Blog-Bababau

Coalition Display (part two)

2012-01-08T20:03:00.007Z

Coalition Display is a “tribute” to all military powers that do whatever they please as if they were playing command and conquer on a computer. Coalition Display is a highly decorative single-spaced and mono-cased pixel-based typeface that spreads like ink on a piece of paper. It also has a number of decorative bitmaps, like bulls-eyes, crosses and explosions. All carefully designed for aiming at the innocent, and creating lovely patters of minefields and mass graveyards. Enjoy as much as they do.

Coalition Display unfolds as Patrol and Heavy Duty

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Coalition Display (part one)

2012-01-08T19:07:00.010Z

Type is always fighting against complex backgrounds, and therefore one of the main tasks for designers is to find the right balance between text and image. The problem is that we all get found of striking photographs, lively colours, etc, and sometimes we forget about readability. So why don't we integrate both things into a one whole semiotic experience? Coalition Display is an experimental typeface that integrates type and illustration all at once, and tries to find the best readability along with the maximum amount of illustrative detail.

Coalition Display unfolds as Patrol and Heavy Duty

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Raazool

2011-07-20T17:24:00.020+01:00

A few weeks ago Steffi contacted me asking whether they could use one of my typefaces to create a logo. Steffi is the art director of Raasool, an online game designed by Children of the Spline, a group of Danish students from the National Danish Academy for Digital Interactive Entertainment.

I'm not very good at games myself, and I couldn't quite figure out how to get out off from the space rock, nevertheless the game seems quite unique and the graphics look quite interesting too.

If you want to play, here it is ––> www.raasool.com
Good luck!

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And this month paradolia is...

2011-03-30T10:41:00.006+01:00

... a mad bearded scientist with a single eyeglass!

Coming soon...

2011-03-08T17:05:00.012Z

These are the roughs for the new-coming pixel-based mono-cased and mono-spaced display typeface, serifed... Not impressed? Well, now try to say its full description as fast as you can.

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Straw billboards

2011-02-20T15:56:00.020Z

The festivities of Sant Antoni take place around January and February, and it is said that this saint is the patron of all animals. Traditionally, the farmers were taking their working animals (horses, donkeys, etc) to church in order to have them blessed, or what is the same, holy-insured. Nowadays, though, this festivity has lost its real meaning, and it's just an excuse to show off your pets. So, now people take their cats, dogs, and other exotic species to the priest, who then has to splash water on them – a real challenge.

Walking around my hometown I found these cute posters stuck on straw billboards, which I found quite funny. At first I though straw billboards were the new trend in my village, which wouldn't be surprising, but later on I realised that they were part of the display to announce the festivity. I though that was a brilliant idea.

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Ankled

2011-02-12T14:58:00.011Z

Spare change

2011-01-30T13:06:00.020Z

I was tidying up my old drawer when I found a round shaped box full of old coins. I didn't even remember I had so much crap in there. Most of those coins are out of circulation, however they don't have much value since they are not too old. Among the coins, though, I also found this nice one–pound note. I really like notes and I've always felt amused by their crazy amount of detail. And this one was old!! – I thought. So, before finding out it was actually printed in 1997, I went on to the internet to check its real value. And while I was typing, I could see myself on TV shows such as 'Cash in the attic', or the 'Antiques roadshow'. And I could see that old man with glasses ( yes, the one wearing horrible suits)buying my little treasure, and counting £50 notes on a table... Then I found they were selling six of them on eBay for five pounds. Almost there.

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Together again

2010-12-16T23:20:00.034Z

There was one half of orange,
sitting next to the shore;
Looking deep in the water,
as if it lost its core.

What bothers you, my fella?
(the old man wore a cloth).
Nobody wants to squeeze you?
Or has your juice gone off?

I'm looking for my orange – he said.
I mean, the other half of me.
Last time I saw her leaving,
so far beyond the sea.

So say no more my brother,
and take my boat. Come in!
Take also this umbrella,
It'll pull you with the wind.

And he sailed for days after,
through seas of broken glass.
His feet were full of plasters,
but he reached land at last!

And there she was, the other half,
the other half of his.
He found her half sleeping,
behind a lemon tree.

Squeeze me, pretty lady! – he said
Would you row back with me?
I have some rice and noodles,
some cheese, cookies and tea.

And as she opened her pretty eyes,
she couldn't swear to see.
There standing a half orange...
Thought you forgot 'bout me!

Just My Type

2010-11-11T13:52:00.011Z

Just My Type is a limited screen-print poster created by Barnbrook. The poster is entirely designed using Tourette, one of the many great typefaces from Virusfonts. The poster will be displayed at Foyles Bookshop on Charing Cross Road, London from 27 October to 19 November.

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Foxxie VJing

2010-06-16T22:26:00.022+01:00

A week ago I went to see Jonathan Barnbrook mixing visuals during a live performance by electronic music pioneer John Foxx at the Roundhouse in Camden. In fact I was invited along the Barnbrook team, which I've had the privilege to join as an intern for a few months. Barnbrook's clips combined cinematic footage and type that were then nicely mixed and projected using a VJ table. The whole performance was like a gig and a lecture all at once...(See more at virusfonts.)

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Fa una setmana vaig anar a veure al Jonathan Barnbrook barrejant imatges i clips durant una actuació de John Foxx, un dels pioners de la música electrònica, al Roundhouse de Camden. De fet vaig ser convidat junt amb l'equip de Barnbrook, on he tingut el privilegi de començar unes pràctiques que duraran uns mesos. Els clips combinaven imatges cinematogràfiques i tipografies que llavors eren combinades amb criteri i projectades a través d'una taula de VJ. Tota l'actuació va ser com un concert i una lliçó a la vegada...(Podeu veure més coses a virusfonts.)

The winners

2010-05-12T23:21:00.007+01:00

This is my first painting, and Jessi and Esteve were the ones that took it home (and that is why they are so happy). I actually wanted to paint a mural in their living room, nevertheless they convinced me to paint the image on a canvas so they could take it anywhere... I know them well, and I know that was a lie... Anyway, the painting shows a modular structure that can take many shapes to be painted onto flat or uneven surfaces.

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Aquest és el meu primer quadre, i l'Esteve i la Jessi van ser els que se'l van emportar a casa (i per això estan tan contents). De fet els hi volia pintar un mural al seu menjador, però em van convèncer de pintar-lo sobre una tela per poder-se'l endur a tot arreu... els coneixo bé, i sé que això era una mentida... Doncs res, en el quadre es pot veure una estructura modular que pot prendre varies formes per ser pintada sobre superfícies planes o irregulars.

TTT-shirts

2010-05-02T15:17:00.002+01:00

TTT stands for bababau's back-printed t-shirts. Check them out at bababau.com!

The three Ts define the area in which a square image is screen-printed. If you would like to buy one (or collect them all) please contact me for further info. TTT-shirts are hand printed and subject to availability.

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TTT són les samarretes impreses del darrere de bababau. Entra i fes-lis una ullada a bababau.com!

Les tres Ts defineixen l'espai on una imatge quadrada és serigrafiada.
Si desitges comprar una samarreta (o col.leccionar-les totes), si us plau contacte'm per més informació. Les TTT-shirts estan impreses a mà i subjectes a disponibilitat.

Thank you...

2010-04-26T18:41:00.002+01:00

The laws

2010-04-16T22:48:00.025+01:00

I have the natural ability to turn simple things into complicated ones. This 'gift' can be seen in some of my projects (ie: perception and movement, part present future, etc.), and it's something which I've been trying to avoid since some time ago. Less is more - I keep repeating myself, however this curse keeps following me wherever I go. So when I found the book 'The laws of simplicity' by Maeda, I felt like I found a glass of water in the middle of the desert. I drunk it all without even breathing! I finished it today, and I was so inspired by it that I felt like designing something straight away; something simple... So I rushed back home, I opened my computer, and I laid out the minimum amount of information I could think of on a business card... And when I finished it... I thought of... manually embroidering the letters into a tiny piece of fabric which took me THREE HOURS to finish!! I guess it takes time to get used to the laws of simplicity, but I definitely won't make a second copy.

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Tinc l'habilitat natural de convertir en complicades les coses simples. Aquest 'do' es pot veure en alguns dels meus projectes (eg: percepció i moviment, passat present futur, etc.), i és una cosa que he estat intentant d'evitar des de fa algun temps. Menys és més - em segueixo repetint a mi mateix, però aquesta maledicció em segueix vagi on vagi. Per això, quan vaig trobar el llibre 'The laws of simplicity' de Maeda, vaig sentir com si hagués trobat un got d'aigua enmig del desert. Me'l vaig beure d'una atacada i sense respirar! L'he acabat avui, i m'ha inspirat tant que m'han entrat ganes de dissenyar alguna cosa allà mateix; alguna cosa senzilla... Així que he tornat cap a casa, he obert l'ordinador, i he posat la quantitat d'informació més petita que he pogut pensar en una targeta... I quan l'he acabat... he pensat en... brodar manualment les lletres en una peça petita de roba que m'ha portat TRES HORES en acabar-la!! Suposo que porta temps acostumar-se a les lleis de la simplicitat, però segur que no faré una segona còpia.

Carbonillo display typeface

2010-03-22T20:01:00.004Z

Carbonillo is the name of the new typeface used below. You can download a sample from my portfolio website at bababau.com (free for personal use). If you would like to use it for commercial purposes, please contact me for further info. Ta!

Bababau + typeface = babaface

Zip

2010-03-22T00:25:00.005Z

These past weeks I've been taking a work placement at Zip design, where I had the opportunity to work with an excellent group of designers. Although the work of Zip cover many areas, they are best known for their musical projects, which include artwork for the Chemical Brothers, or the Rolling Stones.
These are two of the proposed designs I produced for KPM. The imagery was chosen taking into account the musical genre and the target audience, and the typeface was especially designed to reflect the musical variety of the CD (electronic & classical fusion).

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Aquestes darreres setmanes he estat fent pràctiques en un estudi que es diu Zip, on he tingut la oportunitat de treballar amb un molt bon grup de dissenyadors. Tot i que els treballs de Zip abarquen moltes àrees, l'estudi és més ben conegut pels seus projectes musicals, com ara per alguns dels dissenys dels Chemical Brothers, o dels Rolling Stones.
Aquests són dos dels dissenys que vaig proposar per KPM. Les imatges van ser escollides tenint en compte el gènere musical i el públic, i la tipografia va ser especialment dissenyada per reflectir la varietat musical del CD (fusió electrònica i clàssica).

Wired up

2010-02-10T18:17:00.014Z

It's finally out! This month's Wired magazine features my 'I've been waiting for you' typeface to illustrate an article about Werewolf, an online group game about murder that has become very popular (apparently). I always like to see the many unexpected ways people use typefaces, and seeing blood dripping down 'I've been waiting for you' was quite interesting. Moreover I was very pleased to see that they used it on 4 double-page spreads, and also my name printed (quite small) on the article cover. It might not be much, but hey! you've got to start from somewhere!

If you're wondering what Werewolf is about, here you have the game description.

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Per fi ha sortit! La revista Wired UK d'aquest mes fa servir la meva tipografia 'I've been waiting for you' per il.lustrar un article sobre Werewolf, un joc de rol i assassinats que es pot jugar per internet, i que està tenint molt d'èxit (es veu). Sempre m'agrada veure les diferents maneres que té la gent d'utilitzar tipografies, i veure sang gotejant de l'I've been waiting for you' va ser bastat interessant. A més, va estar bé veure que l'havien fet servir en 4 pàgines dobles, i també el meu nom escrit (en petit) a la coberta de l'article. No és gaire, però ei! s'ha de començar per algun lloc!

Si voleu saber més sobre Werewolf, aquí teniu la descripció del joc (en Anglès)

Sexy family

2010-01-27T17:52:00.011Z

I finally finished the Sexything type family!! Yayy!!
Slab serif + opentype + fourteen ligatures = sexzy...
You can download a sample from my portfolio website at bababau.com. Should you like to use it, please contact me for further info. Cheers!

New ligatures

2010-01-07T18:40:00.008Z

Sexything is the third typeface from Bababau. This is the thin (and sexier) version of this new typeface. More ligatures, weights and italics will follow up. Enjoy! (free for personal use)

Et voilà --> sexything_thin.otf

Whatever will be, won't be (Miyagi's bedtime story)

2009-12-23T11:00:00.014Z

Once upon a time there was a person whose motto was 'whatever will be, will be' and therefore this person didn't do anything except from observing and waiting until something happened. Looking from a window to the street is a reasonable way of seeing life. But what if the things you normally see on the street are actually inside your house? Well, that person followed the same strategy, and kept on looking and waiting. The problem arose when the things the person was looking at got tired of being observed, and so they decided to behave in the same exact way, looking at the person who was always looking. As a result, none of them moved a muscle, and therefore nothing ever happened.

And it was then when Mr. Miyagi approached me and said: if some day someone breaks into your house, either offer them a sit or chuck them out, but never wait expecting to see them do pirouettes in the air. Chances are they won't be ballerinas.

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Hi havia una vegada una persona que tenia per lema era 'el que serà, serà' i per tant aquesta persona no feia res més que mirar i esperar fins que alguna cosa passés. Mirar des d'una finestra al carrer és una manera prou vàlida de veure la vida. Però què passa si les coses que normalment veiem al carrer estan dins de casa? Bé, aquesta persona seguia la mateixa estratègia, i continuava mirant i esperant. El problema va sorgir quan les coses que aquesta la persona mirava es van cansar de ser observades, així que van decidir actuar de la mateixa manera, mirant a la persona que sempre mirava. Com a resultat d'això, cap d'elles va moure un dit, i per tant mai no va passar res.

I va ser llavors quan el senyor Miyagui se'm va acostar i em va dir: si algun dia algú entra a casa teva, ofereix-los una cadira o fes-los fora, però mai esperis a veure si fan piruetes a l'aire. El més probable és que no siguin ballarines.

Crossword soup

2009-12-16T12:07:00.015Z

Some time ago someone invented the alphabet soup. Funny enough, in Catalunya we use the same name to describe crosswords, or perhaps it's the other way around. Anyway, this soup was invented by some smart pants whose aim was to stop choosy children, like me, from leaving half bowl of soup every day for lunch. Damn you, soup-man! The alphabet soup was very popular in my primary school days, in part, thanks to a urban legend that said that we (children) would become cleverer if we ate all the letters... and of course, that was actually true! I now can complete all the Metro crosswords at amazing speed!

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Fa algun temps algú va inventar la sopa de lletres, una sopa que, com bé diu el nom, conté tot l'alfabet en forma de pasta. Aquesta sopa va ser inventada per algun llest amb l'objectiu d'evitar que els nens llepafils, com jo, deixessin el plat de sopa a mitges a l'hora de dinar. Maleït siguis, home-sopa! La sopa de lletres era molt popular quan anava a escola, en part gràcies a una llegenda urbana que deia que nosaltres (els nens) ens tornaríem més llestos si ens va menjàvem totes les lletres... i per descomptat, això era una bona veritat! Ara puc completar els tots mots encreuats del Metro a una velocitat increïble!

Bowling night

2009-11-14T15:51:00.027Z

I made this poster some time ago for the studio I was taking a placement for. At that time I was in charge of designing posters and leaflets for their promotional events. I made this poster in one morning, and although in the end I was quite happy with it, I've never included it in my portfolio. Anyhow, apparently I have a picture of this poster in a book that took me ages to finish, and that I do have in my portfolio. So it was quite funny last week when, while presenting my book to a creative director, he spotted the picture of the poster and went: oh wow, wowow! Nice! Did you make that, ay? Did ya? - haha, errr yes... and I also made this book...

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Vaig fer aquest pòster fa un temps quan estava fent pràctiques en un estudi gràfic. Llavors m'encarregava de dissenyar posters i fullets per les seves activitats promocionals. El pòster el vaig fer en un matí, i tot i que al final en vaig quedar content, mai l'he inclòs al meu portafoli. De totes maneres, es veu que tinc una foto d'aquest pòster en un llibre que em va costar setmanes a fer-lo, i que sí que el tinc al meu portafoli. Va ser bastant bò la setmana passada quan, mentre presentava el meu llibre a un director creatiu, el tio va veure la foto del poster i va començar: oh guau, guauguau! Guapo! L'has fet tu, oi? Oi que sí? - jaja, mmm sí...i també he fet aquest llibre...

Not-that-well-thought design

2009-11-01T17:37:00.028Z

It was the first time I was making a Halloween pumpkin, and since we organised a competition at work, I thought it would be a good opportunity to show my real potential... I decided to go with a typographic image. One that said HALLOWEEN in big fat letters. Not an amazing idea, nevertheless I thought it would catch the eye of the judge, aka the pumpKing. Surprisingly I didn't mess it up, and I finished crafting it three days before deadline.
- And here comes the not-that-well-thought design -
Three days later, when I arrived at the studio with the camera to take some pictures, I found my pumpkin well musty. The top part of my proudly crafted piece of art had collapsed, turning my beautiful pumpkin into a big piece of orange poo. Needless to say I didn't win the competition, and the only thing I could save was the cut out letters...
So what is the moral of the story? Next time you carve letters into a vegetable, use greater letter spacing.

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Era la primera vegada que feia una carbassa de Halloween i ja que havíem organitzat un concurs a la feina, vaig pensar que aquella era una bona oportunitat de demostrar el meu veritable potencial... Vaig decidir crear una imatge tipogràfica. Una que digués HALLOWEEN en lletres gruixudes. Res de nou, però vaig pensar que cridaria l'atenció del jutge, alias the pumpKing. Sorprenentment no la vaig liar, i vaig acabar la carbassa tres dies abans de la presentació.
- I aquí ve el disseny no-tan-ben-pensat -
Tres dies després, quan vaig arribar a l'estudi amb la càmera de fer fotos, vaig trobar la meva carbassa ben pansida. La part superior de l'obra d'art que havia tallat amb tota la meva ànima s'havia ensorrat, convertint la meva bonica carbassa en una gran i taronja caca de vaca. No cal dir que al final no vaig guanyar el concurs, i la única cosa que vaig poder salvar van ser ens trossos de lletres que havia tallat...
I quina és la moralitat de la història? La propera vegada que tallis lletres en una verdura, fes servir un espaiat mes gran.

And in this month's paradolia...

2009-10-13T19:44:00.009+01:00

And in this month's paradolia... Ultraman's spaceship! A creepy old man carrying a candle! And a kiwi bird taking care of an egg!

Water in my Casio

2009-10-07T19:26:00.010+01:00

Water in my Casio is the second font from Bababau. A tribute to my old black Casio alarm clock, with chronometer, light, and water resistant up to 50 meters (or so it said). Made in Malaysia.

Click to download

Up-to-you festival

2009-09-28T22:34:00.012+01:00

I really wanted to go to the London Design Festival this year. I picked up a guide, I planned the visits, I took my bicycle, and after two days pedalling, I left a bit disappointed. I don't mean the festival was badly organised. Nevertheless, after cycling my ass off I expected a bit more. I don't know, perhaps some free drinks, or maybe some people cheering at every corner like in the Tour de France. Yes, perhaps my expectations were a bit too high. Anyway, what I did like was the huge brackets I found while I was cycling to some venues. A normal façade of a normal house that has always been there. After all, what you like it's really up to you.

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Aquest any tenia ganes d'anar al London Design Festival. Vaig agafar una guia, vaig planejar les visites, vaig agafar la meva bicicleta, i després de dos dies pedalant, vaig quedar una mica decebut. Amb això no vull dir que el festival estigués mal organitzat, però després de gastar-me el cul anant amb bici, me n'esperava una mica més. No sé, potser unes begudes gratis, o algunes persones animant a cada cantonada com en el Tour de França. Potser sí que les meves expectatives eren una mica massa elevades. El que sí que em va agradar van ser els parèntesis gegants que vaig trobar quan anava amb bici. Una façana normal d'una casa normal que sempre ha estat allà. Després de tot, el que t'agrada, només depèn de tu.

Lowercase G

2009-09-13T19:15:00.021+01:00

There's something about the lowercase 'g' that draws my attention. Something that other letters don't have. It's curvy and sexy and difficult, and I've always felt attracted to these three things... The letter 'g' is the first letter I check when I have to choose a typeface, and will depend on it that I'll use one font or another. It can be pronounced in different ways. It's got head and toes. It's the letter you say when you clear your throat, and to its spot everyone bows. Oh 'g', letter 'g'!...ogg ugggh ugggggggggggggggggghhh...

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Hi ha alguna cosa sobre la 'g' minúscula que em crida l'atenció. Una cosa que les altres lletres no tenen. Té corbes, i és sexy i difícil, i sempre he sentit atracció per aquestes tres coses... La lletra 'g' és la primera lletra que miro quan he de triar una tipografia i depenent d'aquesta, faré servir una font o una altre. Tothom li busca el punt. Té cap i peus. És la lletra que es diu quan es fan gàrgares, i és la lletra de les mil veus. Oh 'g', lletra 'g'!...ogg ugggh ugggggggggggggggggghhh...

Bababau! II

2009-08-30T00:30:00.008+01:00

And after a few days of fighting back and forth with my computer, bababau.com has finally got a new look! Now I am going to make a cup of tea. Cheerio!

{hand}g]{loves

2009-08-01T12:16:00.012+01:00

A new typeface is born and I'm the mother - I mean the father - I mean the mother and the father(...)Anyway, this is the first typeface I publish and I'm quite happy with it. You can download it from Dafont.com for free (link below) and you can use it for your personal projects. The type is a modern gothic face called Ihavebeenwaitingforyou. Use the square brackets and the braces to add antiquity to the text. Enjoy.
Ihavebeenwaitingforyou.ttf

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Una nova tipografia ha nascut i jo sóc la mare - vull dir el pare - vull dir la mare i el pare(...)Tan és, aquesta és la primera font que publico i em fa especial gracia. La podeu descarregar gratis a Dafont.com (enllaç de sota) i la podeu fer servir per fer els vostres projectes personals. La tipografia és una lletra gòtica moderna que porta el nom d'Ihavebeenwaitingforyou (t'he estat esperant). Feu servir els parèntesis quadrats i les claus per afegir antiguitat al text. Que disfruteu.
Ihavebeenwaitingforyou.ttf

Fading

2009-07-21T23:28:00.009+01:00

This is me carrying out an experiment with long exposure photography. The brief of the project talked about losing memory and its consequences. The idea consisted in taking long exposure portraits of people holding one of their most beloved objects. The aim of the experiment was to keep the object in focus while fading out the faces' features (the longer the time, the blurrer the memories - and the faces). So here I am, staring at the lens of the camera for around 30 minutes and about to fall asleep... The experiment didn't go further than that. I just thought it'd be quite difficult to find volunteers (ideally old people) willing to stare at the camera for half an hour, holding one of their most beloved objects, in a dark room, in company with a stranger. I might try again once I retire.

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Aquest sóc jo fent un experiment amb fotografia de llagra exposició. El projecte tractava sobre la pèrdua de memòria i les seves conseqüències. La idea consistia en fer retrats de llarga exposició de persones junt amb algun dels seus objectes més estimats. La finalitat de l'experiment era mantenir els objectes enfocats, i al mateix temps fer que les faccions de les cares quedessin borroses (com més temps passa, més borrosos són els records - i les cares). Així que aquí estic jo, mirant a l'objectiu de la càmera durant 30 minuts i a punt de quedar dormit... L'experiment no va sortir d'aquí. Vaig pensar que seria molt difícil trobar voluntaris (per anar bé persones grans) que miressin a la càmera durant mitja hora, aguantant algun dels seus objectes més estimats, en una habitació fosca, en companyia d'un estrany. Potser ho tornaré a intentar un cop em jubili.

2009-07-21T23:19:00.001+01:00

Dead quiet

2009-07-13T00:50:00.007+01:00

When I was moving all my stuff to my new place I asked the cabbie if the area was safe. Safe?? - he said - sure, it's dead quiet! What he meant it that just off my road is the Nunhead cemetery, one of the seven Victorian cemeteries built in London in the 19th century. Today, the cemetery is a nature reserve where one can find a wide range of both local and exotic plants. It also has beautiful paths and gravestones (some of them partially buried or broken) with nice letters carved into them. And from the top of the hill there's a nice view of south east London! Definitely one of my favourite places... during daytime.

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Quan estava traslladant totes les meves coses a la meva nova casa, li vaig preguntar al taxista si la zona era segura. Segura?? - Va dir - I tant, és totalment tranquil.la! El que volia dir és que just al costat del meu carrer hi ha el cementiri de Nunhead, un dels set cementiris victorians construïts a Londres al segle XIX. Avui, el cementiri és una reserva natural on s'hi poden trobar una àmplia gamma de plantes natives i exòtiques. També hi ha caminets i làpides (algunes d'elles parcialment enterrats o trencats) amb boniques lletres tallades a la pedra. I des del cim del turó hi ha una bonica vista del sud-est de Londres! Definitivament un dels meus llocs preferits... durant el dia.

Green leaves

2009-07-04T22:04:00.012+01:00

In the UK the only way of paying your degree (if you are not loaded) is by applying for a student loan. Students don't need to pay it back until they start earning at least 12K per year. Sounds right. The trick is that interests won't stop growing, so by the time you get a proper job you might have to sell your blood. Yesterday I received a letter from the student's loan company with the forecast for next year. According to them, by this time next year, my student loan will have increased in more than £3000. God Save the Queen. Luckily the envelope had this nice pattern in the inside that made me forget about the debt. How nice they are.(don't miss the sarcasm)

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Al Regne Unit, l'única manera de pagar la carrera (si no estàs forrat) és sol.licitant un préstec d'estudiant. Aquests préstecs no s'han de tornar fins que l'estudiant comenci a cobrar com a mínim 12000 lliures l'any. Fins aquí, correcte. El truc és que els interessos no deixen de créixer, o sigui que per quan ja hagi aconseguit una bona feina, pot ser que m'hagi de vendre la sang. Ahir vaig rebre una carta de la companyia de préstecs (students loan co.) amb les previsions del pròxim any. Segons ells, per aquest temps l'any que ve el meu préstec haurà incrementat en més de 3000 lliures. Déu salvi a la Reina. Afortunadament, el sobre tenia aquest bonic patró per dins que em va fer oblidar l'endeutament. Que macos que són.(no et perdis el sarcasme)

Final beergree show

2009-06-28T19:11:00.016+01:00

No one knows what's the real purpose of a degree show. Some people say it's a great opportunity to make contacts or even get work placements. Well, from the student point of view, I think it's just an excuse to drink free beer. And from the professional point of view, I'd say it's the best chance to get fresh ideas (while drinking free beer). Whatever the case, I just want to thank everyone that came along and made the degree show even bigger. By the way, the work the guy is looking at it's called Perception & Movement, and you can find it in my portfolio website.

P.S; After the degree show I received one e-mail concerning my work. It was from a second year student. Thanks Sophie!

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Ningú sap ben bé de què serveix l'exposició de final de curs. Uns diuen que és una gran oportunitat per fer contactes o per aconseguir ofertes de treball. Bé, des del punt de vista de l'estudiant, crec que és una excusa per beure cervesa gratis. I des del punt de vista del professional, jo diria que és la millor oportunitat de trobar idees fresques (mentre es beu cervesa gratis). En qualsevol dels casos, només volia agrair a tots els que hi van assistir i que van fer que l'exposició sigues encara més gran. Per cert, el treball que el noi està mirant es diu Moviment i Percepció, i el podeu trobar en el meu portafoli online.

P.D; Després de l'exposició vaig rebre un e-mail en relació amb el meu projecte. Era d'un estudiant de segon any. Gràcies Sophie!

Farewell, egg case wall

2009-06-16T10:14:00.018+01:00

If I were allowed to take only two items with me when moving out from my flat, I would probably choose my laptop and my rice cooker - first because they are useful and second because they are special to me. But what if we were choosing things according to their emotional connotations only, no matter how useless they were? Surely our rooms would be full of crap, but how happy we'd be...!
Unfortunately sometimes we have to be realistic and make tough decisions...I really wanted to take you with me, egg case wall. But I just think you wouldn't fit in the new flat. I'll miss you...

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Si hagués de moure'm de pis però només em pogués emportar dues coses, probablement escolliria el meu portàtil i la meva màquina de cuinar arròs - en primer lloc perquè són útils, i en segon lloc perquè són especials per mi. Però què passaria si escollíssim les coses només per les seves connotacions emocionals, sense tenir en compte si són útils o no? Segurament les nostres habitacions estarien plenes de merda, però que feliços que seriem...!
Desgraciadament a vegades hem de ser realistes i prendre decisions difícils... Jo et volia portar amb mi, paret de caixes d'ous. Però crec que al nou pis no hi encaixaries. Et trobaré a faltar...

The handyman followers

2009-06-05T17:21:00.008+01:00

I never was a big follower of Art Attack. There are even some very funny videos on youtube where people make fun of the presenter, a guy that has been there for 20 years without loosing his teenage look and his annoyingly enthusiastic voice. Every program had a two-minute section where Neil Buchanan, aka 'the handyman', was doing some very nice things. But why the handyman had only 2 minutes when the annoying Mickey-Mouse guy had one hour for himself? Well, I do not know. Anyway, in one of the two-minute sections, the handyman guy was walking down the street when he found an empty shop with the window painted white. He then entered the shop and started scratching the glass until he sketched a big cat. Pretty pointless...-I thought- yet the idea was great.

These pictures are from a window shop I found in Charing Cross Road. I think that place used to be a bookshop especialised in crime and fiction novels. I don't know if the owner was in the mood of sketching that nice leafy pattern after having to close down the bookshop. Nevertheless it's grateful that someone spent a good time to turn something dull into something much more beautiful just because.
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Mai vaig ser un gran seguidor d'Art Attack. Fins i tot hi ha alguns vídeos molt bons penjats al youtube que fan broma del presentador, un tio que fa 20 anys que està allà i que encara no ha perdut ni el seu look d'adolescent ni el seu to de veu repel.lentment entusiàstic. Tots els programes tenien una secció d'uns dos minuts on Neil Buchanan, aka 'el manetes', feia les coses més xules. I per què el manetes tenia només 2 minuts quan el noi-Mickey-Mouse tenia una hora per ell sol? Bé, no ho sé. On vull anar a parar és que en una de les seccions de dos minuts, el manetes estava caminant pel carrer quan va trobar una botiga buida amb el vidre de l'aparador pintat de blanc. Tot seguit hi va entrar i va començar a rascar el vidre fins que va esbossar un gran gat. No tenia gaire sentit...-Vaig pensar- però la idea era molt bona.
Aquestes fotos són d'un aparador que vaig trobar a Charing Cross Road. Crec que allà hi havia una llibreria especialitzada en novel.la negra i de ficció. No sé si el propietari estava de bon humor per fer aquest patró de fulles després d'haver de tancar la botiga. Tot i aixì, és molt d'agrair que algú es passés una bona estona en convertir algo avorrit en algo molt més maco només perquè sí.

Antiquity

2009-06-02T12:23:00.019+01:00

This is one of the projects I submitted for my final year. The project brief was called 'The aesthetics of antiquity', and focussed on how the erosion of some objects (pictures, paintings, vases,...) can change their original appearance and enhance their visual charm. This antiquity marks can make some objects more interesting or valuable. Likewise the same marks can also explain their story. The path I took looked at how these stories can build up and be interpreted as time goes by. The final piece portrays the story of an object or a person sitting on the same place for a long time. These stories can be explained by the marks left after the person or the object is gone. The typeface is a gothic letter that I designed out from triangles, and that represent the random growth of such marks. In this case, 'I have been waiting for you' is the message I debossed on a rug, which I left on the street for people to leave their marks.
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Aquest és un dels projectes finals que he presentat pel meu últim any. El brief del projecte es deia 'L'estètica de l'antiguitat' i es centrava en com l'erosió d'alguns objectes (imatges, pintures, gerros,...) poden canviar la seva aparença original i augmentar el seu encant. Aquestes marques d'antiguitat poden fer que alguns objectes es tornin més interessants o valuosos, i són també aquestes mateixes marques les que poden explicar la seva història. El camí que vaig agafar explorava la manera en què aquestes històries es poden acumular i ser interpretades a mesura que passa el temps. La peça final descriu la hostòria d'un objecte o d'una persona quieta en un mateix lloc durant molt de temps. Aquestes històries poden ser interpretades per les marques que queden un cop aquesta persona o objecte ha desaparegut. La tipografia és una lletra gòtica que vaig dissenyar a partir de triangles, i que representen el creixement aleatori d'aquestes marques. En aquest cas, 'T'he estat esperant' és el missatge que vaig imprimir en contrarrelleu sobre una catifa, i que vaig deixar al carrer perquè la gent hi deixés la seva marca.

Deadlines are finally over! Ueeee!!

2009-06-02T11:05:00.003+01:00

The amazing card

2009-04-24T00:32:00.005+01:00

A friend of mine gave me this stereoscope-card for my birthday. A stereoscope is an optical instrument invented in the 19th century that allow the users to see a 3D image from two slightly different pictures (wiki). In my case, the picture was a set of lit happy birthday candles, which as a birthday message was very appropriate. The idea of having this kind of optical illusions fitted into a card is pretty clever, and what's more important, makes people to look at it more than once. Of course the card company name couldn't be any other than The Amazing Card.
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Una amiga meva em va regalar aquesta postal-estereoscopica d'aniversari. L'estereoscopi és un instrument òptic inventat al segle XIX i que permet veure una imatge en 3D a partir de dues imatges lleugerament diferents (wiki). En el meu cas, la imatge era un grapat de lletres enceses que em desitjaven un feliç aniversari, i que com a missatge d'aniversari, era molt oportú. La idea de posar aquesta mena d'il.lusions òptiques en postals està molt ben pensada, i el que és més important, fa que la gent se les miri més d'una vegada. És clar el nom de la companya no podia ser un altre que La postal increïble.

Small talk

2009-04-22T09:37:00.001+01:00

Balanced out

2009-04-02T17:28:00.014+01:00

They say life is about balance.
At the same time the G20 was meeting in London to suppositely fix something they spoiled themselves (with the help of the banks), someone in my street put the note 'Please help yourself! We work...' and was giving away three Apple keyboards in case someone needed one. The Ying & the Yang. Probably this won't safe the world, yet I don't think the world leaders can fix anything in a few hour meeting either. All for the sake of a good feast at Downing Street.
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Diuen que la vida és equilibri.
Al mateix temps que el G20 es reunia a Londres per suposadament arreglar algo que ells mateixos van espatllar (amb l'ajuda dels bancs), algú del meu carrer posava la nota 'Si us plau, serviu-vos vosaltres mateixos! Funcionem...' i deixava tres teclats Apple per si algú en necessitava un. El Ying i el Yang. Probablement això no salvarà el món, però tampoc crec que el salvi una reunió d'unes hores dels líders mundials. Tot sigui per un bon banquet a Downing Street.

Flowery winters

2009-04-02T00:26:00.011+01:00

This is the blanket I stored away until next winter. I don't know when my mum bought it or why she gave it to me. Based on the flowery pattern and the logo, it's clearly from the seventies, and it might actually be for this reason that she wanted to get rid of it. Anyway, I'm glad she gave it to me. I have a kind of a love/hate feeling for the 70's and early 80's style. I actually hate it more than I love it, nevertheless I like the character logos they had, such as this one. It reminds me of the Spanish'82 World Cup mascot. An orange called Naranjito (small orange dude) that was so fashionable among kids that made them go crazy. I don't remember it very well, since I was very little. What I do remember though, is my brother kicking the ball against me. He said he wanted to train me as a goalkeeper...
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Aquesta és la manta que he guardat fins l'hivern que bé. No sé quan la va comprar la meva mare, o perquè me la va donar. Basant-me amb l'estampat de flors i el logo, és clarament dels anys setanta, i de fet deu ser per aquesta raó que se la volia treure se sobre. Sigui com sigui, estic content que me l'hagi donat. Tinc com una mena d'amor/odi per l'estil dels 70/principis dels 80. Jo diria que l'odio més que no m'encanta, de totes maneres m'agrada la personalitat que tenen els seus logos, com ara aquest. Em recorda el Naranjito, la mascota del mundial d'Espanya'82, i que va arribar a ser tan popular entre els nens que fins i tot es tornaven bojos. No ho recordo bé, ja que era molt petit. El que sí recordo és el meu germà xutant la pilota contra mi. Deia que em volia entrenar de porter...

Bee Tee

2009-03-23T22:16:00.017Z

I think I took the first picture sometime last summer. BT was doing a new installation in a nearby house and they put a provisional post right in front of my door, which by the way was a bit annoying. The post though, had some sort of coding carved into the wood which I found quite interesting. Not the code itself but the way it was written. The nice thing was when I grabbed this month's Creative Review (picture two) and found this article about a project done by Gordon Young in collaboration with Why Not Associates.
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Em sembla que vaig tirar la primera foto durant l'estiu passat. BT (la Telefònica anglesa) estava fent una instal.lació nova en una casa del costat i van posar un pal just al davant de la meva porta, que per cert era una mica emprenyador. El que em va agradar del pal però, és que tenia com una mena de codi tallat a la fusta que vaig trobar bastant interessant. No el codi en si sinó la manera en que estava escrit. Ho bo va ser quan vaig agafar l'edició d'aquest mes del Creative Review (foto dos) i vaig trobar aquest article d'un projecte fet per Gordon Young amb la col.laboració de Why Not Associates.

Collagophile: a sick collage every once in a while

2009-03-22T07:09:00.008Z

Bababau!

2009-03-18T11:21:00.015Z

Finally!! After some delay bababau.com it's up and running...~~in all browsers except in IE~~ in the evil IE too. Should you have some spare time please check it out! Feedback will be much appreciated.

To navigate through bababau.com, click on a work and U-scroll through the page: down > right > up
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Per fi!! Després d'algun retard bababau.com ja està en marxa...~~en tots els navegadors excepte l'Internet Explorer~~ també per la desgràcia de l'IE. Si tens una mica de temps lliure, si us plau fes-hi una ullada i digues què en penses.

Per navegar per bababau.com, clica sobre un treball i desplaça la pantalla fent una U: avall > dreta > amunt

Memories are never lost

2009-03-18T10:54:00.005Z

The forest is VIDA

2009-03-13T21:49:00.021Z

When I was in Spain I remember seeing an environmental ad on the Catalan TV that said 'the forest is life' (el bosc és vida). The ad tried to rise concern among the weekenders that drive to the woods in summer time to camp, do sports, or do BBQs. Sadly, every summer there's forest fires in Spain due to careless people. Two weeks ago, walking into B&Q for some cheap masking tape I saw these wood planks with the word 'vida' (life) printed on the sides. I guess it was the suppliers name, nevertheless the word VIDA transformed the planks into chopped trees, which is what they really are. I'm sure if we printed 'life' on every once alive thing, such as wood, paper, or on the supermarket's frozen chickens, we'd be more aware of their value.
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Quan estava a Catalunya recordo haver vist l'anunci aquell que deia 'el bosc és vida'. Fa dues setmanes vaig entrar a un B&Q (que és com un Leroy Merlin) per comprar cinta de pintor barata, i vaig veure aquests llistons de fusta amb la paraula 'vida' impresa als costats. Suposo que aquest era el nom de la companyia que distribueix la fusta, de totes maneres la paraula VIDA va convertir els llistons en arbres tallats, que és el que realment són. Estic segur que si imprimíssim 'vida' en tot allò que alguna vagada va estar viu, com ara la fusta, el paper, o els pollastres congelats del supermercat, seríem més conscients del seu valor.

The all-white house

2009-03-08T12:17:00.009Z

There's an all-white house near the place where I live. And when I say all-white I mean the walls, the roof, the windows, the doors, the chimneys, and probably the toilets as well. I wonder if the house is hollow from the inside, or it's just a solid block of clay. I can't see the purpose for all that whiteness but it does make the iconic shape of the house stand out. It looks like one of the Monopoly houses. In fact, considering the land price in London, I'm not surprised someone is playing life size.
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A prop d'on visc hi ha una casa totalment blanca. I quan dic totalment blanca vull dir les parets, la taulada, les finestres, les portes, les xemeneies, i potser els lavabos també. Em pregunto si la casa està buida per dins, o si és un bloc massís de plastilina. Realment no li trobo cap sentit a tanta blancor, però el que sí fa és destacar la forma icònica de l'estructura. Sembla una casa com les del Monopoli. De fet, tenint en compte el preu del terreny a Londres, no em sorprèn que algú estigui jugant a escala real.

February's and March paradolias

2009-03-03T11:05:00.011Z

When doing this kind of exercise I'm always hoping to find the perfect scribble to find weird shapes. It was after I finished that I realised all scribbles are good enough. It all depends on our imagination. Anyway, these are the ones I liked the most. A fat flying dinosaur, the ugliest monster I've ever drawn, and an egghead piranha. Hopeless...
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Quan faig aquest exercici sempre espero trobar el gargot perfecte per trobar-hi coses rares. Va ser després d'haver acabat que em vaig adonar que tot els gargots són bons. Tot depenen de la nostra imaginació. Resumint, que aquests són els que em van agradar més. Un dinosaure gras i volador, el monstre mes lleig que mai he dibuixat, i una piranya amb cap d'ou. No hi ha remei...

I thought a thought. But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I thought.

2009-02-22T15:47:00.011Z

Betty Botter had some butter,
"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter--
that would make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,
better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

Masquerade

2009-02-22T09:32:00.010Z

I'm doing a placement in the graphic department of an English school. Perhaps the first impression of the design work to be produced in a school might not be very exciting, but the truth is that with the amount of activities and parties they have, it's impossible not to be creative...without taking into account the low budget and the daily deadlines. This is a poster I made for a masquerade party. The idea was to make a kaleidoscope effect out of a mask to create other random faces, which is exactly the same effect you would see in a masquerade party, after having a few drinks. Pretty scary.
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Estic fent pràctiques en un estudi gràfic d'una escola d'Anglès. Pot ser que en principi els dissenys que es poden fer en una escola no siguin gaire emocionants, però la veritat és que amb la quantitat d'activitats i festes que fan, és impossible no ser creatiu...sense tenir en compte el baix pressupost i les entregues diàries. Aquest és un pòster que vaig fer per una festa que màscares. La idea era crear un efecte calidoscòpic d'una màscara per formar altres cares, que exactament és el mateix efecte que veuries en una festa de màscares, després de fer uns quants beures. Per acollonir-se.

Where I was

2009-02-12T20:37:00.016Z

There is a nice design book shop I always go but never buy anything. In fact I'm just one of many graphic designers and the like that do the same thing: Go there -> flick through the books -> get some inspiration -> leave tiptoeing in case they say something explicit. We all look a bit like thiefs... The other day I grabbed a small book called 'pictures of walls' that made me realise that simple and straightforward titles are the best. The book showed pictures of written messages on walls made by anonymous people. There is a fine line between vandalism and street art, and to be honest none of those messages were very arty. Nevertheless, some of them were so true or so funny that they deserved being photographed. There was one that said 'I wish I was where I was when I was wishing I was here', which is understandable since, according to the book, that picture was taken in Alaska. It made me think for a while. I left tiptoeing.
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Hi ha una botiga de disseny gràfic que està molt bé, que sempre hi vaig però no hi compro mai res. De fet només sóc un dels molts dissenyadors gràfics I demés que fan el mateix: Anar allà -> fullejar els llibres -> trobar algo d’inspiració -> marxar de puntetes per si algú diu res. Semblem una mica lladregots... L'altre dia vaig agafar un llibre anomenat ‘fotografies de parets’, que em va fer adonar que els títols simples i directes són els millors. El llibre mostrava fotos de missatges escrits a les parets per persones anònimes. Hi ha una línia molt fina entre el vandalisme i l’art de carrer, i per ser sincer, cap d’aquells missatges era gaire artístic. De totes maneres, alguns d’ells deien tantes veritats o feien tant ruire que es mereixien ser fotografiats. N’hi havia un que deia ‘Desitjaria estar allà on era quan vaig desitjar ser aquí’, el que es pot entendre ja que, segons el llibre, la foto la van fer a Alaska. Em va deixar pensatiu. Vaig marxar de puntetes.

The pain of crafting

2009-02-09T22:09:00.019Z

These are two of my final year projects I'm working on. So far, all the briefs we've been given are quite interesting and conceptual, which is something I wanted to do. The downside is that sometimes I'm a bit unrealistic in managing my time. Not because I don't work hard, but because of the amount of work I want to carry out. The first project is based on my dissertation in which I talk about the mechanisms of perception. The outcome is composed out of three anamorphoses that make us perceive an image that is not actually there. The second picture is from a brief called 'past, present, and future'. To craft it, I weaved a big circle out of shredded bank statements to represent all the experiences we live in a time cycle. All that might sound very well, or even weird. What I didn't think before starting was that I would have to manually drill more then six-thousand holes, nail two-thousand nails and screws, and weave four years of bank statements which only God knows why I was keeping them in my room since I can check them online!...well, at least I'm being green.
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Aquests són dos dels projectes de final de carrera en que estic treballant. Fins ara tots els 'briefs' que ens han donat són bastant interessants i conceptuals, que és el que volia fer. El que passa és que a vegades no sóc gaire realista a l’hora de gestionar el meu temps. No perquè no treballi dur, sinó perquè em busco una feinada de por. El primer projecte està basat en la meva tesi, que tracta sobre els mecanismes de percepció. La peça final es compon de tres anamorfosis que fan percebre una imatge que realment no existeix. La segona foto és d'un projecte anomenat ‘passat, present i futur’. Per fer-lo, vaig trenar un gran cercle fet d'extractes bancaris fets a tires que representen les experiencies viscudes en un cicle temporal. Tot això pot sonar molt bé, o fins i tot estrany. El que no vaig pensar abans de començar, va ser en que hauria de foradar manualment més de sis-mil forats, clavar dos-mil claus i cargols, i trenar quatre anys d’extractes bancaris que només Déu sap perquè els guardava a la meva habitació si els puc mirar per internet!...bé, com a mínim estic sent verd.

January's paradolia

2009-01-30T15:03:00.008Z

And this month's paradolia is...
a butterfly with something weird hanging off.

Tasty stuff

2009-01-29T13:00:00.025Z

Today I finished the last piece of turrón I had in the fridge; the very last bit from all the Xmas food I brought from Spain...that was a shame. I mean, I’m not a sweet tooth nor addicted to eating, but it’s just opening a box of turrón and see the goldie label, with embossed ornaments and chocolaty-like lettering, that I automatically think: wow, this is quality stuff – to follow up with: bloody hell, I’m eating f#!king great! – with my mouth full. I might be going mad, or it might be the lack of turrón in London that drives me nuts. Anyhow, I'm not too sure if the turrón would taste as good if it were wrapped in newspaper. Perhaps I should chew the sticker for a while to see if that’s the secret.
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Avui m'he acabat l'últim tros de torró que tenia a la nevera. L'últim trosset de tots els productes nadalencs que vaig portar de Catalunya...ha estat una pena. Amb això no vull dir que sigui un llaminer o que estigui enganxat al menjar, però és només obrir una caixa de torró i veure l'etiqueta daurada, ornamentada amb relleus i lletres que semblen de xocolata, que automàticament penso: hòsti, això és qualitat - per seguidament dir: la Verge, estic menjant de p#!a mare! - amb la boca plena. Pot ser que m'estigui tornant boig, o que l'absència de turró a Londres m'estigui passant factura. De totes maneres, no sé si el turró estaria igual de bo si estigués embolicat en paper de diari. Potser hauria de mastegar l'etiqueta durant una estona per veure si aquest és el secret.

Fifteen pints

2009-01-27T23:50:00.018Z

This is an exercise I did some time ago, after a lecture about narrative transition. The handout they gave us (from the book 'understanding comics' by Scott McCloud) explained the different kinds of panel-to-panel transitions used in graphic novels, such as moment-to-moment, aspect-to-aspect, scene-to-scene, action-to-action, and transitions with no logical relationship between panels (yeah, I have the handout in front of me). So as my friends and I were going down to the pub, I thought of taking my digital camera to record the conversation. This is the panel-to-panel interpretation of the conversation, which needless to say degraded a bit after the third pint. Now that its content has been lost, it only depends on how dirty your imagination is.
- Click image to enlarge –
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Aquest és un exercici que vaig fer fa un temps, després d'una classe sobre transicions de narracions. El fulletu que ens van donar (extret del llibre ‘understanding comics’ d'Scott McCloud) explica els diferents tipus de transicions de vinyeta a vinyeta utilitzades en novel.les gràfiques, com ara transicions de moment-a-moment, d’aspecte-a-aspecte, d’escena-a-escena, d’acció-a-acció, o transicions sense una relació lògica entre vinyetes (sí, tinc el fulletu al meu davant). Així que aprofitant que havia quedat amb uns amics per anar a fer unes cerveses, vaig agafar la meva càmera digital per gravar la conversa. Aquesta és la interpretació vinyeta a vinyeta de la conversa, la qual no cal dir va anar degradant després de la tercera pinta. Ara que el seu contingut s'ha perdut, només depèn de si la vostra imaginació està pervertida.
- Cliqueu la imatge per ampliar –

Screwed love

2009-01-18T13:13:00.018Z

When I go traveling I always tend to take 1000 photos of irrelevant silly stuff. The nice thing is that after some time, some of these pictures turn to be small treasures (not many to be honest). I took this picture last summer during a trip I did around Portugal. Walking about the city of Porto I found this amazing display in the window of a tool shop. The shop was small and had a scruffy and rusted look from the outside, which made it even more charming to look at. I can't remember if the shop was open, but now that I think about it, I should have entered to kiss a moustached man's bald head (this is the first image of a tool seller that comes into my head). I don't know if he is making much business, but the sure thing is that this person loves the screws he sells, which is the important thing.
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Quan vaig de viatge sempre acabo tirant 1000 fotos de parides varies. Ho maco és que amb el temps, algunes d'equestes fotos es converteixen en petits tresors (no gaires, per ser sincer). Aquesta foto la vaig tirar l'estiu passat durant un viatge que vaig fer per Portugal. Caminant per la ciutat de Porto vaig trobar aquesta interessant mostra en un aparador d'una botiga d'eines. La botiga era petita i des de fora es veia bastant vella i rovellada, el que la feia encara mes interessant a la vista. No recordo si la botiga estava oberta, però parant-me a pensar, hi podria haver entrat i fer-li un petó a la calba d'un home amb bigoti (aquesta és la primera imatge que em ve al cap d'un venedor d'eines). No sé si fa gaire negoci, però el què està clar és que aquesta persona s'estima els cargols que ven, que és el que importa.

Paradolia of the month

2008-12-17T21:33:00.024Z

Working on my dissertation I bumped into the word Paradolia, which according to the dictionary is the phenomenon of finding familiar images in random scenes (like faces in clouds and so on). I suddenly remembered a game I was playing when I was child that consumed some of my time to do homework (therefore my brilliant grades). The game consisted in making a scribble on a piece of paper and imagining what could be in there. The only rule allowed in the game was that I could draw dots or lines to complete the drawing, but only after I had "seen" it.
Paradolias are quite interesting and they can help to boost creativity, so I decided to continue playing with them and do a "paradolia of the month" kind of thing. Just for the fun of it. I did these two last week and although the shouting-hairless-head-with-pigeon-body is quite good, I'm afraid this month's winner has to be The Dancing Cat. Probably next time, Mr. bald bird.
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Escrivint la meva tesi vaig trobar-me amb la paraula "paradòlia", que segons el meu diccionari d'anglès es el fenomen de trobar imatges familiars en coses aleatòries, com ara cares als núvols i coses així. De cop vaig recordar un joc que em feia passar algunes estones en comptes de fer els deures, quan era petit (d'aquí les meves notes). El joc consistia en fer un gargot en un tros de paper i intentar trobar alguna cosa (generalment monstres i coses rares). La única regla permesa era que hi podia afegir línies o punts per acabar de completar el dibuix, però només un cop ja l'havia vist.
Les "paradòlies" (no sé si es diu així en Català) són bastant interessants i poden ajudar a ser més creatiu, així que he decidit seguir jugant amb elles i fer com una mena de "gargot-paradòlia" del mes. Més que res per passar-ho be. La setmana passada em van sortir questes dues, i tot i que el cap-sense-pèl-amb-cos-de-colom-que-crida és bastant bo, molt em temo que el guanyador d'aquest mes ha de ser El Gat Ballador. Potser la pròxima vegada, senyor ocell calb.

Circles...

2008-12-03T00:00:00.009Z

This is a circle and I think I'm addicted to them...

Long live the Kennedy

2008-12-01T22:41:00.036Z

Since I moved to Camberwell that I wanted to take a picture of the Kennedy's Sausages shop. I live just down the road and every time I pass by I feel magnetized by their lettering. Probably also because, from where I come from, one can find butcheries and fish shops, but you won't find shops or factories selling sausages only. I found this store so genuine that I did some research (not very exhaustive) only to find out that the company closed down last year, after 130 years of family business, as they couldn't keep up with the big supermarkets. They had several stores across south London and apparently their sausages where quite famous for their taste and quality. Luckily, some people more passionate than me created a Flickr group (link below) where we can find loads of pictures of the beloved sausage shops! Long live the Kennedy!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/946758@N22/
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Des de que visc a Camberwell, sempre havia volgut fer una foto de la botiga 'Kennedy Sausages'. Visc gairebé al costat i cada vegada que hi passo pel davant em sento atret pels seus rètols. Potser també perquè a Catalunya no podem trobar botigues o fàbriques especialitzades en salsixes o butifarres (Butifarreries?? No em sona). Vaig trobar aquesta botiga tan autèntica que vaig decidir fer una mica de recerca no gaire exhausiva. Vaig trobar que havien tancat l'any passat, després que 130 anys de negoci familiar, degut a la competència dels grans supermercats. Tenien unes quantes botigues al sud de Londres i es veu que les seves "butifarres" eren bastant reconegudes pel seu bon gust i la seva qualitat. Per sort, hi ha gent més apassionada que jo que ha obert un grup al Flickr (link de sota) on es poden trobar un pilot de fotos de les estimades botigues de salsixes! Llarga vida als Kennedy!
http://www.flickr.com/groups/946758@N22/

The legal TV owners

2008-11-30T17:17:00.024Z

I got this TV from a friend of mine who at the same time got it from another friend who got it from a person who knew a friend of a friend of his. I really don't know who bought this TV and neither me not my friend know the people in the stickers. The only thing we know is that these pic-stickers have been there for a long time, and based on our experience... we guess that these people are "the legal TV owners". Our TV licence expired long time ago and we don't want to pay for watching rubbish every once in a while. So if you are one of "the legal TV owners", please come and pick it up!
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Un amic meu em va donar aquesta tele que un amic seu li va donar, que al mateix temps li va donar un amic d'un amic que el coneixia a ell. Vamus, que no en tinc ni idea de qui va comprar aquesta tele i ni el meu amic ni jo sabem qui és la gent de les enganxines. Només sabem que aquestes fotos ja venien enganxades o sigui que, basant-nos en la nostra experiència...creiem que aquesta gent són "els amos legals de la tele". La nostra llicència ha caducat (a UK cal comprar una llicència per veure la televisió pública) i no volem pagar per veure porqueria de tant en tant. O sigui que, si tu ets un de "els amos legals de la tele", siusplau vine a buscar-la!

Hola

2008-11-28T21:20:00.017Z

Welcome to the Bababau blog, the odds and ends room for my portfolio website. May the force be with it!
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Benvingut al blog Bababau, el calaix dels trastos de la meva pàgina web. Que la força l'acompanyi!