unbornink.com

Student Nation – Dashboard

unbornink — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 23:09:14 +0000

I’ve been wanting to try some UI design for a while but could never think of anything to base it on. However, recently it occurred to me, why don’t I just use an old project?

I decided that the most interesting project I could use would be that of Student Nation, a student portal that offers competitions to win great prizes. I’m still working through some ideas, and I’ll keep this post updated with any updated progress…

A New Superhero…

unbornink — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:57:13 +0000

The first sketches of my first superhero, keep a watch here to see how this progresses.

Oh any name suggestions?

William Fitzsimmons – Passion Play

unbornink — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:53:04 +0000

My new favorite song…

Own a Colour

unbornink — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:11:16 +0000

So UNICEF have teamed up with Dulux and creative agency Feed, to creative an interesting site where you are able to ‘own’ a colour. There are 16.7 million colours to choose from, and for as little as £1, it’s yours. All contributions go to UNICEF to help aid children across the world.They have raised $161,902 so far, and you could help increase that value.

I’ve made my donation and claimed Unbornink’s purple – See my colour, so what colour would you want to own?

Go on, own your colour!

Bon Iver – Beth/Rest

unbornink — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:42:22 +0000

I haven’t been able to stop playing this song at the moment….in fact most of Bon Iver’s Discography. Such a beautiful sound, so I though I would share it with you.
The videos suit each song perfectly, check them out if you haven’t heard of them already, I can’t wait for more from these guys.

Drawing on myself

unbornink — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:54:40 +0000

I’ve been wanting to get a sleeve tattoo for some time now, and after multiple friends beating me to it, I decided it was time to do something. Going back through the ideas and designs I had previously wanted, removing and adding new bits, I think I might have got something I’ll get inked!

I’ve yet to attempt to actually draw on myself, as this I’m sure will have a bad end result! But the sketches are coming along nicely. Check out the pictures to see how it’s going.

“Si Amas Quam, Sine Eam Liberam Esse” – Latin for “If you love something, set it free” which is from the proverb “If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was”

John Lewis Christmas Advert

unbornink — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:36:00 +0000

I think this has to be my favourite Christmas advert this year. Love the original song by The Smiths and think Slow Moving Millie’s cover works perfectly for this video. Fantastic idea behind the advert too.

Finding the time to design

unbornink — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:01:31 +0000

For my New Year’s resolution, I’ve decided to use more of my spare time freelancing, and less time procrastinating on sites such as Facebook, Twitter or the infamous 9gag. So to kick it off, my portfolio site has been refreshed and updated, and I’ve incorporated this simple blog.

That was the easy bit…now it’s time to get promoting!

Here is where I struggle, sending out links to friends and family on social networking sites only gets you so far, and only so much extra income because they’re all after ‘mate’s rates’. Spreading your new site amongst other designers brings critique and reviews, so that leaves it down to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and possibly a few flyers through doors.
My first step was to optimise my site with the correct title tags, meta tags and alt text for images. Again none of this is really to time consuming until it came to back links and content. Getting links will *fingers crossed* grow over time, but I need the articles and relevant content for people to link to.

I’ve never been a great writer, so the thought of having to write various articles 2-4 times a week sounds like a chore. What do I write about? Design? websites? typography? best practises? And where do I find the time to write all of these articles?
But the real question is, in-between my day job and writing this content, how will I find the time to design anything?
I will admit, I’m pretty new to SEO and blogging, so I’m hoping overtime and a little more practice it will become easier, but right now I’m heading back to my beloved Photoshop.

Any tips or suggestions? Share your thoughts below.

Misletoe

unbornink — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:35:12 +0000

A beautiful piece of Christmas typography that I stumbled across from Design Work Life. Maybe I’ll think of something like this for next years Christmas cards!

Bedroom

unbornink — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:16:38 +0000

I want this bedroom, just for the exposed brick work!