Moving Day

Moving is always a strange environmental metamorphosis that inadvertently translates to a transformation of self. It changes the way you live, the way you think, the way you perceive the world around you.

It's also probably one of the most annoying things I must do almost every year living as a college student.


Quadron - Slippin' (Natural Self Remix) (MP3)

Salutations

Last one in the series. Of course I gotta make it legit, right? I guess that explains why I just spent the last 6 hours painting wheat and shirt patterns. PS CS5.

And for the extremely curious, here's the original photo (courtesy of Patrycja) used as reference.

Hunting for the Greenest, Healthiest Water Bottle

I'm so over plastic Nalgene. It's time to look for the most rugged, greenest, and healthiest water bottle out there. That means no aluminum casing, cheap plastic tops, or carbon positive manufacturing. So far, only the Guyot Standard stainless steel bottle ($25) fits the bill. Any thoughts?

Snack On This

Second to last. This one has a little more attitude than the rest. Enjoy, but careful not to get bitten. PS CS5.

Kick-Ass Review

Must be on a good movie streak these past few days. Just caught Kick-Ass on BluRay last night. The verdict? Why yes, it certainly kicks some major ass. Perhaps maybe too much ass. But don't get it twisted; this is no cheap Spy Kids ripoff. This is its own little monster - no pun intended. Not only is the acting surprisingly excellent, but the movie has the rhythm required to combine comedy, action, and drama in such an energetic way that it'll leave you feeling like you've been injected with a mental shot of adrenaline. It's that good. 8.9/10.

Into the Sun

Painting plaid is really annoying it turns out. Big surprise. Two more pieces until the series is complete. PS CS5.

100 Things Designers Carry

Remember when I asked 30 designers about the types of things they carry in their bags every day? Well, I drew them all. Okay, almost all of them. These are going to go into the cover of a blank sketch book sold at Learning Treasures for $3.50. Get yours, son!

I Miss My Spike Jonze

I really miss my edgy, witty, and stylized Spike Jonze commercials. Luckily, there seems to be a few folks out there striving to recreate that visual magic. This one's Coca-Cola's "Burn Ignite" promo for their new Burn energy drink. Weeee!

Design X Friction

There is this idea of "simplicity" in design and then there is "frictionless" design - a novel concept inspired by Peter of Adaptive Path. For a design to be considered "genius" does not come easy; plenty of work must be taken into account while avoiding what many companies out there today often do instead; overloading touchpoints with biased remarkability and shareability in the hope that something catches on and creates a brand evangelist. This is both confusing and annoying. 

A great design is to create a frictionless experience, with context-aware friction points embedded every so often to create that, "Aha!" moment that everyone knows and love. This also suggests that a frictionless design may be very complex in nature - and that's fine. Take the dSLR camera: it's complex with hundreds of features, but should be easy enough to pull out and snap a photo in a matter of seconds.

All that said, I believe the key to perfected "frictionless" design may inevitably be composed of a brilliantly orchestrated implementation of information architecture, showcase aesthetic design, and be highly complex in nature without the user ever knowing it.

Serbia

I think her shirt said, "I love (love) yu." Anyway, another 4 hours of technical flexing. Adobe PS CS5. Enjoy!

High Fashion Interaction

Here's a line I don't think is tread over enough in the field of HCI; high fashion. It's a niche market, but I think there's something undeniable existential about viewing the world through a purely aesthetic eye. Culturally abundant and highly relevant in all media forms; print, clothing, art, and digital expression - one can surely learn a thing or two about designing for context in a field so creative that it's literally bursting at the seams.

Photos from Fashion Bits and Bobs

Inception Review

While I humbly must disagree at the IMDB placement of the movie Inception as #3, above Godfather, City of God and American History X, there is no doubt in my mind that it is Nolan's best work yet. Everything in the movie strives to take your breath away - from the deliciously layered storyline that works like a velvet cake to the gripping cast that delivers on all fronts. Meanwhile, Zimmer floors us with yet another unmistakable ensemble that carries the weighty material forward like an unstoppable train. I'll argue with anyone on this one; it's by far the best movie of Summer 2010, hands down. 9.1/10.