Archive for January, 2008

Brand New

Published
by
Ethan
on January 30, 2008
in Life
. 1 Comment

Hope everybody out there is doing well. This blog, as you can see, has got a new design. I finally fixed the terrible typography of the posts and switched to a serif title font. There is a new header and I made it more clean by removing the navigation tabs that didn’t really have a purpose. Other changes include the footer text, the time icon is gone, and new sidebar changes.

So with a brand new look, there is also brand new content on the way. I have just finished a large amount of work and for the rest of the year will be bringing constant content to this blog. I have missed sharing my ideas, stories, and thoughts with you here over the last month and that is about to change. Some articles coming soon include, The Story Behind My Creativity, The Importance of the Internet, Recent Film Viewings, Practicing Design, Literature and Design, Collaborative Consulting, Future of Telling Stories, and hopefully some great interviews.

Lastly, I am going to be re-launching and designing my online brand. There will be a new personal website, new portfolio website, new websites for both of my books, and new logotypes for them all. So keep a look out for those.

Thanks for being part of this all and help spread the word about what I am doing. Talk soon!

A Gathering of Creatives

Published
by
Ethan
on January 29, 2008
in Work
. 2 Comments

Behance is a business in New York City focused on helping creative proffesionals make their ideas happen. They produce a group of products that assist people in being productive and write an online magazine. Their most recent offering is the Behance Network, an online platform for creative portfolios, projects, and collaborations.

Over the past months I have been working as a remote intern and have been doing online marketing and advertising for the Behance Network through social networks and blogs. I have been responsible for developing strategies and executing them in order to spread the word about the website. The experience is one that has taught me so much about the industry and has allowed me to make connections with people.

I had first written about the Behance Network here on my blog and said that it still needed some work. Scott Belsky, the founder of the company, sent me an email asking what I thought neeed work on. I sent a lengthy reply and indicated that I was interested in an internship opporunity that he had posted online. After talking to him on the phone, and telling him that I was a highschool senior not a college senior, he was interested in having me work for Behance. He asked me what I wanted to work on and I shared the many ideas I had for his company and product. And from there we went on promoting the Behance Network.

Visit the Behance Network Here.
Become a Fan on Facebook Here.

Portfolios In The Mail

Published
by
Ethan
on January 28, 2008
in Education
. 5 Comments

After a ton of work, I finally finished my portfolio and packaged it all. They are now in the mail and will arrive shortly at the schools in which I am applying. One of the schools will be where I am spending the next four years to study graphic design, I look forward to hearing back from all of them as I take this first big step toward my creative future.

To see all of my work together for the first time had a certain feeling that I can’t explain. As I had created each piece, whether it be a drawing or a graphic design piece, I had admired it as one piece, but not like this. Within my work there are stories, ideas, and observations, all of which are inspired by this world in which we live and the people I have connected with. The work represent who I am, a creative person, not just one that can design or draw, but a person that can think in a creative manner.

Materials

More Than Just Art

Front Side

All Done at One O'Clock

Twelve Packages

I’m An Educator, A Self-Educator

Published
by
Ethan
on January 26, 2008
in Education
. 0 Comments

When it comes to design and creativity, I am self educated individual. This is done by my own motivation and interest. I consider it investing in my own future by taking value in learning new things. It has been achieved through books, blogs, and my own experimentation. When moving on with my education I look forward to being able to concentrate on graphic design and at the same time become educated in other areas. As I progress forward in my life I wish to learn something new all the time, and it doesn’t have to be about design, it can be anything. I believe that by combining creativity with knowledge you can achieve anything.

Davos Question

Published
by
Ethan
on January 25, 2008
in Politics
. 0 Comments

The World Economic Forum is happening right now, and they have asked people on Youtube and the world leaders at the conference to respond to this question.

“What one thing do you think that countries, companies or individuals must do to make the world a better place in 2008?”
Here is my response.

Thin, Movies, Capsule, and Mobile

Published
by
Ethan
on January 16, 2008
in Apple
. 0 Comments

Here on the east coast we had to wait until noon for the keynote to start at Macworld. Finally, it was time and I had to go to class, but after class at lunch we broke the notebook out to see what was going on. At this point nothing that big was announced and towards the end of lunch it came. The Macbook Air had arrived. We now headed off to the last class of the day where one of my friends sat across from me and I would glance at him to see if anything else big was announced, he shook his head after checking his iPhone under the desk. Macworld had ended and we were left with four new products.

Macbook Air
This thing is amazing. It is the world’s thinnest notebook computer. In order to get it this small they have created some great new technology, both on the software and hardware front. The CPU could be a little faster, I don’t think 1.8 GHz will work for me and others who have to run Adobe Creative Suite and other design, video, and motion software. However, when looking at the notebook line it goes from 1.8 (Air) to 2.6 (Pro), which is not a huge difference. On an interesting note the Macbook Air website does not have an Intel Core Duo section like the Macbook and Macbook Pro has. Overall, I think that it could be faster, the price is to high, that it is a really smart move for Apple, and that it is just down right amazing.

iPod Touch
They came out with some new applications for the iPod Touch including Maps, Mail and more. This is a good move and the price is worth it, though it doesn’t cost Apple anything to provide these new applications to you. I think I would get one if it had a camera, but this would make it to similar to the iPhone. The iPhone also got a nice update, and if I wasn’t already signed onto a contract with Sprint I would have to save some money up and get one. Someday.

Time Capsule
Apple came out with a wireless backup hard drive and made it a wireless internet hub as well. I think that this is a great concept and if it works well, it will become a convenience for many people. I plan on using this in my dorm room for college, not to provide wireless internet, but so that I can backup wirelessly from anywhere.

iTunes Movie Rentals and Apple TV
Jobs started off by admitting that they had failed, along with others, on their first try. And this time it looks like the will succeed. They have partnered with all of the major studios, which is a key here. It is all done through the Apple TV, which has a new menu design. To be able to not leave your house and just pick a movie to rent will be an amazing experience. And then to be able to transfer it to multiple devices is a great feature. While I still support the small guy video rental store and have not bought a Blue-Ray HD DVD player yet, I think that this is a very strong product. And it will become even stronger when it can record my television shows. Also, with the new Apple TV, you can see the photos from Flickr. (Dave Winer recently released software that also puts Flickr photos on your television, would love to know what he thinks about this. And Steve wasn’t able to get Flickr to work in the demo, so we shall see.)

For the record, I still love my Macbook. It looks great and gets the job done. Even though the new Air is amazing, I don’t think it should deteriorate the value of my Macbook. Khoi Vinh actually wrote about this at length and made some great points about how we don’t design products to deteriorate. Instead we make them to look beautiful when they are sold instead for the future when they have wear and tear. He says that this is just wrong. The Macbook Air looks brilliant, and I’m sure it is, but my half year old Macbook works wonders and looks great.

Apple seems to be focusing more on the environmental impact their products have and this is a great start for them with the Macbook Air. Steve said talking about this would become a normal thing when new products are launched. As for new product launches I think that if they made the Macbook this thin we will see an updated iMac soon. And you can of course check out Apple’s website for all the information and photos.

Do you think 1.8 GHz is fast enough?
What are your thoughts in general on everything new?

The Life of a Student

Published
by
Ethan
on January 12, 2008
in Life
. 0 Comments

Annual Report Contest

Published
by
Ethan
on January 3, 2008
in Education
. 0 Comments

To start of the new year I would like to share with you a contest that is taking place. I am lucky enough to be a judge for this contest and look forward to seeing the entries. It has been created and is being held by Dan Meyer. Here is an introduction to what the contest is all about.

“Design information in four ways to represent 2007 as you experienced it.” What this really means is to make use of graphics to visually represent statistics from what happened in your life during the past year. This is your very own annual report. It can contain information about food and music to travel and education. A great example is from Nicholas Felton who has been doing these annual reports for some time now.

This should give you the opportunity to reflect and look back on what you did in the year 2007. Use this as an experiment to see how you have been living your life and what you can do better this year. Looking forward to seeing the outcomes. Best of luck to everyone!