Scotch Bonnet Competition on Enjoy Malahide

The Scotch Bonnet, with Enjoy Malahide are offering you the chance to win a 3 Course Dinner for 2 PLUS a Bottle of Wine in The Scotch Bonnet on Church Road in Malahide, North County Dublin, Ireland. TO ENTER: All you have to do is, 1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/enjoymalahide, 2. Click ‘comment’ below the post titled ‘COMPETITION TIME’, and tell us your favourite dish from their menu (see the link below) and 3. Invite all your friends to join Enjoy Malahide on Facebook so they can enter too. When they reach 1,500 fans they’ll do a raffle of all the entrants and announce the winner on the page. To see the Scotch Bonnet menu, click on the ‘View Full Menu’ link (under their opening hours) on this page: http://www.enjoymalahide.com/eating/premium/scotch_bonnet/ (Competition only open to fans of Enjoy Malahide)

Project: Enjoy Malahide – Malahide Village, Co. Dublin, Ireland

The Beta Site for Enjoy Malahide was launched recently, http://www.enjoymalahide.com this new site is run in conjunction with the Facebook page www.facebook.com/enjoymalahide which celebrated reaching over 1,100 fans last weekend. On the site and through the facebook page Enjoy Malahide promotes all the events, special offers, amenities and destinations in Malahide, Co. Dublin, Ireland, plus a full FREE listing for all the local businesses and organisations. There are pages dedicated to Malahide Castle, The Beach, Malahide Marina, as well as the pages promoting events, special offers, and things to do in the area.

The sole aim of this site is to improve the profile of Malahide both on-line and to potential visitors from home and abroad as well as acting as a useful reference for locals too. The site is run locally by locals, and a lot of passion and hard work goes into locating and publishing information on local events, businesses and organisations. Within this aim Enjoy Malahide hopes to encourage more events and special offers in Malahide whilst promoting a greater sense of community for both locals and visitors to enjoy. New features will be added to the site all the time, creating new and better ways to promote the Village and the website itself, so it’s a fun project for them to run and a great venture. This project is an exciting new venture by Ambient Project Web Design Dublin, who are using their expertise, local knowledge and spare time to create this fantastic resource for Malahide Village.

Whether you are looking for great shopping, tasty food in a wide range of fantastic restaurants, great nights out in bars or general fun and games on the beach or at the castle for the family, Malahide has it all, and its all there for you on one handy site http://www.enjoymalahide.com

A short movie to make you smile – Mr. Bojagi starring Brian Blessed

Choosing the perfect gift for someone can be difficult, but now a mysterious man with a mind reading machine might just have the solution…

Mr. Bojag is an independent short film produced by a small team of committed filmakers. The film is a completely independent production and is currently screening at festivals across the UK and the United States. If you enjoy the film and would like to see more adventures starring Mr Bojagi, you can help them build support for the feature length version by copying the weblink and sending it on to your friends: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xda7mu_mr-bojagi-starring-brian-blessed-fu_shortfilms#hp-s-t

Awards:

‘British Lion Award – Best Achievement in Film’ British Independent Film Festival 2010

‘Best Actor – Brian Blessed’
British Independent Film Festival 2010

‘Official Selection’
Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival, Boston
International Family Film Festival, Hollywood
Bradford International Film Festival, Bradford
International Children’s Film Festival, San Francisco
British Independent Film Festival, Bournemouth
Kinofilm European Short Film Festival, Manchester

Follow Mr Bojagi on facebook

Reinterpretations of a Movie Poster: Stylish

Posters of famous and classic movies are very popular on the internet, and more and more designers are doing reinterpretations of these posters, and the majority of these manage to convey the ideas of the films in a much simpler way. These reinterpretations created in ‘hindsight‘ work well now because the movies are very well-known, so we can understand the abstract relevance of them.

Ibrahim Youssef – http://www.flickr.com/photos/heemaz/

Incredible Interior Design Typography

Unfortunately we don’t have much back­ground on this really amaz­ing, three-dimensional typog­ra­phy, other than know­ing it was cre­ated by Moscow-based Fly Arts Group, and it miust have taken a very talented person quite a while to put together. Take a look at a few more detailed shots right here.

Rug Envy

I’ve always admired Anthropologie’s rug selec­tion from a dis­tance, as they’re way out of my price range. But two recent addi­tions to the cat­a­log really caught my eye, with their paint-by-number inspired designs.

You Are Here Rug

Red Barn Rug

April 13, 2010 – 10:00 am | By Courtney | Posted in Interior Design, On the Wish List | Comments (0)

Visual Armory

I was so happy to see the work of Andy Luce, aka Visual Armory, in my inbox recently. His per­sonal, heart­felt work, fea­tur­ing beau­ti­ful hand-lettering, imme­di­ately cap­tured my attention.

If you like what you see, you can pick up some of the cards you see here as well as a few other items in Andy’s shop.

April 13, 2010 – 9:00 am | By Courtney | Posted in Design, Stationery and Paper Goods | Tagged Hand-lettering | Comments (1)

Interior Design Typography

Unfortunately I don’t have much back­ground on this really amaz­ing, three-dimensional typog­ra­phy, other than know­ing it was cre­ated by Moscow-based Fly Arts Group. Take a look at a few more detail shots right

The wonderful on-line portfolio of Nina Borges

Check out the wonderful on-line portfolio of Nina Borges, full of fonts, corporate branding and identities, logos, packaging and lots of wonderful, imaginative and humorous illustrations, including my favorite, her series called ‘Bitter Zoo’. ‘Bitter Zoo’ is the illustrated tale, or is it tail, of some down in their luck and altogether dreary animals of all shapes, sizes and psychological issues.

Go to her site here: www.ninaborges.com and while your at it why not take a gander at her blog full of her inspirations and illustrations www.nina-borges.blogspot.com

Irish National Lottery EuroMillions Plus TV Advert

I like it, I like it, is it the windmill hats or the little dutch accents….or the lure of double my money…..I think its the accents, for ssssssssure!

UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010 by Thomas Heatherwick

Here are some photos of the just-completed UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo, designed by the brilliant Thomas Heatherwick. We saw him talk during Ireland’s Design Week last November he was both down-to-earth and inspiring. The initial presentation of this exhibit was mind blowing, and the real thing is turning out to live up to expectations!

A Fantastic Fifteen Thousand

Woo-hoo, our blog has had over 15,000 visitors, thank you very much from Ali & Austin

David Gaughran – A Storm Hits Valparaiso

Debut novel by Irish Author David Gaughran set in the 19th Century amidst the liberation of a continent as revolutionary fervour sweeps across South America.

A Storm Hits Valparasio: In 1822, after twelve years of a dirty war, Spain was on the verge of losing her Empire. José de San Martín had liberated Argentina, Chile and Peru, while Simón Bolívar had freed Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. The two greatest figures in South American history met for the first and last time in Guayaquil to discuss the conclusion of the war, as neither man had sufficient troops to finish the Spaniards off. They met alone, and no historical record was made of their meeting. At the end of their talks, San Martín resigned as Protector of Peru and handed over control of the combined armies of Argentina and Chile to Bolívar. San Martín retired to become an anonymous farmer, while Bolívar went on to immortalise himself in the final victory. San Martín’s reasons for stepping aside have always remained a mystery.

This novel tells the story of San Martín and his rag-tag army of Indians, freed slaves and ex-convicts in their fight for freedom as war rages across a continent, culminating in that fateful meeting with Bolívar.

Visit www.davidgaughran.com to read the first chapter, and to learn more about the story and its characters.

ICAD 2010 Awards Night

This year’s awards night promises to be a great one. There’s the awards ceremony itself followed by food, drinks and entertainment. So, come out, kick back and help us celebrate!

Thursday 15 April
Liberty Hall Theatre
Eden Quay, Dublin 1

Awards Ceremony starts 8pm sharp
Doors open 7pm-7.45pm

Dress Code: Black

Ticket price: €95 (€65 ICAD members)
To book, contact elaine@icad.ie

For further information check out the events facebook page

Give the Orang-utan a break!!

Watch the Greenpeace UK video here (Not for children): http://vimeo.com/10236827

Stop Nestlé destroying rainforests for palm oil. To write to the CEO now go to http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/po/b-index.html

Nestlé don’t want you to see the video above, because they complained to Youtube that there copyright was being infringed. Youtube removed the video but now Greenpeace would like to offer it to you, as a gift. Download the video and put it on your favourite video sharing site. The more people who join in, the more interesting we’ll make it for Nestlé.

And we all like a break, so it’s time to give orang-utans one. Nestlé uses palm oil in Kit Kat and many other products which is bought from suppliers that destroy rainforests in Indonesia to grow their plantations.

As a result, threatened species like orang-utans are being pushed into extinction and huge quantities of greenhouse gases are being released, accelerating climate change.

Nestlé have so far refused to stop buying palm oil from the worst suppliers, so it’s time to make them change their minds.

Write to CEO Paul Bulcke to demand they act responsibly and cease trading with companies that are destroying Indonesia’s rainforests. To write go now to http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/po/b-index.html

Montreal Vinyl and cool customised toys

Check out www.montrealvinyl.com it’s a blog that covers the designer toy scene, really funky imaginative a colourful creations like this…

this…

and this…

It can take Yanick of Montreal Vinyl between 20 and 40 hours to customise some of these creations himself. If you are lucky enough to be in Montreal check out Camionde Pompier on 5666 Sherbrooke West, or their website www.camiondepompier.com if you want to buy some of these incredible toys or if you want to make your own customs they also sell blank customisable toys too.

Watch this video to learn more….

http://vimeo.com/10232406

The polymer Musings of Meredith Dittmar

Beautiful collection and a beautiful website too. Meredith Dittmar creates intricate works using polymer clay, manipulating the material into new territories. Love the detail, personalities and colors. Check out her portfolio www.corporatepig.com/artportfolio, and her site in general www.corporatepig.com

Currently living and playing in Portland Oregan, Meredith Dittmar was born near Boston and grew up in a world of pet pigs, horses, hay-forts and spy games . Follow this with an education in computer science, a career in interactive design, a compulsive need to create, and a drive to Seek and you get the major elements of her person and work.

Dittmars human-animal-plant-energy amalgams contain threads of common elements and colors to express deep levels of union across themes of biology, technology, and consciousness . Her characters are frequently involved in quiet expressive moments, or lounge facing their audience so they can share their inner space. Dittmar believes it is this space we recognize in ourselves, and through convening in that space, the interconnectedness of all things is revealed. She sees the act of spontaneous artistic creation as part of a larger practice of being present, and a way to better understand herself and reality.

Dittmars work is featured in the books Dot dot Dash and Mascotte 2, along with numerous magazines and online publications. In conjunction with her artwork she works as an independent character designer and maintains her company Corporatepig, through which she continues to create thousands of unique handmade characters called “My Guys”.

Ambient Project Web Design Dublin

For affordable web design in Dublin, Ireland, look no further than Ambient Project for high quality custom designed sites, www.ambientproject.com. Ambient Project is a professional and intimate studio based in Malahide, Co Dublin, who pride themselves on an ethos of creating partnerships with their clients that go beyond the hand over date of a project, and the scope of a project. They ‘work with’ clients, not  ‘work for’. As such, they are always available to discuss new ideas, efforts and innovations as the project progresses and beyond the official end date of the project.  It’s this mentality of going the extra mile for their clients that ensures the site they design works best for you. Recent clients of Ambient Project were the Holiday Show on TV3, the Irish Design Week 2008 and 2009, The Institute of Designers in Ireland, Design Ireland Skillnet, Genesis Engineering, and independent Irish language organisation Fondúireacht na Gaeilge.

Ambients Partners Austin Maguire, and Brian Newman are dedicated to offering value for money with affordable websites tailored to suit any business and any budget.You can contact them on 086 AMBIENT, or hello@ambientproject.com or check them out on-line at www.ambientproject.com or www.facebook.com/ambientproject

The Cream of the Crop – IDI DESIGN AWARD WINNERS FEATURED IN THE IRISH TIMES

The cream of the crop. With an incredibly high standard of interior design thinking in Ireland today, Nuala Ryan recognises some of the great home grown talents and gets their top tips on home renovations download the pdf here.

We just saw ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop – A Banksy Film’

eep!design are just back from a little adventure in the city centre to the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield where we saw ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop – A Banksy Film’…and what an adventure it was. This film takes you on a wonderfully zany journey of a wonderful and zany LA based frenchman.

This heart-warming and crazy tale is ostensibly a documentary about Banksy’s relationship with an impressionable French film-maker/stalker Theirry Guetta, the movie highlights that unquenchable thirst among some people for self-expression. It also explores another side of the equation, when the urge turns into rampant self-promotion.

But this is not a film about Banksey, this is a film about Theirry Guetta. After the tragic childhood loss of his mother Guetta has developed the need to catalogue every part of his life on film both in work and at with his family at home . With a film camera in his hand to follow his every move, through a Street Artist relation ‘Space Invader’ Guetta unwittingly finds himself in the heart of the world of street artists on both sides of the atlantic. Residing in a very grey area of legality Street Art is covert by its nature and likes to stay off camera but with his endearing charm Guetta manages to cosy in amongst the artists, including Space Invader and Shepard Fairey, by offering his help and following them on night installations whilst proving his worth and gaining their trust. In doing so it becomes evident to the artists the advantage of getting some of this wonderful work and its characters on film.

This trusting nature and endearing charm leds Guetta into the path of Banksy, who on a visit to LA needs a guide to show him all the good spots for his artistic escapades. Over time Guetta becomes a kind of assistant on these covert missions and earns Banksy’s trust, although he is only allowed to film his subject from behind. Sitting in shadow and speaking through a voice modifier, Banksy recalls like an ironic Greek chorus the bizarre sequence of events surrounding his peculiar friend. He doesn’t show his face, but reveals himself in a far more satisfying way. His droll, mildly bemused commentary, coupled with narration by Rhys Ifans, illustrate the artist in ways that no exclusive unmasking by a media outlet could ever achieve.

There is so much more to this adventure, and I’ve only given you the bare bones of all that goes on and the extremely talented artists involved and I strongly recommend you go out and see it in your local independent cinema. The story builds and builds in crescendo to its outrageous  conclusion. In this case truth is definitely crazier then fiction by any stretch of the imagination. Check out the film on IMDB now.

My new pair of Adidas ZX 600′s

I’m really happy with my latest pair of Adidas ZX 600′s. It seems this ZX style of Adidas trainers are getting harder and harder to find in Stores in Ireland and the UK, and after my last 10 pairs of trainers being Adidas ZX’s I just love them and I didn’t really want to settle for anything else this week when I found myself with a little extra cash to splash out. So thank god for the internet.

As a member of the fabled Crooked Tongues crew of sneaker connoisseurs, London based artist C-Law surely knows a thing or two about cohesive yet adventurous colorways evident in this pair of trainers. The brightness of the orange and blue are offset nicely by the brown leather and mesh upper. You can see the other trainers in his exclusive collection designed for Adidas here.

PUMA – Journey of Football

A celebration of true football. For Africa. For Football. For the insane love of the game we possess that unites us beyond borders. Bringing Football back to its roots. Because love is football.

For more information, head to www.pumafootball.com or facebook.com/pumafootball.

Graphic Design Resume – Resources and Inspiration

As posted by Tara recently on the great graphicdesignblog.co.uk

“I remember putting together my design resumes/curriculum vitaes in the past, I never quite knew how creative, or not I should make it. Mine started from the downright bizarre creative resume when I was in college (a pop up of my head) to something more formal with the addition of an icon or logo. Designing a resume for yourself is one of those things that’s always tricky, just like designing anything for yourself. You are your own worst client who doesn’t have a proper brief”

Some other posts about Graphic Design Resumes

The Graphic Design Resume Guide
A comprehensive blog post, going through everything you need to consider when designing your resume from choosing paper, layout, typograpy and required content.

Graphic Design Resumes: Plain or Different? Part I
Another debate on how creative a CV/resume should be with examples.

How Creative Should A Designer’s Resume Be?
Another argument for the creative resume with some design examples.

Graphic Designer Resume Sample
Again for content rather than style.

Graphic Designer Resume Tips
Tells you the information to include in your resume and what order it should go in (not for design style).

If you want to promote your self as a Graphic or Web Designer also take a look at the book mentioned in my previous post 10 Steps to Powerful Online Self Promotion for Creatives