Caramblogage

The resemblance has often been commented upon: Tina Fey (of the hillarious 30Rock TV show) and Sarah Palin (John McCains jack-in the box, sleight of hand attention-grabbing Card Trick). Saturday night Live Capitalises on this. Hilarious does not begin to describe this piece of satire. Brought to my attention during my daily tour of blogs, this time by Lunatica Desnuda. Sometimes, it's nice to be right.

Having woken up relatively early this morning, I decided to go out and make most of the sunshine. So I grabbed my trusty Camera and went for a graffiti-hunting walk. I visited some of my favourite Walls in Kreuzberg, and some I didn't know yet. This is what I found. ¡Hope you enjoi! Random Stuff: I kept coming across this series of wall-paintings, done in pink and white. I don't know if they're all from the same person, but their prevalence was noticable: Let me know what you think of the format. If it meets with approval I'll do more of these. And just by the way: the stuff is by whoever made it. Graffiti artists are not exactly famous for revealing their identity.

The Wii has brought countless people hours of joy and delight. Not owning one means that you have to experience your thrills vicariously, like you can in this online ad for WarioLand on Youtube. I'm not gonna post the video here, as I usually try to do. Instead, head over here and see the thing in it's full glory!

A couple of years ago, I was approached at work by a shifty guy wanting to brand a new bag concept he wanted to market. Being the blue-eyed innocent that I am, I agreed to hook up do some logo design for him. A while later, the bags, originally produced by Red Maloo, a Berlin Bag Company, have not made it to market, I have not sen a penny for my troubles, but I still have loads of Logos lying around. I thought I'd share these today, as they offer a nice little insight into my design process, from pencil and digital sketches to the finished product on the bag.. First I sketch it out in my trusty notebook… … then follows a flurry of digital sketches… … the final shape is agreed upon… …then the whole thing is tested digitally… …And then in real life, on a real bag. This is from a webcam in Thailand, If I remember correctly. I had a lot of fun making these and they were a great exercise in Logo Desgin. Of course it would have been a lot cooler if something had come out of it, but some...

There is something to be said for having satellites in space. They allow us to see strange and distant cities, to receive television signals (10000 Channels over Satellite! All of them useless, but who cares.) from places we don't know in languages we don't understand. And sometimes, just sometimes, they are used to make us aware of the damage we are doing to the planet. 1885 Like this climate change map from NASA, which gives a very direct, graphic overview of climate change from the industrial revolution to today… Shockingly effective. 2007

Ah, really no blog for the wicked. Recently, those visiting this site will probably have noticed the slowdown in my pace of blogging. This is mainly due to work-related reasons and the beginning of a new semester. So, without further ado, I am going to post todays excuse: The Ramadan Gifts made for my favourite Student Social Network. Some of these might seem familiar… maybe under different names, though. I've been learning a lot of turkish through these. How these were produced will have to remain a mystery. Most people like their icons done in Photoshop, which is a great tool for most things, however I wanted to be able to scale these. So I made them in the other programme. Lots of fun, especially the research for these, as described in the post "Meat and Feces" from a couple of weeks ago.

Oh Caram, you bad blogger! In stead of sitting in front of your computer and surfing the web, gathering information, inspiration and investigating the invigoration that is the web, I've been out and about. And I have something to show for it! The current bout of job applications I've been going though has left me with something to show for it: my current web and print portfolio, much enhanced after some initial criticism, which I think I shall just post here for all to see. Meanwhile, what has happened online? Courtesy of iceah , I have discovered a great recipe for yummy cheesecake (my favourite!), Jeremy Vanhoozer has started publishing some brilliant sketches for a childrens book on his blog, about 1000 new items have cropped up in my RSS inbox and Los Logos 4 has been published and Microsoft has surprisingly pulled the nonsensical Jerry Seinfeld ads in favour of people in strange places with delusions of being PCS! And if anyone wants a larger file of the portfolio, go ah...

iPod Touch, to be precise. I just love it when they take these things appart and explain them in terms such as "that yellow cable atop the Apple-branded square thingy below the . 3.7 V Lithium-ion polymer battery. Yes sir, powering up the teleporter. Engage." Ifixit takes it apart with great gusto, and the joy this description is written with is plain to see.

Dear Adobe is a site that collects the complaints people will raise against that paragon of creative applications. I finally understood that I'm not the only one with gripes against my favourite creative software, which I spend most of my time with. The title will take you straight there.

Or Carams current ten rules of design. I went to a job interview with a place that shall remain unnamed for now. This being an interview I got through this blog, I felt I should report about it here. I have two thoughts on it: it reinforced my belief in that best results can be achieved when design and technology work closely together. It results in better usability and a simpler technology, thereby enhancing our daily lives. The digital environments we interact with have long become obiquitous, but the way we use them can nevertheless be improved. Engineers alone would probably focus too much on the functionality of the object in question, designers too little, focusing in stead on it's good looks. The best way to think about a new product is from both sides, thus creating a well-designed product on a base of sound technology. The second is a simpler though. I got invited to the interview because someone liked my designs. Now, while I have no problem whatsoever with my stuff bein...

Gather the barber shop quartet! Roll the Drums! Fire the Works! Open the ball! Vote Hillary! Raise the topmast! Scour the Plank! Split the Atom! Shiver me timbers! That brought on quite a bit of nonsensical jubilation, finding that iCeah of Wow Legs has nominated Carambolage as a Kick-Ass Blog. In fact I jubilated all through yesterday, pausing only to reflect on Microsofts new Ad, Shelves I'd like to have, Fembots and Virgin advertising. I jubilated through work and through a small spot of partying.I am still jubilant as I write this! And now, my speech: "We've come a long way, yahdiyahdiyah, achievement, blahblah, the people who made this possible, yakyakyak, our sponsors, moohdemoohdemooh, honoured to accept, beehdibeehdibeeh, Mom, God and the stinky state of Berlin. Thangyouthangyouverymuch." So thank you for the Award, iCeah, if you didn't have one already, I'd nominate you right back, Meanwhile, my link-list needs some updating. Also meanwhile, here...

I woke up this morning to find that the city I live in stinks. No really, it's official. The local transport authorities are looking into perfuming our malodorous metro trains with a unique fragrance, following the realisation that the scent of concentrated humanity, canines and spilt beer is not very pleasing to the nose. I agree, but would love to see my native city of Cairo do this. When we were kids and took the trains, we used to joke, with a hint of sarcasm, that we were being bathed in Eau du Caire. , also known as about ten thousand people crammed into one train car. Back in Berlin, on my way home from work. I was squeezed between a drunken guy, a couple of unwashed punk girls stinking to the high subterranean heavens complete with dogs (less smelly) and a perfumed teenage whatchamacallit Altogether a miasmic mix, which I am not sure even the best-designed, most powerful Eau de Cologne (Old Spice, anyone?) could cover up. I'm more in favour of daily baths. And less po...

I tried blogging this earlier, but somehow the words to describe this ad from Microsoft by Crispin Porter+Bogusky just wouldn't come. So I'll just post it here, and not comment. In fact I'll just link you to Adgabber, and let them do the commenting. Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Designboom gives us a brief history of female robots, and surprise, many of them are from Japan! The history spans from Maria, the Metropolis Metal Madame, to Segas incredible EMA, via Austin Powers' Fembots, Björk and the Jetsons. However, the CG Bots take a back seat to the real ones that are soon going into production. A good, short read!

Danny Kuo, a designer currently living in China, has designed the first set of shelves to actually make a lot of sense to me. Finally, you can reach the top shelf without having to go for the ladder you keep in the back of some closet. In stead, you can just pull out the lower shelves and, using those as stairs, access the top ones. Which means that the top shelf is finally liberated from being a repository for various bric-a-brac you never want to see again. The StairCASE concept. His website, linked in the title, is not a top shelf.

Once again Virgin Media makes me laugh out loud at their refreshingly different approach to advertising their product This ad that explores the relation between staring at a womans enhanced rack and staring at an enhanced TV rack. Featuring Mel(ony) B and a cherman physician who looks a lot like the holo-doctor from Star Trek Voyager, it is definitely worth thirty seconds of your eyeball time. Note also the pictures behind ze doctor. From AdGabber

Apple has been putting hardware to make art with in the hands of graphic artists and designers for years. Now they've done it again. By accident, some iPhones seem to cut up a picture into it's component parts. I'm sure there's a sound, software-based explanation for this, but some of the pictures are actually pretty compelling. The title takes you to a flickr gallery of pictures affected by these glitches, and some that use known faults with the iPhones camera.

Well, not quite. But researchers at the University of Tokyo have invented a device which allows you to feel virtual objects by creating a solid wave of ultrasound (yes, the same ultrasound they use in sonograms) which adjusts to the movements of your hand. Currently, this seems to create a tactile field in 3D space that can be felt and interacted with, but, from what I saw it doesn't create 3D objects just yet. This offers very interesting possibilities for all kinds of computer-based applications. including games, 3D modeling and interactions with the web. Imagine being able to actually, haptically interact with that spaceship you're building in Maya, or feel the design object you're about to buy online. The more dirty-minded amongst us will also see the possibility for a more satisfying pornographic interaction with the web. It would be interesting to see if they are able to simulate various textures as well, as it would be a great boon to online shops selling, for insta...

I've mentioned Jeremy Vanhoozer before. He is, amongst many other things, an extremely talented cartoonist who posts morning sketches on his blog every few days. Currently these sketches are centered around an imaginary fairytale, which he calls daydreams and I call a great way to start the day. The pictures are gorgeous and the text keeps setting me off on journeys surrounding that forrest the unknown hero visits every other morning or so. I would love to see this fleshed out and turned into a coherent storyline at some point. Until then, I do hope he continues this format of sketching for a while. Clicking on the title will take you straight to that tale.

I don't dabble in politics. Especially not American politics. But this picture, erroneous and out of context as it is, sheds a huge question mark on the nomination of Sarah Palin as John McCains Running Mate. Stars, Stripes and Guns.

On a company site, I am compared to APU from the Simpsons. This is not a a bad thing, as I greatly admire his dedication to the Kwik-E mart, his eight children and his knowing Paul Mcartney. What I did not know is that he has a degree in Computer Science and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Wikipedia gives us a nice resumeé. (title Link)

You may have noticed the Oil price has dropped, after being very high for about a year. You might also be thinking about going back to driving more and enjoying all the advantages that relatively normal price environment provides. What have you been doing in the year when the oil price suddenly rose to astronomical heights? Most people will have been affected by the rise in commodity prices. With the price of oil skyrocketing, so has the price of food, of transport, of heating and electricity. In this period, many people suddenly discovered that ecology was actually a good way of saving money. The media, fuelled by Al Gores 2006 film An Inconvenient Truth and observation of what may be termed the real world, discovered that ears were open to what had long been a fringe movement: going Bio. This is a movement mostly confined to what may be termed the First world, as many people in third-world countries still live a much more Bio life than we could want to. For instance, before the Chine...

For all those of you out there who enjoy the devil-is-in-the-detail construction of fonts, the revered FontShop has created a delightful online application, aptly called Fontstruct, to enable you to create you very own font out of building blocks. You will also find some fun and free font on the site, constructed using the very same method! As usual, the site is the title link. A-cap from my tester font Humbarion