It has been a while since I last posted. What’s new? A triumvirate of Bureaus!
I’ve embraced the name WonderBureau once more and it feels good to return to my roots. To build upon the WonderBureau, two additional monikers were added: ColourBureau, and BuildBureau. All three will work together in some form, yet remain distinct elements. Regardless, I’m pretty excited about this next step (or three).
If you’re up to it, you should follow the Bureaus on Twitter: where I sometimes chime in about what is going on: @colourbureau, @wonderbureau, @buildbureau. Warning: I do admit that I’m not as vocal on Twitter as I should be… lots of work to be done.
Thanks to awesome clients and fabulous colleagues… and thanks for reading.
-j
Here are some new links to get acquainted with.
http://www.colourbureau.com
http://www.wonderbureau.com
http://www.buildbureau.com
Our philosophy regarding design, usability, and technology has evolved. We’ve evolved.
WWL was a good run and we’ve created some great work for some great clients. Stay in touch.
WonderBureau (soon)
-j
I want to thank everyone that came out last night – during the Lakers game no less. The traffic was horrible, fires were set, and arrests were made! Luckily, none of that happened at the event.
It was great to meet so many new people! Thanks to all for the kind words about the talk, much appreciated. Again, if you have any questions or comments, please send them my way – I’ll be glad to attempt to answer them.
Nice Skateboard animation using magazine photos by Tilles Singer. http://vimeo.com/8461831
We’re in the process of updating the site content… adding new, replacing old. There will be oddities until we’re done, but we like the process of working online. Sure we could have done it all behind closed doors, but what fun would that be? This way, we get a chance to alienate visitors with broken elements, missing images, and styles that haven’t been completely tested across all browsers ( we don’t care about you IE, move along ;) )
Jason will once again be a judge for the Flash In The Can Awards.
We’ve been hard at work on our WordPress framework and the MakeNicethings site. Lots going on at the moment and things are feeling pretty good as far as momentum. We’re truly excited about how MNT is coming along.
The framework has so many possibilities now. It will really help a lot of existing WordPress users as well as new users that need to get up to speed with a better designed WordPress theme.
We recently updated the MakeNiceThings landing page with up to date brand elements, integrated the WordPress install (using the MNT framework), and integrated the MNT Twitter feed.
Keep a look out, it is coming! makenicethings.com
Good riddance to 2009!
Resolutions: Personally, I will…
…go to the Blind office at least three times a week.
…work out.
…drink more water.
…play more music.
…launch MakeNiceThings!
…stress less.
We are dropping our toll-free phone number until further notice–This is due to several wrong numbers.
If you called this number and were hoping to reach someone other than WhenWeLand, you should double-check the number. We will no longer be returning calls to alert anyone.
Once our number is updated, we will post it again.
We’ve slowly been moving some things over to a new office space in Santa Monica. October never lets us down.
You should check out http://weloveyouso.com/
Why, hello August.
We recently updated the Blind site ( http://www.blind.com ) and you should take a look. They have tons of great work.
New spots for the new SyFy re-brand by Richard Eng are there too!
Our changes include a CSS cleaning, some XHTML strictness, an update from prototype to jquery, and we integrated Cufon text replacement. However, you should simply check their work because it is why the site exists.
Posted from iPhone … Excuse any typos.
-j
Ramping up for Makenicethings: Writing documentation for the WordPress theme framework, working on several versions of design comps, and finishing up the site.
Not too much longer … we promise!
Follow MNT on Twitter @makenicethings
We have several projects coming up toward the end of summer and are looking for designers! Send your folios and contact info! See our contact page for ways to get in touch or send info to: i n f o [@] w h e n w e l a n d [ . ] c o m
Before we became WhenWeLand, we were WonderBureau. A lot of the work for WonderBureau was backed up on CDs and DVDs as well as on a tricked out G5 with dual drives. Sadly, the G5 was stolen during a break-in shortly after our relocation to Los Angeles. A police report was filed, but the G5 never turned up.
We’ve been sifting and organizing CD + DVD backups and have been able to recover some of the work we thought was lost forever. Not all work will be recovered, and we’re okay with that. The process of looking through the backups is very much like going to your parents’ house, looking through old yearbooks, laughing at old photo albums, or going through boxes of toys from your childhood and suddenly finding your original die-cast Transformers. This is a re-discovery.
We will continue to add projects to the work section as they are uncovered.
We’re in the process of re-designing our CMS to better accommodate new features and growing components. Usability, functionality, and aesthetics are all being addressed. This version will eventually be ported to the CodeIgniter base that we have developed. Contact us directly for a full list of features and updates.
All Median clients are eligible for the upgrade if they are using any of the versions released in 2008.
Added a few design images to the Mo/de Project site ( on our site, not theirs ;) ).
We thought it was time to refresh the site a bit for the summer. Ok, it isn’t very summer like, but neither is LA right now: full on June gloom! It should last us a month or two before we get bored with it. We even added a few design screens during testing: The Hush Project has a few screens. Still sorting a lot of project content … it will be up at some point. If you’re really anxious to see some work, send us an email.
We’re thinking seriously about getting some new furniture at Skate Study House.
The sad fact is that MakeNiceThings (mn+) has setup a Twitter account. Not really too sad. Insider info before it goes live can’t hurt.
We’ve been working on a simple WordPress framework internally since last year (not the entire time, client work and quality of life come first). It first started out as a way to help us rapidly build data-driven sites for clients that had smaller budgets for their online initiatives. Now, we’re pleased to announce that this framework will be the foundation for MakeNiceThings WordPress themes site solutions. Here are a few features:
- Sample Options: custom logo upload, Google Analytics/Mint integration, Cufon text replacement integration ++
- Custom Field Meta Boxes: Hero Images upload, Thumbnail upload, SEO meta fields, ++
- Built in Help panels for custom options and custom fields based on publishing needs.
- Meta upload images automatically placed in Media Browser.
- Custom Hooks + API with Form Element Generator Class.
Chris Do has started something new. Everything reviewed is under $50! http://50under50.com/
Well, it appears that the redesign of radaronline.com (we had nothing to do with this version) no longer has a working version of the Fame-o-meter. Just to be absolutely clear, we had nothing to do with the latest reincarnation of Radar. When we get around to it, we’ll post a working version on our site sans any radar shell.
Blind has posted info on the Oppenheimer project that WWL was involved with last Fall/Winter. Check it.
Just dropping a line for the visitors from Lisboa. Obrigado.
Hush continues to impress … new reel and Nokia work posted.
Nice!
Yes, late post … was a good break. We have lots of cool internal projects planned this year and look forward to sharing as soon as they start to take shape.
Just a reminder that our office will be closed over the holidays from December 20th until January 5th. Snappy Holidays!!
We have a new toll-free number for the main office … See contact.
We decided that we would get the jump on updating the site before the holidays. So, while we sort through process images, comps, and archived goodies for the work section, have a good holiday and happy new year.
New work and site updates coming soon!
Happy August!
Let us start by saying that the new site is coming — we’ve just been side-tracked by, you know … client work. So, thanks to all that have asked regarding the new site, we’ll let you know as soon as it goes live.
Speaking of client work, we’re currently working with Amauta Lab + Scion on a pretty cool project (expected to launch in September) and lending a hand to Blind on an additional project.
Also in the works, the resurrection of wonderfulheadhurt (Jason’s experimental site from 2001-2004). The new headhurt will take a different form and will now be part of whenweland.
Our internal CMS/ FMS : “Median” is taking yet a new direction. We are looking into converting the core framework to CodeIgniter … after playing around and looking through the source, it seems to be right up our alley.
We will still continue to support older versions, but all internal development is on hold while we prepare the jump.
We just launched a new collaborative project with Nikolai Cornell (madein.la) for HUSH NY. Huge thanks to Nikolai Cornell, David Schwarz, Eric Karasyk, Jessica Pierik, Laura Alejo (and the rest of HUSH), Christina Aube, and Jef Lear.
Check it!
SciArc.edu is a Commarts Webpick. Yet another project Jason worked on while at Hello Design. The site is also a Webby Nominee under the school category. Others that worked on this project: Ron Thompson and Anna Simonse.
We haven’t posted anything for a while. This is because we are super busy at the moment. Currently, we’re working on new stuff for Bl:nd, Hush, and Mo/de.
WWL would also like to give big thanks to Michael Small from Radar Magazine for his attention to detail. He will be leaving the magazine for bigger and better things. Good luck Michael!
Finally, Autolux released a long awaited new track “Audience No. 2″, and we’ve had it on repeat for a while now. Blissful noise pop makes us just as happy as melancholy noise in general. Ahh, wonderfulheadhurt!
True, we do want to be your friend. Add us to your Wii address book – so we can do all of the fun things friends do. Maybe we’ll both have free time and race our @$$’s off in Mario Kart for Wii too.
whnwlnd. Wii
Wii console : 6279-9062-0903-7882
Wii Mario Kart : 4124-5726-4499
WWL just launched an all inclusive mini site for Twiss Creative Consulting — full site expected this summer. We also designed the Twiss logo (circa 2003) and new business cards + collateral — yes, a shameless plug for our work, but also a plug to help spread the word for a really intelligent group of people.
Just a heads-up that FITC 08 is coming up … April 20-22 in Toronto Canada.
David Lynch does the weather? Jason is going to style his hair after Mr. Lynch and you will love it.
Friend of WWL, Adhemas Batista updated his folio and we are glad to see the new works and you should be too.
We’re always looking for animators, designers, technologists, developers, and project managers (freelancers welcome). Send your resume with folio urls.
WWL is proud to announce the “soft-launch” of the new Blind.com.
The plan: create a super simple structure to showcase their outstanding work in a larger format than previous iterations of the site. Collaborating closely with Creative Director, Chris Do, WWL designed an image-driven, SEO friendly, extensible site structure backed with Median (WWL’s custom CMS), allowing Blind to control all aspects of the site’s content (Flash, XHTML, XML, RSS).
* WWL has been working with Blind since redesigning blind.com in 2003 (as WonderBureau).
Radar Magazine has updated the popular “Fame-o-meter” with new names, and “data sets”. What does this mean for you? Well, more pop culture tracking madness really.
* WWL has worked with Radar Magazine since 2005. Designing and Developing three versions of the Fame-o-meter, Dynamic Flash Quiz and Polling systems, as well as the short lived Fifteen Minutes application.