It’s inevitable; every designer does it at some point in their career.

They create something. They efficiently solve their design problem. Then, they later realize it looks almost exactly like something someone else hsd already done. Such was the case when I came up with the logo for my company in 2006. Yes, it was just different enough to serve its purpose, though a few industry friends always made it a point to never let me forget that I’m not in the high-end furniture industry.

Four years and several dead ends later, I’m proud to have a more unique nameplate, I was a little sad to push the Trebuchet font out the door for the far more common Futura, but overall, i think the new logo is a big improvement over the original.

Now, I just have to find out what to do with all those outdated business cards . . .

. . . in roughly 10 years (first from my iPad). I’m a bit rusty

As most of my friends know, I got an iPad.

Upon announcement of the device, I thought it was a pretty stupid product–simply an oversized iPod Touch with no excuse for omitting Java or Flash Player. Then I began to consider the possibility of it being a portable drawing tablet. I figured I’d get a Pogo Sketch stylus, try it out, and if it didn’t meet expectations I could sell it on eBay at a profit to someone in some foreign country still waiting for it.

After a week or so of using it, I must say I love the iPad. It’s replaced my iPhone in cases where I want to casually search online, and typing is much easier than I expected (though I miss the tab key), which has yielded the device to being an adequate and lightweight replacement for my laptop. I still think Apple’s blockade of Flash is childish, but you can’t win all the time. Onto the comparison!

Before I get into the pros and cons of the iPad, let’s look at the current options available for artists interested in illustrating digitally:

• PC tablets. Expect to drop a good $1,500 for a full-fledged computer here, not including software (I’m talking about stuff like the Dell XT2).
• Wacom tablets. I use mine every day, but there’s a slight disconnect between drawing on the tablet and following what’s on-screen.
• Wacom Cintiq. Yes, I’m spoiled, as I happen to have one of these. They are incredible, but not mobile–and not cheap ($2,000).
• Modbook. Turn your Mac into a Cintiq. Reviews have mentioned the performance to be slightly buggy, and again, it’s not cheap ($1000+ on top of the laptop cost).
• Mobile phones. A little too small of a screen for serious consideration, if you ask me.
• HP’s upcoming Slate or Microsoft’s upcoming Courier tablet. the key word here is “upcoming”. Sadly, these products might as well be vaporware until official release dates and prices are announced (I should probably mention that I’m skeptical of hardware in which the operating system wasn’t built from the ground up with touch and gestures in mind).

Screen comparison

For starters, the Cintiq is a resistive screen, whereas the iPad is a capacitive screen. Resistive screens recognize pressure, while capacitive screens register touch (unfortunately for us artists, capacitive is what’s “in” so our options will remain limited).

The winner? Cintiq by a mile. While using the iPad, I was easily frustrated with the bottom of my hand creating marks while I wanted to draw. I also found myself intuitively attempting to apply pressure as I drew, which, of course, didn’t matter with the iPad. Granted, the workaround is to continually modify stroke weights in conjunction with brush opacity, but it’s simply not on par with the Cintiq.

To the iPad’s defense, I will say that Apple typically chooses the best screens on the market (Samsung?) and is known for having some of the best capacitive screens.

Price

No brainer here. The iPad is much cheaper.

Stylus

You can draw with your finger on the iPad (but not the Cintiq), but regardless, drawing just feels more natural with a stylus. I went out and purchased the Pogo Sketch (slightly longer than the regular Pogo Stylus, since it’s for prolonged use) for use with the iPad. The tip of the stylus is much bigger than Wacom’s pen, and I believe this is due to the fact that the iPad requires a bigger imprint to register input.

I really didn’t like that Sketch on the iPhone, but it’s much better on the iPad (this may be due to the faster processor). Drawing requires more pressure than what feels natural, and I still don’t like how pressure can force the nub around (I’m always worried the aluminum will end up scratching the glass, though it never does). Unfortunately, unlike a Wacom pen, the Pogo cant have another tip on the opposite side that can be programmed as an eraser. In the end, it’s a workable device, though not as natural as the Wacom pen due to the thick tip.

Software

I’d actually call this a tie. The iPad doesn’t have Photoshop or Painter, but I’ve found Autodesk’s Sketchbook Pro ($8.99) to be a perfect substitute that can export layered PSDs. Of course, there’s also Brushes, as well as several other drawing apps available. I hope Adobe Ideas works in new features in the future, as it currently is the only iPad entry to allow for Flash-like vector drawing.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I’d disclaim to artists to not fool themselves into thinking that the iPad is a replacement for a Cintiq, but I’d definitely recommend the iPad as a drawing tool. Its portability paired with its affordable price eclipse its shortcomings, and despite some minor usability issues, the iPad has really impressed me as a drawing tool.

They give you a handy box for the four hardcover books you get with attending the seminar.

I recently attended Presenting Data and Information, a day-long seminar by Edward Tufte.

I suppose, for starters, that I’m rather surprised at how few people know who Tufte is. Of course, the ones that do recognize the name know him for his recent White House appointment, his distaste for PowerPoint, and his invention of Sparklines.

A common question I get from people after attending the seminar is “Was it worth it?” At $380 a pop, it’s definitely not cheap (add another $170 in train tickets for me on a sleep-deprived Friday), and judging from the number of attendees (estimating 400 at the NYC seminar), I wouldn’t be surprised if the pulled in a cozy six figures after expenses.

Sugarcoating aside, it’s a scheme to sell books (You receive four of Tufte’s books). Thing is, they’re four excellent books, and Tufte utilizes them as high-resolution graphics for his presentation. As soon as you sit down, you’re given a reading assignment–several pages and a few chapters–prior to the presentation beginning.

During the presentation, I found myself often looking up, expecting slide show images to accompany the topics, but often found that wasn’t the case. The epiphany for me, however, was the reminder that people do learn differently, and that a handout prior to any presentation allows students to absorb the material in a variety of ways. Tufte’s comment that people can read faster than you can speak somehow reminded me of my grad school days studying neurolinguistics.

I can't say I've ever had a bookcover autographed before.

I also collected a few new favorite quotes– “No matter how beautiful your interface is, it’d be more beautiful if there were less of it” and “Design is a resource problem, not a creative act“.

So, was it worth it? I’d say yes, though I must admit that I attended based on reputation and never picked up any of his books before. Of course, all of the material is pretty much in the books, anyway, So buying the books by themselves offers a much cheaper alternative.

It’s not a large exhibit, though I found the video worth watching–a rarity when it comes to me in museums. Yes, they have Bert, Ernie, and Rolf encased in glass. No, sadly, they don’t have Jennifer Connelly or David Bowie present (though I’ve been meaning to rent Labyrinth). Despite the “timed entry system” stated on the museum Website, they were pretty laid back.

I was most surprised by the fact that Jim Henson worked extensively in graphic design and advertising. Sadly, the YouTube video is gone, but I never knew that Cookie Monster got his start in a 1971 IBM training video (BoingBoing has a photo).

I figure I’d post this since I reached out to the Twitterati for reinforcement. I wanted to avoid the cliché of a red label and a character with horns, despite this being TorchBearer’s hottest sauce. Apparently my Twitter friends agreed, and I was able to convince the TorchBearer crew to go with something else.

As for the sauce itself, I have a bottle in my office, but haven’t touched it. Even I have limits

Okay, the kerning is off, but it’s still pretty cool.

During last month’s Central PA Tweetup I ran into a few friends that I hadn’t really seen since we were part of a group visiting Rome in 2002. The encounter reminded me of a Website of my Rome pictures I’d built shortly after the trip.

I posted the site to share the photos with friends (pre-Flickr, mind you), and I remember being scolded by people that were offended of a bunch of Penn State students hitting foreign bars so close to 9/11.

Apparently I’d taken the site down years ago, but I decided to restore it in its table layout, 800×600-supporting glory (you can check it out here).

The way I built the site and formatted the photos reminds me more of my age than any old picture of me ever would (Ugh, I’m getting old!).

Apparently, I failed to mention to a few people that I was in Colorado Springs for a week and a half. I was out there to assist on The Big Game class at Colorado College (think alternate reality game, not hunting elephants). Yes, it was cool.

I must say that I didn’t anticipate missing the Mrs. and the boy as much as I did, although I did have fun out there once I got over a temporary stomach bug. I took a brief trip to Denver to visit an old high school friend, and took a detour from the airport to spend roughly a half hour at Garden of the Gods (above). I wish I’d have had more time, as well as my tripod. Sigh.