kasmara.com

i think i had a mild heart attack when i went to my site and found out that i had a ‘database error’. i touch upon databases but they’re still voodoo to me. thankfully, it was just a simple password problem since i decided to change it a day or so ago… apparently, i forgot to tell my database what the new password was. smart database.

anyway, here are the new ads for Laurier and Laurier Brantford. i’m happy with how the Laurier ads turned out. lots of colour and variations. the Focus Group add has a lot of text but the FREE FOOD announcement made me laugh. they honestly had that in their request. serious.my fav ad… the little green monster virus. i like the colours and how it stands out. i have a few most of those green monster tucked away in my iStock lightbox.

the Brantford ads aren’t too shabby but i needed to make quick work of them.

honestly, i’m happy with how it turned out as well. the mullet guy makes me laugh… too bad i didn’t have time to find some awesome 70s van art. a unicorn? a wizard? a wizard unicorn?!? oh yeah. you know what i’m talking about.

music: junkie xl - cities in dust

:: MyLaurier ad - 01.12.2009 ::

:: MyLaurier Brantford ad - 01.12.2009 ::

i have to say i really had fun creating some of these.

coming back to work last week was like starting off a race without a warm-up… like hitting the blocks running. haha. needless to say, work has been busy but at least it’s a good busy.

even though i had about 2 weeks off it feels like i didn’t have much of a break. i think i need a vacation. i think WE all need a vacation.

music: bloc party - helicopter

:: MyLaurier ad - 12.28.2008 ::

:: MyLaurier Brantford ad - 12.28.2008 ::

for the past year or so i’ve had to create mini ads for the front pages of the MyLaurier and MyLaurier Brantford sites and it has been loads of fun. they usually give me a bit of information with a title and tagline and let me go to town with it. from time to time they want a particular ad placed create by one of the departments at Laurier but for the majority i’m able to be as creative as i want.

i like having a weekly opportunity to create something different and interpret an ad in a way that i may see fit whether it’s funny, serious or off the wall. even though i might be ‘constrained’ within an ad/box i’m still able to think outside of it when it comes to imagery and layout… plus it’s fun.

i hope you had a Pogue-ish type of holiday. be safe and have fun.

… and live every week as if it’s shark week

i find this utterly amazing. computer animation has come a long LONG way since i was a kid. it also reminds me of the kind of video games that i play now as opposed wot when i was younger. i remember when my dad bought me my first game console. it was an Intellivision and was only 16-bit. compared to now it was horrible but i loved it. i remember imagining that the little shapes of blocks represented spaceships, dragons or whatever. it seems hard to imagine but i remember playing it like there was no tomorrow.

i never knew how much they cost back then but apparently they were being initially sold for $299 which was a huge amount of money back in the day. now for $299 you can get a Xbox 360 but that’s like comparing apples to monkeys. two totally different consoles and periods of time.

sometimes i forget how far we’ve gone with regards to technology but nostalgia helps. thanks for the Intellivision, dad. i wonder if i can find one on ebay…

music: be your own pet - the kelly affair

wow. i’m speechless that America decided to come out in droves to vote. i’m glad that Obama won but he’s on such a high pedestal that one small slip up and he might fall in people’s eyes. one can only hope that doesn’t happen and sometimes hope is enough to pull people through even the most darkest of time.

Congratulations to Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America. give those who need it the most the hope they deserve.

music: m.i.a. - paper planes

the love of typography and pop-up books finally together at last. where can i find this book? well, kind sir/madame you can purchase it here.

i know it might not be much and there are no flashing lights or shiny objects that we’re used to in this technological savvy world of ours but you have to admire the creativity of it. the subtle and different presentation of each letter and the minimum use of colours. paper is type and type is paper.

i don’t care what anyone says the world is not going to become like Star Trek and i am not going to read my books on plexi glass or whatever. i still like the heft of a good book and the feel of the pages i turn them. i’d like to believe most people would agree.

ps. i have to admit thought the electronic reader is pretty cool.

music: barry adamson - can’t get loose

after a lot of hard work and putting our nose to the grind stone, we were able to finally able to launch the company website. i’m extremely proud of it and amazed at much it’s progressed from previous versions. we also were able to create a few promotional sell sheets that were sent to print as well as some hanging banners for upcoming conferences.

there’s lots more coming down the pipeline and i’m getting my hands dirty with various projects. it’s going to be a hard few months trying to gets these sites launched but it’ll be some excellent work.

music: the stone roses - elephant stone

good news - i finished off my portfolio and finally have some sort of record of what the hell i have been doing over the past years. i swear some times my mind is shot full with either useful and/or useless things… former? latter? who knows. this is a start at least. i’m proud of what i have accomplished.

bad news - cut the tip off my thumb while i was cooking. quick and clean which goes to show how well i take care of my knives. it stings and bled for a bit but i am more embarrassed than hurt. my cooking and knife skills are good… i think i got thrown down a couple of pegs because of this though.

happy birthday, dad. i hope you enjoyed the dinner. next time we won’t get you the leg of lamb. you seem to like things on fire