Colors...Pretty

Wedding e-vite design

2011-08-29T17:07:00.001-05:00

Wedding e-vite design
Originally uploaded by barrettportfolio

Cinco De Mayo Graphic

2009-05-01T14:07:00.001-05:00

Cinco De Mayo graphic for an email campaign.
Originally uploaded by barrettportfolio

I designed this for an upcoming email campaign. Never let it be said that I'm afraid to experiment with color or type.

Recent Designs...

2009-02-26T12:03:00.008-06:00

I've been meaning to update the blog. I'm planning to publish some new color inspiration posts soon (so check back). Until then, here's a peak at some recent design work I created since starting my new job.

I'm working as an in-house designer for a precious metals company. I've mostly been doing a lot of graphics for targeted email campaigns. It can be challenging featuring coins and currency in new an interesting ways, but I try to design each one with its own unique look and feel. These one-off graphics allow me to experiment with image compositing and typography. In other words, they're fun!

Swanky graphics created for email campaigns:

What I'm Working On

2008-12-24T15:50:00.001-06:00

Originally uploaded by barrettportfolio

Taking a first pass at an e-commerce website redesign. Needs work but I am pleased with the direction it is going.

Christmas Memories

2008-12-24T08:36:00.001-06:00

This song is one of my Christmas favorites. Makes me feel like I'm a kid all over again.

What I'm Working On...

2008-11-13T16:21:00.005-06:00

Here's a homepage design direction I created yesterday for a youth-targeted micro site.

Back In The Saddle

2008-11-13T09:27:00.010-06:00

Well, for the two people in Scandinavia who never gave up hope that I would blog again your patience is going to be rewarded today. I'm dusting off my blogging shoes (yes, the ones made by blogging shoe elves no less) and I'm going to be making updates to my blog again and generally filling the blogosphere with the yummy design goodness it's been missing. Aren't you glad? Of course you are.

I wasn't feeling very inspired this past year. Let's just say I took an occupational detour that did not lend itself to creativity. But I'm designing again and feeling very good about it. So to get things started I'm posting some links to make your design day a little brighter, whiter, and smilier.

Linkage to make you smiley:

Hand Drawn Font
Are you envious of all of those handwritten elements popping up all over the place? Create your own handrawn font. This tutorial will walk you through the process.
http://www.bittbox.com/fonts/how-to-make-a-hand-drawn-font

Image Capture & Sharing
This is the best screen capture software in the universe. Lots of cool features make taking captures and organizing them a breeze. You can also share your images online.
http://skitch.com

Vintage Ads
If you love vintage ads the way I love vintage ads then you have to give this page a visit.
http://wellmedicated.com/inspiration/50-inspiring-vintage-advertisements

Argyle Pattern Swatches For Illustrator
Why? Because Argyle is the new black.
http://colorburned.com/2008/10/50-astonishing-argyle-pattern-swat.html

Free Seamless Background Patterns
You know what they say. You can never be too rich, too thin, or have too many seamless background patterns. Am I right?
http://patterns.ava7.com

Well, that's enough for today. Enjoy!

Dear Joaquin Phoenix, WTF?

2008-11-09T19:38:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite, favorite, favoritest actors in the entire world is apparently wandering around like a weirdo and announcing his retirement from acting. I don't get it. I wish someone would help the poor guy. He's obviously in trouble. I've always been a Joaquin Phoenix fan. I loved Joaquin in Gladiator. I loved him back in the day when he was starring in To Die For with Nicole Kidman. But most of all I loved him in Quills. I've seen almost all of his movies including Space Camp. I even have an old GQ in my house somewhere with Joaquin on the cover. This makes me really sad. And a little pissed. Why can't some crappy actor I don't like retire instead? There are plenty of those.

Well I hope he gets his act together because Joaquin Phoenix is a fine actor and I don't want to wake up some day and see some crappy segment on E-TV about how he overdosed or something stupid like that.

A overly sappy youtube video featuring the goodbye knuckles. One word. Bizarro.

So long Joaquin. Happy Trails to you...

One of the best movie scenes...ever.

2008-11-02T13:01:00.000-06:00

Spock Sings "Put A Little Love In Your Heart"

2008-03-22T16:11:00.003-05:00

I used to watch old Star Trek reruns after school when I was in the fourth grade. Ever since then I've loved Mr. Spock. So I was tickled beyond words to come across this funny gem which features my favorite green-blooded, half-breed, pointy-eared sweetie crooning his heart out to a slideshow of his album art. Enjoy.

Design Samples

2008-01-09T15:56:00.002-06:00

Well, I just got the bad news that Zoto will be closing its doors in about a month. It's a real shame but the money just isn't there to support a full time staff. We were really close to exiting a few months ago but the stars did not align properly (stupid stars). So now it's time to hang up our hats. It's been a great experience and I've learned so much during my 2+ years working at Zoto as their designer. It's a little heartbreaking but hopefully another door will open now that this one is closing. And if, behind that open door, is a room full of money OR a nice new job then I will be a happy camper. I need need a new gig ASAP. I guess it's a good thing I've been working on my new site which I will try to have up and running this weekend at www.colorspretty.com.

My contact info:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/karabarrett
email me at kara[at]colorspretty.com

In the meantime, here a some interface design samples from my portfolio.

Daily Color Inspiration: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

2008-01-02T20:24:00.000-06:00

My Buffy The Vampire Slayer inspired palette is comprised of custom colors I created that have Buffy-related names (including Joss Whedon Beige). I think this palette really captures the vibrant, campy nature of my beloved show. Use these colors in your next project and then you can brag to all of your equally geeky BTVS friends about it! Enjoy!

Buffy Colors

Daily Color Inspiration: Miss Suzy

2007-12-28T14:35:00.001-06:00

I have fond memories of this book about a little squirrel who is kicked out her tree by a group of mean red squirrels (don't you it hate when that happens?). She takes up residence in a beautiful dollhouse and befriends a nice group of toy soldiers. Artwork by Arnold Lobel.

Best and Worst of 2007 (My Top Picks)

2007-12-27T15:56:00.001-06:00

Yep. It's the end of the year. You know what that means? Lots and lots of best of and worst of lists for 2007. You can add mine to the heap. I've put together a list of the stand-out services and software I used in 2007. Some of them I loved. Some of them I despised with a fiery, I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter kind of passion. Enjoy.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED IT (2007's top picks)

COLOURlovers (online color tools and community)

I love this site. Did I mention the word love? Because I'm going to do just that, at the very least, about 20 more times. COLOURlovers allows its users to create custom palettes, colors, and patterns and share them. I learned about COLOURlovers earlier this year but never really used the service until recently when I needed to source a palette for a new project. I signed up for an account and I've been hooked ever since. I love creating palettes and blogging them. COLOURlovers has a nifty tool that allows me to link to a picture that inspires me and create a palette based on that image. The instant feedback from other users is great. I love the community and interaction of this site (think: flickr meets color). I also love having an archive of colors that I've used for my blog or for a project right at my fingertips when I need it. If you're a designer and you haven't spent the time to sign up for an account, then do it. Do it now. (Okay, not right now. Finish reading my blog first). This is a great service that is only going to get better. If it were a puppy, I'd buy it and take it home and feed it yummy kibble.

Tumblr (blogging platform)

This is a fun service that simplifies blogging via tumblelogs (think mini-blogs). It's a snap for novice users (or really dumb people) to sign up and start posting content online. I love their layouts, the customization options, and the fact that you can post music. Are there things I would change? Yes. But overall, I have had a great experience with my own tumblelog. I'm excited to see the direction this company takes in 2008.

Flickrriver (photo tool)

This little service does one simple thing and it does it well (letting you view flickr content). Maybe that is the key to success with good companies and services - Keep it simple. Flickrriver lets me grab photos or a photo set from a flickr account (via a username) and create a simple widget (or a cool, infinite scroll-y widget) to embed in my website or blog. I recently showcased Eric Natzke's work on my blog via a flickrriver widget. Check it out.

FontDoc (font software)

A freeware program that lets you preview text (that you type) with the fonts installed on your machine. Nifty when you are quickly trying to select a typeface for a logotype or tagline.

LOOP for Firefox (extension to upload, covert and combine your files to PDF)

You can assemble pdfs in a breeze with this tool. It came in handy for me a couple of times this year when I needed to combine multiple single pdf files together in one file but didn't have the Adobe software to do it.

Blogger (blogging platform)

I have been mostly pleased with the big upgrade that Blogger launched this past year. In some ways it's much easier for me to adjust the look and feel of my blog template. The auto saving when composing a draft is terrific and the platform seems really stable. I haven't experienced much, if any, down time. There are a few things that still need improving. For instance, I absolutely cringe at the way Blogger handles the photos that are uploaded through their interface. The image degradation is terrible. I've discovered that the best solution is to link directly to my flickr images. I would also really, really like it if Blogger made it possible for me to upload music files (like those cool kids at Tumblr). But all in all, Blogger provides me with a nice, customizable blogging solution. And it's free. So I can't complain (although some nifty new layouts would be the definition of sweet).

I DIDN'T LOVE IT (2007's not-so-top picks)

ClassicFTP (ftp software for the mac)

Oh. My. God. This ftp client freezes up every single time I double click a folder. Terrible.

DropSend (online storage...allegedly)

I signed up for a paid account on DropSend even though they were a bit more expensive than other online storage solutions I found. But I didn't mind. I liked the design of their site, the simple interface, and their nifty uploader software. I had a big warm fuzzy for this service. Well, that changed. I missed ONE billing cycle because I lost my debit card. A new one was issued but I didn't get the new card info posted before they tried to bill me for that month. So basically, I forgot to update my account with the new card information (these things happen, right?). When I realized that I needed to update the information I tried to log into my account to update it. Guess what? My account didn't exist and DropSend DELETED everything. My account contained photos and other items that I did not have backed up anywhere else (because I thought they were safe). I lost all of my files. When I contacted the company they were incredibly slow to respond, unsympathetic, and eventually put me in touch with some programmer who told me my stuff was gone and he couldn't get it back. Unbelievable. Seriously, my card could only have been rejected one time. It wasn't like my account had lapsed for months. To make matters worse I never received an email (yes, I've heard Zoto users claim this kind of thing, too). But in my case, it's the truth. I was surprised because at Zoto we keep people's photos around a LONG time (like FOREVER). Dropsend? DELETES your crap ASAP. I didn't have a backup of my dropsend backup which means that every single dime I spent on this service was wasted. I might as well have driven around and thrown money out of my car window. How can I best describe how I feel about this service? Let me put it to you like this. If Dropsend was a run by a group of sweet little old ladies, I wouldn't care, I'd still kick them in the shins (hard) and tell them they suck.

ConceptShare (online design collaboration)

Concept share allows designers to post their design comps online for review and collaboration (perfect for teams who work remotely). The concept is great. But our team tried it and I really wasn't that impressed with V1 of the site. To be fair they've released a V2 of the site I haven't checked out yet. Don't get me wrong. It's not a bad service but I definitely didn't love it and I was not impressed enough with it to keep shelling out $20 bucks a month for it. I did like aspects of the product like the ability to circle and make notes on the comps (for me this was the most useful part of the application). But even that functionality was a bit awkward and fell short of my expectations. I do a lot of interface design work. It can be a bit overwhelming to manage because there are tons of design comps. Even something simple, like a sign up form, can have dozens of comps associated with it, all depicting the different scenarios of user interaction. Those designs have to be reviewed, discussed, modified, resubmitted, and the final (approved designs) have to be uploaded to a place where the programming team can reference the final comps along with notes about functionality. In fact I would estimate that the Zoto 3.0 redesign had virtually hundreds of comps designed for it by the time it was complete. It stands to reason that any project with Zoto's kind of scope and magnitude is going to require a pretty awesome tool. But Conceptshare isn't that tool. Although it would probably be a useful tool for small (baby) projects, it falls short in meeting the needs of large (big boy) project work. As a UI designer I need to batch upload dozens of comps easily and quickly, mark on them, tag them, make notes, and then send them to everyone on the team. I also need a really good way to keep everything organized. I wasn't able to do this easily on Conceptshare. In the end, I went back to the solution we used for developing Zoto - a dedicated wiki. This service does have a lot of potential and I'll definitely keep my eye on it. If they made some enhancements to the UI (a nifty batch organizer like Zoto?) and combined it with an invoicing utility it would be the most rockin' freelancing tool ever.

Digg (popular social news site)

I used to love this site. That's right. You spell that L-O-V-E with a capital L. But not so much lately. The bottom line is that unless you take the time to cultivate a group of friends who are willing to reciprocate diggs (votes), your stories are NEVER going to make it to the front page. That is a fact. As a reader I am also disgusted by the sheer volume of (how can I put this politely?) crap that makes it to the front page. And the most important section of the site (to me at least), the design section, is anorexic of any genuine design-related content (hey kids, CSS is not design - fyi). I still visit the site and try to submit articles from my blog because the site is immensely popular and someday I'd like to have more than 5 regular readers. But when Digg changed its format and opened up the floodgates to mainstream users it killed a really good thing. Sorry, Mr. Rose. But your news site suck balls. Nuff said.

Twitter (post stuff you're doing)

I tried. In earnest. Really. But I still don't get it. I know I'm supposed to like it because everyone else likes it and thinks it's très genius. I do think that the site is pretty (just my 2¢ cents) and I will admit that the popularity of this service has made it fun to find people and "follow" their Twitter posts (daily snippets). I've particularly enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of the WGA and I would love, love, love to follow Joss Whedon on Twitter (if he had an account). So KUDOS to Twitter for legitimizing the voyeuristic, stalker-y tendencies of some internet users and simultaneously capitalizing on the narcissistic natures of others. But at the end of the day, it's just people blogging sentences. Plain and simple. What is even worse, is that most of the time it's stuff like, "I had coffee at Starbucks. The hippie girl at the counter had a nose ring". Um, okay. See what I mean?

Notes:
I mentioned Zoto quite a bit in this post. In case you are wondering, Zoto is an online photo hosting and sharing application. I've spent the past 2 years working on their interface and redesigning it. The new design launched in March of 2007.

Daily Color Inspiration: Vintage Ronald Reagan Ad

2007-12-26T16:26:00.001-06:00

I took break from my blog during the holidays but I'm back now and serving up a new palette. Enjoy this vintage ad featuring a young Ronald Reagan pimping cigarettes for Christmas. Ho, ho, ho...holy cow, Mr. President.

Check out the festive Christmas-card cartons. You don't see those anymore, do you?

Tasty Design Nibblets

2007-12-21T15:49:00.001-06:00

Oh, yes. These are the num-num-nummiest design links you will find all day.

Rock Band Logos

Ali Edwards Art Journals
The beautiful layouts of this scrapbooking maven are beyond words.

Design*Sponge
Design*Sponge is a daily website dedicated to home and product design run by Brooklyn-based writer, Grace Bonney. A great resources and I love the the scrappy shabby-chic design.

Scrapbooks = Genius
"All the best creative people I've ever worked with have kept scrapbooks. They're always snappers-up of ideas and the physicality of a scrapbook ads something to the process."

Russell Davies wrote this great entry way back in 2006. I just stumbled across it again in my old bookmarks. Great little read for creative types.

WEAR palettes
Love, love, love the concept of blogging color (as you can see from the daily color inspiration posts that I recently introduced as a regular part of my blog). Most of my inspiration comes from vintage albums, posters, and misc artwork. Wear Palettes is a creative little blog that takes its inspiration from fashion. Like me, they also post palettes from COLOURlovers. Enjoy perusing this fantastic color palette blog based on fashion photos from the satorialist.

Daily Color Inspiration: Vintage Egypt Travel Poster

2007-12-21T11:23:00.000-06:00

Another great vintage travel poster with a wonderful palette. Enjoy.

The Blog Is Blue

2007-12-21T11:08:00.000-06:00

Okay, I changed my mind again. Now the blog is blue (like a big sky filled with design-y goodness). Enjoy. The pink was just too much. So let's try this for awhile. Who knows. Perhaps I'll go back to a traditional white background in a few weeks. But white is sooo boring. I really like keeping it colorful.

Like my colors?

The Blog Is Pink.

2007-12-20T21:15:00.000-06:00

So I got a bit tired of the green and decided to mix it up a bit. I'll probably be changing it again in a few weeks. I don't see any reason why my blog design and color scheme should be set in stone. Design should be versatile. It's one of the reasons I keep it (the blog) intentionally simple. I like switching out logotypes and colors when the mood strikes me. Besides, I doubt the five people from the Ukraine who read my blog will mind.
;)

Daily Color Inspiration: Dr. Suess

2007-12-20T13:01:00.000-06:00

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss was the first book I ever read. Don't ask me how I remember that. I don't know. Honestly, there are parts I can still recite by heart. Who could forget the distinctive illustrations of their beloved Dr. Seuss books? I dare you not to be inspired by his colorful palette.

Would You? Could You? In a Car?

Case Study: The Evolution Of A Homepage Design

2007-12-19T20:16:00.000-06:00

As a designer I know that I enjoy reading about the process of other designers and the stories behind their design projects which is why I thought I'd take this opportunity to share my own design story on a recent project. I've spent the past couple of weeks designing for a new photo hosting site that Zoto is developing. It's an offshoot site called fotofluff that's set to launch in January. What follows is the story of the fotofluff homepage design and its evolution from initial concept to its final design iteration as a static HTML page. Although not every project is exactly the same I hope it provides a little insight into my design process, and the project itself, for anyone who's interested.

Why is the homepage so important? It establishes the look and feel of the site, communicates the brand, and directs the user to action.

The Initial design

Challenges:
1. Create a simple form on the homepage that could serve two functions. The user could either:

a) upload a photo for hosting or
b) create a fluff of photos (multi-user pool of photos)

2. No existing logo or design collateral. No copy or content. I had to write the copy, organize the content, create a logotype and drive the creative direction.

Client's Design Requirements:
Make it look as 2.0 as possible.

Communication/Design Goals:
Keep it fun and simple. Communicate what fluffs are to new users.

Creative Direction:
With this particular project I knew I wanted to do something dark and rich with the overall "look and feel". I sourced color palettes for inspiration and knew right away that I wanted the site to be brown. I had good sense of the kinds of elements I needed in this design for it to meet my client's requirements. Illustrated artwork and the diagonal lines were elements I incorporated to give the design a 2.0 aesthetic. After I had my palette in place I opened Photoshop and started creating my initial canvas. A day or so later, after adding and refining the visual elements and polishing up my comp a bit, I had a homepage design to present to my client in a meeting.

Second Pass (per post meeting notes)
After review and discussion the process of design revisions began.

Client Changes:
1. Get rid of fluff character and replace with a sheep character.
2. Modify the form (per the client's specific directions).
3. Add text explaining that unviewed fluffs will be "swept up" after 30 days.
4. Add option for users to link to photo or video (explored as a future option).
5. Remove top links to photos and fluffs (no system searching to be implemented for these items).

My Changes:
1. I balanced out the top bar and bottom bar elements on the page.
2. I centered up and tightened the content.
3. I brightened up and simplified the design by softening the bubble element. I modified its color and the form field color to a warmer shade of brown.
4. I lost the brown buttons completely and made my form buttons the same uniform, bright green.

Third Pass

Client Changes:
1. Remove divider in the form.
2. Remove the Already have a fluff? text.
3. Remove option to link to photo and video.
4. Add the word optional next to the name your fluff field.

Fourth Pass (further simplifying the form)

My Changes:
I shortened the form by making the enter mgmt code option an on demand element that would only appear after the link was clicked (a good usability decision).

Fifth Pass (Refined homepage. Overall simplification of elements.)

I have a bad (or possibly good) habit of constantly revising my designs. For me, design is a lot like writing something. I compose a rough draft and keep revising until either I'm satisfied (which is rarely the case) or it's deadline time. Usually the latter.

After working on the design for the interior pages I revisited the homepage design again (with a fresh set of eyes). I didn't feel satisfied with it. I wanted the logotype to be simpler and I wanted to remove the 2.0 treatment. I kept the same typeface (a rounded type that would still be reminiscent of the 2.0 "look and feel"). I also felt that overall the page was still too busy (too many colors, elements, and typefaces competing with each other). I wanted to do a better job of keeping the user's eyes focused on the important elements. My goal was to distill the design to its most important visual elements.

Changes & Notes To Myself:
1. Remove 2.0 treatment from logotype and add more breathing room between the characters. Change the color to something light.
2. Center up the logo with tagline on the page. Keep it direct and focused.
3. Increase font size for the form and increase length of form field (helps to create a better visual balance between the elements).
4. Darken the 'swept up' text so it attracts less visual attention.
5. Modify the text bubble by:
a) incorporating a cloud shape with rounded curves to offset the hard lines of the composition.
b) using color to bring visual attention to the text and brighten the overall design.
6. Remove photo elements.
Details: By this point I knew the site would eventually support video and possibly music so I wanted less 'photo' focus. I also felt the photo elements were too visually distracting. They just didn't work in the composition (even though I liked them). Removing them made the composition much cleaner and focused.
7. Increase font size for the form field description and button text and increase length of form field to create a better visual balance between page elements.
8. Reduce overall color elements to bring more visual attention to the upload button (which should be the focus of the page - it's our call to action).
9. Modify the sheep to keep a sense of the multiplicity that should be associated with fluffs (which was lost when the photo elements were removed).
10. Integrate the 'no sign-ups' and 'no hassles' text into the bubble text to remove unnecessary text elements on the page.
11. Change bubble type to standard Trebuchet used for the forms and default text for visual consistency and to bring visual emphasis to the tagline.

Final Design Iteration

After the final design was approved I began construction on a static version of the page that could be handed off to the developer. I tweaked the fonts and form elements slightly in the HTML version, but overall, it retains the look and feel of the final comp.

You can view the static HTML here: http://www.colorspretty.com/fluff/home/

Look for the fotofluff.com site to launch in January. I'll be posting when we are ready launch the site.

Please feel free to share your case studies and design stories (just leave your links in the comments). I'm always interested in learning about the process of other designers.

Daily Color Inspiration: Vintage Album Cover Art

2007-12-19T12:19:00.000-06:00

I dig the bright, imperfect, hand drawn and collage-y style of this cover art. It's creative and bold. That big, phallic spaceship (or missile?) beneath Jane Fonda is beyond words.

Daily Color Inspiration: "Egypt For Your Holiday" Vintage Poster

2007-12-18T16:37:00.000-06:00

Daily Color Inspiration: Eric Natzke's "Pnk"

2007-12-17T12:17:00.000-06:00

I'm a sucker for pink and this vibrant composition is all kinds of pink-ooh-la-la-delicious-goodness.

Eric Natzke's "Pnk"

Featuring two of my new color creations:

Daily Color Inspiration: Bergamo Vintage Travel Poster

2007-12-15T21:14:00.000-06:00

Featured Inspiration: The Color Green

2007-12-15T15:23:00.000-06:00

“If I keep a green bough in my heart, then the singing bird will come” - Chinese Proverb

My blog is green. You may have noticed. That's because green is my favorite color and I'm here to sing its praises. Green connotes life, fertility, renewal, nature, and hope. It has positive cultural associations across the globe. Green is second only to blue, which is the most popular color worldwide.

Green is is part of our collective consciousness regardless of country or culture. We have powerful emotional associations with it. Green is blades of grass underneath our bare feet. It's the flicker of leaves against a blue sky on a summer day. It would be nearly impossible to not associate green with good things.

Given the emotional power of green, it's easy to see why designers are eager to use it in their designs. Color has a powerful impact on people. Using the wrong color in a design can potentially alienate your audience or create a counterintuitive association with your brand. Using the right color can cement the desired association with your brand and help you succeed.

Green In Identity Design
Kudos to the following companies for being smart enough to take advantage of the positive influence of the color green in their branding.

Green In Web Design
These sharp looking sites have clued in to the beauty of the color green.

http://www.riscoaolado.com

http://www.danviv.net

http://www.freerice.com

http://www.moourl.com

http://mobygreen.com

http://www.wilsonminer.com

Fun Facts About The Color Green

Green is the most restful color for the human eye.

Researchers have also found that green can improve reading ability.

Suicides dropped 34% when London's Blackfriar Bridge was painted green.

Green has long been a symbol of fertility and was once the preferred color choice for wedding gowns in the 15th-century.

Green is used worldwide to represent safety.

Those who have a green work environment experience fewer stomachaches.

Green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye than most colors.

Green, Green, And More Green
Feeling inspired yet? Embrace your inner love for the color green. Enjoy these varied and beautiful greens I created at COLOURlovers. Maybe they will help jumpstart your next creative endeavor. Enjoy.

Music:
The Color Green (Band) - http://www.thecolorgreen.tv

Sources:
Sensational Color - All About The Color Green
About.com - Color Psychology Green
Color Matters - The Evolution Of The Symbolism Of Green In Western Culture

James Gunn Blogs...And Draws...And Curses...A Lot

2007-12-15T08:10:00.000-06:00

If the James Gunn blog were chicken fried steak then it would be the BEST chicken fried steak in the universe. It's that good. I honestly can't think of a better way to describe how much I love it. For those of you who don't know who the heck I'm talking about, James Gunn is a successful Hollywood writer and director (Slither, Scooby Doo, Dawn of The Dead).

Despite a climate of perpetual political correctness, in which most celebrities and bloggers are tripping over themselves to avoid offending anyone, James isn't afraid to put himself out there in an unabashedly raw, uncensored way. I can't help but respect him for it. His blog is funny, vulgar, and at times, oddly inspiring. If you aren't the type to be easily offended then I think you should absolutely give his blog a read. He ain't afraid of the MySpace crowd or the f-word. So consider yourself sufficiently warned.

James recently shared some of the dark, macabre comic strip doodlings of his youth on his blog. Here are a couple of his drawings that are sure to put you in the Christmas spirit. Enjoy.

Yummy Linkage

2007-12-14T20:27:00.000-06:00

I swear that some days I find the best sites. Here are some new links I'm loving. Take a quiz, be inspired, or buy a vintagey-modern poster. Mmm...yummy design related goodies for your tummy.

Tavis Coburn's Posters
http://shop.taviscoburn.com
A hot designer with a modern take on vintage poster design. Ooh la la.

The Album Art of Saul Bass
http://rateyourmusic.com
Saul Bass rocketh.

David Levine's Collection Of Graphic Design Ephemera
http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.com
What an amazing resource. I know that I personally will be spending hours pouring over his archives.

Got Wood? - Part 4 (From the Design Meltdown blog)
http://designmeltdown.com
Ha! I'm not the only one who has noticed how hot wood elements in web design have become. Great resource with lots of examples for inspiration.

Is It Art Or Is It Crap?
http://www.modestypanel.com/artorcrap
Take this quick quiz that is sure to leave you scratching your head.

Sound Splash 08
http://soundsplash.motherland.co.nz
An event website with a fun and fresh design. I totally dig it.

Color Palettes: Vintage Christmas

2007-12-13T00:00:00.000-06:00

Working on Christmas designs and bored with the usual holiday color schemes? Download and enjoy my latest color palettes inspired by vintage Christmas advertising artwork.

Daily Color Inspiration: Dick And Jane Readers

2007-12-12T16:19:00.000-06:00

I have a warm fuzzy place in my heart for the Dick and Jane textbook readers from my childhood. Their colorful illustrations are memorable and charming. Enjoy this page featuring Spot and that pesky troublemaker, Sally.

Vintage Atari Colors

2007-12-11T16:29:00.000-06:00

Palettes inspired by nostalgia for my favorite childhood video games.

Chopper Command

Bermuda Triangle

Shark Attack

Sea Hunt

Solaris

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Snoopy and the Red Baron

Marine Wars

Mega Force

Halloween

Frogs and Flies

Dig Dug

Escape From The Mindmaster

Stampede

Pitfall

Ms. Pac-Man

Donkey Kong

Centipede

Ukiyo-e Inspired Color Palettes

2007-12-06T11:21:00.000-06:00

Download and enjoy these custom color palettes I created, inspired by beautiful, ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

"Evening Snow at Edo River"

"Girl Holding Lipstick"

"Young Woman in a Summer Kimono"

Fotofluff Color Palette

2007-12-05T15:16:00.000-06:00

I love, love, love the site COLOURlovers. Today I added my fotofluff palette to their system. It's the first one I've actually contributed to the site. The best part was that 3 of the colors in my palette didn't exist on the system yet, so I got to name them. Silly, yes, but I got a kick out of it. I'm especially proud of Joss Whedon Beige. Palettes can also be downloaded as desktop wallpaper. Sweet!

I'm Listening To This - Part 2

2007-12-04T23:31:00.000-06:00

Yep, I'm still on the hunt for a great way to blog music.

My goal: Post music from a playlist named Epic on my iPod to my blog. (This is a favorite playlist of mine with movie and trailer music that's, well, epic sounding).

First, I decided to give the feature-rich service LastFM another try. Here's the breakdown.

The good.

I can create playlists and name them. As I listen to tracks on iTunes I can add them to the playlist I've created by launching the LastFM software and clicking the playlist button while the song is playing.

The bad.

I have to download and install their software. This isn't so bad but I have to have to launch it with iTunes at the same time and toggle between the two in order to build my playlist. I have iLike software installed and it integrates directly into the iTunes player. This doesn't seem to be the case with the LastFM player.

I can't import a playlist from iTunes. I have to click on each track and then add it to the playlist. It's a little cumbersome, especially if tracks are already organized in iTunes where they could be easily imported.

Each playlist has to have 15 songs before a widget can be created. I started adding tracks only to realize that my playlist wasn't long enough. One word. Ridiculous. A playlist should be any number I choose.

The really, really bad.

Not all songs can be used. Only five of the songs I selected could be added to my playlist. The other eight songs could not be used.

Not all tracks are full length. 4 of those 5 songs I was able to use were not complete tracks. They were only 30 second previews. What the frak? I want to share music. That sort of implies that I want to share the ENTIRE track, not just 30 seconds of it.

Frustrated, I continued searching for a new service. I discovered one called iMeem. Here's the breakdown.

The good.

This service lets me upload music (mp3 format) from my computer. It also supports video and photos.

I can upload graphics/cover art to accompany music tracks.

I can create custom music playlists.

I can embed a playlist on my blog or on the profile page of one of my social networks.

The not so good.

The only music file formats accepted are mp3s. Unfortunately I can't upload music that I purchased from iTunes. This is because Apple sucks and insists on holding purchased music hostage through their m4p format. Seriously, why am I still using iTunes to buy music?

Uploading music takes time. But it's worth the extra work to create custom playlists.

Associating songs with playlists and changing icons for songs is a little cumbersome. A bulk organizer would speed things up a bit.

In the end, I managed to convert my iTunes tracks and upload my files to iMeem. It took some time and some real determination but I was finally able to create the playlist I wanted share on my blog. Here it is. Tada!

Edit: I just realized this morning that some of the songs will only play for 30 seconds. You CAN listen to the full tracks (that you have uploaded) but you have to be logged in to an iMeem account first. I didn't notice last night because I was logged into my account. Arrrg. Looks like I will have to continue my hunt for a way to share music. I knew this was too good to be true.

The Epic Playlist

Confess your sins online

2007-12-04T20:20:00.000-06:00

"If we confess our sins he is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" - 1 John 1:9

Okay, this blows my mind. It's a site (mysecret.tv) where people can post their sinful confessions online, complete with it's own sin tag cloud, commenting system, and online community. The site is good looking and has a dark, dirty, noir look and feel which compliment its voyeuristic nature and serious tone. It's the most controversial thing I've seen in awhile.

I'm not quite sure what to think about it. On one hand, the small-town-girl-raised-in-a-Baptist-church part of me insists it's a little perverse and strange to post your sins on a website. Sins are supposed to be something private shared between a person and their God, right? On the other hand I think it's sort of brilliant. Web 2.0 meets religion. The designer/developer in me is impressed to see something so innovative and sharp looking. Hey, did I mention the tag cloud? There's even an RSS feed. Heck, the only thing missing are sin widgets for blogs.

Although the site claims that it is not meant to be voyeuristic, they do make the secret confessions easily accessible (remember the tag cloud?) for viewing. Reading through them is mesmerizing. It's like a car crash. You can't look away.

It's possible you might gain comfort from posting or from reading about people with similar problems (which is probably the site's intended goal). Confession is cathartic, right? It's good for the soul and all that. Then again, people do some awful things. After browsing some of the entries, you might feel a little disturbed. It's enough to make a person wonder, if there is a God, how can he stand to know all of the terrible things people do to each other? I sure wouldn't want his job.

One thing is certain, the internet is impacting social interaction in ways no one could have ever predicted. It makes you wonder, given that impact, what organized religion will look like 10 years from now.

MySecret.tv isn't the only site providing online confessions. Here are links to other popular, confession related websites.

Absolution Online
http://www.absolution-online.com
A virtual confessional for catholics. Don't worry, they won't post your sins online and genuflecting is optional.

I've Screwed Up
http://www.ivescrewedup.com
Best name EVER. A hipster site obviously targeting a younger demographic of sinners.

The Experience Project
http://www.experienceproject.com
Are you godless but still feel bad about the stuff you've done? That's ok. There's a site for you, too. Confess. Go ahead.

Ultimately, the life-changing potential and effectiveness of these sites is really anyone's guess. Do they genuinely help? Or do they just make people who've done bad things feel better about the bad things they've done? I don't know. Tell me what you think.

Unsure about your sins? Don't fret. Just refer to the The Whole Sin Catalog.

Fonty Goodness

2007-12-03T20:10:00.001-06:00

Like most designers I'm always on the font hunt. Here are a few sites I've bookmarked. Enjoy these links to some great resources for free typefaces.

The Font Diner
http://www.fontdiner.com
Fun retro fonts. Add a vintage touch to your design.

25 Free Quality Fonts
http://www.alvit.de
Serious looking fonts, for serious projects, for free.

5 Free Fonts You Shouldn't Have Missed
http://www.smashingmagazine.com
Professional looking fonts.

5 Excellent Free Grunge Fonts
http://www.bittbox.com
Who doesn't want grunge fonts? The grungier the better.

Need a snappy way to preview your fonts? Try FontDoc (it's free).

Natzke = Inspiration & Love

2007-11-29T14:45:00.000-06:00

Anyone who doesn't think math or code can be cool hasn't seen Natzke's work. I've been an Eric Natzke fan since my early days creating sites with Macromedia (now Adobe) Flash. Renowned as a Flash God back in the day, Natzke has since evolved into an amazing artist. These code based visualizations, created using Flash, are emotive and beautiful.

Eric Natzke's Site
http://jot.eriknatzke.com
Create your own flickriver
http://www.flickriver.com

Form Design Best Practices

2007-11-28T22:15:00.001-06:00

| View | Upload your own

I'm so glad I found this. I've spent more time struggling with designs for interface modals and forms since I started work at Zoto than I care to remember. Form design isn't exactly a sexy topic, but despite it's lack of sex appeal, it's one worth addressing. I'm working on forms for fotofluff at the moment, and seriously, it's a painstaking process. Forms are a big part of usability, especially with 2.0 services like Zoto, and a poorly designed form can come back to haunt you like bad Chinese takeout. Personally, I'd take a job designing a poster over designing a form any day of the week. So to all of you great form designers on the internet, I tip my hat to you.

I just wish I'd seen this slideshow a few years ago. Enjoy.

Scrappy Fonts

2007-11-28T09:57:00.000-06:00

Scrapbook-ish and handwritten fonts can add whimsy and warmth to a design. I've zipped up an archive of scrapbook fonts for download. Below is a sample of some of my favorites from this collection. I've also included some links to some free sites where you can download scrapbook fonts and create your own handwritten fonts.

Samples:

Download: Scrapbook Fonts Zip (5.4 MB)

Free Scrapbook Fonts

Scrap Village
http://www.scrapvillage.com
Kevin & Amanda
http://www.kevinandamanda.com

Create Your Own Handwritten Font

My First Font
http://www.myfirstfont.com
Fontifier
http://www.fontifier.com

I'm Listening To This

2007-11-27T19:30:00.000-06:00

I'm always rifling through tracks on iTunes (I used to do it on allofMP3.com while it was online) to discover new music for my iPod. I thought I'd post a sampling of some new bands/music I'm currently loving.

I couldn't find a service to do this properly so I just pulled some videos from YouTube. I really wish there was an easier way to blog music. I'd love a service that provides music with cover art and would let me post individual tracks, entire albums, or music videos straight to my blog. If it integrated with iTunes and if I was able to blog an entire playlist I had created that would be awesome (especially if it was formatted nicely with cover art). I have accounts at iLike and LastFM but I don't think they provide this functionality (not the way I'm describing). Those sites are overly complicated and community-based (read: not quite what I'm looking for). I signed up for their services but I hardly use them. The only thing I use iLike for is a widget for my MySpace page. LastFM will allows users to post recent music to blogs but I want more than simple music aggregation. What I really want is to be able to put together "mixtape"-type lists and then share them. I want to post them to my blog and to my social networks (like facebook for instance). Seriously, how cool would it be to create a virtual "mixtape" for a friend or for your boyfriend/girlfriend and then be able to post it to them on facebook (complete with your own custom cover art)?

I've done some searching and discovered a service called ProjectPlaylist that seems a little closer to what I have in mind. I don't think it's exactly I'm looking for and the UI is clunky but I will be signing up for an account and checking what they offer. There's also a company called Goodstorm that is actually promoting a "mixtape"- type widget. I'll check 'em both out and blog about them later.

The other problem with current music services is visual presentation. I hate the generic little players that most music services provide. I want something a little more sophisticated and with more of a bloglike visual presentation. It has to look nice and be simple to use. What I'm thinking of is basically something like Tumblr-for-music with a widget that integrates with facebook (so I can post those mix-tapes I mentioned). This service would have to have access to a kickin' music library, upload ability, and cover art for albums. And it would most definitely have to integrate with iTunes and my playlists.

But enough ranting. Here's what I'm loving. Enjoy.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Date With The Night
This band is punky and edgy and fun. I'm really digging them right now.

Blue Foundation
Silence (End of the Day)
Another group whose music I recently discovered. Moody and sexy.

Explosions In The Sky
Greet Death

The Fountain (Sountrack)
Track: Death Is The Road To Awe
This track blows my mind. I love it. I love soundtrack scores and this movie has one of the best.

So how do I find new music? Services like LastFM and iLike are too cumbersome to be helpful. Music recommendations are hit and miss. The best way I've found to search for new music is to browse iTunes (or allofMP.com) and find an artist I like and then check out the "Listeners Also Bought" section. I then head straight to their "Top Songs", sample a few tracks, and figure out whether I like them or not. I also like to check out the iMix area on iTunes. So basically I stumble around until I find what I like. That actually gives me another idea for a music service. A StumbleUpon site for music would be a totally amazing way to discover new tunes. Ahh, I wish I had some venture capital lying around (sigh).

Related Linkage:

Flickr Mixtape Cover Art Pool
http://flickr.com/groups/mixtape

The Hype Machine - Music Discovery
http://hypem.com

Goodies For Tuesday

2007-11-27T10:37:00.001-06:00

Vector Freebies & Tutorials
http://createsk8.com
All the vector your little heart could desire.

Jared Christensen Portfolio & Blog
http://www.jaredigital.com
This site is hot. And pink. Yummy portfolio site.

Unmatched Style - Design Gallery
http://www.unmatchedstyle.com
Serving up some stylish designs. Nice source for inspiration.

Top 50 Design Blogs
http://www.davidairey.com
Blogs by designers. Check 'em out, yo.

The Web 2.0 Look

2007-11-26T15:05:00.000-06:00

I ran across this today. It's a nifty presentation urging designers to change the error of their Web 2.0 (design) ways.

| View | Upload your own

I have a real love/hate thing with the Web 2.0 design style (not to be confused with actual web 2.0). On one hand I think it's very cookie-cutter and template-y looking (read: unoriginal). On the other hand it's fairly simple and straightforward to create a 2.0 design for client - just add gradients, shiny text, fat icons or screenshots, and then stir. So when a client says they want a 2.0 looking design, you know exactly what they mean. Quite frankly, less time trying to read a client's mind and anticipate their design expectations is generally considered a good thing in my book. Less time interfacing with client = more time playing fetch with my dog. That's a win/win if you ask me.

In an ideal world we could create the designs we want (and sometimes we do). But in the real world we have to follow the dictates of our clients (the people who pay us money). Just because designers are sick of the Web 2.0 look doesn't mean our clients will stop requesting it. Let's be honest. A client is more likely to say "Make it look web 2.0" rather than "Make it look amazing and brilliant and original so we can win an award and you can showcase it in your portfolio, oh great design master". And, yes, I'm certain that there are clients who end their sentences with "oh great design master". I just haven't had the good fortune to meet any yet. The reality is that when a client requests a 2.0 design (or any design for that matter) they expect you to deliver.

But what if you hate the Web 2.0 style? Can you create a design you don't hate that fits the visual criteria for the Web 2.0 Look? I'm starting to think so. I've been designing on a new project. My client's very specific and only instruction regarding the design was that it must look very web 2.0. My client isn't some local "mom and pop" from down the road. He's the Zoto CEO and an "evangelist" (read: guy who talks a lot) for a successful company in Silicon Valley. So when this client says 2.0 he means it. The result? A design with a Web 2.0 look that I don't hate. Here's an early peek at the design for the homepage.

This is a fast track project called fotofluff that should be rolling out in January. We're pretty psyched about it. Is this design of the homepage filled with Web 2.0 design clichés (gradients, diagonal lines, shiny text, and *gasp* reflections)? Yes. But I have to admit I like it anyway. And I can't wait for the site to launch. It's gonna rock.

Some 2.0 Design Linkage: (worth the read)

Analysis of Web 2.0 Design & Layout Trends – Part 1: Clean, Colorful and Horizontally Divided

How To Destroy The Web 2.0 Look

The Next Hot Style - Just As Soulless As The Last One

Original Design Gangsta

2007-11-26T14:49:00.001-06:00

...just my M A C and me
I'm so design gansta...

Yeah. That's just how I roll.

Blood Runs Red on The Highway (A Grindhouse Movie)

2007-11-23T20:06:00.001-06:00

Ha! Love it.
You really need to see Tarantino's Death Proof to fully appreciate this. Speaking of Death Proof...am I the only one who thought the first half of the movie rocked and the second half sucked balls?

Misc Design Links

2007-11-21T16:32:00.000-06:00

http://www.stripedesigner.com
You need stripes? You got it.

http://www.colourlovers.com
I love this site. Fantastic for scooping up great color palettes. Save your favorites and download swatches for PS and AI.

http://redalt.com/Tools/I+Like+Your+Colors
Nab css colors from a favorite site.

http://www.vecteezy.com
Free vectors? Who doesn't want free vectors? A treat for download-happy designers like me.

http://www.brusheezy.com
Brushes, brushes, and more brushes. Check out their pattern section while you're there.

Design à la Web - What's Hot. What's Not.

2007-11-20T18:57:00.000-06:00

(A design forecast for 2008)

The following is a list of trends that I think we are going to see more of in the next year and a few I hope we don't see again for a long time.

UPCOMING HOT TRENDS
"Ouch, this design is soo SMOKIN' HOT I burned my hand!"
Below is my list of favorite up-and-coming trends.

"Handmade"
Crafts are big in a major way offline and online. There's no doubt about it. Adding colorful patterns, collage-y graphics, handwritten fonts, and elements that look 'hand drawn' or 'handmade' can be the perfect way to visually offset techy 2.0 designs and bring an eclectic quality to your site.

Some Examples:
http://www.thisisswigg.com

http://www.mbdragan.com

http://theletter.co.uk

Others:
http://www.wishlistr.com
http://www.mariska.com

"Stripes"
From sunbursts to slanty lines, stripes are all the rage right now.

Some Examples:
http://www.crazyblinddate.com

http://www.mochiads.com

http://www.actionhead.com

"Vector Birds"
Call me crazy but I've been seeing a lot of colorful, simple vector bird art. I'm even thinking about incorporating some birdies into my portfolio site.

Some Examples:
http://dibusoft.com

http://twitter.com

"Dark Colors"
"Barbie Pink" and her "Rainbow Bright" friends are (thankfully) on the way out. It would appear that Brown is the new Black. Hey, even Maroon is making a comeback. Web 2.0 has been dominated by ultra bright color schemes but I think we will see shift back to darker, richer palettes in the future.

Some Examples:
http://corkd.com

http://www.pownce.com

http://www.youthencouragement.org

http://www.futurefabric.co.uk

"Got Wood?"
Wood panel elements are popping up everywhere. I think it's part of an overall trend to incorporate organic elements into web designs. Like handmade looking elements, it's a trend I predict we will see more of in the future of the web - since it serves as an effective means of humanizing a medium (digital) that be can often be perceived as cold and alienating.

Some Examples:
http://www.happilycreate.com

http://www.builtbybuffalo.com

http://www.blurb.com

Others:
http://corkingdesign.co.uk
http://www.carsonified.com

NOT HOT TRENDS
"This crap is sooo 5 minutes ago."
Say goodbye to design trends that have overstayed their welcome. Here's the list of what's soon to be going...going...gone!

"Glossy"

Glossy buttons and text have been the scourge of web 2.0 but even Apple (who inspired this design hurricane) has opted for muted, polished buttons in lieu of the gel-glassy buttons that were once a design staple of their website navigation.

Digg.com has also recently upgraded their popular techy news site with a new 'flat' design (sans beveled logo and buttons). Hopefully this means we are seeing an end to the shiny-glassy-glossy button for good. Everyone stand up and cheer and throw out your 'how to make crap shiny' tutorials!

"Gradients, Gradients, Gradients!"
Someone once told me that a designer uses gradients and drop shadows to disguise a poor design. And while I do think that gradients have their place I also think they should be used sparingly. I believe we will see a design shift away from heavy gradient use in the upcoming year (at least by good designers).

"Reflections"

Enough already with the reflections. Like Gradients they should be used sparingly. Hopefully we'll see less of these in the coming months.

"Floral Vines"

Did everyone and their dog buy the same 'vector floral-vine' clipart? You've seen it (or some iteration of it) in a thousand places and the whoever who drew it is a millionaire now. But enough is enough. It's almost 2008 and I'm so over the 'web is a garden' metaphor.

"Stock Photography"

I'm pretty certain that the handful of designers that didn't get the "stock photography is lame." memo when web 2.0 design started dominating the scene must have surely clued in by now. Icons and Cartoony clipart are all the rage (just ask the cool kids). So get with the program, lame-designer-guy. I'm sorry you spent a $100 bucks on a high-res photo of two guys shaking hands. Have a good cry about it. Maybe you can make a poster out of it and mount it on your wall so that it's not a total loss.

Don't worry. Someday stock photos of corporate guys in suits smiling and shaking hands will be back in style. Good thing I have a big stack of (now worthless) stock photo discs I burned onto cds before I left my last job. No, I'm not bitter. Globes and corporate suits are sooo making a comeback... around the same time animated gifs do.

HOT TRENDS (STILL)
"Our love is here to stay."
These trends are sticking around. And I'm glad.

"BIG Text"

Yes. I love it. I wear glasses so what do you expect? Tiny pixel text be damned.

"BIG Buttons"

I need big buttons. You need big buttons. Everyone knows that usability is all about the BIG button. Well, in theory, anyway. Personally, I just think they are more fun to click.

"Vector Paper Clipart & Illustrated People/Animals"

From photo frames, to notepad paper, to paper with curled edges and paper with torn edges - vector paper clipart is here to stay.

Designs with illustrated elements of people and cutesy animals also seem to be a favorite with designers and won't be going away any time soon. It almost makes me wish I could draw. I'd make a fortune selling stock illustration.

"Bright Blue Hyperlinks"

Flickr and Delicous just wouldn't be the same without them. Jacob Nielson must be so happy (and probably smug) about this one. I just don't think the pesky blue hyperlink is ever going away.

So concludes my list. Now tell me, what are some of your favorite up-and-coming trends?

Random Links For A Rainy Monday

2007-10-22T19:46:00.000-05:00

300loveletters
http://www.sleeptrip.com/300loveletters/2.html

An arty-fartsy little project where the author has written 300 letters to family, lovers, friends, and even crushes. Perfect if you are in the mood for a little online voyeuristic letter reading.

I love the yummy color coated interface. Each color block represents a love letter. The different colors indicate relationship types.

PostSecret
http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

An ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

The Napkin Dad
http://www.flickr.com/photos/digioreo/sets/1494002/

A series of drawings and quotes on napkins this flickr dad put in his daughters' lunches for jr. high and high school every day over a 5 year period.

The Twinkie: Ingredients Revealed
http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22177/35281

Because, you know, twinkies.

Some Little Gems

2007-09-25T17:13:00.000-05:00

Just thought I'd share a couple of fun links I came across today.

PatternHead
http://www.patternhead.com/
I love this site. Raster and vector patterns for designers.

Today's Inspiration
http://todaysinspiration.blogspot.com/
Simply the coolest little blog about vintage illustration from the 40's and 50's.

Which Is Hotter?

2007-09-24T18:06:00.000-05:00

So which is hotter? Jensen Ackles or the new 'manly man' wood panel background I created for this album? Sorry, Jensen. My custom background is totally hot. You lose.

Check it out at : http://www.zoto.com/winchester/albums/

My First Zoto Flash Album

2007-09-20T12:40:00.000-05:00

Check it out at : http://www.zoto.com/kbarrett/albums/10930/

Woohoo! We just launched our Zoto flash albums this morning. Things look good. We're just testing and searching for pesky bugs. Of course I've had some complaints from the guys around the office that I haven't included enough 'manly man' backgrounds (sheesh) so I'll be whipping some up today.

Hmm...now where did I put that guide to 'manly man' design?

Zoto Launching Customizable Flash Albums

2007-09-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

We are about to launch flash albums for our Zoto users this week. As the designer I approached the planning and design process with the goal in mind that I wanted to give the users a lot of control over the look and feel of their albums, something that I have found to be lacking in my experience with other photo hosting sites. I also wanted to incorporate a lot of room for design versatility. Our users range from soccer moms to pro photogs. By offering layout, typeface, background, and color options our Zoto users will be able to mix and match to create their perfect album.

We're doing some final rounds of testing at the office today and waiting for some final changes/notes from our CEO (don't those client/boss types always throw a few last minute wrenches into things?) but we are pretty happy with the end product so far. Here's a sneak peek at our rockin new albums and some of the great customization options our users can enjoy.

What makes our new flash albums so great?

Layout control.

I created 6 basic layouts. A variety of simple and tasteful layouts let the user choose how they want to display their photos.

Custom Backgrounds, Typefaces, and Colors.

Users can dress up their layout by picking from custom backgrounds (themes) or solid colors.
They can choose from several distinctive typefaces that range from traditional to fun and scripty.
Users can control font size, font color, link color, hover color, and photo border colors.

Elastic goodness.

All of the albums are created to resize to your browser window so whether you are viewing an album on your laptop or on a large screen it will display at the largest size possible.

Be on the lookout for our new albums to launch by the end of the week.

Technorati Tags : zoto, zoto.com, photo sharing, web 2.0, jensen ackles is an uber hottie

うさうさＰＶ／嗚呼うさの道

2007-08-23T10:53:00.001-05:00

As I watched I couldn't help but wonder:

1. Why is there a marching band?
2. Why is she doing that arm aerobic thingy all of the time?
3. Fish? What is the deal with the fish?

I don't quite understand it. But I am mesmerized nevertheless.

The Top 5 Best & Worst Sci-Fi Television Series Opening Sequences...EVER.

2007-08-18T02:10:00.000-05:00

All of this recent blogging about opening title sequences got me thinking. So I geeked out and put together this uber-funtastico list.

The Best

Star Trek
Absolute perfection. It's like I'm in 4th grade watching the old reruns after school. It's enough to make a gal nostalgic for warp speed engines, tribbles, and pointy ears.

Twilight Zone
A classic. It goes without saying.

Battlestar Galactica (70's) Intro
Gosh, it's all so pretty and majestic.

The Jetsons
Brilliant.

Lost in Space
"Looooost...iiiinnnn....Spaaaaace...." Nuff said.

Roswell
Memorable because of the standout song that skyrocketed Dido's career.

The Worst

Automan
So bad and so retro that maybe it's come full circle and it's actually good now. Err...nope. Still bad. I am willing to admit I watched this show. It was the coolest...when I was like 10 or something.

Land of the Lost (70's)
Yeah, baby. Dinosaurs are scary. Run for the hills (which look suspiciously like cast offs from the old Star Trek set). If nothing else this sequence should serve as a PSA against the dangers of rafting.

Buck Rogers (Original Intro)
What??? Buck Rogers spends most of this incredibly long intro feigning sleep and having what ultimately turns out to be a trippy, somewhat naughty, absurdly sexist dream. It's enough to make you wonder if Hugh Hefner was working as a consult on this project.

Wonderwoman
Sure, she's hot but I still dare you not to laugh. Does Hollywood really think a premise like this will translate with today's audiences? Um, good luck with that (especially now that Whedon isn't attached).

Firefly
I loved the series. And I love, love, love Joss Whedon. So this one hurts. But that song? Is it any wonder that no one stuck around to watch the show after the opening sequence?

Mad Men Opening Credits & Saul Bass

2007-08-17T21:31:00.000-05:00

As creative types we are often influenced by the work of our peers and the work of our creative predecessors so it wasn't surprising that after a bit of research (ahem..googling) I discovered the source of the creative influence behind the Mad Men opening title sequence was the influential graphic designer Saul Bass.

"...I love the homage to Saul Bass in the opening credits: that distinctive falling body is reminiscent of the poster for Vertigo and his film title sequences ...."

From M.A. Peel at http://newcritics.com/

But even if you aren't familiar with Saul Bass you are probably already familiar with his work. His portfolio consists not only of famous logo designs and posters, but also an impressive body of opening film title sequences, including Psycho. Among his later work was the title sequence for The Age of Innocence (which I watched again recently). At the time I remember admiring how beautifully the opening was done. I especially loved the subtle touch of the overlay of Victorian lace. Ah, but now I'm just rambling ...

I agree with with M.A. Peel. The Bass influence on the Mad Men opening title sequence is unmistakable.

Anatomy of a Murder - Opening title sequence

Here's a great quote from the man himself talking about his work.

"My initial thoughts about what a title can do was to set mood and the prime underlying core of the film's story, to express the story in some metaphorical way. I saw the title as a way of conditioning the audience, so that when the film actually began, viewers would already have an emotional resonance with it."- Saul Bass

Conditioning the audience? Yep, that's one I'll have to remember.

Mad Men Opening Credits

2007-08-17T16:58:00.001-05:00

I love AMC's new period series Mad Men. It's slick and smart. I especially love their opening credits. The simple black, white, and red palette and typography contrast perfectly with the colorful, oversized vintage ad artwork. Seriously, can you beat that music? I get a little chill every time I hear it.

Check out the creative team who created the sequence at http://www.imaginaryforces.com

Some Yummy Firefox Extensions

2007-08-15T15:11:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share some extensions that I have found handy and a few, recently discovered, that I'm taking for a test drive.

Loop
Upload, convert and combine your files to PDF from a tidy toolbar, without the conversion getting in the way of your Web browsing. LOOP for Firefox allows you to convert and combine files to PDF with the click of a button.

Firebug
Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page...

Snipshot
Edit any picture on the web with one right-click. The picture will be brought into the online image editor Snipshot where you can crop, resize, rotate or recolor it, then save it into a variety of formats (JPG, GIF, PNG, PDF) or to Flickr or a free image host.

Who Is This Person?
Highlight any name on a web page and see matching information from LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Google News, Technorati, Yahoo Person Search, TailRank, ZoomInfo, IMDB, MySpace and more...

LinkedIn Companion for Firefox
LinkedIn is an online network of more than 10.5 million experienced professionals. LinkedIn helps you be more effective in your daily work and opens doors to opportunities by helping you develop and manage your network of business contacts.

ColorZilla
Advanced Eyedropper, ColorPicker, Page Zoomer and other colorful goodies.

Palette Grabber
Creates a color palette for Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, GIMP, or Flash based on the current page.

The Graphic Avenger

2007-08-03T17:11:00.001-05:00

Because it's Friday and I feel silly. And this cracks me up. Comic Sans??? Say it ain't so.

Women In Art

2007-08-03T13:18:00.001-05:00

500 years of female portraits.

Nice Things People Are Saying About The New Zoto.com Website

2007-08-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

While it's true that at Zoto we don't usually go around tooting our own horns, we are always gratified to read the positive things people write about the newly redesigned version of our website (this is especially true when you consider the fact that we haven't been advertising or seeking any press for months). Here are some nice snippets I've come across lately.

Stewart Butterfield (Co-founder of Flickr.com)

"Zoto's recent redesign with all ajax photo pages was really cool and well done - quite zippy and something that created a great experience for photo uploaders and viewers."

From :
http://www.flickr.com/groups

Killer Startups

"Unlike other photo sharing services, Zoto zeros in on powerful application-like features so that you can organize, store, and share each and every one of your photos online. Zoto features the latest technology to deliver you fast results."

Read more at :
http://www.killerstartups.com

Webdev 2.0

"Zoto is the best way to share and organize your photos. Zoto's site works like a desktop photo sharing application, letting you quickly share your favorite photos with friends and family, and making sure they are all securely stored."

From:
http://www.webdevtwopointzero.com

BG's Blog

"I’m really impressed with Zoto Photo Sharing. It does just about everything that I want it to do, and a lot more besides. I’ve had accounts with Flickr, Zooomr, Photobox and some others, but they don’t match Zoto when it comes to flexibility.

Features that I’m particularly impressed with are:

Options for setting the order of pics (by date/time taken, date/time uploaded, title, an exif parameter etc.);
Options for setting the number and size of thumbnails for each album;
The facility to group pics into multiple albums, and to group albums into multiple sets;
Options for setting display colours and template colours (Background, text, link, link hover, border etc.), these can be set independently for each album;
The bulk uploader;
The options for setting permissions;
Bulk editing for things like dates, tags, text, privacy, moving pics between albums etc.;
The overall ease of use."

Read more at:
http://beardedgit.wordpress.com/

Funkmaster Fish's Big Bad Blog

"Zoto offers a wide variety of features to its members such as drag-n-droppable homepages, sortable liquidized light-boxes, highly customizable albums, 50% larger image detail photos, extremely fast photo tagging, powerful photo searching, unlimited storage, and no advertisements."

Read more at :
http://gottadropablog.blogspot.com

Mashable

"Zoto, the photo-sharing service, will launch version 3.0 tomorrow...The new stuff includes a new logo, a pretty new interface and plenty of slick ajaxy features - in fact, the whole site has been rebuilt from scratch with some big improvements."

Lo-fi Librarian

"Very pretty and customisable photo hosting, options to upgrade to a paid account, widgets available and zoto uploader can be used to upload bulk lots of pics."

From:
http://www.lo-fi-librarian.co.uk/?p=624

The new Zoto has been a labor of love that has been in progress for the past year and 1/2 and everyone on the team has put in so much time and hard work. It's nice to be acknowledged. So thanks, guys.

Take a 2 week test drive of Zoto at:
http://www.zoto.com

Technorati Tags : zoto, zoto.com, photo sharing, web 2.0

The Photo Widget Hunt

2007-03-06T12:03:00.000-06:00

I just discovered a fantastic no muss, no fuss online service that creates photo widgets for blogs and MySpace pages. They support a few major photo services (namely Flickr) and it's a breeze to set up an account and create multiple widgets. You can choose from a variety of slick flash layouts and customize the size and color of the widget so that it seamlessly integrates into your blog or MySpace page. For a few extra dollars you can even have the annoying logo removed. I thought Slide was impressive (for photo widgets) but this just blows them out of the water with its tasteful simplicity.

Make your own at: http://goodwidgets.com

Example:

Zoto (The Before & After)

2007-03-01T20:03:00.001-06:00

Zoto is an online photo hosting and sharing web application. I work for Zoto as their designer and in the next day or so my redesign of the entire site will go online. I'd thought I'd share some thoughts and insights over the redesign process and give you a peek at the new interface.

The Back Story

In October of 2005 I sat in a conference room across the table from Zoto founder and CEO, Kord Campbell, during what I can only describe as the longest job interview...ever. (Seriously, the man is a talker)

Aside from trying to figure out if I was a Sooner fan and whether or not I would be able to work with a male-only team of programmers who use the kind of language that would make sailors blush, Kord wanted to discuss my thoughts on the Zoto interface. He shared his unhappiness with the 2.0 interface, his frustrations, and his vision of where he wanted to take the company. The floundering startup needed to be revived. One of the biggest of Campbell's initiatives to turn things around was a complete redesign/rebranding effort.

We were either both on the same page that day or I was the only one who applied for the job because a few weeks later I started work at Zoto. I didn't own a digital camera so I went to the store on my lunch break and I bought one. And although I had never heard of web 2.0, ajax, or a little company called Flickr, that was all about to change.

Today

It's been over a year since that meeting and in a day or so the new version of Zoto is going to launch.

Redesigning Zoto has been huge undertaking. Designing a web application isn't even in the same ballpark as designing a normal website. There's so much more to it. UI design requires thoughtful analysis of why things don't work, how they can be improved, determining what is important to the user, anticipating how the user will react, and developing smart interfaces that help the user complete their tasks. It's also a juggling act between content, navigation, structure, functionality, and aesthetics that requires inventiveness, patience, and the occasional ritual sacrifice of chickens.

The Approach

The first step I took was examining the Zoto 2.0 interface and pinpointing what wasn't working.

Assessment

My initial (straight from the gut) reaction to the previous version of Zoto was that it lacked 'personality'. It felt homogenized. It wasn't that it was bad. It was worse than bad. It was forgettable. The UI was a disaster. It was clunky and difficult to use. Content was poorly organized. The navigation was a confused mess and the logo was a joke. To put it simply, it didn't do a good job of letting people organize, view, and share their photos.

Zoto Home Page (Before)

Zoto Home Page (After)

User Feedback & Competitive Analysis

Another important part of the process was to gather feedback and take a look at our competitors in the market.

Users are a great source of feedback. We put together a user list of features requests and complaints. We also found some nice people to be our guinea pigs in a usability study.

We did some competitive analysis (mostly I did that part). You may not believe you need to do competitive analysis but it's savvy. At least one person on your team should be keeping up with what 'the other guy is doing' because sometimes 'that other guy' does something right. You can learn a lot from your competitors, especially the ones that are succeeding in the industry. I signed up and tried every photo sharing service I could find (The good, the bad, and the ugly). I took pictures (mostly of my dog and my iPod). I uploaded photos. I organized them. I shared them with others. In essence, I became the user.

Clarify The Message

Who are we? What is our offering? What are we trying to communicate? Establish it and state it before you begin to design. Make sure your design is effectively communicating the right message.

The Zoto homepage redesign is good example of this on a micro level. The design needed to communicate both the tangible and intangibles of our product. It also needed to direct the user to take action (sign up). The goal for the page was to have users land on the page, know immediately that we were about 'photos', what we offered, and how much it would cost. Keeping the message in mind I was able to create a simple design that accomplished this effectively.

Goals

Throughout the process I tried to maintain design goals and revisit them as needed. Having these goals helped keep the design process on track. These are useful points to keep in mind for the design of any web application.

1. Keep it simple. What is the focus? For me, the focus was Zoto (a photo hosting and sharing site). The photos were the story. It was important to design an interface that did not distract from the photos.

2. Keep it clean. Remove any excess clutter or unnecessary elements. Remove obstacles that prevent the user from completing their tasks. Organize content into logical areas.

3. Keep the user in mind. Forget what the designer, the programmer, and the CEO want. Do what's right for the user. It may help to remember the following:

If programmers had their way, the web would just be a bunch of pages filled with big blue hyperlinks and boobs.

If CEOs had their way, the web would be full of nothing but banner ads and Google ads and blog entries espousing the greatness of CEOs everywhere.

And if designers had their way, the only pages allowed to exist on the web would be the aesthetically pleasing ones and sites for funky sneakers. (There would also be strong internet laws prohibiting the use of flash intros under penalty of death.)

4. Make it pretty. Don't discount the 'joy' factor when approaching usability. Virtual spaces aren't so different from real spaces. Some draw you in, keep you there, and make you want to revisit them. Others turn you off and send you packing, never to return. Discount the joy factor and you'll be that much closer to failing.

Remember: Consumer/user big warm fuzzy over your product or service = $cha-ching.

5. Accept that it's not perfect. It's going to have bugs, quirks, and if your CEO is anything like mine, it's also going to have the WRONG shade of pink for the hyperlinks. Compromises will be made. Let go. Release it. Re-evaluate it. Fine tune and adjust it. Add to it. Just because it's out the door doesn't mean that it's done. But if you never get it out the door no one is ever going to see it or use it. Don't over analyze. The worst thing that can happen to a design is for an indecisive decision maker to tweak it to death.

Now...A Peek At The Interface

Viewing: The Zoto lightbox offers a variety of photo toggle options so that users can control their viewing experience. Filtering options, a calendar, and a tag cloud view are available to help users easily find what they want and explore.

Organizing: The organizer seamlessly shifts the user back and forth from a viewing mode and an editing mode (without ever taking them away from the page). Users can quickly tag, email photos, edit dates, add and edit titles and descriptions for multiple photos with a few clicks of the mouse.

Sharing: Users can create albums, customize the look of their albums and organize multiple albums into 'sets' (categories).

User Controlled Content: Users can control and customize the content displayed on their home page via 'widgets' that can be added, removed, and dragged to new positions.

What's next?

Well, unless someone calls to offer me a job and agrees to pay me BUCKETS of money (yes, please) it looks like I will be hanging out at Zoto for a little while longer. The interface still needs tweaking and we have plans to move forward by introducing groups, an expanded community section, slideshows, custom badges for blogs and MySpace pages, geotagging, and new album designs.

But mostly, I think it's time for a vacation.

Zoto.com (will be the official url when the site launches)

Technorati Tag:[zoto]

This Is Like Crack Only Better

2007-02-16T16:04:00.000-06:00

Stumble, Baby.
Where have you been all of my life? How did I ever surf without you?

StumbleUpon is a great fun and if you haven't tried it then it's high time you did. It's a new approach to surfing based on your specific interests. Getting started is quick and easy. Visit The Stumble site, install their browser plugin and take a few minutes to register. You will be asked to check some options to help define your interests. And no, boobs is not one of the options (you big perv).

When you are done with the installation just restart your browser. A nice little stumble icon appears. Each time you click it a page (selected based on your interests and the recommendations of other surfers with similar interests) will appear.

You'll love it. It's like having a best friend that sends you the the coolest links, videos, and pictures on the web. You also have the option to 'thumbs up' or 'thumbs down' a page. Rate and recommend pages you really enjoy (push the good content) and tailor your browsing experience. You can also tag and share your finds with others. Feeling social? Set up your profile and find people with similar interests.

I'm not kidding. It's just like crack...only better.

Visit my stumble page located here.

Technorati Tag:[stumble]

My Blog Gets Its 15 minutes

2007-02-03T18:40:00.000-06:00

Wow. My little blog nearly exploded from all of the traffic from my Flickr post. I mean, holy freakin cow.

I think my CEO is planning to do some sort of follow-up on his blog (http://www.geekceo.com) later this week.

We did finally conclude that:

1. Flickr does not alter your original photo
2. Flickr does enhance the other sizes and openly admits it (not to mention it's way more sinister than I thought).
3. Zoto 3.0 will be auto-enhancing photos when we launch in March but we will also have an option to to disable this feature.

I think best part of the hoopla was reading all of the comments. I was really blown away by the amount of response. So thanks for all of your comments. Even the anonymous ones (you silly weenies). I also realize, in hindsight, that calling someone a numnut in response to a negative reddit comment is, ahem, possibly a tad unprofessional. And as for that guy who asked me if I passed the turing test, ha-freakin-ha.

Oh, and the photo from my flickr post is not soup. It's my italian chicken chili. The recipe is here.

Ok. Time to go back to blogging about patterns and stuff.

Flickr's Dirty Little Secret

2007-01-30T20:00:00.000-06:00

The secret is...you suck at taking photos.

And flickr knows it. That's why when you upload a photo to flickr it undergoes a cosmetic lift via a sharpening filter (and perhaps a saturation filter as well). See below.

This is a capture of the exact same photo. On the top is a thumbnail of my photo rendered on Zoto (3.0 beta) . It's blurry and the detail is lost. On the bottom is the same photo thumbnail rendered on Flickr. Notice how sharp the detail and color appear. Unlike Flickr, Zoto is rendering an 'accurate' thumbnail of my photo.

The result? On Flickr I am fabulous, wonderful taker of photos. On Zoto, I am just a loser who can't get a photo in focus.

Does this subtle cosmetic lift, on a subliminal level, factor into a user's decision making process when it comes to choosing a photo hosting service? The advantage to the mainstream user is obvious, but if I was a pro photographer, wouldn't I resent someone taking liberty with my photos? We've had a bit of a debate on this issue in our office (at Zoto). I'm for passing a filter on photos to make them look better. I think it improves the user's experience. On some level, even if they aren't aware of it, they are enjoying their photos more because of this little white lie. Some of our "purists" in the office disagree. In the end the best solution may be to make this an option in the upload settings that users can control for themselves. And user control is what it's all about, right?

New word: flickrality
Definition: The version of reality where you rock at taking photos.

Technorati tags: [flickr]

Patterny Goodness

2007-01-25T18:54:00.000-06:00

So, having survived hectic holidays, a breakup, a move to a new house, and the Ice Storm of 2007, I think it's time for a bit of blogging.

Today's menu? Patterny goodness. To be served with a piping hot, fresh side of links (hyper, that is).

I find patterns very inspiring. Here are some of my favorite resources.

Pattern Books:

Vintage Fabric from the States
Put this one on my wish list, please.

You Work For Them - Patterns
Peruse their entire pattern section. Where else can you pick up book of camo patterns that's been secretly haunting your dreams? That camo book comes with it's own CD-Rom, by the way.

Celtic Design
All the celtic motifs and designs your little heart could ever want. Cd-Rom included.

Blogs:

Print Pattern
Self described "designer and trend forecaster with a passion for pattern in all its forms." A Yummy, yummy pattern blog.

Naked & Angry
Submit pattern designs to be scored and manufactured into "blow-your-mind" products. When you get done with that wander over to the blog. If you have a hole burning through your pocket stick around and buy some wallpaper.

Misc Resources:

Create perfect photoshop pixel patterns
I don't care what anyone says, tiled web patterns are HOT.

Free patterns
Nice little collection of free web patterns you can use on your own site.

Online electronic swatchbook
Facinating. Samples of fashionable fabric designs from the 1830's to the 1920's. You can zoom in very close. (Nice use of the zoomr app with flash)

Symmetry and Pattern
Sound smart the next time someone asks. Applies to more than just oriental carpets, too.

Articles:

Symbolism in Asian Motifs and Patterns
Ever wondered what the recurring patterns in Asian textiles and dishware mean?

Africa's Painted Patterns
A little insight into those bold geometric patterns.

Traditional Patterns In Korea
Finally, someone explains what's up with all of those dragon patterns.

Inspiration:

Dan Funderburgh
I'm losing my mind because these pattern designs are that cool.

Josef Frank - Textiles
These are amazing textiles. I'm personally in love with "Loops".

Funkis - Fabrics
Lots of fun and funky patterns.

Flickr photo - Thursday love
Love this little photo and all the great notes describing the origins and history of these fun patterns. Why don't more people do this? Start taking pictures of your patterns. It looks like fun. Do it. Do it now.

Flickr photoset - Patterns
Luv it.

Whew. That's more than enough patterny goodness for one day.

Vintage Inspiration

2006-11-20T09:31:00.000-06:00

Feeling a bit uninspired? Maybe this collection of vintage posters, prints, book covers, and postcards can kickstart your creative engine.

Flickr Pools

Jazz-Age in Print (20s-30s)
Celebrating the fabulous jazz-age illustrators and (graphic designers) and the illustrations and print design they created in the 1920s and 1930s.

Wartime Forties in Print
Celebrating the fabulous illustrators (and graphic designers) of the 1940s, and the illustrations and print design they created in (circa wartime) 1940s.

Beer and Booze: A Damn Fine Product
Vintage ads, product and package designs for America's favorite alcoholic beverages.

Vintage Cigarette Ads
Cigarette ads from the 40's and earlier.

Retro Kid
Illustrations associated with children's books from the mid-1940's through the mid-1960's.

Vintage Cookbooks
Pictures of vintage cookbook covers and page illustrations, from wacky to wonderful. Pamphlets, menus and old cooking advertisements.

Vintage Advertising
Advertising images from the past.

Vintage Magazines
Images of vintage magazines (including the eighties).

Vintage Illustration
Vintage illustrations from before 1970.

Vintage Childrens Books
Images from vintage childrens books and other items for children like cards, games, posters, etc.

Posters Post Cards
Posters and postcards old & new.

Flickr Sets

USSR Posters
Russian and/or Soviet propaganda & advert posters [1917-1991]

Vintage Book Illustration
Vintage illustrations.

Espacios Publicitarios
Anuncios publicados en las revistas "Clínica Rural" y "Glosa"
Años 50-60-70

Penguin Books
Retro covers of old Penguin and Penican books

Pretty Pictorals
Colorful retro children's pictorials.

Vintage Kid Books
Covers and illustrations.

Misc Online Resources

Soviet Propaganda Poster Gallery
A colorful resource of vintage soviet propaganda posters. Contains other soviet vintage galleries as well.

The Museum of Anti-Alcohol Posters
A gallery of anti-alcohol posters from soviet propaganda era.

The Ad*Access Project
Funded by the Duke Endowment "Library 2000" Fund, presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.

Chinese Public Health Posters
A collection of vintage chinese posters from the National Library of Medicine.

Hungarian Vintage Posters
Nice raw scans of an excellent group of vintage Hungarian Posters.

Vintage Print Ads
A small archive of vintage print advertising.

Misc Vintage Ads
Hilarious, shocking and creepy advertisements from the past century.

For Collectors

Vintage European Posters
A great gallery of original posters for sale from 1890-1960.

Poster Classics
A nice collection of original vintage French and Italian art posters for sale.

Rare European Advertising Posters
Authentic European Vintage Posters for sale.

Vintage Italian Advertising Posters
Original lithograph posters from the Ricordi Portfolio, published by the famous Italian printer Giovanni Ricordi in 1914.

Christopher & Co Ltd.
A great vintage collection including travel,entertainment, and propaganda posters.

Top Three Guilty Pleasures To Get You Through The Work Week

2006-11-01T15:13:00.000-06:00

In an attempt to continue to avoid any relevant blogging here's a quick post about some fun diversions to get you through the work week.

1. Mac Widgets

Dancing Hula Girl Widget
Because everyone needs a dancing hula girl widget. Damnit.

Solitaire Widget
The only thing I miss about my PC is solitaire. Unfortunately this version for the MAC is so difficult to beat (I haven't yet) that you may be better off spending your time mindlessly staring at the Hula Girl widget. Has anyone ever beaten this thing? Seriously? Ever?

Lorem Ipsum Widget
Sleep soundly at night knowing the power of latin text will be at your fingertips. Handy for designers.

CSS Cheat Sheet Widget
No, I don't actually use it. But it makes me feel 'professional' and I'm certain it gives the other widgets an inferiority complex.

2. Celebrity Blogs and MySpace pages

9 out of 10 the MySpace pages of famous people are completely bogus. After all, famous people are far too good looking and spend way too much time tanning to ever be troubled by tasks as mundane as 'typing' and 'forming sentences' and 'punctuating sentences' and crap like that. But a few are worth a visit.

The James Gunn MySpace Page+Blog
To put it simply, the man has a way with the f*word. When he isn't bubbling over with obsessive man-love for Nathan Fillion (and his body parts), he's volunteering advice to would-be industry types along with inspired lists like 'The 5 Women I Pleasured Myself To Most As A Teenager'. Gunn is probably best known to the public as the writer/director of the horror/sci-fi flick "Slither". He is also well known for being the guy married to the chic from The Office. She has MySpace Page+Blog too. Less swearing.

The Barry Manilow MySpace Page
Why? Because who in their right mind doesn't want to be friends with Barry Manilow? I mean, C'mon.

Pink Nano MySpace Page
Hot pink. Hot music. Hotter design.

What is the motivation behind these MySpace pages and blogs? Do celebrities really want to be your friend? Does the Pink Nano? UNLIKELY. Maybe they want what everyone else on MySpace wants - to beat your freakin'friend count'.

The tally so far:

Diddy 581550 friends
Jesus 100947 friends
iPod Green Nano 47504 friends
Duran Duran 47266 friends
iPod Blue Nano 46508 friends
Mr Spock 45977 friends
iPod Pink Nano 44652 friends
Kevin Rose (Digg.com founder) 14807 friends
Barry Manilow 9664 friends
James Gunn 9578 friends
Captain Kirk 3482 friends
Nate Fillion (his evil MySpace twin) 3440 friends
Nathan Fillion (real guy) 3132 friends
Martha Stewart 1627 friends
Joss Whedon 662 friends
Yeoman Rand 290 friends
Me 29 friends

Conclusion? If you could tap into the "i-like-rap-ipod-wearing-jesus-is-a-cool-dude-trekkie" demographic you would be a god on MySpace.

3. Last but not least: Start an eclectic, offbeat, oddball group just to see if someone will join it. Join a few yourself.

my flickr groups
I *heart* my iPod Group
Pictures of your iPod? Suweeet.

The dog at my "fill in the blank" Group
You just post a picture of something your dog destroyed. That simple.

my last.fm group
Barry Manilow IS The Man Group
It's takes a certain kind of god given talent to copa around the cabana like my precious Barry.

That's it for list. Enjoy.

lcd woes

2006-09-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

I've been experiencing some 'technical difficulties' lately. A few weeks ago I cracked my nearly brandspanking new powerbook's LCD display in a freak 'frame falling off of the fireplace mantle and hitting my screen' accident. The frame survived the fall. My powerbook did not. For those of you who don't know what a cracked LCD looks like I'm posting a photo of one for you. It's not a pretty site. This wasn't taken from my computer screen because my digital camera was out of commission when this 'catastrophe-to-end-all-catastrophes' occurred. But trust me, if you've seen one cracked screen you've seen em' all.

But hey, it's all a learning experience in the end, right? So what did I learn from this experience?

1. Crying and excessive cursing won't help. Apparently, whacking the outside of the case a few times doesn't either.

2. LCDs don't grow on trees. Replacing one is not cheap by any means. Unless you are ready to shell out $700.00+ bucks it's best to protect that pretty little screen with your LIFE.

3. Steve Jobs is a cold hearted bastard. Although my Mac is only about 4 months old, it isn't covered under Apple's one year warranty. It has something to do with the fact that I'm the one responsible for scratching the screen. You would think they might at least offer a discount on 'accidental' damage under their one year warranty. Sure, it's my fault. But c'mon Apple, have a heart. Can't you provide some kind of 'idiot' warranty for idiots like me, damnit?

4. When you walk away from your powerbook you should close your top case. Close it, you ninny! (Why didn't they mention that in the manual?)

5. Powerbook 'withdrawal' is a real and serious affliction. Living without your powerbook for the first few days can be tough. You might find yourself aimlessly wandering through the streets and muttering at trees. But it's ok. Eventually the fog clears and you remember that you did actually have a life 'before' your powerbook (although it wasn't nearly as meaningful and fulfilling, obviously).

Weeks later and all is well again and I'm back online and ready to post some updates for my blog. The biggest news of the week is that the new preview site of the Zoto 3.0 interface is online for testing (Zoto is the online photo hosting and sharing site I work for as a designer). It's not the full release and there are still plenty of formatting issues and bugs that need to be fixed. The full release of the actual site won't be ready until November or December. Until then we are letting our users sign up to help us break (I mean test) things out on the new site. I should be blogging about the homepage redesign later this week. Till then, cheerios and cheers!

Related Linkage:

This nice company fixed my LCD for a competitive price of $644.00 which included the cost of overnight shipping. They sent me an idiot proof box. I sent it back with my computer and voila...new LCD! Very fast turnaround. I don't have any complaints about their service (just empty pockets).
http://www.macservice.com/

Wanna make someone with a powebook cry like a little girl? Install this cracked LCD wallpaper on their screen, then sit back and watch them totally FREAK out. (don't forget to hide/remove their desktop icons)
http://www.fontblog.de/C1413545161/E1863918477/index.html

My favorite wallpaper-of-the-moment.
http://files.myopera.com/gausz/albums/52249/snooze_by_rndl.jpg

Beta test the Zoto 3.0 preview site. Go ahead. Test it till it breaks. (this is a working development site)
http://www.zoto.net/

http://www.zoto.net/kbarrett

The Zoto official site. (the old site is still online while we work on the new one)
http://www.zoto.com/

The Amazing Bailey

2006-07-21T23:19:00.000-05:00

WooooHOOO. She's a lean, mean fetching machine. I love this shot of her in mid gallop. I'm actually running backwards trying to get her in the frame before she barrels over me.

She actually looks like she's part bat. Oh my gosh, those ears!

How To Be The Perfect Client

2006-07-14T20:37:00.000-05:00

1. When giving creative feedback try to avoid phrases like:
"Bleh."
"It's weird."
"It doesn't do anything for me."
"I don't get it."
"Maybe you'll get it on the next try."
"I don't like it."
*I have actually heard all of these. No kidding.

2. Try to give creative feedback that is constructive. The goal is not to make your designer cry. Joyless designer = joyless final product.

3. Do not ask for a flash intro. (They have actually built a special level of Hell for those who do)

4. Do get your content and all of your digital media assets organized, proofed, and delivered in the proper format to your designer/developer at the beginning of the project.

5. Do touch base with your designer/developer as the project progresses. Be involved.

6. Do not constantly call and email your designer on a daily basis. They need time to work.

7. Keep your scheduled meetings and try not to show up with uninvited guests. Keep your entourage (girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, kids, friends, and pets) at home.

8. Do not show up unexpectedly when the mood strikes you. Your designer/developer may have more than one project going on at the same time...Or be having a bad hair day. Avoid throwing curve balls.

9. Do pay your designer/developer on time, all of the time. Never balk at the amount (it's tacky).

10. When a project is over and you are happy with the result try phrases like:
"You're the best designer...Ever"
"Do you accept large cash tips?"
"Will you marry me?"

Note: Your designer/developer will probably say no to the last one (and possibly feel a little creeped out) unless you are Russell Crowe or just really hot. So it's probably best to avoid it.

Buffy on iPod

2006-07-12T21:14:00.000-05:00

buffy on iPod
Originally uploaded by kerfuffles.

Another silly iPod photo? But of course.

No time to blog about it or anything else. The new season of Project Runway just started. Must watch bitchy designers make lettuce/lampshade dresses...

Must hear Tim speak those magic words, "Make it work."

BSG on iPod

2006-07-09T12:03:00.000-05:00

more bsg on iPod
Originally uploaded by kerfuffles.

A pic of actor Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek - Bastille Day) on my iPod was posted to Galacticaa.net! Need a BSG fix? Visit the site.

colors are pretty

2006-07-08T19:33:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by kerfuffles.

Just finished making the blog look pretty. I've purchased a new typeface for the header which I think is fun and campy. Two big stacks of cd's containing archived files are sitting next me, waiting to be sorted. This is by far the most daunting part of putting together an online portfolio; finding, organizing, and prepping files...Oh joy.

Firefly on iPod

2006-07-06T23:55:00.000-05:00

firefly on iPod
Originally uploaded by kerfuffles.

Yet another silly photo of my iPod screen. It seems someone has decided to join my flickr group. However, I am still the only one posting photos (sigh). The other flickr group I started (the dog ate my "fill in the blank") is fairing a little better.

In other geek related news, I discovered a new service that I *do not* recommend (http://www.myipodownloads.com/). From what I can tell you basically pay for this service in exchange for a free BitTorrent client and a link to some software to help you convert files to an iPod compatible format. Um...hello? I could have done that on my own. I felt mislead by the site and emailed them to ask for my money back. Fortunately they quickly issued a refund. Thank goodness. But it still makes me feel a little annoyed. I guess if you can sell air on Ebay...

I'm also looking for an .asx converter or player that is Mac compatible. I recently strolled over to http://www.greatwarofmagellan.com/ (A sci-fi project created by BSG actor Richard Hatch) and realized that none of the clips are Mac compatible. An email to the webmaster came back returned. I have been surprised that a Mac compatible player or a converter has proven so difficult to find. I finally gave up and ordered the comic book. Website 1, Me 0 (minus a few dollars for the comic).

I've finally updated my resume. It only took about 20 revisions after I discovered typo after typo after typo (grrr...arrgg). I've gone back to a more traditional typeface but I'm not sure if it's industry appropriate. I've read that san serifs are more typically used by professionals in technology related fields. I've also tried to keep it as simple and brief as possible. A colleague told me once that ideally a resume should never be longer than one page. Now I just need to take the time to find my files and get my portfolio site online...Or I could try establishing a career taking photos of my iPod screen and my dog.

Not So Related linkage: Two words. Silly. Pointless.

Captain Reynolds in a kilt? Shiny. http://www.ferretgeek.com/2005/10/serenity.html

Firefly bloopers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEHd-qKZ_AU

*Learn chinese with Firefly? Strange but true. http://signal.serenityfirefly.com/chinese.html

Firefly lyrics? Why the heck not. http://www.fireflywiki.org/Firefly/FireflyThemeSong

Cake goes well with iPod

2006-06-27T17:37:00.000-05:00

cake goes well with iPod
Originally uploaded by kerfuffles.

Newly obsessed with taking photos of my iPod screen. I even started a group on a flickr: I *heart* my iPod

Am I the only one who sees the deeply emotive power of a photo of an iPod?

Ok, somebody stop me. I'm whacky and out of control. The really funny part is that I'm the only member. Truthfully, half of this is for my own entertainment and the other half is research for the new Zoto interface. R&D. Yup.

Related linkage: One word. Handy.

Free ipod converter. (Now it's easy to transform that pesky .avi into an iPod friendly format)
www.jodix.com/

Back up your iPod (In case you upgrade and need to transfer music from one iPod to another) It saves your playlists! WooHoo. Fairly affordable and worth every penny.
www.ipodaccess.com/ipodaccess/indexWin.html

Geniuses at digg say it's easy to get songs off your iPod.(maybe I didn't have to spend any money after all...)
http://digg.com/apple/How_to_get_Songs_off_your_iPod_using_iTunes

Rip dvd's to iPod. Simple and free.
handbrake.m0k.org/

Lyrics to Cake's "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"
www.lyricsfreak.com/c/cake/perhaps+perhaps+perhaps_20026654.html

Tools of the trade.

2006-06-20T18:08:00.000-05:00

I love magazines and books. They stack well.

Driving

2006-06-19T18:44:00.000-05:00

Picture 065 copy
Originally uploaded by kerfuffles.

Just a quick photo i snapped on my drive to work. People must think it's looney to watch someone driving with one hand flailing out of the window snapping photos with a camera.

hello pretty bailey!

2006-06-19T16:53:00.000-05:00

hello pretty bailey!
Originally uploaded by kerfuffles.

Here's a pic of Bailey. Isn't she pretty? I'm logged into flickr and I'm testing the blogging photo feature. Pretty simple and pretty *sweet* so far.