Austin Creative

We are so lucky to have all of the talented folks living in Austin. I suppose that talent is found in any town, but it seems to be abundant here. I am amazed by the creative people and expressions of art that I am in contact with. Have you noticed the pipes and poles around town that have been wrapped in knitted mufflers? (Who thought of that?)

I've been an advocate for reducing, reusing, and recycling for years now, but to see that idea actually producing really cool, usable items inspires me. Neighborhood friends Kathie Sever and Bernadette Noll, co-founders of The Future Craft Collective, invite children and adults who have some experience with a needle and thread (but, not much experience required) to come and spend an afternoon dismantling and then re-designing a truly new and completely unique "piece." I use the word loosely, because the end product could be a beautiful hat, scarf, wallet or re-usable lunch bag. The possibilities are endless. They call it, "UP cycling." (Kathie and Bern were creating these unique pieces way before other corporations got wind of it!)

Check out the FCC website at www.futurecraftcollective.com. Oh, did I mention that they have a book deal? Their book will be published some time in 2011!

Visto to receive $267.5 Million agreement

Working with lead counsel to Visto, which in May reached an agreement to receive $267.5 million from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, settles a three-year patent dispute.

Read the rest of the story here

Judge Upholds Verdict, Enhances Damages, Issues Permanent Injunction

Damages Total more than $290 Million

The national law firm of McKool Smith is announcing a permanent injunction and total damages and interest of more than $290 million against software giant Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) in a Texas patent infringement lawsuit won by Toronto-based technology provider i4i Inc.

The Order and Permanent Injunction were signed today by Judge Leonard Davis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division. Today’s ruling follows a May 20, 2009, verdict of $200 million after jurors found that Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft willfully infringed an i4i patent covering a document system that relies on the XML custom formatting function.

During the trial, attorneys from McKool Smith and Tyler, Texas-based Parker, Bunt & Ainsworth successfully argued that Microsoft infringed the i4i patent issued in 1998, U.S. Patent No. 5,787,449, which covers software designed to manipulate “document architecture and content.” The software covered by the patent removed the need for individual, manually embedded command codes to control text formatting in electronic documents.

Read more at the Mckool Smith website

See some of the trial animations by Pranamedia here

Practice

Yolgnu preparing for Garma.

Tide Trails in the Sand

Micro riverbeds formed as the tide recedes for the morning.

Pranamedia Goes "Down Under"

This last month, we visited the Northern Territory of Australia to experience today's Aboriginal Yolgnu. We met some wonderfully incredible people and a magical country to say the least. When you're in this part of the country, you really do become more aware of the world around you. With dangers everywhere (saltwater crocodiles, sharks, stingrays, the most poisonous snakes and spiders in the world, water buffalos) you learn to look carefully at EVERYTHING. It's only then do you really see the beauty in the most minute details this world provides for us. In our "evolved" human life of today's world we're too safe. We miss so much.

When you are living on the land in a place such as this, watching everything, you start to see our position on this earth, between the wind and sand, the patterns and rhythms are living and breathing all around us. Simplicity often brings enlightenment, and in this case you see that we succeed by living in conjunction with the world, not in conquering it.

We also experienced how technology and global growth are affecting these people. The Yolgnu struggle with the influx of outside influence such as the mining on their sacred land, cell phones, video games, money, alcohol, drugs, sugar, flour, TV, etc. How do we balance simplicity with technology and the rapidly changing world we live in?

Perhaps less really is more. we're not saying 'no' to technology. Resistance is futile as they say. We have to evolve with the world around us, and technology is here to stay. Perhaps it's just a matter of knowing when to say when. Knowing how and when to use it. Knowing how to see the value in the simplest of details that live and work around us everyday. Something to think about...

Click here to see some photos

$200 Million Verdict for i4i Inc. - Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Microsoft

TYLER, Texas – The national law firm of McKool Smith is announcing a $200 million patent infringement verdict handed down in favor of Toronto-based i4i Inc. against software giant Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT).

The verdict was issued on May 20, 2009, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division. Jurors found that Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft willfully infringed an i4i patent covering a document formatting system.

A team of attorneys from McKool Smith and Tyler, Texas-based Parker, Bunt & Ainsworth successfully argued that Microsoft infringed an i4i patent issued in 1998, U.S. Patent No. 5,787,499, that covers software designed to manipulate “document architecture and content.” The software covered by the patent removed the need for individual, manually embedded command codes to control text formatting in electronic documents.

The jury found that Microsoft later deployed this technology in a range of the company’s operating system products, including Word 2003 and Word 2007.

Read the rest at McKool Smith website

T-Minus Films nominated for Pixel Awards

T-Minus Films has been nominated in the 3rd annual Pixel Awards competition in the Personal category. After more than a thousand submissions, Pranamedia is one of five nominees in the category and we are closer to being one of 22 Pixel Awards winners this year! Winners to be announced in November. Votes are welcome until October 24! Thanks so much for any votes you can give!

Don Henley's Caddo Lake Institute

Pranamedia art directs and creates template design for Don Henley's non-profit organization advocating the preservation of Lake Caddo, the largest natural fresh water lake located in the south.

Pranamedia teams up with Decoder Ring

Pranamedia has signed up to produce the AIGA Design Ranch 2009 website, with creative from internationally known design shop, The Decoder Ring. More info to come.

T-Minus Films - We have lift off!!

Pranamedia launches their newest creation for accomplished film production company, T-Minus Films. The film production company needed a fun, informative, creative website to promote their budding film and commercial production company. For over 15 years, they have worked on projects with directors like Robert Rodriguez, Ron Howard, Richard Linklater, Quentin Tarantino, Mike Judge and many more.

T-Minus wanted to create a site that would express the company's creative and technical abilities with elements of humor that bring this creative team down to earth.

Although the target audience for this website leans toward art directors and film/commercial producers with higher bandwidth and screen resolutions, Pranamedia wanted to produce a website user experience that would be as seamless as possible, while limiting heavy download times for video and content.

Developing a site that was heavy in actionscript, vector graphics and streaming video, we were able to substantially reduce file size and download times for the user. Go to T-Minus Films and be on the lookout for a space monkey!

Pranamedia Design & Interactive - What we do

We are at the advent of a new era for interactive marketing. The Internet is one of today’s most critical branding tools. Used wisely, it can certainly be the most effective. A steady shift of consumers from traditional media, such as TV and radio, makes an on-line presence increasingly crucial.

Pranamedia and Creative Director Ron Crose focus on usability and functionality as a rule of thumb for web design. Then, incorporate unique elements that reflect your style and brand to make visitors take notice – and keep coming back! This unified approach obtains the ultimate objective of increasing your sales and public awareness.

However, a great website is just not enough anymore. You need an ongoing, elastic strategy to retain your existing audience and simultaneously attract wider attention. The web is changing everyday, growing and expanding. Why should your website be any different?

What is Prana and who is Pranamedia?

Prana is an ageless concept embodying the natural energy of the universe. This all-pervading energy may be in a static or a dynamic state, and is found in all living things from the most colossal to the tiniest microscopic speck. Characterized as, “the breath of creation,” prana is the vital force – the magnetism that binds us, and everything, together.

"It is Prana that shines in your eyes, Prana that the ears hear, the skin feels, the nose smells, the brain and the intellect do their functions. Fire burns, river flows, wind blows, through Prana. The aircraft moves in the air, train and cars move through Prana. Radio wave travel through Prana. Prana is electron. Prana is force. Prana is magnetism and Prana is electricity." -Acharya Mahapragya

We here at Pranamedia believe the marketing strategy for your business should achieve something similar: to create a consistent, pervasive identity for your business, product, or client. A strategy that molds unity across a wide array of representations, thereby strengthening your overall image. The end-result grants your identity a state of perpetual awareness and accessibility. That is effective marketing.