LINK: A cause worth noting, let's get to work designers

From the site:

If you were given $200 to help lift yourself and your family out of poverty, how would you do it? In some developing world communities in Latin America, Africa and Asia, a loan as small as $200 can empower a woman to become an entrepreneur so that she can change her own life. Whole Planet Foundation funds poverty alleviation through microcredit in communities where Whole Foods Market sources products. The foundation has committed $26.5 million and supports more than a million people in 50 countries worldwide.

Create a design for a Whole Planet Foundation t-shirt that brings attention not only to the issue of global poverty, but also to the entrepreneurs who are lifting themselves out of poverty through their own energy, work and creativity. For inspiration, check out stories from some of the 199,659 microcredit clients who Whole Planet Foundation supports. The chosen design will be sold on Threadless, with a portion of the sales supporting these amazing entrepreneurs, and the chosen designer will get to travel abroad with Intrepid Travel!

Awesomely done Game of Thrones valentine cards created for your pleasure by Washington DC based artist, illustrator & PBS KIDS Creative Director Chris Bishop.

It's ADVENTURE TIME! Join Finn the Human, Jake the Dog, and Princess Bubblegum for all-new adventures through The Land of Ooo. The top-rated Cartoon Network show now has its own comic book!

Do you love Adventure Time? 'cause you should. It's rad.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, a comic book can be newsworthy. Thank you. - TPE

Using scientific proof and state-of-the-art multimedia techniques, Aaron James Draplin of the Draplin Design Co. delivers a sucker punch of a talk that aims to provide bona fide proof of work, the highs and lows of a ferociously independent existence and a couple of tall tales from his so-called career in the cutthroat world of contemporary graphic design. Just a regular guy with a trajectory a little dirtier than yours, his talk is open to all oncomers brave enough to show up. If you are a youngster, you may find yourself inspired to attack your design future in a different way. If you are established, you may just leave feeling grateful you don't have anything to do with him. Hard to say. One night only, Phoenix!

Thursday, February 9, 2012 7 pm - 9 pm
ASU Campus, Business Administration C Wing, Room 216
Tempe, AZ

MORE INFO: http://arizona.aiga.org/events/

Thanks for the heads up @phxdc !

WHUDAT has conveniently given us access to all the commercials set to air during the 2012 Super Bowl.

I'm not sure how I feel about this given that watching the commercials is a major part of my Super Bowl viewing pleasure, especially when my beloved Arizona Cardinals aren't in the big game. Either way, here they are:

ENJOY!

By the way...what are your Super Bowl plans?

Jamel Singleton is a print, web and UX designer for a nimble, rising star in the consumer software industry. He describes himself as a gadget enthusiast who spends most of his free time playing video games, blogging and tweeting about gadgets, tech and entertainment.

Jamel has been a valley resident for over 15 years, this plus his awesome skill set qualifies him to be the very first Twitterview of 2012.

Without further adieu.....

TPE: What do you say was the biggest push into your current field? Did you set off to be a designer?

Jamel: The rise of mobile computing and apps had a big impact on my career. About 2 years ago I became keenly aware that I needed to know more about app design if I was going to continue designing in the digital space. I went to work researching and reading up on UX design and became more involved in user testing and surveys at work. A year later my growing interest in UX lead to my current position at a software consulting firm.

I fell into graphic design randomly, my degree is in computer animation but the field for 3D artists in AZ is limited at best. I’d been working at print shops while applying for 3D jobs and one day by chance, I ran into a friend from school who was working for a small agency. They’d been looking for a production artist and I applied, figuring it could be a temporary upgrade and pay bump from the print shop. As it turned out though, I grew to love design and have never looked back.

TPE: Along with design and UX you were involved with a film production at one point?

Jamel: Yes, I’ve always had an interest in video and film production, in fact for a long while I was leaning toward a career in the film industry instead of design. Several years back I joined a friend in a film production venture called Man on the Run Productions. We shot and produced video for a few small events and most notably I was Director of Photography on the two sequels to a film he’d shot prior to me joining the company. ‘The Road Less Traveled 2: Path not Taken’ and ‘The Road Less Traveled 3: Vanishing point’.

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In the video below, Ray Frenden captures his technique and shows us all how illustration is done today.

Take notes kiddies, Ray is constantly creating. When he's not illustrating digitally he's doing it the old-fashioned way, with quills he crafts by hand from the feathers of chickens he raises. (it's true, check the blog)

Website: http://www.frenden.com

Happy surfing and happy Monday.