On Freelancing

If I learned anything from this recession, I have learned that recession sparks creativity.

Many of the people I went to graduated with are finding themselves jobless or working a job that didn't require the skills acquired within their major and/or totally outside of their planned career path. It is safe to say we're all a bit let down.

Something that I am having difficulty with is keeping up with my creativity. I am one of those working a job that is nowhere near what I had planned on doing post-college but the current economy changed my plans for me. Luckily, I have a job working with teenage youth, something I had sorta/kinda planned back in January when it was apparent that I may not have a job post-graduation.

What's odd about the Public Relations industry is that a lot of times, freelancing is disregarded. At this time, freelancing is my only option to "keeping up" with the current trends and work of the PR industry (outside of this blog). And freelancing is exactly what I am about to do... for free.

I have one billion and one ideas inside of my head that will get out one way or another. Either way, they have to start getting out now because I am going to go crazy soon.

DesignBoom X Nissan Competition

Nissan (the car maker) has collaborated with DesignBoom to launch an advertising design competition around the Qashqai and urban parking spaces. The entry deadline is August 25, 2009. For more information see below and visit DesignBoom.

In search of cutting edge design to challenge conventional urban parking to be tougher and stylish.

Qashqai is a resilient urban vehicle with distinct style. It is capable to take on
whatever the city throws at it – Qashqai is 'Urbanproof'. We are looking for ideas
around Nissan’s tough and stylish Qashqai. Designs may challenge any element
of urban parking (underground, exterior, interior, multi-layer, ground level, shape,
colors, material, smell, sound, ramps, signage, limits, etc.).
Urban parking is in need of a renovation. Ideas must challenge current perceptions
of urban parking and offer a tougher, sleeker, or even playful rendering of it.

The urban parking challenge is open to innovative designers with a bold and daring vision.
Design is an innovative field with an ever-growing number of mediums to create this
parking renovation: graphic, video, urban, industrial, lighting, motion and more.
Ideas may be delivered as videos, objects or illustrations.

You need to include a Qashqai model or a part of it (rear-view mirrors, grills, wheels, wheel caps...)
in the final entry. The Qashqai model does not have to be necessary a part of the design itself.
It should just be included somewhere in the final video, in the picture of your object,
illustration or image depicting the design. A variety of images & videos of the Qashqai model
are available to include in the entry as you wish to feature it.

Updates in Type

Here is an interesting article on Typography in Web Design. Unlike the previous article on #font-face (which really detailed how, where, when to use it) this article focuses on the politics on this new web design tool. Much of the points in this article come from ideas discussed last week during TypeCon 2009.

Web designers are generally not interested in technical specifications, TrueType Hinting instructions, and extended OpenType permissions tables. They have one pressing question: when can I use font x in my web pages?

The debate on the legal issues in using certain types on the web is quite interesting. I Love Typography has a great article and some tweets to support towards the end. Check it out here.

This is Diversity

This Is Diversity is a new citizen journalism based site with a twist, it actually pays. The goal is to facilitate awareness and understanding by bringing together diverse viewpoints on important issues. I think the folks over at This Is Diversity may be on to something...

We Should Be Friends

Diego Stocco - Music From A Tree from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

Learn more about this amazing musician/designer/artist here.