Somehow I’ve managed to pick up a bit where George left off and back into old ATLBMX territory.
Devon/Talem Weekend in Atlanta from Eric Stewart on Vimeo.
As usual h/t to DigBMX. I’m pretty sure Dig is a UK based magazine. Why am I getting updates about local riders from a UK mag? Because that’s just how the scene works here in the Dirty South. You have to go half way around the world just to find out what’s happening in your own back yard.
(h/t to DigBMX for this find.)
Imagine my surprise when I open up Google Reader this morning and see an entry for a “Devon Smillie Edit.” I’ve known D for years and used to announce shows for Board’n'Bike (and Boat, IIRC). The kid has been going OFF in the sports of BMX freestyle and skateboarding (and MX? I forget) since he was a wee lad. His improvement and development know no bounds. The kid is truly that good. Just watch the clip, you’ll see.
Devon Smillie from Eric Stewart on Vimeo.
Watching D ride makes me want to get on my bike. The kid has so much FUN! Riders like Devon make me forget how much disdain I have for the “culture” of the sport and remember how much love I have for riding little kid’s bikes. Devon recently had knee surgery but I hear he’s back in business and shredding again. Keep it up Boy Wonder! I look forward to seeing you on my television throwing down in some big comps real soon!
*BTW, I’m going to try to persuade George to post this as well. His tag cloud is so dominated by Devon’s name that it just wouldn’t be right for this one to slide by!
Last night I (finally) was able to attend an AWDG meetup down in the ATL. I’ve been wanting to attend one of their events forever but my schedule has never really worked out so well. Thankfully, due to some changes on my end, that tide has turned.
Last night’s talk was given by Jason Beaird, author of The Principles of Beautiful Web Design.
Jason had Keynote tied directly into his Twitter account which made note taking really easy. Overall it was an excellent presentation and really help light a fire in me. Recently my creative side has felt fairly non-existent. After last night’s presentation I feel like my cup runneth over. Here are some of the highlights from Jason’s Twitter stream:
-What is beautiful web design? I think of “fresh looking” websites that make use of layout, color, texture, type and imagery.
-Step 1. Gather Elements: Logo, Tagline, Main Nav, Content Elements, Footer, etc…
-Step 2. Establish Structure: Rule of thirds/Golden Ratio, typographic grid, or even the templates from http://960.gs
-Step 3. Choose imagery to support the content, colors based on proven color schemes, and appropriate typography.
-If you’ve followed design principles, color theory and made solid typography choices, you may end up with…a template.
-Sometimes you have to piss on the principles and add in individuality/creativity to generate a reaction
-“…I’ve always tried to get people to unlearn what they learned in school.” – Tibor Kalman
-Without knowing basic principles though, it possible for things to go very, very wrong…
-“Design depends largely on constraints.” – Charles Eames
-When you’re tasked to design a chair it HAS to work like a chair!
-Sometimes the constraint we’re after is a throwback to another era…
-“Creation is a patient search.” – Le Corbusier
-Inspiration from Art History ie. Bauhaus Design
-“Design is thinking made visual.” – Saul Bass
-Some say design is purely about artistic talent, that helps, but it’s also about thinking; Learning to distill ideas.
-Inspiration for websites doesn’t need to come from websites
-“You can have an art experience in front of a Rembrant…or in front of a piece of graphic design.” – Stefan Sagmeister
George has more or less capitalized on this topic already, but he’s been bugging me for my follow-up, so here goes…
A while back I setup, built, and kinda ran “Atlbmx.com” (I won’t bother making that a link, the domain is parked until it expires). Nowack had the idea and I had the know-how. We were all pretty surprised that the “scene” didn’t have a site by this point. After a few years, I understand entirely why it didn’t. George has this topic covered as well so I’m not going to go off on it again. Nutshell, the “scene” here in Atlanta can kiss my ass b/c the “scene” in general only seems to exist between people who want a “scene” to shill their product-of-the-week to.
I honestly wish Jason the best with AtlantaBMX.com. He is really trying to help this godforsaken “scene” actually become, well, in fact, a scene. His heart is in the right place and out of everyone I’ve met when I got back on my bike, he’s in that elite class of genuine folks who really love the sport and want to see it advance and flourish. (Even if he doesn’t always have brakes on his frame.) So, odinspeed my friend…
(more after the jump)