d e s i g n s e r e n d i p i t y

[Ad] So where the bloody hell are you???

2006-06-15T01:54:00.000+08:00

Haha. You must love the recent Australia Tourism Ad Campaign. It has beer, bikini girls and a country that welcomes you with vulgarities. Oooh that bikini girl is shoo cute...

The actual TVC:

The spoof, version 01:

The spoof, version 02:

[Ranting] It's getting busier

2006-06-04T16:43:00.000+08:00

Oooh what a long hiatus this is. And yes! I've graduated! With a Bachelor in Business Administration(double specialisation in Marketing and Finance), i decided to frame it up in my house and embark on a somewhat different path: going into design business with a young, brilliant friend, Mel, who, amazingly, shares the same vision i have for doing design business.

To be honest, i am excited. Very excited. Not just because i am doing my own business. Not just because i'm doing what i always wanted. It's because i actually found someone who shares the same vision! All the often, peeps i talked to are either very "design-designers" or "business-businessmen", something that are nice to have but not exactly fitting the "mold" i envisioned. A passion for design and a knack for business development in peeps are somethings that i look for in this vision of mine. And hey, through serendipity, i met Mel. Not wanting to sound corny, i thank God for this act of providence.

Recently, we just completed a project with OCBC, designing their employees recognition programs and also the launch design on the day. It was our first mutual project and i felt we worked very well, with our complementary strengths. We were satisfied with the end result and our clients were happy with our work. That made our day. Our first (big) project with a reputable client!

We are sure more of such projects will come our way and we can work even better together. And yes, it's getting busier. =)

[Ranting] Busy Busy Busy

2006-04-28T22:34:00.000+08:00

Currently juggling with exams, freelances, voting rallies (haha! Finally! I get to vote!) and misc stuff. Hence i ain't got time to update my blog, my DA, visit other friends blogs (so sorry) and forums. Will do so when i am more free after next week.

One thing i am estatic is that our design for the Food From The Heart brochure (see below post) is well-liked by our lecturer and he is handpicking it for the actual pitch, inviting us to come with him later in May. Haha, i was quietly shouting with joy when he said it was really impressive and it's the best of the lot. God i love compliements. XD. But nonetheless, i thoroughly enjoyed the process and now i reap the reward. Sweet.

[Recent Works] Brochure for Food from The Heart

2006-04-12T13:05:00.000+08:00

Recently,i was involved in a Public Relations exercise with Food From The Heart, a non-profit organisation that aims to help alleviate the needy families in Singapore from hunger and starvation. They have been actively involved in collecting bread and other food items from bakeries, supermarkets and corporations to distribute to the less fortunate and the starving needy. This helps to reduce both wastage of food and the situation of hunger. More information can be found at their website: http://www.foodheart.org.

My team's brief is to help them redesign their brochure, which was designed and printed straight from Powerpoint, and make it more attractive+ relevant.
Primary Target: Corporations/Businesses
Secondary Target: Men/women on the street
Objectives: Awareness, donations (either food items or monetary)

Initially our team came up with 30+ ideas, which we cut down to 2 after much deliberation.

First was to show a bird's eye scene where 2 groups of school children sit at canteen benches. One group are happily wasting food, throwing food at each other, on the table. The other group are quietly eating their miserable portions of biscuits (those cheap cheap ones)

Second was to show a family scene, where the setting is a run-down, squeezy flat coupled with low, gloomy lighting. Within sits a family, kids + mum (no dad) staring at their empty plates with a face of helpless-ness.
The slogan for this would be: Dinner time. It's the moment that they dread most.

In the end, we chose the second idea as the first entails wasting food which was somewhat against Food From The Heart's basic motto. So we make all the arrangement to create the scene for a photoshoot. We managed to source a place via a teammates' relative and engaged in shots after shots as we keep improvising the idea on the ground, changing position, lighting, expressions here and there. Total: 312 shots taken and 4 hours gone.

Once the photos are up in digital format, i started coming out with the design. The brochure is designed as a horizontal 3-fold. The cover would be completely black with strong yellow words: "Dinner Time". The inside cover would be the photo of the scene, coupled with the tag: "It's the moment they dread most". The internal of the brochure would be the about "who they are, how they can help..." Design has to be simple and not flashy, attractive but not arty-farty. So i used something that is "local magazine style" which eases reading through adequate use of colors to rest the eyes. The punchline would be a small takeaway card where readers can detach and keep in their wallets or purses. It contains the vital information of brochure itself. Lastly, the back shows the list of beneficiaries and of course, the contact details of Food From The Heart.

Believe or not. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole process of designing, copywriting and rushing down to digital printers to meticulously adjust the double-sided printings. It was all sweat but i was really satisfied at how well everything went and how it turned out. Our presentation was great and i am damn sure we scored with the Food From The Heart peeps. Sense of accomplishment and achievement filled me and me teammates.

I just felt like saying this. Larry, Fiona, Natasha, Priscilla, it was really great working with you guys! I thank you all. Hope we could work together again!

This was the initial mockup of the covers i did once the photos are digitalized.
We chose the 2nd photo. (orangy sepia tint)

This is a visual representation of the brochure and how to "use" it

This is merely the actual dimensions of the brochure and the card.

[Ad] Soesman Language Training – Music For the Family

2006-04-03T12:57:00.000+08:00

Hah! Once again, learn english for God's sake!

(warning: This ad contains MATURE audio content)

(Please switch off background music before playing the video)

[Ad] Berlitz Language Academy - Sinking

2006-03-30T17:05:00.000+08:00

Moments when you really hate broken-english. Haha!

(Please switch off background music before playing the video)

[Ad] Nike – Secret Tournament (Full)

2006-03-28T02:07:00.000+08:00

Once more. Probably one of the best sports ad series. Ever.

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[Ad] Nike – Secret Tournament (Full) 02

2006-03-28T02:04:00.000+08:00

Probably one of the best sports ad series. Ever.

(Please switch off background music before playing the video)

[Ranting] Gift from an angel! Big Book of Design Ideas

2006-03-25T02:24:00.000+08:00

Gift from angel! Woooo! This was one of the many books that caught my eye everytime i browse through the design section of Kinokuniya. It contains many nice examples of design ideas that ranges from annual reports, to brochures, to T-shirt designs.

Description from its main site: This is a book that many have described as a must have for every designer's bookshelf. Finally available in paperback, this invaluable compendium offers more than 900 examples of graphic design projects of all kinds -- promotional materials, letterheads, editorial layouts, exhibits, packaging, posters, annual reports, T-shirts and more -- culled from the work of leading professionals in every area of the graphic design field.

Hehe, it's a really useful book for graphic creatives, at least it is for me. Really happy i could add this to my collection. Touch of angel. Sweet!

Title: Big Book Of Design Ideas
Publisher: Harper Design
ISBN: 068817986X

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Cover:

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[Animation] An Eye For Annai

2006-03-22T16:29:00.000+08:00

VERY nice short animation film by Jonathan Klassen and Daniel Rodrigues! An enchantingly cute story about Annai looking for an eye. Beautifully drawn by hand, coupled with great simple soundtrack. (love the recorder!).

Click HERE to Download
or
Watch it below:
(Please switch off background music before playing the video)

[Ranting] Hotmail should be called SpamMail

2006-03-22T14:24:00.000+08:00

Just a few minutes ago, i login to my hotmail. Again, I come in to 40+ new messages (after just clearing it 2 days ago), not one personal.

If i were to believe what's inside my inbox, i would discover my name is actually Paul Lynch. I'd be out of debt, have a bigger penis and breasts, be working from home making $5000 per week, while watching jessica simpson and angelina jolie in a s**k-f**k fest.... and guess what! I found all of my highschool friends and classmates that I've lost touch with over the years.

[Ad] Xbox360 – Jump In

2006-03-21T10:40:00.000+08:00

Yes! It's here!
But can the hackers please make it "modded" first????

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[Ad] Umbro – Funny pumping

2006-03-20T12:28:00.000+08:00

PARENTAL ADVISORY REQUIRED!

A funny ad with sexual innuendo. =p
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[Ad] German Optics – Shortsighted Lust

2006-03-20T12:26:00.000+08:00

PARENTAL ADVISORY REQUIRED!

A funny ad with sexual innuendo. =p
(Please switch off background music before playing the video)

[Ad] Nike – 100 Goals

2006-03-14T21:48:00.000+08:00

Cantona. How can you not love him.

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[Ad] Virgin Atlantic - Gays

2006-03-14T21:46:00.000+08:00

Kinda expected from Virgin.

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[Ad] SquareEnix - Final Fantasy XII

2006-03-12T00:54:00.000+08:00

Lovely. Nuff said.

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[Ad] FIFA Women's World Cup 2003 -Adidas

2006-03-11T23:50:00.000+08:00

Quite obvious, Adidas did a "Shaolin soccer" to rile up the chinese viewers.

(Please switch off background music before playing the video)

[Ranting] New artbook! Lurzer's Archive!

2006-02-28T03:08:00.000+08:00

Saw this book at Kinokuniya earlier this month and it was reasonably priced around $50+. The $50+ is such a bargain for the quality within! I scanned it through and found that selection for the entries within the book are nominated by top art directors over the world and the selection process was highly stringent.

The entries are maintained, scrutinised and finally selected by an international jury whose members included: Walter Lürzer, publisher and owner of Lürzer’s Archive Magazine, Michael Weinzettl, Editor in Chief of Lürzer's Archive Magazine, Olaf Hajek, illustrator and member of the Art Directors Club, Germany, Takahiro Kanie, illustrator and president of Japan Illustrator's Association, Japan, Richard Solomon, representative of illustrators, USA, and Dr. Matthew Eve, lecturer/writer on19th/20th Cent graphic design/illustration, UK.

All in all, this is a terrific book. 200 excellent illustrators, neatly categorized into different sections such as advertising, annuals, brochures, cards, covers, editorial, posters... To add to the beauty of that is the reasonable price of $50+. 2 words. Great Bargain.

Title: Lurzer's Archive Special. 200 Best Illustrators Worldwide
Publisher: Showcase Archive Inc
ISBN: 097645422X

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Cover:

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[Recent Works] Garlic Nation

2006-02-19T13:10:00.000+08:00

Did an illustration piece yesterday. Was inspired by a site FLOPDESIGN that Jingster showed me recently.

Caption: "...and God came in the form of the people to show them the very meaning of their existence. Blessing them with multiple health benefits and immunities, He said, 'Now go my children. Spread the love that i have bestowed on you. Benefit the world by your very existence'... "

Thinking of doing a series out of this. If i do, this will be the 1st part of it.
Please click for larger view.

This piece can also be found over at my DEVIANTART account.

[Showcase-Designer] Tokidoki

2006-02-06T22:39:00.000+08:00

Website:: http://www.tokidoki.it/

One of my favourite design styles around! Check him out! He's featured in the current issue (vol 1 issue 12) of Playtimes-magazine's cover!

Playtimes Vol 1 Issue 12's cover:

Other pics from his site! Check him out!
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[Design] The Unspoken Rules of Graphic Design:

2006-01-26T19:51:00.000+08:00

Post:
Got this in one of the forums. Darn funny but true. =D
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1. Your fonts will default to the worst possible font available on the machine you are showing your work on.

2. If you have two versions of a photo, the wrong one will make its way to the printer.

3. The less time you have the more useless your computer will become.

4. Promises made by the sales staff have no basis in reality.

5. The sales staff will promise anything.

6. If the text consists of two words, one will be misspelled.

7. Speed. Quality. Affordability. Pick any two.

8. If the run is wrong, it’s never the press operator’s fault.

9. Spell checkers don’t.

10. Grammar checkers don’t, either.

11. Proof raeders are useless.

12. Global search-and-replaces aren’t.

13. The index entry you leave out will be the first one the client looks under.

14. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is good comedy.

15. If three designs are shown to a client, your least favorite will be chosen or any combination of worst components of each.

16. If two designs are shown, a third will be requested. If provided, then one of the first two will be chosen.

17. If you ask for more copy it will be sent as a .jpg. If you ask for images they will send powerpoint presentations.

18. Clients don’t have their company logo in a usable print ready format so don’t bother asking.

19. Blue line proofs reveal previously invisible errors.

20. The best designs never survive contact with the client.

21. You will misspell the name of the client’s spouse.

22. Your best idea is already copyrighted.

23. The best way to find errors in your code is to show a client “a new feature”.

24. There is no stock photo ever made that matches the image you have in your head.

25. Creative inspiration flows in inverse proportion to the distance from the studio.

26. Time allowed to complete work is inversely proportional to time taken by client to work out what to complain about.

27. Doctors, astronauts, and plumbers need training to do their jobs, but anyone with a computer is a graphic designer.

28. No matter how detailed the tech support FAQ is, nobody has ever heard of your problem.

29. The number of colors in a client’s design will equal the number of colors in the original bid specs, plus two.

30. The client’s disk won’t run on your equipment & when it does will contain unusable copyrighted images.

31. If you purchase new equipment to read your client’s disk, it will be the last disk of that type you will ever receive.

32. Your client will often not like your design but not quite know why.

33. Computer crashes always happen exactly 30 seconds before saving.

34. A client who knows exactly what he wants is worse than one that has no idea.

35. Clients who do not provide content upfront will complain about the use of Lorem Ipsum.

36. Everything has to be done immediately, deadlines are incredibly important unless client has to provide materials or approve your work.

37. The customer is always right . And an idiot.

[Marketing] Top 50 Agencies in Singapore

2006-01-25T00:15:00.000+08:00

Here are top 50 agencies (creative, PR, interactive, media services) of Singapore as of Nov 2005:

01 Ogilvy & Mather
02 MindShare
03 Zenith Media
04 Saatchi & Saatchi
05 Mediaedge:cia
06 OMD
07 Leo Burnett
08 Starcom MediaVest Group
09 BBDO
10 McCann Erickson
11 DDB Worldwide
12 OgilvyOne
13 Tequila
14 Young & Rubicam
15 Burson-Marsteller
16 Weber Shandwick
17 Hill & Knowlton
18 TBWA
19 Crush Advertising
20 Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
21 Kinetic Interactive
22 M&C Saatchi
23 Carat
24 Batey/Red Cell
25 Grey Global Group
26 Bang Public Relations
27 Edelman Public Relations
28 Bates Asia
29 Formul8
30 MDK Consultants
31 Bartle Bogle Hegarty
32 JWT
33 The Gate Worldwide
34 Dentsu
35 141 Worldwide
36 Foote Cone & Belding
37 Wunderman
38 BLUE
39 Optimedia
40 XM Asia Pacific
41 CNET Networks Asia Pacific
42 Fallon Asia
43 10AM Communications
44 PR Communications
45 Euro RSCG
46 Fleishman Hillard
47 Ogilvy RedCard
48 Fulford Public Relations
49 Gosh! Advertising
50 Initiative
Source: Marketing Magazine, Singapore

[Recent Works] RockMeisterFest2006

2006-01-17T22:19:00.000+08:00

Haven't been doing much designs for myself recently. Most of my works are all freelance stuff, either commercial or not really my flavor. Recently, I was looking through my old or unfinished design works and suddenly, i have this weird urge to revamp them. So i dug out an old design, which was basically a design for Powerpoint presentation slides, and started to work on making it something more substantial. So i transformed it from a powerpoint slide design into a promotional collateral for a made-up rock festival. It was fun. Will definitely do more of this if time permits.

Please click on them for a bigger view.

This is the original design i dug out from my archives. Supposed to be for powerpoint presentation.

This is the revamped design! Red version!

Green version!

Orange version!

Amalgamation of all versions! I was thinking of this to be a sticker pack made up of 4 stickers.

Just did this a minute ago as i was uploading the pics. Only available on this blog. (and not in other forums or my DeviantArt) Haha. special edition. Meant to be a set of 4 bookmarks. (sorry no hi-res for this pic)

[Recent Works] Miscellanous Designs

2006-01-17T21:20:00.000+08:00

Did some door hanger designs to help in the merchandising as Funics is going over to NUS Central Forum on 18-20 Jan 2006, to set up a booth at the bazaar. Here are some designs.

Click on them to view a bigger version.

Door Hanger for the totally-stressed out.

Door hanger for those who will kill when disturbed.

Door hanger for the obscence jokers.

Something i did for fun when i was doing freelance design for some nail-care salon.

Poster mockup for the pitch of an annual event of NUS School of Design Environment.

[Ranting] Holy Shit! I just won a Wacom Intuos3!

2006-01-14T12:58:00.000+08:00

Just a minute ago, I was going through my junk mail in my Yahoo!Mail just now and guess what i saw??? An email from Wacom-asia stating the Lucky Draw Winners for the Wacom e-greeting cards contest. Initially i thought it's just a mailer that informs all registered Wacom users about the winners' list but i was surprised when it reads,

"Mr Ronnie Chan, congratulations, you are one of our Lucky Draw Winners!"

I blinked and read one more time, this time my face was just 20cm away from the screen. Still doubting this might be some prank mail or something i checked out the official site... http://www.wacom-asia.com/contest/luckydrawing.html

HOLY CRAP! That's me! I just won myself an Intuos3 A6, 4x5(though not very big, but i am contented and over the moon!)

Okie, enough about my winning, here's some background to the contest:
The actual contest results were announced on the 11th Jan 2006 and the winners were great! My entry was a last minute patch job i did before the deadline of the contest (i think 2 hours... hah) so i wasn't confident of winning anything. The feeling was magnified after i saw the nominees artworks.

Click here to see Nominees' Artwork

The winners were really good too! It is evident that Wacom-asia want to see artworks done using graphic tablets, painter-styled, in the static works. But I also love the flash winners. Especially the one did by fellow Singaporean Rex Lee, from www.furryfish.com

Click here to see Winners' Artwork

[Ranting] Photos of my Myanmar Trip

2006-01-10T01:20:00.001+08:00

Okie! Here's the photos from my trip to Myanmar! After filtering out those with poor quality, here are some of the better ones. There's quite a number so please bear with the loading. =)

This is the front view of the floating Karaweik restaurant in Yangon.

Daily cultural dance segment in the Karaweik resturant.

Window View on the Road to Mandalay.

Window View on the Road to Mandalay 02.

Our hotel in May Myo: Royal Parkview Hotel.

Coffee Plant Nursery.

Deshelling of Coffee Cherries.

Coffee Cherries deshelled.

A walk in the coffee hills 01.

A walk in the coffee hills 02.

A walk in the coffee hills 03.

A walk in the coffee hills 04.

Doggies and cherries.

Butterfly. Coffee. Sky.

Real beautiful flowers we saw as we ate lunch at an south indian restaurant. Couldn't resist the urge to snap some shots.

Another angle.

Dinner in SAN FRANCISCO! Haha.

National Kandawgyi Gardens, Myanmar's national botanical garden. BEAUTIFUL.

Freaking nice air and view. Love it.

They have sakura trees...

...And lots of spiders! Haha

The Nan Myint Tower from far.

The Nan Myint Tower from very near.

The Nan Myint Tower at full grace. Lovely.

The view from the Nan Myint Tower. Nice.

Another angle.

More of the Kandawgyi Gardens' beauty. Fell in love with the place.

Wonderful place to picnic.

A baby Noni Fruit. Looks like a pineapple to me. Hehe.

Mr Parrot. The bouncer to the farmhouse.

Back to Yangon! And first stop is here! To eat Singaporean food! Operated by Singaporeans!

National Races Village. Reminds me of all those chalets. Hah.

A Replica of the real Golden Rock, another national relic.

Streets of Yangon are fun to explore!

You can easily find local food along the streets. Just be aware of the "hygiene".

Myanmar's Chinatown!

See! They have Guan Yin temple also!

Streets of Chinatown is so fun...

...and they have CHEAP hoon kees(cigarettes)! approx S$1.50 to S$2!

Shwe Dagon Pagoda, the National Relic. Sorry 'bout the shakiness. It looks magnificent at night! A must-visit for anyone who visits Yangon.

The smaller architecture of the temples in the vicinity is also breath-taking.3

Kyaik-hmaw-wun Pagoda. An island temple. Reminds me of Kusu island!

The entrance to the island pagoda. We(foreigners) need to take a ferry. (locals take boats)

My favourite piece of photography in this trip. Love the composition and colors.

Once again...Myanmar cultural architecture amazes me.

Sidedoor of the pagoda.

Edge of the pagoda. Nice view.

High-tea at Shwe Pazun Bakery!

Nice decor! Quite crowded!

They have many cakes and stuff... though not too fantastic.

..oh yeah, Myanmar do have churches and cathedrals. And boy, are they beautiful.

Bogyoke Aung San market. Bargainers training ground.

They sell lots of ethnic, handmade stuff. Many small alleys to explore!

Okie, let me end with this...mystery. A fountain situated in the scenic gardens of the Shwe Pazun Bakery. Don't really understand how the ball is kept in the air. Someone came up with the theory of a string but we didn't find it too possible as the ball is rolling non-stop instead of just bobbing up and down. Furthermore we couldn't find any visible string attached to it... Even if it is attached, why would it stay perfectly upright instead of being pushed around? Magnet was our only reasonable guess... but we are still unsure...

[Ranting] Back from Myanmar. The Land of Gold

2006-01-04T20:39:00.000+08:00

I’m back! From the Land of Gold: Myanmar! Largely untouched by western influence and not yet proliferated with the billions of advertising messages, Myanmar retains a high level of ethnic originality and a huge amount of cultural heirlooms. For those sick of Thailand or want something more preserved than Vietnam, give Myanmar a try. You will be pleasantly rewarded.

STILL IN PROGRESS OF SORTING OUT THE PHOTOS. WILL POST THEM SOON.

----------------------Click here for map of Myanmar----------------------

I was there for a total of 9 days. A business-cum-relaxation-cum-experience trip.

Day 1: Took SilkAir. Reached Yangon International airport after 3 hours. It was chaotic. The airport “bellboys” fight to get hold of your luggage so that they get tips. The taxi drivers too are fighting to get you so beware.
Advice: If you are traveling with a group, organize your entire luggage, then allow only one “bellboy” to carry your luggage. Same logic goes for getting your taxi drivers at the airport.
First day, we checked into a small hotel at Chinatown called Chit Sayar Hotel . Nice cozy place operated by Chinese, complete with a small eatery upstairs. Rooms are air-conditioned, complete with satellite TV, water heater and a bath tub. Laundry service is cheap. Went for dinner at the floating Karaweik hotel on the Royal Lake. After dinner, we all slept early for the long days ahead (after the satellite TV failed to get us EPL!).

Day 2: Woke up darn early. We booked a van to travel to May Myo, a town in the mountain state of Pyin Oo Lwin (very near Mandalay). We estimated it to be an 18-20hour drive. I had a real hearty beef noodle for breakfast before moving off, it was good. We left Yangon, a city that totally bans any form of car honking, and got onto the Yangon-Mandalay road, where honking is the rule of the road. I finally understood why Robbie Williams sang in the chorus of ‘The Road To Mandalay’:

“bum bum bum ba da dup bum bum
bum bum bum ba da dup bum bum
bum bum bum ba da dup bum bum
bum badum”

It was a HELL OF A BUMPY ride. We were bobbing up, down, left, right, inside out, coupled with the non-stop honking on the roads. But it’s okie. We adapt fast. Soon after a few hours, we all concussed (except our superman driver of course)
Finally, after 20hours of driving, we reached the Royal ParkView Hotel, our accommodation for 2 days in May Myo. The moment we stepped out of the van we were FREEZING! It’s 7 degrees Celsius! We whacked on our cold wear and charged into our rooms. None of us (except one brave soul) dared not bathe at all so we changed into thicker clothes and watched B-grade movies on HBO before dozing off.

Day 3: Woke up early for breakfast. It wasn’t as cold as night time but it was STILL COLD AS HELL. Wore cold wear with a tee and a jacket inside. Soon, we met with the top local government honchos from the Ministry of Agriculture. Then together we went up to see the coffee fields. The air and view up there is spectacular. Then we rushed back to hotel to bathe before night comes! Hah. At night, we had dinner with the top honchos. Al Fresco dining at 6 Degrees Celsius! What an experience! Brrrr. Back to hotel and watched B-grade movies and BBC before dozing off.

Day 4: Another early day. The local officials sent a vehicle to bring us to visit one of the local attractions: The Kandawgyi Gardens. The view there was UNBELIEVABLE. They have a very nice lake where swans, ducks and birds wander idyllically. More importantly, the air there was fresh something you almost can’t find in Singapore. Hah. Then we climbed the Nan Myint Tower. The view and air up there is simply breathtaking. We didn’t dare to climb the tower… so we took the lift. Hah. We wanted to visit the >Peik Chin Myaung Cave but we were short on time. We checked out of Royal Parkview Hotel and went to Mandalay to meet more business and government contacts before heading onto the roads back to Yangon. This time round, we made sure the driver gets ample rest as we rested halfway at Taungoo, in a hotel called Hotel Amazing K2. Wasn’t too friendly these peeps, tried to overcharge us but we managed to kill their prices. Heh.

Day 5: Woke up early to be on the roads again. Finally reached Yangon and we had lunch at restaurant opened by a Singaporean. GREAT STUFF. They even have bubble tea and chicken rice! Before checking into Chit Sayar Hotel again, we visited the top government honchos of Yangon, some colonel and general. Then we went back to Chit Sayar Hotel and had a nice nap before heading to the National Relic: Shwe Dagon Pagoda. The view is SPECTACULAR. It totally awed me. I was left speechless at the beauty of the architecture of the entire temple area already, not to include the golden pagoda itself. It is night time then with all the spotlights are switched on, giving the pagoda its grandeur it rightfully deserved. The amount of gold, diamonds and precious stones studded on the pagoda is (more than) enough to buy a Fortune 500 company! There are also countless Buddha statues littered all over the compound, making this place a great place for fervent Buddhists.

Day 6: Woke up slightly later today. The local officials sent a van to bring us around Yangon. First we went to the National Races Village where they displayed the housing of different ethic groups living in Myanmar. That day was a public holiday hence the place was crowded with the locals. Then we moved off to the Thanlyin where we bought salted fish and visited the Kyaik-hmaw-wun Pagoda (middle stream team temple) built on a tiny island in the river, and Kyaik-khauk Pagoda. Reminds me of Kusu Island in Singapore. After that, we went to Shwe Pazun Bakery to have cakes and desserts for lunch. Their “domino”, a national drink which is basically ice-cream + fruits + syrup + natatee coco in a cup, tastes heavenly. Their cakes though, are passable. After which, we head back to Chinatown and explored the streets for local delicacies and stuff. Love the feeling of walking in bustling, foreign streets. Back to Chit Sayar Hotel to rest. After a short nap, we had dinner with one of the head honchos’ family at a Chinese restaurant operated by a Singaporean couple in the Grand Mee Ya Hta Hotel/Executive Residence. Nice friendly family they have. After the rather filling dinner, we went back to Chit Sayar Hotel for a short rest before we had coffee at a near by café called ‘Uncle Bird Bakery.’ They have nice latte and light confectionary. After having a real hearty conversation, we went back to our rooms and called it a day.

Day 7: Woke up early for a long day ahead. The head honcho we dined with the day before invited us to visit 2 of his many plantations. It was a few hours ride into the hills, away from Yangon. Can’t say we enjoyed the ride. We checked out of Chit Sayar Hotel after lunch to transfer into the grand and luxurious Sedona Hotel. Looks expensive. Hah. After placing our luggage into our respective rooms, we rushed over to Bogyoke Aung San Market as it closes daily at 530pm. Bogyoke Market is the “Chatuchak Market of Yangon”, the shopping place for tourist. Advice given by taxi drivers are: buys only ethnic stuff and always remember to bargain for at least a 30% discount. After getting my fair share of bargain trophies, we head over to Chinatown area to have dinner and get beer, chips and crackers for the EPL matches later. Making sure we stock up on our Heinekens, we head back to Sedona Hotel. Manchester United had a real field day trouncing Bolton 4-1.

Day 8: Woke up to have buffet style breakfast. Not bad. Only complaint was that all the staff looks so dead and unenthusiastic. After which, we started our “visit business/officials contacts” marathon. Not too fun. Really. Dinner was more enjoyable. We had hot pot with the top honcho’s family (the one we dined with on Day 6). Hot pot + beer + endless chatting = HEAVEN. (though the Tiger beer there is relatively diluted compared to Singapore’s)

Day 9: Had buffet style breakfast again before we met up with China businessman this time. Was still recovering from the hangover but tried my best to look interested. Soon, we checked out of the hotel and off we go to the airport. And here ends my Myanmar trip. Woosh!

[Ranting] I've got myself a new artbook! =)

2005-12-23T05:00:00.000+08:00

Heh! Finished my freelance work for the month and got myself an artbook as a reward. It features over a few hundred illustration examples from many renowned illustrators from all round the world, each with their own distinct and diverse styles.

These are just some of the many illustrators featured in the book:
Aaron Leighton · Adrian D'Alimonte · Alan Dingman · Alanna Cavanagh · Juliette Borda · Andrew Bylo · Anja Kroencke · Bonnie Dain · Campbell Laird · Olaf Hajek · Claudia Pearson · Dane LaChiusa · David Cooper · David Navascues · Fred Péault · Gordon Studer · Gary Baseman . Greg Morgan · Greg White · Heather Chontos · Izak Zenou · James Yang · Jason Tharp · Jenny Kostecki · Jenny Laden · Jo Jo Ensslin · John Coulter · Jon Cannell · Jonathan Weiner · Karen L. Greenberg · Katy Lemay · Kris Hargis · Laurie LaFrance · Leigh Wells · Lilla Rogers · Linda Ketelhut · LINO · LULU · Marcos Chin · Margarete Gockel · Maria Carliuccio · Marta Windeisen · Matt Dicke · Max Grafe · Michael Hill · Michael Lotenero · Orlando Hoetzel · Peter Mundee · R/MY Simard · Rebecca Bradley · Rick Tulka · Robert Weiss · Roberto Parada · Roman Klonek · Sarajo Frieden · Sophie Blackall · Steve Dininno · Susan McKenna · Susanne Saenger · Susy Pilgrim Waters · Tifenn Python · Tim Okamura · Tim Tomkinson · Tim Zeltner · Tomasz Walenta · Tyson Smith.

Title: The Big Book Of Illustration Ideas
Publisher: Collins Design
ISBN: 0060852615

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Cover:

Inside:

Inside:

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[Design] Logo Parodies

2005-12-23T04:07:00.000+08:00

[Advertising] National Corporation Against Child Abuse

2005-12-23T04:06:00.000+08:00

Agency:: Ogilvy & Mather, Santiago

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[Advertising] Volkswagen Beetle, Beijing

2005-12-23T04:03:00.001+08:00

[Advertising] Unicef – Morse

2005-12-23T04:03:00.000+08:00

Morse-code! Real smart!

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[Advertising] TEN 2005 ADS AMERICA WON'T SEE

2005-12-20T12:01:00.001+08:00

Source: www.adage.com
Writer: Laurel Wentz

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As we end 2005, we take a look across the world at some of the advertising work deemed, for one reason or another, to be of "Not for the U.S." status. These are all ads that American audiences are not intended to see.

Napster's U.K. Striptease
While Napster runs innocuous ads in the U.S. for free music downloads, in the U.K. the message is delivered differently. A woman doing a striptease suddenly stops and sits down as the words “30-second previews leave you wanting more? At Napster you get the whole thing.” The viral spot by Drugstore, London, is a dig at rival iTunes and its 30-second preview policy, and was posted on GetTheWholeThing.co.uk.

Unilever's Big Horn
Unilever Bestfood’s Pot Noodle has a history of controversial ads, but still surprised U.K. consumers by asking “Have you got the Pot Noodle horn?” The HHCL United, London, spots enraged viewers who objected to a man walking into a bar with a large brass instrument in his trousers, apparently indicating his desire for a Pot Noodle. In a second spot, a man is unable to sit at his desk because of a giant horn in his trousers.

Mazda's Stimulated Dummy
In this pan-European Mazda spot by JWT Dusseldorf, a man loads female mannequins, dressed in lingerie, into the back of a Mazda. When the driver parks outside a lingerie store and carries one of the mannequins out of the car, its nipples become erect and the sound of a woman’s giggle is heard. A voiceover says, “The all-new Mazda 5. Surprisingly stimulating.” Despite being the third most complained-about U.K. ad of the year, the spot was deemed “humorous” by the Advertising Standards Authority.

Irn Bru's Naked Pileup
The taste of Scottish soft drink Irn Bru is so “phenomenal” that two fans enjoying the drink at a soccer match fail to notice what is happening on the field, where a policeman is being wrestled to the ground by a group of streakers, who form a naked human pile on top of him. Even in the U.K., this spot by the Leith Agency, Edinburgh, ran into trouble when it was shown on Saturday morning television.

Fanta's Spitting Customers
Not many marketers would be brave enough to show people spitting out their product in disgust, but that’s how Coca-Cola presented the old Fanta Light when the company launched zero sugar Fanta Z in the U.K. The ad, by Mother London, was banned from appearing before 9 p.m. after complaints that it encouraged bad manners, antisocial behavior and even the spread of tuberculosis. One head teacher reported that children in the playground had copied the commercial.

KFC's Brutish Table Manners
More people—1,671—complained to the Advertising Standards Authority, the U.K.’s ad watchdog, about this KFC spot by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London, than any other in 2005. Its offense? People are singing with their mouths full of chicken and chips. BBH was accused of promoting bad table manners and overeating, increasing the risk of choking, mocking people with speech impediments and even bringing the emergency services into disrepute; the ad was set in an emergency call center.

Japan's Skiing Ostriches
Who can figure out Japanese advertising? Tokyo’s Tugboat shop created a campaign around skiing ostriches to persuade more people to take Japan Railway’ s high-speed bullet trains to Japan's ski resorts. In a TV spot, three ostriches (or people in very large ostrich suits) wind expertly down the slopes, executing daring jumps and skiing on one foot. The words ``We want snow'' appear in English. Tugboat chose ostriches because they have absolutely nothing to do with snow or skiing.

A Tea Worm's Revenge
Although an emerging hotspot for creative advertising, Thai humor is different. Uni-President's long-running animated saga by BBDO Worldwide, Bangkok, for Unif Green Tea is an epic battle between cunning, hungry green baby worms who match wits -- often using hypnosis -- against tea-leaf pickers, ghosts and anyone else who blocks their path to the best tea leaves. A frequent Cannes Lion Gold winner, this year’s spot only made the shortlist.

Saddam Hussein Phone Card
In Brazil, phone company Telefonica distributed a prepaid phone card as part of a series called 'History of the World' with the image of a bearded Saddam Hussein being captured by armed American soldiers. After at least one complaint that the image glorified war, violence and racial intolerance, Telefonica hastily recalled 200,000 phone cards in July and ran local newspaper ads apologizing.

Shaving the Front Page
To launch the first battery-powered razor, the M3 Power, Gillette targeted men hurrying to work after a hasty shave. In Singapore, that meant ads plastered all over the mass transit system, including one that sold a newspaper's front page editorial space, a taboo for media in the U.S. MediaCorp's Today, the only newspaper distributed in Singapore's subway system, let the Gillette razor shave off a strip of news all across its front page.

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Haha, what the hell! Skiing ostriches! These japaneses always do the weirdest(and really farnie) advertisement in the world. Hah.

To view more of such articles and their videos, register here! It's all free! Articles and viewing of the ads and video!

[Events] TotalMadness ComixJam24hours

2005-12-14T16:09:00.000+08:00

I was there. ComixJam24Hr, Singapore's first 24hour comics event. Held at the brand new National Library at Victoria Street from the 9th to 10th of Dec.

But heck, that's the date for the participants, not me and my brothers. We were down there since the evening of 8th Dec, busy tying down loose ends and setting up the exhibition stuff and all. All the artwork and wires and stuff that you see on Level 6 National Library are placed and stuck on in the dead of the night of early morning 9th Dec by a few crazy souls who rolled and crawled and bawled on the floor as we stuck on the 2 hundred+ of artwork. Haha. Another group of brothers were busy printing, cutting and binding the sketchbooks meant for the participants. Haha, our Shaoyang even went into a trance of going into a daze in one moment and suddenly standing up to sing a song in another. Heng ah, we managed to finish everything before the opening ceremony and had a short moment of breather while the extremely boring ceremony started.

The theme of the competition is based on Mythwar, an online game and the participants are divided into 4 clans or teams. I am in charge of the 'Humans' while Shaoyang - 'Mages', Kelvin - 'Borgs', Daizhong - 'Elves'.

1000am-0600pm. Basically for the first phase of the competition, they had to attend workshops that helps to give them an idea of what is required of the competition. In between the workshops, they have free time where they are to do research within the library premises. Most of them went to Level 6 as that is where all the artwork of MythWar 《神界Online》 and renowned China artist Song Yang are exhibited.

1230am & 0730pm. Lunch and dinner were quite good. The food were sponsored by Broadway Catering, a new subsidary of the Broadway Foodcourt chain. Still, quality can be definitely be improved as all the food catered were spicy and may not be applicable to everyone.

As the participants ran around doing research, me and my brothers ran around to setup this, move this here, settle that there. It was hectic but i kind of enjoyed the bonding session.

0900pm. The second phase of the night was much easier for us. We moved upstairs to the highest level of the National Library, Level 16, the Pod. Very classy. Very nice view. There's a tinge of exclusivity as the Pod isn't normally opened to public.

1000pm. Once everyone got settled down in their seats, nobody wasted time in starting to churn out their stuff. I saw animators bringing their lightbox, i saw graphic designers working in pair, i saw group of girls huddling together behind mountain load of references. All in all, these guys are serious. They want that Intuo3 badly! haha.

0100am. The night was long. Very long. That's because the aircon is so freaking cold! Almost everyone can feel the artic wind biting at their skin. We tried to find the aircon switch and in the end found out that the air-conditioning system is controlled by computer and it would be highly trouble-some to change it. ARGGHH! Thankfully, Damien, our NLB liasion, who is such a friendly and helpful guy, brought us one truckload of yellow long sleeve shirts with the imprint: 'Ask Stupid Questions!', which we distributed to the participants... We were still cold... but his actions warmed our hearts. Thanks Damien.

0430am. Fell asleep in the storeroom. It's much warmer there(don't get me wrong, it's still cold, but warmer than outside).

0730am. Woke up. Can smell the coffee as the caterers setup the table outside. As i waddled past the participants, i can see many of them already shacked out, sleeping on the floor and all. I see many of them are still rushing through and a few of them giving up before their 8th page. Sad.

1000am. Time's up. Collected the sketchbook and scripts from the participants. After laying the scripts nicely on the tables for the judges to give points, we took the chance to rest and talk cock. After the judging was over, we rushed to calculate the marks. Haha, i knew it Riku won! And my clan 'Humans' produced 4 winners! Haha darn proud of myself sia. After we tabulate the winners' list, we gave it to Junxian and Johnny who would release the results to the participants. The prize ceremony? Me and brothers were too busy clearing up and stuff where got time to attend? haiz. Didn't get to congratulate the winners. Sad.

Anyway, the winners are as such:

[BEST of the Best]

-- Soh Beng Leong

[BEST Art]

-- Kenneth Foo
-- Simon Chai

[BEST Concept & Story]
-- Law Ka Yee
-- Wang Liang

[BEST Research]
-- Sufian
-- Lin Bao Ling

Winner's Artwork were exhibited at the National Library, Level 6 from 13 Dec to 16 Dec 2005.

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Here are some photos from the event. Photos courtesy of ComixJam24.com

The response for this event was considered very good! 81 participants!

Junxian with the key people of the event. He looks damn stiff. Hah.

The exhibition of artworks of MythWar and Song Yang on Level 6. Our hard work pays off!

That's Song Yang's artwork. And there's Song Yang on the right, in pink and NO.., that's not a girl's backview. Hah.

Participants in the Possibility Room listening to workshops. Time for peeps like me to rest!

0930pm and here we are, in the POD! Real nice and cosy place...

...Until we hear the hum of the aircon turning freezing cold! Look at the yellow pullovers that we distributed to the partipants! Brrrr...

Kelvin. Buaya.

Shawn. Trying to buaya.

No, you didn't see wrongly. This participant was wearing a SUIT as he was feeling the cold. He even have to use 'Ultraman rays' to fight the cold. Hah.

1030am. All finished artwork are collected and placed properly for the judges. Oh! There's Ultraman again! Haha. Oh, he's Wang Liang, our 2nd winner in best concept and story.

One of the judges, Ricky, art director of MythWar.

One of the judges, Damien, representative and liasion officer from NLB.

One of the judges, Song Yang, accomplished multi-disciplinary artist from China.

One of the judges, Rony, publishing representative from Chuang Yi.

One of the judges, Jia Hui, local comic artist and friend. Haha, Ricky looks like he's checking out Jia Hui's butt from here.

One of the judges, Christine (left), representative from Corner Technology Taiwan, accompanied by Junxian (middle), of FUNics and Johnny Lau (right), one of the creators of Mr Kiasu and boss of Vasunas.

Brothers working hard and fast to calculate the final score. From the left, Kelvin, Me and Gim.

Riku (Soh Beng Leong). Overall Winner. Look at his lewd face. Haha.

Kenneth Foo. 1st Winner of Best Art.

Simon. 2nd Winner of Best Art.

Ka Yee. 1st Winner of Best Concept & Story.

Sufian (and Clement). 1st Winners of Best Research.

Lin Baoling. 2nd Winner of Best Research.

Winners galore!

For more photos, please visit ComixJam24's photo gallery! Click Here!
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Now for my thanks and credits:

Thanks to those who had sweat and toiled, laughed and cried for this event.
Thanks to all the participants for being such good sport and great people, cooperating and understanding our predicaments. Really hoped you guys had a great time and enjoyed yourselves thoroughly!
Thanks to Damien, our liasion from NLB, for being such a nice, friendly and understanding person. Couldn't have solved so much problems without you!
Thanks to our cameramen! (so sorry i forgot your name) But you were really our unsung hero too!
Thanks to all my Brothers! Though we were literally dead for being awake for (more than)48hours, we accomplished much "impossibles", staying united and solving obstacles as they come. Though it was tiring and at times excruciating, i truly relish the times we have there.
Kudos to Junxian, Ocean, Osman, Shawn and Gim for being unwavering in FUNics mission to make all this a reality.

[Advertising] Rejected Advertising Volume Three

2005-12-06T05:48:00.000+08:00

Two funny examples of the rejected advertisements in Volume Three:

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Advertiser: Easyjet
Country: Great Britain

Complaints:

1. Some complainants objected that the picture was offensive and demeaning to women.
2. Other complainants objected that the advertisement was offensive because it trivialised the recent war in Iraq.

Outcome:

1. Complaints not upheld.
The Authority considered that the advertisement was light-hearted and humorous. It concluded that the advertisement was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

2. Complaints not upheld.
The Authority considered that, although the phrase "weapons of mass distraction" was likely to be seen to refer to recent events in Iraq, the advertisement did not trivialise the deaths, injuries or plight of those involved or affected by the conflict. It concluded that the reference was distasteful but did not trivialise the recent war in Iraq.

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Advertiser: The Body Shop
Countries: China, USA

Mattel sent The Body Shop a cease-and-desist order, demanding to pull the self-esteem posters featuring Ruby - a rubenesque anti-Barbie - from American shop windows, because she was insulting to the real Barbie. Then, in Hong Kong, posters of Ruby were banned on the Mass Transit Railway because authorities said that in her nude (albeit nippleless and pubic-hair-free) condition, she would offend passengers. One shop in the US was forced to take down a Ruby poster after a mall patron said his daughter had been traumatized by seeing it.

[Events] Character Design Carnival 2005 & ComixJam 24hr

2005-12-02T19:03:00.000+08:00

Big step in Singapore's comic movement! Will definitely support them!

Character Design Carnival 2005

Date: 9th Dec to 11th Dec 2005
Venue: National Library (100 Victoria Street, Beside Parco Bugis Junction)

Activities:
-- ComixJam 24hr Competition
-- Singapore-China Character Design Forum (Free)
-- Singapore-China Comix Artists Exchange (Free)
-- Game Character Design Exhibition (Free)
-- CHina Comix Artist Exhibition (Free)

Website: www.funics.com.sg/cdc2005

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ComixJam 24hr Competition

Date: 9th Dec to 10th Dec 2005
Time: 10am to 10am
Venue: National Library (100 Victoria Street, Beside Parco Bugis Junction)

Categories:
-- SINGLE
-- TAG TEAM (2 pax)

Challenge:
-- To produce 8pgs of comic in 24hrs
-- Theme of the competiton will only be announced on the day itself

Prizes for each categories:
-- 01 x Winners ($300 Cash + Wacom Intuos 3 6x8)
-- 03 x Merit Awards ($100 Cash)

FUNics Productions offering 3 contracts to 3 selected winners. Winners will be able to get invovle in a comic book production. The contracts are sponsored by MDA

Registration Fee: SG$15 per pax
(inclusive of 3 meals, comix drawing paper, sketch/notebook & "ComixJam24hr" Tee)

Close Entry at 07 Dec 2005
Maximum Entries per competition: 100pax

Website: www.comixjam24.com

[BlogUpdate] Shoutbox is up and running!

2005-12-01T15:28:00.000+08:00

Alright! Shoutbox is up and running now!

[Ranting] Designer's block comes to visit!

2005-12-01T14:41:00.000+08:00

Met with Vincent on Tuesday and he and his partners pointed out a few areas to be amended.

One of the amendments: he and his partners want to do away with the search bar on top of the navigational area as he felt search results within a site is normally rubbish (which i have to agree with him). Still, I was a bit heart-pain as I really like that search element (my favourite orange-color) as it balances out the entire layout very well. Removing the search element will leave me with an "empty grey area"... Not exactly bad taste but it does give the feeling of something's missing when you look at it...

So i have to work on putting something relevant on that "empty grey area"... I thought of making that field to show the time and date but well, it does sound real retarded. I also wanted to make that a text-based advertising space, which can be scripted or programmed by his programmers to show different side-scrolling ads after each page-refresh. Still that's a bit far fetch. At the end of 3 hours of dwelling, i end up with something with a little car with a speech bubble of some text... It's not the best but i am really stuck.

Originally it's like this:
[Pictures Withheld On Request of SiteOwner]

The mock-up is like this:
[Pictures Withheld On Request of SiteOwner]

A slight variation of the mock-up(smaller car):
[Pictures Withheld On Request of SiteOwner]

Arghhh!!! I need serendiptity!

[Ranting] Natural pool-loser

2005-11-30T03:12:00.000+08:00

Argh... went to play pool with Roderick just now. Lost 6-4. Argh... and most of the time was a last ball slip-up. I felt just like our national soccer team, hype up too much confirm screw up. Haiz...

Anyway, SS (Silent studio or Moyan) asked me in the morning to help her "enhance" this collage of 4 different artworks done by her which she intends to put this in as a new deviation in DeviantArt. She wanted it to look more design-coherent and more pleasing. Haha, i was out the whole day and only came back a few hours ago, afterwhich i, as usual, wasted much time surfing and lying around, before actually doing this layout out for her. Didn't have her original sized pics to work on, but i guess the mock layouts are good enough to give her the rough idea.

Original picture SS sent me:

Mock Layout done by me (variation 01):

Mock Layout done by me (variation 02):

I added a title and words description to the layout to make it more informative and in-depth so as to link the 4 characters together.
Not sure if she likes this layout or not. Showing her once she comes online.

[Ranting] Whoosh! I found one of my old practise websites

2005-11-26T13:50:00.000+08:00

I was trying to add this blog to the major search engines and was trying out it by typing my online handle "guyuman" and guess what? I found a website i did early last year! It was just to practise my layout skills. I really thought it was good back then. Hah! Now that i looked through it, not that i feel like trashing it, but it really lacks the 'Oomph' to it, can definitely be improved. The kiddish navigational bar can be replaced with a more corporate look to make it look more fitting.

Anyway, here's the link to it.
[Warning: View it only in Internet Explorer. I didn't have any other browsers back then... That's why i didn't test the site in other browsers then. It looks real horrible in Firefox & Opera but looks perfectly fine in IE.]
[PS: Not to forget, thanks Junxian for hosting the webby. Thousand thanks! ]

Click here:

[Ranting] Finally! First step for my freelance work!

2005-11-25T01:53:00.000+08:00

Monday:
Exams are over! Not that there were much papers to take this semester. Had a hell load of coursework and projects this semester that is enough to squeeze me dry before the exams. I've thought my fiercest semester was over as i took 6 modules last semester. It was tough but definitely manageable. Unbelievably, this semester, I took only 5 modules and had to struggle with projects that are twice as intensive as any I’ve taken. Nearly lost my life, literally. But hey! It's all over now! TIME TO PARTY! But first, gonna get back all the sleep lost over the past few weeks. Haha!

Tuesday:
Woke up late real today but I had a real great rest. Today’s God-Mum’s birthday. Bought Taiwanese chicken cutlets, oyster mee sua and oyster pancakes for her. Hope she likes it. Met Jack after that at Parkway to play pool. Long time never play pool liao… it’s been like 6 years? Haha… lost 10 games straight to him. Sad

Wednesday:
Woke up and spent the other day to clean up my room. Organise the bookshelves. Keep the textbooks. Buffer the wastepaper. Clean the workdesk. The only thing left to do now is to back up my computer data...hah, that, will have to wait till i'm really free. Was supposed to work to my freelance... but end up watching PPLIVE's Chow Yun Fatt's specials... wahaha, SLACK!

Thursday:
It’s time to do some work. Began working on the freelance project, the revamping of a local car e-classified website’s homepage, one of the many projects in the pipeline. First thing I did was to give the logo a makeover, in order to update it to a more modern and timeless look. The original logo was done by a close friend, Jonathan, so I try to minimize the tweaking to retain the flavor Jonathan had for the logo.

Original logo by Jon:

Tweaked by me. White Background:

Tweaked by me. Dark Background:

Afterwhich, time to work on the layout of the new look. Generally very happy with the relatively free rein they gave me to explore new possibilities.
Hence for this particular freelance brief, i've come up with a new look to revamp the homepage of www.SgCarMart.com. Will be showing Vincent(one of the site's owners) the mockup soon. Wish me luck. =)

Original :
[Pictures Withheld On Request of SiteOwner]

Revamped:
[Pictures Withheld On Request of SiteOwner]

[Ranting] First Official Post!

2005-11-17T04:27:00.000+08:00

Okay, finally, this is the first official post of the blog, after much tweaking and fixing the codes here and there. Shoutbox and slicker-looking music players will be looked into when i have the time. Will also look into developing the rest of the blog such as the currently unaccessable links.

Anyway, this is the product of a sleepless donut who drank too much teh cino and is nursing a $%^%@$@ painful ulcer. Supposed to be a form of promotional banner for this blog. Chose a tri-color scheme to bring out the simplistic impact that i always look for. Took me around an hour and a half to complete.

2005-11-16T20:08:00.000+08:00

Test Post. Blockquote

Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla :

"Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla"

Bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla
Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla Bla bla bla bla

2005-11-16T05:45:00.000+08:00

Test post. Image.

2005-11-16T05:33:00.000+08:00

Test post. Text