Just coming through with a bunch of stuff as usual. I haven't done this in a while so I thought it'd be pretty fun :D







How cool are those Typography Necklaces? I'd kill for one that says CMYK!


via

I've come to realise how UNPRODUCTIVE I've been all holiday. I haven't been earning muneyz and I haven't been working on anything art-wise. Besides the mere fact I took plenty of photos on trips around the place. But I don't really consider that work. Photography may be the art of capturing the beauty in things we see around us; but when you have to come up with something that is stunning and simply isn't there, that's something I am just unable to do.

I dread August all the same. I don't think I'm mentally prepared to go back to uni just yet. I can't come up with any creative ideas for anything let alone a deadline. I'm thoroughly screwed come August. I think they might have raised the toll prices too so I really need to sort out my schedule for next semester so I can be in Cyberjaya as little as I can or the hole in my pocket will spread to my skin and into my very bone. Either that or I'll have to stay over in Cyber once every week or something. (I hear some cheering somewhere)

Anyway, Fernando Torres became a father today (or was it yesterday?) to a baby girl Nora. Olalla gave birth in Spain. Ah well, another girl for Jon Alonso to chase after LOL. Kinda makes me wonder if he'll come to Singapore later this month, being a first timer dad and all. I really hope he does. Heck he can bring Nora if he wants to [/delusional]. The MJ mania still hasn't lifted as every moment spent watching CNN has been devoted to the late King of Pop. I don't even need to tune into CNN, all I need to do is sit in front of Nisha. She's taken his death somewhat personally and has been GLUED to news about him ever since. It's amazing. She better get over it soon or she's gonna drive us all mad with her constant "Did you know Michael ..." or "Turn on Youtube and watch this video of Michael" ... LOL

We all love you Nisha but you've gotta quit while you're ahead. We all miss him but it's time to let him finally rest in peace.

images from here/here

As usual, I compile a list of ALISON WANTS:



01. Hansa Latrava is the latest design added to the Hansa series of bathroom faucets from Munich, Germany based Octopus Design. Who doesn't want a faucet like this right?



02. Nice shelving units. Cause I don't have enough. *quick trip to IKEA*



03. Tablet. Tablet. TABLET



04. A beautiful country life, and a darling yellow cabinet, in Norway via Bo med barn. A simple cabinet will do just fine too. It's small things like these which makes a home beautiful. I love minimal pieces.



05. Faber, a Netherland’s based manufacturer of fireplaces, have released some inspirational photos of their 2009 collection of fireplaces. Walaupun dalam negara ini memang tak perlu guna fireplace. Saje aje lah.



06. And a sorry puppy.



07. and a mischievous looking Craig Parker *hugs*.



08. Day by the sea.



09. Or a week in Santorini Island (Greece)



10. A home with a view (and vanishing pool would be a plus).

God I'm marerialistic.

Was just browsing through the regular graphic design/typography/advertising blogs and simply flickr today as I am in need of inspiration desperately.



01 (Tokyo-based Stephan Hauser's amusing bathroom dustbin addresses the way (and place) that we guys like to read. See more of his portfolio here.)

How awesome is that? I think it is because I do that to my bin in my room. Shove books on top of it to conceal it. As for actually reading while you're on the can, I don't know haha. I'm not that kind of person. This is just purely for lol!fun.


02 who remembers any of these? (source)
for my coursemates who are suffering through the hardships of creating fonts (like I am now, here's a handy guide to making fonts. Alison highly recommends)


03 Agency: GITAM/BBDO, Israel

04 David Airey's list of pros and cons of being a freelancer

PRO:
You set your own hours.

CON:
You’re expected to work 24 / 7.

PRO:
You set your own rates.

CON:
How do you know when you’re selling yourself short?

PRO:
You’re doing the job you love.

CON:
Many people don’t appreciate your design education.

(more in the link)

------ END ------

Now I need to run off and finish typography.

Designers Alex Tee and Evan Gant, of Massachusetts-based product innovation firm Altitude Inc., are hoping their LightLane bicycle add-on will make bicycling safer at night. (via Core77)

That sounds cool. If only we had bike paths here. :) Nah in Malaysia we do it kamikaze style. We ain't avoiding traffic, we be IN traffic.

The typical power adapter is the perfect symbol of design by engineers; it fits everything they need into that black box, and takes absolutely no consideration of the environment in which it will go, often rendering adjacent outlets useless.

Ideative's Socket Sense is a good solution, expanding outwards so you can "load" the outlets before compressing them together into a tidier bundle. Runs about 30 bucks US and is one of the better powerstrip solutions we've seen. (via Core77)

Now I could use one of those. There's way too many extension cords lying all over the place here and too many adapters to match them.

Here's something that's been bugging me for some time now. I'm sure everyone's questioned it once or twice before. When you're walking in the mall and looking for that part time job, you come across a rather cool (dark) anime/fashion/toy store that you think you could really like working in. You look at the HELP WANTED sign and the first thing you see is "CHINESE/MALAY/INDIAN only" and depending on your race, you somehow end up disappointed.

I understand that there's a need to communicate to some customers in a certain language. Couldn't they have said "Preferably able to speak Chinese/Malay/Tamil"? Yes I know there is no "CHINESE" language, but I could spend all day listing down the different dialects. I mean I know heaps of people who speak a wide variety of languages. Whenever I meet someone who isn't Chinese and speaks the language, I am immediately awed and somewhat pissed off knowing I can't speak a word of it myself and find that I am impressed by them. Wouldn't it be cool to walk into some manga selling shop and ask the Indian dude next to you something in Mandarin only to have him answer back fluently? I think so. Why specify the RACE of a person rather than the preffered LANGUAGE? I think I could be a huge disappointment for if I applied for a "CHINESE GIRL ONLY" job. I'd piss off the employer when I tell him/her I can't speak any form of Chinese worth peanuts.

And this is why we entertain Mat Sallehs so much.