The site mobile-patterns.com features collections of mobile interfaces. Fantastic (growing) resource for UI designers. Created by NYC based graphic designer Mari Sheibley.

We’ve known for years that the opportunities to buy mass attention are shrinking by the day, just as the opportunities to earn and measure attention become ever more enticingly available. If we can just wake up to this fact, this is a show-stoppingly great moment in time for our industry. A great read for those who has been looking for the change.

Well have just finish the final round of judging for Crowbar Awards 2011 and i must say students these days are well informed on advertising trends, too well informed whereby they form an invisible “standard” checklist on what mediums should they use when it comes to the work they create. As part of the jury for the interactive category, the key thing for me is to see work of substance and originality rather than just some similar lofty concept that is presented through mediocre motion graphic videos. But well, students being students, the only source of of knowledge comes from the design education they have.

Sometimes i really wonder what creative education in Singapore has evolved to. Art schools back in my time play an inspirational role when it comes to creativity. However , schools these days are overly concern with software trainings rather than conceptualization and creative thinking process. And students who come out from these programmes merely become design operators for agencies or design firms which indirectly affects the creative output domestically.

So the question is, are the schools fueling the society based on demand or are these school concern with nurturing creative thinkers that potential can shape the future? This discussion could go on for ages but hopefully, one day people will realize that the world could be ideal, if we put the right vision and the right people in it. Or maybe the industry doesn’t need any creatives thinkers, as agencies these day have the magic help from the wheel of concept.

Blank key bottle opener. Blends in with the other keys on your key ring. Maybe i should get one so i don’t need to find/borrow a bottle opener all the time.

Do you ever visit a website and wonder what font they’re using? Yes? You’ll love this: WhatFont launched a bookmarklet that tells you what font is being used on text you hover over.

The disasters that hit Japan, hit us all. Cordaid wanted the Dutch to be able to show their support to the Japanese people, some companies helped create Haiku for Hope free of charge. You can leave a wish in short sentences, auto translated into Japanese (using Google Translate). Nice initiative to bring the concept of love for mankind has no barriers, not even language.

This year SXSW put the famous question into play asweb designers suddenly face the challenge (and delight) of choosing fonts from an ever-growing selection. They thought it’s a good time to recommend some basic principles for making wise type choices and came up with this insightful slide for everyone to learn.

Anomaly have teamed up with some friends and artists from around the world to create a site that enables beautiful designs to be downloaded and folded into origami cranes. For a small donation they ask that you download a design and follow the instructions to make a crane. They would like as many people as possible to fold a crane and then place it somewhere prominent so that it might inspire others to also focus on those in the grip of tragedy.

So please donate, download, print and fold an origami crane in support of Japan

There are no words to describe the collective devastation we all feel regarding the tragic events in Japan. Want to help? A number of designers have rallied quickly to produce posters, shirts and prints, the proceeds from which will fund recovery and aid operations currently underway in Japan and other affected areas. Visit this site to obtain more information.