Operation Red Bull...

This past Tuesday, GDC Manitoba's highly successful, on-going, professional development Lunch Talk series saw Oliver Oike (MGDC, Vice President and National Representative for GDC Manitoba) along with the Manlab team present 'Operation Red Bull'.

This was a light-hearted lunch talk, where Oliver (and the Manlab team), shared their process for Red Bull's Flugtag, from early brainstorming, the development of a microsite (and mini-games to support their entry), engineering and transportation challenges, and finally the event itself – all to push a "human-powered flying machine" into the Ottawa River in front of 50,000 people...

Red Bull Girls were on-hand at the door, handing out Red Bull to attendees! In case you missed it, I've posted the pictures I took from the presentation to the GDC Manitoba Flickr group pool. You can check them out on Flickr, here - enjoy!

Thanks again to Oliver Oike and the Manlab team for sharing their experience - cheers!

Wicked! Poladroid...

A really neat link to share today, via Tina Roth Eisenberg over at swissmiss, from her blog post:

Poladroid - a polaroid image maker:
1. Download the free POLADROID application and launch it
2. Drag & Drop your photos
3. Wait... wait.... wait again... or shake the picture. Then look at or print your POLADROID picture.

It's an awesome little application IMO. You can even save the image in the various stages of 'poladroid' development. I've embedded the official demonstration video below. Go check it out for yourself at http://www.poladroid.net/ - enjoy!

Official POLADROID demo video - v0.9.5
Uploaded by paul_ladroid

Thanks for the link Tina! My first few 'Poladroid' attempts have been collected in a new set called My Poladroids... on my Flickr account. Check out what other people are doing via the be Poladroid! group pool on Flickr, here - cheers!

Image: 'Messing around with the Godfather', created from a picture taken at Madame Tussauds Interactive Wax Museum in Las Vegas... me thinks I'm going to have lots of fun with 'Poladroid'.

Recommended Viewing | 75 Inspirational Business Cards...

Another great link from Lana in Copenhagen, 'just a little inspiration.' Lana's come across 75 Inspirational Business Cards via Yeeeeee check 'em out, here - enjoy! There are some real nice, creative examples in there with exceptional production value...

Thanks for the link Lana - cheers!

The Girl Effect...

A nice website link and typographic intro video (embedded above) to share with you all today. When you have a moment, go take a look at http://www.girleffect.org/ - a link posted to the GDC Listserve by designer, Danielle Autran. I think it's quite nicely done... a good use of typography, music and Flash(?) IMO, what do you think?

Thanks for posting the link Danielle - cheers!

Recommended Viewing | www.wulffmorgenthaler.com

Last week at Circle, we had the pleasure of having Lana Wagner Plant working with us—Lana was a visiting Danish designer from Krogh&Co in Copenhagen. Lana, who just recently returned to Denmark, sent me a link to www.wulffmorgenthaler.com - online since 2002, described as a commentary on life: politics, news, entertainment, technology, culture and weirdo beavers... (Lana says, "just for a bit of a laugh - Danish humour").


There are some real gems in here... ;) and there's a lot to browse through, being a daily strip and all...


Thanks for sending me the link Lana! Check out the site for yourself at www.wulffmorgenthaler.com - enjoy!

Visit c!rcular online to read more about Lana's visit and other Circle related news - cheers!

Viva Las Vegas...

For anyone who may be interested, I've uploaded pictures from my recent trip to Las Vegas, Nevada to my Flickr account. Vegas is one crazy place... from the vastness of the hotels and attached shops, to the crazy variety of shows, casinos and entertainment for all. I'd recommend visiting at least once in a lifetime... ;)


Highlights from the trip for me, aside from checking out the vast variety of shops inside the casino/hotel resorts included (above image: The giant wooden 'Trojan' horse at the entrance to F.A.O. Schwartz toy store inside the Caesars Palace shops):


The Shark Reef exhibit at the Mandalay Bay...


...where we saw all types of cool sharks and aquatic/marine life.


Visiting Madame Tussauds Interactive Wax Museum, which was a total blast! ;)


While we were there, we also had the opportunity to see Ka: Cirque du Soleil (at MGM Grand), which was awesome and the Bodies Exhibition (at the Luxor). It was quite an experience to say the least! My only complaint (if any), all the second-hand smoke... ugh.

View my Viva Las Vegas photo set on my Flickr account, here - enjoy!

Neat! 'Beached' Video on Vimeo...

Beached from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Came across this cool little video (created by Keith Loutit) the other day... it employs an effect which makes the people seem like little ants. It reminds me of the 'diorama model' photo effect tutorial that I blogged about a while back, here. Anyhow, you can watch the video embedded above or via Vimeo, here.

If you liked Keith's 'Beached' video, be sure to check out his other videos on Vimeo, which are done in a similar style: 'The North Wind Blew South', 'Bathtub II', and 'Bathtub III' - enjoy!

Hope all my fellow Canucks had a nice Thanksgiving Long-weekend! Cheers!

Recommended Viewing | Designing Minds: Marian Bantjes...

Designing Minds has posted a video of Marian Bantjes (friend, renowned designer, illustrator and typographer extraordinaire) from her appearance at the Design Matters Live event presented by Adobe and the AIGA. From the Designing Minds description:

A portrait of world-renowned designer, illustrator and typographer Marian Bantjes sharing her love for the design community and the importance of staying connected, even while working from her idyllic rural home studio. She speaks about her transition from a more traditional design career path to a much more personally fulfilling mix of work. Marian has an obvious love for what she does, sharing some of the inspiration for her recent projects as diverse as hand-drawn valentines to the type treatment for the "Want It!" campaign at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Marian's insights in this portrait are important for anyone who cares passionately about design and respects the craft of the artist.



Credits:

Producer: Rachel Talbot
Associate Producer and Sound Engineer: Matthew Hendershot
Editor: Lance Edmands
Assistant Editing: Hei-Man (Anita) Yu
Camera: Michael Coleman
Additional Camera: Michael Tucker, Rachel Talbot
Animation: Colin Yu
Design Matters Live poster: Marion Bantjes
Music: Music Box
Design Matters theme music: RJD2

You can watch the video embedded above or via Zoom In, here. Read my previous posts about the über-talented Marian Bantjes, here - enjoy! Go Marian Go!

Via Type for you.

Graymatter Graffitti – Reading and Signing at McNally Robinson, Grant Park

Yesterday evening saw the talented poet, Sam W. Reimer in-town to launch his book, Gray Matter Graffitti (designed by Circle), with a reading and signing at the Prairie Ink Restaurant in McNally Robinson – Grant Park (Winnipeg, MB).

Gray Matter Graffitti is a compilation of some 200 poems written by Sam W. Reimer, and edited by Robert L. Peters. I've blogged about it previously, here.


Sam read a number of poems from the various chapters within the book...


...which followed with a book signing.


In case you missed out, you can watch the embedded video of the poet reading 'The Relay' (from Backroads Magic) above, or on YouTube, here - enjoy!

FYI, Sam will be touring Manitoba for a short visit, with readings/signings in Morden and Steinbach to follow later this week. For more information visit www.samwreimer.com - cheers! Go Sam!

International Day of Non-Violence... (Happy Birthday Gandhi!)

Today marks the first official International Day of Non-Violence, it coincides with Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. Excerpt from Wikipedia:

On 15 June 2007 the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish 2 October as the International Day of Non-Violence. The resolution by the General Assembly asks all members of the UN system to commemorate 2 October in "an appropriate manner and disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness."

So remember, be at peace with yourself and others today (and everyday for that matter)! As a wise man once said, "Nor an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, for him who counts no man his enemy, but all his neighbors, and therefore can never stretch out his hand for vengeance." (St. Irenaeus) - cheers!

Via Robert L. Peters' blog (read his original post here) - enjoy.
Image: Statue of Mahatma Gandhi taken in Saskatoon, SK while attending the GDC National AGM.

GDC MB Lunch Talk w/ Tétro Design...

Yesterday, we had the first GDC Manitoba Lunch Talk for the Fall season, "Designing the GDC National Website." This lunch talk was presented by Paul and Andrea Tétrault (Tétro Design), and focused on the design of the 'front-end' of the new GDC National Website (CMS/'back-end' coding powered by SmallBox Software).


The presentation was well attended, informative and enlightening... I think Tétro has done a great job, and deserve applause/thanks from all the GDC. You can see more pictures from Paul and Andrea's presentation on my Flickr, or via the GDC Manitoba/GDC National Flickr Pools - enjoy! Thanks again to Tétro, for a job well done!

The GDC Manitoba Lunch Talks, are part of the Manitoba Chapters' ongoing professional development activities... as the current Activities Chair for the GDC Manitoba Chapter, I'm looking forward to the lunch talks and activities we've got planned down the road! Look for more information to come... visit the GDC Manitoba Chapter website often, for more information and updates as they become available - cheers!