Those of you who follow my blog know that I am completing a Bachelor degree in Communication Design, focusing in Web Design and Advertising. I've met some awesome people along the way that I feel are destined for great things.

We are all designers with experiences ranging from vast to none at all. When I started designing websites 8 years ago, I was nowhere near as good as most of these people. Here are some examples of websites from friends of mine. Note: They are still works in progress.

Be Happy Bella - is a website dedicated to the Twilight Saga, and everything about it. You will find everything from summaries of the books, character bios, photo gallery, and so forth. Tons of work went into the making of this website, by someone very passionate.

Road Trip USA 2009 - documents an American Cross Country with a Toyota Prius. It features all the information you would need, including but not limited to gas prices, camping grounds, places to visit, and more!

Toned Physique - This website is dedicated to nutrition, exercise, and straying healthy altogether. It is still in its early stages of development for the time being. It will feature guides on exercising, eating right, and so forth.

Web designers, what are some of your experiences when you first started creating websites? Please share your examples and thoughts in the comments. 🙂

Spontaneity is a human characteristic that is unlike any other. The things that come out of spontaneity are, well... downright amazing. Some of the best ideas in the world (whatever they are) were sprung up this way, and that's a fact whether or not I prove it to you.

Impulse Wave is going to be a new series of posts based on impulse discussions, thoughts, ideas, and so forth. I am positive that this is going to be an interesting series, provided new installments get posted regularly. This series is going to require your feedback, so make sure you keep up by subscribing to the feed.

Style and Organization: Since a lot of the content for this series will come from text-based discussions, there will be excerpts posted from the dialogues. I am also considering posting full conversations (edited, of course) so you don't miss any juicy details... and the drama.

User contribution: This series will be the first to invite the public (that's right, you!) to participate. If you want to share your thoughts, email me. I'm waiting.

A friend and I were talking about how busy we were with finding jobs and finishing college, when he mentioned buying time with a Credit Card. I thought to myself, "that would be absolutely fantastic! ...or would it?"

Imagine what life would be like if time could be charged on credit. Some would have tons of time to do anything, while others would be falling behind on everything - all depending on their credit scores. Those will good credit history (aka productive time management) could buy more time to do whatever they wished.

Let's be real for a minute and consider what "buying time" is really like in the world of flesh and blood. You're probably thinking it all depends on what you need time for. Certainly, finding time to acquire a Master's degree is different from getting an extra hour or two of sleep at night. To me, time is something we mold and sculpt to fit our lifestyles. We each have different likes, dislikes, ambitions, and plans for the future - including exactly how we're going to get there.

How do you price time and at what cost do you buy it? I heavily invest into my future. For better or for worse, I don't rush things and take things very easily. I often fall behind on accomplishing things, because of... you guessed it... time. I have plans to take over the world, but I just can't afford the time, you know? Maybe I should up the credit line on my credit card.

Moral of the day: Time is responsible for our past, present and future. Befriend him and learn to play nice. Find your style of how you buy and spend time, get comfy, and set some goals.

A few weeks ago I learned that Adobe Flash CS5 will have the functionality to create native iPhone applications. I thought to myself, "Holy cow, this will allow anyone who knows Flash to create iPhone apps!" I've always wanted to make iPhone apps but the lack of Objective-C programming skills prevented me from doing so.

If Flash CS5's iPhone application authoring does what it promises, the future of app development is in for treat. This means that anybody with ActionScript skills can make iPhone apps/games. The average user will become the "average developer" very quickly. It appears that this will erase the dividing line between design/development professionals and the average Joe.

Click here to view the Adobe Labs page for iPhone Apps.

Despite the high chance of crap-output from developer-wannabes, this will  give people an opportunity to create quality products. From what Adobe Labs has shown so far, it proves that this model works. In the meantime, I'll be boosting my ActionScript 3 skills, learning to make some awesome apps.

Feedback: Does this make you want to develop for the iPhone, or will this saturate the App Store with even more fart apps?

It's been confirmed that the latest OS X 10.6.2 build nixes support for Atom processors. This means (for now) that you won't be able to update your OS and continue running your Hackintosh Netbook. Apple's fight to keep iTunes exclusive to products whose names start with an "i" has been strong (read: palm pre).

Apple hasn't had a problem with supporting the Atom processors, but all of a sudden they're picky about it. To me, this can only mean one thing - Apple's shutting out competition. I think they're cooking something up of their own that might be a little "Netbookish." Some rumors say that they're building a device that will completely change the way we consume media on the go.

Something like this is probably since Apple has a history of reinventing existing products and concepts -- iPhone, Mac mini, Mighty Mouse, iMac, Unibody Macbooks, etc. They also have a history of being involved in media consumption with iTunes music, movies, and TV shows. Books and magazines, with an eBook reader of their own, may be a logical target. Would you be interested in a revolutionary $599 iReader?

What is it about some people that just don't understand things? No matter what you tell them, regardless of how hard you try to get something through to them, nothing works. For years, I have been dealing with these kinds of people - primarily my immediate family members.

Everybody has an ego of their own. Everyone knows better than the other. There is rarely ever any order when it comes to settling something, no matter what it is. Some things have to do with (apparently) uncontrollable habits, if I may even call it that. Even when dealing with the smallest and the most mundane things, arguments have to break out which lead into further problems.

If they were just a little more considerate of the people living around them, things might be somewhat different. How hard is it to keep the mosquito net up when opening windows? How hard is it to not "clean" someone else's things because it appears to be unorganized? There is no such thing as setting boundaries with these people. My property. Your property. Understood?

I don't want to sound like I am blowing steam out of my ears, but after years of constant reptition, it will get to anyone. I just wish that a great opportunity comes along sometime soon that will earn me my ticket out of here. I don't know, maybe it's just me who is incompatible with this type of lifestyle.

A few months ago, I got into a discussion with a friend about working out and exercising. Neither of us are pros, but I have a considerable amount of knowledge about workout techniques and exercise in general. I used to work with a Professional Fitness Model who knew virtually everything there is to know about working out, getting in shape, nutrition, and so forth.

On top of the endless conversations I've had with her (the fitness model), I received many tips and was shown how to achieve the best results with various exercises. I understand that credibility is extremely important when it comes to giving instructions. As Humans, our egos are responsible for making sure that we are not outdone by an inferior subject. We tear apart and break down anyone who claims something  in which they have no apparent credibility.

What I am getting at is that, to my friend, my above-average knowledge of working out and exercising is rendered useless. I am not a licensed trainer, and I don't have the physique to compliment the knowledge. Does that mean that my word (aka advice, suggestions, etc) cannot be trusted? After the days of combined online research, professional guidance, and the months spent at the gym, would one still rather hear it from a licensed professional?

Credibility is believability. In cases such as this, your word may not be as worthy as that of an actual professional, regardless of where or how you acquired your knowledge/experience. Why is something like this so complex? Just because I don't have Arnold's body doesn't mean I know any less than he does. If Socrates personally asked me to spread his words of wisdom to others, would people believe it coming from me?

By now, you have probably heard all you think you need to know about Twitter, and you either love it, or hate it. There are a million and one ways of approaching and using a service like Twitter. Some of the obvious ones are:

1. Staying in touch and up to date the minute with your friends
2. Following big-time celebrities like Oprah, Jimmy Fallon, Al Gore, Britney Spears, and you name 'em!
3. Keeping up with the news way faster than traditional print and TV media (ie; Iran Elections).

What I'm trying to get at is that Twitter is a lot more than what the average person thinks it is. It is not only a social networking service, but a tool for business, professional networking, resource mining, and virtually endless knowledge.

Since I am in the Graphic and Web Design field, I will be talking about its relationship with Twitter and all of its benefits. More after the jump...

I know it's nice and all for companies to create unique and catchy ads, but what the heck was Palm thinking? They're pulling the same crap Sony pulled a while back with its PS3 ads. They didn't make sense! They were strange, confusing, and made you go "WTF?" Palm was taking notes... unfortunately:

I'll leave it up to you to check out the rest after this one.

I understand what these ads are mean, and what they're supposed to do, but I completely HATE them! Her voice is just traumatizing and lures you in for a few seconds, only to make you say "Uhhhh..... Palm Pre?"

To Ad Agencies: We all love unique and original ads, but stick with trying to surprise us in ways we enjoy. Kthnxbai.

Design is something that lives off the thoughts and ideas we develop from a multitude of inspirational sources. These sources include but are not limited to nature, product design, print materials, motion special effects, and so forth.

Whether you're into web design, print design, or both, collecting and storing inspirational pieces of work are essential. Browser bookmarks can be used to save website links for future gazing, while print samples can be stored inside a folder/drawer for easy access.

Some may look at this as cheating and being unoriginal, but design it is all about forming new ideas from the things we like and the things that inspire us. Some of the most creative works out in the wild have clear representations of where the concept and visual execution ideas came from.

Bonus Tip: If you have a camera phone, use it to capture inspiration. It's fast, and easier to store than having a physical sample. Have a digital folder for storing all the snapshots.