Alexx Swanson Design

G20 - Epic photo-shoot

2010-06-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

(please excuse the off topic-ness)

I live in Toronto. I work in Toronto. The G20-Photo-shoot is in Toronto. I am lucky to live and work well outside of the "security zone". My hubby, who works just outside of the "security zone", is negatively affected by a lack of clients. (Everyone is afraid of Toronto now. [Just look at the US travel advisories.])

I think that it was a CFRB host that first mentioned the idea of a tele-conference. Seriously guys, how difficult would it be to set up an epic-HD tele-conference? You could probably even do it in 3-D if the top dudes don't mind wearing those plastic specs.

Even if everything hadn't already been worked out by the bureaucrats, is there any actual reason that you need to be in the same room as these other dudes? (Other than the photo-ops.) Come on guys! Chill at home, and Skype with the other leaders!

Why are you making us spend millions to make you comfortable?

Also, how badly did your private jet damage our world? *cough*choke*

Why can't you guys organise an Earth-friendly, and an economically friendly tele-conference?

Don't you care about all of us? Yeah, I get that I'm no-one. I'm just a person. Just a citizen. But come on, I'm worth listening to.

P.S. Don't fight with the Police. They're just people doing their jobs. They just want to feed their families. They don't deserve any taunts or teases aimed at the government.

Celebration! Bottega Prosecco

2010-04-05T17:27:00.000-07:00

(Cross-posted from Drinking by Design)

I recently finished a contract for a major Canadian bank. I figured that the months of hard work deserved a bottle of sparkling wine.

I chose a Prosecco from Bottega (A winery from Ottawa)

Sparkling wines are usually out of my budget, but I was celebrating, and decided to splurge. (I'm going to have to look into why these wines are so pricey.) This bottle was under $15, so I didn't spend all of the cash that I made on the contract.

Browsing through the sparkling section of the LCBO was pretty uninspiring. With all of the recent re-designs of wine labels, I am surprised that the sparkling wines still haven't joined the trend. I would have been willing to go out of my price bracket for a great design. Alas, I couldn't find anything inspiring.

The Bottega was the most interesting bottle on the shelf. (forget price, this one stood out over everything. How sad is that?)

The strong contrast of the flame shape against the dark bottle caught my eye initially.

As a lover of M. Pierre Bézier, the curves of the flame drive me crazy.

The type is just sort of crammed in. The only visual enjoyment that I found was that the metal bit under the paper was branded, so was the cork.

I am sorry for showcase this terribly designed wine. Unfortunately this was the best example of a sparkling wine that I could find.

As for taste:

I'm not the best person to critique sparkling wine. (I usually only buy it once or twice a year [New Year, and um, my anniversary, or something] Ha Ha. clearly I'm not a huge girly-girl.). It's pretty unassuming, which I like. It's on the sweet side. It's something that I would pick up again.

Here is Toronto Life's review which is probably more precise than mine : www.torontolife.com/guide/wine/sparkling-wine/bottega-il-vino-dei-poeti-prosecco

Carpe Jugulum

2010-04-01T20:23:00.000-07:00

So, my first ambigram design happens to be my next (read: tomorrow) tattoo.

It's not totally readable, but it's in Latin, so I don't mind the ambiguity. Actually, it sort of amuses me.

I challenged myself with a 2 day re-design of my first version of this tattoo. Originally, I was planning on tattooing a simple text "Carpe Jugulum" which is a tribute to Terry Pratchett, and an appropriation of the phrase as a personal motto. (it works as both a professional goal, and a Muay Thai ideal.)

My problem arose when I decided that the best place to position the mark was on the back of my forearm, up near my elbow. (My strongest strike is my left elbow)

Did I want the words to read to an opponent? or did I want the people walking behind me (when my arm was hanging down) to be able to get the message.

I wanted both.

So, after my decision about the placement, I realized that I needed to make a decision about orientation. Instead of settling on one orientation or the other, I decided to make an ambigram that would allow reading from either position.

With an appointment on Friday at 1pm (13h from the time of this posting, and approx. 2 days from my decision on a body part, and from my buddy giving me the okay on the appointment details) I was a bit worried. (I made a back up plan to use my original design in a position that could be read by a fighter opponent.)

Luckily, "Carpe Jugulum" reverses sort of easily. (Well, not "easily", but after going through several typefaces, it is sort of easy.) My only real trouble was dealing with the "e". A bit of a hiccup also presented with the "j/g" reversal. A bit of fighting I worked out a satisfactory design.

I'll post a snapshot as soon as it's not gross.

I inspired myself.

2010-03-26T16:35:00.000-07:00

So, I just started a new blog (not that I don't have enough to deal with already.)

I'm working on a weekly posts for my new blog Drinking by Design.

This was inspired by my earlier Drinking by Design post.

I'm hoping to cross-post for the first few months (although, I failed to cross-post the Strut post.) I'm still working out all of the details.

As, always, I'm open to critique and criticism for the new blog (or this one).

For the next few months, I'll be cross-posting DbD to this blog. As I expand that blog, it'll be worth checking it out outside of this blog. I'll make a post when that happens.

Cheers.

QR codes

2010-03-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else have any experiences with QR codes?

I'm trying to think of a more interesting way to play with these.

What I really need is a smartphone to see play around with the codes. As it is, I'm going to have to borrow a buddy with the technology to see if this works.

Call out to my readers with smart phones: lemme know where this QR code takes you. :)

Back to my roots.

2010-03-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

It's been forever since I painted anything more than craft stuff. I would like to blame my lack of canvas making tools. (I would kill for a chop saw.) Really, I'm just way too busy, and way too lazy.

I was never a terrific painter, but I always really enjoyed the experience. I even ended up with a few works that currently grace my walls.

After spending my days working with 2D pixels, I have really started to crave the texture of canvas and paint. (I really got into encaustic later in university.) All of my paintings look slightly different from each new angle. The light reflecting off of the surfaces alternates between hiding and revealing details. I doubt that digital will achieve this effect during my working life.

This spring, I plan on treating myself to a pair of canvas pliers and getting back into feeling art from the very root. Hopefully this will give my creativity a bit of a bump.

I would love to do a series of Muay Thai fights. I can already picture the blurred colours of the motions and the contours of the muscles.

I'll let you guys know how it goes.

*Photograph by john_a_ward

Drinking by Design, Passion Di Portugal

2010-03-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

Every time I go into the LCBO (Liquor store), I find myself distracted by the plethora of label designs.

This is probably the worst way to choose a bottle of wine. Do I care? Of course not!

I've decided to start posting about my experiences in label based wine selection.

So, onwards, and um, tasty-wards...

My wine shopping M.O. is as follows. 1) Pick a country at random. 2) Stroll through the isle until something catches my eye. If it's in my price range, I grab it. If not, I repeat.

This week, I picked up Passion of Portugal. It suspiciously didn't list the grape on the front of the label (the back lists Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Pinot Noir) I'm a newbie to the tintas, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

I was initially drawn to this bottle because of the huge white space. The strong vertical line dropping to the first S and the playful text along that line caused a second look. The reversed second S, thankfully, didn't pull into the obvious heart shape. It's implied, but not over-obvious. I'm not sure why the huge vertical line is off of the first S instead of a continuation of the i. The placement seems a little forced. A die-cut lable would have been wonderful in this case.

The back label is terrible. It looks like the back label of a camping chair. All of the sophistication of the front is ignored on the back. All of the required info (in both French and English) is just rammed in to make the bureaucrats happy.

The taste is warm and rich. (please forgive my lack of proper wine tasting vocabulary. I'm going to take a class soon.) This wine is not bad for its price point.

Overall, I'd like to make more corrections to the bottle design than I would to the wine.

Inspired by the stuff I never see.

2010-03-01T19:26:00.000-08:00

There is so much to see everyday that we block a huge portion of our visuals as a form of self defense. This is necessary for our daily lives, but we can miss out on some interesting stuff. Take some time to really look around (especially when you are stuck for ideas). It's amazing what you'll find.

I try to open my eyes to the ignorable stuff about once a month. (any more than that and I'd be overwhelmed.) I'm always surprised by how close by the interesting stuff actually is.

I re-discovered my fish tank. (Yes, it's weird since I laid it all out and chose the fish, and feed them daily, and all of the other maintenance stuff.) I love my fishies and spoil them terribly. I add to my tank whenever I get stressed. (Lately my adds have all been plants or cleaning crew guys)

The unique ways that the critters have adapted their habitats to suit their personal preferences is amazing. The exotic angles got my brain working.

I'd like to share:

I've never been so lucky...

2010-01-21T20:39:00.000-08:00

January seems to be my lucky month!

I received a membership to Tuts + this month (which is awesome)! I submitted my name for a contest and lucked out. (Can you believe it?)

The great thing abut Tuts + is that they offer a huge amount of resources for free. I'm not one to ignore free information. I was pushing my boss towards a subscription, but

*for those that don't know*

Tuts + is a site that features tutorials for basically the entire Adobe Suite. (all of them) It's a great resource, and worth checking out.

What can I use?

2010-01-16T10:49:00.000-08:00

I just finished downloading some amazing free ink textures from Media Militia's freebie section.

Lately, I have been working on tightening up my freelance business. Recently purchased Billings, which has been working well for me so far. (I'll post about it after I've had a bit more time to play with it.)

A big part of tidying up my business involves file management. I'm not talking about job files (Mr. Barkworth at Humber started me off on the right track from the beginning.) My problem is working with free resources.

When I pay for a stock image (or any other resource) I've been in the habit of saving the files to a separate folder. Unfortunately, I've just been downloading free textures/brushes/fonts and saving them without specifying the license of the file. To stay on the safe side, I've only used these files for my own work (non commercial).

It struck me as wasteful to have all of these resources without being able to use them (the commercially licensed ones, anyways) just because I never kept track of this when I downloaded them. Eventually, I'll track down the sites where I found them, and make sure that I sort the files based on license.

From here forward, I'm going to save the files in an "OK for commercial" folder. This really isn't the optimal solution. Perhaps I would be better off including this info in the meta data.

Once I sort out a better solution, I'll post it. If you have a better method of organizing licenses, please share it in the comments.

Getting out of Graphic Design

2009-12-27T18:49:00.000-08:00

Today, the lovely Ashley invited me out to a day filled with gallery visits. We started out at Toronto's Power Plant with their Sunday Scene hosted by. R. Bruce Elder.

I started out my post secondary life as an Art History major. After a couple of years of Fine Art, I became frustrated with an attitude that I equated with the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, and began my focus towards commercial design.

Today, I was overwhelmed with Mr. Elder's analysis of Michael Snow's work. I have never been much of a fan of video work, and was quickly impressed with how amazing Snow's work was. Then my brain kicked in.

I realized that much of Elder's comments were of his own construction rather than an intentional creation by Snow. Again with the Emperor...

I love looking at art, and Canadian art will always get a second glance, but today confirmed my long held beliefs about fine art.

I did come to a bit of an epiphany today though. Elder mentioned a few times that we should spend more time with the artwork than we were given during the talk. How TRUE This Is! For every minute that I spent with the work, I gained some new understanding or experience.

This started me thinking about the difference between fine and commercial art. How well would Michael Snow fare if he had only a 30sec spot to get his message across? Yes, he's a Canadian Icon, but I bet that I could get a better ROI than him. (Ask me about the comunication that I made in less than 5 sec)

I spend more time with an Ad Campaign than the average Ontarian. There are experts who spend the time that Elder had with Snow on the most recent Nissan campaign. Art, be it Fine or Commercial, benefits from our time. A young lady (perhaps 7 years old, maybe 10?) popped into one video installation; after a quick look, she proceeded to the next installation. This young lady didn't spend 10min contemplating the fact that the film was recorded "then and there" and we are "here and now". Good for her. I very much doubt that Snow was thinking about it either.

At the young lady's disappearance, I lost interest in the narration and fell into my own world of advertising and marketing. What good is a work of art that takes 30min and an MBA to understand?

I welcome any argument about Fine Art vs Commercial Art.

Bring it on!

Apple's Black Screen of Death

2009-12-25T22:44:00.001-08:00

Did your Snow Leopard install make your screen go black? Shine a light on your screen!

So, I have been vaguely aware of MS Windows 7 Black Screen of Death (I guess that this is an improvement of their earlier Blue Screen of Death.) Since I use a Mac both at home and in the office, I spent a moment to snicker at the misfortune of others, and went along my way. Little did I know that I would be subject to Apple's own version of the Black Screen of Death! Oh! The horror!

On to my own story...

For Christmas (Yesterday as of 1.50h ago), I received a copy of Snow Leopard from my loving parents. After a wonderful evening of catching up with family and eating too much, I returned home and got ready to update my lowly Leopard to Snow Leopard! Woot! Alas, Today, Apple had let me down.

I decided to do the "simple install" a.k.a. Just Click Here. My computer told me that it would take an about an hour to install. No worries! This is the perfect time to pop in my brand new Muay Thai video (a gift from my sister) and settle down on the couch with the kitties. Two fights in, I noticed that my Mac screen went black. I just assumed that the screen was saving energy.

I couldn't tell you exactly what it was that drew my attention away from the Thai fighers... I think it was the sounds that my Mac was making... or not making. I decided to wiggle the mouse to wake up my computer. Nothing! Hmm... WiggleWiggleWiggle - SpaceSpaceSpace- -EnterEnter - EjectEject Hmm... This isn't right.

I will try to condense my experience to save you the grief that I encountered. After a number of attempts to re-start my Mac and eject the disc, I threw a bit of a tantrum and woke up my hubby who had been trying to catch a nap before an early morning fighting with the boxing day crowds for our *crossesfingers* new tv.

I figured that the hubby, as a PC user, wouldn't be able to do much to help me out. Randomly he solved the problem, and it all had to do with location. We both have our computers on a long desk with a desk lamp between us. As he yanked and twisted my Mac towards his side of the desk, the light of our desk lamp shone down on the screen. We saw a faint image of the install screen where the desk light was shining. Hmm...

My hubby booted up his PC and did a bit of searching on the various Mac forums. Apparently I am not the first person to have this ridiculous problem. (It's something to do with the video card not working properly during the install, or something.) The consensus on the solution is to use a flashlight during the Snow Leopard install. Seriously?! Apple should have included a mini-maglight with every Snow Leopard disc.

End result? I spent much less time being aggravated by the install than most people because I have an awesome hubby. Everything seems to be ok now. *keeps fingers crossed*

Six Pixels of Separation

2009-12-21T19:37:00.001-08:00

I just finished reading Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone. by Mitch Joel from Twist Image. I bought the book right after it was published, but I have a terrible time with hardcover books, so it took me until this week to finish. (Seriously, how am I supposed to twirl spaghetti around my fork when I need two hands to hold my book open?!)

This book wasn't written for me. (well, mostly.) It was written for entrepreneurs who are terrified about social media. I, however, am a Graphic Designer/Aspiring Art Director from halfway between gen X and Y (I'm a trans-genner!)

I can always use more info about marketing my own services, but I also benefit from learning how to help increase the business of the people that I work for.

A major theme of this book is the importance of strategy, and I have a hard time arguing with that. Mr. Joel combined anecdotes with his own thoughts about how web 2.0 functions. Thankfully, it's all delivered in a comfortable read. (I was initially concerned about a tech-term heavy book, but my worries were put to rest a few pages in.)

As a trans-genner, I am super comfortable in the new internet, but Six Pixels helped put my world into perspective (please forgive the cliché). The book has also given me some ideas and phrases that will help me when I bring my clients into 2.0.

Since reading the book, I have started following the podcast of the same name (find it on iTunes). I guess I'm doing it wrong. I think most people started with the podcast and blog. I am an unusual sort of gal, and doing it backwards isn't too daring for me.

So, for those entrepreneurs among my readers, READ THIS BOOK! For the art directors, you also ought to check out what Mr. Joel has to say.

Cheap and simple way to cool your laptop.

2009-12-19T11:23:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article on Life Hacker about a DIY Laptop tray. I rarely, if ever, put my laptop directly on my lap. I do worry about how how it gets. I'm not a techie, and have no idea how hot is safe for my computer's innards.

The Life Hacker solution would be great if I had access to a tray, and to more than a basic tool kit. (I don't even have a hacksaw!)

I do have a drawer full of wooden chopsticks from takeout sushi. (I just use my own fancy re-usable sticks and hoard the cheap takeout cutlery.)

I stuck one pair on the left side, and one pair on the right side of my workspace, and just sat the laptop on them. Instant airflow under my computer!

Just one problem, every time I moved my computer, it would slide off of the sticks. This problem was quickly solved by the addition of some of these little soft plasticy things that my hubby bought at some point and never used up.

I stuck them (using their adhesive side) to the chopsticks (one on each end of each of the chopsticks; four total).

Now my computer sits on the plastic things which are stuck onto the chopsticks which are placed on the desk.

I can easily slide my laptop around on my desk, and the chopsticks move along with it. Is it perfect? Well, it's close.

The only problem is that if I take my laptop to a different surface, I need to carry along the chopsticks and lay them down first. Considering that I just build a $0.05 laptop stand, I can't really complain.

I hope this helps you guys out. If you have any other money saving DIY computer project, just hit up the comments.

Moo Cards: Part 2

2009-11-15T15:24:00.000-08:00

I promised to finish my review of my order form Moo cards once I actually got them. (see my review of the ordering process here.)

I got the cards a while ago, but forgot about this post until I actually used one. From my whole experience since I placed the order until now, I don't have any complaints. I got an email right away and a second one once my cards were shipped. (That's standard practice, but nice all the same.)

The cards arrived in a sturdy little box, and the quality of the cards were beyond my expectations.

I would definitely recommend this company to anyone who needs a few cards.

Vector Mesh

2009-11-06T17:58:00.000-08:00

So after playing around a bit with the gradient mesh tool, I decided to actually illustrate something with it. I created this design for Designs by Humans. I would appreciate a vote if you like this image.

I learned quite a bit from this illustration. (note the inside edges of the eyes. I'm very happy with how that pink fleshy bit turned out.)

I'm more likely to choose the gradient mesh tool for other projects now. It's a bit overwhelming at first, but after only a few hours of practice, you'll get the hang of it.

Ad Books — Pick Me

2009-10-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

Pick Me: Breaking Into Advertising and Staying There by Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin

As an avid reader, and an eternal student, I've read more than my fair share of books. Some were fun, some were helpful, and some were just a waste of time. Hopefully, these reviews will help you pick only the most useful books to spend your time on.

I'm going to start with Pick Me since it was the first Ad book that I bought that wasn't on my course reading list. This book was, however, indirectly recommended to me by my teachers. In the first term, my teachers directed me to the website ihaveanidea. The advice column Ask Jancy was the basis of this book.

Overall, this book was a great read. Useful and inspiring information was presented in an easily read manner. This book is geared towards aspiring creatives who are starting out in their careers and anyone in this category should give it a read.

This is one of the books that I keep handy in case I need a bit of motivation.

NaNoWriMo Cover Art

2009-10-19T15:23:00.001-07:00

So I came up with a basic idea for my NaNoWriMo project, and as a visual sort of person, the first thing that I did was create a cover for my story.

I enjoyed playing with illustrator, I pray that I will enjoy writing the story this musc.

The Origin of Creativity.

2009-10-19T14:09:00.000-07:00

I constantly scour the net (often with the help of stumble) for creativity. Little did I expect to find creativity in my own home.

I am the primary meal-preparer in our family, but every now and again, my husband prepares our meal.

Kevin, my hubby, didn't grow up learning meal preparation the way that I did (from my mother and grandmother). As an auto-mechanic, he understands the idea of tools, but since he grew up as a male in a traditional European Family, he never learned the tools for cooking.)

After one of his meal, when I have the task of washing the dishes, I find out what he uses as meal-prep tools. I never would have used BBQ tongs on a George Foreman Grill. They work perfectly for this task; they were just not the tool that my predecessors would have chosen.

It occured to me today, as I cleaned our dishes, that I am very much "in the box" when it comes to cooking. I always thought of myself as creative, but today I learned that I am, in fact, a follower in many aspects of my life.

I follow the knowledge of my mother and my grandmother before me. Although they have extraordinarily valuable information, I often skip my own experimentation in lieu of the knowledge that I have been given.

This leads me think about specific design/art direction lessons that I have learned. How much is necessary, and how much is just common knowledge? For example, I have been told that "+2" is a good place to start for leading for body text. That makes sense for me, but is is TRUE, or should I think about it?

This is a very time consuming exercise. This is an on-going exercise. I hope that this is a lesson that I never forget.

NaNoWriMo

2009-10-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo starts on November 1st.

I heard about this amazing proposition last year, but was more than a little intimidated. With about two weeks to come up with a idea/plot/characters/theme/etc, this year, I am all up for the challenge.

I fully expect my "novel" to be GARBAGE, but this year, that's not the point. This year, my personal goal is just to get going. I used to write like crazy during high school (with a fervent following). I stopped because LIFE got in the way, but this year I have no excuse.

Artie George Moon Mask

2009-10-09T13:57:00.001-07:00

DSC_0002
Originally uploaded by alexxswanson

I wanted to share with you a beautiful wedding present from my uncle. It is a moon mask carved, by hand, by Artie George. (also, works shown here.)

Moo Cards

2009-10-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

I had heard about Moo Cards a while ago, and was quite skeptical about the quality. After seeing several physical examples of cards produced by this company from my friends, my impression of the company improved.

Today I decided to take the plunge and place a small order (50 cards/under $30 after shipping).

I designed my images and saved each side of the card and uploaded the images. There was an option to design the "info side" of the card online, but the bypass for this was quite simple.

I did have some trouble with their size/dimensions specs. After a bit of squiggling, I was able to upload a file that wasn't to their size specs, but fit the preview window.

I was prepared to enter my credit card info, but was happy to see that there was a paypal option.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with the company. I'll update on the shipping/quality once I receive the cards.

Great Vector Mesh Tutorial

2009-10-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

Check out LifeInVector for a WONDERFUL tutorial on gradient meshes in illustrator.

I have always avoided meshes in illustrator. I used "aesthetic style" as a cover for my ignorance. In 5 short minutes LifeInVector taught me the fundamentals of the mesh tool.

Thank you!

P.S. I will post experiments of this new tool soon.

Arts and Crafts

2009-10-05T11:35:00.000-07:00

I spend a lot of my time pushing forwards and learning all sorts of new and exciting techniques and media. Today, I went backwards, and reverted to a grade-school style of work. I bought a huge bottle of glitter glue, several bags of feathers, and some sparkly beads.

After realizing that I can't afford the 6+ meters of silk and 6+ meters of lining for the Geisha style Kimono, I decided to save this year's Halloween budget for next year and create an epic costume next year, and just do something cheep and cheerful this year.

So this year, with $20 in hand, I took a trip to Mary Maxim and DeSerres and a few dollar stores. Then I pulled out my fabric and craft bins. With all the little odds and ends plus some new goodies, I heated up the glue gun and got to it.

I started with only the colour scheme (silver and black) and a vague recollection of feathered masks that I'd seen before. I planned to go nuts with the mask, then just wear something complimentary.

Apparently, I'm going to be a skunk for Halloween. Now all I need to do is create a fragrance and buy a little spray bottle.

Nuit Blanche '09

2009-10-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

Melissa, Ryan and I started out night in Zone B. We neglected to take the organizers' advice, and we didn't plan ahead; instead, we just wandered, and popped into everything that looked interesting.

It's been ages since I last visited any galleries, and Nuit Blanche always re-vamps my interest in non-commercial art. As soon as I can find a few hours together, I'm going to stretch myself a canvas.

Strangely enough, the things that remain in my mind most are the commercial aspects of the night. I was thrilled by the Flogos machine. I wasn't satisfied until I had chased down and caught one of these weird bubble words and figured out exactly what it was.

I was more than a little frustrated with the event guide which seemed to be incomplete. We had trouble locating exhibits, and sometimes, ourselves on the maps.

Overall, it was (as usual for this event) a quite enjoyable evening.

Mobile Designing

2009-10-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today, I made the terrifying step into the mobile world.

Inspired by an article in Marketing Magazine, I started googling resources on optimizing websites for cell phones.

I was very surprised that my current web design skills transferred so easily to mobile design. All I really need to do was simplify my CCS, shrink my layout to only 240 across and downsize my content.

This was a great "quick fix" to make my site accessible to cellphone users. iPhone and Blackberry users are another story. The interface of a smartphone is so unique and far removed from standard desktop viewing. There were a few articles I found on this subject, but what I really need to do is suck up to my iPhone and Blackberry friends, offer them a pint or two, and borrow their phone for a while.

Overall, it was a very worthwhile exercise. I learned quite a bit with minimal frustration. This is also a very good lesson to learn. Everything is going mobile, and now, I have a MUCH better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of m.communications

First Post

2009-07-20T18:20:00.000-07:00

Officially a blogger. :)