Facebook BROKE my foot!!!

This is the STUPIDEST injury I've ever had!

I don't normally post random stuff, but this is way too STUPID and FUNNY not to share! I was actually laughing at the absurdity for most of the day. Also, I'm not pissed at anyone, this was entirely MY OWN EPIC FAIL!

~~~~~~~~~~  HOW FACEBOOK BROKE MY FOOT  ~~~~~~~~~~

I was woken up by my phone this morning. I don't normally get calls or texts before 10am, so I figured it might have been important and I rushed to go see. However, I have one of those Ikea beds with a bed up top and a table underneath... I was half asleep rushing down the ladder, when I lost my footing about half a meter off the ground and fell forward onto my left foot. It was NOT a faceplant! I got my hands out just in time. I've never fallen down the ladder before by the way.

When I finally managed to get off my ass, I checked my phone... IT WAS JUST A STUPID FACEBOOK NOTIFICATION!!!!!!!

After about an hour, my foot still hurt and got a little blue and swollen, so we went to see a doctor. He got me to take an X-ray. I have a small spiral fracture on my 5th metatarsal. I was actually quite lucky though, if it was larger and part of the bone moved, I would have had to get pins inserted. Now THAT would hurt! All I got was a bandage, no cast. However, this little piggy's gonna be on crutches for at least 2 weeks...

From now on, I'll be putting my phone on silent when I go to sleep! I've also turned off push notifications on my facebook app too. Who am I kidding, NOTHING important happens before 10am!!!!!!

*** Amendment 2.2.12 ***

I went to another doctor today, and he said I should go to hospital and get their opinion on whether I should get a cast or ortho boot. I ended up with a cast up to my knee! I'll have that for like 2-6 WEEKS! Or whatever the Orthopaedic specialist decides after having a better look in a week or two. This thing weighs a fucking tonne!

But it wasn't all bad, I found a random flamingo in hospital florist for $20. I know, WTF!

Flamingo in a hospital, WTF! Anyway, his name is Frank.

Got a sax?

So here's the finished poster I did as a favour 'out of the goodness of my heart'. It's actually the first poster I've done since I was a little design student! Not too bad, huh?

At the start, I wasn't sure where I was going to go with it, but I've always preferred a more illustrative approach rather than photographic. I then looked to Alex Steinweiss, inventor of the modern-day album cover, for inspiration. He was an amazing illustrator/designer during the 40s-70s worthy of paying homage to.

I didn't spend too much time on it and only did one design. But I'm actually a little pleased with how it turned out. I'd like to think there's a nice sort of balance in the composition. Perhaps a few more projects like this might get rid of the rust? If you don't know what I'm on about, read this post.

Now what did my co-worker think? He was extremely pleased. I do remember hearing 'fantastic' a few times too. I exceeded his expectations, so much so that there was talk of monetary appreciation! The very best kind of appreciation.

Here's the moral of the story: Even if you're doing a favour, don't half-ass it. They might like it so much that they'll want to compensate you in some way! At the very least, they'll remember what a nice job you did and it might lead to actual work or recommendations to people with money!

~~~~~~~ WOO HOO!!! Happy 100th post!!! ~~~~~~~ 

The lines in the clarinet and violin are actually fractal patterns

I used "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II as the song in the background

The Alex Steinweiss lp cover that inspired me

Another little favour

Super top-secret sneak peek!

Remember when I did that Kim Jong-Il photoshop job? That same co-worker asked me to do another little 'favour'. A design favour this time, if I wasn't too busy of course. And once again, I agreed.

He's part of this community orchestra and they're looking for new members. So he asked if I could make a A5 recruiting poster.

Now, when I do these sorts of free jobs 'out of the goodness of my heart', what I'm really saying is 'seeing as you aren't actually giving me any money, I get to do whatever the hell I want, no changes!' And if any of my friends are reading, this applies to you too! If I choose to do something for free, I'm doing it for fun and by not paying me, you forfeit the whole designer/client experience. Okay, that may be a little harsh, but in my defence I always work at the same standard even if I'm not getting paid. So why this job in particular? Well, it's been such a long time since I've done anything non-newspaper related and I just wanted to see how rusty I am at general design.

I'll be posting the the finished product on Monday! With all the sketches and inspiration etc.

Shopping list

I've been trawling the interwebz for awesomeness again! Behold, my new impressive wish list...

For the nerd who has everything... Yes, I fall into that category.
MacBook Air Pocket Mirror, available from InfMetry.

Since I'm really finicky about how I open things, I've always been looking for a really cool letter opener.
Saw Letter Opener, currently out of stock at Uncommon Goods.

This is AWESOME! That is all.
Toothbrush holder tooth, designed by Propaganda and available from Design Life Shop.

Just a totally brilliant idea. As far as I can tell, it hasn't gone into mass production for sale unfortunately. I really really want it! Peg pencil, designed by Watanabe Yuta.

Sick of getting a new calendar every year? So am I. Not only does it look like a fantastic sculptural object, but I'd be doing the environment a favour not buying a new paper calendar every year, right?
Small Perpetual Calendar (orange/silver), designed by Gideon Dagan, available from MoMA store.

The only item of office stationary I've had trouble with is the tape dispenser. Design-wise, the humble tape dispenser has been very neglected. Here's a rather awesome attempt by Philippe Starck. However, it was a limited edition and sold out many years ago. *frowns*

Here's one for all the Photography nerds out there. Imagine drinking your coffee out of a camera lens! But don't worry, it has a stainless steel lining and it's easy to clean. Not to mention it comes in both Nikon and Canon for those with brand preference.
Canon Camera Lens Mug, available from Photojojo. Also, Photojojo have many frakin FANTATIC products!!!

In case anyone still buys real CDs and records from physical stores and have a large collection, you totally need dividers! If only for the records, they're hard to flip through quickly. To solve this extremely important first world problem we have the Record Dividers, designed by and available from Suck UK.

Now this is how a staple remover should look! But alas, it's no longer available...
Dinosaur Staple Remover, designed by Jac Zagoory.

When I saw this, I totally flipped! It's not like I'm not a tightwad or anything, I just want to get the most out of life. Anyhow, I must have it!
Tube Wringer, available from Uncommon Goods.

Pretty little flowers

How cool is this? And it's really easy to make too!

Tulip instructions available here!

I discovered something awesome the other day... Origami YouTube videos! I was very pleased. And I managed to make a Lotus flower, which is a lot easier than it looks. If you'd like to make one, you should start with paper that's 14cm x 7cm, rather than what the video suggests. Also, I made an extra layer of petals so it looks more full.

Don't have any nice paper? Not to worry. If you do a Google image search for Chiyogami paper and select "large" on the left, you can find some really nice patterns to print out at home.

So, what the hell is SOPA?

Here's a little TED video that explains what SOPA/PIPA are, why they SUCK, and why we have to stop them!!!

Via Mashable.

Spomenik: Forgotten relics from a country that no longer exists

Kosmaj, Serbia

Podgaric, Croatia 

Kozara, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tjentiste, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Krusevo, Macedonia

Korenica, Croatia

Nis, Serbia

Scattered across the former Yugoslavian countryside stand enormous Spomeniks. Long-abandoned WWII monuments built in the 60s–70s at historic locations. Millions came to visit these monolithic structures. However, after the demise of Yugoslavia, they were almost entirely forgotten and fell into disrepair.

A few years ago, Belgian photographer Jan Kempenaers toured the Balkans with an old map in search of these relics and here are a few pictures from his book (available from Amazon, already on my wish list).

They have such a strange other-worldly quality about them. Beautiful but sad. 'Beautiful' maybe isn't the right word. More like, they exude strength and must have demanded attention and respect. Now, they seem quite stark and ominous, protruding from the landscape like something that doesn't belong. Perhaps they always looked like that? Even after being abandoned, vandalised and stripped of their meaning, they're still magnificent, if only from a sculptural perspective.

I've gone back to Serbia a few times since we moved to Perth, but I haven't had a chance to do much more than visit relatives. Next time, I'll make sure I see at least one Spomenik!

For more info and images, visit Crack Two, Trendland and ISO50.

Novel knick-knacks

Ever bought something because you wanted the box it came in? I have. Only once though, a Ridley's House of Novelties slinky. I really didn't need a slinkey, so I guess I'm living proof that good packaging can sell almost anything. Ridley's have a nice range of old-school toys, brilliantly brought to life by Illustrator Joe Snow.
I came across these today at the Art Gallery of Western Australia gift shop and just had to take a few snaps.

I know another shortcut!

It might look blurry, but it's not! Download the high-res version below!!!

One of my esteemed colleagues from another department showed interest in learning inDesign. So I made this little cheat sheet to help.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A HIGH-RES PDF VERSION!

I also made one for Photoshop a few months ago, you can download it here. Sorry, macs only!

CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR SHORTCUTS!!!

————————— NEW! —————————

ALL NEW CS6 SHORTCUTS HERE!!!