Studioworx Pets + Pixels (Life of a Designer)

Slick 60s Package Design Re-Lived

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:24:00 +0000

I was recently visiting friends who were in the process of cleaning out their late grandma’s house. Apparently, grandma was a bit of a collector during her day, keeping everything from broken vacuum cleaners and air conditioners (they might, after all, see a day when they could be repaired and reused), to Canadiana antiques, to a broad selection of complete sets of dishes and kitchen knick-knacks, dating back to great, great relatives of sorts. The treasure trove of family finds was mind-boggling, as said grandma had a very large house in which to store all of the above and more.

It was my good fortune that brought me to my friends’ house, a day or so before the closing of the house, which had to be emptied of all its belongings. As such, my friends whose own house is now bursting at the seams with much of the contents of grandma’s house, were eager to find homes for some of the less sale-able odds and ends. After dinner, I was offered to take home with me one of the many recouped bottles of liquor, from the many cases they’d uncovered.
Apparently, grandma liked her gifts sets… and so I selected this James Bond styled gift box, that came beautifully wrapped in a gold lame box, with blue velvet interior. Accompanying the bottle of imported Boodles British Gin, were two Crystal d’Arc glasses, suitable for the finest of any smoking room. I leapt at the opportunity to own a piece of this kitch… a veritable piece of packaging design history. I suppose my hosts detected my excitement, as they then offered me a second bottle of booze: a bottle of Bolshoi Vodka.

Beside the intricately designed glass bottle with the fancy top (these tops were clearly all the rage… notice the similarly fashioned one on the gin bottle), my favorite part of this bottle is the fine print on the label (“Distilled from an original formula under government supervision by Distillers Corporation Limited, Montreal, Quebec”) and on the seal (“Bottled in bond under government supervision”).

Why they use the word “formula” in lieu of “recipe”, I have to wonder. True to the days of the iron curtain, there’s an element of secrecy about this ornately designed package. I suppose I’ll never know the exact ingredients, but it’s certainly a form of slick (dare I say tacky?) 1960s art that I will continue to marvel at.

Food for thought for any packaging designer, thanks to my friend’s late grandma.

Getting Etsy-ed Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:54:00 +0000

It's official: I now have two store fronts on Etsy.com. One is for my wearable art (right now, that just means felted hats), and the other shop is for my fine art (paintings).
Since it takes me ages to upload pictures and add virtual merchandise to my shop, it might take me a while before I can say I'm in full-swing business, but let's just see. Wish me luck!

Fabulously Handmade Art at Etsy

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:04:00 +0000

Okay... so I've joined Etsy.com (see my shop with its one test painting in it... more to come soon!). Etsy is an DIY ecommerce platform where you can sell your handmade wares (art, clothing, jewelry... anything you make with your own hands), and sell online. It's an easy setup for someone like me. While the contents of my own shop are a bit slim at the moment, I've got an extensive list of favorite items being sold by other people:

Recycling Old Vinyl into New Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 17:21:00 +0000

The other day, I was walking the dog, and I came upon a box of "free stuff", sitting on the sidewalk. Naturally, I stopped, and marvelled at a collection of old vinyl records. Despite not owning a record player, I felt compelled to tuck the collection under my arm, and continue on home. They've been sitting in my living room for a few days now, and I'm wondering what to do with them. Scanning the internet for inspiration, I found these cuffs, on "Cut Out + Keep - a step by step crafty community" (a punk or retro precursor to Etsy.com?). I was thinking of making a mobile, however.

Any other suggestions? If anyone has any thoughts, I'll take them, and promise to photograph and post what I end up creating.

Revolutionizing Pixel: Reading the Fine Print

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:55:00 +0000

The fight against fleas, ticks, heartworm and other parasites is something that all dog-owners should be concerned about. For this reason, I have been using Revolution (by Pfizer) for my dog, Pixel. He's been on it since he's been a young pup. I liked it, because it was the most all-encompassing parasite treatment I knew of, and with only one application monthly, it was all taken care of. It was not until recently, however, that I noticed my dog's reaction to the drug, and so I read the drug label's fine print (see picture above). Nobody ever mentioned that he could actually die from it. In fact, besides the death part, my dog was experiencing all of the side effects listed in the "Adverse Reactions" section, in teeny, tiny print.
I thought it was worth sharing this information, because after reading the "Warnings" section, I didn't see anything too bad (their sections include "Caution", "Warnings", "Precautions", "Adverse Reactions", and "Safety", among others, and I had inadvertantly skipped over that piece of info... see the PDF on the Pfizer web site). In short, be sure to really read about any chemicals you are giving your furry friend, especially if they start acting strangely. I gave Pixel a bath at 1:00 AM, and he almost immediately went back to his normal behaviour.

Haircut 2.0 - The Ultimate Wearable Art

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:55:00 +0000

It takes a very brave soul to ask random strangers to cut one's hair... which is precisely what this young guy, Bilal Ghalib did. He's calling it Haircut 2.0. Crazy? You decide.

How to Make, Create, Design... Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Always on the look-out for new projects, I found this web site, Instructables, that promises step-by-step instructions on how to make... well, just about anything. From Food to pets, to art, to the offbeat, ideas about. Users submit their own "how to" instructions, photos and all. Get inspired--in a cast? paint it into a funky high-top sneaker, like this one. Teach yourself how to divide, throw a punch, enroll your kid in school in San Fran, or teach your dog tricks.

Tutorialized Tutorials

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:55:00 +0000

Tutorialized is packed full of good old fashioned, F1 help. Learn how to make hair in Illustrator, or how to get started in Adobe Premiere. There are technical and business tutorials there too, but I'm mostly interested in the free online graphic design education I can give myself. Maybe you simply want to learn more about making animated banners in Flash. Whatever the reason, if you can see past the many blinking ads, this handy web site is your one-stop shopping for freebie online learning.

Portrait Drawing on YouTube

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:26:00 +0000

Are you one of those people who get inspired by being around other artists? if so, here's a quick fix for you: a 25-year-old Brazilian portrait artist who calls himself marcoseiji on YouTube. He scribbles away on paper, making it all look so easy. Check out his user profile, with his many vids, including this "composite" video. Then, there's the video of EclecticAsylumArt, another YouTube artist, drawing marcoseiji's portrait.

Criss Angel BeLIEve Show Wows

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:34:00 +0000

Visiting Vegas means a trip to see Cirque du Soleil. I saw the premiere of the new "Criss Angel BeLIEve" show, which will be in preview mode until the Gala Première on Halloween night. Like other Cirque shows, it was spectacular, incredibly clever, and artfully done. There are eye-popping effects done with video projection and Criss Angel, the headliner magician. The sets and costumes were beautifully designed, right up to the last detail, consistant with Cirque's ever-precise mastery of fabulous visuals and pulsating rythms. The story is a wonderful, magical journey. Here's the link to their neat wallpapers.

Elvis is Not Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:03:00 +0000

Elvis is not dead... at least his spirit is very much here, in Las Vegas, where I happen to be spending a few days, visiting a friend. Upon arrival at the McCarran International Airport, I was whisked off to the car rental place in a shuttle bus, driven by an aging guy with big 70s cop glasses, and blow-dried hair: the first of a series of Elvis wannabes that I was to encounter.
This desert town is larger than life, and if I had to pick one word to describe it, that would be "excessive". Vegas is always open, an inexhaustable 24 hours a day. There are more lights, cars, casinos, and tourists than I have ever seen anywhere else. There are Paris replicas, New York, Egypt, New Orleans, and a host of other Febreeze-scented, dinging portrayals of various world landmarks. Altogether, Sin City is quite overwhelming for a quiet little Canadian girl like myself. For this girl, memories of lights, glitter, carpet deodorizer, cigar smoke, noise and action will, indeed, stay in Vegas.

PodCamp Montreal, 2008: My Abridged Notes

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:26:00 +0000

So here's my take on PodCamp Montreal 2008...
It was a reunion of electronic communicators, where poeople exchanged ideas and opinions. The 2-day event was divided up into 3 tracks, and in between, was an opportunity to hang out and network. I listened to 6 speakers in total, and snacked on muffins and endless coffee in between.

The top 3 most important points that I came away with:

Be genuine:
Pick a niche (topic) and speak or write about it, from the heart.
Be consistent and approachable:
For social media to work, there must be dialogue (so don't just broadcast messages, unless you are really that exciting, that people would want to hear only you, without providing feedback). For social media / networking to work, you have to be consistent. Don't start, then drop your blog or podcast, only to leave your network high and dry. They will go elsewhere.
Be the keeper of your own content:
Host your content on your own web site, and use RSS feeds to syndicate... this way, if you ever get kicked off the site, you won't lose all your hard work.

PodCamp Montreal, 2008: My Weekend.

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:18:00 +0000

I'm back from PodCamp Montreal, 2008. Here were a few pics, taken during this morning's sessions. It wasn't as crowded this morning, as it was yesterday. My head is swirling with information that I need to sort out, so I can write about it.

Podcast Mecca: PodCamp Montreal, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:41:00 +0000

This is the weekend many podcasters (and podcaster wanna-be's) have been waiting for: it's the weekend of freebie conference, PodCamp Montreal 2008, where the multimedia minds shall assemble under one roof, and share ideas. As registered guest number 344, I got in just under the wire (total number of guests is 363)... unfortunately, if you didn't register ahead of time, registration is closed.
PodCamp Montreal speakers (there are more):
iCar
Rob Blatt
Les Beaux Real Roux (French)
Zelaurent (French)
Topics will include marketing, SEO, techniques, etc.

A History of Windows Sounds

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:42:00 +0000

I don't think any sound has been quite so well recognized as the Windows startup and shutdown sounds... which, I suppose, is why some individual decided to post this video on YouTube, documenting all the various sounds from Windows 3.11 (the empirical sounding, "ta-da!") to present-day Windows Vista, which has a much more tubular zen sound (thankfully). If remixes are what you're into, check out this Vista remix or an XP one... as a friend so aptly put it, they really get going around the middle.

Browser Usage - Web Statistics & Trends

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 16:40:00 +0000

In my pursuit to update my internet knowledge, I thought it would be important to check out some web stats... but where? And how accurate would those stats be? Would they be up-to-date? I found what I was looking for on the W3Schools web site. Not only am I able to brush up on my coding, but the web site provides a monthly breakdown on web statistics and trends, dating back for the past six years. There's also info about OS Platform statistics. Oh, and being part of W3, it's free.

XML-Sitemaps for Web Page Ranking

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:16:00 +0000

Moving right along... The photo in the last fascinating post about the dinosaur discovery looks more like something my dog makes, that I must pick up and dispose of. Time now for a little web technology...

My page ranking had slipped a point, and I am looking for help. The best remedy, I've found, is to actually post every day, but if you've ever tried writing 70-100 words to write, EVERY day, you know it's not that easy.

I realized I needed to submit an XML sitemap for the robots to better crawl my site. I'm a so-so at coding, so for that reason, I sought out an XML sitemap generator at XML-Sitemaps.com. Just plug in the code, and away it goes, generating an XML map to all your pages. Download the new file, then upload it into your site's root folder, and submit it to Google's Webmaster Tools... Voilà! (I'll let you know how my page ranking turns out).

A Dinosaur of a Story

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:00:00 +0000

Meet "Leonardo", a 77-million-year-old hadrosaur fossil, uncovered in Malta, Montana. Scientists say that he must have died at about 3-4 years old, and was naturally mummified in the sand that surrounded him, since then. What makes this guy particularly intriguing, is the fact that he is so perfectly preserved... so much so, that you can even see the last meal he ate, in his digestive tract.

The Houston Museum of Natural Science will be the first city to host our dino friend, in an exhibit that starts next week. Paleontologist, Dr. Bob Bakker delivers interesting insight, here.

Play With Color

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 17:20:00 +0000

Does your portfolio boast color? If color is the favorite part of your designer day, you will enjoy playing with color combos at kuler (get it? ... kuler... color...), one of Adobe's online toys for creative folks like myself. If you want to base your colors on a photo, you may do so by uploading it. The tool automatically suggests a color theme, but you can edit that, as you see fit. You need to log in, if you actually want to save any of your color sets.

Edible Art

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:10:00 +0000

To pretty to eat? WD-50, a trendy New York restaurant is where Wylie Dufresne pushes his culinary creativity. Food, in the shape of things squiggly or cubed and standing up tall are his signature in this nouvelle cuisine spa for the senses. I have not eaten here, but was intrigued by a friend's Facebook posting of photos from food they'd ordered, while dining there. It got me interested in reading more.

Above photo: "Knot foie".

Test JavaScript in IE, on Multiple Platforms

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 14:25:00 +0000

Need to test your JavaScript in Internet Explorer on various platforms? DebugBar has an alpha release of IETester. It's still in the alpha stages of testing, but maybe we're on to a good thing here.

Mother-in-Law's Cake Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:15:00 +0000

I haven't posted in over a month, as I've been taking time off, relaxing and enjoying family, friends, foods, places. So, I thought I'd start off, this Labour Day Monday, with a family recipe that was passed down to me by my late great aunt, Matante. She called it "Mother-in-Law's cake", but ironically, she was never married. Didn't matter, this is the best cake you'll sink your teeth into!

CREAM:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs (yolks beaten)
1 tsp. vanilla

SIFT:
2 cups flour
2 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. cloves
1 tsp backing soda

ADD dry ingredients with:
1 cup buttermilk. Beat well.

FOLD: 3 stiffly beaten egg whites

Place batter into 2 buttered & floured 9-in. larger cake pans.
Cook 350 degrees, 40 minutes.

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BUTTERMILK ICING
(the best part... you might wish to double this part of the recipe).

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup butter
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Cook over low heat until soft ball (236 degrees). Beat until spreading consistency.

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Good eating to all! ... Claire.

Color Scheme Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Are you one of those people who just doesn't have a natural eye for color? If so, check out this color tool, which provides you with "Color Wheel", "Color Harmonies", and "Suggested Colors". It's ColorSchemer Studio, and you can try the freebie online version of the tool, right here. The paid version (about $50) also includes a "Color Blindness Simulator" and "Convert to nearest WebSafe or WebSmart color". More color tools to come.

Luxurious, Red Beauty... Mite Macro?!

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:00:00 +0000

A colorful duster? Perhaps a posh hand muff, to keep warm in the winter? Guess again.

This is a macro of a red velvet dust mite, taken by user Mudo Poco, and posted on Flickr.

If you live in the Northeast, you've most certainly seen these tiny spider-like insects scurry across dry surfaces in the summer months. They look like little orange-red dots. If you're like me, you've never given much more thought to them until viewing this photo of their intricate detail.

Cubicle Coolness

noreply@blogger.com (Claire D.) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 22:26:00 +0000

Scott Adams of Dilbert cartoon fame, designed the ultimate cubicle. I suppose it's only natural that the person who spent years drawing little office-themed boxes on paper (his "cubicle farms" cartoons), would eventually want to develop a real-life box, so that real people can actually sit in and operate out of it, in comfort and style. The glowy honeycomb look & feel of this box beats all cubicles I've ever worked in, hands down, bar none.