Over at lifehacker.com there is a exclusive interview with the creator of my favorite application for the mac, “Quicksilver”. They discuss the future of the application and how we loyal fans will not like the direction it is going. Read it all here.

Today is National Talk Like a pirate day. How are you going to celebrate? I would start by checking out the official website and this flickr pool.

Not actually a response because it was written in 2006 but it does answer several of the questions I was asking in my earlier post. Thanks to Linda for pointing me to this post by Dan Kimball. I’ve read one of his books and heard him speak but am not a reader of his blog. Read the orginal post here.

Here is a great GTD post for us creative types. Sometimes it’s hard to make lists and get anything done when doing creative work. I found this at 43folders.

I just read a blog post over at [ hold :: this space ] entitled skiving. It is a good short post (2 paragraphs) and worth a read. I want to call attention to the 2nd paragraph which is actually a quotation from their local paper. The person speaking is a representative from Pixar, the people behind the “Toy Story” movies and more recently “Cars”. I’ve pasted it here.

“People ask us all the time: ‘My child’s interested, so what computer programs should they study?’ What we always say is: ‘Study drawing, study your observations about the world — and study how to tell stories!’ Because storytelling is what it’s really about. Then it’s a matter of how to tell those stories visually, so those traditional skills that have been around forever are the foundation of what we do. That’s in spite of the fact that, yes, we’re innovators. But if you don’t have the foundations, it doesn’t matter. A computer is just another tool.”

When people ask me what about my job I tell them I’m a graphic designer. I should learn to not. This inevitably leads to them telling me or showing me something they or a family member has designed and is usually not very good. Then they ask me for my opinion and I give it to them. You may say that could be harsh or mean but remember they did ask. It’s not my fault.

After I have critiqued the work they always seem to ask what software I use. I would like to tell them that the software used is not the issue but I just answer the questions asked. (For those of you curious, I use industry standard software, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, and some mac only programs like CSS Edit and Rapidweaver.) Sure, having the right tools makes any job easier. Have you ever tried to hammer a nail with a pair of pliers? But with out a solid understanding of form, color, space, line, texture, and typography your work will always be mediocre at best.

I have a 4 year degree in Art and that’s how I got my foundation in these things but that isn’t necessary. Some people have an innate sense of what looks good and how to use different elements and some people need to read some books and spend some time learning to draw. I am a designer but I also can draw, paint and sculpt. Almost every project I work on starts with a pencil and my sketch book.

I don’t write this to discourage any artists but to enlighten those that don’t understand what is involved in creating a good design, and perhaps expose the fact that under all the fancy computers and software there is a solid skill set of fine art.

A new font has been designed that saves space by removing vowels and shrinking capital letters. Saved space means saved money, and less paper use which is good for the environment. Below is a an ad for the font using the font. Pretty cool, eh?

Over at “Christians in the Arts” there is a 2 part interview with Tyrus Clutter, director of CIVA (Christians in Visual Arts). Both parts are good but if you only have to read one read part 2. I’m kind of partial to him as he was a professor of mine in College. I’m glad to see he is doing well…I haven’t talked to him in several years.

Artwork by Tyrus Clutter

Currently CIVA has an online exhibition of contemporary expressions of Mary the Mother of Jesus. The Lithograph above is in this exhibition and was created by a prof I had in College. Check out the other 35 works in this exhibtion.

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Naked Pastor has a great post on 10 Ways becoming more creative. Check it out.

I’ve recently been reading a blog entitled “The Naked Pastor”. I just read this post he has written on beauty. I’ve copy and pasted a portion of his post here.

Let me put it this way: it is as though I came across an extraordinarily beautiful rose in the wilderness. My task is to appreciate, protect and praise its rare beauty. Along come the developers to suggest digging up this rose’s roots in order to plant a whole garden of them. I chase them off because this one rose is all that is needed. I will not kill it for a bigger idea. Along come the horticulturalist experts to tell me how to make it even bigger and more beautiful. I chase them off because they don’t appreciate the rose as it already is in all its splendor. I will not change this rose into another one. Along come the insecticide and herbicide specialists and gene-manipulators to tell me how to develop this rose into a stronger strain. I chase them off because they don’t realize that letting it be is its best protection. It is strong enough if left alone. Along come the reporters and spin-doctors to make deals on how to publish its praise in a more professional, profitable and marketable way. I chase them off because the rose reports its own beauty.

We should push ourselves in our everyday lives to experience more and sure things could be better but all too often we don’t see the beauty in what is right in front of us just the way God created it. The fact that a thing exists is a beautiful thing. The fact that a person exists is a beautiful thing. Why do we put such high expectations on our friends to be a certain way or do or not do certain things. Each person is beautiful just the way they are.