So damn cold!!!

Awful weather for today! Here's the magic number 8

What the heck?!

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Exit to the city 17

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Cycling vs running: is there any competition?

Shiny alphadrive bike gear, I like cycling and what about you?

Hi there, fellow runner! How about cycling? Do you like it? Let's talk about cycling as an alternative to running. I don't really think that riding a bike can be anyway competitor to running. And here are few points from which I've noticed the difference. First of all is complicity -- riding a bike involves service, care and a place to store your bicycle. So you can't just wake up one day and say that tis is the day. You have to be prepared, to get bike from garage, check it's functions, drive it to service if found any troubles you can't fix on the go. Then you are connected to weather conditions -- it's quite expensive to ride during winter -- you have to buy completely worm outfit and bike gear for winter riding: new tires and more headlights for example. If you store a bike at home, you have to get more attention to it -- it need complete cleanup aftr every ride, because it will be absolutely dirty after every ride.

Cute 666 kilometers on vectra wireless bicycle computer.

Second issue is about fun and lack of motivation. You can cover great distances on bike, but half of your riding time you'll go downhill and make no action, lust sit on the seat. While riding in the city, you can even get in road accident and receive traumas which can be quite dangerous. And air in your city isn't breathable at all, but your body will consume it much more then when you go on foot. There are lot of happy green cities all over our globe, but there are lot of dirty ones and we should note this.

Running is much easier to do then cycling, but cycles are great, if you have one, go for a ride tomorrow. It's fun and beautiful despite all my words above this sentence!

Gandhi quotes: top 10 Gandhi quotes for runners

Hi there, fellow runner! I've found list of Gandhi's quotations on life and society on facebook wall this morning and looked through it while trying to plan weekend run. You know what conclusion I've finally got? Mahatma Gandhi really can be teinterpreted to improve runner's motivation. Here we go with the list:

1. There is no rule of public opinion in conscience matters.

For typical runner it should mean, that you can break boundaries if you have great passion for your health improvement. Rethink lifestyle, recreate timetable, shift job, move to another city even. And never consult anybody.

2. The whole nation's greatness and moral level can be measured by how single people take care of homeless animals.

For the runner it really can mean going vegetarian or even vegan -- think on it from philosophical point of view.

3. If you going to bring peace on earth, then take care of your children.

This rule is about getting to the root of the problem, about planning and preparation. So when you are on your first winter run, for example, you should be prepared if you'd read articles on winter running and bought adequate outfit before.

4. If you can't wait for the world to change, then change it yourself.

It's about that it's never too late to get in running business, you just have to get in )

5. If you are waiting for a change to come, then go for it and meet it on the half way.

looks like Gandhi copied 4th rule )

6. When you realize that you reached ideal, all further improvement stops and you are moving backward.

Try to add more self criticism. If you feel lack of it.

7. and 8. are not related completely. Skip to 9

9. Find your aim and there will be resources.

Thats all about your running fears -- you gonna do what you have to and solve problems when meet them, not sit on the bench babbling. 

10. Completely unrelated stuff about forgiving and powerful ones, skip back to the first and repeat x times )

Guilty pleasures of being lazy

Hi there, fellow runner. Today I'll show you 4 pictures of guilty pleasures. They are not pleasures really, but in some cases can ever grow to be addictions. Try to avoid this transformation.

Chocolate. It's sweet and somewhat tasty. Don't overeat!

Computer evenings. Though it's sometimes fun to do some work at home or to participate in on-line gaming, real life is always funnier.

Smoking is some sort of a crap from the past. Though if you please, you can smoke, but you are surely should expect terrible death in future. Have a nice day )

Wine and all other alcoholic drinks are of some use. But don't even go close to get addicted -- it'll ruin all your efforts.

So damn cold!!!

Awful weather for today! Here's the magic number 9

Icon tutorial: cute dslr camera icon and fake camera poster

Lets get some google research and find camera we like to be our source

Then we will create basic shapes and place them all over the scene around our source

Let's start composing our super new icon and place more details on the base shape

Let's add more details and start working with volume and colors

So now we can start placing more elements on our basic shape to look at contrast and materials

add more details now

And finally delete the reference image and start working with your own imagination

Add custom logo and think on various color schemes

align color variations on working scene for our new fake poster

add test note and company's identity

And here you go with final great product poster

Things I Love: G-Shock GD110-2

Are you running? Then try out the new GD110-2 including the Lap Memory 60 function. Save up to 60 lap times with date and split time. If you are not running, try it out anyway.

Are you running? Then try out the new GD110-2 including the Lap Memory 60 function. Save up to 60 lap times with date and split time. If you are not running, try it out anyway.

So damn cold!!!

Awful weather for today! Here's the magic number 9

Things I love: G-SHOCK 30th Anniversary Collaboration Watch, G-SHOCK x Clot DW 6900CL-4

Here they are! G-SHOCK 30th Anniversary Collaboration Watch, G-SHOCK x Clot DW 6900CL-4

G-SHOCK 30th Anniversary Collaboration Watch, G-SHOCK x Clot DW 6900CL-4

 Aren't they lovely, pretty and nice?

So damn cold!!!

Awful weather for today! Here's the magic number 9

Run away without leaving home

Here we go with what we can get from the icon, we created in recently published tutorial

Running shoe icon tutorial

Hi there! For today we have some sort of icon tutorial. We'll create running shoe icon and teaser image for it. And animated teaser image too! Fun stuff goes below!

At first you'll need to get general image and composition of the final product, look through tons of pics on google and find good one to be our prototype.

Let's find cool picture of running shoe in the internet

Then let's create new photoshop document to place our copy of the good pic from google

Then you should place vector objects on raster crap from google, I use contrast colors to mace picture stand out from background

Add more details, not too much, while remembering that this is an icon at last.. Feel free to shift pattern, material and color -- it's your own shoe, not new balance any more.

You may then finish all the shapes forming the shoe and delete the background level

Create pattern for the air flow perforation on the sides and top of our running shoe

Add more details and apply textures and basic shadows, think on color theme

Make sure you've added all details you wanted and convert all your layers to a smart object for a backup, duplicate them then

Try different color scheme -- if you please, add final details, if needed and look at it on background. So here you can save png files with or without background and on various backgrounds, but most of us prefer transparent background, I assume. The icon is finished, let's create teaser image, to draw user-s attention to our product.

Add some lighting and speed emotions to scene.

Now you can put some text to the final teaser image and make scene a bit lighter, more real life dirt might be added to the icon too

And finally you might want to add some animation to draw more attention.

Feel free to create your own icon now, i dont think that you need psd or png files, though if I'm wrong leave me a note in comments.

So damn cold!!!

Awful weather for today! Here's the magic number 9

Super stuff as a part of designer's routine

Hi there, fellow designer! Today is that specific day, when we should discuss some super stuff. Let's call 22 of September the day of super stuff. Every designer should try to create super stuff even if he has no experience in creation of regular stuff. Super stuff just comes out of nothing, and once created, it work like magnet for other super stuff. So the main objective of every designer should be somewhere near the great hunt for super stuff.

Sorting and packing tomatoes at the Yauco Cooperative Tomato Growers Association, Puerto Rico

Let's figure out some details of super stuff. If you are still looking for super stuff, you should note everything from here to the end of this post. It will help, I hope.

Nature of super stuff:

1. Cool stuff is frequently super.
2. You sure as hell can create super stuff with Photoshop.
3. Some of us, superheroes of creativity, can produce super stuff with mobile phone camera, but it is hard to measure the super level of mobile phone stuff due to it's totally unpleasant look.
4. Super stuff should be well cared once it's out in the wild.
5. Never ever try to create one super stuff twice. Super stuff is completely untwiceble.
6. Super stuff should be created with scalability in mind. It means that when creating pixel art born super stuff you should take it in attention that your dirty pixel carp might once be printed on 3x6 banner for example.

Final conclusions on the super stuff nature

You finally figured, that super stuff is the name for your secret design ventures and passions. In that areas, which are currently undeveloped at your job. The ones, you develop for yourself. And they really stand out, you spend your personal time on them rather then on online games or beer. Willingly and intentionally. That's how super stuff is forged, so respect it, while it is your super stuff or not.

If you are complete idiot and really can't find out which way to go and what to create to make it your super stuff, then try icons. They are always some designers in need of icon packs. And it's a good practice do develop your own prototype icons pack -- you can use them to rapidly prototype web designs for your client.

Weekend long run

Hi there, my running friend! Today is the day of great running plans. It's weekend, though you should carefully plan your weekend run. Weekend is designed for long runs naturally. You can work out as hard as he'll and still have plenty of time to recover from most runners light injuries. Like itchy fingers and heavy legs.

Prince Frederick Karl [running] [between ca. 1910 and ca. 1915]

By the way, it's autumn out there, if you hand't noticed yet. Autumn is a perfect time to begin running or to start a weight loss program. Autumn feels like it was designed to run through it naturally too. You can advocate summer or spring, even winter has it's own benefits, but autumn. Oh, autumn has no competitors. It's pretty fun to run in autumn forest. Everithing is clear, air is cool, refreshing and inviting. Sun shines and it is so mild, oh. Your every other step feels like it's not a step on the ground, but a giant jump just to the outer space, in between of distant stars. Maybe I'm too much fond of autumn running, but who cares and does it matter?

Running is all about motivation. While moving yourself through local neighborhood on feet with quite a speed seems stupid at first glance, at a second one it comes to be more interesting process. You do stuff which is not actually useful at first glance and brings no profit and not fun on not fun at all even. And from time to time you begin to receive positive vibrations, your health improves in general, you can carry more weight and take more obligations, offer more cervices at last. So that's how it works, you improve stuff around you. Your life, it's all about improvement to things that are unrelated while you look from distance and seeing connections between your running and your life when look closer. So let's assume that running is finally for the greater good.

And getting back to autumn and weekends, this time you can shift some rules and get some more out your body, run more, run faster and run more intense. Don't ask me why you should try it, if you have such questions, you just shouldn't even try this, follow your training plan, but if you feel nice and want some experiments, just mix some other activities like push ups or sit ups in your training and fell better. 

Autumn forest itself

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Autumn forest run

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So damn cold!!!

Awful weather for today! Here's the magic number 9

Starship daily #2: death to the false emperor

Starship daily #2, 9/21/12. “iPhone 5 and iOS 6: the biggest things to happen to the iPhone since the iPhone.” – Tim Coook

Hi there, fellow runner with gadgets and warhammer 40k fan and apple iphone related stuff interested in guy! Here you go with new comic strip, Starship daily #2, 9/21/12. iPhone 5 and iOS 6: the biggest things to happen to the iPhone since the iPhone! Have fun!

So damn cold!!!

Awful weather for today! Here's the magic number 8

The design process: forgotten message

Websites... mmm.

Hi there, fellow designer. I have few words of terribly stupid, but awfully clean and clear wisdom for you. I've recently found out that I have a lot of thoughts on design. Much more then I have to say on every other topic, with exception for stupid science fiction, maybe. So let's prove blog's title proud spirit and settle down one design problem at last.

Drilling horizontal stabilizers: operating a hand drill, this woman worker at Vultee-Nashville is shown working on the horizontal stabilizer for a Vultee "Vengeance" dive bomber, Tennessee. The "Vengeance" (A-31) was originally designed for the French. It was later adopted by the R.A.F. and still later by the U.S. Army Air Forces. It is a single-engine, low-wing plane, carrying a crew of two men and having six machine guns of varying calibers

Today's design agenda is all about setting user's attention on something important. While most of our undereducated clients call for more color, larger fonts and more font variants we are just smiling at them, ignoring their needs and fighting for our passions, cleaning up pixels and adding gloss to icons and buttons. It's a pity, but we are terribly wrong, both of us, I mean. Everybody pursues his or hers personal aims and we are finally reaching them forgetting about the site itself. When talking about site, I talk about final product, machine, which draws user attention to client's goods and services and converts this attention into beautiful flow of money.

The situation

Do we often get this machine after all? Not really, looking back at the bright colored Internet sites with no clear messages. They don't even get close to communication with client in most cases.
So let's find out what a client always want the designer to do with his site.

1. To make site similar to the one of his most successful competitor's site. But with some deviations. From time to time these deviations may be based on real differences between client's and his competitors businesses or on some sort of marketing myths. 
2. Add more cool clipart and stock photos. It will immediately improve site's look and feel, add some personality and of course fill in all this awfully empty space.
3. Add some browser specific, bandwidth consuming or flash related stuff to achieve some modern look in dull design. Like video on site's background. And music on background. And hello message in new window to greet dear guests. Let us never forget of entirely flash based websites. Clients still want them.

Let's now look at designers passions, which are common, by the way.

1. Site have to look great in portfolio.
2. Site should be created with as less time consumed as it can be. No matter the cost - clipart, vector stock, free icons. All measures are allowed.
3. Client should stick to designer's services. So designer produces design too complicated to be adequate to it's purposes. Some exotic banner formats, logotype, which can't be printed without complete reassembly.

And the missing solution

While reaching our goals in design process we always leave behind the site itself. It offers no communication through interactivity, but form elements are freaky and shine like a supernova. Just like they should look in portfolio ) Site offers nothing. The message is hidden behind all those things, invented by client and implemented by designer just to underline that message. Make it bold. And after all, if message is still there, it is absolutely unclear. Finally, we add some flash and about a half of our clients are left behind, they don't have plugin. At last this clone beast, we still call a site, is finished. And everybody clap their hands, like it's not a funeral )

Tip for a busy runner

Hi there, fellow runner! Today's agenda is full of lifesaving. As I can predict easily, you don't have enough time for anything important during the day. Your work and friends plus family relations consume most of your time and you are drained completely. That's why you are getting fat and feel upset sometimes, right?

There always are few tips for the rest of us, who can't stand the situation. You can't rely on any help from gym, you don't just have time for such activities, according to the terms of the question. But if you look closer at your daily routine, it will reveal two big slices of free time which are terribly underutilized. I'm talking about the way to and from your office.

Try to rethink that way, look at it from the runner's point of view. I, for myself, had discovered that I can achieve 30 minutes of forest running from my path to office and about 30 minutes of plain walking with beautiful landscape in the evening on my way home. Of course you shouldn't rely on this method too much, it's not a substitute to your carefully developed training plan, but as a short time solution it works best.

Starship daily #1: interesting things

Starship daily #1, 9/19/12. Interesting things never happen to me, I happen to them!

Hi there, fellow runner with gadgets and design! Would you like a comic strip? Here you go.