After several days of scratching my head and resisting the urge to smash things, I have taken steps to update my portfolio section. Therefore, I have re-introduced it to the site and it’s not publicly accessible and all.

Can you kind folks please do me a favour and check it out. If you find any glitches, please report them. I am planning to make some improvements in the near future, so design feedback about the size of my h2 tags, etc. is not necessary at this point. But soon.

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Not sure exactly what happened, but something went wrong with my site. The blog is still working correctly, but rather than subjecting you all to a half-functioning portfolio, about, resources, and contact page, I’m removing them until further notice.

In the meantime, you can download a PDF of my resume and portfolio samples:

Resume »
Portfolio Samples »

It is possible that this was my fault. After all, I am in the process of a theme re-design. But it is equally probably that my server (GoDaddy) suddenly stopped getting along with WordPress. And it’s also possible that recent updates in the WordPress system itself are glitchy. I honestly don’t know. It was working a few days ago, and now it’s not. So I’m working on it!

Sorry for the jankyness. Hope you’ll like the new version.

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The year is 2030.

The post-apocalyptic darkness have fell, and the earth as we know it, has come to an end. This is the dystopic story of man’s existence after earth’s destruction.

The disaster and the subsequent ice age destroyed all organic life, and all forms of human civilization. There was nowhere to hide, the earth would soon be covered by a kilometer-thick layer of ice.

All hope for the existence of humanity, would always be lost, hadn’t it not been for…

So obviously this is a cool project. We all love to see some consistency and planning from government agencies — even if under fictitious circumstances. But the problem we’ve got to face is that FEMA and other agencies use massive third-party resources. They don’t have any branded supplies, and barely even have an office. It’s essentially a bunch of people making phone calls — not some disaster-relief corps like you might see in a sci-fi movie. Expand FEMA? Maybe if the government came into some massive amount of money, or if we operated under the quasi-socialist model of other nations. Norway, for instance.

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I don’t think one needs speak Japanese to be puzzled by this. My mouth is agape. Wow.

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The following is a guest article by technology writer James Mowery

Choosing appropriate fonts is one of the hardest aspects of a web design. The traditionally limited selection of web-safe fonts has left designers struggling to stay fresh. True, a traditional font may likely fit into your design, but even the standard Times New Roman or Helvetica isn’t present on 100% of computers. Here are some ways to use the latest technology to make sure that you get the font you want on your site, and have it display consistently for all viewers.

HTML5 / CSS3 Embeded Fonts

With new web technology, it is now possible to embed a font in your webpage and send it to users. The new techniques aren’t without hiccups, though. Designers have to use quite a bit of CSS and HTML magic to get it to work exactly the same on all browsers, and that’s only after we’ve acquired the font in the first place. Technically, displaying and embedding a font counts as redistributing it, so we must license the font for appropriate use or use a public-domain, free font. Both have their advantages and pitfalls — the licenses for commercial fonts cost money, but are generally of a higher quality. Here are options for both approaches.

Google Fonts API, a Free Option

The Google Fonts API is a great free service which lets you use any of the fonts in their directory for free. All you have to do is add a header link to your HTML to import a stylesheet, and then you can use the font. Unfortunately, the font selection is rather limited, but the friendly interface and drag-and-drop style tools help designers create a bit of distinction with little headache.

TypeKit, a Paid Solution

TypeKit is similar to Google’s technology, but executed as a “freemium” pricing structure. TypeKit’s library of typefaces is huge — including recently-added Adobe classics — but not all are included in the basic, free “personal” tier. In browsing their fonts, users will see which pricing plan it is included under. While we have generally enjoyed web design technology for free, it is often worth the small fee to create brand consistency on the web.

Savvy web designers now have a world of typography before them. With new options come new challenges, but also new rewards. We can now serve our clients better and help bolster their brands by keeping true to their design style and typography.

James Mowery is a computer geek who writes about technology and related topics. To read more of his articles, visit laptop computers.

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A blog called World of Technology has featured a few highly hypnotic animated GIFs which demonstrate an otherwise hard-to-explain mechanism. Here’s a few of the standouts.

I think there is something inherently fascinating to our human brains about watching machines. These animations tap into a part of our curiosities that don’t often get exercised. Like the cutaway drawings in National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, et al, they captivate us while simultaneously teaching us.

Years ago, my group for MEM435 Computer Aided Design and Modeling created this little ditty, which wowed professors and students alike when it was gracefully inserted into our Powerpoint presentation. (Also, said presentation was by far the sharpest of the lot, due in large part to my sensible type and colour usage. In all modesty).

What you’re looking at is the handle of a clamp as it pulled, by some human or other force. The static image is below. Not nearly as fun, and you have to imagine how the stresses are applied, and what they do. Yes, I do acknowledge the vaguely sexual geometry of this part. Get over it. (side note, those animations were created 7 years ago to the day! Man, time flies.)

I read about this on the Core 77 blog »

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I was contacted to design the poster and graphic title for the Underground Shakespeare Company’s upcoming production of Titus Andronicus, to take place this September in Philadelphia.

Director Kate Davis requested that I capture the show’s Neo Victorian and Steampunk styling. Also, it needed to be bloody.

Here’s the poster. Click for a larger image view.

This was a fun project. It allowed me to dust off my Photoshop skills and work with layer effects, textures, 3D extrude, and with airbrushing to create the brass look of the title text. I did a fair amount of research to see what sort of type, textures, colours, and iconography would be appropriate for something Roman and Victorian at the same time. Did alright, methinks. In the end, I used standby typeface Clarendon for the main title, and Knockout (various weights) for the detail text. The background and border patterns were compiled from various internet sources and the textures were taken from Von Glitschka‘s Crumble Crackle Burn, among other sources.

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Anyone living in The Big Smoke will know this news isn’t new, but I’ve been meaning to post for someone time the design of the new double-decker buses in London. Very streamline and pod-like. Very modern.

The New Bus for London has a pioneering, futuristic design that features:

• Extensive use of glass to highlight key features and produce a light and airy feel inside the bus

• A glass ‘swoop’ at the rear and offside to pick out the two staircases

• An open platform at the rear, shared with the Routemaster of old, which can be closed off at quiet times and which allows the reinstatement of a hop-on hop-off service

• Three doors and two staircases for smoother, speedier boarding and access to the upper deck.

No word as of yet how these will handle the graphic wraps we’re likely to see, especially leading up the 2012 Olympics.

Read the official release notes on the London website, or on Core 77, where I learned of this.

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Proposed MySpace homepage, image courtesy of The Seattle Times (click for a larger view)

I read about it on the excellent blog redesign:related. There’s also an AdAge article that remarks on the money side of things, and how the small agency, Pereira & O’Dell, won the project.

Right, so let’s get to the obvious: MySpace has transitioned away from a general social network to a music site. Google is brewing their own, which I imagine will have a similar straight-to-the-point design style. People are drawn to a site by design, but have never (to my knowledge) returned to a once-abandoned social network after they’ve found a new home.

So isn’t this massively late? In fact, I wrote about a supposed redesign for MySpace back in February 2007! (granted, that now-outdated proposal has basically been implemented through iterative changes.) Also, in my humble opinion, this new design isn’t very striking. The typography just doesn’t grab me.

If MySpace, Facebook, or others want to seriously shake things up, they should take on an approach like this proposed (concept) redesign for Facebook. This is a big shift, and one that I’d welcome.