Archive for the 'Design' Category

The Rather Difficult Font Game

Monday, April 28th, 2008

I just stumbled across a great game on ilovetypography.com called The Rather Difficult Font Game. If you’re a fellow typophile, you should check it out. And, should you have the hardware, there is also an iPhone version to play with as well.

Font Game

Random Links for February 18, 2008

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008

20+ Tools For Working With Colors
Sometimes all you need to get inspired to build a site is picking a color scheme, or even if you get stuck later in development you need some color help. Mashable.com has gathered 20+ tools for helping the “color challanged” designers.
Source: Mashable

The Analog Cellphone Timeline
Source: Gizmodo

Hide an Image in HTML — Reveal it by Highlighting Text with your Mouse
Source: BoingBoing
p.s. This is really cool.

14 Hidden Hotel Fees to Avoid
Source: Fodors

Hottest Google Search Terms for February 18:
1. patricide
2. ziggs
3. dancing with the stars
4. alex cambert
5. dan cortese
6. kit carson
7. my dad is better than your dad
8. ziggs.com
9. marlee matlin
10. juicy campus

Punchkick Interactive cited in Mobile Web Design book by Cameron Moll

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

Cameron Moll has just finished and released his book, Mobile Web Design.

Much has been written about mobile devices. Plenty has been written about developing websites for the so-called “standards era” of the web. However, little has been written about the two colliding. This resource aims to fill that void.

As a reviewer of the book, and more specifically the Flash Lite section, I have had a chance to read through the entire book and it is really a great piece of writing. It is certainly not written for the mobile Web expert, but rather, it speaks perfectly to anyone in a position to develop for, manage, or give advice regarding your organizations foray into a web strategy for mobile devices.

PDF copies can be purchased for $19. Well worth it for anyone interested in the mobile space. You can also download a preview sample.

Mobile Web Design

Color theory, peripheral vision illusions

Thursday, July 5th, 2007

These are just fun to look at (although it hurts your eyes after a while). Keep in mind that these are NOT animated. The movement that you see is simply your peripheral vision playing tricks on you.

Rotating snakes
Rotating snakes

Rollers
Rollers

Rotations
Rotations

Vibrations
Vibrations

Checkered heat
Checkered heat waves

The Tunnel House is just fun to look at

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2007

Useless nonsense that is fun to look at. Read more.

Tunnel House

Web Marketing Association names Punchkick Interactive’s Ryan Unger to the 2007 WebAward judging panel

Sunday, June 3rd, 2007

Cleveland, OH June 1, 2007 - The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce that Punchkick Interactive co-founder Ryan Unger has been selected as a judge of the 11th annual international WebAward competition for Web site development.

The WebAwards is the standards-defining internet awards competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a successful Web site. It recognizes the individual and team achievements of Web professionals who create and maintain outstanding Web sites.

“Unlike other awards, the WebAwards is not a beauty pageant where only the design and name recognition is important,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. “For the past decade, the WebAwards has used a quantitative judging formula based on seven criteria to evaluate, benchmark and set industry standards for Web site development. Unger will play a critical role in setting the standard for Internet excellence by applying his expertise to each site he adjudicates.”

“I am privileged to have been selected as a respected member of the WebAwards panel of judges,” said Punchkick Interactive’s Unger. “It is an honor to judge domestic and international sites that meet the Web Marketing Association’s standards of high quality and excellence.”

Ryan Unger is the co-founder and creative director for Punchkick Interactive. He has over five years of experience with Flash software and is an Adobe Certified Flash Lite 1.1 developer, Adobe Certified Flash 8 designer, and Qualcomm BREW authorized developer. Ryan has authored articles on Adobe.com and has received a number of design and marketing awards from organizations including the American Advertising Federation, the Public Relations Society of America, the Web Marketing Association, and the West Virginia Flash Animation Festival. Additionally, he will serve as a judge for the 2007 Web Marketing Association’s WebAward competition. Ryan is heavily involved in the Flash Lite community, both in Flash Lite-focused Web forums and his company’s mobile marketing blog (http://www.punchkickinteractive.com/blog/).

The 2007 WebAward judges consist of a select group of Internet professionals who have direct experience designing and managing Web sites - including members of the media, interactive creative directors, corporate marketing managers, site designers, content providers and webmasters - with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Web site development and technology. Judging for this year’s website awards will take place in July and August, with winners announced in September.

About Punchkick Interactive
Punchkick Interactive ™ is a full service mobile marketing firm that develops Flash Lite enabled games and screensavers, custom mobile applications, text-message campaigns, mobile media distribution systems, branded mobile software and mobile Web sites. For more information visit http://www.punchkickinteractive.com or call (800) 549-4104.

About the WebAwards
The 11th annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today. Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an award-winning Web site. For more information or to enter, visit www.07webaward.org.

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Video of the Microsoft Milan showing most impressive computer-to-mobile device integration that I have ever seen

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

I never write 2 posts about the same topic but Microsoft’s Milan is just amazing.
You can actually:
1. Take a photo on a digital camera
2. Place the camera on the table
3. Place you cell phone on the table
4. Drag the visual image of the photo from the camera to the phone

Via Popular Mechanics
Link sent from Phil

Microsoft shows off a super-secret multi-touchscreen computer efforts

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007

If you are at all interested in interface design, this is a MUST see product.

Via crave.cnet.com, After 5+ years of development, Microsoft shows off a top-secret multi touch screen kiosk device. Apple really has to be hoping that this technology does not get introduced into Windows mobile devices, because Microsoft could possibly blow away the iPhone (p.s. I never thought that I would say that).


Microsoft Multi-touch Screen Display 01

Microsoft Multi-touch Screen Display 02


The kiosk implications are endless—let’s just hope that it can use Flash.

Read the full article and see the video
A similar device

Device profile update #1 for Adobe Device Central CS3 released

Tuesday, April 17th, 2007

Bill recently announced that Adobe has made the first device profile update for Adobe Device Central CS3 avaiable.

There are 3 ways you can download the update (11.4MB):
- go to the direct URL in your browser from our new site, Adobe Device Central Online
- in the Device Central start window click the “device updates” button
- in the Device Central menu bar select Help > Updates…

This update contains 39 new device profiles from all regions of the world, many released between January to April 2007, as well as updates to 7 existing profiles. With this update you will have access to 265 device profiles as part of Device Central with most of them for supporting Flash Lite content in addition to other mobile media types.

New Device Profiles
DoCoMo Fujitsu F903i
DoCoMo Mitsubishi D903i
DoCoMo Motorola M702iG
DoCoMo Motorola M702iS
DoCoMo NEC N601i
DoCoMo NEC N703iD
DoCoMo NEC N903i
DoCoMo Panasonic P903i
DoCoMo Sony-Ericsson SO903i
KDDI Casio Hitachi E03CA
KDDI Casio Hitachi W43HII
KDDI Kyocera W44K
KDDI Sanyo W43SA
KDDI Sony-Ericsson W44S
KDDI Toshiba A5523T
KDDI Toshiba W46T
KDDI Toshiba W47T
Nokia E61i
Nokia E65
Nokia N77
Nokia N91
Nokia N95
Nokia 6290
Reigncom iriver Clix
Reigncom iriver U10
SoftBank Nokia 705NK
SoftBank Samsung 707SC
SoftBank Samsung 709SC
SoftBank Sharp 910SH
SoftBank Sharp 911SH
SoftBank Toshiba 811T
Sony-Ericsson W610i
Sony-Ericsson W880i
Verizon LG VX8100
Verizon LG VX8300
Verizon LG VX8500
Verizon LG VX9900
Verizon Samsung SCH-A930
Verizon Samsung SCH-A990
Expanded/Improved Device Profiles
DoCoMo Mitsubishi D701iWM
DoCoMo Mitsubishi D851iWM
DoCoMo NEC N506iSII
DoCoMo NEC N701iECO
DoCoMo Panasonic P506iCII
DoCoMo Panasonic P851i
DoCoMo Sony-Ericsson SO505i

Instructions on how to download and install the new device profiles are available on the device profile page.

Mobile Ocean Flash Lite screensaver/wallpaper now available on Handango.com

Monday, April 16th, 2007

We have released our Mobile Ocean ™ Flash Lite screensaver/wallpaper to Handago.com today. Mobile Ocean is the perfect cell phone screensaver/wallpaper for any marine lover. This product features seven tropical fish, four underwater scenes, and a digital clock.

Learn more about Punchkick Interactive’s mobile screensaver design capabilities.


Detailed Product Features:

  • Built using Adobe Flash Lite 1.1 technology
  • Seven tropical fish swimming across four unique underwater scenes
  • An ideal mobile wallpaper or screensaver
  • Includes an AM/PM digital clock
  • For maximum Symbian phone compatibility, five different .swf file sizes are included: 96×65, 128×160, 176×208, 176×220, and 240×320

Purchase Mobile Ocean here for $1.99.

Mobile Ocean is the property of Punchkick Interactive Inc. Copyright © 2006-2007. All rights reserved.

Adobe ships CS3 design and Web bundles—video products are now in Labs

Monday, April 16th, 2007

Adobe began shipping the much anticipated CS3 design and Web software bundles. Additionally, Adobe has added several software titles to Labs.

Amongst the new Beta software in Labs is:

After Effects CS3Premiere CS3

After Effects and Premiere have been long overdue. I am very excited to play with both titles. Soundbooth is great and new beta versions are always fun.

The Flash Lite for BREW Publisher is obviously needed. I am very happy that Adobe released this tool. The only thing they neglected to include was a Mac bundle (sigh). I am sure that there are other developers that will only use one licenced copy of Flash CS3 (in my case on my Mac), and will need to create Mod/Mif files from it.

I am also very happy to see the knowhow demo. It seems like a great panel to add to the CS3 suite.

knowhow is a technology preview that delivers single-click, contextual access to relevant help information from a panel in Adobe® Creative Suite® 3 software. knowhow gives users access to a wide variety of information—basic tool descriptions and short cuts, Adobe Help content, as well as community-generated tutorials, tips, and techniques on the web.

For those gamers who haven’t seen it, the GTA4 trailer was released

Thursday, April 12th, 2007

Pointed out to me by PocketFlash:

How will GTA top San Andreas, with GTA4 of course. This video really doesn’t do it justice. The HI-Deff trailer is stunning. It’s a must see for any GTA fan. View in Hi-Deff.