May 2011
1 post
“17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he...”
– Proverbs 24 v 17-20
March 2011
3 posts
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that...”
– Romans 15 v 4
“1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak,...”
– Romans 15 verses 1 & 2
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
– Galatians 6 verse 2
January 2011
2 posts
Be brilliant at the basics →
Some excellent little quotes from David Airey well worth taking on board. I particularly liked this one.“Your corporate culture is not something that can be ‘rolled out’; it is the sum of what individuals do on a day-to-day basis. And understanding why they do what they do.”As with any culture, a business one has to grow not be imposed.
Leaving Tumblr | Phil Bowell →
For various reasons I’m saying good bye to Tumblr and moving on to pastures new. Please join me at my new blog, I’m not moving far just losing the log and Tumblr. If you’re an RSS subscriber you’ll be switched automatically.
October 2010
12 posts
Does Things.app Have Over-the-Air Sync? →
Well?
3 tags
Marco.org - The Mac App Store isn't for today's... →
I’m still not sure where I stand on the Mac App Store, but Marco puts forward some interesting comments that I’d not really thought about.
One thing that I’ve come away thinking after reading it. Will there be an Instapaper app when it launches?
3 tags
“The ever-so-thinly veiled message? Don’t worry so much. Just blog it. If you are...”
– Daniel Jalkut
3 tags
iDisk
I’ve had MobileMe (MM) for nearly 9 months now, for the most part it’s worked perfectly in the background syncing my contacts, calendars and bookmarks across my iOS devices and my Macs. No complaints from me on that front.
Now I’m no stranger to using online services to store files. In the past I’ve tried Box.net, used Google Docs and am a big advocate for Dropbox, so...
3 tags
In Praise of Quitting Your Job
I had to link to this simply because I can identify with it.
(Sorry I can’t remember the via, the post was in a window of tabs opened over the last week or so. I’ll update when I find it.)
3 tags
2 tags
Thoughts On Commenting
A lot of the blogs I read don’t offer comments and generally I don’t miss it. The few that do allow comments, I read the post and try to read the comments if I’m interested in the topic. Thanks to the way I try to control the blogs I read, the comments that I do read usually leave me feeling like it was worth while and added value to the initial post. On the larger blogs, which...
2 tags
LM Wind Power | Identity Designed →
Excellent piece of identity design by Danish studio Make. The word mark by itself is excellent, the implementation simply reinforces it.
4 tags
“This grace is unrelenting. This grace has no intention of giving up. This grace...”
– Paul Tripp
2 tags
“Its time to stop feeling sorry for ourselves because we think no one is...”
– Joshua Brewer
2 tags
“If feeling you’re going to succeed makes you work harder, that probably...”
– Paul Graham
How Analog Rituals Can Amp Your Productivity →
A very interesting and thought provoking read about productivity from Scott Belsky of Behance. As a bit of a technology geek I’m always drawn to electronic tools that could help me do things more productively, I’m a big fan of Things, but interestingly I often find myself with a notebook and a list of tasks. I’ve always put it down to my creative side which enjoys a sketchbook...
September 2010
3 posts
BBC - Jake Humphrey: What it's like being an F1... →
Sunday afternoons can’t get much better than settling down after lunch to watch the Grand Prix. It’s been even better since the BBC took over coverage in the UK and I enjoy reading Jake Humphrey’s blog after each event. This time he’s included a video of what it’s like filming the opening segments, with feeds from all camera’s up against the actual broadcast. It...
3 tags
HvD Fonts →
During one of my let’s look at fonts on the internet sessions (for a project I have in mind), I remembered a little beauty released earlier in the year called Brandon Grotesque. A quick Google led me to the creators website, an interestingly laid out site that I felt needed to be brought to people’s attention. I’m not sure I like the scroll anywhere feel to it, but it’s...
1 tag
“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he...”
– Roger ‘Verbal’ Kint, The Usual Suspects
August 2010
2 posts
2 tags
The Facebook Problem →
Excellent points from Garett Murray. Facebook really is becoming frighteningly large and the gradual feature creep doesn’t make the experience any better. The scary thing is that it’s too big to cut out. Too many of my friends use it for too many things, I’m sure for many, it has replaced email.
Edit: I forgot to give a proper via for this as I was on my iPhone and it...
5 tags
High-Res Images in Tumblr →
My thanks to Pat for this little write up in response to a question I emailed him this morning. Hi-res images in Tumblr themes, something I’ve been wondering how to do for a while now.
July 2010
6 posts
3 tags
Training Ninjas with Jon Hicks →
I really like it when designers show us glimpses of their process. This is a really interesting one from Jon Hicks as he evolves an illustration to create the new Woo Themes mascot.
4 tags
Work
This weekend I’ve done a little work on this site. It’s sporting a temporary new theme while I work on creating a more suited design for this place. I’ve also included a couple of pages, my about page is now alive as well as an easier way of contacting me.
The other major addition is my portfolio section, which is now live at work.philbowell.com.
For a while now I’ve...
Principles of Design Feedback →
Feedback on your design work is incredibly important, it’s what helps you grow as a designer. Developing an understanding of why someone has commented on a particular element is essential to this.
There’s one thing which I do find important in receiving feedback. It’s always easier to accept if it comes from someone you respect, especially if that feedback is negative. That...
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a writer or a baker. When the mood strikes you and...”
– Randy Murray in When You Have A Burst Of Creativity, Go With The Flow
I couldn’t agree more. Often times I find myself suddenly hit with a burst of creativity and I just have to keep going until I stop. For me it’s usually late at night, which doesn’t help with the getting enough...
The Future of Self Service Banking →
I don’t carry a lot of cash around with me, most of the time I use my card, this isn’t a good thing. One of the reasons is because ATM’s are such a pain to use. I’m not a tall man, but, because ATM’s are built for easy wheel chair access (a good thing) there’s always the little ATM dance to ensure I can see the screen clearly. Generally you can’t get it...
June 2010
5 posts
Lewis & Jenson →
Fantastic advert from Vodafone UK. Of course it helps when my favourite F1 team and my favourite F1 driver is involved, but then McLaren are always open to doing great creative pieces for their sponsers. I always think of McLaren as the Apple of Formula 1.
(via Khaled)
“I turned off comments in the last redesign of powazek.com because I needed a...”
– Derek Powazek on Your right to comment ends at my front door.
I can understand this. I turned comments off on my old blog, I don’t have comments here and I don’t have a list of notes below my posts, because I don’t want to write with the pressure of hoping I’ll get a big...
No More iTunes by Florian Pichler →
safariextensions:
NoMoreiTunes is an extension for Safari 5 which disables the script that tries to start iTunes when you visit a link to the iTunes Store. It’s annoying and redundant as there is iTunes Preview for Music and Apps now.
Since this doesn’t work on movies I modified the redirecting page for them to show a big button which loads iTunes once (and only if) you click it. I’m working...
“Don’t mindlessly offer up your talent on the altar of the wrong vision. Be...”
– Joshua Blankenship in his post Whose You Do You Want To Be?.
“The deeper the love, the easier the potential to cause pain. Be mindful of words...”
– Patrick on Twitter with possibly the wisest Tweet I’ve ever read.
May 2010
6 posts
Self-employment Advice for Designers →
Some excellent points in this article from David Airey. When someone with 5 years experience working for themselves speaks its usually a good idea to take notice. Make sure to read the comments on this too, there’s a lot of useful information in there as well.
(Via A Better Freelancer)
Our Solar System in CSS3 →
I came across this last night. Fantastic stuff. This is exactly what excites me about the new web technologies being developed. It’s what makes me want to get more into web design. Need to get the basics right first though. You have to walk before you can run.
Pixel Lost →
Lost is one of my favourite TV shows. Pixel graphics are great to look at. Therefore, this is full of win. Go look.
Ten Things I Have Learned by Milton Glaser →
I tried to pick a quote out for this, but I ended up with too many. So instead of reading the quote I would’ve posted, I suggest you just go read it all.
Pastebot v1.2 and the Case of the Missing Eyes —... →
This is sad. I’m very intrigued as to who it is that needs to defend something so vigorously, especially as Mark says they are in a very different market.
What iPads Did To My Family →
This is exactly what’s making me want one.
(Via Tim Van Damme)
April 2010
9 posts
“Share who you are. Share what you do. And share your passion. It will help you...”
– Aaron Mahnke Be a Teaching Freelancer.
You could easily replace that last work with professional/employee what ever describes you.
We can all be guilty of dismissing the fact that clients don’t know certain things those of us in the know take for granted. We can often make a split second...
“I think that the closed system that Apple is trying to create is bad for the...”
– Mike Chambers, Adobe’s principal product manager for the Flash platform.
So ironic. Bashing Apple for being closed (I know it is) when he’s trying to push Flash, which we all know is a closed proprietary platform.
The Eyjafjallajokull Volcano on The Big Picture →
This is why I enjoy geography so much, and is why if I hadn’t become a designer I’d have done geography at uni. Awesome, stunning and incredible are the only words I can use to describe it.
Puma and Yves Behar's New Green Packaging →
I saw this at the end of last week and thought it was genius. I’ve just had another look at it and I still think it’s genius. My only thought after reading it was, what are all the shoe box aid charities going to do if all the shoe makers take it up?
London →
Since moving closer to London I’m slowly beginning to appreciate it. Whilst I sometimes find it’s pace over-bearing and claustrophobic, at other times I find myself enjoying it’s business. Most of all though, it’s the history and architecture I’m learning to appreciate.
Growing up I was always for change and the new, naively I didn’t think much of tradition....
“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple,...”
– Charles Mingus in The Complexity of Simplicity, 2006 (via bobulate)
I try not to reblog too often, but, this is worth it.
An Initial Miscellany of the iPad by Shawn Blanc →
Shawn’s interesting thoughts on the iPad after the first days use. Being in the UK I’m used to not having Apple products on the first day of launch, this is the first time I’m genuinely disappointed. It’s not the novelty that makes me wish I could get one, but the apparent utility the device seems to bring. It really does sound like this thing is another game changer!
Things for iPad →
Most of you reading will know I’m a fan of Cultured Codes’ Things. If I was able to buy an iPad this would be first app I’d download. Watch the video and see how beautiful that interface looks.
A Better Freelancer →
Since Patrick launched this site, I’ve been following it on Tumblr. Today I finally got chance to sit down and read some of the articles. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. Some superb advice on running your own freelance business, but also advice you can apply to your current day job regardless.
If you have a spare afternoon, I suggest you site down and have a read. I did today,...
March 2010
18 posts
Dropbox Quota now 10GB →
Yikes! Dropbox have upped the quantity of free space available for those who can sign people up with referrers. Dropbox is a fantastic utility. I use it to sync files and apps between my Macs, but also as an offsite backup and a simple version control for the work I have active. I couldn’t recommend it more highly. If you’ve yet to try it out, hop on board and sign up, as a bonus...