Akosoto.com is a place where nursery rhymes, songs, riddles, games, do it yourself toys, illustrated stories… are compiled in the Malayalam language. This is a new venture from antzFx.com. Let us try to know more about the website.

Click on the following images for full size view.

Here are the posters in the language we all speak.

What is ‘Akosoto?’

No, the word is not Japanese. The name ‘Akosoto’ is a tribute to the 1992 Malayalam Film ‘Yodha’ directed by Sangeeth Sivan. The hero of the movie is fondly addressed as ‘Akosoto’ by the Rimpoche – a small child. We are sure that all the Keralites will identify themselves with the name. We are presenting Akosoto as a friend of your child.

A small talk on the inspiration

It was some months ago. When I was singing a nursery rhyme to my daughter (now she is two years old), my father asked me in surprise “Do you still remember this song? I taught you this song some 30 years ago from a children’s magazine!” My father has forgotten many of the lines. This made me to think about a website where we can collect and publish old songs, stories, games, ‘do-it-yourself’ toys…

My brother FULLfx | aneeskA immediately jumped into this and he made sure that the website will be up and running. He plans and posts the articles and does a lot of house keeping of the website.

The Akosoto Team

I must say that a big group of people contributed and encouraged us. Apart from my brother, my wife and daughter, my parents, my in-laws, my friends… are consulted for various articles posted here.

I should name two friends here: Geo Paul E and MahEsh C Menon. They are with us in every step and provides unconditional support, ideas and criticisms.

@AkosotoDotCom

Our Twitter handle is ‘@AkosotoDotCom.’

Tell us what you think

Simple. Shoot an email to:
write[ at ]akosoto[ dot ]com

Image Credits

Following images are used to design the poster and header of the website.

• Think: Jesse Therrien, Alberta, Canada.
• Pills: d-s-n, Warsaw, Poland
• Medicine 2: Sergio Roberto Bichara, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Advertising

• Are you going to make advertising your career? See ‘A life in advertising’ http://www.munnaontherun.com/2011/08/life-in-advertising_05.html “Must be true!”
• You can turn any car into a convertible! A social service campaign by Amélie Company. http://osocio.org/message/you_can_turn_any_car_into_a_convertible/

Animation

• “Weird Al” Yankovic says “Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me.” The video is kinetic typography, probably in AfterEffects. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KCSA7kKNu2Y

Art

• Ursus Wehrli finds everyday situations of disorder & organizes them into neat rows based on color, size, shape & type. http://www.fubiz.net/2011/08/31/the-art-of-clean-up/

Fun

• 14 things that always happen in movies, but never ever in real life. Movies just recycle unrealistic plot devices! http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2011/01/26/things-that-always-happen-in-movies-but-never-ever-in-real-life/
• Cartoonist Donald Soffritti imagines the later years of superheroes, enjoying retirement, with some funny outcomes. http://dailyinspiration.nl/character-design-retired-superheroes
• See the doodles that people drew on windows with dry erase markers so that the images project onto the scenery outside. http://windoodles.tumblr.com/

Inspiration

• Jeff Meakins is a talented designer who does packaging, rebranding, logos, posters… for well-known brands. His works: http://jeffreycmeakins.com/
• Designers, Read “33 Designisms” – modified Holzer’s truisms, questioning what we do, why we do it & how to get it done. http://morladesign.com/MD_33ideas.pdf

Logo/Identity Design

• Beach, Umbrella, Jellyfish, Seahorse and Beer! Read the design story of the logo for BarCamp Goa: First Edition. http://antzfxway.com/2011/09/22/design_bcg1/
• These logos make you smile at the brilliance of both the idea & the execution & have several layers of meaning. Great! http://designshack.co.uk/articles/graphics/50-fantastically-clever-logos
• It is surprising how logos can influence other logos. Stefan Asafti’s project on interchanging logos of rival brands. http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-Greatest-Brandversations/1971913
• Redesigning a logo can be just as hard as creating a new one. Here are five ideas to spruce up your logo design. http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/08/5-ways-to-spruce-up-a-logo-with-examples/
• A fauxgo (fake logo) is a symbol created to represent a fictional company or organization that exists only on film. http://fauxgo.com/archive

Photography

• Why I never got this idea? Large Objects shot as miniatures using a giant coin and tilt-shift effects. http://www.petapixel.com/2011/08/18/large-objects-shot-as-miniatures-using-a-giant-coin-and-tilt-shift-effects/
• Gulp: The world’s largest stop-motion animation shot on Nokia N8. The crafting surface was 11,000 square feet of beach. http://www.dudecraft.com/2011/08/gulp-worlds-largest-stop-motion-film-by.html

Print Design

• ‘Truth and Lies’ humorous poster series: this is what you say, but (this is what you mean) – and we all know it. http://www.behance.net/gallery/Truth-and-Lies/2018665
• Kerning is fun! All right, unless you’re a serious typography nerd, that’s definitely not going to be a true statement. http://designshack.co.uk/articles/typography/8-simple-and-useful-tips-for-kerning-type/

Product Design

• MuteWatch – An interesting product, more interesting packaging design. I love it! http://www.notcot.com/archives/2011/09/unboxing-the-mutewatch-at-ar.php
• Lovely idea! The Karlsson Table Clock Book adapts neatly into your bookshelf disguised as an actual set of books. http://goo.gl/lGtfu
• Printed Circuit Board business card with inbuilt electronic decision maker logic. Press the button to get ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ http://www.devicers.com/ynbc/
• A low-cost, ergonomic load carrier for laborers wins Core77 Product Design Competition. Design: Vikram Dinubhai Panchal. http://www.fastcodesign.com/1664663/core77-taps-7-carryall-as-years-best-product-design

Web Design

• Even if you’ve never heard of Andreas Shabelnikov, you’ve almost certainly seen his works: movie websites. Interview: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2011/09/interview-andreas-shabelnikov/

Advertising

• One fast car, 2 different types of cameras & a ton of empty parking spaces. Making of the new VW ‘light painting’ film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSV5wK1GzHA&feature=youtu.be
• Do you have the smarts to identify each story in these ads? Decode the equations. http://www.ibelieveinadv.com/2011/04/brain-candy-toys-little-pigs-cinderella-humpty-blind-mice/

Inspiration

• 10 must-see TED videos that either explore the way to create great design, or urges you to think big in your design job. http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/ted-video-for-web-designers/
• Inspiring article by Leo Babauta. “I’m always where I want to be, doing what I want to be doing.” http://zenhabits.net/happy/

Print Design

• The first thing that you’ll learn in any basic design layout class is that ‘centered alignments are weak.’ Find out why: http://designshack.co.uk/articles/layouts/how-to-use-centered-alignments-tips-and-examples/

Product Design

• Shooting anti-gravity & rotating scenes in films require Computer Graphics. Wrong! See the amazing mechanisms involved: http://www.ohhaveyouseenthis.com/2011/07/inceptions-rotating-corridor.html
• Ever since we were kids, we’ve been in love with paper airplanes. Now you can buy Electric Paper Airplane Kit under $20. http://www.geekextreme.com/gadgets/electric-paper-airplane-conversion-kit-10736
• Could you transform your everyday bicycle to have the look and sound of a real motorbike? Turbospoke does exactly that! http://www.turbospoke.com/products-turbospoke-what-is-it.aspx
• ‘SavePaste’ eliminates the hard-to-squeeze dead space, minimizes toothpaste residue inside & reduces 2 packaging to 1. http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/07/15/get-more-out-of-your-toothpaste-tube/
• The most unusual and creative packaging designs. My favorite is ‘Breakfast.’ http://www.toxel.com/design/2011/07/14/15-examples-of-creative-packaging/
• Brief: Go into a pound shop and pick a seemingly uninteresting object and rebrand it. Ric Bixter’s answer is elastic! http://ricbixter.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/elastic-band-packaging/
• Yunfan Tan visualizes ‘Magic Emotion’, an eyewear that helps people in expressing emotions and brings some fun to life. http://www.behance.net/gallery/Magic-Emotion-Concept-Eyewear/1723529

Logo/Identity Design

• A clever way of putting a pair of scissors in a salon logo. Read the story of ‘Play Salon’ identity design: http://kikkidu.com/play-salon
• State Bank of India logo shows a keyhole. Wrong! Read the ‘real’ logo logic here: http://kikkidu.com/sbi
• If you’re a freelance photographer, see these 50 inspiring photography logos before you set out to create one yourself! http://www.inspiredm.com/50-inspirational-photography-logos/
• How to design a logo in 30 seconds: Malcolm Fontier logo. “Really, are you serious?” “Trust me. It’s gonna be good.” http://justcreativedesign.com/2011/06/29/how-to-design-a-logo-in-30-seconds/
• Read the logo design story of Flipkart.com. http://kikkidu.com/flipkart

News

• “Ripples” is the annual design expo at the IISc Bangalore. Ripples 2011 is on 08-09 July. You are invited! For details: http://antzfxway.com/2011/07/05/ripples-2011-iisc-bangalore/

Web Design

• We all liked Martha Graham doodle on Google homepage. Read the amazing story of the guy who thought it all. http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/07/08/interview-google-marcin-wichary/

Click on the image for a larger view.

Ripples 2011 is happening on 08th and 09th of July (Friday and Saturday).

The speakers in Ripples 2011 are:

• Mr. Jagannath Raju, Director & Co-founder of Systemantics, a robotics company.
• Dr. Suresh Nagesh, Managing Director of Voith India Ltd., a Mechanical Engineering conglomerate.
• Mr. Tassin Hubert, Automobile Designer at Pininfarina, Italy.
• Mr. Jayant Karve, Product Designer specialized in medical equipment design.

We invite you to visit IISc and Ripples. Enjoy!

Update: 09-July

Ripples 2011 was a huge success. The student organizers did a fantastic job!

Read this newspaper report on Ripples 2011. Deccan Herald: IISc students’ designs cause ‘ripples’

Here are some photos of yours AnaskA truly attending the function on 08th July. Photos are courtesy of Mahesh C Menon.

Pramod Khadilkar, AnasKA, Himanshu Chaman, Tojo Thomas and Manoj Mahala.

Prof. J E Diwakar and AnasKA

Saleem Ahamed Sir and AnasKA

Himanshu Chaman and AnasKA

Inspiration

Logo/Identity Design

Photography

Print Design

Product Design

Web Design

Since we are humans, we may be tempted to click on a ‘fun’ video in Facebook that is liked by one of our friends. The moment you click on the ‘play’ button, you will be redirected to a website and then some scripts get executed.

The result? All your friends and the world will see that you liked the video. This leads to more clicks. In addition to this ‘auto liking,’ I strongly believe that these scripts may lift your personal data. So what can we do?

Likejacking

Although I used the term ‘auto liking,’ it appears that the correct technical term is ‘likejacking.’ Wikipedia says that:

Likejacking, a form of clickjacking, is a malicious technique of tricking users of a website into posting a Facebook status update for a site they did not intentionally mean to “like”.

My suggestions:

1. If you are already a victim, immediately change the Facebook password to something complex and difficult to guess.

2. See the above screenshot (Click on the image for a larger view). Spartacus trailer is a genuine Youtube video. Hot Girls Fight is a spam. It is shown there that the redirected link is ‘apps.facebook.com.’ So, do not click.

You can also verify this by hovering the cursor on the video. Your browser will show the link at the bottom status bar.

3. If you observe closely, you will see that the blue Play button of the spam video is a low resolution image. Observe that the Play button in the Spartacus link has clear edges and looks alive.

4. I have heard that you can disable auto execution of scripts in your browser. I don’t know how it will affect the browsing experience.

Other Spam Videos

Read more about this spam video and how it works in this link: AllFacebook.com: ‘ALERT: Avoid ‘Father Catches Daughter On Webcam.’

I have no information on this ‘clothes’ video yet. Just stay away!

Who is more powerful? Darth Vader or Thor? VW Passat came up with a video that shows a small boy dressed as Darth Vader who manages to start a car using the ‘force’ (How? See the video in the following link). Marvel Comics made a spoof of this for the promotion of the new film ‘Thor.’ I am not spoiling the plot, see the video.

• I’m sure that you have seen and liked VW Passat ad (View: http://goo.gl/JXpbe). Now see ‘Little Thor’ by Marvel Comics. http://goo.gl/7oPlQ

Art

• Know more about Johanna Basford. Her intricate and beautiful illustration style is organic and free-flowing. http://goo.gl/GTS96
• Romulo Celdran makes oversized versions of everyday items. Cool! http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2011/04/03/oversized-household-objects/
• Toronto-based Dorie Millerson creates incredibly small, intricate needle lace sculptures and suspends them using string. http://goo.gl/qTluX

Logo/Identity Design

• A unique logo for each person! MIT Media Lab. http://richardthe.com/medialab/
• How much time, effort & money can be invested for an April Fools’ joke? Read the story — Fake rebranding of Home Depot. http://goo.gl/dW2Ni
• Woodland Park Zoo introduced a new identity and theme “More Wonder. More Wild” created by Phinney Bischoff Design House. http://goo.gl/CApBf
• The average lifespan of a Saul Bass logo is 34 years. Amazing trivia! See how: http://annyas.com/saul-bass-logo-design-then-now/
• Logo Design Process and Walk-through for BioThemes Logo by Chris Spooner. Excellent job! http://goo.gl/fbGnK
• A collection of vintage animal themed logos (1956-1966): http://goo.gl/oFsAB

Packaging Design

• A light bulb: Redesign of the packaging to make it more functional, user-centric and sustainable. http://goo.gl/QiCyV

Print Design

• Two wrongs don’t make a right. What will three rights make? http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.141105916.jpg

Product Design

• Some incredible photos of space exploration gadgets made by Russia. See the complexity yourself: http://russos.livejournal.com/742445.html
• Land Peel is a modular floor mat that users can transform into chairs and workstations by simply lifting the panels. http://goo.gl/Ch4S6
• Now you can live under water — and even pose for photographs! http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2011/04/12/fake-swimming-pools/
• I was an Electronics Engineer once. Just saw iMSO-104: it turns iPad, iPhone or iPod touch into an oscilloscope display! http://goo.gl/v4y5p

Web Design

• Applying Aristotle’s 3 means of persuasion to web design: how to appeal to logic, emotions, and credibility. http://goo.gl/jYgCD

Star Wars are still waged across the galaxy. The questions is: Can you write your own Star Wars story? Or, can you picturize one?

Advertising

• Lego Star Wars Ad – Make your own story. http://www.whitezine.com/en/photography/lego-star-wars-ad.html
• We often talk about the importance of “negative space” in art direction. Well, how’s this for negative space? http://goo.gl/FAhhY

Logo/Identity Design

• Science & Technology is running in IISc Bangalore Campus. Story of SnT Run logo design: http://antzfxway.com/2011/02/27/design-logo-sntrun/
• Ever heard of Witekite, Australia? Look at their design work! http://kikkidu.com/cricket-world-cup-2011
• A human ring! No, I am not talking about Ubuntu. http://kikkidu.com/rio-olympics-2016
• What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘click?’ See: http://antzfxway.com/2011/02/17/design-logo-click-aneeska/

Photography

• Interviewing Sriram Guruswamy: “I love to use natural light for Photography” – http://bit.ly/gawRGn

Print Design

• Hu2design made nice stickers which reminds us every day about our ecological footprint when using electricity. http://goo.gl/6fHM0

Product Design

• Be a giant; fool the camera during video calls. Brilliant idea by Ryuji Nakamura. http://goo.gl/lF3Xn
• SPACK is the first portable active loudspeaker completely developed in Chile by GrupoVibra. http://www.grupovibra.cl/english/spack.html

If you are old and you are involved in a ship wreck, you will be saved first! So says the ad that is trying to spread cancer awareness and the importance of early detection. ‘Live to be old!’

Advertising

• “Live to be old” campaign series from Y&R which is aimed at young people with visions of how they might be one day. http://goo.gl/seFfY
• Settee or sofa everywhere! “See the world differently” – Brilliant ads from M&C Saatchi, Auckland. http://goo.gl/5ONqK

Logo/Identity Design

• ‘Mango’ can be a logo for fruit drinks or a candy. It is also an FM radio station who broadcasts sweet songs. http://kikkidu.com/radio-mango

Photography

• Read the interview of Jyothy Karat (Now freelancer; earlier photo editor at AOL) in ManoramaOnline (Malayalam). http://goo.gl/efS1P
• Photographing Full Moon – A newbie Guide – http://bit.ly/h2Nq9X

Print Design

• Year Planner 2011: “Carving out design!” http://antzfxway.com/2011/01/16/design-year-planner-2011/
• Choosing an ideal typeface for a design is a tedious work with the current font browsing interfaces. Solution: http://wordmark.it By FahriO
• Have you ever wondered about the language spoken by animals? Javier Jaen reveals that of dogs. http://goo.gl/IkwWf
• Once I was asked this: “Design a business card for you without using any alphabets.” See my answers here: http://goo.gl/D03c5

Product Design

• Are you a car enthusiast who likes to sketch? Are you a fan of Lamborghini, Mustang or ‘Top Gear’? http://goo.gl/qmfWP

Resources

• A Dozen Apps for Ubuntu Users – http://bit.ly/fcpjMK
• Getting a job is so easy! Just follow a product designer’s tips for designers. http://antzfxway.com/2011/01/04/spicing-up-design-portfolio/

Advertising

• This can be your next vehicle… A high impact campaign! http://osocio.org/images/uploads/cegonha_ingles.jpg

Infographics

• Facebook intern paulGB made a beautiful infographic mapping friendships through plotting coordinates and connections… http://bit.ly/e6STWQ

Logo/Identity Design

• I always thought that this is a seashell. But no, the logo is the fronds of a coconut palm! http://kikkidu.com/south-indian-bank
• Every day, you will discover a new (ico)trip experience! Unconventional icons in downloadable PNG format. http://www.icotrip.com/

Package Design

• Herokid™ clothing brand came up with a package that looks like its logo in corrugated carton that needs no adhesive. http://bit.ly/fT1SLS

Photography

• A great post that explains the magic behind polar panorama with fish-eye effect using Photoshop. http://goo.gl/Je2fr
• Nothing to hide! Amazing X-ray photography by Nick Veasey. http://www.designfloat.com/blog/2010/11/25/nick-veasey-x-ray-photography/
• A Beginners Guide to Buying a DSLR (from a Beginner) – http://bit.ly/gmk7VB

Product Design

• “The whole trick in designing a spacesuit was to make it easier to move the joints inside that inflated balloon.” http://nyti.ms/g93ntv
• Home theater systems rigidly tell you where you must place your speakers. Not anymore! A revolutionary idea by Violet. http://bit.ly/fdx6BD
• Bitplay is having fun with everyday objects. See their interesting design of lamps and alarm clock here: http://bitplayinc.com/
• Unleash the creativity in you with the unlimited possibilities of 74 shapes in Miller Goodman’s Playshapes set. http://bit.ly/edTcL9

Resources

• Seed ideas for CEED and M.Des. — Tips from a designer. http://bit.ly/ftL44w Written by Pankaj
• A Handful of Must Use Features of GMail – http://bit.ly/geEMJC
• Adding too much realism in UI design can cause confusion. How? Read: http://www.uxmag.com/design/realism-in-ui-design