deepContent.weblogThinking about this communication thing we do, and how to make it all work better, innit? <br><br> Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this weblog are solely those of the writer and are not in any way those of any firm or any other individuals that he may or may not have a working or other kind of relationship with in any way, shape or form.Pen Retail Catalog Appears.- December 12, 2002 A copy of a pen retailer&8217;s catalog appeared in the weekend issue of The Australian. It is produced by a shop in Adelaide called Pencraft, in Adelaide Arcade. &160; &160; &160; I remember the store from years ago, when I last passed through that odd little city. Tiny store, huge collection of stock, all pens and pen-related, back then, and by the evidence in the catalog still packed full, including lots of fountain pens of all brands and prices. The catalog has every major brand and...http://radio.weblogs.com/0100271/2002/12/12.html#a791 Internet Access Desperately Slow Today.- December 12, 2002 It is just millimetering along. It is not even inching. Can&8217;t collect email successfully, can&8217;t read the usual morning slew of web sites. The office ISP is iinet, a firm that is always having technical problems it seems.http://radio.weblogs.com/0100271/2002/12/12.html#a790 The Fountain Pen Saga: The Paper.- December 11, 2002 Most paper you buy now is either too absorbent, or too slick and waxy. That means you need to use really good fountain pen nibs, and good ink that does not feather and bleed. Otherwise your letters spread, or you can only write on one side of the paper. Wasteful. &160; &160; &160; Or you resort to ballpoints and produce unreadable scribble.http://radio.weblogs.com/0100271/2002/12/11.html#a789 How I Use Fountain Pens.- December 11, 2002 I write my first drafts in Jet Black, with a Sheaffer calligraphy fountain pen and fine nib, and then make my revisions in Peacock Blue using a fine or medium nib. Then I write the next draft on the computer, in BBEdit and then InDesign so I can see what the words will look like in print. &160; &160; &160; I write in black plastic-covered perfect-bound notebooks that I found in a little newsagent in Morley. I bought up all six that they had. There are none left, and I have not found any...http://radio.weblogs.com/0100271/2002/12/11.html#a788 New Ink From Slovenia.- December 11, 2002 Sheaffer&8217;s new ink is made in a factory in Slovenia. I have a number of cartridges of it, and it does work better on the same papers as the old ones. But enough of paying through the nose for cartridges. Too wasteful, too expensive. I just need a bottle at home, and one at the office. With cartridges on hand in case I run out on location.http://www.sheaffer.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?display=31 The Fountain Pen Saga: The Ink.- December 11, 2002 Plastic ink cartridges for fountain pens are becoming harder to find now. Those for my Rotring pens are almost impossible to locate anywhere. Sheaffer cartridges are a little easier to find, but there is limited choice in colours. You can have any colour so long as it is Blue. Or Jet Black. &160; &160; &160; I use Peacock Blue, for editing corrections because it stands out well, and Jet Black. Those shops that stock cartridges in their boxes of 6 have taken to selling cartridges separately,.http://radio.weblogs.com/0100271/2002/12/11.html#a786 The British Experience.- December 11, 2002 Britain is certainly not as design and art conscious as the French, the Germans and the Italians. And the best British designers generally do far more work for non-British clients than local ones. &160; &160; &160; But what really woke up the British business community to the need for quality design was an announcement by Thatcher in the 80s that there would be a design-led business recovery. And so there was. &160; &160; &160; Little Johnnie is hardly going to make the same kind of...http://radio.weblogs.com/0100271/2002/12/11.html#a785 Taking This Thing We Do To The Next Level.- December 11, 2002 Had a great meeting this morning with the principal of a design firm who wants to take things to the next level with his clients. He was wondering how to do that, and I hope I had some useful suggstions. &160; &160; &160; I have made a number of observations of how creatives are regarded, and how they work with their clients, in other cultures, and many of the lessons can be applied here. &160; &160; &160; The big point of difference though is that designers in Europe are to a large...http://radio.weblogs.com/0100271/2002/12/11.html#a784 Joe Clark Writes About Flash Accessibility.- December 10, 2002 Web accessibility expert Joe Clark has been interviewed about the current state of accessibility of Flash MX, by the people at Slashdot. Worth a read.http://interviews.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/12/09/1446221 |