2007
112 entries
- 10 sites that make running a business easierFor the launch of the new Digital Central website, I’ve written a feature on useful web tools for business.
- 100% GeekThis week I attended the bTWEEN conference on interactive media in Bradford.
- 30 albums on TypeThis month sees the release of TYPE30. Thirty albums in five years isn’t bad going really.
- 3form is 3formingOver the six and half years that 3form has been running we’ve achieved a great deal, won lots of awards and worked with some great people on great projects.
- A List Apart Web Design SurveyA List Apart (I think I last looked at this site some time around 2000) are running a web design survey.
- A new lens for SpringWhile I was in Hong Kong I bought us a new lens and we’re both really happy with it.
- All my mixes in one podcastThis weekend I’ve collected all of the music mixes I have published on the web into one podcast.
- Am I getting behind the curve?Yesterday I took part in a survey I found through the Digital Birmingham site, called the Digital Curve.
- Are my posts too long?Am I being too verbose? Should I be posting shorter, snappier blog posts?
- Artfest: Luminarium Levity II by Architects of AirThe other highlight of this year’s Artsfest for me was the Architects of Air piece in Eastside called Levity II.
- Artsfest: Friday was a BlastArtsFest, Birmingham’s free arts festival (and Europe’s largest apparently, if that means anything) kicked off on Friday with a fantastic piece of performance art/theatre/engineering/pyrotechnics/steampunkery called Blast.
- Authenticity of PlaceI was one of a handful of speakers at the initiation event around the next ten years of regeneration of the city of Birmingham. My word was “Authenticity”, which is something easily lost in a project of this kind.
- Autumn RecoveryI’m starting to think that this modern life we live is more and more becoming a constant blur of overlapping interventions, interferences, opportunities and threats.
- AutumnThere’s something about that particular light you experience when walking under old trees on a cold, blustery day’s end, with a clear sky overhead and leaves scattering underfoot that summons memories of years past and thoughts of the future.
- Back from holiday - here are a couple of new sitesBefore going away, we managed to get a couple of projects finished.
- Backlog!Taking some inspiration from the recent postal strike, I think I’ve also generated a backlog of bloggable bits and bobs to post here.
- Birmingham Clone TownBirmingham is a ‘clone town’.
- Birmingham - the Big City Plan “City Team”I’ve been invited to be part of Birmingham’s ‘City Team’ which is a group of people brought together to come up with big ideas for how Birmingham might change for the better over the coming ten to twenty-five years as part of a ‘masterplanning’ process being branded as “The Big City Plan”.
- BoostedYesterday I spent a couple of hours facilitating a panel at a one day mini conference called Boosted.
- bTween Festival Quickfire
- Change your wireless router password right nowYesterday I was honoured to attend my first School of Computer Science Industrial Advisory Board meeting at Birmingham University.
- Common Purpose - Matrix Programme - Track the Money DayMatrix – an 11-day programme, starting with a two-day residential course and then one day a month.
- Compton VerneyAt last week’s Bank Holiday we had a day out at Compton Verney, which was lovely.
- Create Something Day 1: SplotTo be honest, Monday was a very silly choice of day to start my “create something new every day for a week” idea.
- Create something day 2: Get your people to blog my peopleMy second day of creating something every day for a week.
- Create something day 3: Searching for bokehSummer seems to be upon us for a short while, so I took a few minutes out of the day to find some nice bokeh in and around Moseley/Kings Heath on my way into work.
- Create something day 4: A Certain AmbiguityThe news today is that Penguin Books’ Indian branch have decided to use one of my Flickr photos in the cover of one of their books - A Certain Ambiguity by Gaurav Suri & Hartosh Singh Bal.
- Create something day 5: A rebrand?I’m posting this on Sunday - day seven of my “create something” week.
- Create something day 6 and 7: Peter Broderick – FloatJohn Xela and I spent the weekend talking about our ideas for the artwork for the new album “Float” by Peter Broderick coming out on Type in a few months.
- Created in Birmingham on FacebookI’ve been doing some research for a project that I’m working on at the moment that will rely on Facebook’s new system that allows people develop their own ‘applications’. You may have seen some of these - usually involving throwing pigs at eachother, trying to bite oneanother in some kind of lycanthropic fantasy involving ninjas or in the form of little bits of “that’s too much information, dude” revelations… all of this being ‘virtual’ of course.
- Creative RepublicAn independent, representative group for the creative and cultural industries of Birmingham and the region.
- Crowdsourcing scales up - Who wants to redesign Birmingham?The meeting was one of the first of what looks set to be a year-long series of meetings, discussions, public debates and events all based around what is being called the “Birmingham City Centre Masterplan”.
- Deaf Center and Skallander photosSome photos from the Skallander / Deaf Center show in Manchester at the Sacred Trinity Church, Salford.
- British Council Digital Pioneer
- Digital Pioneers arrive in Hong KongI’m here as part of a project called Digital Pioneers with the British Council.
- Do Schools Kill Creativity?A fantastic talk by Sir Ken Robinson on the importance of creativity in education.
- Doing The National Wedding ShowI spent the weekend helping Emily with her stand at the National Wedding Show at the NEC.
- Emily Quinton PhotographyWedding and portrait photography website.
- Emily’s Birmingham wedding photography businessThis weekend I spent some time helping Emily out with an update to the website for her Birmingham based wedding photography business, surprisingly called Emily Quinton Photography.
- Facebook apps are the new blackThis week I’ve somehow seemed to strike a nerve with a few of my clients by talking Facebook Applications.
- Fierce! Festival hits 10 yearsThis year’s Fierce! programme has been announced.
- Fierce! Festival Ltd.An annual festival of cutting-edge performing arts across the West Midlands, UK.
- Fierce Ten out of TenMany congratulations to the Fierce! team who deservedly won the Birmingham Creative City Award for Best Brand on Thursday.
- First Light MoviesWebsite rebuild for a UK-wide fund for inspiring young film
- Futurology for the Cultural sectorI was asked by Ben Payne from the Birmingham Rep to put forward some thoughts on a significant issue that the cultural sector will face within ten years.
- Get your Name in LightsFierce! Festival launches its Name in Lights project today and we’ve been working into the night to do our best with the new website.
- Getting some inspirationYesterday I was one of the partipants at (and the photographer for) the Channel 4 Inspiration Session on Design and Multimedia organised by Ten4 Magazine and 4Talent.
- Going greyWell, it was bound to happen sooner rather than later but as of today I am now officially past it…
- HomeIt’s been a long month… I’m happy to be home again.
- Hong Kong - CyberportAnd so begins our Digital Pioneers programme in Hong Kong.
- Hong Kong Day Two – BokehSunday in Hong Kong feels much like any other day with its bustling urban sprawl during the day and Bladerunneresque neon blaze by night.
- Hong Kong - Receiving our Digital Pioneers awardsI’ve been made to feel really welcome here in Hong Kong.
- How about we design Birmingham with a WIKI?Too many ideas, not enough time to write them all down before I’m on to the next thing. That’s my problem.
- “How are you doing?”… “Oh, busy”I’ve been to a few events over the last week and I’ve started breaking my rule of not using the word “busy” to describe what I’m up to.
- How to set up a simple professional portfolio site/blog in about four hours
- I am going to create something every day for a weekFor the past few years, I’ve had a pretty simple personal rule that I try to abide by every day.
- Igloo ImpossibleIt’s that time of year again, and in time honoured fashion I’ve put together a little festive game for your mouse-clicking enjoyment.
- IlluminateI’ve had the pleasure of being involved in Plus - Birmingham’s international design festival for over a year now.
- Impressions of Hong KongI’m back in the UK after an intense few weeks, first in Texas, then Hong Kong.
- In conversation with Scott RossI was lucky enough to have a chat with Scott Ross, CEO of Digital Domain.
- Is Birmingham “Getting it?” - Creativity and Culture feature in the West Midlands Power 50Yesterday evening was the launch of the Birmingham Post’s much anticipated supplement, the “Power 50 - Who is really shaping the future of the West Midlands?” at Birmingham Future’s AGM.
- Is having your music licensed in a TV ad “selling out?”Over the Christmas break we had some success at Type when a track from one of our artists was used in the latest Honda advert.
- Jamie At HomeTips sharing platform for Channel 4's Jamie Oliver series.
- Khonnor in shock TV appearance (sort of)If you were particularly observant you might have noticed that last night’s episode of the IT Crowd on Channel 4 had an assortment of Type goodies on the set in the background, including Khonnor’s Burning Palace seven inch.
- Kong Kong - Behind the Scenes at Happy ValleyTo top off a great day, last night we had a behind-the-scenes tour of Happy Valley, Hong Kong’s horse racing stadium.
- Live blogging my new iPhone purchaseI’m in the Apple store Bullring right now taking early adoption to a whole new level (maybe).
- Live blogging SXSWiI’m starting to find other people blogging SXSW… first up it’s Coline Devroe who’s already finding out about free beer and t-shirts!
- Celluloid Dreams in Digital TimesA 1 hour mix of experimental, cinematic electronic and acoustic music.
- In the Back of the RealOne in a series of mixes for the Type Records radio series.
- Moseley Folk Festival is Lovely with a capital LToday we took the day out and went to Moseley Folk Festival which is running in Moseley Private Park all weekend.
- Name in Lights: And the winner is… Una WhiteThe winner of the Name in Lights project was announced last night at a champagne reception in Birmingham city centre.
- Name in Lights is going viralI’ve just looked through the statistics for the Name in Lights site that we launched before I went out to Texas last week.
- Name in LightsA UK-wide competition for a member of the public to have their name made into fifteen-foot Hollywood-style lettering and lit up on a Birmingham landmark.
- Nought for the DayDid you know that atheists, agnostics and humanists are banned from expressing their thoughts on Thought for the Day?
- Oh No Logo – an article for the Birmingham PostFollowing the blog post I wrote about the new 2012 Olympics identity, I was invited to write a short piece for the Birmingham Post which was published today.
- One of my photos is in the Guardian photography supplement todayI haven’t seen it yet, but this image was chosen with five others for inclusion in the Guardian’s photography week series of supplements.
- Out of Hours: To Blog or not to BlogThis evening I’m heading over to the Light House in Wolverhampton for a get-together and some informal discussion on the ‘whys’ and ‘wherefores’ of blogging.
- “Photo Finish” for Channel 4’s 4TalentThe guys at Channel 4 have started a new site called 4Talent and I was invited to put together a “how-to” guide for photographers looking at setting up a portfolio site using free tools and software like Flickr and Wordpress.
- Plus Festival 07 - Moving Type FoundAs a first post on Plus 2007, here is a series of ‘found type’ photographs I took during the event.
- Plus Festival 2007 OpensAfter a year of work, we’re all very proud to announce that Plus - the international design festival opens its doors at 10am tomorrow for five days of inspirational design events, perfomances, talks by leading designers, exhibitions, interactive installations, even a real-life version of Pacman played out by humans and cameras!
- Plus Festival: Live Pacman front-pages YouTubeOne of the funnier parts of the Plus Festival was the ‘live pacman’ game that was running for most of the five days.
- Portable Film Festival - an interviewWhile I was at SXSW I had the opportunity to have a chat with Andrew Apostola, the Creative Director of the successful Australian ‘virtual film festival’ Portable.
- Birmingham Post's Power 50#20 in the Birmingham Post's Power 50 – 2007
- Reporting back on CrowdsourcingSo - I’ve just got back from two days of discussions, speeches, presentations, private chats, video interviews, and so on.
- Royal Television Society Innovation Award — User Generated ContentFinalist for Royal Television Society Innovation Award – User Generated Content — for 4tips (with Maverick TV)
- Sharing the Web - Mouse, Camera, ActionI was interviewed yesterday by Dr. Simon Davey on behalf of the Media Trust New Media Thinktank and the ICT hub for an article to be published in their forthcoming newsletter.
- Shortlisted for an RTS awardWe found out on Friday (yes I know I’m slow) that our work at 3form with Maverick for Channel 4 on the 4Tips project has been shortlisted for a Royal Television Society Innovation award!
- Sofia without StefanThis week I was in Sofia, attending the funeral of a trusted friend and work colleague at 3form, the designer Stefan Marinov, who died very suddenly and unexpectedly last week.
- Spring is here and Flickr is backI’ve spent the last few weeks without Flickr.
- Stretch Hummers in TexasI was really shocked that in somewhere like Texas, with its history of close connection with the oil industry there was very little awareness of the environmental issues that we hear about every day in the UK.
- SXSW - Colin Devroe of Viddler gives me the lowdown on how to grow a video sharing siteI finally met up with Colin Devroe from the online video sharing site Viddler.
- SXSW - Fortune telling with Chris Messina: the future of online identityI had an interesting discussion with Chris Messina, one of the brains behind the OpenID project.
- SXSW - Lego playpenThere’s a Lego playpen for anyone tired of talking about ‘building’ things in the digital sense and get some real hands on fun… funny that this seems to be more popular with the adults than the kids!
- SXSW - The $100 laptopThere was a chance to play with a new ultra-lightweight $100 laptop.
- SXSW - The Great British Booze-UpI went down to a party thrown by Clearleft, Boagworld and @media 2007 called the “Great British Booze-up”.
- SXSW – the iPod guideThis is a great idea – an application that installs all the festival event info onto your ipod, so you can carry it around in your pocket instead of a huge booklet.
- SXSW - Urban regenerationI took a short walk around Austin, TX while I’m at SXSW… the streets are quiet, traffic is calm and they there was an eerily quiet demolition site in amongst the bland architecture.
- SynaesthesiaI am currently working towards a photography accreditation with the Royal Photographic Society (Associateship).
- Ten 4 Magazine Issue 7 is outIssue 7 of Ten 4 Magazine is out, and the images I shot at the Channel 4 Inspiration Sessions day are in it.
- Ten4 Magazine Feature - The Sound of SellingTen4 Magazine have uploaded a selection of features for Issue 6, due out soon.
- The Creative InboxGood sources of information are few and far between, and with the constant rise of RSS feeds and email lists I’m often feeling overwhelmed with ‘input’.
- The London 2012 ident - a flop of Olympic proportions?The new ident for the London 2012 Olympics has just been launched.
- The North Sea — Exquisite Idols
- Letters Letters — Letters Letters
- Type Records and Red Deer Club Present…Tonight is our Type Records night in Manchester with a line up to be proud of.
- Sylvain Chauveau — S.
- Skallander — Skallander
- Grouper — Way Their Crept
- Use your webcam to make video micro-contentOn the last day of SXSW2007, Texas I was hanging out with the guys from Viddler and we decided to do an SXSW video wrap up.
- What is Birmingham’s Creative Direction?Another in my series about Birmingham’s Big City Plan.
- When things just line upI managed a day off today - it was lovely. Not a bit of work in sight.
- Where’s the creative and cultural web traffic in Birmingham?About six months ago I came up with the idea of setting up a blog to talk about all the creative and cultural things happening in Birmingham (UK), where I live. I’m a relatively busy man so I hooked up with Pete Ashton, blogger extraordinaire, who was thinking along similar lines so we got the thing off the ground - Created in Birmingham.