In western cultures, our time is counted and comprehended by the number of hours spent. The main focus is to spend the minimal possible hours into the most profitable options.

However, this idea of time usage lacks focus on the experience itself, and the end result is the lack of self built knowledge. So, today, I want to ask you to seize the moment, enjoy it and learn with it.

First let’s not misunderstand what “seize the moment” is. Is to understand the flow of life and take the right actions at the right time lapses. You need to plan really well when to do things, and to really dedicate observation to these times. My own example: I was working on my project for the PBL competion, and I am a heavy night worker, so to work at the project nighr att time and attend class daytime, was a pain. So, I started paying attention to myself, learning more about myself, to seize the right moments to work on my project. If I couldn’t get to the computer I would write it down and put all the creative juices on the paper, so later at night, I had these hundreds of notes with ideas and plans…. Also, to seize the moment, I had learn to listen and see signals in a deeper level, from myself and from people around me.

These signals helped me build better relationships, business, jobs, and projects, because I’ve understood my body, mind and self, and their individual needs. In the end I got calmer, less anxious, healthier and kinder, because I was flowing with life and learning to win with it, and not spending energy to go against life. I won a third place national in the competition and I was full with joy.

Here my five secret tips to seize the moment:

1. Learn to feel:

By feeling things, I mean to active perceive the signals our body, people and the environment send us. Understanding and listening are the key factors here, because you need to perceive and to fully comprehend the flow of life.

2. Decode the signals

If you pay attention to the signals, seizing the right moments become easy. Example: how to know when someone is bored at your talking? Just look at their eyes! Decoding the signals will help you to seize the moment to ask for a increase in the salary or to find the right time to talk with the boss about that day off…

3. Flow with it

We waste a lot of time, energy, mental process, and money being stubborn. The world isn’t always going the direction we want, so we have to learn to adjust our sails and wings, to flow with whatever opportunities are given to us. When you learn to feel and decode the signals, you will easily flow with life and everything will be easier.

4. Cultivate a grateful mind

Flowing with life isn’t just enough, to seize moment you have to grateful for whatever situation you are in. A grateful mind doesn’t resist the flow, doesn’t waste time complaining about difficult times, but it sees every second as a chance to perfect character and moral values.

5. Enjoy life

Take little moments only to enjoy the beauty and greatness of life and nature. The rain, the sun, the air, your healthy body, take moments only to perceive how your life is important, great and full of joy. Also take these moments to give joy to other people’s lives… Be an agent of greater good and spread words, feelings, and anything you can, spread the love of being a human and living in society.

Finally understand that you have a deep connection with your environment, and the society you live in. Also, understand that no matter how small, simple and easy your job is, it still is part of the construction of the universe.

Campus Party Special: Between 6k attendees, we get news from the Brazilian Telecoms. A device called Orby intends to be the center of digital home, with a possible Orby Store, and intercommunication with other devices is the promise from Telefonica Group to a easier digital life.

We have called the iPhone for your house, read more about what Orby can do for you.

What is Orby?

The fourth screen for our lives. This device integrates calls, text messages, videos, online portals, and apps. The Telefonica group will launch a ORBY STORE, the cost is 1.799, or US$1k. Sounds like an iPhone for substituting the old home phone.

The hardware

A Intel atom of 1.1ghz, 512mb DDR2 Ram, 2gb of storage, stereo sound, touchscreen, and Ubuntu, with open frame plataform and a reduced flash version, called tango, with AS3.
To develop any app, you will need Flash Cs4 and the Open Peak SDK. This framework gives documentation, libs, and built in components, but there is no full browsing yet. A browser app would be very welcome.

The developing process

The SDK is very simple, with glossy iPhone buttons. The interface mixes the aqua version for Mac OSX, with gradients, and nice  big buttons are helpful for the touchscreen system.
The maximum resolution is 800X410 px, there is a irremovable ribbon at the top.
The development is easy if you understand flash, and have developed RIA before. It can get a bit confusing since it doesn’t offer a native environment, and you have to play between the SDK, Flash,and Dreamweaver.

What is the future for Orby?

The fourth screen is really something big in the future. But its flash interface is dubious. We might see the fourth screen as a home and family life controller, and thats what Orby aims for. What we need to see is how the Orby will be open to interact to other devices. This  blog has special attention for such kind of device, and our team will be joining Telefonica developers’ program

See the hotsite here.

Sorry guys… My blog will stay vacant for a while. I am in process to move to Sao Paulo, so I am dealing with packing, renting, and a lot of other activities. I will come back in February with a review of the Campus Party event, and also with more Zen Lessons. There are a lot of new activities to be reported here.

Thanks everyone for the support. I will be tweeting new stuff as I get to see it and will keep in touch through there.  Anything else, please follow me on twitter to get fresh ideas and also to know when this blog will be providing new content.

We hardly think of the process of doing something, our minds are always focused on results, results, and how to achieve the next big thing.

However, I want to stablish that the process is way more important, because when you think of the process of creating, you also think of skills you will apply or not and that might result in enlightment about yourself, and Zen is all about this, to enlight your own mind. So I want to share with you something was said to me right before my first big test for the yellow belt.

I was tryin to learn Black Tiger, a very complex and difficult form, something not thaught bellow brown level…. So my master saw my frustration with it and he said:

I think You are very accustomed to having everything come easily to you, but this is not the way of life or of the martial arts.

I replied that I was patient. but he then added:

We are not talking now about patience. To be patience is to have the ability of calm endurence. To give yourself time is to actively work toward a goal without setting a limit on how long you will work.

That was the core of the problem….
So, now let’s think about our lives:
How many times do we get frustrated by missing deadlines or that we can’t master a new photoshop skill fast enough? Or that our blogs statistics show slow results? Or that our income ins’t building fast enough? All these are goals and limits that we put ourselves for guidence and discipline. Well said, but aren’t we becoming our worst enemy by pushing too hard?
I really like this quote:

To define yourself is to limit your true self. Clarice Lispector

Isn’t she right? So we limit our views, focus too much on where to go and not how to go… and when you don’t know how to get there, you will never move forward. So, if you feel stuck, its easier to feel sad and depressed, and have other thoughts processes that won’t help you understand that to mature a process, to master a skill, to achieve success takes time, and demands you to steadly work towards your goals without the preasure of a deadline.
Tips to help you think of process and not the result/product.

Step One: Give an extra few days for the deadlines…

I always do this because of a simple reason, life is very unpredictable… and if I have to work with a really hard client, I always give him one or two weeks more of time, which doesn’t mean I am not charging, but make both of us work more confortably and with plentity of room for unpredicted ocasions. This is a plus because if you finish on time, without the need of that extra two or three days, you still earn points for being a hardwork… Remember, the Zen philosophy is all about making life easier…

Step Two: Detailed Plans

This is very helpful, if your plans are very process detailed, think of them being the tutorials you must read everyday, like the step by step master X skill. Detail also enriches your life and makes you fell less lost…

Step Three: Repetition

If you plan to analysis a statistics about Twitter for example, do it over and over and over, but everytime look at it from a differnt perspective, and I met a master that would even meet other people from hanging out from the celing… OK, a bit extreme, but you understood. Change views, and think of this as a multifocal appeal to your life. This also helps keeping your cup empty.

Step Four: Seek help from Masters

Seek any help you need from people who mastered the process of doing something you wanna do, or those who are masters at certain skills. They understand deeply the process, so when that happens the results come quicker. Stick with them, most of the time their knowledge are free, or almost free, and they become more than masters, but true wise friends that can shelter you when you feel in danger or lost.

Step Five: Study

This complements Step Four, but no matter how driven is the master, if you don’t put your time and effort you will never understand the process, and you will always feel stuck when you have a great idea, because I don’t master the way to make it come true.

Last Words:

“For the uncontrolled there is no wisdom, nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of concentration; and for him without concentration there is no peace. And for the unpeaceful, how can there be happiness?” by Bhagavad Gita

Credits:
The pictures are linked to their respective creators. Thanks for being a member of Deviant Art and displaying your work. Studio Pyros has no intention to violate copyrights policies, so enter in contact if you don’t want to be featured here.

Article Overview:

The four principles of Design are the essence of every well crafted design piece. Most of the time, you will be able to find all four: proximity, alignment, contrast and repetition. This last one is not always present. Because these are the foundations of every artwork we decided to share with beginners the core of each concept and essential tips to make a cutting edge design and also to help people get to known the basics by heart. They aren’t rules but elements, where if excessively present our absent can drastically reduce the effectiveness of your work.

Proximity:

What is that?

Proximity will determine relationships. This is the key to use this principle effective, because related items should be grouped together and make it easier for the eye to move. The proximity will determine a clear begin and end for the piece, and a specific eye path.

Basic Purpose of Proximity:

The two basic purposes are organization and relationships. If the information flows through a logic order, it becomes easier to read, understand and remember. A second product of proximity is the efficient use of white space.

How to get it?

There isn’t a golden rule for this, however; grids can be very effective. I also recommend counting the number of elements on the page and how to group them creating less eye stops, but all this is relative. For webdesign, I would recommend the 960 CSS grid layout. Print design can have more complex and unconventional grids.

What to avoid:

Don’t go like crazy filling all the empty space. Remember the essential beauty of design is that “less is more.” Another thing to point is the excess of groups. Create relationships among related units and give white space between unrelated pieces.

Alignment:

What is that?

The principle of great alignment bring unity to the piece. Every element should have some visual connection with the next and previous on the eye stop. When thinking of aligning, think of the invisible bounds between the logic flow of the page. Even if the elements are far a part, cohesion and connections can be formed by the right choice of alignment.

Basic Purpose of Alignment:

The basic idea here is to unite, organize and direct the flow. The right alignment will also help setting the mood of the design: formal, fun, serious, chaotic.

How to get it?

Be conscious of elements place. Find the bonds or the eye path and remember that to align doesn’t mean put things closer together. Align isn’t lining up.

What to avoid:

Several different alignments, no ones like to be confused about where the hell that text is going. The second thing to watch for is centered alignment. Break away from it, unless you are consciously trying to create more formal presentations. Centering is an option, not a default.

Repetition:

What is that?

Repetition is the conscious use of the same element over and over. We often call this “consistency.” Repetition is very important in multi-paged documents, very important on one-page, and essential in branding. Also, helps creating conventions: the left bar on websites are most likely to be the site navigation.

Basic Purpose of Repetition

Repetition is used to create consistent presence. Books are the best developed design elements when we consider repetition. Also, this principle helps to unify the message, add visual interest and mainly to sustain the focus on branding. Every website uses repetition somehow.

How to get it?

Simply find the natural repetitions of your design and strengthen them. Repetition is the accent into design: after having a uniform piece, you will “highlight” certain points or aspects to draw more attention to those points. The best example: a woman wearing a chic black dress, she will for sure accent it with red shoes and a red purse.

What to avoid:

Too much repetition or accent: black dress, then every other accessory being red it will overwhelm the contrast and confuse the message.

Contrast

What is that?

It is what draw your attention to the design piece. IF your piece have two different elements, they cannot be styled the same way. It is like when you need to match a spot color in a wall, either you match it or you repaint the wall…

Basic Purpose of Contrast:

Contrast works to create interest on the page and give hierarchy to the elements. By setting the hierarchy of the piece, you make it more understandable and easier to read, and that means easier to be remembered.

How to get it?

Contrast can be added to anything on the page: lines, shapes, colors, typefaces, thickness, sizes, spaces etc… The most important thing is to be bold and strong.

What to avoid:

Don’t be a wimp. With contrast, do it with strength. Avoid similarities, brown with black, or Arial with Verdana. Be bold, be strong, be different, that is the only way to stand out.

Wrapping up:

These are the four principles of design that will mostly appear in any well designed piece. The next posts will be a gallery with great examples of these principles applied, and then I intend to share a gallery with examples of where the same principles failed. Now: give me your hot thought: “How do you do to apply these principles on your daily work?”

Article Overview:

TED is a non profit organization devoted to ideas worth spreading. It started in 1984 to bring people together from Technology, Entertainment and Design, and this scope has grown larger and larger. The conference in Oxford brings the world greatest thinkers and doers with the challenge to share ideas worth spreading in 18 minutes. Check their about page here.

The Talks

Gordon Brown: Wiring a web for global good

The design genius of Charles + Ray Eames

Niels Diffrient rethinks the way we sit down

Daniel Libeskind’s 17 words of architectural inspiration

Jacek Utko designs to save newspapers

Don Norman on 3 ways good design makes you happy

Milton Glaser on using design to make ideas new

David Carson on design + discovery

Conclusion:

I hope these talks inspire you and give you new grounds for your creation and activity. Also, I wish that by listening to these great man, you can also become a greater person.

Article Overview:

Recently at TED, Daniel Libeskind presented 17 words he uses as his personal focus for architectural design. He calls it “dimensions.” I would like to apply his words to design in general, and give you insights for your next design piece.

Daniel has received a lot of good and bad criticism. I am not taking this space to judge him, but to learn with him. The following is my own interpretation of those words for design creation.

The words:

Unexpected:

Design is how to use the unexpected to create new relationship between people and the Other. This other can be products, services, people, animals, just anything. Past design created these correlations, that were first judged as unexpected and risky.

Risky:

The creative field is very risky, and I would say that because of the resistance to change. We have seen the biggest improvements in computing and other technologies but we are still averse to change, averse to creating new relationships.

Memorable:

Design only works if attracts attention to the information that is being pushed to the reader/observer. Designing without the mission to change, touch, motivate or change is a waste.

Communicative

Communication has become easier and easier because the work of great designers who understand that our job is to simplify the world. If the piece doesn’t communicate, if fails to do its job.

Optimism

Although we can design in dark colors and heavy moods. Design is based on optimism, it is the only way to keep going. Without this optimism, design wouldn’t drive to change and to innovation in society and therefore we wouldn’t be so needed.

Raw

One of the key functions of our job: to transform the raw idea into something great and bright, understandable and easy. It is also transforming the raw and uneducated society into a more polite and developed one.

Hand

Everything starts here, with the hand, the will to do it. The hand is the manifestation of our thoughts and the base of our creation. Learn how to draw your ideas on paper, and get away from the computer a bit.

Inexplicable

Inexplicable designs are those which hit the mood, change, inspire, inform, conform and transform the thought of the reader/observer. Inexplicable is the feeling of observing it, it is what design will drive to our observer soul.

Expressive

Design is expression. Expression of thought, of will, of desire, of emotions and other feelings and insights from the designer. It is the only way to communicate, it goes deeper into expressing the innest side of us into creative and humorous ways.

Pointed

Design has a meaning, so it is pointed into some direction. Pointed also means the directions that the designer creates for the humankind. To design is informing these directions and how to get there.

Real

It is real, because it is content, form and function. Based on this tripod, design is how we shape content to give it a specific function. It is the most beautiful thing, it goes beyond meaning and achieves the function of being a change carrier for us.

Democratic

One of its functions: to spread information as much as possible. It is also democratic because it universalizes the use of language, signs and symbols. It brings every people under its wings and houses it into a common sense for several activities.

Emotional

This one is completely dependent upon the designer’s soul. We add colors to content, form and function, to charge it emotionally and psychologically.

Political

Every design presents a point of view, it’s pointed, then it must also be political. The designer’s job is to fight. As the doctors try to cure the disease, what we, designers, do is to try to cure the ugliness with design.

Radical

Every design is radical because it causes change, it improves or retain the improvement of society. Without the change design is a waste.

Complex

This is probably the most true one. Achieving perfection in a design piece requires not only knowing the rules as much as when and how to break them. It is complex because it’s function is to simplify and unify the world into a common sense and language.

Space

Design depends on a space, or medium for its manifestation, this could be the paper, the computer, a canvas or anything that can be used as a raw material to be polished and transformed into something useful

Conclusion

These are Daniel Libeskind dimensions applied to design. Now, give me some of your dimensions that you use it and that you guide not only your projects but your life.

This is the first lesson anyone in martial arts has to learn. Emptying your cup can be interpreted in several ways. This bring us to two basic things, cleaning ourselves out of prejudgments and to let our critical and analytical mind overrun our senses and mislead us. As a designer, you can empty your cup if you understand that your foundation skills will always need maintenance, and that sometimes to learn something new you will need to unlearn the old.  So I will be sharing these 5 simple tips in how to keep a balanced state of mind to help you achive your goals.

My guide to adopt the “Empty Your Cup” philosophy on your daily life:

Step One: Learn how to count till 10

Why? So you give yourself some room for relaxation, this is the most important thing ever. Stop increasing the amount of stress you can deal with, and start building 5 minutes spaces between one problem and the next. Your health will thank you and your disposition to work will be greater.

Step Two: Don’t prejudge

This is the hardest, you know it, so use the first rule here, and during that counting clear your mind out of any thought so you can consider the idea, design, artwork without basing on your guts only.

Step Three: The mirror test

When you wake up, look at the mirror and ask: “If today was my last day alive, would I spend it the way I am spending now?” and if the answer is NO for a few days in a row, means that you aren’t emptying your cup or worse aren’t filling it with new joy and great experiences.

Step Four: Observe

This is one of the key for any success in life. Good observers can seize the right moment to do or to not do things, seize the opportunities to improve income, success, career, relationships, networking, etc… So observe more how everything on Earth, somehow, sings the glory of one more day of life.

Step Five: Be patience with yourself

The key aspect of being happy by being yourself, this comes after a deep observation of who you are, what you wanna do, and how you want to be remembered by people surrounding you. By being patience with yourself, you will reduce your stress level, and this simple factor can reduce health problems.

Last Words:

“Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free: Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” by Chuang-Tzu

“Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious. ” by Daisetsu Suzuki

Credits:
The pictures are linked to their respective creators. Thanks for being a member of Deviant Art and displaying your work. Studio Pyros has no intention to violate copyrights policies, so enter in contact if you don’t want to be featured here.

I have been practicing martial arts for over 3 years now. The flow of the moves, the cadence, the stretch and the focus has helped me to achieve a more balanced life and mind. Together with the art we learn a lot about the Zen Principles and the flow of energy, and how to work our way through success and sorrow. So I will be posting a series of 24 articles about core Zen principles and how to apply them at your life to achieve greatness in your designs.

The Principles are:

1. Empty Your Cup
2. Process Not Product
3. Seize The Moment
4. Conquer Haste
5. Know Your Limits
6. Even Masters Have Masters
7. Lengthen Your Line
8. Do Not Disturb
9. Active Inactivity
10. Inactive Activity
11. Extend Your Ki
12. Zen Breathing
13. Go With The Current
14. Anger Without Action
15. Recognize A True Threat
16. Kime: Tighten Your Mind
17. Instinctive Action
18. Un-Thinking Pain
19. Effortless Effort
20. Making a Friend of Fear
21. Confident Seeing
22. The Power of Focus
23. Multiple Options
24. Winning by Losing

I hope that this “month-long series” will help you to have a better mental and physical attitude towards your Self, the Other and the Community.

PS.: The picture belongs to this artist and is in this post only to feature his work. Studio Pyros wants to thank him for posting his work at Deviantart.com

Since last summer, there are tons and tons of people trying to covey informations about “the next big thing” at Apple. Ok. We all know that they do the coolest and best devices in the world, but I invite you to go back in time a bit. More precisely to 1939.

At that time, Delano Roosevelt was the president, a polio sufferer, who worn 10 pounds of steel to keep him upright. During his speeches and momentums, he would stumble and fall. However, dear sensationalists, no one picture was taken.

The Press preserved his integrity. The most important thing ever.

Are we doing the same thing with Apple and its formal secrecy? Or are we being selfish and just becoming talk-heads to speaculate, and speaculate about the future of Cupertino?

Is this speculation benefical at all?

We all know that Apple gets an astonishing amount of free visibility and other marketing goods, but how about us, the bloggers. Are we doing right?

Shouldn’t we preserve Apple’s right to industrial secrecy? We still could help increase its products visibility without leaking stuff.

Please, let’s think about our own ethical principles instead of our monetary gain or loss. Our banking account isn’t what tell who we are, but our actions, they define us and write our history in our society.

So let’s think. Let’s help people without getting our image damaged as speculative talk heads, and mainly, if you love Apple, like I do, like Steve Job does, you wouldn’t leak out their innovations, you would protect it.

Because, that is what Apple is all about, if you leak stuff, you are just fadding away the glow and soul of the products. Instead of us, let’s think globally and instead of revealing, let’s enter the show as helpers and not enemies of a company that has done a lot for the world.

Thanks.