Here’s some art I made for a shirt art contest.

I googled “tentacles” in Google image search to get ideas.  Then I immediately modified my search query to “tentacles -porn.”  Oh Internet, don’t ever change.

I’ve been following news on the Droid since it was announced, hoping it would live up to the iPhone and I wouldn’t have to dump Verizon for AT&T.  I got an email regarding the phone’s new website, and I hate it.  Not the phone (jury’s still out) – but the site.

Here’s a screenshot of the site – which overall isn’t that bad – kind of clever actually.  Once you sit through or skip the “DROID>IPHONE” apple commercial spoof intro, this big ball loads and we’re meant to click on the concepts surrounding it.  When you click on one the big ball shows info about that item.  I like this concept.  I loathe the execution.

Yes, after some concentration, I can read that white text – but it ain’t easy.  There’s also an animation rolling around behind the letters – the red dots pulsing in and out.  Seriously?! Why should I have to squint to read about the phone’s features?  Shouldn’t they get top billing?

Additionally, the only thing that changes when you pick a new link from the wheel is that white text.  The DROID DOES logo and phone image don’t change.  Couldn’t you have put some hardware photos, or some OS screenshots in there?  I don’t want to read a two-sentence paragraph about the Droid’s GPS features.  I want to SEE the damn map.

One of the Droid’s biggest “I’m better than iPhone” claims is it’s 5 megapixel camera.  Here’s an unconventional idea – SHOW SOME SAMPLE PHOTOS.  Even if they’re fakes.  Nobody will know the difference and you’ve at least embedded the idea in your customer’s heads that the thing takes decent photos.

Seriously.  There’s a link that says “calendars” and no pictures of the calendar interface.  The God of the Internet is weeping.

Congrats, however, on making it all shiny and pretty.  That’s definitely more important than actually delivering any content.

Okay, I’ll admit that I did a 25 things and tagged my friends in it (sorry), but I don’t typically do Facebook memes.  This one, however, I thought was kind of fun and worth a few minutes of my time – perhaps as a warm up for the literature typography project I’ve been planning.  Plus I love album covers.

Band / Album Meme

1. Go to Wikipedia and access a random article - the title of the first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
2. Go to The Quotations Page and select “Random quotations” – the last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
3. Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” – the third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
4. Use Photoshop or similar to put it all together.

Made some quick color and font changes because I’m nine and can’t sit still.

Here’s a before & after post, mostly for my own records.  I hate it when I read archives of blogs that say “how do you like the redesign?” and don’t provide screens.  I’m aiming for simplicity here, but I still like to see it evolve.

Before

After

I know if I can’t stand to scroll through the posts, nobody else can either.  I’m not very intense with stuff I design for myself.

I’m still concerned about the variable width, so if you can’t see the sidebar let me know.  I might feel more motivated to do something about it.

I found Aakash Nihalani, an artist who does street art, while I was browsing around.  His work is pretty cool, especially the series that features homeless folk hanging out inside his pieces, but the reason I’m posting the link is really for his “Statement” page.  I’d link it directly but his site is flash, so you’ll have to go to it and navigate to info >> statement to see what I’m talking about.

When you mouse around the page, a white line follows your mouse and eventually fades away.  This isn’t a new trick; mouse trails of all shapes, sizes, and creeds were plastered on every 8th grader’s homepage in 1998 (mine included).  Those mouse-following butterflies or low-res jpg’s of Taylor Hanson didn’t really make any statements though.

Nihalani’s medium is industrial tape, which pulls off his work sites without leaving a residue (or any trace at all that it ever existed).  I thought the mouse trail was a decent metaphor for his work, and the fleeting nature of all street art in general, despite its impact on the page’s legibility.

Screenshot from the Artist Statement of Aakash Nihalani