I’ve redesigned the whole website I currently have since I didn’t like the old one I did. The old design looks like this

First of all, I don’t like the whole look and color scheme of the design. I think I’ve already outgrown this style of design which consists of a lot of colors. So I had to create a new design for the site which tones down the whole candy feel and the messy colors.

I started off creating a mind map of the concept about dogs in my Android tablet to be able to sort out my ideas about dogs and how dog owners see their dogs, to be able to create a relevant design for the site users, and it looked like this

So I’ve finally sorted out the thoughts I need for the design to reflect on to create a design that would relate to the target users, I now search my color scheme and some pegs I like to use.

This scheme is from Colorlovers! Visit it to like the author of the scheme!

I chose this particular color scheme because it fits the description of using earth tones, bright and it also gives the cheerful vibe while giving the earthly tone and vibe for the template.

Now that I have all the elements for my design, I’ve finally did the logo design. I decided to aim for a retro-ish style for the site to make it less intimidating for the users.

I used the badge element for the logo to make it reliable but at the same time not intimidating. The bone element and dog silhouette makes it more dog-related.

After creating the design for the logo, I’ve started to create the whole look of the website.

click image to enlarge

Used light textures for the site’s whole look to create an engaging site design for the users. Stuck to the color scheme I have and created the design. The header navigation background sports a light wood texture look to emulate real wood and contribute to the whole earthy feel of the website. The website will be programmed in Drupal. Watch out for my other blog soon this time for the marketing collaterals that I’m going to make for The Poochie Place.

A lot of people have been saying that the later design is a much better one compared to the old one since the newer one has a more serious tone than the old one. What do you think?

Yes, Google has officially joined the competition for Apple’s iTunes and I think Google’s owning it big time for Google Music. Google Music is like iCloud for Apple (where you can store music over the cloud) but the big difference is that Google lets you store 20,000 songs in it for free.

Preparing files...

And I wasn’t kidding when I said that. I like the fact that Google decided to cap things with the number of songs you upload rather than the size of all your music since it differs in a lot of things like the kilobytes/second your music has which greatly affects its size.

But there’s a catch though– if you live outside the US, you won’t be able to use the program. And you can’t really share stuff through their servers since that’s piracy. But there’s a workaround for the former (tutorial here). As for the latter, I don’t really mind at all since I won’t be using it for sharing, and I would totally love it if I could stream all my music through my Android tablet since I don’t really have that much space to put all my music there.

The interface of the web player! It looks awesome if you ask me!

When you get to access the Google Music site, it would let you download a music manager for your computer and it’s all easy-peasy from there on. You just need a valid Google account to be able to upload music and purchase songs from their Market just like in iTunes Store. The music manager also runs in the background of your computer to be able to upload stuff to it. Plus it also automatically scans your iTunes for songs and automatically uploads them. Simple huh? As for use to Android devices, just use (or download, if your phone still does not have) the Google Music app from the Android Market to use music from your Google Music account.

The Google Music app in Android Market

Oh you can also download all your music from there too when you accidentally deleted them or lost files in that matter. Google Music basically backs up all your music and puts them on the cloud for later streaming or downloading! The only downside of this service is that if your internet connection is slow, there might be difficulty for Google to stream your music and you’ll end up irritated to choppy songs.

Waiting for my upload to finish! There's still a lot to go!

I am really excited for this and can’t wait to have all my music online for access to my various devices. Finally one thing that I could use to all my devices since I own an iDevice (an iPod 4G) and an Android device (My SE Xperia Mini Pro, and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1). If you like your music close to you always or if you have an Android phone or tablet, then you should probably try Google Music out since it won’t take you away from your music library ever!

I’ve been constantly downloading games in my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and I’ve really come to appreciate Android more. The wide array of games it has for tablets are really superb. Maybe not as comprehensive as the selection of games for the iPad but I’m pretty sure that there would be more in the coming days.

I’ve stumbled upon this game for the Android called Defender and it’s like Plants vs. Zombies but in a more exciting and fast-paced way. The goal of the game is to defend your wall on the left from monsters that come charging in. Sounds easy right? You have spells to use (fire spell which burns opponents, ics spell which freezes, thunder spell which slows them down) and have mana to consume it to. Wait until it goes on to Stage 200 when the monsters come rushing in like a stampede on Black Friday!

Oh and by the way, you get crystals and money to be able to enhance your arrow power, rapidity of your firing arrow, spells, etc. There are a handful of arrows to choose from too! It’s quite an addicting game to actually try!

You can download the app over at the Android Market here!

PS: It also supports Android tablets and it’s much more fun to play it in one!

It’s basically a User Interface kit for a music player, but you can use it anywhere you want to! You can use it on web designs that you make, or on UI design mockups! The possibilities are endless!

In the download you’ll find a PSD file. The elements in the PSD file are all arranged by groups to help you locate the elements better. The design includes music player elements such as a mini player, buttons, and star ratings that you can use.

Copyright on me! Please do comment if you’ve used it! I want to see where you’ve applied this kit into!

Download the PSD file here

My first blog theme

My current theme

What do you think? I think that the current one is better, no?

IFThisThenThat (or known as ifttt) is a website dedicated to solve these problems that the internet era is facing. This website dedicates its services to creating actions (what they call recipes) to different networking sites (like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.) and complete the missing link that we’ve all dreamed of to exist.

ifttt is sdtill in beta phase but I think that their beta phase is just in the name. I tried their services in my own and it really works great! They also have an SMS capability that could text you directly on your mobile phone. How cool is that! Here’s a screenie of how my ifttt account looks like and the recipes that I use.

If you understand it from the image, ifttt just makes everything work. There’s the if *insert cause action* then *insert effect action*. It’s simple as that! It also supports a lot of platforms such as Instagram, Dropbox, Craigslist, WordPress, Twitter, Read It Later, Posterous, Diigo, Email and even SMS!

So if you want to, go try them out! It’s a small but a pretty nifty website that you can use for lots of functions. I use it to send Twitter mentions of me to my SMS, and to link my WordPress blog (which is this you’re reading) to my Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr accounts.

Try them out at ifttt.com

I want to propose a collaboration: I’ll be creating a UI for a diary app programmed for Android Honeycomb tablets. Sort of like Momento app (www.momentoapp.com) for the iPhone, and you’ll be doing the programming of the app.

It’s been my dream to design an app for iPad/iPhone but I figured that the competition was already too tight. So I decided to create a UI for Android instead since there are so few Android apps which are perfectly designed. I wanted to make a difference so I decided to create this project, and I also wanted a diary app for the Android tablet.

So the app’s name would be Days Journal, it’s functions would include:

• Input of diary entries and the ability to include photos
• Password protection to the app
• Tagging of entries and the ability to view by tags
• Sync to Dropbox*
• Sync to Facebook or Twitter feeds*

*I would love to include this feature but if it’ll be hard to implement then I guess I can scratch it off.

If anyone’s interested in this project, we could collaborate! Maybe we could earn from this since we could sell it off at the Android Market after! I’m really excited for this project and have started with it the design! (uploaded a sample! Still have lots to work on) If anyone of you knows someone, or is interested in the project, let me know! This will be a pro-bono kind of thing but if we could sell it on the Android store, we could get income from the price of the app itself!

Email me at paul.sherwin.ang(at)gmail.com or use the Contact page here in this blog!

Lately, I’ve been wanting to do things out of impulse and getting a tattoo was one of them. Well I’ve been meaning to get one since last year but since I didn’t have anyone to get with me, I had to procrastinate it at a later time. But when the year started, I figured I should start doing things on my bucket list (yes, I still keep one and I’ve been good in achieving them one by one). So since my friend, Ikai, had a second session for her current tattoo, I figured I’d join in.

Being the tattoo virgin that I was, I was quite curious of the whole idea. Thanks to the website fuckyeahtattoos.tumblr.com, I got the inspiration to finally push through with everything. So I had to search a design and then stick with it. I found this photo and thought it was a really nice idea for a tattoo design.

Ikai's tattoo design

Everything really didn’t matter at first since I was really determined to get myself inked for the longest time I’ve wanted to, but when I was near to my inking date, it finally hit me– what if I was too rushing with my decision, or what if I would regret this decision since it’s going to be permanent there for the rest of my life. Those thoughts were running through my head. But I decided to ward off the fears and thoughts in my head and finally pushed through with the whole idea.

So on Saturday, January 7, I finally got inked. My first nonetheless! It was really painful but it was all worth it. My design is an eagle with wings spread apart, which symbolizes freedom. Every time I look at it, I am reminded that I am free and could do the things I want. It’s just the inner voice in me that always tells me to rethink things through. I am really happy with it and plan on keeping it for the rest of my life. BTW my tattoo was done by Cadence Tattoos! They make amazing tattoos so why don’t you like them over on Facebook! Discount if you come on a bike!

Me and Ikai's tatt (mine at the top)

Recently, I’ve been really addicted to card games. It all started with playing Monopoly Deal with my friends from college, and that interest ignited into buying my own set of cards. I’ve been playing with my friends at The Green Coffee here in Tomas Morato since it’s really near our places. We’ve been playing for a week already starting Christmas 2011 and it’s been really fun.

And then a while ago, I’ve decided to buy my own set of Cluedo card game, which is very similar to the board game but has a quicker pace than the former, which requires you to guess the murderer, murder weapon, and the murder scene by deducive thinking. It’s quitean awesome game but requires you to be at least 3-4 players.

I’ve been thinking of investing in board or card games like these (Cranium, Taboo, Monopoly, The Game of Life, etc.) which could be a really great game when friends that are around your place. A perfect substitute for having to be on the computer all day long. It’s also a really fun way to bond and have fun with real friends in your life. It’s also perfect on a weekend of fun without the noise of a bar, and the benefit of a perfect and fun night.

Despite the times I was defeated, there are also those shining moments. I’ve loved, succeeded and conquered. I earned my own money and sustained on my own incomes. I also started to become independent financially and emotionally, become more responsible in work and life, and succeed in my field which is graphic design.

This 2012, I promise to be a better person than before. I strive to push myself harder to obtain my goal (or to be nearer at it). Cheers to the past of 2011, and to the future of 2012!