This video has been out on the interwebs for some time now but I figured I would share it as some of the seniors soon approach graduation in a few weeks. Nick Campbell of Digital Kitchen (and greyscalegorilla his personal site) shares his thoughts on what it takes to get into the business of motion design.

I personally think he hits the nail on the head when he says that in school you need to know the basics, good design principles, good typography, etc. He makes it a point to say that the creative stuff and formal stuff comes first, and then learning software is something you can do at anytime.

This is very much the philosophy of most architecture schools, teach design first, then upon graduation and in the real world one learns the nuts and bolts of putting buildings together, working with clients, etc.

If you get a chance check out the blog on his site greyscalegorilla there are plenty of good things there especially some nice Cinema 4D tutorials.

If you like FFFFOUND, then you’ll probably like Dropular. If you like to save images and compile a library of inspiration, you’ll like ImageSpark. Check them out!

Never Sleep is a new book created by the partners of the firm DressCode. In their own words the book is “To demystify the transition, we share the failures, successes, and surprises during our years in college and progression into the field: the creative process, monetary problems, internships, interviews, mistakes, and personal relationships. We include the work from our first design class to our most current client work, along with side stories and interviews from our mentors, teachers, and peers. This book will serve as the ultimate companion for design students, educators, and anyone breaking into a creative field.”

While I have not seen or read the book, its subject is very fitting for students who are about to graduate and have no idea what is next. The site gives a good preview with what might be in the book and has some good answers to common questions like: Big Portfolio or Little? How much should I charge? or What internships should I look for? Looks promising.

Kuler.Adobe.com

Take a look at moo.com, since it seems like the next step in cheap specialized printing after lulu. I wonder why all these online printing services have names that sound like infants babbling, or other incompete words. Anyway, They offer business cards with a a unique image on each, or sticker packs and other types of small media. They’re very reasonably priced (b cards are ~$20), but they suffer from the same wait time as lulu (up to two weeks after you place an order).

I haven’t seen these prints personally, but I’m thinking about ordering a package of stickers with my url on it just for fun.  Now all I have to do is get www.alanlanguirand.com to fit on a 1×1in sticker!

How to easily install apache, mysql and php in OSX

If you click there, you can install apache, mysql and php really easily on your computer. So, for those of you who use php, you wouldn’t have to get a server with php in order to test a website. This is especially useful with blog software like Wordpress. Basically, with php, you have to use a web server that has this thing called mysql, which basically holds certain pages for you as database pages. If you were to create a website traditionally, you’d have to create one HTML page for each page on the site, but with php, you can create template pages, and certain other features that can appear frequently on the site without re-coding them.

It’s useful for updating, because, if you make a change on something that appears on every page in your site, if you did it the old fashioned way, you’d have to update ALL the pages one by one. For those of you that have used Dreamweaver, you can create template pages in that program, but every time you change a template page, you have to upload the entire site.

Anyway, this free program makes all this stuff easier, so you can spend more time designing!

One of the biggest complaints I often hear students mention is that they aren’t trained enough on the software. It is a valid complaint. Admittedly striking the balance in the classroom between teaching how to design and teaching how to use software is a difficult task, if we only taught the software (and there is an enormous amount to cover there), there would be no design taught. I often tell students that they need to just spend the time on their own trying every filter in photoshop, see what it does, and just play around with it, many don’t. Thankfully we have the internet. Tutorials We Heart is a great resource full of photoshop tutorials explaining everything from how to make a meteor shower to making type glow. It is a wonderful resource for those who want to brush up on their photoshop chops.

OK, I only know of one person working on this stuff out here in the small world of the EMU blogosphere… so, check it out Jenna!

Just recently I started using this online brainstorming tool called bubbl.us. It helps generate branching “tree” diagrams like the one above. The interface is a bit clunky and frustrating at times, paper would be easier to use. The biggest advantage of using this software is that it allows for collaboration and on-line sharing with other users. This is nice if you are brainstorming ideas in a group composed of people not always in the same physical location. It also is nice in that you can export to a variety of formats from HTML, JPEG, etc. It is free, which I always enjoy, and you can change the colors of the bubbles.

If you are really crafty or inventive you can turn the bubbles into a typeface or make a poster using this resource.

Detroit Make it Here is part of the initiative to revitalize Detroit (and Michigan’s) economy as a creative economy. The site currently offers a variety of articles ranging from business tips to local news. It also features a large directory of designers and design firms in the area, which would be helpful to anyone looking for a job or an internship and trying to figure out what exactly is here. While it the site seems to be in its developmental phase (gee did the words BETA on the site give it away), it may become a great resource for students and professionals in the area.

From their about page:

Detroit is more than just cars. We’re a strong, talented and fiercely passionate community of multigenerational creatives.

That’s right, we’re remarkable. But does everyone know it? Unfortunately, they don’t, but that doesn’t mean we can’t tell them.

This site is in its first phase. We hope that you’ll help us build the best possible tool for our community. Create a profile, meet your peers and spread the word. Meanwhile, we’ll build content, add features and market the site and its network of users.

Are you committed? Do you know the past, respect the legacy, but realize the future’s potential? Do you want to be part of this region’s revival? Sure you do, Detroit. Go ahead, make it here.