http://www.markboulton.co.uk/journal/ en mark@markboulton.co.uk Copyright 2008 2008-05-07T12:20:00+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Fcoolspotters_where_people_and_products_meet%2F&seed_title=Coolspotters%3A+Where+people+and+products+meet Last year, Mike D introduced me to a friend of his who had just started work on an exciting new project. Coolspotters, the first major project from Fanzter was built on the back of a simple concept: combine products and people and let the users create the connections. Design, Site launch 2008-05-07T13:20:00+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Falys_rose_boulton%2F&seed_title=Alys+Rose+Boulton Little Alys was born on 15th April 2008, weighing in at 7lb 8oz. Isn’t she a looker? There are more photos up on Flickr. A proud dad doesn’t even come close. :) Personal 2008-04-22T10:05:00+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Fabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz%2F&seed_title=abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz A few days ago, Keeran sent me a link to this video by Job & Roel Wouters. It’s such a beautifully simple piece. Watching Job draw the letterforms is mesmeric enough, but when his son (?) joins in, I found myself laughing as he tries to imitate his fathers work. This leads to some funny-looking characters (c and d are particular favourites of mine). I’m particularly jealous of the assured free-hand script of Job. It really is a joy to watch. Design 2008-03-06T19:07:03+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Ffrom_poly_to_pole%2F&seed_title=From+Poly+to+Pole Every six months or so, my brother-in-law, Bruce Gordon, updates his website (which I designed a while ago) with his latest work. I’m generally not one to pimp sites, especially family, but Bruce’s work continues to amaze me. He’s a Head Sculptor for the film industry in the UK and his website is glimpse into the world we rarely see--set design and construction. Design, Personal 2008-02-29T11:47:00+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Ften_crimes_against_web_typography_and_how_to_avoid_them%2F&seed_title=Ten+Crimes+Against+Web+Typography+%28and+how+to+avoid+them%29 Cardiff is finally getting its act together. Tonight, I’ll be speaking at the second Cardiff Geek Night, along with Dan Zambonini. It’s a ‘microslot’ that will last about 15 minutes, leaving plenty of time for questions. When I spoke in November last year at the Web 2.0 Expo in Berlin, the feedback I got from my Typography presentation was generally positive. It seemed that most of the people I spoke to preferred the last 10 minutes, on Micro-Typography, and all the quick tips that you could use every day. Tonight will be more of the same, with a slightly different slant. I’m going to highlighting my top ten crimes against web typography, and how you can put them right. Ten crimes (and subsequent tips on correcting them) in ten minutes. I’m told the talks will both be recorded, so I’ll post up a link to them (and slides), when they’re all done. If you’re at a loose end tonight, and fancy a pint, then feel free to come along. We’ll be at Cafe Floyd from 7pm. Design, Conferences, Personal, Typography 2008-02-26T11:01:05+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Fstart_your_own_business%2F&seed_title=Start+Your+Own+Business This article was published in .Net magazine before Christmas last year. I was asked to write a small article on making the leap to working for yourself (as it was still fresh in my mind). It’s by no means a definitive guide (for example, there is no mention of the legal aspects of setting up and running a company). It’s also aimed at a UK market, but a lot of this will work no-matter what country you’re in. Most of it is actually just common sense. It’s been eighteen months since I went freelance, and almost six months since starting my small design studio. I’m no expert. So, this article documents what I did, and when. It also features a little interview with our very own Colly. Design, Articles, Business, Personal 2008-02-20T15:57:01+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Fcoolspotters_and_garcia_media%2F&seed_title=Coolspotters+and+Garcia+Media It’s been a good while since I’ve talked about any work Mark Boulton Design has been up to. That’s mostly because the projects we’ve been working on have been under wraps. Until now that is. One project is now live, the other coming very, very soon. Design, Business 2008-01-19T18:02:00+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Fsir_edmund_hillary_1919_2008%2F&seed_title=Sir+Edmund+Hillary%3A+1919+-+2008 Sir Edmund Hillary, one of two men to first scale Mount Everest and live to tell the tale, has died age 88. Not only was he a mountaineer of legendary repute, but he was a tireless humanitarian devoting much of his time to setting up schools and hospitals in Nepalese Himalayan region. My initial interest in armchair mountaineering was awakened by watching a documentary of Hillary and Tenzing’s first ascent. Since then, I’ve consumed countless books and films on the subject—more recently, I’ve finally finished reading The White Spider, a book documenting the first ascent of the north face of the Eiger, by Heinrich Harrer. It’s probably an interest I’ll have for the rest of my life, and it’s down to that first documentary I saw of two guys, with primitive equipment, hauling themselves up the tallest mountain in the world. Inspirational stuff. Personal 2008-01-11T12:21:06+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Ftwitter_didnt_eat_my_blogging_2007_did%2F&seed_title=Twitter+didn%26%238217%3Bt+eat+my+blogging%2C+2007+did Like a few other people, I’ve found myself into 2008 already and not posted my ‘end of year’ post. I don’t think it’s laziness, although it could be. I’m pretty sure I’ve not run out of things to say. Is it a lack of time? Probably. I certainly don’t have as much time as I did twelve months ago. But, that’s like everyone right? Why has blogging slowed right down then? Sorry, let me rephrase that, why has web design blogging slowed right down? Specifically, why has mine slowed to a crawl? Molly thinks Twitter did it. Well, I’m the only person who doesn’t use Twitter. I used Pownce for a while, but then that bored me. I dip in and out of Facebook, but I’m tired of all the pokes, headbutts and slamdunks. So, who’s the culprit? markboulton.co.uk, Personal 2008-01-07T14:29:04+00:00 http://www.markboulton.co.uk/feeder/?FeederAction=clicked&feed=Journal+RSS+2.0&seed=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.markboulton.co.uk%2Fjournal%2Fcomments%2Fbbc_homepage_redesign%2F&seed_title=BBC+redesign%3A+tellys+have+rounded+corners%2C+right%3F The BBC have redesigned their homepage. I used to work for the BBC. So, I have a good understanding how difficult it is to work there and get anything complete and out of the door to a high, exacting design standard. So, today, when I was told the BBC has opened up the new homepage beta for feedback, and also prompted by Jeremy’s post on the subject, I wanted shove my oar in. Design, BBC, Personal, Site launch 2007-12-14T15:18:04+00:00