my custom designs are priced nearly that high, but it generates an interesting discussion about the differences between a professional blog and a (personal) blog.

Bluegrass

Bluegrass, originally uploaded by avclub.

My feet. Not my guitar, unfortunately.