Archive for Hoverblog: September 2005 | Main >
Do the "Chicken."
| 9.19.2005
In an age of innovative marketing, these two sites (Burger King's subservient chicken, sithsense and Tazo Tea) do a great job of getting whatever mindshare is left at the end of people's day. These types of sites are few and far between as they do a better job of creating brand awareness than they do of actually selling product. Special thanks to Michele L. for bringing the Tazo site to my attention.
posted at 11:28 AM
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3 comments
Design Publications
| 9.18.2005
I just finished teaching a web design class at Boston University this past summer. The No.1 question asked by most of my students during the first few classes was what design resources I use for inspiration and ideas. Not such an easy question to answer. I don't read any of the typical trade rags such as Designing for the Web, Design Graphics, Graphis, Create or GD. These magazines seem too tactical in their approach. They tend to focus more on technique rather than helping inspire good, solid conceptual thinking, which is the foundation for any good design, whether it be advertising, brochure, brand and identity, Flash or web-related. I do a lot of web design in my job but most of my best ideas come from other mediums. In my opinion, there are very few really beautiful, inspiring web sites out in the world. About a year ago, I was designing an online quarterly wellness newsletter for MIT Medical. I did my typical routine to get the creative juices flowing....looked through a bunch of design magazines and examples. I finally came upon this poster that was created for a jazz show in New Orleans. The fact that it was music and entertainment-related didn't matter. It was the grid that caught my attention. The way the headlines, copy and pictures all worked together in a dynamic way. Different artists and dates were color coded which was perfectly analogous for distinguishing the 4 issues/year. So the short answer is look at anything that gets you excited and jazzed (no pun intended) about creating. It could be music, a movie or painting. Also, below are the staple of publications that every creative sould have in their arsenal.
1. eye Magazine - Probably the best publication on what's going on in the design world. The articles in this quarterly are "New York Times" quality so if you're like me, have a dictionary handy.
2. Communications Arts - Great trade publication showing the best of the best in all the major categories.
3. Print - Pretty much the same as CA but with more subscription cards to throw away or use as bookmarks
4. ID - This magazine use to be mostly industrial design-related but expanded themselves into the graphic design arena 7 years ago
posted at 8:10 PM
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1 comments
Desert Island Top 12
| 9.17.2005
When it comes to music, I mostly have 2 types of friends. The first type are the ones that could care less about music. They think Elton John is one of only 5 artists on the planet. They listen to WBOS and they could care less where they get their morning coffee from. I affectionately refer to them as "musically challenged." Regardless, they're still fun to hang out with...as long as their not throwing a party and picking the music.
The second type are the ones who stop listening to a particular artist once more than 5 people know about them. They're usually into some type of conspiracy theory and as part of their counter culture repertoire, get their coffee at Dunkin Donuts or the 1369 Cafe (although they'd really like to go into Peets, but are too afraid to be seen). I'm sort of in the middle somewhere. Like a good wine, music needs time to mature. I typically play a new artist or song relentlessly over and over again to see how it resonates. What imagery does it evoke and most importantly, would it make a good addition to the soundtrack of movie I was charged with directing. Don't get me wrong. I sometimes fit squarly into the second set. I remember discovering* The Postal Service. I listened to them for months and months. Then one day, my 12 year old niece came over with her new iPod and asked if I had any Postal Service she could copy. I immediately deleted it off my hard drive and sold the disc on Craig's List. No dis to her, but once an artist makes it to that age group, it's all over for me.
I was recently asked by my friend Julie, what I was listening to these days and remembered it was time again for the Dessert Top 12.
* denotes buying off of the "staff pick of the week" shelf at Newbury Comics
1. Boards of Canada
2. The Go Team
3. Four Tet (thx will)
4. Sufjan Stevens
5. Luke Temple
6. EBTG
7. Death Cab For Cutie
8. Athlete
9. Josh Rouse
10. Joseph Arthur
11. Juana Molina
12. Mouse on Mars
posted at 3:22 PM
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1 comments
Nano-ME!
| 9.15.2005
OK. Those that know me by now have assumed that I've already owned the Nano for about a week. I'd have to say your right. I, like many, started my MP3 experience with Apple's first generation iPod. It was impressive. It held 1,000 songs, was portable and like everything Apple, beautiful! I eventually traded it up for a third generation iPod that I just sold today on Craig's list. Inbetween that time, I purchased an iShuffle for my wife to use while she runs. It's so low tech that it loops back around to being really really cool, nevermind the the great price. I'm never bothered that it only holds a couple of hundred songs. I think the world is too hung up on how many songs an MP3 player can hold. Put a couple of hundred on it today and change them in a couple of days. Who the hell needs their whole library on one of these... Turn it on and you're ready to go. I remember thinking that if the iShuffle had a display, it could quite possibly be the sexiest player on the market. Enter the iPod Nano. It's slightly wider than the Shuffle but has a bright, clear color display, holds 1,000 songs and because it's flash-based, has a battery life of up to 14 hours. This should keep Apple out of court in the coming years.
I have to say that while I love the Nano and Shuffle (mostly because of their size), I don't think they sound anywhere near as good as the iPods or iPod mini. They just both sound a bit flat and tinny. Maybe it's the different chip set or that you really need a hard drive spinning to deliver good quality sound. All in all, I think they make up for it but I still miss a more full, richer sound.
Along with great battery life, it's been put some pretty impressive stress tests. I'm not sure if I would still want mine after it's been thrown out of a car at 50+ MPH or thrown 40+ feet in the air but at least I can rest easy knowing that the occassional drop out of my pocket onto the floor won't hurt it a bit.
So here's my +/- list:
+ beautiful color screen
+ syncs with iPhoto as well
+ small, beautiful and light weight
- Doesn't sound as good as the iPod
- Uses USB2 instead of Firewire
posted at 7:50 PM
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0 comments
More Cowbell!
| 9.11.2005
I've been reading dooce for the last couple of weeks. My arrival is a bit tardy but you know what they say"...better...never...." If you haven't already, you should check out her blog and even make it part of your daily read. It's one of the best written I've come across in a while. Her blog gained some real traction after she was fired from her job in 2002 for blogging about some people at work. The" fucking annoying asian database guy", the boss who buys prada on the phone and her constant battle with constipation are all hilarious comic relief, although the bathroom humor is a bit much for my taste sometimes. I'm sure she would tell me to *$&%-OFF if she read this!
This is a recent email written in by one of her readers. It's one of my favorite.
posted at 8:54 AM
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2 comments
Go West
| 9.08.2005
I'd have to say that San Fran is my favorite destination right behind NYC. Actually, If I ever had a reason to relocate there for a job or some other compelling reason, I'd go in a New York minute. It's got temperate climates, mountains, oceans and I'd have to say that the people are pretty cool. My wife and I have had numerous friends move out there, so we're living vicariously through them for the time-being. Eric and Jenna moved out there for a killer job at Apple. Brian and Lisa went out there to check it out and never returned. A very dear friend of ours named Julie moved out years and years ago and lives in Mountain View and Lake Tahoe. She recently married and has a little one on the way. They're is also my ex-guitar teach and his now wife, who moved out there. He wasn't that good of a teacher and she's a bitch, so I don't really think about them anymore.
We've been out there about around a half a dozen times each and love it more and more every-time. So I was recently going through some old pictures and video that I've taken each time I visited and thought I would put together a little compilation. Hope you enjoy.
posted at 7:55 PM
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2 comments
Streaming Your MP3 Library
| 9.03.2005
Here's a couple of assumptions before we get started:
1. You know what an MP3 is
2. You've heard of iTunes from Apple
3. You know how to play Mp3s on your computer
4. You like Music
iTunes is one of the more elegant and intuitively designed software products AND MP3 player in existence. What's best is that it's FREE and works on both MAC and Widows. Just visit the site and download it. If you're at all into MP3s, you've probably assembled a library of files whether you've ripped them from your existing CD library, bought them through the ever-popular iTunes Store or have "found" and "traded" them online utilizing one of the several Peer-to-Peer applications such as Acquisition for the MAC, my favorite...
Now there are several ways to listen to your music. You can listen directly from your computer using the internal speakers, through a variety of powered speakers by plugging them (or headphones) into the sound jack on your computer or even by running a sound patch cord from your computer directly into your stereo. But what if your computer isn't in the same room as the stereo or like me, you have a relatively large library sitting on a semi-dedicated computer? Apple thinks it had the answer by introducing something called the AirPort Express which is basically a Wi-Fi device that streams music from iTunes wirelessly to your home stereo. It's easy to set up: Plug it into an available electrical outlet, connect it to your stereo and use iTunes to set it up. Within a few minutes, it's streaming music from iTunes to your stereo. Pretty cool, right? Well, kind of right but Apple made the same mistake with this as it did with it's iShuffle - - no display and limited controls. So lets say your iTunes library (on the semi-dedicated computer) is in one room and your stereo is in another. Every time you want to change the song or know what's playing, you have to walk to the other room to do it. In my case, that means up a flight of stairs and back down again. Now there have been a few third party remotes that have been created to help change, play, pause the songs which is nice but should also tell you about an interface that was a little under-baked. For $129.00, it's not a bad deal. It's basically 1/3 the price of something better along with only 1/3 of the features.
There are a variety of other devices that have similar functionality, but have full interfaces on them letting giving you full control to all the basic functions but also a readout so you can see what's playing or cued up to be played. The best part is that you don't have to run to another room to do anything. You have full control right from the device which is next to the stereo that you're listening to. I won't go into all the available devices now, but one that I have is called Roku. These highly-designed metal tubes come in 3 display sizes (and associated prices) and are truly plug-n-play. You can hook them up via an internet cable or use them wirelessly. They come with a basic remote control and finish off the job that Apple started with the Airport Express. They're a bit more $$ (just came down in price) but worth it if you're serious about getting the most out of your library.
posted at 3:10 AM
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1 comments
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Hoverblog Archives August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 September 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 Latest Links Myallo - Uses an “interest profile” to find the most interesting Web pages on the Internet, and can actually learn over time. Acquisition - Probably the slickest P2P file sharing application on the web. Beautiful and intuitive OSX-like interface. iPod Music Liberator-Great little shareware for copying music directly from your ipod into ITunes and your finder...No Stealing Bad Music! MusicPublisher - For those of us who are not content just sharing the songs within ITunes, this little app lets you also share any iPod you have docked to your computer as well.
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