NEWS+BLOG

Graphics designers are constantly on the look out for fresh sources of inspiration. It can get frustrating as your mind goes blank and you see the same shape over and over again. Help is at hand with this beautiful book. Geometric is a unique pattern resource book with 264 colour and monochrome patterns. The book comes with CD loaded up with 100 pattern fonts. They claim it’s the most extensive collection available. Pattern fonts let you use patterns in a variety of media quickly - ‘as easy as typing’ according to the makers. You can have a look at more patterns and order online here. http://kapitza.com/shop/geometric-book

The situation: the batteries in your remote mouse have gone flat - you’re feeling stressed and under pressure. What can you do? There is now a simple solution to both problems. Designer Jiang Qian has created Roll Chargers. They’re a 21st centruy version of traditional Chinese Baoding balls that stimulate acupressure points in the fingers when you roll them in your hands. The balls still do that, but while you do it, the kinetic energy generated by the friction with your hand recharges a battery inside. As you use two balls at a time, you can recharge two batteries. No word as yet on when they’ll be available to buy or, more importantly, how much finger work is required to recharge a battery.

If you’re looking for some small and functional icons to give a bit of flair to a website, it can be annoying difficult process to track down ones you like and can afford. Fortunately one designer blogger has kind put together a list of 15 sets of great web icons with the relevant links. They’re not all free, but there’s some cute stuff in there. Sweet graphic design tools.

http://www.designer-daily.com/15-wonderful-set-of-icons-for-web-design-2191

Are you a complete adobephile? Do you LOVE your design software so much you want to sleep with it? Well now you can. The Abode Creative Suite software icons have been converted into pillows. Like the software you can buy individual icon pillows or buy the full suite. OK it does turn your home or office into an advertising space, but there is something cute about them - they make better cushions than icons. You can buy here, but they are still internationashipping. http://www.mysuitestuff.com/

So now, email marketing campaigns dispatched using the sanscode emailer module will display not only open and click reports but a whole suite of there metrics such as:

• Total Opens
• Total Click thrus
• Email Browser
• Web Browser &
• Unsubscribes

One of the great benefits of the sanscode emailer module is that there are no per email costs. The emailer module utilises your hosting plans bandwidth thus provided you have a high enough monthly allowance there is no additional cost for dispatching email marketing campaigns directly from your website.

If you think you’ve got the hang of html emails and a range of advanced email marketing strategies, you may soon be dealing with yesterday’s technology. According to Don Tapscott, the author of Wikinomics and The Digital Technology, Gen Y (that’s the 11 to 30 year old bright sparks) sees email as ‘good for sending a thank you letter to an aunt but not much else’. Pure content website are also destined for the scrap heap as ‘the internet is increasingly about building community, not providing content - it offers a way for people to self-organise to create communities.’ Still for those who are exhausted at the thought of having to catch up with even more new technology, these predictions could well go the same way as the infamous paperless office prediction.

In a proud association, CDW are pleased to announce the launch of the new Twenty10.org.au website.

Twenty 10 is a community based, non profit state-wide organisation. Their mission is to provide and promote opportunities, choices and support to young people (under 26) who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, same-sex attracted and/or gender questioning, their families and communities.

Powered by our sanscode CMS, the twenty10.org.au website is a hub of information and services for young people and their families.

As Twenty10 say, whether you are a young person, a parent or a support worker, we hope you find in this site the information you need. It is great to have you visit.

Yesterday we put the finishing touches to a facelift on one of our largest and most successful web projects, indesignlive.com

With a nip and a tuck, the new face of indesignlive.com brings together a refined front end and a number of backend refinements and enhancements.

New features include site wide comments, an upgraded events calendar and a new section, indesign tv.

The first of a large number of Australian Exhibitions & Conferences (AEC) website to be powered by our sanscode has been launched.

Furnitex.com.au is the home of the annual Furnitex Trade Fair.

Co-located with DECORATION + DESIGN Melbourne return from 16-19 July 2009 where more than 600 key industry manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and suppliers will display the latest and best of Australian furniture & furnishings.

The Fair will also be a key satellite event of the State of Design Festival, incorporating more than 30 design events in & around Melbourne and regional Victoria. Find out more www.stateofdesign.com.au

Developed using our sanscode CMS, the AEC family of websites, to be rolled out over the next few months, will provide AEC with an extensible platform within which to tailor and maintain each of the various event microsites.

Stay tuned for further announcements as new AEC microsites are launched.

Our love of good design has lead us to partner with and sponsor the Victorian Governments, State of Design festival, to be held during July this year.

State of Design Festival is an initiative of the Victorian State Government in Australia and is the public face of the Design Victoria Strategy.

Established in 2004, the Festival has had three editions - 2004, 2006 and 2008. Starting in 2009, the Festival is now an annual event. Australian Exhibitions & Conferences Pty Ltd has the contract to run State of Design Festival for three years. This will be achieved working with Studio Propeller under a joint venture agreement as the State of Design Alliance.

State of Design Festival increases the awareness of the value of design and showcases how design generates innovation, promotes sustainability and adds value to business and society. Festival programs demonstrate and broadly communicate how the Victorian and Australian design profession can improve living conditions, create sustainable development opportunities, and generate new and innovative products and services; in turn, providing economic benefit for the state of Victoria.

The Festival seeks to articulate how design holds the potential to lead the parallel trajectories of business, industry and society towards a common future. By communicating to Australian and international audiences, the Festival promotes a deeper understanding of design capability and value.

The 2009 State of Design Festival will take place in mid - July throughout metropolitan Melbourne, and regional centres around Victoria.

More than 100,000 people are expected to experience one or more of the 75 events across the Festival's four main programs: Design Capital, Design for Everyone, Design:Made & the Premiers Design Awards.

As part of our sponsorship of the 2009 State of Design festival we have just launched the new Festival website: http://www.stateofdesign.com.au which is powered by our sanscode CMS.

With a number of customised modules such as dynamic ticketing, event bookmarking and more, the State of Design website both beautiful and functional.

Kudos to QubeKonstrukt on the design of this great site.