Corne van Dooren - (Multimedia) Designer

January 27, 2007

This morning I have attended the funeral / cremation of a former colleague, Elja. I had last seen her on a night out in Den Bosch just a few months ago.

It was total shock to hear about her sudden death earlier this week. She was just 34.

At moments like these, when people are taken from us way too soon, a lot of stuff in life makes no sense at all. One starts wondering about a lot of things...

But let me keep it short and simple: Elja was probably the most positive person in the world I have ever met - never to be seen without a smile on her face. She enjoyed life to the fullest. And I am just very glad I got to know her.

Elja, rest in peace.

January 25, 2007

I am a big fan of subliminal messaging (a hidden message, designed to be picked up by your subconscious).

Coca Cola has in the past been accused of being shown in the cinema. A one-frame Coca Cola logo would appear just before the break.

Meaning: during the break a lot of people bought Coca Cola. But a Dutch news website today took a look at an older Coca Cola ad that was used in Australia. I had never seen it before, but it is brilliant!

In the ice-cube of this poster we can see a woman feeling the curves, but not the curves of the bottle... And what about putting a naked woman in a Disney movie? Yes, it happens! Oh yeah, Coca Cola's biggest competitor also had a go at it.

Fun stuff. Designers putting in something funny is always a blast. Can you spot the subliminal messages in my work?

Take care.

January 19, 2007

Europe has been hit by a heavy storm yesterday. In total 6 people died in the Netherlands alone.

After travelling home from work, which took ages because of an accident (pictured to the right). Thankfully I arrived home in one piece.

At the height of the storm we heard a lot of things happening on the roof. Turned out it were roof-tiles sliding down! Thank God they didn't fall all the way down, but got stuck in the gutter.

I called my landlord, who was not amused, and this morning they came to fix the roof. Thankfully the storm is not as strong anymore. Hope you made it through the storm too! Ah well, it could be worse - have you seen what's going on in America?!

All the best & take care.

January 18, 2007

A couple of days ago a colleague of mine had send me this great article about demo's.

If you've ever worked on demo's (like I have) this article will totally make sense. Great that the article also has a mention in there about my old friend Macromedia Director.

To people who have yet to work on demo's: read this article - its a great window into the real world.

Take care.

January 14, 2007

Yesterday me and Nadine have been to the new Bond. The blond Bond. And actually I think he is my favourite Bond.

The animated intro of the new Bond is just wicked. I liked it very much, it was done really nicely. But thats not the only thing that was wicked.

The new Bond (Daniel Craig) is the first Bond to actually portray someone who could be a 00-agent. The Sean Connery movies are outdated, Roger Moore's Bond always felt like movie versions of The Saint, Timothy Dalton was reasonable, Pierce Brosnan I never really liked in the role and let's not talk about George...

The new Bond movie is not a movie for my top ten list, but it is a good movie - the fact that it is the first one that didn't make me fall asleep has to mean something, especially since it takes 2,5 hours.

Except for the intro scene of Bond in Madagascar, this movie is realistic. Thats what sets it apart from the previous movies with Pierce Brosnan. Daniel Craig has done an excellent job and for me probably is the most realistic Bond. Thank God there's also no reprise of the Q-role by John Cleese.

To make a summary: thumbs up for the blond Bond!

Take care.

January 12, 2007

Today I have another job-interview. I generally take two big albums with me to those interviews. In these two albums (printed at high quality with hard cover) is a collection of my work over the past years.

To boost my quest for a new job I have now launched an online version of the albums.

There's more work in the new online version - work you haven't seen before. Because of the copyrighted work there's a password protection. Interested people can email me for a password.

I hope it helps boost my responses and feedback on job-interviews. Enough about it now, here's the link. It takes some time for the Flash-file to load... ;)

All the best and take care.

January 9, 2007

Today new footage of Saddam Hussein was shown on numerous website. We could see (warning - open at own risk) a neck wound and blood.

Last weekend Dutch TV station Tien had a show where German doctor Gunther von Hagens dissected several human corpses.

A Brazilian judge today also ruled YouTube had to take a sexvideo offline or it would be blocked. Result: YouTube is blocked in Brazil.

Has it gone too far one could wonder. I think it hasn't gone too far. Mankind these days grows up with the internet and all the crazy and sick stuff people place online. So it is only logical that the news is more approachable with all these communication techniques today.

In fact, I think in about ten years time it could just well be that whenever something big happens we get a message on the mobile. Say something big happens - like a president getting shot or something. I can totally imagine that at that point my mobile receives a video message and I can immediately see what happened, possibly from various angles!

And when that time comes I think the traditional media will respond in a similar fashion as with internet content now - with outrage. But I do think a normal human being, by that time, will find it as normal as the board of a commercial TV station deciding to show a dissection by Gunter on television...

Take care.

January 8, 2007

Its been a busy week and weekend for me. A lot of stuff needed to be done in the first week of January - finishing it in style though with my grandma's 83rd birthday.

This week doesn't seem to be any different - and again it ends in style with a birthday!

Though its a busy week ahead, I don't really mind. I am starting to feel better and better. The last effects of my stomach flu in December 2006 seem to be gone. About time anyway.

But now I finally have decided my next goal I am feeling a bit more like myself. I think I may have missed a challenge more than I expected. Last week was the perfect first week of a new year. Tight deadlines and cool projects are always a good challenge.

Anyway, I'm gonna keep it short. This week is simply stuffed with work, pleasant stuff and even a job interview (third in as many weeks).

All the very best.

January 5, 2007

I am probably the last person to notice, but Adobe has changed the icons that go with their latest software packages (CS3).

Although anyone will get used to the new icons within a matter of days I think they're not very creative. I kinda liked the older icons better - they felt more creative.

Obviously after working with the new icons a couple of days I will get used to them and won't talk about older versions no more. But at this point I'd have to say the new icons are a little less creative. I also don't understand some colors, but hey - I am sure there's a reason for them. You can find the new schedule here.

Ah well, why complain anyway? As long as their software keeps kickin' ass who cares about the icons anyway...

All the best, have a great weekend!

January 2, 2007

Alright, new year - new chances. Although my stomach is not completely back to normal (see blog Dec. '06) I will start working today. And I am hungry!

I'm not just hungry because I haven't eaten a lot over the past weeks, I'm also hungry for a new job - because I am out of a contract within a couple of months.

I will spend a lot of my own time to find me a new job. I am hungry for a new creative challenge. I've gained a lot of knowledge over the past years and I think its time I get to use my knowledge to the fullest.

Although I am aiming for a job as an Art Director or Creative Director I am also considering working as a Designer. It has become pretty clear to me that I simply love communications and communications in design. So my goal is to find a f*ck#ng brilliant creative challenge (excuse the language, but I am passionate about this).

For now I can only wish you all the very best for 2007. Lets make sure its a year to remember. A year to contain a lot of emotion, passion, drive and obviously glory!

All the very best, speak soon.

Corne van Dooren, Multimedia Designer