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Another year has come and is about to be in the history books. We wanted to extend our warm holiday wishes to you and yours and hope that you have a great holiday season. Now, go eat lots of food, drink lots of drink and be merry for this is a time to be with family and friends and maybe get some kickass gifts too? We thank you for being readers of FYC and hope to see you in the new year! Stay tuned for some exciting new stuff in the 2011.

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A conference is just a conference right? Not so much. With a stacked speaking line-up, a great location, (who doesn’t love Vancouver) and an emphasis on sharing Interlink should be on your conference schedule for 2011. Interlink is a international web conference that brings designers, developers and strategists together to inspire each other.

An International Web Conference for Online Professionals

Interlink Conference will be a 3-day web event that will appeal to all web professionals. This international web design conference welcomes website architects, usability specialists, project managers, marketing coordinators, web developers, website designers and any other online professional that wants to meet others in the industry and get inspired.

Talk shop with web designer and publisher of 8Faces, Elliot Jay Stocks. Meet up with Ethan Dunham of FontSpring.com. Attend interactive workshops with Meagan Fisher, Dan Rubin, Simon Collison and Patrick Lauke as well as hear from Gavin Elliott, Jonathan Snook, Brian Hoff, Whitney Hess, Frank Chimero, and Sarah Parmenter. Just when you think the day is done, Shawn Johnston is going to throw an after party.

Schedule

Venue

Capilano University of North Vancouver, BC, Canada

Enjoy a 3-day international web conference in a vibrant, culturally diverse metropolis where the Pacific Ocean meets the Coastal Mountains and plenty of tourist attractions.

Capilano University’s Performing Arts Theatre

Theatre seating. 20-foot screen with crystal clear video projection. Plus a beautiful sound system. Soak it up, take notes and enjoy the presentations—or feel free to join in.

The International Web Conference with All the Perks

Full-meal catering. Lots of parking. Free wireless Internet access on all three days. Plus there will be special events during the conference and a not-to-be-missed after party.

Speaking Lineup

More Info

Interlink on Lanyrd.com

Interlink on Twitter

Interlink on Facebook

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Kicking off its 15^th year celebrating the best of the Internet, The Webby Awards today announced it is expanding its mission to reflect the profound impact that apps and the mobile Web are having on digital culture and commerce.

As part of the launch for its call for entries for Canada’s best Websites, online film and video, and interactive advertising, The Webby Awards debuted a new suite of categories saluting apps for handheld and tablet devices. A diverse mix of mobile experts, including Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley, and Yelp.com CEO Jeremy Stoppelman will judge the new awards.

To enter work in the 15^th Annual Webby Awards, visit www.webbyawards.com. The early entry deadline is October 29, 2010.

“In our fifteen years honoring the best of the Internet, we’ve seen few developments have as profound an effect as apps and the mobile Web,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “Apps have transformed the online experience, changing the way we access content, and enhancing every aspect of our daily lives. We’re looking forward to honoring not only these pioneering innovators but also the Websites, videos, and advertising that continue to shape the Internet’s future.”

According to the Canada’s Webby Ambassador Eli Singer, founder of Entrinsic, the 14^th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from more than 60 countries. The awards season was capped by a star-studded June gala showcasing an influential group of Internet leaders, including Roger Ebert, Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, and Chatroulette.com’s creator Andrey Ternovskiy.

The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose Canadian members include Wikitravel founder Evan Prodromou, Maclean’s Magazine editor-in-chief Ken Whyte, Idee founder Leila Boujnane, as well as luminaries such as Martha Stewart, David Bowie, Vinton Cerf, and Arianna Huffington.

In keeping with tradition, all winners have the opportunity to deliver one of The Webby Awards’ famous five-word speeches. In conjunction with the call for entries kick-off, The Webby Awards debuted a new video featuring at battle of the awards show speeches between a long-winded Barry Bostwick (Spin City) at the 1989 Golden Globes and Amy Poehler, Zach Galifianakis, and Buzz Aldrin at the 2010 Webby Awards.

Nominees for the 15^th Annual Webby Awards will be announced in April, and winners will be honored at the gala ceremony in June 2011.

About The Webby Awards:

Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 14th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Expression, Aol, YouTube, Pepsi, Aquent,  Yahoo!, HP, Sony Electronics .CO, Corbis Images, Rackspace Hosting, Motorola, Southwest Airlines, East Media, IDG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2advanced.Net, KobeMail, Museum of the Moving Image, Behance, Business Insider, Time Out New York, paidContent and The Guardian.

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“Making Ideas Happen” was written by  Scott Belsky of Behance. The team here at FUEL wanted to showcase the book and congratulate Scott on his huge success!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ideas are worthless if you can’t make them happen.

Many of us believe that great ideas inevitably lead to success. Nothing could be further from the truth. Whether it is the perfect solution for an everyday problem or a bold new concept for a creative masterpiece, you must transform vision into reality for an idea to have value.

This book chronicles the methods of exceptionally productive creative leaders and teams – companies like Google, IDEO, and Disney, and individuals like author Chris Anderson and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh – that make their ideas happen, time and time again.

Making Ideas Happen will change the way you work:

Overcome “reactionary workflow” and start pushing ideas forward.

You can easily spend your entire day just responding to incoming communications – email, texts, voicemails, tweets, etc – while never finding time to push the big, meaningful ideas forward. Learn proven methods for organizing with a bias-toward-action, prioritizing amidst a creative process, and pushing bold projects to completion.

Let go of the myth of the lonely creative genius.

Understanding how to leverage your community for feedback, resources, and exposure is crucial to gaining traction with your ideas. Discover the advantages of broadcasting your ideas early, seeking out competition, tapping into the power of “Circles,” and overcoming the stigma of self-marketing.

Push through the “project plateau”… and finish!

Most ideas get lost in that dreaded period of execution where your natural creative tendencies turn against you. Acquire methods for thriving when long-term vision is not enough. You will learn how to short-circuit the traditional rewards system, fight your way to breakthroughs, and gain strength from the doubts you will face along the way.

If you are interested in picking up the book or ordering it online, check out this link.

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LG Mobile Phones, the fastest growing mobile phone brand in North America,  is partnering with crowdSPRING, an online marketplace for creative services, and Autodesk, a leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software, to hold an innovative competition to define the future of mobile communication.  Starting on March 15^th, LG Mobile Phones will give consumers the chance to design their vision of the next revolutionary LG mobile phone and compete for more than $80,000 in prizes.

The competition will award over 40 winners.  The first place winner will be awarded $20,000, one Wacom Intuos4 medium tablet, and Autodesk industrial design software.  The second place winner will be awarded $10,000 and Autodesk SketchBook Pro software, and the third place winner will be awarded $5,000 and Autodesk SketchBook Pro software.  To reward as many people as possible in the name of creativity, LG will also be giving out a whopping 37 honorable mentions at $1,000 each.

This year’s competition marks the inaugural participation of Russell Bobbitt, a world renowned movie prop master.  Bobbitt has worked on a variety of visually stunning films such as Star Trek, Iron Man and Iron Man 2™.  He recently received the prestigious “Behind the Camera” prop master award for his work on the first Iron Man film.  Bobbitt will serve as a guest judge to reward one contestant’s cutting-edge design with the Prop Master’s Choice award.  The contestant’s design will then be created into a non-working mock-up that could wind up in Bobbitt’s next blockbuster film.  The Prop Master’s Choice winner will also receive $3,000 plus Autodesk SketchBook Pro software.

“We’re very excited about this competition because it gives consumers and design enthusiasts all a chance to exercise their creative imaginations and have their ideas be heard,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of marketing and innovation for LG Mobile Phones.  “You don’t have to work for LG to make an impact on the future of mobile phones.”

Autodesk will supply participants with a free 15-day trial of HYPERLINK SketchBook Pro, a paint and drawing application for use on the Mac or PC.  It offers an intuitive, streamlined user interface so even new users can be productive within minutes. The 15-day trial will give all competitors access to industry-leading professional design software and levels the playing field for professional and amateur designers alike to create the phone of their dreams.

“We’re thrilled to partner with LG and Autodesk on this innovative design challenge. The challenge represents the real power of crowdsourcing – by allowing anyone to have the opportunity to design the next generation mobile phone for a global leader,” said Ross Kimbarovsky, co-founder of crowdSPRING.  With a pool of over 55,000 designers and writers in more than 170 countries, crowdSPRING is one of the world’s largest creative communities and is an open platform where anyone can post projects or submit entries. Both seasoned and aspiring designers can submit their entries until April 26^th at http://www.crowdspring.com/LG

Competition Details:

Eligibility: Any U.S. resident (citizen or green card holder) that is 18 years (or age of majority in state of residence) and older

Start and End Dates: The competition begins on March 15, 2010, at 12 a.m. PST and ends on April 26, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. PST

Winners will be announced on May 14, 2010 at http://www.crowdspring.com/LG/winners

Prizes:

First Place:

$20,000 Cash Award + 1 Wacom Intuos4 medium tablet (ARV of $349) + Autodesk industrial design software (ARV of $500)

Second Place:

$10,000 Cash Award + Autodesk SketchBook Pro software (ARV of $100)

Third Place:

$5,000 Cash Award + Autodesk SketchBook Pro software (ARV of $100)

Prop Master’s Choice:

$3,000 Cash Award + Autodesk SketchBook Pro software (ARV of $100) + 1 non-working concept mock-up creation (ARV of $4,000)

37 Honorable Mentions:

$1,000 Cash Award

Official rules can be found at http://www.crowdspring.com/LG NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

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Cleveland’s progressive design firm, Go Media, is pleased to announce the first annual Weapons of Mass Creation Festival. On May 22 and 23 this two-day art, film, and music event will highlight work from both local and national talent, a celebration of creative visionaries who defy the hand they’re dealt. Much akin to Austin’s popular South By Southwest, this festival will host film screenings, musical performances, art and design showings, and various panel discussions at the Go Media Headquarters, a three-story warehouse located in Ohio City.

Co-owner of Go Media, Jeff Finley, dreamt WMC Fest into existence after a sleepless night wondering why none of the popular festivals seemed to be held in his hometown. Tired of Cleveland’s reputation as a miserable city, he put his head together with like- minded community members and decided to form an event that would not only gather the artistic community of Northeast Ohio, but the nation. By dipping into his vast network created over the years as an acclaimed designer, Jeff managed to collect an inspiring and diverse group to display their work in May.

Five filmmakers are set to screen their projects as well as participate in question and answer sessions. Among them are Lena Dunham of Tribeca, New York, the fresh-faced writer and director behind ‘Tiny Furniture’, a film that was honored by the Jury Award for Narrative Feature after its premiere at the South By Southwest Festival earlier this month. Of the nine independent folk and punk bands set to take the newly constructed stage, four are native to Northeast Ohio. David Dondero, an Omaha folk singer who is listed as an influence for national acts such as Conor Oberst, will not only perform but record a live music video being filmed during festival hours on Sunday. Strategist, Designer, and Entrepreneur Dave Gensler, well known for his founding of the creative network, the KDU, will deliver the keynote address.

Like most independently run events, Weapons of Mass Creation Fest needs the help of the Cleveland community in order to guarantee its success. Fest organizers are looking for volunteers to help out and local businesses willing to sponsor. Finley is running a fundraiser on the popular crowd sourcing site, Kickstarter, trading giveaways and benefits for funding. None of the funds raised so far will be taken unless the $2,500 goal is reached by April 15. Other fundraising efforts include a limited edition poster currently on sale at Imagekind.com, as well as a mixer being held at a to be determined local establishment in upcoming weeks.

Tickets

Tickets for Weapons of Mass Creation Fest can be purchased online, single-day passes are available individually for $15 or a full weekend pass can be purchased for $25.

Notables

Check out the site: WMCFest.com

Fan them on Facebook

Follow Them on Twitter

Grab the Press Info

Make  a pledge on KickStarter

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About the Site

You’re masters at visualization. Magicians, if you will. Illustration is an art form unlike any others and we recognize that. Fuel Your Illustration is here to pay homage to those folks who take this genre  to the next level. You want the latest news and interviews with the hottest talent. We’ve got that covered. You want inspiration. Consider it our gift to you. How about the coolest apps and other tools to help you bring your illustrations to life? Here they are. Now go and work your magic.

Alex Eben Meyer, Editor

We’d give you a laundry list of the huge clients that Alex Eben Meyer has in his brag bag, but we think you’d be pretty darn jealous. Let’s just say he knows his stuff when it comes to illustration. As Editor of Fuel Your Illustration, Alex utilizes his BFA in Graphic Communications, extensive drawing experience, curly hair and left-handedness to bring you the latest news from the illustration world. Expect the who’s who and the what’s what. Be prepared to get glimpses into the minds and art of the world’s top illustrators and maybe even some who aren’t at the top but will be in no time at all.

Follow on Twitter: Alex Eben Meyer | Fuel Your Illustration

A roundup of new articles to check out:

• Top 12 Inspirational Pieces [8.21.09]
• Fuel Your Illustration Flickr Group Showcase (1)
• Porkchop
• Tachikawa Dip Pen
• Rhonda 3d Software
• Library of Congress
• Quick Tutorial: Radial Repeat

Visit the Site or Subscribe to the feed.

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You interface designers have your work cut out for you. Bigger and better and uber creative websites are cropping up everywhere these days. It always seems as if one form is niftier than the rest, or the typography on one site puts others to shame. How can you even begin to keep up? Why, Fuel Your Interface, of course! It’s here that we bring you the inspiration for those bigger and better and uber creative sites in the form of articles, interviews and galleries. And those other sites that you drool over? Five bucks says they come here too.

Jonathan Cutrell, Editor

Jonathan Cutrell is more than a triple threat, he’s an anomaly, folks. With extensive experience in web, motion and print graphic design as well as branding and copy editing, Jonathan excels at it all…all the while finding time to play anything from folk rock to jazz on his guitar. As Editor of Fuel Your Interface, he’s tackling one his most challenging projects to date: keeping you up to date on the who’s who, the what’s what and everything else that goes into creating uber creative and eye-catching interfaces for your clients and business. Expect things such as interviews with experts and gurus, reviews of today’s hottest apps and galleries from impressive designers like yourself.

Follow on Twitter: Fuel Your Interface | Jonathan Cutrell

A Roundup of Amazing New Articles

• Interview with Zach Klein, Designer of Vimeo.com
• The Importance of Audio Environment to Visual Design
• Interface 101 – Part One: Basic Interfaces
• Pen and Paper – The Forgotten Web Design Tools
• Book Review – Layout Essentials: 100 Design Principles Using Grids
• Minimalist Theory and Techniques
• How to Use the F-Pattern Correctly
• Have you gotten your tickets for “An Event Apart”?
• 10 Interface Rockstars You Should Know About

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Kyle Steed has put together an amazing way to bridge the gap between other designers & creatives called Chat Creative. The Fuel Brand Network fully supports Kyle on this endeavor to help grow the community & bring everyone together. Check out the design panel below and find out how to get involved.

The Design Panel

In our efforts to provide quality over quantity, we want to make sure we’re starting off on the right foot. So for each design panel we do we will be focusing on a single topic of discussion. We feel that this way you, the community, will know what to expect from us, and we can better provide you with meaningful content without blabbering on with nonsense.

So for our first design panel this Wednesday we will be focused on discussing the best ways to get started in web/graphic design (both freelancing and in-house). Basically anything is open for discussion; from schooling, websites, best/worst practices, programs, books and more. And don’t think this is just for noobs either, you never know what good tips, tricks or resources you could pick up from us. (-Kyle Steed)

Now what we’d like to do is open up the floor for you all to begin sending in your questions now. That way by Wednesday we should have a pretty good idea of where the discussion will lead. Not that we want to script the whole thing out, but think of it as more of an outline (with room for some impromptu conversations). So please either leave your comment below or send them to chatcreative (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks again for all your wonderful support and we look forward to seeing you all there on Wednesday, July 8 at 6 pm (CST). If you’re not already, please follow us on twitter @chatcreative and join us on Facebook.

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I was asked to participate in the “30 Designers 1 Question – Where are you most inspired?” series on Gavin Elliot’s blog. To see my answer and the other 29 great designers head over and check it out! Good reading for a Friday!

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About the Site

Ah, so you know your way around a dark room, eh? Maybe you’ve graduated from the old point and shoot to a camera that makes REAL magic. Nice to meet ya! We like people like you, after all, seeing the world through your lenses reminds us what a crazy world it really is. It’s because we like you that we’ve dedicated a website-Fuel Your Photography- to inspiring you. There are articles, tools and interviews with your fellow lens lovers to get your creative juices flowing and to arm you with the knowledge you need to be able to answer important questions like “does the camera add 10 pounds?” On second thought, you’re on your own for that one.

About the Team

Stacy Christian, Editor

Give Fuel Your Photography Editor Stacy Christian some fresh fruit, chocolate and permission to sleep late and she’ll be set for life. OK, so you may want to throw in her current location in Kaneohe, HI as well. Yes, the rest of us are jealous too. But FYP is lucky to have this talented photographer as part of our team as she boasts many years of experience as a professional photographer who has lived and taken pictures all over the country including in Georgia, Utah and Virginia. As co-Editor of FYP with Thayne Shumway, Stacy is dedicated to bringing all photography creatives the latest information in the photography world including the hottest gadgets to check out and interviews with the coolest cats.

Follow on Twitter: Fuel Your Photography |  Stacy Christian

Thayne Shumway, Editor

As Editor of Fuel Your Photography, Thayne Shumway puts his field expertise, experience, creative vision and his unique perspective on the world to good use. When we found out he has a knack for winning free fast food and charity photography contests…that just sealed the deal! Thayne will be dedicating his time to keeping photography aficionados everywhere informed on the who’s who, the what’s what and everything else in the photography world.  And no, he won’t share any fries. We’ve already asked.

Follow on Twitter: Fuel Your Photography |  Thayne Shumway

A Roundup of New Articles

1. Interview with Casey Templeton
2. The ALICE Experiment
3. Approaching People As A Photographer
4. 5 Steps For First Time DSLR Owners
5. Power Station
6. Blue Helmets and Kevlar Vests
7. Creative Books
8. New Orleans Post Katrina

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Today the Fuel Brand Network launched Fuel Network TV, along with it’s first channel – Drift TV. We welcome the drifters Martin & Gavin to the Fuel family, I highly suggest you check out their show…these two are very talented guys! I promise we aren’t biased & it will Fuel Your Creativity.

Check it out for yourself.

1. Welcome to Drift TV
2. Episode 1: Infuz
3. Episode 2: Atomic Dust
4. Episode 3: Goodtwin Design

More episodes to come in the next week. Don’t forget to follow @driftcreate for the latest on their trip cross country and see what they had to say about the launch!

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About the Site

We <heart> apps. That’s why we threw together Fuel Your Apps one rainy afternoon. Ok, so it wasn’t necessarily just ONE rainy afternoon… after all, we bring everyone all of the coolest news on the hottest apps. Not to mention how-tos on how to create them, reviews of the latest crazes, and a look inside the minds of the people who do them the best. We bet everyone will be back for more inspiration no matter what the weather. 

Chad Engle
Editor, Fuel Your Apps

When he’s not out tasting wine in the fresh air of his home state of West Virginia, Chad Engle can be found hard at work as the Editor at Fuel Your Apps. That hard work entails bringing you everything you want to know apps and maybe even some stuff you didn’t know you wanted to know but now you really know you wanted to know it. Did you get all that? If not, here it is again. Chad brings you information on which apps are hot, interviews with the creators behind them and where to go when you need some help. Nevermind the years of experience in graphic and web design and his obsession with all things advertising and application related. The bottom line is that Chad is just a cool guy and we know you’ll love him as much as we do.

Follow on Twitter: @fuelyourapps    |   @chadengle

A Roundup of New Articles

1. Giveaway: How to Build a Web App Workshop
2. 6 Apps with a Good Web Presence
3. Behind the App – Mike Rundle
4. 1 Billion Downloads: What This Means For Devs
5. 4 Services to Connect with App Dev’s on Twitter
6. 2 Apps You Need In Your App Arsenal
7. Juglir
8. 8 Interesting iPhone Icons
9. Tweetie – For iPhone
10. Tweetie – For Mac Review

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About Fuel Your Writing

Words make the world go ‘round. Ok, there are lots of things that make the world go ‘round but we think writing should be at the top of the list somewhere around water, love and ice-cream. That is why Fuel Your Writing was created. FYW is the inspirational “go to” site for writers of all flavors: business writers, novelists, short story, advertising, technical writers…the list goes on and on. Stop by to pick up ideas, the latest news in the writing world and knowledge about your fellow wordsmiths. Stay for the water, love and ice cream. Just pick your flavor.

Subscribe to Fuel Your Writing via RSS or delivered to your email inbox as they are written! 

Michelle Krasniak Oxman, Editor

In addition to being the Editor of Fuel Your Writing, Michelle Krasniak Oxman is also the Media Relations Manager for the Fuel Brand Group. Before joining the Fuel team, Michelle worked as a Technical Writer, Marketing Copywriter, Project Manager for a marketing firm and most recently branched out to start her own freelance copywriting business. Years of training as a journalist and a knack for marketing give Michelle a unique perspective when writing content of all types. Her specialties include website copywriting, SEO content, articles geared towards small business owners and in-depth looks into the lives of the world’s top creative personalities. As Editor, she is in charge of bringing our writing audience the latest news from the writing world, cool interviews with some of today’s hottest writers as well as tips and tricks every writer can use. Check back often as she is a frequent contributor to the Fuel Brand Network of sites.

Follow Michelle on Twitter | Fuel Your Writing

A roundup of new articles

1. A Writer’s Online Tool List That Contains a Little Bit of Everything
2. How do I become a writer?
3. 14 J-schools worth their tuition
4. Time for a Reality Check
5. How much should I write?
6. Who are you, Who am I?
7. Interview with Pak Samad
8. A day in the life…of a freelance writer
9. Hotel by the Railroad

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New Fuel Brand Network Site Launch:

Welcome Fuel Your Creativity-Spanish to the Fuel Brand Network of sites! Along with a new language site for the Fuel Network comes an amazing new addition to the team! Head over and check it out- even if you can’t read it there will be unique localized content to Fuel Your Creativity!

Javier Rivero, Editor

If you’re in the Guanajuato, Mexico area and happen to hear someone rockin out to electronic music day in and day out, it’s most likely Javier Rivero, Fuel Your Creativity’s Spanish Editor. In addition to bringing his design experience to the table, Javier has also won Photoshop contests and acted as the Mexican team’s head designer for the Championship Gaming series. When not interviewing great Latin American designers and providing other must-read content, Javier can be found feeding his Facebook addiction on his Macbook…everywhere he goes. A Fuel Brand Network team member being addicted to their computers and creative content? Who would have thought!

Follow on Twitter: Javier Rivero | Fuel Your Creativity Espanol