Adventures in Design...

I need a “go bag”

Nour Malaeb — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:31:34 +0000

I often find myself unprepared for a situation. I can’t think of a better way to put it. I’ll want to take a picture, write something down, sketch an idea, or just kill time, and all I have on me are my keys, wallet, and cell phone. I need a go bag for my gear.

My friend Adam swears by his Chrome messenger bag (well, he really likes it). But the price turns me off… $135 can get you a lot of other nice stuff…

Maybe I’m just being a tightwad. But I want to make a project out of this. I’m thinking of designing and making my own bag, tailored to suit my needs. If anything, it’ll be a fun sketch project. I’ve never really sketched bags… unless you count that one intro project… but we don’t talk about that……..

Work in progress: The history of pixel art.

Nour Malaeb — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:11:55 +0000

For my online 20th Century Art History course, I decided to write a research paper on pixel art. I’ve already mentioned my love of pixel art on here. I thought it would be a good learning and discovery process for me. Then my professor reminded me of one limitation: my paper had to focus on pixel art of the 20th century. So I tried to constrain my research to this era.

Here’s what I’m going to focus on:

Pixel art “predecessors” such as mosaics, pointillism, Van Gogh…
Introduction of GUI and bitmap technology.
The icon designs of Susan Kare for the Mac OS.
Video game sprites.
The return to pixel art despite advancements in display technology — celebrating the pixel
Traditional media art that imitates computers.

I’m writing my first draft, due Sunday. So far, it’s a jumbled mess of thoughts typed out rapidly. We’ll see how it goes.

Wordpress 2.5

Nour Malaeb — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 03:02:30 +0000

Just upgraded to Wordpress 2.5 after putting it off for a week or so. I kinda like the new look of the dashboard.

My “crib” - pictures of my apartment

Nour Malaeb — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:03:30 +0000

Due to popular demand, here are a bunch of pictures of my tiny — but charming — one-bedroom apartment.

Marc Jacobs wacky heels

Nour Malaeb — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:58:48 +0000

I usually could care less about the fashion scene, but my girlfriend showed me these really wacky heels by Marc Jacobs. They’re clever is all I can say.

Paper Wallet redux

Nour Malaeb — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 02:52:22 +0000

My first paper wallet fell apart after a week of use. Let’s just say I’m pretty hard on my wallets. So I found some heavy vellum and made a second one. The idea was that since vellum is almost transparent when it’s pressed against something, I would have no need for an ID window. Alas, it didn’t work as well as I thought it would, but it’s still a really sweet wallet.

It seems very durable. It’s lasted over a week and it’s still got very crisp corners and creases. And the fold is springy, it always wants to stay shut. Very nice.

How I remember to shave in the morning

Nour Malaeb — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:59:01 +0000

How many times have you told yourself at night, right before you go to bed, “I really need to shave tomorrow, my beard is getting scraggly”, and then completely forgotten to shave until you’re on the way to work? For me, that happens a few times a week. So I came up with a little trick to help me remember to shave. I don’t know if anyone else does this, but my trick is to shave half of my moustache off the night before. That way, when I brush my teeth in the morning, I’ll remember that I need to shave.

Why not shave completely the night before? Well, I use an electric razor, and hair gets everywhere, so I like to shower right after the shave. And I shower in the mornings.

Designer Handwriting on core77.com

Nour Malaeb — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:02:13 +0000

A cool discussion on the core77 forums about designer handwriting. Here’s my sample:

Paper Wallet

Nour Malaeb — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 02:13:45 +0000

I made a paper wallet by following this instructable. It’s super compact; it’s full of stuff, and it’s as thin as my old wallet empty. I’m going to make a more durable version out of tyvek or vinyl or something.

And I got a new faceplate for my phone. The old one was cracked vertically down the middle.

And here’s a picture of Luba as an added bonus:

My cat is awesome

Nour Malaeb — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:05:19 +0000

A few weeks ago, I adopted a kitten named Luba. She is awesome. She makes noises like an Ewok and has fits of energy where she’s literally bouncing off the walls. And she plays Monopoly.