Prepare your lightsaber pens, Moleskine has finally released an in depth look at their limited edition Star Wars collection. Featuring ruled notebooks of various sizes, the tastefully minimal designs were inspired by the original 1977 posters for the film (which begs the question, why don’t they have illustrated posters for live-action movies anymore?).

Very True.

Lytro lets you take pictures like never before. Unlike a conventional camera that captures a single plane of light, the Lytro camera captures the entire light field, which is all the light traveling in every direction in every point in space.

Capture living pictures with the press of a single button. By instantly capturing complete light field data, the Lytro gives you capabilities you’ve never had in a regular camera.

Since you’ll capture the color, intensity, and direction of all the light, you can experience the first major light field capability – focusing after the fact. Focus and re-focus, anywhere in the picture. You can refocus your pictures at anytime, after the fact.
And focusing after the fact, means no auto-focus motor. No auto-focus motor means no shutter delay. So, capture the moment you meant to capture not the one a shutter-delayed camera captured for you.
Check the interactive Gallery to fully enjoy the results.

via Lytro.

Communication is at the centre of everyday aspect of life. Communication knows that it doesn’t take much to surprise us. Walk and you suddenly realize that the wall you come across every day has changed color, new faces smile at you and the sun shines brighter than usual. Walk and think of how those little changes have caught your attention, making your day different.

In that precise moment you discover that the power of creativity lies in the wonder that grows in you when you see the usual things from a new perspective. Effective communication envelops you, knows how to conquer you. Sometimes, it does it with ease and imagination, sometimes with revolutionary ideas that change us forever.

Our agency is not looking for perfection we are chasing a dream. A dream to take over the world and paint it in different shades of colours. We do not want to invent a colour that does not exist, but we want to mix up two colours we love in a way that the result will create an even more unique experience to be viewed. We want to abandon our origins without ever forgetting them.

Ideas, you should not be afraid to live them fully, pursue them and to listen to them. We’ve worked for years with big names, but it is not this that makes us special. What convinces us to continue on these great adventures is the fire of passion in the eyes of those to whom we want to offer our services. Those who speak for themselves, those who their business card represents the passion that moves their existence.

Only by following these guidelines we have learned to work with curiosity through worlds that we really wanted to know and make them our own. We have always found passion in what we do and have often followed a road that was not the easiest, but at least it was our own.

AlmaCreativa was born by only two individuals and our world is our study subject and sandbox. We were born to fight without fear. We love discoveries, evaluate things and situations with our eyes, get involved and take risks, laugh for no reason and stay up late thinking of an idea that we could give birth to without any rational logic but with only pure inspiration. We love everything that enriches us and changes us, makes us think and changes our path. We love the unexpected and impossible challenges. We like the element of surprise.

By the way, we take care of communication and we are a company dedicated to creative and artistic direction, Social Media Marketing and media production. Maybe we should have spoken about it earlier but we wanted you to know our values and what makes us different. We are passionate about what we do, and we’re good at it, at least that’s what others say.

Our team’s past clients have included industry leaders in entertainment, technology, advertising and design, including Adobe, Google, Mercedes AMG, Volvo, Sky, Eni, Disney Channel, Mini, Vodafone, Mediaset, Discovery Channel, Tisettanta and many more.

We are the change that you want to see in the world. We are AlmaCreativa.

I found a very interesting post written by Herman Miller. It resembles very much my idea of a perfect desktop workflow. These little tips work great with the GTD workflow. If you are looking to be more productive I’m sure you’ll find this article delightfully useful.

Unplggd: Distraction-Free Desktop

Consider Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, one representing the intellectual side, the other our most base inclinations. It’s often the case our Dr. Jekyll is unable to get work done because Mr. Hyde wants to browse Pinterest and jettison some angry avian projectiles. Unfortunately, dealing with a case of short attention span is worse now thanks to online access, the myriad of diversionary entertainment options, and even that smartphone you keep checking every few seconds. Distractions like these divide attention, time, and therefore affect the quality of work you do. However there’s one trick that can keep you on the straight and narrow to build better work habits.

It’s all too easy to get distracted from work on the computer. But there’s a simple technique to help regain focus: create a new User account, one specifically designed for getting work done. That means creating a desktop stripped of extraneous bookmarks, applications, music and movie files, plug-ins, extensions…unless they’re designed for task management or your work related projects. Think of this desktop as your work persona. Creating a dedicated account for work related tasks is like having a work outfit compared to the comfy-cozy sweatpants of leisurely online time.

Creating a new user account space on your computer to logged into offers several advantages, but also comes with a few inconveniences and backdoors too. First off, the User account is only effective if you log into it; the bare bones account could just be avoided entirely and lost to the same procrastination that hampered you prior. Secondly, a bare bones setup still can lead you astray if you have a web browser, the ultimate time killer, so consider leaving online access unless required.

The key to this technique is willpower and it is definitely easier said than done. Cutting out specific Applications/Programs is a good start. Removing distracting visual and and extraneous distracting layers off the desktop can also aid in the focus department. Keep applications and tools with the sole purpose of focus. For example, Omm Writer is an excellent example of a bare bones application which aids in focusing on a single task:

Although individual preferences vary, we find creating a minimalist workspace can be effective in completing tasks more efficiently for almost every type. Removing task bar programs and replacing the desktop with simplistic wallpaper leaves the mind calm rather than vulnerable to jumping from thought to thought. Full screen programs are especially useful, but may be difficult to adjust for those of us prone to jump from one window to another.

Personal tasks should be left for personal time. Leave a note or memo if anything comes up for later, but relegate games, videos and entertainment for breaks or downtime (note: taking breaks throughout the day can actually help you stay focused, so switch into your personal account for 30-60 minute lunch breaks or breathers).

A summary of how to create a focused work environment:
1. Create a new system log-in account for work hours. Here’s how to do this for OS Xand Windows 7.
2. Strip this account of any extraneous applications, files, or browser bookmarks that aren’t related to work.
3. If possible and if your work doesn’t require online access, leave out any browser. Stick with email.
4. Replace your desktop with a minimal wallpaper like these. Remove as many icons as possible from your desktop and launcher/start menu.
5. Use full screen mode in applications to prevent jumping unnecessary jumping around.
6. Turn off your smartphone and keep it in a drawer on silent mode.
7. Permit yourself allotted and regular breaks; this is as important in keeping focus as any of the tips above

via http://www.hermanmiller.com/

Today at its MAX 2011 conference in Los Angeles, Adobe unveiled numerous cool new products, and I was very impressed by the Touch Apps Suite, a family of six applications for Android tablets and Apple iPad. I really love d these apps at first sight, maybe because I am a designer: they are inspired by Adobe Creative Suite software which I am very familiar with.

The Adobe Touch Apps are part of Adobe Creative Cloud, also announced today , an online service that includes 20 GB of storage where creative people will be able to access desktop and tablet applications, share files, view them on different devices, transfer work into Adobe Creative Suite software and find creative services.

Adobe Photoshop Touch looks like the tablet version of Photoshop Express for iPhone, an app that I tried but did not find as good as other mobile photo applications that allow user to shoot and edit images while on-the-go. From the screen shots, Photoshop Touch looks better than its smartphone sibling, according to the product page, it seems like more of the core Photoshop (desktop) features are integrated in the tablet version. (photo above)

Adobe Collage is basically a tool that enables creative professional (or amateurs) create conceptual mood boards. With this application, you can easily mix pictures, text, drawings, and colors. It is compatible with Adobe Creative suites files and assets, and it is possible to refine the result of Collage with Photoshop.

Adobe Debut is the perfect app for discussing iterations during a design project with a client and a creative team. Adobe Debut opens tablet-compatible versions of Creative Suite files for viewing on the tablet, including Photoshop layers and Illustrator art boards, then feedback is collected using a pen tool to write notes or draw on top of the artwork (see picture).

Adobe Ideas seems to be the tablet version of Illustrator, it is a vector-based  drawing application that can be operated  by using a stylus or finger.Just like in Illustrator, the artwork can be built using separate layers, ad the final file is accessible from Photoshop or Illustrator.

Adobe Kuler helps people build compelling color themes by browsing hundreds of thousands of Kuler themes already available via the creative community, which can also rates them as well. Color themes can later be exported as color swatches for Adobe Creative Suite projects.

Adobe Proto lets professionals easily build websites and mobile apps story boards and interactive prototypes using their fingers. The wireframe or prototype then can be exported as industry standard HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and shared in popular browsers for immediate review and approval. I really love this one, from the demo, it looked super easy to create an interactive prototype very quickly.

Adobe Touch Apps will be available for Android devices in November 2011. iOS availability announcement is expected in early 2012. Adobe Ideas is already available for the iPad. Introductory pricing is US$9.99 for each app. Access to the file viewing, sharing and transfer functionality of Adobe Creative Cloud is included in the price of each Adobe Touch App. Pricing, availability, expanded capabilities around applications, services and community will be announced in November 2011.

via ubergizmo.com

Have you ever walked in a crowded street, minding your own business, when all of a sudden, your attention is drawn towards a single person, maybe an awkward old man, or a beautiful lady, or maybe even a kid playing with the shadows projected from his hand. You may even stop and glare and the reflection of the sun on a tall skyscraper or the architecture of a flower placed on top of a table of a bistrot.

For a moment, a blink of an eye, all your attention is focused on that detail, that person. Your mind starts wondering, you start randomly asking yourself: “Why is that man acting weird? How much of the life of that splendid woman was improved because of her beauty? Is she sick of succeeding only because of her appearance? What is that kid imagining while playing with such a simple material? Why that flower has that specific color, where does it come from, how did it get here?” And as fast as these thoughts arrived they immediately disappear, like a breath on a window.

Everybody travels, everybody loves to see new places, it helps us confront the place we call home with other destinations. How many time did you ask yourself: “How my life would have been if I were born here?”. You question yourself in a passive way. And end up by not getting to know who actually lives there, and can answer your question in the best of ways.

I always travelled, since I was born, I have been very lucky to have this privilege. And I love travelling. But I recently understood that I was just a spectator, of this beautiful show that’s called “World”.

Today, on the 2th of October 2011, I was sitting in a bar in Santo Domingo waiting for my flight to Madrid, talking with my friend and colleague Luca about this vast topic.

We had the same will to travel, asking whatever questions we thought about to whoever we encountered, discovering the hard way to live in a specific place, adapting ourselves, questioning ourselves every single moment, discovering, looking, living.

It’s a simple task, just look around yourself, see a person or even a simple object, a chair. Ask yourself: “Why is it built that way, why in those colors, who created it, is his life changed once he projected it?” Wouldn’t you be intrigued of meeting this person, get to know him, try to understand is brain and work flow.

I love to watch documentaries, but I always felt a passive viewer and it always frustrated me the fact that I couldn’t ask my own questions or live on my own skin the experiences they were describing.

It’s been a while now that I have this fixation, when I travel, to depart with no information what’s so ever on my destination. In this way I can truly experience a land, asking people to live there what to see and do(if I’m on vacation), and maybe get to know so much somebody new that he will be my own Virgilio during my trip.

Talking with my friend Luca, we arrived at the conclusion that life should be more like a RPG, something like Final Fantasy VII (if you don’t know what it is Google it up, buy it, play it and finish it before continuing, it will be worth it).
In an RPG you can live a story, but at the same time you are willing to discover the more as possible to fully enjoy the experience of the game. You start looking for secret treasures, you bump in to NPC(non-playing-characters) wondering what kind of information they will give you, maybe they’ll tell you a joke, maybe they’ll give you an important detail on a side quest. You want to know everything. And once it’s finally over you’re left frustrated since you are so attached to that world and experience that you would like to continue to discover new adventures and talk with new characters.

What if your life could be like this? Why aren’t we enough curious? Why most of the time we are passively living our lives, watching things pass by, maybe entering a routine that might chain you forever until one day, you will regret that you didn’t see as much as you would have had to. This was the main reason I stopped playing videogames long ago. The world was my sandbox, I only needed to stop reading it’s manual.

We are constantly trying to earn time, just to have more time to work, to sleep. Have you ever asked yourself, i.e., why do you keep sending SMS? To earn time? Time for do what? With an SMS you are actively proclaiming that your time is not worth to spend talking with the person you wrote to. I find it tremendously irritating and not respectful.

If I had to describe how I feel now with a sentence I would define myself as a dot.
A dot that has lost his sentence and has discovered new paragraphs, chapters, other languages, new books, new libraries. I don’t want an easy life, I want to gather all the opportunities that life has to give me and one day, when I’ll be old, I want to say to my grandsons: “I seen it all. For real.”.

My biggest concern now is trying to keep of my tracks. It isn’t easy if you settle down for a while. My mind might stop travelling as my body. So I need to keep moving, keep looking, keep questioning…

AlmaCreativa, my recently founded company, has the aim to help people open their eyes and improve their life by making them enjoy it more, finding solutions on the problems that don’t let people live actively.

In the last months I heard many people define my new lifestyle foolish and with no direction. And I usually ask them why wouldn’t they live how I’m doing right now, normally I don’t get any answers, and I know then that I broke a wall in his mind.

I know my words may seem pretentious to the most of people. But I can’t stop wondering what world it could be if everybody wanted to knew everything and everyone.

I hope to stay this foolish as people say for a long time, I know very well that one day I’ll settle down too, but me sight and my mind will keep travelling with my experiences.

“It’s not about the destination it’s about the journey”

I’m not dead.

I’m not dead. Infact you may say I never been more alive than now (for exception of a appendix surgery done last week…).

It’s been a long while I’ve not update my works online or took some new photos, this is not because I’ve been sleeping in the last months but because I’ve been working very hard on a project that will change the life of many people.

This blog entry doesn’t want to be a marketing strategy to tease the web, it’s more like a journal entry, explaining what milestones I managed to conquer in the last weeks, in what way they changed my way of thinking and work flow, and most of all, the way they change my way of living.

I spent most of my professional career working for clients that required to reach specific objectives (i.e. increase the sales, create a new image for their brand, make their start-up known online, and so on…). Most of my work was disposable, services that could be use and then forgotten by the masses, a drop in the ocean. For this reason I wanted to express myself more, hoping to leave a mark, leave something to remember, and for this reason I started doing photography.

But this was not enough.

It sounds like a huge clichè but in my mind a question started screaming it’s way out: “Am I changing things? Am I improving the life of people or am I simply intoxicating the world with new forms of advertising?

I had enough. I needed to find a way to use my abilities as a digital communicator and a creative to leave my own footprint on earth.

From this whim I started thinking, taking time off work, brainstorming with my self every day, every hour, and I felt happy, my purpouse made me change the way I lived.

One day I recieved a call from my collegue and best friend Luca Naj-Oleari, asking me if I wanted to spend a month in the carribean to help him out with a complex website he was curating for the italian Goverment. I jumped on a plane and spent my summer holidays in a place that would deeply change me.

I’ll not describe all the details, the only thing I shall say is that I never breathed life so deeply in my lungs. Everyday was lived as the last day in my life and my way of looking ad things mutated forever.

While in the carribean we got in contact with the haitian reality. After all this time, things haven’t changed at all. The hope of a new life in their eyes motivated us to do something for them. How could we help them?

Talking with a building company we understood that it’s very difficult to help Haiti in the rebuilding process, the goverment and burocracy was in always in the way. Money before life.
We had to do something for this.

In a little house on the beach in Cabarete (Dominican Republic), me and my friend Luca gave birth to “AlmaCreativa”. A company with the aim to use digital communication and creativity only to improve the life of the human kind.

Being in the middle of nowhere, enjoying the nature, every single detail of it, getting to know our inner selfs helped us discover a whole new way to generate creativity. Our mind where hacked and run faster, smoother, and started to think big. Crazy ideas, some of them insane, utopic, but as we recall, great ideas…

…and our first projects name was: “Le Rêve – The Dream”.

“Le Rêve” is a ray of light in the Haitian territory.

A new life. A solution. A new beginning. It’s 2 square kilometers of hope, in 22.000 square kilometers of despair. Trough an new donation system that we are creating that will revolutionize the way you can help the less fortunate, “Le Rêve” will give 12.000 haitians new houses, education, health assistance and most important, work. The new donation system will be the main tool of the project, the engine that will make it burst viral, if we do everything straight. It will be quite revolutional, and it will be usable with other fund raising project. I can’t wait to make it public.

This is just the first project of “AlmaCreativa”. We have already prepared much more new concepts. I hope I can share my new sight with more people as possible.

Keep tuned for updates on this and more projects.
I hope that between a meeting and another I can shoot some new photos. I’m afraid my camera will not speak to me again if I keep ignoring her…

In a world seemingly ruled by digital, Korg created an analog sensation with the palm-sized monotron Analogue Ribbon Synthesizer. Korg has once again raised the analog banner with the amazing monotribe Analog Ribbon Station; a new form of synthesizer that packs an amazing array of features and technology into its compact body. Korg’s monotribe shares the monotron’s analog DNA, yet quickly delves deeper into the rich, organic, and often chaotic world of analog synthesis. In addition to analog synthesis, monotribe brings together intuitive ease of use and a three-part discrete analog rhythm section, plus the proven appeal of Electribe-style sequencing. Complete with a built-in speaker and battery power, monotribe is self-contained and highly portable.

via: Korg

Shot on location at the John Lautner Chemosphere House off Mulholland Drive, the film showcases Sasha as a perpetually evolving figure. Costume designer Ellen Mirojnick (“Basic Instinct,” “Fatal Attraction,” “Wall Street,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”) dressed Sasha for the part in an array of lingerie and military inspired garments to highlight the dual nature of her masculine / feminine persona. Looking over the roadside from the vantage point of one the most legendary residences in modern and cinematic history, Sasha reflects on her relationship to the San Fernando Valley landscape- the location of some of her most noted adult performances. Back inside the circular vortex of the Chemosphere, Sasha’s inner dialogue projects an equally diaristic and imaginary self-portrait that pushes beyond the extremes of her past filmography and into her new future.

via: Vimeo