COOL! Optical Illusions...

Friend and design colleague at Circle – Robert L. Peters, has an uncanny knack for coming across cool things... here's a taste, excerpted from his latest blog post:

If you’re into visual illusion and optical phenomena, you’ll want to see the work of Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto. But be warned… his site “contains some works of ‘anomalous motion illusion,’ which might make sensitive observers dizzy or sick (e.g. epileptic seizures, which can happen if the brain can’t handle conflicting information from your two eyes). Should you feel dizzy, you had better leave immediately….”

If you're curious, you can see the optical illusions for yourself here.
You can visit Rob's blog at www.robertlpeters.com - enjoy!

Monday Animated Typographic Fun!

I came across this animated, typographic, music video for Let the Drummer Kick, by Citizen Cope on YouTube. This animated music video was done by Artur Dimke and it's very well done (in my opinion), I recommend that you check it out for yourself, you can watch it here on YouTube - enjoy!

Via David Airey's blog - see his original post here.

Back in the 'Peg... after the GDC National AGM...

Yesterday afternoon I, along with my fellow GDC Manitoba representatives returned from Saskatoon and the GDC National AGM. It was an amazing experience to say the least (being my first National AGM), and I felt privileged to be able to share and contribute to the wealth of diverse knowledge & experiences of the representatives & delegates from GDC Chapters across Canada (as well as the representatives from Icograda and SDGQ in Montreal).

It was a great pleasure to be able to meet them all in person, and to be able to put faces to some that I have long interacted with via the GDC Listserve and other common areas of interest. I feel energized and inspired by all the passion that was shown, and humbled by the endless devotion of the GDC Executives and volunteers (both nationally and regional). A big thank you to our generous hosts the GDC Saskatchewan North Chapter!

With that being said, I urge everyone with a GDC Chapter in their area to get involved, become a member or volunteer, share in your passion for design/sustainability, and contribute to the evolution of the face of Canadian design! I can say (quite honestly) that you'll benefit the most out of membership in any organization (be it the GDC or your local gym), by being active within it. I also recommend that you visit the GDC website often, as it, along with our industry is constantly evolving and being updated with new technologies and features. Anyhow, it's good to be back in the 'Peg - Cheers!

GDC National AGM - Day One...

As previously mentioned, I'm currently attending the GDC National AGM in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. After a bit of a set-back (freezing rain, snow/hail), we arrived safe and sound in Saskatoon. This year's AGM is being held at the Delta Bessborough Hotel, a beautiful historic CP Rail Hotel constructed in the early-mid 1900's.


Day one was a full day of discussion for the GDC National Executives/Council. A lot of exciting things are on the horizon, check the GDC website often for more information as it becomes available. Cheers!

OGC Logo... WTF?

The UK's Office of Government Commerce recently revealed their new logo... to the amusement of the males on staff. Tilt your head 90 degrees to see why... read the original story here - cheers!

Thanks to Oliver Oike for posting this to the GDC Listserve.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day everybody! I just wanted to make a quick post to wish you all a nice Earth Day and to let you know that MUHSASHUM may not be very active over the next week or so, as I will be away in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan attending the GDC National AGM. Look for a flurry of posting to follow shortly afterwards... ;) Cheers!

GDC National AGM - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan...

In approximately one week's time, I will be in the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan attending the GDC National (Society of Graphic Designers of Canada) Annual General Meeting (AGM), as a National Council representative for GDC Manitoba. I will be making the road trip from Winnipeg to Saskatoon along with a number of my fellow GDC Manitoba Executives/Board members. It will be my first visit to Saskatoon... I'm looking forward to the trip and to meeting my peers/design colleagues from across Canada. Cheers!

For those of you who'd like an idea of what the road trip will be like, check out this video (Winnipeg to Saskatoon in 5 minutes) I came across on YouTube, here.

Recommended | GOOD - The China Issue...

I recently posted a comment on Michael Surtees' blog, DesignNotes in response to his A Black and White Issue? post (which in turn was a response to another blog post). In Michael's post he brings up some interesting points of discussion in regard to this summer's Beijing Olympics, here's an excerpt:

...if you plan to watch a moment of the Olympics, purchase anything from a corporate sponsor of the games or even follow who wins and looses are you implicitly supporting what a number of protesters are trying to bring to the attention of the world? If you are protesting the Olympics in Beijing yet choose to do any of the following that I mention above is it somewhat hypocritical to criticize others? Is it possible to have it both ways or is everyone responsible to some degree?

Being born a Canadian of Chinese descent I have to admit that I am somewhat, 'on-the-fence' with the over-politicization of the games through the western media. Yes, there are many issues facing China as a rapidly growing, industrial nation... but, what country can claim to be free of problems? That being said, the latest issue of GOOD Magazine: The China Issue has some great features on China, I'd recommend everyone to read them, you're bound to come across something you didn't know about the 'Asian-Superpower' (I've blogged about GOOD Magazine before, here).

The Olympics should remain non-political, concentrate on 'fair' competition and respect for the athletes. In my opinion, the Olympics could represent the ideal world model, where one person from a different culture/religion/etc. can stand beside one another with respect, admiration and/or resolve their differences through non-lethal, competitive sport. I guess we'll just have to wait and see... I invite you all to comment (I'd be interested to hear what others have to say). Cheers!

The Rather Difficult Font Game...

I've been having lots of fun with this latest online font quiz, The Rather Difficult Font Game created by the author of Say It Ain't Slow: A simple blog about high performance websites... I have yet to achieve a perfect score, the highest I've managed is 33 out of 34... I always seem to mess up one of the san serifs (and I have to admit I wasn't familiar with some of the fonts used). Anyhow, try it out for yourself and see if you can join the ranks of those in the hall of fame with a perfect 34/34, check it out at http://ajax.sayitaintslow.com/fontgame/ - enjoy!

Via Computer Arts Daily.

TED | Talks | Jill Bolte Taylor: My Stroke of Insight...

I've been meaning to blog about this TED Talk video ever since I first watched it (thanks to Rob for sharing it). The description on the website: Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another.

A remarkably enlightening talk on subjects long seen as taboo... our existence, life & interactions. I highly recommend you take the time to watch the video in it's entirety. Warning: an actual human brain is used in the video... don't say I didn't warn you. Check out the video on the TED website at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/229 - learn more about TED here. Cheers!

Recommended Viewing | Art of the Luggage Label's Flickr Set...

Friend and design colleague at Circle, Robert L. Peters recently blogged about a really cool collection of historic luggage labels on Flickr.
Excerpt from Rob's blog post: I stumbled across this lovely little collection today, an “image stream and information resource devoted to the art of luggage labels and related travel ephemera. Luggage labels are fascinating bits of hotel history from the golden age of travel, roughly the 1900s to 1960s. During this time these labels were used by hotels as advertising and eagerly applied to steamer trunks, suitcases and all sorts of luggage by hotel staff, mainly bellhops.” Check out the Flickr set here - enjoy!

Visit Rob's News+ blog at http://www.robertlpeters.com/news/ - there's a wealth of knowledge and cool things to browse through! Cheers!

Recommended | WAG Exhibit - Illuminating the Word: The Saint John's Bible…

If you're in Winnipeg this weekend (or in the next month or so) and are looking for something to do, I'd recommend that you consider visiting the Winnipeg Art Gallery's (WAG) newest exhibit (opening this weekend), an excerpt from the WAG website:

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is thrilled to be the only Canadian host for Illuminating the Word: The Saint John's Bible, the first handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned since the advent of the printing press more than 500 years ago. A richly ornamented masterwork, hand-illustrated with gold leaf on oversized vellum, the Bible is an unprecedented undertaking in contemporary book arts and a major cultural and interfaith endeavor. Measuring 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide, it contains 1,100 pages bound in 7 volumes...

I'm planning to check it out at least once or twice... either way, it looks to be a very promising, enlightening experience... ;) Thanks to 'Segun Olude for the heads-up. Cheers!

Recommended | ABCs in 3D...

This post is for all you lovers of type, books/pop-up books, design/production and just cool things in general. I came across this a while back (can't exactly remember where) and neglected to post about it until now. Anyhow, it's a really cool book (which I've pre-ordered through Amazon already) which combines typography, design, pop-ups and more?? Check out the 'teaser' video on YouTube here - enjoy!

Painting Iron Man...

I recently posted about my good friend, James Gillespie's latest artwork, Iron Boy (see the post here)... which he had created for a local, just-for-fun Iron Man art initiative. Well, with that being said I've finally completed the canvas that I had started... see images and descriptions below.


I admit, I started this piece rather late in the game... I had done a few conceptual thumbnails early on but, decided in the end to just sketch directly onto the canvas... the result is shown above (graphite on canvas).


In my previous experiments on canvas I found that the graphite sketches I would start with on the canvas, tended to really disintegrate the minute the wet media touched it... so, this time around I tried something different, I used a black ballpoint pen to reinforce the lines. I'm not sure how I feel about the resulting look... perhaps next time I'll just sketch in pen to begin with.


Here's a shot of the painting in progress... it must have been taken rather early on in the process.


Here's a detail shot of the almost completed painting, last things to do were to sign it and throw on a varnish. You can see the finished painting (8" x 20", Acrylic on canvas) at the top of this post, as well as more images on Flickr. Cheers!

COOL! Fontstruct...

My good friend and fellow designer, Mark Simpson (who recently added a baby girl to his family - see here), has a knack for coming across interesting finds on the Internet. One of which he sent me recently was for Fontstruct, an excerpt from their website:

FontStruct is a free font-building tool brought to you by the world’s leading retailer of digital type, FontShop. FontStruct lets you quickly and easily create fonts constructed out of geometrical shapes, which are arranged in a grid pattern, like tiles or bricks. You create ‘FontStructions’ using the ‘FontStructor’ font editor. Once you're done building, FontStruct generates high-quality TrueType fonts, ready to use in any Mac or Windows application. You can keep your creations to yourself, but we encourage users to share their "FontStructions". Explore the Gallery of fonts made by other FontStruct users and download them or even copy them and make your own variations. You can also use the FontStruct widget to show your FontStructions on your own website or blog.

Now, I haven't dabbled with the application myself as of yet (which is wise, considering my 'to-do' list seems to only grow these days), but it does seem to have potential (albeit limited). You should check it out/decide for yourself, visit http://fontstruct.fontshop.com/ - enjoy!

Thanks for the link Mark!

COOL! Pill-sized Plasma Light Bulb...

A recent post on Inhabitat features this cool, pill-sized plasma light bulb technology by Luxim. Apparently these new bulbs will put out 10 times as much light as a traditional bulb, while using half the energy... the scary part is that it can also reach temperatures that are equivalent to the surface of the sun!

Yikes... check out the video on YouTube here - enjoy! Via Inhabitat.

COOL! James Gillespie's Iron Boy...

Good friend, fellow designer, illustrator and active Karate-ka, James Gillespie has gone and done it again! James' recent post to his blog, KALAMAFRAZ showcases his über-cool finished art piece created for a local, just-for-fun Iron Man art initiative.

Sadly, I missed the deadline for submission but, I did start a canvas... which I still intend to finish! I'll post the finished piece as soon it's complete. Until then, go and check out some more of James' work on his blog at http://kalamafraz.blogspot.com/ - cheers!

Something to Ponder on April Fools' Day...

Happy April Fools' Day. Hopefully you haven't been exposed to too many office pranks at your expense... anyhow, a recent post to the GDC Listserve by friend and colleague - Robert L. Peters, really got me thinking... the gist of which is summed up by Mark Twain in the quote above. Anyhow, there were some interesting facts(?) featured in Rob's, And you think oil is pricey? post:

Product US$/Barrel

Oil 108.50
Coca-Cola 126.45
Milk 163.38
Snapple 237.72
Perrier Natural Mineral Water 300.61
Tropicana Orange Juice 307.44
Budweiser Beer 447.25
Scope Mouthwash 682.34
Starbucks Venti Latte 954.24
Ben & Jerry's Chunky Ice Cream 1,609.44
Pinot Grigio Wine 2,117.75
Bertoli Olive Oil 2,370.71
Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Whiskey 4,237.63
Tabasco Pepper Sauce 6,155.52
Visine A.C. Eye Drops 39,728.64
FLONASE Nasal Spray 902,304.00
Chanel No.5 Parfume 1,666,560.00

...I'll admit I've purchased my fair share of the products listed above... so, don't we all feel a little foolish now?

On another note... Circle Design Incorporated celebrates it's 32nd birthday today! Circle first opened it's doors for business on this day in 1976! Happy Birthday Circle!