Luke Judge

Courtesy of Hannah Dorsey

Instagram filters were used to process this image, taken by an iPhone.

By Meredith Birkett

Texans were active on a variety of social networks today, tracking and commenting on the tornadoes ripping through the Dallas area. on Instagram, the photography social network for iPhone, iPad and just released for Android, the hashtag #tornado was busy with pictures of tornado damage, funnel clouds, TV screens and self portraits ranging from goofy “oh no!” faces to genuine concern as they braced for the worst.

Several users posted pictures from schools where students and faculty gathered in hallways, locker rooms and maybe even a bathroom to try and stay safe from the storms. Hannah Dorsey’s image, above, and her “Tornado lockdown…” caption caught my attention, so we asked her about the experience of having tornadoes near her school, Bishop Lynch High School, located in Dallas, Texas.

Hannah writes to msnbc.com:

“I was in third period doing assignments online for my class when the Dean of Students came over the intercom, issuing a tornado warning. he instructed us to quietly evacuate the classrooms to the nearest hallway or safe place and assume the safety procedures that we had practiced just yesterday.

My teacher followed us into the hallway and shut the door behind us. all the students sat along the walls with their faces turned towards the lockers, with hands over their heads. we were told to remain quiet and to listen for instructions. I was nervous but I knew we were safe. our other Dean of Students entered my hallway and announced that the weather conditions were becoming increasingly worse and that the power will most likely go out. As he walked away murmurs arose and the teachers began to hush everyone, saying it would be fine. we sat there for about an hour after that. The lights flickered a few times but never went out and we did a few fun things to pass the time and keep everyone calm.

At one point we could see the rain through the window at the end of the hall and the rain was being blown hard enough to make it seem the rain was falling horizontally. we were given an update on the weather about every twenty minutes and were told that the tornado was very close, only a block or two over. we remained there until we were given the all-clear. our principal told us to return to our third period class until we would be dismissed for fourth period.

Throughout the day we had a total of two evacuations, the second being very similar to the first. At the end of the day we were not allowed to leave the building unless our parents signed us out in the main office. Those who were driving themselves had to wait until the weather conditions were better. I was on lockdown until about 4:15.”

Texans crowdsource the news

Follow msnbc.com’s continuing coverage

Photojournalists use Instagram and other photography apps on the campaign trail

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This September, JLB completed a month-long graphic design and web development project for the folks at Forest Park Apartments.

What makes this project notable is how it reflects a series of emerging trends in client requests (and subsequently in the tasks we’ve been executing this year). The key elements requested by Forest Park include: graphic design, web development on an easy-to-use content management platform, search engine optimization, and social networking set up and strategy.

Of course, design and development have been part of our bailiwick for more than seven years now, but the emergence of the importance of a strong (yet simple) content management system, solid search engine optimization, and relevant social networking over the past few years now plays a significant role in the way we design and, subsequently, engineer a website. For example, when we create a design, we are always thinking about ways to incorporate as much text as we can, while still maintaining a strong sense of aesthetic. (We care about textual volume because the search engines tend to give more weight to pages with more content.) Likewise, we are always cognizant of how to incorporate social networking icons or “widgets” (badges that stream status updates into a page).

These days, many clients want as much control over their websites as they can have. An effective, manageable system for updating site content is paramount. We realize that clients want to do things quickly and easily.

Marrying great design with robust functionality, developing pages that will be indexed by search engines (and found by “googlers”), and sync’ing sites with social networking strategies… all are critical to contemporary web design and development.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 8th, 2010 at 4:14 pm and is filed under Company News, Graphic Design, Web Development. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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In Fall graphic design class of 2008 we were asked to pick a random object from a table of very random objects. I chose a ball of yarn. We were then told that this object was our new pet. Each week, as an aside from the current projects we were working on, we were to bring in photos of our pet.

Our final project for the class was to compile our photos into a book and combine them with text. The many strands that make up a strand of yarn served as a metaphore for life and the little events that make the whole journey of our lives. For the text I chose to write about the significane of spirituality in making it throught the journey of life. In August of 2010 I went back and revised some of the design and resolved some printing issues that the first edition suffered from.

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Part of the beauty of deciding to go into the fashion industry is dreaming about getting into a top fashion school. Every future fashion designer or aspiring student of fashion has dreamed of attending one of the top fashion schools in the nation at some point or another.

It just so happens that dreaming about something and making it happen are completely different things these days, and it takes a special person to push themselves to that limit in the first place.

All too many aspiring students make the mistake of thinking that grades not matter when it comes to getting into the top fashion school of their choice because they are not applying for interest on a traditional college or university. Things are actually quite to the contrary; getting into the top fashion school in the nation is going to require a great deal of smarts and dedication and intelligence, and good grades are a reflection that a potential student has all of those qualities and more.

If you are not used to having to work hard to get good grades, there will be no success for you at a top fashion school. A fashion school is an art school, and an art school is a type of postsecondary education where degrees are given out once studies have been completed. If you are trying to get a degree, it is important that you do as well as you possibly can to earn good marks and learn everything you can.

Let’s face it, just because you didn’t going to a top fashion designer school does not mean that you actually have talent. Just because you can style yourself in the morning to school does not mean that a career in fashion industries for you. Perhaps you should be a business owner or a celebrity ensemble artist. People with no artistic skills whatsoever are probably not going to do that well in a top fashion school atmosphere, so is important to keep that in mind.

If you can’t draw but you dream of going to a top fashion school, perhaps you should consider a business in fashion marketing or fashion business; design just may not be your forte. That’s perfectly okay.

Getting into a top school is about more than wanting to do so. It’s about having the drive and the skill and the grades necessary to make the cut. Even people who have all of those qualities and more may not be successful. Only a small fraction of students actually become successful designers, but more than likely attending a top fashion school can help you find your personal niche in the fashion industry.

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The 16,000-square-foot course was inspired by NY street spots within the five boroughs, such as:
- Original Brooklyn Banks 9-stair replica rail
- Union Square rail/steps
- Police Plaza 7-stair rail/various stairs
- Ziegfeld ledge
- Chrystie Park ledge
- Exchange Place street gap
- JFK Banks
- Con Ed Banks
- Pyramid ledges
- Flushing Meadows Park ledge-over-the-grate replica
- Various rails in public parks and the aesthetics of many of the spots in Brooklyn.

You can thank Chris Cole, Geoff Rowley, NYC skate legend Steve Rodriguez, and Joe Ciaglia, president of California Skateparks, for the design of the skate plaza that will replace the park’s deteriorating Astral Fountain.

Maloof Money Cup New York – June 5-6, 2010

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