downstairsfordancing

three posts in a year

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:33:00 +0000

Christ that's poor isn't it? There was me thinking the new job would allow me more time for personal things like keeping a blog and, erm, having a life.
To be honest I am getting there, sort of. The Intel gig is certainly healthier and I'm working a regular 8 hour day rather than the all day, everyday pattern I had got into this last few years.
The new role is very challenging, a different type of challenge than previously. It's also really exciting to be making something 'real' again. I had forgotten about how good it is to work with developers, especially those that are enthusiastic and want to push the boundaries a bit like the guys from the old openedhand team. I had become quite removed from side of the process.
I also feel that I have a little bit more time now, after years of working in a 'shit or bust' mode of consultancy work where it seemed to be full on all the time, it's a different world to have the opportunity (luxury) to work on different iterations of the same design. It's good to have the time to be concerned about the detail, to hold off until something is finished or just right. But most of all it's good to have time to take pride in my work. I think during the pressures of work over the last few year I stopped being proud of what I was doing, I wanted to be proud, I wanted to do the best work I could. I just felt burned out by the constant pressure of tight deadlines and also the demands I put on myself.
I feel like I've got past that now, having the time to think, breath and take a step back has made me feel a lot more human again.
I'm taking a few baby steps back to humanity!
So to sum up it's going well...I've even opened blogger again...

Shout Outs, Big Ups and Tings

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:40:00 +0000

I've been meaning to link to a couple of the really cool people I've been working with this last year or so and as I'm leaving Fjord it's probably a good time to do it now:

Charlie Gower
Prashant Agarwal
Adam Crickett
Nick Richards
Claire Alexander

I'll add a few more when I get some more personal url's (plus it'll give me another chance to reuse the title of this post again I'm so down with the kids... guy)

But while I'm posting new url's the lovely Roger Scott has a new venture Heist and it looks like he and Jordan are really knocking out some great stuff.

New horizons

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:04:00 +0000

has it really been nearly 6 months since I last posted here? Oh dear...
To be honest this year has been pretty insane, non-stop work and lots of exhaustion. Hopefully that's all going to change in the next few months as I'm just about to move on for a new opportunity.

I've really enjoyed my time at Fjord, although it's been crazy and non-stop work, it's pushed me harder than any other role I've taken on. it's completely changed my portfolio of work, giving me exposure to lots of very interesting projects for the BBC, Orange and Nokia. All of them have challenged me in new ways. It's also left me more confident in my abilities as a visual designer and even as an interactive designer.
Even though the new role is going to be amazing, it's really a sad feeling to be leaving Fjord. The company has changed so much in the last 18 months it's an extremely exciting place right now. Last year Chris Liu took over as MD and has revolutionized the London office. I really owe him a lot. He's been a real inspiration and great to work for.
As I said I'm sad to be leaving as I think they are on the verge of something massive. Still I guess it's good to be leaving somewhere a little sad, knowing you have made a bit of a difference to the direction the company is going while heading onto something new and exciting rather than trying to avoid the door slamming on the way out.
I'll blog about the new job when I have more details to share.

Life of an international playboy

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:03:00 +0000

As mentioned in my previous brief post, the lack of presence here is due to a new job. It's not like I haven't wanted to post here, or had things to post about. No siree bob. My life has been a constant stream of bloggable events.
Actually that's a lie. I've been working my boney white ass off. Probably like I have never done before. Or for a very, very long time. To illustrate this point I'm currently posting from Gate 38 of the South Terminal of Gatwick airport. Up until a month or so ago I had been commuting weekly to Yahoo in Hamburg for the past few months, monday in London, Hamburg in the afternoon and then back to good ol' Blighty on the Thursday. I've just started doing it again and it's an interesting experience, the life of an international playboy, and it really is as truly as exciting as you can imagine.

Ok that's not entirely true and by entirely I mean not at all.

I hate airports.
I hate the smell (which, thanks to the smoking ban has been transformed from a smokey, greasy food, wet dog and tax free perfume smell to just greasy food, wet dog and tax free perfume smell) I hate the people, I hate the families, I hate the grannies, I hate the brits who queue for their plane too early and the Germans who refuse to adhere to any kind of queuing manners at all. I hate the cheap airline, the wasted hours, the crap tea, the delays, the stress and the turbulence.
Apart from that traveling each week on the red eye is a joy. Especially the 4.30 start, followed by a 12 hour day in the office and then dinner in a hotel food dispensary of some sort or the nearest place that I can understand the menu and they don't put bacon on everything.

It's great.
I love my life!

The best of it is I finish at Yahoo! this week, no more traveling there after tuesday. That means, hopefully a much more settled lifestyle, more blogging again, proper working hours and home cooked food more often. Not as glamorous as being an International Playboy but it'll do.

And the best thing, I'll be able to write about my experience working for Yahoo! and that my friend, is a whole different story...

Video Links Ten Twelve Oh Seven

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:15:00 +0000

43 Folders round up their favourite videos of the year, of particular interest are the Inbox Zero presentationand the IDEO know how talk.

Virgin America's unique and entertaining take on the inflight safety movie.

Coudal Partners videowall. Chock-a-bleedin'-block with visual stimulus and interesting docs. Watch the 'western state' series on creative individuals, particularly the Geoff Mcfetridge clip.
Much like the link above Hillman Curtis have an extension collection of self initiated and client based pieces online and well worth a watch. They have just completed a short on Pentagram but also watch the piece on Milton Glaser. In fact do yourselves a favour and watch the entire 'Artist' series up there. You won't regret it.
And finally, something completely different...

Play-Doh

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 08:12:00 +0000

The third TV commercial for Sony Bravia out does the previous ads 'Balls' and 'Paint' by using 2.5 tonnes of Plasticine, 40 animators, New York and the Rolling Stones.

Just outstanding.

Links for September Seventeenth Two Thousand Seven

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 19:21:00 +0000

In Photography: Martin Klimas' photography of porcelain figures being dropped in total darkness and captured as they hit the ground.

In Design: Jamie Wieck is an illustrator at Airside. He's also ridiculously good...

In Graphic Design: Build is 6! Happy Birthday to Build

In Animation: Steve Jobs and John Lasseter talk before Jobs' return to Apple

In Mobile: Andy Polaine highlights some interesting thoughts on mobile gaming and touchscreens

Monchique

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 13:38:00 +0000

Apologies for the state of my last post, it was a bit rushed trying to get one up before I legged it onto a plane (yet again) for a long weekend away with everyone from Fjord. Currently we have 35 odd members of staff spread between the UK, Finland and Germany and we all went up a mountain in Portugal to help plan the future direction of the company (as well as consume vast amounts of port). It was a really positive weekend. I won't bother with the details but I came away with a greater sense of ownership in the place I work and also a clearer picture of my place in that.

To give over a brief idea of Fjord's history, they have been developing concepts primarily aimed at the mobile market, many of our clients are from that field and develop software or devices aimed at handsets. Fjord's philosophy has always been that handsets or mobile devices are enablers and access points into greater social networks. This idea is becoming more and more prominent and we are finding our skills increasingly in demand.
As I have said before, the thing I love about being here is having a belief in the ideas we are developing.
We are trying to make communication easier.
We are simplifying complexity.
We are trying to bring a human face to technology.
As this is happening the ideas we are pitching are increasingly abstract concepts. We are describing devices or solutions that are about filling gaps or introducing new possibilities. It's getting harder to explain these things through case studies or power point. We need a way to make these concepts tangible.
I guess that's where my role is going to be.
I am going to use storytelling as a tool to explain the concept we design. It could be a demo movie of the final application.
It could be a story explaining the area we have identified for development.
It may just be a visual mood board setting the stage for an idea or it could be something completely abstract.
We are still working out the details but it's pretty exciting and I'm really looking forward to it!
In fact there is a big culture of change at work at the moment and it's an exciting time for everyone there right now. I'll write more about it when I have a clearer picture to paint.
(Yet again this is another rushed post but I'm trying hard to keep writing even when I have a flight to catch!)

I know, I know..

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:08:00 +0000

In my last post I said I would be writing more regularly now. I obviously haven't been doing it.
The thing is, I really want to but I'm struggling to find time to do it.
The last 6 months or so in the new job at Fjord has been pretty intense to say the least. I'm currently mostly based in Hamburg working on a big project for Yahoo. That's proving to be an experience I'll talk a bit more about when I have some more time.
All in all it's going well, lots of hard work but big clients and moving into mobile design is proving to be an exciting shift. The one thing I particularly like is we essentially produce communication ideas. By that the company has an ideology that is about how to make it easier to communicate. After years of working for clients that sell shit I'm not interested in or wouldn't think about buying I now am producing things that aim to make the world a better place. Well, almost!
Saying that the work is hard and pretty relentless and is forcing me into making some big decisions regarding work and life balance.
I guess I'll talk more about that when I get some more time... :)

And So it Goes

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 12:13:00 +0000

One of the things I have been meaning to write about here and haven't had the time, was the sad and untimely death of Mr Manchester.

Anthony H. Wilson was a proud citizen of Manchester. But he was more than that. He defined my generation. I can't think of anyone who would have such an influence on music or culture in my lifetime. Through the formation of the Factory Club, later to become Factory Records, to the opening of The Hacienda he shaped music, culture and design.
He was a champion of all of the above, but nothing more than Manchester. As a hybrid of visionary, bully, TV hack, producer, philosopher and self styled Genius he helped regenerate a city.

As a mark of respect the Union Flag on Manchester Town Hall was lowered on the news of his passing.

Famously he wasn't interested in money, none of the acts signed to Factory had contracts, he was more interested in making history. He commented before his death: "When they said I would have to pay £3,500 for the drugs each month, I thought where am I going to find the money? I'm the one person in this industry who famously has never made any money. I used to say some people make money and some make history - which is very funny until you find you can't afford to keep yourself alive. I've never paid for private healthcare because I'm a socialist. Now I find you can get tummy tucks and cosmetic surgery on the NHS but not the drugs I need to stay alive. It is a scandal."
He had been denied use of the drug Sutent by the NHS due to the £3,500 a month it would take to fund the treatment.

When it's all said and done, he would have probably been dismissive of all the tributes to him. I found this quote on a guardian blog and although I'm not sure it's a direct quote from the man, it seems to fit:

"Best not to dwell on the past to much. It is, after all, a foreign country to which none of us have visitor visas."

Rest in Peace Tony.

Tony Wilson - memorial mix.

Better people with bigger words written below:

Tony's wife Yvette in an interview with the Manchester Evening News.

The Guardian's Obituary.

BBC Manchester reports.

Alan McGee Blogs, lots of good comments.

Don't call it a comeback..

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:04:00 +0000

..Because I've been here all the time.
Hello, my name's Darren and I used to live here.
Well, ok I still do, sort of.
Over the last few months my new job seems to have taken over every aspect of my life.
This is a really short first post back to try and slowly break myself into the routine of posting again..
Bear with me, I'm getting there, just might take a little while to grease the joints a little.

UKreg suck

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 07:18:00 +0000

Arg.
Finally got my domain back after a few weeks of no response from the company I used to register the domain name.
No phone number on their site, no email only a form that they never seem to reply to. Oh and an expensive phone line that has cost me a fortune in calls (no matter what time I phoned i was always 9th in the queue? Go figure..
I couldn't log in because the domain I used as my master account was the one that had appeared to expire. Or so I thought.
Eventually I find out it hadn't expired, they had just not put through the renewal at their end.
Awesome.
Thanks Ukreg, I'll be using you again in the future..

Links for the sixteenth of march two thousand and seven

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:31:00 +0000

Donald Duck is a Nazi
This version has an introduction

Own Your C
Something to make you smile on a sunny day

The Mentalists have a new video
Nice work Kim!

All the web 2.0 you want
Really good reference and nicely put together

Airside are finally selling Hum Ping..
and the video is here
Good lord..!

Beautiful work by Made Thought Just lovely stuff presented so well.

The portfolio site of Nastuh Abootalebi
It's a piece of sliced gold.

Cars in motion

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:02:00 +0000

Just fantastic.

BMW and Audi.

Links for the first of march two thousand and seven

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:43:00 +0000

The Disease of Design is a great little piece on a really good blog.

Great motion work from SCAD student Jarratt Moody taking a section of dialogue from Pulp fiction.

Hello?The iPhone's first ad shown during the Oscars this week.

Idents Parody Pretty funny stuff..

Saying Goodbye

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 17:38:00 +0000

This friday we said goodbye to Paul. Ian and myself were asked to say a few words about our friend at the service.
It was the hardest thing I have ever done, I really have no idea how I managed to talk let alone make sense of the words I had written.
It was as if I was on autopilot, I felt as if I watched myself stand there and read.
It was a very emotional out of body experience and was a long, hard and sad day. Saying that it was warming to see so many old friends, remember old times and enjoy the company of Paul's many friends.
The hardest part is I am left with this feeling of wanting to tell him about it. I want to tell him about his mates I saw, about how funny the stories we remembered were and how much he was missed.
I guess that feeling isn't going to go away. It just leaves you with a real wave of sadness and a void in your life that feels endless. But at the service I said I wanted to be thankful for Paul being here rather than sad Paul is gone.
I'm trying to do that now.

Thanks again Paul.

Instead of Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 11:48:00 +0000

I just received this email from Paul's partner, Sally:

If you'd like to remember Paul please click on this link to make secure donations to this children's charity.

I can't think of anything more appropriate.

Paul's Funeral

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 17:40:00 +0000

Just in case I have missed anyone with the email out about Paul's funeral I thought I would post the details here. I know there are a hell of a lot of people out there keen on saying goodbye to our friend.
The Humanist service will be held in The South Chapel of the Oakley Wood Crematorium at 1.30pm on Friday 23rd February.
We'll then move to a favourite pub of Paul's in Stratford upon Avon called The Dirty Duck for some halves of lager and a couple of rollies to say goodbye properly.

work experience..

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 12:46:00 +0000

I had really interesting meetings with two companies this last week or so. The first one was 'Imagination', a real blast from the past back to my old Uni days. Quite a few friends of mine were really keen on their methodology and belief in 'Brand Experience'. They have amazing vision, fantastic offices and excellent work plus it was great to finally get over there and have a look around.
The other company was a place called 'Fjord' and that was equally as interesting. The work they are doing is outstanding and incredibly unique. It's refreshing to go into a studio that is innovative and successful as well as really nice people. They are working in the mobile market, developing interfaces and apps for a variety of phone producers and technology companies. It really gave me a glimpse of the current mobile development industry as well as reminded me of the way 'multi-media' was when I first started in this business all those years back! If I am honest I have been always been looking for another period like that.
I think it was when I was most challenged in my career. The boundaries constantly shifted due to the rapid advance in technology and also due to the fact none of us actually knew how to do what we were supposed to be doing! It made for exciting and fascinating times. I feel that the advances in mobile technology combined with the shift in towards concentrating on user-generated content on the web marks an equally interesting period.
Well, I hope so anyway!

Ray LaMontagne

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:16:00 +0000

A couple of years back I got hold of an album called 'Trouble' by a guy called Ray LaMontagne on the recommendation of a friend. It has stuck around on my most recently played tracks since then. His new album, "Till the Sun Turns Black" is even better. Last night I managed to get free tickets to see Ray play for a live recording and the best seats in the house at that. It was the most amazing live performance I have ever seen. The first track he played "Be Here Now" was unbelievably moving. And the venue was stunning. He is touring at the moment, well worth the 30 squids for a ticket.
This article in the Independent paints a good picture of the man.
Unfortunately he has been known to react to photography quite badly so I only got a couple of snaps in the venue for my flickr set.

Moving on

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 19:33:00 +0000

It's incredibly strange starting to write a new post here after the last one about Paul. I'm still in shock at his passing and can't even begin to imagine the pain his family and loved ones are going through right now. I have been speaking to many of his friends and colleagues over the last week or so and I think the hole we are all feeling is only going to get bigger. He had such an impact on so many lives, personally and professionally.
I had an interview last week and going through my portfolio was a painful walk down memory lane as the majority of the projects, and typically the best ones, were made working with Paul.
It's a truly sad and difficult time. However, Paul wouldn't want this sentimentality. He wouldn't want so much sadness, and I'm sure he wouldn't enjoy all the attention.
Over the last few days Ian has been sending over funny stories about Paul. As he is a much better writer than me and with his kind permission (I hope!) I thought I would post some here:

"I remember many mornings when we'd been up all night and Paul had to burn the CD-ROM on the Mac to send off to the BBC (using that 'only CD-ROM burner in North London', which cost 1,950 quid or something), and he'd go through his strange rituals to ensure a 'good burn': emptying the recycle bin five times exactly before starting, stroking and patting the burner to earth away any static, and getting a bit short with the cleaner for daring to Hoover lest she corrupt the data.
Still, he was probably right and it was only his rituals kept us from data disaster. It's just that waiting six hours to burn a disk used to drive me a bit mad.

Then we'd go to the pub, for a half."

"One night I dragged him down to the White Lion for lasts, and afterwards I started hammering on about going to see Independence Day, which had just come out. He said he didn't want to see it, but I knew he was a sucker for staying out late anywhere (2am fry-ups at Smithfield's spring to mind), so I kept on and told him I'd heard it was meant to be one of the best films ever and he'd regret not being one of the first to see it.
So we ran up and down Old Street trying to get a cab, and I grew ever more fretful as they all grumbled past with their orange lights turned off. I persisted and we got one just in time and made it to the midnight showing at Leicester Square.
A couple of hours later we remained seated in the cinema as everyone else filed out. I turned and saw he had his head in his hands, and he was very still. I felt really bad and didn't know what to say.
Eventually he shook his head rapidly from side to side and said, "Oh, sorry, I thought I just saw the President of the United States fly his fighter jet at a huge alien spaceship and destroy it and save the fucking world." "

" Paul asking me to proof-read the software review he wrote for Mac User before he submitted it, and telling me to ignore the complete absence of punctuation because he no longer believed in its pointless clutter."

" Similarly, Paul giving me a load of books to take to Greece and telling me to keep them because he no longer saw the point of novels because 'they're stupid and I suspect they're just made up'. "

" Richard and Paul having a screaming fight at the Camden studio, which nearly came to blows. Paul's climactic howled defence: "Big Ears does not look fucking stupid, Richard. YOU look fucking stupid!"

" Richard telling me about the band they got together in which Paul was the bass player. The band was called 'Where's Paul?' because he only ever showed up a couple of times."

" The time he came into a pub and held out his hand for the office key, at which point the landlord ran over and told him to piss off and stop begging in his pub. "

And there are many, many more. I'm looking forward to hearing the others. It's good to remember the uniqueness of the man and I feel grateful for the privilege.

I'm sure there will be many people saying that.

And I know there will be quite a few halves drunk too.

Paul Lamb

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 17:50:00 +0000

Today I lost a friend.

In 1995 when I started working in 'multi-media', as it was called back then, I met a curious fellow called Paul Lamb. He was one half of I.E Digital along with Richard Land. With another curious gentleman called Ian Armstrong they were producing some of the most innovative interactive media way before most people had heard of interactivity let alone pay for it.
Thanks to them I got my first break in the business and to this day it is still my happiest time professionally and creatively. We spent many long days trying to work out how to do this or that, in the days of 256 colour video, aliased graphics and before that thing called Flash. And for the most part it was bliss.
Granted we all spent a lot of time drunk and far too long in the studio but to the handful of us just out of college it was nirvana. We were getting paid to make mistakes. It was better than college!
Since then I've worked with Paul many times, and if I wasn't working with him he would be the first person I would ask about how to do things, who was doing that best, or if he was free to do it himself. He was probably the most creative person I have ever worked with and because of this he has probably forgotten more people in the industry than most know. None of them will have a bad word to say about him and the requests for his services will still be numerous.

Sadly, Paul died on Monday.

The feeling of loss is unbearable, I can only begin to understand the grief his loved ones must be feeling.
Apart from his unbelievable talent he was a completely unique individual. Evenings with Paul often consisted of many beers (but mostly drunk in a half glass as he was only staying for a half) and many cigarettes (only one as he had given them up) as well as an endless array of subjects discussed along with much eyebrow twisting and always belly laughter.
So much belly laughter.
I can see him pausing for thought right now, glancing around and then erupting with laughter.
I always thought that we would have more of those nights, I thought that Ian, Paul or I would get our act together and see each other more often or even stick to plans.
I guess we always thought there would be another time, I mean there is always another time isn't there?
I'll post some classic Paul stories next week, right now I'm struggling to deal with this massive void now and the regret that there are to be no 'other times'.

Rest easy fella, you deserve it.

Nick Cave - Love Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:03:00 +0000

It's not new but I've been looking for a digital version of this for ages.
I think it's as near to the perfect mix of music and image you can get. The sound, lighting, direction and photography. Just so beautiful is so many ways.

It's been a while..

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 11:56:00 +0000

Have I really not posted since before Christmas?
Blimey.
Ok, I'm back now. Well sort of, I'm slowly reconnecting to a life of relative normality after a stressful few months and some time away in San Francisco, Wales and Africa as well as time with the family by the coast.

And of course the frightening experience of turning 33...

I hope everyone is very well and I promise I'll be better at keeping in touch this year.

Honest!

You Tube Links 19th December 2006

noreply@blogger.com (Darren) — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 07:43:00 +0000

Once apon a time I was a bit of a U2 fan, those days have long since past but having said that the new video they have released is particularly special.

I could be wrong but I thought I heard Rick Ruben produced the track?

Speaking of Rick Ruben, he makes an appearance (along with a few other familiar faces) in another cracking video for The Man in Black:

Even though it's not to everyones taste I really like it and conveys the influence Johnny Cash has had on modern music.

On a different note I give you the evolution of computer games:

And some rather beautiful work from UVA over at the Victoria and Albert museum right now.

A higher resolution version is here