New Ezra

EA: Tiberium + Gaia Flash Framework

For the recently launched Tiberium site the overall production took place in little over over a week from start to finish. Because of the short amount of time available for the completion of the Flash development and motion I utilized the new AS3 framework - Gaia 2.0 by Steve Sacks. After reading through the documentation, it only took an hour or two to have the entire site's framework and architecture in place - transition engine, deep linking, browser back/forward functionality, asset management, and much more. I'm officially a fan of Gaia.

Additionally I couldn't have completed the site at 2Advanced from beginning to end without the help from Bran [After Effects transitions & 3D rendering], Elijah [sound effects], and lots of caffeine.

In the coming months I plan on transitioning this site into a blog format that will allow me to go into further detail on future projects. Email me and let me know what you think.

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.net Magazine - build_off

UK's .net Magazine (Practical Web Design in the US) asked me to contribute to their build_off column in Issue 172 by coming up with a design for a podcast/vidcast website. Read the article (PDF).

Recommended Reading

Over the last few months I have been devouring books for insight and inspiration. Pick up one of these books to start out the new year and email me your thoughts.

• Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
• Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite
• It's Not How Good You Are, Its How Good You Want to Be: The World's Best Selling Book
• The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More
• The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking
• The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything
• The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

New Ezra ::
Christmas Edition

Starbuck Peppermint Mochas, retro multi-colored Christmas lights on the house, semi-productive days, Amazon.com free shipping, and holiday themed portfolio. It definitely feels like Christmas.

Archived Christmas Edition

FWA Interview

FWA just published my interview I recently did for their interactive awards site.

Read the interview.

In an unrelated interview with Adverblog, Rob Ford, the founder of FWA made quite a few statements that stood out to me.

"Print and TV are dead. When you read that one of the world’s leading creative magazines has a monthly readership of only 13,000 you know there is no contest between print and web. Sites like Digg probably get that many people in twenty minutes."

Rob Ford, The FWA

Whopper Discontinued ::
"It got too popular"

Whopper Freakout

Agency: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

2007 Lotus Awards ::
Vancouver, BC, Canada

I just returned from Vancouver where I had the opportunity to judge the amazing advertising, design, and interactive work that is coming out of the British Columbia. After spending a weekend going over the work I have nothing but respect for the other judges: Matty Burton, Jonathan Schoenberg, Cal McAllister, Mark Gallagher, Christopher Simmons, Steve Watson, David U.K., and David Bastedo.

Find out more about the 2007 Lotus Awards.

Flight 404
all manner of distractions

For years now I have followed the work of Robert Hodgin (Flight 404), but his somewhat recent shift to interactive art with Processing is amazing. Take the time to go through his blog, Flickr
page, and Vimeo page to see exactly what's possible with Processing.

Learn more about Processing with the book: Processing: A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists

Onesize :: 2007 Showreel

Onesize in The Netherlands continues to amaze me with their motion work.

Showreel 2007

Steps Behind "Meteor Road"

Ever now and then when I hit a creative block for a commercial project I have to close it down and design something purely for enjoyment.

Checkout the steps behind the design beginning with the original untouched photograph.

Also, while you're there take a while to browse through Behance's new creative network.

Wallpaper - Larger Than Life Art

Exposif Wallpapers, Collection I and II

"Maxalot showcases graphic design as a contemporary art-form inviting industry leaders, pioneers of graphic style and technique to exhibit in shows which are free from the boundaries of their client-work."

Thanks for the link jR.

Behance :: Make Ideas Happen
New Ezra Interview/Article

Behance is a company that publishes insights & tips on making ideas happen within the creative community, as well as makes amazing notebooks and productivity tools that I use on a daily basis. I can personally relate to their overall philosophy and approach to "productive creativity".

"Great achievement demands more than a great idea. "Creativity" is only one of the many components of "Productive Creativity." Our research has revealed the invaluable role of other components such as leadership capability, staying organized, community, accountability, and cross-pollination in making ideas happen."

Read:
Jonathan Moore: Interactive & Productive

Latest Interactive Design Inspiration

In the last week several new interactive sites launched that caught my eye.

• HBO | Voyeur
  Site by: Big Spaceship | BBDO NY
• Porsche: Best of all worlds.
• Nike Skateboarding
  Site by: Odopod
• XGAMES
  Site by: We Fail

Papervision3D Public Beta is Live!

The private beta for Papervision3D has finally moved to a full public beta. Finally there's a solid platform to deploy 3D objects and environments within Flash.

Now I just need to find an excuse to use it on an upcoming site.

Browse through the Papervision3D blog for examples and source code.

Audio Catharsis - Elijah James Shepard

On every project you always have the final details that give the work that "extra love". For the Lexus: LS Hybrid site the detail that tied everything together was the audio work by Elijah James Shepard, Director of Business Development at 2Advanced.  In addition to his role at 2Advanced he also composes and produces music for movies, media, audio identity, and online campaigns.

• Audio Catharsis
• Myspace - Audio Catharsis
• Myspace - Living Machine

CSS Techniques & Tricks from the Experts

Over the years building xhtml/css sites I've managed to pick up quite a few techniques and tips from various sites and authors. At one point once my blog is live I'll go in depth into techniques that I use, but for now here are a few links from several of the experts in the industry.

• Jonathan Snook - Top CSS Tips
• Left Justified - Global White Space Reset
• Well Styled - The Underscore Hack
• A List Apart - CSS Sprites
• Jlaine - Hidden CSS stuff: the
  outline property
• Position Is Everything - Easy
  Clearing

Royal Ontario Museum Extension & Other Inspiration Links

Architecture has always been a huge source of inspiration for me. The recent extension at the Royal Ontario Museum is absolutly amazing.
via The Cool Hunter

Ordinary Kids based in San Francisco just released an original effects reel.

Paint a Brahma bus. Great example of the Flash 3d framework Papervision3D by PARK Studio in Moscow and developer Den Ivanov.

Thank you 2Advanced.net for the hosting and serving up over 8Gb of traffic in the first three days after launch.

New Ezra v3 Launched

After allowing New Ezra to sit stagnant for years I decided it is finally time to show off all my recent work. In addition to showcasing my work as I stumble across anything that inspire me I will be regularly posting to this mini blog. For now you can read about me and see who inspires me.

Feel free to email me and tell me what you think - ping@newezra.com

Devoid of Yesterday - Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart

"Devoid is an arts based collective specializing in the creation of personal short film projects and not for profit commissions. … Devoid of Yesterday creates dark twisted narratives with flickers of hope that reflect the human nature of the artists.

Rob Chiu – Motion Director (The Ronin), Chris Hewitt – Motion Director (Dstrukt), and Ben Lukas Boysen – Audio Designer (Hecq).

Think Different: Apple & Contrarianism

"Contrarianism is the practice of resolving problems and developing new ideas by purposely thinking against the grain.

It makes perfect sense that anything new comes from a new perspective - one that is often different if not opposite from the existing perspective. Major advancements in any realm are unpopular, given the discomfort and ambiguities that accompany change. Contrarians are able to manage (if not embrace) the challenges that come along with change."

Behance: Make Ideas Happen.

Frameworks for Designers

A List Apart is featuring an excellent article from Jeff Croft on frameworks for designers

"Learn to harness the power of tools, libraries, conventions, and best practices to focus on what is unique about the project at hand."
Article: Frameworks for Designers