this is portable

There is a whole lot coming up that needs to be on your calendar if you’re into Interactive Design or Development and you live near Pittsburgh. For real.

Art and Code, March 7-9 2009

http://www.artandcode.com
ART AND CODE is a symposium on programming environments for artists, young people, and the rest of us. The event takes place the weekend of March 7-9, 2009 on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. It features hands-on workshops and a conference showcase for ten different creative toolkits — programming languages made by artists, for artist.

Golan Levin is the main organizer, and you might recognize his name from his awesome presentation at Flashpitt last year.

Pittsburgh Web Design Day, April 4th, 2009

http://www.webdesignday.com
Refresh Pittsburgh and On the Fridge, LLC are teaming up to bring a one-day, very low-cost conference to web professionals in Western Pennsylvania. It’s a full day of learning from Pittsburgh web gurus …and lunch!

The really cool thing is that all the speakers for Pittsburgh Web Design day have to have strong ties to Pittsburgh. So all the speakers either live here right now or have in the past.

Tickets aren’t on sale yet, but if you are from/in Pittsburgh and would like to be a speaker, submit and RFP as we still have a couple of spots left.

Flashpitt October 15 – 16, 2009

http://www.flashpitt.com
We’re back again for 2009 and we are super excited to be bringing an even bigger and better Flashpitt to Pittsburgh. This year will feature pre-conference workshops, more networking opportunities, and a full day of sessions in two tracks.

Tell us what you want to see at Flashpitt. Offer up a suggestion by March 13th, 2009 via our suggestion form and you’ll be entered to win one free ticket to the conference.

These last waning days of Winter always seem to make everyone miserable. We’d all rather fast forward to Spring already. Seems like a good time to talk about finding inspiration despite all the yucky weather that surrounds us.

The best advice I’ve ever heard, when it comes to finding inspiration and ideas, is to get away from your computer (and the internet!). Like Samantha says in this post, everyone is looking at the internet, but there’s lots more to the world offline.

Whether your assembling a collection to keep for reference, or trying to find inspiration for a specific project, grab a camera to take lots of pictures and grab samples and swatches of anything that sparks your interest. Here are some of my favourite places to go:

Fabric Stores and Craft Stores

These are especially great for colour, texture and patterns. Pull some bolts of fabric for some interesting colour combinations. If you find some you really like they’ll cut samples swatches for you for free. Check out the pattern books for lots of photos and illustrations.

No matter how cheesy you think the scrapbooking section is, there’s tons of patterns, stamps and paper in there. Definitely worth checking out.

Bookstores and Libraries

Both let you just hang out and look at books but the library will definitely have a different collection. Look for interesting book covers and displays. The photo books have all sorts of amazing photos in a bigger and better format than you’ll find online.

Don’t forget the childerns’ section, especially in the library. This is an especially good place to look for illustration and line styles. Plus some of the stories are great, too.

While you’re there, grab a book to read.

Used Bookstores and Record Stores

Used bookstores are a lot different than your neighbourhood Borders. Old books, old magazines, old advertisements, and more. Go back often to look for treasures.

Record stores that still sell old LPs (you know, the big 12″ ones..) are just as interesting as used bookstores. I especially like to check out the old Jazz and Classical music record covers for typography and ornaments.

Museums and Galleries

You probably can’t take pictures here, but there’s so much to see. I know I’m guilty of taking these for granted. Find a listing of museums and galleries close to you and check out as many as you can.

Take a Walk with Your Camera

Even if all you have is your cellphone camera, it’s still worth it to record what you see. Things look a whole lot different when you’re walking as opposed to driving.