5 Keys to Becoming a Successful Interactive Designer
Balind on 18 Jun 2008 | Tips & Advice

Here’s a list of what I consider to be the fundamental skills needed to make it as a designer in the interactive advertising world. Continue Reading »
Balind on 18 Jun 2008 | Tips & Advice

Here’s a list of what I consider to be the fundamental skills needed to make it as a designer in the interactive advertising world. Continue Reading »
Balind on 05 Jun 2008 | Musings

The iPhone has been out for almost a year now. I think it’s time for my official review. Continue Reading »
Balind on 26 May 2008 | Industry News

FWA Theater is one of the best things to happen to the web in a while. Why? First of all because Fi’s on-line video application FiV is simply breathtaking… and secondly, there’s finally a resource to consolidate all the inspiring video motion graphics work out there. Continue Reading »
Balind on 19 May 2008 | Tips & Advice
This was an interesting project, We basically handed the Photoshop files off to John and watched him do his thing. Here’s a peak into the creative process behind Reds first UFC Papervision site. Continue Reading »
john on 21 Apr 2008 | Tips & Advice

Hello all, my name’s John Iacoviello and I work with Balind as a Sr. Interactive Developer at Red Interactive and I also go by Self Titled. Continue Reading »
Balind on 12 Apr 2008 | Tips & Advice

I’m writing this post to remind the younger designers of the one and only key to a successful career - a crazy portfolio website branded with your skills and attitude. Continue Reading »
Balind on 06 Apr 2008 | Musings

For some reason I’ve never become a huge video-game fanatic. I had a super-nintendo when I was 11, enjoyed it and that was about it. I’ve always appreciated the graphics, animation and special effects, but as I got older, I was way too into sports, career and social life to see the value in repetitive decisions made within a fantasy realm. Continue Reading »
Balind on 16 Mar 2008 | Tips & Advice

Today I’m going to walk you through the process and execution of the event micro-site UFC 82: Pride of a Champion. This article was originally written for Layers Magazine but wasn’t approved in time to go to print, so I’ve modified and posted it here. Continue Reading »
Balind on 25 Feb 2008 | Tips & Advice

I’ve recently become a huge fan of on-line training. I thought I had a well-rounded skill-set, then I met lynda.com. Now I’m convinced It’s just a matter of time before I can levitate monitors with my mind. Continue Reading »
Balind on 17 Feb 2008 | Musings

I admit I originally didn’t see the potential of papervision. Coming from a background in 3d and illustration, I just didn’t see the value in being able to rotate around a jagged low-poly object in Flash… and I still don’t, but I now see there’s other, more creative applications for this exciting engine. Continue Reading »
Balind on 07 Jan 2008 | Musings

I always enjoy this time of year because of all the “best of” type countdowns about popular media. Here I present the top picks from the sites I’ve bookmarked over the past year. Feel free to email or comment with your own. Continue Reading »
Balind on 23 Nov 2007 | Tips & Advice

Animate in After Effects, export to FLV with an alpha channel, Actionscript playback in Flash with a tweening class. Continue Reading »
Balind on 16 Nov 2007 | Personal News

While flipping through this month’s (November) issue of Web Designer I was thrilled to find daddyyankee.com, a project I headed while at Elastic People, profiled in the cream-of-the-crop section. Continue Reading »
Balind on 27 Aug 2007 | Musings

If you’re truly ambitious you’re life revolves around your work, so finding the right squad to join forces with is vital to personal happiness. I’ve pulled it off twice and it’s a simple formula that revolves around relationships. Continue Reading »
Balind on 24 Aug 2007 | Personal News

As of September 17th, 2007, I will be nestled comfortably in my new role as Art Director for interactive agency Red, located in Santa Monica, California. I think it’s safe to say my ultimate goal of master-of-the-universe, is one step closer. Continue Reading »
Balind on 03 Aug 2007 | Tips & Advice

Having a variety of interests keeps our minds stimulated, gives us something personal to focus on and improve at, but mostly, helps to balance us out as human beings. Here’s a few suggestions on how to incorporate hobbies into your lifestyle, why their important and which ones you should pick.
Continue Reading »
Balind on 31 Jul 2007 | Personal News

I was recently interviewed by Rob Ford of theFWA.com, possibly the largest and most reputable award site for interactive design, on-line marketing, games, Flash, etc. Here’s a direct link to the interview. As it’s a little hard to read on their site I’ve re-printed it here. Thanks to anyone who reads it. Continue Reading »
Balind on 29 Jul 2007 | Tips & Advice

Part 2. of my article on creating a unique website in Flash, the interactivity and animation portion. Continue Reading »
Balind on 07 Jul 2007 | Musings

As a mind that’s always analyzing and seeking improvements all to often I find myself forming some positive conclusions about my life or my work, taking action on them then gradually having them fizzle into nothingness without me realizing until a couple months later when I notice I’m formulating the exact same conclusions again as if it were for the first time. Continue Reading »
Balind on 03 Jul 2007 | Musings

I’ve used both my entire career but my home business has always been PC until recently. Having nestled in tightly at Elastic People which is entirely run by Macintosh computers, when it recently came time to update my home office I chose to go with a MacBook Pro and I’m pretty happy with that decision. So much so that I think I can outline exactly what type of person would prefer a PC and what type a Mac simply by comparing them to cars. Continue Reading »
Balind on 19 Jun 2007 | Musings

Thinking of taking the plunge and freelancing full-time? I did and had success from a client stand-point but over time gradually became very dissatisfied. Once I deduced what needed to change I found the right mesh with the company I’m currently associated with, Elastic People. Here’s the pluses and minuses I encountered freelancing. Continue Reading »
Balind on 19 Jun 2007 | Tips & Advice

Ever had one of those afternoons where every few minutes your forget what you were doing? If you still think a healthy lifestyle means eating less or it’s only purpose is to make you more attractive, I’m going to outline a few ways that promote a balanced physical well-being that spill over into improving your productivity and mental performance. Continue Reading »
Balind on 17 Jun 2007 | Tips & Advice

Potential clients and people that can hook you up with potential clients are everywhere, they’re moving around you like schools of fish but they don’t know you, they don’t know who you are or what you can do for them.

Let’s change that. Continue Reading »
Balind on 15 Jun 2007 | Tips & Advice

In my attempts to come up with something fresh and exciting that’s tailored to each client I’ve fashioned a few guidelines that allow me to funnel my creativity toward the details, which is key. I’ve broken them down into 10 easy-to-understand tips and divided them into “design” and “animation”. Continue Reading »