Monthly Archive for January, 2008

Page 2 of 2

Dieter Rams: Ten Commandments On Design

Published on January 14, 2008 in 2008, Chris and Complaints. 0 Comments

01 Good design is innovative
02 Good design makes a product useful
03 Good design is aesthetic
04 Good design helps us to understand a product
05 Good design is unobtrusive
06 Good design is honest
07 Good design is durable
08 Good design is consequent to the last detail
09 Good design is concerned with the environment
10 Good design is as little design as possible

Sadly there are way too many designers who don’t subscribe nor follow these; a fact that drives me nuts far too often. Happily it seems like the folks at Apple, Inc. follow these rules in everything they produce.

Happy Smurfday

Published on January 14, 2008 in Chris and Leah. 0 Comments

I stumbled across this article today and couldn’t resist passing it along:

Smurfs, one of Belgium’s greatest exports, turned 50 years old today with numerous events being planned at museums and comic bookstores nationwide.

They’re blue, and according to some they stand only 3 apples high, but they have their very own language, come from Belgium, and celebrate a significant birthday.

At the the Centre for Belgian Comic Strips in the Belgian capital Brussels, a Smurf figure takes pride of place just inside the main entrance, attracting visitors to the centre to pose for photos alongside the little blue man.

_Michelle and Natalie, visitors from Australia, are fans and grew up watching the Smurf cartoon on television. “They’re cute, but they all have their own little character,” said Michelle.

The Smurfs, or “Les Schtroumpfs” as they were originally called in French, first appeared in “Le Journal de Spirou” comic strip in 1958 as the brain-child of the Belgian comic artist, Peyo. By 1960, the Smurfs had their own comic strip series and, with the advent of the Hanna-Barbera Productions animated cartoon in 1981, the Smurfs secured a global fan base.

To many, the first attraction will always be their blue and white appearance, but as Willem De Graeve, deputy director of the Centre for Belgian Comic Strips, explains, the Smurfs have hidden depths. “First of all the Smurfs are very cute so they are little and people say they are like (being) 3 apples high,” De Graeve told Associated Press Television. “They manage to have a perfect society and altogether they enjoy life and they have fun,” he added.

The Belgium Museum of Fine Arts will be one of three European cities, along with Paris and Berlin, to officially host the European tour of “Happy Smurfday,” said to be a unique, striking, and European retrospective of the Smurfs.

Mats Sundin & The Maple Leafs

Published on January 13, 2008 in Chris and Complaints. 0 Comments

Should he be traded?He’s the best player on the team, and arguably the best to ever wear the Blue & White. But as he approaches the end of his career should he be used as a commodity or given the respect that a player of his stature deserves? Trading Mats will get the Leafs a couple worthwhile players, but it won’t change the direction of their franchise. They need to start at the top with the Teachers Pension and convince them to sell the team to a rich SOB who wants to win. The goal of the Pension plan is to provide the largest return on their investment; creating a winning team costs more than putting an average team on the ice each night. And the returns are not any greater. So with the mindset of a money manager and not an ego-driven single owner the Leafs will never be winners. And trading Mats will do nothing change that.

I’m Going To Ride The 2008 Tour De France..

Published on January 7, 2008 in 2007, Chris and Leah and Travel. 1 Comment

… at least parts of various stages as part of our summer vacation!!! We just booked the tour and I’m already counting the days until July 17. Our tour allows me to ride a number of famous climbs including the Col du Restefond (Europes highest Col), Izoard, Vars, Lauteret, Galibier, and Alpe d’Huez!!! I’ve started my training as I’m going to need to be in the best shape of my life to complete any of these climbs. And I’ve also started shopping… I can’t ride my current bike in the Tour, can I???

Juno

Published on January 5, 2008 in 2007, Chris, Goin' Out and Movies. 0 Comments

We just got back from seeing this film and it was great. Just last week we saw a commercial for it, and in my half-asleep state on the couch something about it jumped out at me and made me want to see it. (This was the first and only commercial I saw for it…)

It’s a bit different, but in a good way. It pulls at your heart strings, and reminds you about what it’s like to be young and in love, and how great it is to be in love.

I Need A Company Name

Published on January 5, 2008 in 2007 and Chris. 1 Comment

I’m starting a new company as part of my succession of my current business partner in the ownership of our company. The new company will be a holdings and investment company. (TwinPro will carry on as TwinPro doing the daily business of print management.) This means I get to create a new company name! Here are some simple pointers that I found on the web… and I think apply. Any suggestions of great names are welcome.

  • They are usually short
  • They are usually words that are not in the dictionary (at least not the usual meaning)
  • They usually have good English construction so they sound like they can become part of the language
  • They are easy to say as they have good phonetics and linguistics properties
  • They either have good alliteration or a good sticky consonant, to help make them memorably
  • They often surprise
  • They are seldom directly descriptive
  • They are usually trademarked and properly branded and promoted
  • They are associated with cool products and designs
  • They “sing” or have other melodious qualitiesÂ