Phil's Log

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 and a pencil, but perhaps it has something to do with the processing that occurs when you have to write something down rather than read it off a screen.

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 make’s for fascinating viewing.

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 certainly a different take on showing off your catalogue.

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 wasn’t as easy as it could be. I found thanks to a tweet from Sam Brown.

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.

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.

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 doesn’t mean that feedback from people you don’t respect, or don’t know well, should be discounted but it is important to find people who are more knowledgeable and experienced from which to learn.