intense >> too serious >> sponge bob

firstly, over the last few days my real work has been intense and I have been in working a stressy and not very productive way. I have noticed that the blogs I have been posting seem a bit heavy, rather long and a little rambling.
so I decided too lighten it a little and post a picture especially for micky in france.



secondly, I just have to direct you to davidthedesigner's blog for today the 20th april '07 it is a great true story.

meetings >> designing >> what do you use?

I apologise for the rambling nature and poor grammar of this post. perhaps I should have planned it in pencil first?

I have just come out of that (two hours plus) meeting I mentioned in yesterdays blog, it was very productive that is not something I can always say.

during the meeting I was struck by they different way the people involved chose to record their thoughts or used to bring their ideas to the meeting. taking in to consideration the make-up of the meeting, it included two people from an ICT (information communication technology) background, two from a design technology background (with four with a science background for the first half of the meeting) then ending with a longer discussion of design technology at the end. all the people present would by the nature of their work and qualifications would generally be thought of as academics.

I always take my filofax making sure I have got fresh plain paper and lined paper in, all but two had paper based forms of writing either with a pencil or a pen. only one had a pda (personal digital organiser) and one had nothing at all, I felt jealous that I didn't have the courage to not bring anything but myself, surely it is showing extraordinary confidence or that they couldn't care at all. knowing the person I have to say the former is the truth.

I thought more, with the assembled at the meeting all of whom work on computers every day, and all being computer/technology literate. why did no one bring a laptop? why did only one use a pda? and how is it the tool of choice for most a pencil?

then I thought more the one person using the pda is probably at least 15-20 years younger than the rest of us who where writing. the only one in the same age bracket as pda man was the person who didn't bring anything but his thoughts. I know others around the table have pda's and all have laptops of some description. I have a pda (i-paq) in fact I have had two, I gave one to carol and now I use the other as a sat-nav. I tried to use the first one I bought instead of the filofax after about 6 months I stopped I could just not get on with it I felt it made me think far too slowly, I was becoming bound by the software.

If I am trying to put an idea down visually I will always now start with a piece of paper (nearly always A3). even when it is for a web idea's or something with a digital outcome. this was not always the case up until a couple of years ago I would design totally on screen but I started to find that the ideas were being driven by the software and I started to design to the software specifications which became very limiting.
I would be interested to hear if I am the only one who works like this? do you design directly on your mac or (pc). do you still use a pencil and paper? is it an age thing? when I learnt to write we used paper and pencils then ink-pens when we went to the junior school! it would be nice to hear from you, if you have managed to get to the end of this!?!

skateboards >> skimboards

after yesterdays post and with the continued great weather in cornwall I started the thinking of the beach and all things summer. it has been rather poor for surf over the last few weeks especially on the south coast so I though it must be skimboard time!! after all sunny evenings a flat sea not that many visitors yet, and the beach only an 8 minutes walk away!! I thought about it around midday carried on thinking about it while trying to explain to a group of over hot students how to make a an animated flash banner to insert into the dreamweaver created website, in the early afternoon. while also replanning a room in my head and trying to remember if I was collecting ben from the child minder?

by the end of the day I had completely forgotten my skimboarding idea, when I did get home I had that horrid feeling that I had forgotten something, (you like left something on a train or not locked the house) it wasn't ben he was already home with carol, it wasn't work related had my laptop and layout paper (more drawing tonight) . I had my blackberry, filofax, pencil & memory sticks, so not lost of left anything.

oh well I thought I have a cup of coffee while carol and ben went off shopping. more phone calls and another coffee then it came back to be 'skimboard time', by then it was getting a bit late and it would probably be cold and any more excuses, oh yes I could take a photo of it and put it on here.

oooppps! I have just used a list even with a photo as an excuse for not doing something! maybe tomorrow (no, I have a meeting) probably the weekend then?