Coffee, ladies and dogs

What’s not to love about them. Nothing at all, of course.

We stopped at Ewha Women’s Unversity this morning to meet up with an old colleague of Ariel. She brought us on a short tour of the campus and told us a little about its history, along with a building with magical powers. Like if you entered the entrance and took the stairs on the 3rd floor, it’ll bring you to the 6th floor instead. (0.0)

The campus was really huge by description and it had a lot of really nice trees from magnolias, sakuras and plum blossoms (ewha). Some building designs were modern looking and some had European influence, thanks to its history. The quick glance we had of the campus really looked like a top notch place for students pursuing their education. Though not much can be entirely said about it becoming somewhat a tourist destination now – there was even a tour bus!

Once we left, it was time to grab lunch and we headed to a place with ginseng chicken stuffed with rice. *slurp* in addition to that dish, our friend helped order another chicken dish with brown sauce and some noodles in it. Oh my go, it was awesome! And no, it wasn’t bulgogi. This tasted way better!

To top off the superb lunch, we grabbed some coffee in a back alley. Their Colombia Supremo was…supreme. It had the right acidity and roast to leave your tastebuds with the true taste of its beans. A definite wake up drink.

We took our coffee and walked, detoured to a cosmetics shops, spent almost a ton and headed to the infamous Bauhaus dog cafe. While it was possible to walk to the dog cafe, we took the bus because there was just too many items in hand after the ton of shopping.

When we arrived and walked in, we could see an area with smaller dogs and there was even a very cute Corghi. There was a waiting list to be allowed into the dog areas. It could be said this was good because there were limited seating area. And once our turn was called, we couldn’t wait to start playing with the furry friends.

When we got our treats to be shared, this furry friend happily climbed on top of the seat and sat there staring. Cute as he was, he seemed a little on the chubby side. But I was really shocked to see an Alaskan Malamute for the first time. That dog was huge! It was like the time the missus and I saw a St. Bernard in China and even that, looked like a bear. (0.0)

If you’re looking to check out a dog cafe, you should visit this one. And don’t forget to hug the Alaskan Malamute if you were given the permission and chance. 😀

Picture editing mistakes

I stumbled onto this edited picture and couldn’t help but want to blog about it. Coming from me as a designer, I just found this so so bad editing.

photoshop-epicfail

Unless you have never seen a picture from a digital device before, your gut feel will tell you there’s something amiss by looking at the picture.

Find the mistakes in the picture

Let me describe from a designers point of view the more obvious mistakes.

photoshop-mistakes

  1. The logos on the left are very white and unaffected by the shop’s lighting.
  2. All logos on the right are angled, which will happen if you’re not taking a photo straight on. The logos on the left maintain its square shape without any angles.
  3. The green line drawn shows the alignment. And because there are “invisible” lines to the counter’s design, it’s easier to tell the alignment is off.
  4. Logos on the left do not fit properly into the boxes on the last row as compared to the original.

How I would have done it

The thing about being a designer is you can be quite the perfectionist, depending on how perfect an image or result you want to produce.

What I would have done was remove the original logos first. Then add my own logos, after which I correct the perspective needed. Once I’m happy with that, I’ll start work on making the logo more immersed with the original image.

Bought my FIRST song from iTunes Store

Woot woot! I’ve finally bought my 1st song from iTunes. 😀 It would’ve been an album earlier by Linkin Park, but I bought that audio CD instead. So, yes, I’ve finally lost my iTunes-store-virginity to what I see is an oh-so-glorious and worthy song – which I’ve on repeat now!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-BXNXvTvV4]

Until the end, it was a never-ending battle between to get it from a local source or not. Less be said, this is now ticking the music beat in my heart. Woohooo!!

Unilever teams up with Guardian and WAO to launch Pink Heart Campaign 2013

Exclusive ‘Pink Heart’ pendant necklace on sale with proceeds donated to help abused women

Exclusive ‘Pink Heart’ pendant necklace on sale with proceeds donated to help abused women

26 February 2013 – In celebrating the International Women’s Day, Unilever has again teamed up with Guardian Pharmacy to raise funds for the Women’s Aid Organisation’s (WAO) Pink Heart Campaign 2013. The campaign seeks to generate money and support for WAO, as it continues to combat violence against women and their children in Malaysia.

The Pink Heart Campaign will run between 1 March to 30 April 2013, and customers who spend RM20[1] or more on Unilever brands namely Dove, Lux, Sunsilk, Clear, Lifebuoy, Rexona, Fair & Lovely, Vaseline and Ponds products, will get to purchase an exclusive ‘Pink Heart Foundation’ pendant necklace (worth RM19.90) for just RM2.90. All proceeds will be donated to the Pink Heart Campaign for WAO to help fund the organisation’s research, advocacy and public education programmes. The exclusive pendant necklace can also be purchased at RM9.90 from all Guardian Pharmacy stores, excluding KLIA and East Malaysia.

“Unilever is about inspiring people to take small everyday actions that can add up to make a big difference for the world around them. Via the Pink Heart Campaign, our consumers will be able to do just that. We are proud to again be at the forefront of an initiative that helps increase awareness about the problem of violence against women and working closely with Guardian Pharmacy and WAO”, said Ms. Tan Mei Yen, Customer Development Director, Unilever (Malaysia) Holdings Sdn Bhd.

“We must stand united in promoting women’s rights, here in Malaysia as one nation. It’s time to end violence against women and this partnership is vital step in our on-going commitment through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to improve health and well-being among all people,” Ms. Tan added.

“Whilst our business focuses on cultivating wellness among our customers, Guardian also advocates and is proud to reinforce our belief in Corporate Social Responsibility. Strategic partnership with our supplier’s such as Unilever allow us to collectively can get ourselves involved in efforts that help to provide care and comfort to those in need including the women and children of WAO” Ms, Soon Ai Lan, Guardian General Manager of Merchandising added.

WAO Executive Director Ivy JosiahWAO Executive Director, Ivy Josiah said, “As we enter our 31st year, WAO will continue full steam ahead to reach out to women and their children experiencing violence. In the long run, we want to make Malaysia safe for women of all backgrounds. Our work in changing mindsets and attitudes is critical and we need everyone’s help to fight against violence against women. A big “Thank You” to Unilever for their commitment and continued support in helping us reach our annual target of RM 1.5 million.”

The Pink Heart Campaign was first launched in March 2011 to an overwhelming public response. The Campaign in 2012 saw an increase in collection by more than 25%. This year, the campaign aims to continue increasing awareness and understanding among individuals, public and relevant agencies on the issues of violence against women and underlying gender inequalities.

Pink Heart Campaign flyer

What I really do

In case you didn’t get the part about what my clients think I do. The pictures are:

  • Programming
  • Photography
  • Design
  • Copywriting
  • Computer repairs

I’ll admit that photography is my hobby and I did write a story about vampires when I was 12 (and sold it for RM0.50 LOL!), but please take note it’s not my profession. And I’m not a computer technician. As much as I like computers, I may know how to assemble a computer, I’ve no professional training in solving computer problems.