December Events

December 7 - MSITE07

The 5th Mindanao Student Information Technology Education Conference 2007 (MSITE07) is being held at NCCC Convention Center Hall (MacArthur Highway corner Maa Road, Davao City) beginning at 8:00AM and winding down around 7:00PM. The day prior on December 6 there will be a Mindanao-Wide IT Quiz Bowl at the NCCC Mall Activity area from 01:00 p.m. to 03:00 p.m. The Mindanao-Wide IT Programming Competition will be held on December 8, 2007(Sat.) from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Computer Labs. F-613c and F-613i, 6th flr., Finster Bldg, Ateneo de Davao University.

The fee for the MSITE07 event is 400 Php. That includes 2 snacks, lunch, and certificate. I'll be offering a 30 minute presentation on some essential tools young IT professionals need to learn to help make some money and advance their skills. My session starts at 3:15 PM. There's a great round-up of talent making other presentations so be sure to let all IT students in Davao City to not miss this event.

You can find out more on Dr. Randy Gamboa's Blog Site

December 14 - Adobe Photoshop Workshop

Well... I've been begged, pleaded with, and slam dunked about offering an Adobe Photoshop workshop for some time. I gave in and agreed to do a session at Felis Seminar Resort in Matina Aplaya on Friday December 14 at 3:00 PM. I was a bit reluctant because I wasn't sure exactly what to offer a mixed group of users from beginning level to advanced users. I've been immersed in Photoshop CS3 for the past few days and I think I came up with a number of Photoshop techniques to help users of all skill levels improve digital photos for print and Web hosting.

I'll run over some basics for color calibration and using color profiles then proceed to talk about tone corrections. If you're confused about using the Curves dialog box in Photoshop, this workshop demystifies using Curves for tone and color corrections. I'll show techniques for rescuing photos close to images beyond repair, correcting skin tones, correcting color for different lighting conditions such as shots in fluorescent lighting, adding snap to flat photos, and offer some tips for creating high-key photos.

At the end of the workshop several books I've written on Color Management, Adobe T-shirts, Adobe Pens, and some other goodies will be raffled off. The workshop is free but there is a 100 Php fee for the merienda. If you're so inclined, you can stay for dinner for 150 Php. The workshop is limited to 150 people and the dinner is limited to 50 people. If you're interested in this workshop sign up immediately with Felis Seminar Resort by emailing: felisresort_4@yahoo.com or call: (082) 297-0719 or fax (082) 298-2601

JavaScript Workshops

About 200 people attended the Davao Acrobat User Group workshop at Felis Seminar Resort on Nov 16. Thom spoke about Acrobat JavaScript and showed some interesting demonstrations for what you can do with JavaScript.

Among one of the most interesting demos I saw was a PDF Karaoke machine that highlights text to follow lyrics of a song playing inside a PDF document. The JavaScript to create the effect was quite complex and a good demonstration for what you can do with JavaScript and PDF documents. If you didn't make the evening event, you can visit Thom's Web site and download some sample files he showed at the workshop from his WindJack Solutions Web site.

The following day on Saturday Nov 17 Thom spoke to about 47 people at Fwendz Diner at another Davao Acrobat User Group meeting. Following Thom's discussion Davao AUG Chapter Leader Chris Cubos provided some demonstrations of Adobe Flex and Adobe AIR.

Events like these offered free to the public are efforts to help make the Davao Silicon Gulf Initiative a reality here in Davao City. Stay tuned to this blog for announcements of the Adobe Photoshop seminar scheduled in December.

Thom Parker Coming to Town

I was so very sad to have missed the Mindanao Bloggers Summit held recently at NCCC Mall. I had a conference in Omaha Nebraska and couldn't return in time to attend. From the emails flowing through my mail client, it sounds like it was a very successful effort and congratulations are certainly in order for Blogie Robillo, Councilor Peter Laviña, and all the organizers who put the program together.

For me, I had a great time in spite of missing the Summit in the cold of the Nebraska plains in the USA's midwest. It gave me an opportunity to spend a little time with my good friends who tour the PDF Conferences; and I must say, it was a pleasure in spite of being a little homesick for Davao.

Over a few Omaha steaks and potatoes I had an enjoyable time speaking with my good friend Thom Parker. In case you don't know, Thom is perhaps among the top 3 experts in the world on Acrobat JavaScript. What did we talk about? Well, among other things we discussed Thom's visit to me here in Davao in just a few weeks from this writing.

Thom will be spending a little time in Davao before we head out to Bohol for a little recreation. And, while he's here, Thom is giving a free workshop on JavaScript at the Felis Seminar Resort in Matina Aplaya on Friday November 16 beginning at 3:00PM. The resort is asking for 200 PHP for dinner for adults and 120 PHP for children, but the workshop is free and I encourage all those who dabble in JavaScript to attend the event. If you choose to go to the event, you can spend some time over dinner talking to Thom about individual issues related to JavaScript programming.

When I spoke last month at Felis Resort the organizers turned people away due to space limitations. If JavaScript is your interest, we have a special treat in having Thom Parker visit Davao. Be sure to register early if you plan to attend the event. You can email Felis Resort at: felisresort_4@yahoo.com or call the resort at: 298-2601. Just tell them you want to attend the Thom Parker session on JavaScript.

If you want to find out more about Thom, you can visit his company's Web site Windjack Solutions. Thom is the founder and CEO of Windjack Solutions —a software development company. He also hosts a column on AcrobatUsers.com called the JavaScript Corner.

I hope to see many of you at the event.

ted

Workshop Memoirs

I just finished a workshop at Felis Seminar Resort here in Davao City on Adobe Acrobat, PDF, and creating dynamic forms. About 160 people gathered for the event coming many different local companies as well as several students from a variety of local universities. As usual, it was a pleasure to address the audience, offer a little about some technology issues, and have a lot of fun.

Felis Resort is gearing up for several different seminars to be held on a monthly basis covering a variety of topics related to using different Adobe programs. Next month my good friend and colleague Thom Parker, whom I consider one of the top 5 people in the world on JavaScript programming, will be offering a presentation when he visits me in November. If you're into JavaScript programming, you won't want to miss Thom's seminar.

Keep in touch with my blog and I'll post the exact date that Thom will be hosting a session at Felis Seminar Resort in Matina Aplaya. You can find out a little more about Thom on his web site and his blog site.

Here's a short video clip of part of the session I had recently at Felis Resort.

ted

Free Seminar on October 10

I've been working away for the upcoming Acrobat Central Conference in the USA in Omaha Nebraska on October 23 and 24. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend the Davao Blogger's Summit. If you can't make Omaha in late October, then try to attend the Blogger's Summit. It certainly promises to be a great event for graphic designers.

In the midst of my preparations for the Acrobat Central Conference, I've been asked to provide a FREE session at Felis Seminar Resort here in Davao City on October 10. There's a bit of a disclaimer here since the host (Felis Seminar Resort) is asking people to pay for snacks and beverages (a total of 100 Php) for the day. If you can afford the 100 pesos for the merienda, you might enjoy some of the things I hope to demonstrate at the seminar.

The topic is using Adobe Acrobat geared toward designers and people in various occupations such as law, accounting, education, government, business, and just about any other kind of industry. We'll spend 3 hours talking about Acrobat, PDF, and using Adobe Reader for those who don't have Acrobat installed on their computers. The event starts at 1:30PM and ends at 4:30 PM. It might be a good opportunity to meet some people who can lead you to some commissioned work. I can't promise that, but networking is always a good thing for graphic designers.

Download the flyer as a PDF file.(765K)
Note you need to have Acrobat or the free Adobe Reader software to view the file.

—ted

The Diversity of Davao Graphic Designers

The more people I meet who are graphic designers and advertising professionals locally, the more I find people engaged in multiple careers. I know that this is a necessity for most of us here in the Philippines because the work and compensation isn't as plentiful as we find in many other countries.

What amazes me however, is the diversity of talent and broad range of skills many local designers possess. I find some who are engineers, trades people, office workers in a number of different occupations, politicians, etc. whose first love is the arts, but through necessity, are dependent on dividing their work days in other occupations.

One such prime example is my friend and a great designer Christopher Cubos. Chris called me the other day and asked me to meet him at a new restaurant. Upon my arrival at Fwendz Diner Chris informed me he is the proprietor. It was a delightful event having the best bar-b-que ribs I've found in all the Philippines. For a truly great meal at a very reasonable price I recommend a visit to Friends Diner. Walking from Gaisano Mall toward San Pedro Hospital, turn left at the street and walk to the sign where you see Metro Avenue. Walk down the alley to the back where you pass some other interesting cafes and on the left side in the back you'll find Fwendz Diner. Oh, did I mention that bar-b-que sauce... it's out of this world!

True to form you'll find an interesting design for the menus. Chris informed me that part of the design was created by his 4 year old son (I think he's about 4 years old). A good menu design, a good atmosphere, great food, and a welcome from Chris' lovely wife makes your visit truly enjoyable.

I'm sure there are many others whose first love is the arts, but through necessity need to work in other occupations. If you have something interesting to tell, add a post here. Among other things, we can help support the efforts of our fellow artists.

—ted

Breaking Borders in PDF Files

I recently read an article by Dallas-based graphic designer Bryan Tamayo who discussed adding graphic elements in Adobe InDesign that extend beyond page edges in files converted to PDF. I played with Bryan's technique and discovered a bit more working with Adobe InDesign CS3 and Acrobat 8.

To discover how to create files that appear like the image you see here, log on to my other blog at: http://tedpadova.wordpress.com/.