1.  Pick a topic: Children, Urban Environments, War/politics. (we’ll use children for this demo)

2.  Google the word “Juxtaposition” and make friends with the definition. We will be using two ideas to deconstruct and simultaneously support the chosen topic.

3.  Find an image that represents the topic you’ve chosen. Think abstractly. What activities represent your topic? Children = Green Plastic Army Men.

4.  Ask yourself what would be the opposite of this activity, specific object, topic. “Shooting children”

5. Illustrate your visual pun.

6. Print off your illustration at Kinkos as “tiled image”

7. Painstakingly cut out the stencil using an Xacto knife.

8. Make your point, even if it’s pointless.

“This in no way condones bringing a weapon to a school, or implies causing harm to children” – Pete

Once you have the post/page open, make sure you are using the visual tab.

Click on the "Add Media" icon at the top of the visual editor

Click on "Select File"

Navigate to where you save your PDF on your computer and select that file then press "Open". Toward the bottom of the window you will see a button for "File URL", click on it.

Highlight the URL that comes up in the field, press Ctrl and C. Close the window.

Type the title of the PDF or the word(s) you want to use to link to the PDF into the visual editor. Highlight that text and click the link icon at the top of the visual editor.

Click in the URL field and press Ctrl and V (paste) the URL of the PDF. Click "Add Link".

Click publish/update and you’re all done!

I believe that many of us Americans share this mentality. Just listen next time you’re on the bus or at a party. We all have ideas on ways to improve what’s going on around us. Some of them are great ideas and others are terrible. I got tired of hearing all these opinions and would wish to myself that people would stop talking and start doing. Then I took my own medicine. I never really valued my own opinions about government. I felt that I was too uninformed to be able to be effective and I may still feel that way.

For me, this fellowship is about doing. Since we’ll be building apps for civic governments, I’ll use the iPhone/Android app markets as a metaphor. If every app developer decided that their app may not work 100% as they envision, could have a bug or no one would download it and therefor not develop that app, then we would never have apps let alone a platform to build them on. Every app developer has fears about their app yet they develop them, lots of ‘em. Today we have tens of thousands of apps, free and for purchase, available for download because the developer was able to move past their fears.

Worth-ish Idea

Now not all apps are created equal, some are high-worth and others are worthless. Without the worthless apps, we may not have any apps. Even “worthless” apps (see how I moved that into quotes) have great worth. Beyond all-or-nothing, “worthless” apps provide another useful purpose; users can use them as examples to create better apps or even hack worth into them (CatMapping anyone?).

I/we/you may have worthy ideas about how governments can function better. Get over your fears, whatever they may be, and get involved. I’m a designer by trade and when I read about what Code for America was setting out to do I was excited to see it happen and hesitant to apply because I didn’t know how I could fit in other than running photoshop for the real geeks. Since the start of this fellowship I’ve found an infinite amount of ways to get involved and am so elated to be a part of this movement.

Here’s the Ignite speech I gave in Philadelphia titled “The Dumbest Guy in the Room”.

Code for America IgnitePhilly talk from @peterfecteau from Tyler Stalder on Vimeo.

I was privileged to volunteer for ArtPrize 2009. I was a “way finder” and helped register people to vote. It was a blast and a smart way to view the inner working of the event. For ArtPrize 2010 I’ll be competing as an artist. What I have in store for my entry is a doosie.

I’ll be breaking theworld record for largest Rubik’s Cube mosaic mad eby a single person. I’ll be solving 1,750 cubes (most will be solved live at the event) and then configuring them into a mosaic of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I hope to certified upon completing the project. What’s more important is what I plan to do with the cubes once the event has wrapped up. I’ll be distributing them to classrooms across Michigan so that kids can learn about geometry and algebra in a fun and tangible way. The big hurdle is money. I need to raise $15,000 dollars to purchase the cubes, pay for shipping the cubes to classrooms, get GWR out here from London, and cover some miscellaneous costs. If you’re interested in donating check out my project at Kickstarter or check out the PixelPete2010 website.

Social Media is free:

No it’s not. While it’s free to start a Facebook, Twitter, Myspace account, if you plan on starting a corporate social media campaign/program then you should know you can’t expect your CEO to just start tweeting. You need a web designer to work on applying your brand to each of these profiles. You’ll need to have your marketing professionals outline an “Online Brand Strategy” that includes voice and tone. You may even want to consider hiring a copywriter or marketing professional to do your updates for you. Updating all of your accounts is a full-time job and don’t expect to squeeze that responsibility into your CEO or Marketing Director’s position and get good results. It takes a certain prowess to blog, even microblog and it’s worth paying for that service.

Social Media is for Everyone:

Everyone, yes… every business, no.  Certain businesses don’t belong on social media, while it’s rare, cases do exist.  Ask yourself “what am I marketing?” and then “Will my clients want to associate with my product online?”. If you’re selling hemorrhoid cream or you run a nursing home, the answer will probably be no. Another thing to take into account is that not all social networks may be right for you. Some networks cater to certain demographics and others require specific actions. While Facebook canvases most target audiences, Myspace does not. Know your audience, know where they live and stay away from places they don’t. The mere presence of your brand where it doesn’t belong can be detrimental.

Social Media is a Great Marketing Tool:

Yes it is, but tread lightly. People friend/follow/join you company or product’s profiles because they like (or hate) your brand. Don’t push too hard on them to buy your product. They are already inclined to do so and users are more savy about marketing then you think they are. If you spend 100% of your time posting marketing material, users will stop seeing the value in the connection they’ve made with you. Remember to start conversations about your product, engage your audience and most importantly… listen and respond. It’s not all sell, sell, sell with social media, there’s a social element to it.

Transparency:

It’s ok to give your company/product a voice. Make sure that voice fit’s your brand as well as your audience. The majority of brand’s voices sound like Ben Stein and are not attractive to users. A good example of voice is Apple’s use of “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” and it’s reflective in their sales. While many brands will need to adopt a more-or-less generic voice, that voice can still reflect positive qualities like Justin Long’s Mac character portrays. Letting your audience see that you’re human is the main objective of transparency. Transparency take one step further when applied to social media. You now have the ability to engage your current and potential consumers in meaningful conversation. You will see that some people use this opportunity to complain about your product. Many companies remove this content from their profiles while others take a better approach and address each complaint and attempt to remedy them. Social media is a great place to get feedback about new or preexisting products. It’s a great place to do i/0 testing, user groups, etc. and can save your many dollars in your testing budget if done right.

ROI and Analytics:

So you want to know what kind of return you can expect from a social media campaign? Don’t expect too much. If’ you’ve hired a social media consultant this will probably be the first question you ask them. Make sure to listen closely for the bullshit. Some consultants aren’t worth the spit they throw at you. Social media is new and hard to track for. Make sure you have the appropriate analytics set up before you launch a social media campaign. Hire an SEO/SEM professional to help target this new traffic. This will be very important in finding out what kind of return you’re getting. Your ROI might not be what you expect. Don’t expect a giant spike in sales. Your return might be from customer feedback or networking. Social media can be a bit of a gamble. It’s a gamble you want to take now, before it’s passe.

An Additional Piece of Advice:

Many companies are hiring “Social Media Consultants”. It’s important to hire the right one. Make sure that you research their background. Not everyone with 3,000 Twitter followers is qualified to consult you. Look for someone with history in the web/interactive industry specifically. Ask for references that aren’t from the last six months, those companies have not seen enough results yet. While some individuals are great consultants, look for interactive marketing companies that have good track records. Too many “mavericks” are out there preying on corporate ignorance. Don’t be ignorant, do your homework.

Got some other tips? Questions? Let me know via comment.

Like most artists, I do a lot of research. I look at the imagery in campy old sci-fi movies, and enjoy looking through ancient textbooks from the 1940-70′s. I feel like I am building a world, developing characters and planning events. I am often captivated by something I see on the street, signs, graffiti, animals, and human interaction. I like to work through these ideas in my sketchbook before I start a drawing or painting. Once an idea feels right I will start laying it out, working on the composition is the most exciting part of the process. The organization of the pictorial elements is a challenge. Trying to fill the space without actually filling it. I find the compositions of Cezanne, Jaques Luis David, Caravaggio, and Piero Della Francesca very inspiring. I like to orchestrate the angles and visual elements so that the viewer’s eye moves continuously through the work.

Once I have laid in the pictorial framework, I begin filling in areas of solid color with water color or gouache, then I begin adding all of the detail work. Though I was taught to paint from life, my work is not. It is a challenge to figure out the arrangement and color of the shadows, to make sure that all of the colors exist in the same light. Painting from life in the past helps me with these elements. One saying I remember from a figure painting class ” A light in the dark is lighter than a dark in the light”. I have many objects on my drawing table that I use as a reference, geometric forms, plastic containers, and scraps of material. Some folks have asked if I use the computer as a tool to lay out my designs. I think it would be a good tool for developing my work but I don’t have any experience with the drawing programs. At some point I may experiment with the computer, but I think I would miss the drawing process. – Josh Keyes via Fecal Face

Keyes has really developed too. His older works are more geometric and seems less about nature and more about environment, yet are still captivating. It seems he’s gotten comfortable with his current direction but as an artist myself, I know that can be dangerous. I’m going to keep my eye on this guy.

So what is it about Think Vitamin that’s so damn special?

Top Quality Writing – The writer’s actually know what there talking about and back it up with excellent examples. Probably because they are all working professionals and know what it takes to write about design, development and business. Unlike this guy. It takes a lot to write a good article. These days every one blogs in one way or another, very few are any good at it.

The Freshest Perspectives – I pride myself in surfing the web to find the newest “trends” in web design/development.  It’s not easy to find something bookmarkable.  Carsonified has made a name for themselves in staying in front of trends and understanding what direction the industry is going in. They keep tabs on who’s making waves and a lot of the times, they’re the ones making them. I get a lot of inspiration from not only their site but the sites they send me too.

Panoramic View – There’s a lot of topics a web professional should read into. Frankly, that list is too big for one blog. Think Vitamin takes a look a three very important aspects of being a web professional: Design, Development and Business, all of which are connected back to each other. It’s very important for a blog to stay on topic and it’s something many do not adhere to, myself included.  Every one of Think Vitamin’s articles relates to their theme. If you’re like me and have a rather busy feed reader, you don’t want to see an article that’s off topic. I know when I go there, I’ll be taking something with me. Sometimes they help me write this blog.

God’s Honest Truth – One thing I stive to do here at Buttonpresser is tell it like it is. I’m not afraid to share my opinion. I’m not afraid to be myself. Yes, it get’s me in trouble. Think Vitamin does the same and I am wholeheartedly greatful. I have been trying to tell anyone who will listen about honesty and accountability on the web and how it attracts a lot of attention and feedback. Some businesses are so afraid of feedback, either bad or good. I don’t have a problem hearing about how wrong I am and neither does Think Vitamin.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound dried black beans
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 1 large yellow onion diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 3 cans diced green chilies (4ox cans)
• 1 tbsp ground white pepper
• 1 large poblano pepper
• 2 large red jalapeno peppers
• 4 cups boneless chicken breast
• 3 cups shredded smoked gouda
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• juice from 1 lime
• 1 cup hard dry cider
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 cups french roux (equal parts butter and flour)

Chicken Marinade:

• 1 1/2 cups hard dry cider
• 2 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 1 tsp ground chipotle pepper
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Trim the chicken breasts and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Add all the chicken marinade ingredients to the bag, mix, then squeeze the air out of the bag and refrigerate. Soak the black beans in cold water as instructed on the black bean packaging. Some packages suggest a warm or cold soak, do not use the warm soak instructions.

In the morning, fire up the grill or smoker to 220 degrees. Prep the jalapenos and the poblano pepper by cutting in half and removing the “guts”. If using a grill, place your pre soaked wood chips directly on top of the coals or heating element. Place the peppers and the marinated chicken in the grill. Baste the chicken every ten minutes for 30 minutes, flip, repeat. Remove from heat, cool both chicken and peppers, cube chicken.

In a large pot heat olive oil to medium high heat. Add onion and saute for 8 minutes, add garlic and continue to saute for 3 minutes. Stir in cumin, coriander, white pepper, black pepper and paprika and cook for 3 minutes. Deglaze with hard cider and lime juice. Add jalapenos (now chipotle peppers) and poblano (now an ancho pepper). Add cubed chicken and broth. bring to boil, reduce and keep on low heat for 90 minutes. Thicken with roux, stir in sour cream and cilantro. Serve with cilantro garnish and gouda on the side.

How it works:

Font Burner uses sIFR (Scalable Inman Flash Replacement) technology. In short, it hides your titles and replaces it with flash. By hiding the title instead of removing it, you retain all the information that comes with the HTML title. This is great for SEO because Flash has very little SEO and using it on a site means that it and everything inside it is invisible to search engines. One small downside is that you cannot select the text for cutting and pasting. Another downside, slightly more sinister, is that it replaces every heading tag, not just the titles. It would be nice if they could develop that into their next revision but I wont hold my breath.

How to use Font Burner:

There are two very simple ways to use Font Burner. The first, find the font you wish to use on the site and cut the embed code out of the font’s page. For instance:

<script src=”http://www.fontburner.com/fontburner.js” type=”text/javascript”></script> <script src=”http://www.fontburner.com/js/black/aardvark_bold.php” type=”text/javascript”></script> <!– sIFR fonts delivered by www.fontburner.com –>

Then paste this code before the body tag in your page’s HTML. That’s it. You can further customize the colors using CSS.

Secondly… Font Burner, after my own heart, has developed a WordPress plugin to make it even easier for WordPress users. Install the plugin, choose your font and colors and hit save. Now every page and every heading/title has been changed to your custom font. Installation of either will take 15-20 minutes and is pretty idiot proof. It could potentially clash with another plugin or script you might be running (I’ve seen nothing of this sort) but be sure to backup your site before tinkering. I’m using it on this site. Looks nice huh?

Now if only they can tap into a way to use commercial fonts and not just free ones…?