18 Jul 2011 - Gandhali Intern
Hello! Today I would like to share with you a list of great gift ideas for designers. :-) So let's get into it!
+ First up is this html coded card, for those html geeks.
+ How about throwing a Pantone themed party? Here's something to start with: Pantone mugs, and Pantone *cookies*. Om nom nom.
+ Liam Brazier's Star Wars print.
+ Clicking oven mitts.
+ 'cos you *just* can't let go of your apps!
+ Custom headphones. Such a beautiful design!
+ Tape hooks. Need I say more.
+ You shared your ipod speakers with a friend. Now you can share them with two!
+ Ctrl+Alt+Del cup set.
+ iPod Touch bed sheets.
+ 'Slide to unlock' doormat. Such a rad idea!
+ The periodic table of typefaces (!!).
+ 'Delete' fly swatter.
+ Giant iPod speakers! I need to get these!
+ Photoshop/Illustrator magnets.
+ This one and this one are good websites for well-designed t-shirts.
+ Fine typographic prints for the typoholics!
+ Rapping Paper
I hope you enjoyed our gift list! Happy Monday everyone!
15 Jul 2011 - Gandhali Intern
This weeks Inspiration Thursday topic was cool apps. Here are a few that we looked at!
- LetterMPress. Part of MPress Interactive, this cool app comes with a pre-loaded 13 typefaces as well as five art collections. You can use it just as you would a letterpress, and you can email/facebook the art quickly too.
- Sleep Cycle. A bio alarm clock that senses your movements and wakes you right when your sleep is lightest.
- iBrainstorm. A collaboration between your iPad and your iPhone. Design something on the iPad, flick it over to your iPhone. It's that simple.
- Ruler. How many times have you wished you had a ruler with you? Well, this app turns your iPhone into a ruler!
- Cellar. Keep a note of how many wine bottles you have, in the Cellar!
- Photovine. Take a photo, and 'plant it' in this app. Then watch it grow as your friends continue the chain.
- G-park. This app is perfect for those forgetful car-parkers.
- Sweet talk. Handy when you want to disguise yourself ;-)
- ProCreate. "Sketch. Paint. Create."
- Instagram. The app that's taking the blogging world by the storm! Basically, all you do is take a photo, and select and choose what effect you want it to have, from a pre-made list by Instagram!
- Panorama 360. Simply tap the screen, and pan! The app will take the photos and stitch them together in a panorama!
Aside from these, also take a peek at Apps to Impress on the Apple site.
13 Jul 2011 - Simon Dickey
Frontend is looking for a experienced senior strategic user interface designer to work in www and mobile app design.
Responsibilities
- Love design, usability, people, fun
- Create beautiful interfaces
- Strategic designer, creating highly functional dashboards, data visualization
- Contribute to the ongoing collaborative efforts within the office --
we're all designers, ux'ers, and developers here so you have to gel with the team
- Have a friendly personality which helps you communicate with clients, co-workers, friends
- Be comfortable working directly with clients and engaging them in user-centered design discussion(s)
- Design engaging and elegant interactive solutions for various projects and platforms
- Join in on early-stage design deliverables such as process flows, wireframes, digital strategy etc.
- Solve visual design problems
- Make things pretty, learn, grow, be bloody awesome!
Requirements
- 5+ years of professional web design AND touch techonogy experience
- Bachelor's degree in relevant field (HCI, Graphic design, etc.)
- Demonstrated work - strong portfolio of recognisable clients
- Strong understanding of visual design principles, including but not limited to typography, color theory, grid-based design, etc.
- Expert level knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, InDesign, etc.)
- Understanding of web standards and technologies along with some basic understanding of HTML/CSS/JS
- Ability to manage your own time and a projects timeline
- Desire to work in a small studio and contribute to our culture and growth
Is this you?
QUALIFIED applicants should email corinne@frontend.co.nz with:
- Your CV in PDF format
- 10 examples of your screen work explaining your process, solution and outcomes, in PDF format
- URLs are welcome, but must be accompanied with a PDF document that explains your process and solution
This job is a contract or full time position.
No calls, no recruiters, no knocks on the door.
08 Jul 2011 - Dan Clausen
Whilst a lot of websites rely solely on text and images to get across their message, an increasing number are using illustration in exciting and innovative ways.
Some designers use illustration as an alternative to photography to bring a little more personality to their site. A more extreme approach is when illustration is used exclusively throughout the website. When done well, this can bring a unique character to the site which not only differentiates it from the competition, but gives the site it's own distinctive personality.
Illustration styles vary extensively and can be customised to the intention of the website. A more eclectic brand for example could use a more whacky illustration style and a serious corporation, a more reserved style. There are no rules when it comes to illustration however and sometimes the reverse can be true.
With today's fast internet connections there is a tendency to think that 'anything goes' when it comes to web illustration however there are still a couple of things to keep in mind. Firstly, you should make sure that the size and detail of your illustration is appropriate to your website subject. i.e; A large corporate website may have some big restrictions when it comes to individual page size and upload times whilst these issues may not be so important for an alternative rock-band site. It is also important to keep in mind the actual size of the illustration and the amount of individual colours it contains as this will determine the size of the file when it is optimised. For example a large illustration with only a few colours could be a relatively small file whilst a small illustration with multiple colours could be a large file size.
These “restrictions” are not meant to hamper creativity however but should be kept in mind so that your illustration fits your website and looks as good as it possibly can. Of course web specific illustration is also closely related to web based animation, but we will save that subject for another day! :-)
07 Jul 2011 - Gandhali Intern
Todays "inspiration meeting" topic was innovation in small businesses. We had a great list of innovative ideas in small businesses, and definitely left inspired :)
A recurring theme that we found was "crowd-sourcing". Here are a few examples where this trend is implemented:
Etsy.com - Etsy is "the world's most vibrant handmade marketplace". Users make accounts and use these to sell their handmade innovations and masterpieces. Each user account is seen as a "shop", and it is estimated that there are more than 290,000 sellers. Etsy provides an easy selling experience to the users as it handles all the back-end transactions.
Prizes.org - Users answer questions posted by other users in order to win the prize.
Ahhha.com - Users can publish their own "ahhha" moment. If it's voted up, users can have a chance at turning the idea into a creative process, design, and an actual product at the end!
Threadless.com - Users submit their t-shirt designs online, and are voted upon. Highly voted designs are then sold through the threadless store.
Kickstarter.com - Users apply for their projects to be accepted by Kickstarter, and once they're accepted, other users can provide funds to reach the goal set by the project-starter.
Here are some more innovative small businesses:
Skanemejerier.com - Swedish dairy that uses tracking numbers as a marketing tool. Skanemejerier created a webpage and an iPhone application that allows customers to enter numbers from their milk cartons to learn more about where their milk originated from! What an innovative idea!
Hakia.com - Hakia is a semantic web search. Instead of just searching for the words you've typed in the search engine, Hakia tries to understand the search entry and responds accordingly. For example, if you search for "best pizza places in Auckland", Hakia will try and find the best pizza places by searching for pizza places with the best reviews. Just a little extra addition to the regular search.
BakerTweet - BakerTweet is a device that busy bakers can use to tell the world that they've just baked delicious buns, scones, or cupcakes! All of the baker's followers will get a Twitter message telling them to go pick up that baked goodness, hot and fresh from the oven!
Stay tuned to find out about our next Inspiration Thursday topic (and links)!
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