Chris Barr

So, Photoshop crashed on me.

Thursday, December 31, 2009

I hope this helps the nice people over at Adobe.

The Mountain Goats Score Mario

Friday, May 22, 2009

One of my favorite bands of all time, The Mountain Goats has written a short but sweet song about the original Mario game, but from the perspective of Toad. Really a great song, and the video below is worth a watch.

The Comic Sans Effect

Friday, April 25, 2008

If you don’t already know, I’m a huge advocate of the Ban Comic Sans site.  It’s a bad font, and it’s just plain overused.  Look for it next time you see anything that’s been designed, I’ve seen it everywhere from menus to billboards.  Another font that I similarly despise is Papyrus, so much to that I own http://banpapyrus.com - one day I’ll get around to making a real site for it, I promise.

I suppose you can link the use of comic sans to print design, but it really can be used in any kind of media.  But, I got to thinking the other day, every different type of media has it’s own “comic sans” per se.  These are all extremely common to see in their respective media types, but that’s because they’ve become overused and bland now.  Whenever I see any of these, it makes me wonder if the designer behind it is actually aware of how incredibly overused they are!  The problem with any of these is that when you look at a design, I shouldn’t see the tools or fonts used, I should see the design and overall message.

I’ve got a more detailed write up about all these after the jump.

Read more...

How to Deal with Junk Mail

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Do you get junk mail every day from credit card companies? I sure do, sometimes multiple offers each day! I've decided to write a simple tutorial on how to easily deal with your junk mail. Sure you could easily just throw it away, but that's not secure and not the least bit fun.

Step 1 - Recieve Junk Mail » This is the easiest step. Just check your mailbox and you're bound to find some. Open the envelope and make sure it contains a business reply envelope.






Step 2 - Tear it Up » Now comes the fun part. Set aside the business reply envelope, and tear up everything else into small pieces. This means the original containing envelope as well.






Step 3 - The Transfer » Now, take all the pieces you've torn up and put them into the business reply envelope.






Step 4 - Make it Fit » Now this is a lot of stuff to put in such a small envelope, but you can make it fit - I believe in you. Use tape if you have to.






Step 5 - Repeat » I got two credit card offers in one day, so I was able to send both companies their papers back, because they want them back and all I'm trying to do is help.






Step 6 - Send it » Now put them in the mailbox so that they can return to their rightful owners. Make sure you put the flag up on your mailbox!

Crazy Chinese Board Game

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

What in the world is this game?  I want to play it.