Helvetica

Alright this is going to be a design related entry! Just like colours, every designer have their favourite font (typeface) YES! and more often than not you'll here most of them will scream


at your face. It is either that or Univers font type. I do not understand why on earth they would all go for something so erm boring not to mention almost 70% of the entire artist world would go for the same Helvet (talk about creativity). I prefer grunge and handwritten (non-script like fonts) I love messy I hate structured. And I never ever understood Helvetica until now...

Just as a few days ago, I come in posses of a documentary of helvetica. 90minute of pure solid documentary on Helvetica and after watching it I begin to get why people like Helvetica, Not because it is pretty or things like that, but it is very well structured, clean, organised. I am sure most would not believe the history of Helvet and like it because it is a social status that we infact are designers and we like Helvet.

This is the dvd video that I watched. Of course I only can watch on the computer because I did not actually buy the dvd :P It is too expensive for me.

What is so special about Helvet? I wish I could tell you but it is of course better that you get your eyes on the film about design and about font type. Of course I can tell you that This font is already 50 years old and it is still in the mouths of people.

One of the common problem is that people always mixed up arial and helvet. Yes friends, arial is a direct rip-off of helvet this is because helvet is too expensive and so microsoft decided to clone it and made it into arial which is well known till today

What is the difference between arial and helvet? Well it is really not that simple after all to tell the difference but if you look at some characteristic you'll notice the difference. Of simple difference is this...

Notice how the ends are all straight like cut off vertically on the helvet (black) and how arial's are slants most of the time? Yes that is the difference, as simple as that. Recently I notice more helvet on the street hmmmm. The signage that are on the roads are all helvets... cool

So what's the point of blogging this right? Haha I just express my feel towards a font that I misunderstood for a long time and now I begin to see the beauty side of it and am already using it, along with the http://johnin2008.wordpress.com pictures are all in helvet these few days... and will continue to put them in good use... long live helvetica?

I guess the bottom line why people like it is because it is very solid, standing firm, squarish if you want to call it or simply just stereotypically aesthetically beautiful. So are you're interested in this documentary?

Gong Hei!

Well CNY is just about 18 days away. Did a new header fo it. Took me quite a while as I have to recall the shape and size of the wordings. Chinese merosot ni :( But anyway Happy early CNY to everyone hahaha. I need more money this year.. ;)

Well like or dislike new header? sure like right right right???

Alright it is time to sleep already. Shoulder is healing but hope it can be better. Played 2 games of frisbee just now. Felt good. Feeling really low these few days. Hope the skies are clear tomorrow.

Meanwhile visit my other photoblog if you haven't already or have not been going. Leave comments there also la can http://johnin2008.wordpress.com Alright bedtime. Blog later see ya

e murdered

Ask any web developer... they'll come to hate e. particularly e6. it is completely ediot browsing experience. I got so much from clients because of what went wrong with e. So I took some time off from work and killed e. Will it die? nope there is still millions of es out there. I've killed mine. Hopefully the rest of the world will soon follow.

Designer Goods sheeesh

Seemed like I did not follow through the bracelet post. Well it is a watch. (For the benefit of those not in physically close to me). Yes so to answer all who questioned "WHY?" do I buy that watch.

1. It is reasonably priced.
2. It looks cooler.
3. I won't get rob because no one knows what the heck is that (even after the lights came on)
4. It stimulate brains to actually count it.
5. High chances you won't bum into another one.

Or simply the fact that it is a gizmo / designer goods that always hit my soft spot. Yes I do have weakness. But the other side of the coin, I actually own some exotic collection of products of handphone, watch, hair wax, etc... To quote someone "functionality if overrated" maybe... JUST maybe it is true...

For now, I am still debating about the camera that I have posted below. It is a true case of DESIGN (left) vs FUNTION (right) Well the difference is not that huge. Which would it be? Seemed like only Rach voted for sony. And the rest despise it. Let the battle follow through.

Eh discount la!

Malaysia is still far from our friends beyond this potato like boundaries. While several companies understands the importance of being different in terms of media marketing (like digi) Most company results in using the same old method and technique and wants it really really cheap.

I have worked for many clients now since started last year and there are a few which are really nice and good. While others still "eh discount la" "put my logo bigger" "MUST put my photo bigger" "har you mean you only do 10 pages for me?" Well there are extreme cases of the more I pay the more info I should put in. Even if it has nothing to do with the company

As far as the design is concern. I am still torn. I have been working abit too slow because I am torn really between being really MODERN and TRADITIONAL and it is hard. Most of my design is really modern, plain empty, and most importantly clean. Like this site. But usually, that will never be accepted in Malaysian market. Because "I pay so much you do so little?" The end result, my design ended up hybrid.

The fact is, we'll never be able to improve if we are looking at website is simply just another flyer in one of the many flyers that goes out every year. Well if companies are still looking at website as a flyer, it will end up where normal flyer does - the bin.





and we laugh at Singaporeans being kiasu. HAH!

A lil something something

Well. I didn't realise that my header was gone for a few days. See I don't even have time to look at my blog so sorry if I didn't manage to stop by yours. Gomennasai.

So what to do when your header is like gone? Make a new one. HEHE. Well this is what I wanted anyway, updating new header like every month. So, here it is. Since many of you didn't have the opportunity to see Bali (Not that I show you my pics) I'll post some of the best shots that I've taken. Many of which was shocking to me as well.

This pic wasn't taken in a well lighted situation, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to take a snap at her. What she's playing is actually like mud beside the beach. The water that she's on, came from a big drain I spose was from either the city or the mountain area and its flowing into the ocean. It is one of the dirtiest beach in where she played on. Yet as young as she is, She seems to be fascinated by the ps3, xbox, cheap cellphones mud.

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I finally finished Chin Hoe's website, after a struggling time of PHP and CSS until I mad, plus I wasn't really free this entire few months. Just go over to www.magicgarage.org

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I bought really a lot of stuff this month and I am totally broke, because I just pay back church camp which they did gave me a hundred rebate because of my last minute action and really late payment etc... So long story short, I got extra RM100 to shop save

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I bought a few neon tetras and 2 orange fish for my tank and boy I regretted immediately. I wish I would stick to my poor little John who don't mind being alone and sad. Now I am getting dizzy over few steroided high fish who won't stop to breathe! UH... poor John. He don't like company. I am sorry.

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-End-

Elluminate 2.0

So it is finally up after such a long time of wanting to upgrade it. Initially was thinking of getting a own domain and hosting like www.johntanyuehan.com but then to think twice since Blogger can do it for me for the price of 0 (except when it comes to time then different story).

Sure it is still very rigid and not much freedom in design. I spent like few days meddling here and there just few minutes actually hours and bam here's what I want. Although much more stuff should be in there like RSS feed and Del.icio.us bookmarks, but who the hack knows how to use it (yet).

How you like the new look? give some comments... =) and do I really need a chat box hur it'll make it look uncool, so just show some LOVE to me alright? click on the love-o-meter down there =) and sorry about my top picture, will change it once I shoot better ones ;) or donate some nice interesting pictures if you have. Just Kidding. Need to get back to my good old flim print!

Right, I got to go catch some sleep hopefully and get done with CHINHOE's website asap! mm maybe after adding flickr to my site

updates: sorry internet explorer fans, bare with me, seems like they don't very much like CSS very much, they sucked.