Work

Thinking about my presentation a couple hours later, I’m not surprised to realize I was definitely the gushing fool in a few too many areas. I mean, lying on the floor with one elbow propping me up and saying “come hither”* in front of all-educated, all-female audience (one half my peers, the other half evaluating…

I haven’t been getting out much lately. There are rumours brewing. So a sampling of some ongoing and near-completed projects (some pay me, some vice-versa) I’ve been working on.

Favicons are important because they give a more immediate indication of what website an address or bookmark is associated with. They reinforce a visual identity with a site. Pictures speak faster than words.

Correlate iTunes track ratings with play counts, play count acceleration, and time. As in, for ex. as a song’s play count increases, and the durations between play cycles decreases, over time a predication could be made by the software as to that track’s star rating, for ex. A rapidly-increasing play count may indicate I like…

A variety of t-shirt design ideas I mocked up last night for the NoArt Collective t-shirt design competition. Mock-ups created in Photoshop and Illustrator. Model images stolen from American Apparel

Self-directed project in progress, inspired/spurred by a friend who made a similar timeline of her life for my clarity and memory (sick of repeating herself). Interesting exercise in info-design, self-centredness and figuring out just what’s been important over the past 26 years. Notes on a piece of scrap paper of significant events. Simple linear timeline…

National electricity, privatization and giant moths on this week’s E is for Effort podcast. Download Episode 3 – Power Supply 3.3MB mp3 / 3:29

This week we explore behind the veil of technology and discover what’s really inside a hard drive. Download Episode 2 – Demystifying Technology 4.8MB mp3 / 5:02

E is for Effort is the name of the podcast I recently created with Andreas (a podcast is like a self-published radio show that you can download online as an mp3 file). This means we have also launched a new website at http://eisforeffort.ca. Being two young guys attending an art and design school, our motive…

A list of some of the more popular entries (past and present) on this website that keep popping up in the comments, stats and searches.

It’s fun looking for ways to improve existing designs, critique them, look at solutions and drawbacks, etc. Then there’re the designs that warrant an immediate reaction. I want to start cataloguing instances that illicit a teeth grinding “What the Hell People!?”. First up this week: The Vancouver Art Gallery membership card, which I recently purchased…

I often wonder what I do all day in front of the computer. For now I’ll just take a quick look at my email habits. I spend a lot time writing them. My sent folder tells me I’ve fired off over 1,000 emails since Jan. 1, 2005, half of which are recreational: planning rides with…

As of today I’ve been accepted to begin studies at two design schools in Vancouver: Cap College’s three-year Illustration and Design diploma and Emily Carr’s four-year Foundation and Communication Design degree. I’ve got to decide on one and I’m looking for advice from alumni, established designers, anyone. For those not familiar with one or both…

My interview and exam for the IDEA program at Capilano College went as well as I could hope for. I’ll likely know this week if I’m accepted.

The completed form I must submit with my portfolio to the Capilano College Illustration / Design: Elements & Applications (IDEA) Program in Vancouver. Includes four contemporary artists / designers I admire, plus why I want to go to Cap.

Four art trading cards I created Thursday night for a Friday afternoon exchange with some students at UVic.

For a current project, five initial drawings directly referencing existing woodblock prints. Eventually to be tweaked, vectorized and coloured.

Exercises in life drawing created in conjuction with a Portfolio Development course I am attending at Capilano College.

An exercise in colour composition using pasted magazine and newspaper collage, inspired by work I saw at a local exhibit.

Inspired by this photoset. Two shots taken with remote capture using a Canon d-Rebel, layered in Photoshop.

The first installment of scanned images from my sketchbook, a recent and ongoing exercise in learning to draw in preparation for design school.

I’ve prepared a draft design for an exhibit website I’ve been hired to create and I’m looking for constructive feedback. Check out my notes on it, view the template and let me know what you think.

Just coded my last tag, fired off my last email, wrapped up four months as a contract employee with the local web design firm zero one design inc. A really valuable experience. So in the light of a great sunset tonight, some music on the winamp and a nice cold beer, alone I toast the…

Current web projects I have in production, both as an employee of zero one and on my own: Museum-affiliated resource on shipwreck history; An arts organization summer event; Local athletic trainer; Northwest chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians.

Seven straight days of non-stop CSS website construction. Immersed in a world of W3C specifications, cross-browser and cross-platform testing, debugging, retesting. A labyrinth of glitches, discussion boards, tips, tutorials. Holly Hacks and Tantek Hacks, box models and stray floats. Three Pixel Jogs. Peek-a-boo bugs. IE 5.x, IE 6.x, NN, Safari! I have six hour stretches…

CSS website formating on the mind this week. Have taken my basic knowledge of W3C-validated CSS2 and kicked it up a major notch for a current zero one project to be launched in a few weeks. Will also soon implement complete CSS control over this, my personal website. Bye-bye hacked tables and gif spacers and…

Spent Monday morning tutoring the Writing 216 class at the University of Victoria. 216 is a four-month magazine journalism class I’ve been called in to regularly over the past year in order to orient students with designing, directing and printing a final-project magazine with Quark and now InDesign. I outline the major issues they can…