Graphika Manila 2008 Spoilers
Just got from a reliable source, named Aram B. LOL. International speakers for Graphika Manila 2008 are:
(highlight below please :P)
<spoiler start>
Toki Doki
Kristophe Verge - lead animator from Pixar
<spoiler end>
It just so happened the event will happen on Sept 20 of this year, same day as my 3-day Global Pinoy Bazaar in Rockwell Tent. Kainez.
Solar Halo
One lazy Sunday afternoon my brother noticed something unusual in the sky. It looked like an eclipse.
This was taken using Canon 400D. No camera filters or Photoshop manipulation here.
It’s somehow scary to see something like this. Is it an omen? Signs of the times? Holy shit…I think I’m being bestowed some supernatural powers.
Hehehe. I asked around and this natural phenomena is called Solar Halo:
A halo (also known as a nimbus, icebow or Gloriole) is an optical phenomenon that appears near or around the Sun or Moon, and sometimes near other strong light sources such as street lights. There are many types of optical halos, but they are mostly caused by ice crystals in cold cirrus clouds located high (5–10 km, or 3–6 miles) in the upper troposphere.
Now in Graphic Design this commonly known as the filter/effects in Photoshop - Lens Flare. Lens flare is another one of those optical phenomena commonly used in photography to give a sense of high drama to compositions. Lens flare filters were introduced in Photoshop 5.0. Later on it was one of the most abused filters in Photoshop second only to Bevels & Emboss. I’ve seen ads of cereals, fruit bowls, derma clinics using Lens flare to somehow weird extent.
These filters are handy (when used in the proper context) but that doesn’t mean you can use them with every project your working on. Filters are great tools but just like what it was said in Ecclesiastes 3, there is a time, a place, a turn for every one.
These are some ways NOT to use lens flare when it’s obviously impossible for the optical phenomena to occur in such circumstances.
Awww. (Images from Sxc.Hu)
Now this is a good alternative use for such filters
Comic Strip by Penny Arcade
If I was a character in Heroes I think I would want the power of multiple lens flare to outshine and defeat villains. But that is power fit for a sidekick rather than superhero. Now I ask this question, which is worse, multiple lens flare ability or being only powerful underwater like Aqua Man?
Carlos Santana Designs Huwwwat?
Carlos Santana designs women’s shoes. Yes, that Carlos Santana. You know, the multiple Grammy award winning Mexican legendary guitarist. He and his wife, Deborah launched together with Brown Shoe Company, Carlos by Carlos Santana
The shoes reflect the same passion, artistry, and energy generated by legendary rock icon Carlos Santana’s music. Carlos by Carlos Santana shoes are designed for women looking for hip and fashionable footwear that captures their style.
Although Carlos does not design the footwear himself, he is part of the design process. The interpretation of the multi-cultural, colorful imagery that surrounds Santana’s music brings the shoes to life. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of Carlos by Carlos Santana shoes will be donated to the Milagro Foundation, which partners with the nonprofit community to serve the needs of children and youth. Started in 1998 by Carlos and Deborah Santana, the foundation supports educational efforts to help children and youth live healthy lives, literate lives and culturally enriched lives.
They’re actually not bad. In fact I like the printed ones:
And this one is reminiscent of vintage rock and roll shaggadelic posters of the 60’s and 70’s, the swirly/floral patterns are somewhat Pucci-esque;
Now wouldn’t be nice if I can have the following posters as prints for shoes:
The Who
Pink Floyd
Canned Heat
Canned Heat
Bob Dylan
These posters from the hippie rock and roll era are amazing, wala pang Photoshop nun, no CTRL+Z, everything was done manually and no len’s flare or bevel emboss abuse either. I wonder if those designers have to be on Lucy-in-the-Sky-with-Diamonds to come up with such crazy candy colors.
Medyo na-iimagine ko na yung mukha ng friends kong kilala si Carlos Santana. Hey Des, cute shoes! Then I answer, yes it’s by Carlos Santa… you know…that guitar legend, he’s in touch with his feminine side now. But then again, I rarely find straight men comment on shoes, maybe except for Ego. HAHAHAHA. When a guy says “hey, cute shoes”, we can assume he is straight but when he says “hey, cute cork-wedge-patent-flora-and-fauna-printed-anna-sui-fall-winter-2008-collection shoes” LOL, that’s a red flag right there.
Which reminds me, once I was sifting through a lot of resumes. I read this resume from a guy, about 28 years old, management/business graduate from a top university, with this and that credentials — in short he really sounded “gwapo” then the last section of his resume reads; Interests: fashion and shoes! Oh well too bad he’s overqualified for the position or we could have been together right now…shopping for shoes.
”Don’t tap those little last-season Prada shoes at me, honey”
Enrique, the gay pool cleaner
Legally Blonde
Separated at birth:
Carlos Santana, Woodstock 69 and Chris Cornell, post-Soundgarden days
Carlos Santana, Woodstock 69 and Chris Cornell, totally irrelevant to the topic.
GIF & JPEG
Question: Isn’t standard that a web designer/web developer is supposed to know how to optimize web images? Specifically when to use GIF and JPEG?
I got a little bit “high blood” ba. This morning I asked our online job posting company if we could replace the HTML template we’ve had for our postings since it was really old. I’ve been trying to figure it out with their online CMS and discovered it cannot be done but they could customize one HTML template for us for a ridiculous price of a 5-10 pages static website. I wanted to send a template that we designed which is not an option according to them. We are a web design company and a number of our products are templates, I find it odd to pay for something we do everyday. Second, I’m not sure if they’re templates would be up to our standards. Last, the price is just ridiculous. In fairness to them they have given us great results with their service for the last five years and they are a business entity so they have to make a profit. It just happened that I would never pay that price for one HTML template since I have a clear knowledge of web design related prices here and in the U.S.
I asked anyway to have our logo replaced with the uniform format we have with our email footers. I sent our account executive the logo and he replied within 30 minutes that the new logo was uploaded. Our AE provided a link and when I saw it I was disappointed because it was a very blurry JPEG logo. I have already sent an optimized GIF version. I used the GIF format since our logo only used two web safe colors, a practice that is known to every living web developer on earth. Hayyy, so I edited the header and copied the same exact size that was on the live website and re-sent a crisp GIF file. I clearly instructed to upload the same file and not change anything. Our very efficient AE immediately sent the new header to their IT group. Only when I checked the live site again to see our logo more blurry and still in JPEG! Frustrated, I talked to our AE over the phone:
“Hi ______. Yeah, about our logo, thanks for uploading it. But I have one little itty bitty request can you please inform your IT people there to upload the EXACT file I sent because the logo right now is worst than before. It’s optimized too much. I don’t mean to be obsessive compulsive about minute little details but you see we are a web design company, although it may not be our website, it can reflect on us if we don’t even know how to optimize our web images. So please inform your IT team to upload the same exact file I sent over.”
I checked the site after a few minutes they finally got it right. Maybe I’m being too anal about it. Our HR Consultant was laughing and I was laughing at myself too for going gaga over a logo. Eh kasi naman no ang pangit talaga ng pagka-optimize masyadong tinipid sa bandwith. LOL. Come to think of it, the GIF file I sent has a smaller file size. It’s quite ironic for a website that built their business on hiring the right people to have to explain to their web development staff why the logo must be in GIF format. *sigh*.
Edit: I checked the live site again. Ugh. Hindi pa pala ayos as I initally thought it was. Ambot.
Hel-fucking-vetica
Don’t mistake legibility for communication.
David Carson | Helvetica, The Film
Last January 25 , via Google Video people had a chance to watch the documentary, Helvetica – the Film. Only to be taken down after two days because it wasn’t a legal upload. I was lucky enough to get a DVD copy from a friend who just came back from San Francisco. A one hour and 15 minute movie about a font – great, imagine if they made a film about Comic Sans!
Seeing the old pioneers of typography and hearing what they have to say about graphic design was reason enough to watch it – and the film was right, I thought they were all dead. It was a movie of old vs. new. Modern vs. Grunge. The Familiar vs Experimentation. At end of the day, it is not the tools that you have but how your final output will get your message across to your target audience.
Some graphic designers go through a Helvetica obsession phase, some get over it, some don’t. I like Helvetica but I’m not obsessed with it. Variety is the spice of life.
One of the best decisions of they made was change the former name of it - Neue Haas Grotesk. I can’t even pronounce that name without phlegm coming out of my esophagus. Helvetica literally means — the Swiss font.
Paul Scher was amusing in her anecdote, I like the way that she associated certain fonts with memoirs. She didn’t like Helvetica because not conforming felt like being rebellious with her mom. According to her the font was responsible for the wars that have happened in the past years, it was the type face of choice for WWII and the recent wars in Iraq - hilarious and weird but she may actually have a point. On the same note, when I was choosing a type for my logo I choose the font, DIN Light. I originally wanted a serif font but I preferred the look of this:
For a certain period I always used this type in my design studies and I had no idea why. It dawned on me why I love this type so much. It was the font that my brother used in his draft plans when he was still an architecture student. The German brand Steadler had a lettering template for this font. The smooth, straight, black outlines , the clean spaced letters and titles of the finished drafts looked charming to me. Thus, began with my fascination with art instruments. Whenever one of his pens disappeared the culprit would be me. I had no idea that they were that fragile and expensive — hindi pala sila pareho ng Panda ballpen. When I took up Fine Arts in college I inherited what was left of his drawing instruments.
This film also made me realize that I miss designing so much. And I mean soooo much in 72pt Helvetica Bold. When I took on a management role I had to leave the design part. As much as I want to practice it when I get home I’m just too tired and too sleepy to do anything.
Stumbled upon this alternative Helvetica shirt to add in my shopping list:
Not-so-blind item:
One of the design legends pictured above, who has a semi rock star status, reportedly has a 5 figure US$ design talk talent fee. The total cost of bringing him/her in one of our local, and probably, only design conference would amount to quarter of a million pesos.
Joy Division Tribute Sneakers
Nike and New Balance made prototypes of these sneakers that pay tribute to Joy Division. I would love to have these but I’m not a sneakers type of person so they will probably end up for display purposes. I know four of my friends who would die to have a pair. Unfortunately, they’re just that… prototypes.
The sneakers shows an image from the album Unknown Pleasures by Peter Saville. He also worked on many Joy Division, New Order and a number of punk album covers.
