I mentioned my 2007 trip to Paris in my last Sketchbook Video. So the sketchbook I used during my trip is featured in my latest episode (I like how that sounds. I guess I’m a video podcaster now).

It’s a Paris Moleskine City notebook. I highly recommend these little things. They are the tour guide you create yourself!

You’ll see quite the strange colour palette I used in this sketchbook. That’s the fault of some Japanese markers I bought in a Japanese store in Pairs (go figure!). They came in weirdest combination. Though frustrating, it did provide some creative ideas on its own (as seen in my previous video).

Well, thanks home video technology in my DSLR, iMovie and Vimeo, it can happen a little more than often. I’ve begun making short videos of my flipping through my sketchbooks. So, if you want to flip through them, you’re saved a trip!

Above is my first video which features my Moleskine sketchbook from 2006. This was a time where I was trying different mediums and techniques other than my usual pencil. You’ll see how some methods worked while others didn’t. I further developed those that did work and learned a lot from what didn’t.

But not exactly a vacation it will be: I am working on a few projects to improve some skills, learn a few new things and putting the digital devices away (well, maybe not the social networks) while the weather’s still nice.

I’m already seeing some leaves changing colour (AAAUUUGGGHHHH!!!).

I keep returning because the community is awesome. In fact, as I was unpacking last night, I came to realize that the appropriate term for PAB conference attendees is “participants”.

You go to the conference and your fellow attendees are speaking. It’s a more direct, friendlier form of “unconference”. No focus on using Facebook or Twitter to improve . PAB is exactly like getting together with your fellow social media and digital (and analogue) content nerds except it’s over 3 days and you really, really, really want to hear from everyone. And you learn so much from each other.

This year’s theme was “Your story needs to be told. Well”. Being a natural born storyteller, I was definitely in my element. PAB always proves without a doubt that CONTENT IS KING (get over it).

It’s interesting to note that a number of sessions centered around telling and preserving family histories. And a lot of the comments from the audience was along the lines of “My family did that, too!”.

Add to that the sessions by a director of photography at IMAX, artists, embracing and learning from your worst works, those (good) shiver moments that our favourite movies and music form, and learning from the Catholic Church’s appoach to one-to-many, one-to-one communication instead of prosthelytizing.

So if you’re a natural born storyteller like me who believes the importance of quality in the content you post online, then definitely check out PAB next year in Ottawa from June 15-17.

I was interviewed for CBC Radio in the past and this was my first time being on CBC Television. And I had a blast. The producer, Melanie Nagy, did a fantastic job at interviewing us and squeezing all that was said into three minutes of excellent television telling our story. Melanie and her videographer were very professional and made being interviewed a breeze. I admit, I was a little nervous :) And through my conversation with them, they truly understand the stuttering experience.

A shorter version of the segment has been posted on the CBC website.

Also, I’m going to have a chance to hear from businesses and how they use tablets for their own unique needs as well as hearing about opportunities for budding self-publishers like myself.

I still don’t own a tablet just yet. I’m holding out for the 2nd generation iPad (and 2nd generation of the other tablets).

A bit of background: My day job for nine years was for a large corporation where only a part of my duties involved design. However, at home I worked on my own creative projects in web design, illustration and comics.

1. What attributes are key in dealing with clients?

Professionalism, diplomacy, checking your ego at the door. Be a problem solver. Also, and I feel most importantly, your clients may not understand why some requests may be “ridiculous” or impossible to do.

The reason I bring this up is I’ve come across too many designers who choose to take on a condescending attitude towards some of their clients. Gauge your client’s willingness to hear you out, but look at this as an occasion to inform or educate.  I learned that some clients with no technical or design knowledge may feel that they don’t need to know or may just not be aware of any importance in knowing the reasons behind technical and design do’s and don’ts.

So when you’re asked to use comic sans as a font, or given a low-res photo in powerpoint format seconds from deadline… smile, educate and find a solution.

And never vent about them on social networks. You never know who’s reading. And it’s unprofessional!

2. Do you work mostly at home, office, or do you travel a lot?

I regularly took the train to the office however, I was able to work from home once I was given remote access. For my own personal work, I work at home on my laptop for web projects. For art stuff: anywhere I can take my sketchbook :)

3. If you could start a new career would you still chose the field of design?

Definitely :) One thing I learned is to follow your passion. Try not to focus on which job or career would be most practical. We all have to eat but at least try to follow what you enjoy doing. And work hard at getting there. When you do, great things happen.

4. How many -on average-hours do you spend on the computer?

Too much :) And that’s not including time spent on the iPhone ;)

5. If you had to take on an apprentice what 5 things would be on your “person must have…”list? ( e.g. – person must have typing skills etc…)

In no particular order:

• People skills (see #1 above) (ok i’m cheating, since I listed 5 things up there already).
• Eagerness to learn (and teach!) new things (did I just list 2 items?). I enjoy learning from others.
• Great talent and passion for producing fantastic design.
• Professional attitude
• Innovative spirit (enthusiastic towards trying out new things, new ideas, new concepts)

6. Do you do a lot of thumbnails or hand renders?

Yes. Constantly. Pencil and paper has always been the best way for me to work out and dream up ideas.

Version 7, which I dubbed “Quick Glance”, is designed around providing the user the quickest way to look at my portfolio samples with the least amount of clicking as possible. Large images on the right, short descriptions on the left, use the scroll bar.

I also split my areas of expertise in order to provide context and reduce web copy.

Though I designed version 7 as minimally as possible, CSS proved yet again how frustrating it can be across browsers while jQuery joined in on the fun. I just wish the browsers would fight their battles on their own time instead of ours.

A big thanks for helping me (and sometimes cheering up) along the way go out to typography queen Kitty Florido, CSS sensei Nico, programming megastar Curtis McHale and jQuery guru Tom Hart.

My next personal project is creating the mobile version of version 7.

…and YouTube allowing me to embed videos of a few of the sessions themselves.

Sylvain Grand’maison – You are what you hear

Anthony Marco – A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures

John Meadows – Where did all the amateurs go?

Keep an eye on podcastersacrossborder.com as videos and audio content are posted throughout the summer.

…And a few backchannel notes I favourited on Twitter

Registration for PAB2011 is open and I highly recommend attending. PAB is indeed the TED of social media content creation but without the six grand fee. Also, the PAB community is creative, energetic and supportive.

As you can see from the photo, I’ve been sketching away at possible wireframes for the new design and branding of this website. It’s proving to be an interesting exercise (in a good way) as I have two important categories I need to spotlight yet both are pretty different from each other. When you’re browsing either of them, the user will wonder how on Earth the other has to do with it. Hence the rebranding.

I’ve narrowed it down to a completely different contender (not shown) but need to do further exploring and testing. Will keep you posted.

P.S. Geez, what an ugly photo.