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Yes, that’s right! You can now call me Mark of the Yukon. My family and I have officially made the move to the great white north – Whitehorse, Yukon. We flew into town on Monday. Some have called us crazy, why move there. The winters are long, cold and dark. Indeed this is true, but the summers are long, warm and light. The longest days in the country. The land of extremes if you will.

We  currently reside in Porter Creek, a lovely community just north of the downtown core. It’s our temporary home for the next 3-weeks while we find a more permanent location. The housing market is very tight right now and homes are snapped up very fast. While the search continues, we are making ourselves ready for the coming week. Schools, childcare and work. It’s an adventure!! That’s what I tell my friends and family.

Camera Phone Lenses
The iPhone 4 might well be the best camera phone ever made, but even it can’t overcome the physical limitations of its built-in lens. Or can it? Camera Phone Lenses ($20-$40USD) attach to it or any other camera-equipped phone via an included magnetic ring, giving you wide angle/macro or fisheye capabilities that go well beyond your average fixed lens. Your DSLR will be jealous.

Description:
It’s hard to believe you were that Snobby McSnobberson of yore. You were dedicated to film 100%, cringing at the “D” in DSLR and the mere thought of shooting in JPEG. But then. iPhone happened. It was the readiness with which you could whip out this camera that made you fall in love. Yes, it had you at hello, and now your only wish is to bathe your beloved with lavish accessories. Well, your wish is granted! These high-clarity glass cell phone lenses are like pro lenses for your camera-phone, giving you crisp and clear shots every time. The two small yet powerful and finely constructed lenses, one fisheye and one combo wide-angle/macro, attach to your cell phone transforming your standard flat phone photos into wide and up-close wonders.

They work with any camera phone and attaching them is easy breezy! A detachable magnetic ring sticks to your cell, providing a sturdy, shake-free hold between the lens and your phone. Go with the combo wide-angle/macro lens for capturing sweet crowd shots at concerts or that awesome ally-way mural. When the same lens is set as a macro, you can really get in there to shoot a super-close-up detail! Meanwhile, the fisheye creates fun-tastic curved edges with its 180 degree angle whilst making everyone look like they live in a plastic bubble! Facebook camera-phone album, get ready for pics like you’ve never seen before.

Order online today!

Specs:
•    Detachable magnetic ring sticks with adhesive to your phone
•    Lens attaches to phone via magnetic ring
•    Compatible with any camera phone
•    Powerful macro lens focuses between 10-23mm from your subject
•    Wide angle lens 0.67x wide
•    Fish-eye lens 180 degree angle (0.28x)
•    Lenses range between 15.8mm-25mm diameter x 6.5mm-15mm length
•    Back and front lens covers to prevent scratching of glass

I originally came across these guys when I saw a photo that a friend of mine took while she was visiting Vancouver. The photo was awesome, but the subject matter was just as impressive. I had to find out what artist was responsible for this mural. Turns out it’s a group that calls themselves Nomadic Alternatives. They are a talented group of artists from Vancouver that do films, murals, logos and graphic design.

This particular example is entitled “Under the Shadow of 10,000 Crows” and is the Nomads latest installment. The mural depicts the daily flight of the crows at dusk to roost as seen from Commercial drive. This wall is located at the corner of Commercial Drive and Venables.  Visit their website for more incredible samples of their work.

Hi folks,

I’m in the midst of adding a mobile version of my site for all those viewing my site on their phones or PDA’s. When you visit my site on your phone, this little plug-in automatically detects this and will present the optimized version. This plug-in gives my blog a mobile/phone/PDA- friendly interface with progressive enhancement for advanced mobile browsers.

Whether you are using a mobile phone such as a Blackberry or Nokia, or a smartphone like an Android or iPhone device with touch capabilities, this version will detect and display a different stylesheet for these two categories. This way, those with touch screens have nice big tap zones, and those with pointers or scroll wheels have shorter scroll areas.

The theme has been developed by the cool dudes at Crowd Favorite – developers of Wordpress plug-ins. Most of my pages are good, except my portfolio page. This may take a bit of time. lol

Keep your eyes peeled!

It’s always great to hear this.

“Mark’s keen design skills turned our prototype web-app into a professional looking application.  He spent time to really understand our customers and project goals, his ideas and concepts were top notch.  It was a big plus to have Mark working on our project.  I would feel very comfortable recommending his design services to peers and colleagues.”

J. Downton,
Director at ACN Property Pilots Inc.
http://www.furnished.pro

plastique – plastic jewelry with a graphic designer’s touch

Created by Jennifer Murse, the line of plastic jewelery with a graphic designer’s touch includes acrylic homages to Mac commands, the CMYK colour profile, Helvetica, Avant-garde and Kerning.

Command-Z
Ever just do something and think “man i wish i could apple/ctrl-z that like in photoshop”? if yes, then you know you have reached another level of design nerdom.

kern
Total typographic design nerd? This is the ring set for you! Inspired by the want, need, and love of kerning type, this ring set features 2 rings — KE & RN. wear them side by side and kern away.

helvetica
Total helvetica-phile? adhere to the mantra “give me good typography or give me death”? designers and type nerds alike — this is the necklace for you!

avant garde
Whether you are avant garde, love avant garde art, or use avant garde the typeface, this necklace is for you.

Hi everyone,

Awhile ago I was searching the internet for creative inspiration, especially for freelance professionals like myself,  I found Freelance Switch. It’s a community of freelance professionals from around the world, spanning all manners of fields. They have many articles for freelancers, everything from Keeping in Touch with Prospective Clients, Making the Most of a Critique to The Care and Feeding of Subcontractors. But I especially love the comic strip they have, I like it probably because I can relate to it very well. Freelance Freedom is illustrated by N.C. Winters. If you are a freelancer I would highly recommend you give the fine folks at Freelance Switch a visit.

I’ve included Issues #148, #149 and #150 below. Enjoy and be sure to visit Freelance Switch!

CCS student Andrew Kim’s Coke bottle redesign is an ambitious take on the iconic bottle, going square in the name of eco-friendliness. The new bottle shape would take up far less space in shipping pallets per bottle, and a push-up in the bottom large enough to accommodate the cap of the bottle beneath it would enable stacking. Said cap is offset for better drinkability.

Another interesting design feature is that underneath the label, the bottle is ribbed so that it can compress like an accordion, taking up even less space when it’s time to go into the recycling truck.

Whether you’re a designer, developer, animator, or blogger, your workstation plays a major role in how you get things done. Some of us like a neat, clean, and inspiring workspace, while others require a crazy over-the-top hardware configuration. I’ve compiled a showcase of photos that will give you workstation envy. The thing about workstations is that even if you have a nice one, seeing another awesome setup can make you a bit jealous.

Infographics are visual illustrations communicating information by means of signs, symbols, icons, maps and diagrams. When these graphics are animated they can be used to represent complex situations and tell stories, or they can address social comment, satire and subversion. At their best, infographics in motion can be informative, involving, funny and at times surprisingly touching. This post brings together some examples of these stunning animations.

Grand Tour of the Known Universe

This is a truly awesome infographic animation revealing the scale of the known universe in relation to our home planet. Astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History have mapped and constantly update and maintain the Digital Universe Atlas, a four-dimensional map of the cosmos, created using the latest scientific data. Based on this map, the movie takes the viewer on a mesmerising voyage from the Himalayas to the furthest reaches of known space and time, with every galaxy, star, planet, moon and satellite accurately scaled and positioned according to current knowledge.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized

In this animation the credit crunch is explained in simple steps with informative narration and crisp graphics. Jonathan Jarvis’ film does what the best Infographics can achieve: distill a complex situation and represent it in an accessible manner.

Growing Up

This charming animation considers the worries of growing up, and reassures that the wonders of growing and life’s surprises are really nothing to fear.