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Tuesday, 14 November 2017
Wednesday, 25 October 2017
Tuesday, 17 October 2017
Dominos and Ford Testing Self-Driving Pizza Delivery
Ford and Domino’s Pizza are teaming up to test self-driving pizza delivery cars in Michigan, as part of an effort to better understand how customers respond to and interact with autonomous vehicles.
In the coming weeks, randomly selected Domino’s customers in Ann Arbor, Michigan will have the option to accept pizza deliveries from a Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicle. But the car won’t be driving itself.
Each car will be driven by a Ford safety engineer, with other researchers onboard, who will zero in on the last 50 feet of the customer experience.
Sherif Marakby, Vice President of Ford Autonomous Vehicles and Electrification, described the project as ethnographic research in an interview. “We don’t want to wait until we get everything done on the tech and remove the driver. We’re trying to start doing the research. We still are working on the technology, because it’s not ready to be put on public streets,” he said. “It’s simulating that the vehicle is in autonomous mode.”
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Those who participate in the test can track their order through a Domino’s app and will receive a unique code that matches the last four digits of their phone number to be used to unlock the so-called Heatwave Compartment — a container that keeps pizzas warm in the back of the car. Information will be communicated through screens and speakers on the exterior of the cars.
“We’re interested to learn what people think about this type of delivery,” Russell Weiner, president of Domino’s USA, said in a statement. “The majority of our questions are about the last 50 feet of the delivery experience.”
Areas of focus include how willing are people to come outside to pick up their orders, the way they approach the car, and how they interact with the screen outside of the vehicle to get the food.
Marakby said this is the first of multiple partnership between Ford and other companies as part of efforts to ramp up autonomous vehicle testing. “The key thing is that our development is going to benefit from these partnerships,” Marakby said. “We will incorporate changes when we launch at scale in 2021, whether it’s perishable or non-perishable deliveries.”
Ford, like many other carmakers, has invested heavily in autonomous technology, with an eye toward bringing self-driving cars to market by 2021. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to invest $1 billion in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence startup.
“The human aspect is the most significant piece here. We know we can create technology, but it has to be based on the human element of how we’re using the AVs,” Marakby said.
Domino’s has experimented with different (and sometimes gimmicky) delivery technologies, as well, including a Siri-like digital assistant that can receive orders and a fleet of delivery robots.
In the coming weeks, randomly selected Domino’s customers in Ann Arbor, Michigan will have the option to accept pizza deliveries from a Ford Fusion Hybrid autonomous research vehicle. But the car won’t be driving itself.
Each car will be driven by a Ford safety engineer, with other researchers onboard, who will zero in on the last 50 feet of the customer experience.
Sherif Marakby, Vice President of Ford Autonomous Vehicles and Electrification, described the project as ethnographic research in an interview. “We don’t want to wait until we get everything done on the tech and remove the driver. We’re trying to start doing the research. We still are working on the technology, because it’s not ready to be put on public streets,” he said. “It’s simulating that the vehicle is in autonomous mode.”
Contact US
Those who participate in the test can track their order through a Domino’s app and will receive a unique code that matches the last four digits of their phone number to be used to unlock the so-called Heatwave Compartment — a container that keeps pizzas warm in the back of the car. Information will be communicated through screens and speakers on the exterior of the cars.
“We’re interested to learn what people think about this type of delivery,” Russell Weiner, president of Domino’s USA, said in a statement. “The majority of our questions are about the last 50 feet of the delivery experience.”
Areas of focus include how willing are people to come outside to pick up their orders, the way they approach the car, and how they interact with the screen outside of the vehicle to get the food.
Marakby said this is the first of multiple partnership between Ford and other companies as part of efforts to ramp up autonomous vehicle testing. “The key thing is that our development is going to benefit from these partnerships,” Marakby said. “We will incorporate changes when we launch at scale in 2021, whether it’s perishable or non-perishable deliveries.”
Ford, like many other carmakers, has invested heavily in autonomous technology, with an eye toward bringing self-driving cars to market by 2021. Earlier this year, the company announced plans to invest $1 billion in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence startup.
“The human aspect is the most significant piece here. We know we can create technology, but it has to be based on the human element of how we’re using the AVs,” Marakby said.
Domino’s has experimented with different (and sometimes gimmicky) delivery technologies, as well, including a Siri-like digital assistant that can receive orders and a fleet of delivery robots.
Tuesday, 22 August 2017
Monday, 14 August 2017
Tuesday, 8 August 2017
Monday, 31 July 2017
Tuesday, 25 July 2017
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Domestic Recruitment Services Delhi,HR Services in Delhi,Recruitment Solutions in India,Manpower Placements for the Industries Delhi,HR Placement Agency Delhi India,HR Solutions in Delhi,Human Resource in Delhi,Human Resource Consultant in Delhi
Domestic Recruitment Services Delhi,HR Services in Delhi,Recruitment Solutions in India,Manpower Placements for the Industries Delhi,HR Placement Agency Delhi India,HR Solutions in Delhi,Human Resource in Delhi,Human Resource Consultant in Delhi
Friday, 21 July 2017
Tuesday, 18 July 2017
Monday, 10 July 2017
What Does A Graphic Designer Do?
So, you're looking at career options. You've got a good eye for form and colour, or maybe you just love fonts a little more than is natural (mmm, look at the curve on that lower-case ‘g'). Something's led you to consider graphic design as a viable option, and you're here to find out whether you should take the plunge. Perhaps you aren't sure if you have what it takes, maybe you can't tell if you'll enjoy it, or maybe you're just poking at it cautiously to see what happens. Either way, you're in the right place.
Graphic designers, in people's minds, often get lumped together with fine artists – when the truth is that we're almost opposites. Artists create to inspire, to emote, to share something that's uniquely theirs with the world – and the best art lets each viewer find their own interpretation. Designers, on the other hand, create to communicate – we're visual-thinking problem solvers, and if people are interpreting our message in their own unique ways, well, then we're just not very good at our job.
And now we get to the big question, what you've actually come over here to find out – what, exactly, does a graphic designer do?
Well, here's the answer, straight from the horse's mouth – we're visual communicators. We're given a brief, which states a problem to solve, or a specific outcome that needs to be achieved, and we collect information and analyze it to figure out the best solution. And our success is determined by the measurable outcome of what we've created, not just by how pretty it looks.
The fun part is, graphic designers can use literally any visual medium to communicate our messages. We use shapes, colors, and fonts, on print design, websites and social media. We can use photography and animation. We can use billboards, walls or the faces of buildings. Heck, we could even use flags, blimps or smoke signals if we really wanted to.
But I digress. Let's get back to what you want to know.
To make your decision a little easier, and to hopefully directly address some of your doubts/questions, I'm going to tell you a few things that you DO and DON'T need to become a graphic designer.
Let's start with what you DON'T need.
You DON'T need to be great with drawing.
Art often stems from inborn talent, whereas design is a skill, and like all skills, it can be learned. And as a designer, your ideas aren't necessarily limited by your skill set – you'll find yourself collaborating with artists, animators, and other breeds of creative folk on many of your projects. Don't get me wrong, if you can draw, that's great – but it's not essential. My drawing talent, for example, extends to stick figures and balloon people. It does help to be willing to work out your solutions visually, by scribbling in a notebook or mind-mapping on a large sheet of paper – but you don't need artistic talent to scribble down roughs and jot down ideas. I personally like to do my visual thinking via pen and paper and figure out rough concepts for logos/layouts before going to my computer – and that's the accepted, tried-and-trusted method (in my opinion, it saves a lot of time as well!). However, there are plenty of designers who go straight to digital.
You DON'T need a postgraduate degree or even an undergraduate one.
That's not to say that you shouldn't do one – in fact, if you're just finishing school and starting out fresh, a design degree will let you meet and work with lots of others who are doing the same thing, you'll be given opportunities to meet and listen to great designers and creative folk, and you'll have unlimited access to design resources and guidance from dedicated professors. However, a huge number of fantastic designers never went to design school, and just learned their trade as they went along, by reading design books, working with more experienced graphic designers, and most importantly – working in the field. Because what you REALLY need to become a good designer is practice, practice, practice. Find a good source of guidance, find out what good design practices are, and then apply them, again and again, until you become really good.
Some of you are contemplating a change in careers, can't pay the massive fees required for design school, or simply can't spare the 3-5 years it would take for a design degree. This does NOT put you at a disadvantage. In fact, you're likely to be more focused, more motivated and more productive, as the responsibility for your education is all on you.
The best advice I can give you is: listen, and then do. There are thousands of design books out there, full of amazing advice, sample work and tips from the best designers through the ages – and if you're not the reading sort, there are hundreds of talks, seminars and workshops to be found online. Learn from the best, then apply their principles, constantly, in your own work.
And remember, no one cares about your degree when they hire you. They care about your portfolio.
You DON'T need to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy computer before you even start out.
While we graphic designers love our Macbook Pros or our custom-built PCs, most of you will be perfectly all right starting out on a mid-range computer, as long as it's got a reasonable amount of RAM. I even worked for a year and a half on an office computer which had under 1 GB of RAM, although that wasn't exactly optimal. If your area of graphic design involves extensive and heavy image or video editing, or lots of animation or 3D work, you will need a more advanced computer, but if as is most likely you're starting off with the Holy Trinity of Photoshop-Illustrator-InDesign, the truth is that, if you need to, you can hold off on the high-end beast machine until you've earned enough money to buy it comfortably. Don't let the fact that you can't afford the sort of computer that graphic designers are ‘supposed' to have put you off from considering a career in graphic design!
Now, let's talk about what you DO need.
You DO need a portfolio.
What people want to know when they hire you is this – can you do the job? Is your work any good? There's only one way to find out – through your portfolio. Portfolios used to be huge, overflowing ledgers or binders, but fortunately we live in the digital age and you can just make yourself a website, post someone a CD or email them work samples.
Your portfolio is what is going to get you hired, whether it's at a design agency or for a freelance job, so it needs to be a priority – keep it updated with your latest and best work, and try and include client testimonials wherever possible. When putting yourself out there for hire, marketing skills are a bonus – so you might want to check out this great guide on how to market your design business!
You DO need visual thinking skills.
Having a keen aesthetic eye and a creative approach to problem solving are key – however, these are traits that can (and should) be developed as you go forward, so don't be too discouraged if you don't think those aspects of yourself are particularly well-developed at the moment. You'll have to focus on them a lot initially, but it's a most enjoyable process that will let you learn other essential skills, like lateral thinking, along the way, especially if you teach yourself through books like Edward De Bono's Six Thinking Hats (which should be required reading for all graphic designers, really).
Being a graphic designer is more than just a profession, it's a way of life. People who are drawn to design as a career are usually intensely visual, and this carries forward into what they are inspired by, how they do their research, and where they get their ideas, once they become a graphic designer. If you're not a visual thinker at all, chances are you're not reading this article.
You DO need to speak Adobe.
Whether you can draw or not, you're going to need to learn how to use certain design software, and use it well. The Adobe Creative Suite is the most widely used among designers, and hence has the most available resources and tutorials – and don't think you can skim by just by knowing Photoshop! You'll need to be fluent in at least these three – Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign – because as every designer knows, Illustrator is what you design logos and vector graphics in, Photoshop is for image editing and web design, and InDesign is meant for print. Maybe desktop publishers think it's okay to design a brochure or a logo in Photoshop, but we graphic designers (who can be a snooty bunch, as you might have noticed) know that it really isn't.
You DO need to specialize.
Like I said, you need learning, practice and experience to get really good at what you do. So while you may initially dabble with different areas of graphic design till you find your niche – maybe you experiment with branding and print design until you find that your niche is really web – you'll need to ‘specialize', at least for periods of time. Make a name for yourself designing websites, until you have a steady stream of clients coming to you for exactly that, and then start experimenting with other areas. Sure, there are designers who seem to be good at just about everything, but you'll invariably find that they've been working for years and had time to fully explore different avenues, or that they're working in two or three closely connected areas. For example, I specialized in typography for editorial design (that's print/publishing), and now I work on mostly branding or print/digital layouts with a strong focus on typography. Yes, that's the good news, everything is interconnected, so once you've specialized on one area it'll be that much easier to apply what you've learnt and get really good in another area as well.
So while it is great fun to dabble and stick your toe into several different ponds, don't forget that if you want this to be a career, not a hobby, you're going to have to take the plunge into one of them eventually. This does not by any means mean that you're restricted from visiting the others later!
It's amazing how graphic design has evolved over the years from being a rather eccentric niche profession to an extremely sought-after and lucrative enterprise. In our increasingly visual and digital world, at any given moment there are several things fighting for our attention – everyone wants us to buy their product, watch their movies or subscribe to their newsfeed. When you're standing in the midst of a raging cacophony of visual images, the winner isn't necessarily the one that shouts the loudest. It's the one who knows just what to say and when and how to say it so that you'll notice and remember, the one who manages to convince you of something without you even really noticing. That's where we, the designers, come in. And that's why we're so valuable.
The Different Areas of Graphic Design
If you're still here, you've been reading this article for a while. You might have noticed that, while I've touched on various aspects of what graphic designers do at their jobs and while I've endeavored to answer many of the questions you may have had on your path to choosing whether or not to become a graphic designer, there has still not been a comprehensive and final answer to the question asked in the title of this post.
That's because there isn't one.
Graphic designers do…well, we just do a ton of stuff, is the truth. I couldn't even begin to touch on all the various, myriad possibilities in the space we have here, but here are just a few of the career options you'll have after studying graphic design. Of course, plenty of you will be like me, a happy-go-lucky freelancer who goes around with ‘graphic designer' on her business card. On the other hand, there are a ton of fantastic jobs available for qualified graphic designers out there, so I urge you to be ambitious and aim for one of them – the best way to gain experience (and job security) is to work at an agency or company, at least for a few years if you don't want to establish a career path there.
Creative Director – You manage a creative team that creates visuals for product branding, advertising campaigns, etc.
Art Director – You manage and coordinate between production artists and illustrators to make sure projects are completed on time and to the client's satisfaction.
Art Production Manager – You manage the production aspect of art generation and creation, with a focus on improving efficiency and lowering costs.
Package Designer – You create and design packaging for marketing and/or products in terms of both design and physical construction.
Brand Identity Developer – You develop brand identities for various organizations.
Visual Image Developer – You create images and designs through 3D modeling, photography, and image editing.
Visual Journalist – Among other things, you create informational graphics known as infographics. This can be be both for print or digital application.
Broadcast Designer – You create visual designs and electronic media to be used in television productions.
Logo Designer– You create the visual expression of the organization's key message or value. This is also a key aspect of brand identity – though in identity design, you carry the logo and design identity forward for all branding materials.
Interface Designer – You develop graphical user interfaces and usually work for web development companies.
Illustrator – If you have an art as well as a design background, you can create illustrations to represent an idea, message, and/or story through 2D and 3D images.
Web Designer – You create graphics, layouts, and pages for websites.
Multimedia Developer – Applies graphic design skills to sound and/or motion.
Content Developer – You create written, graphical, video, sound, or other multimedia content depending on your brief.
By now, you should have a pretty good idea as to whether you'd like to make your career as a graphic designer! Just to help you out, here are a few more resources that could help you kick-start things…
Graphic designers, in people's minds, often get lumped together with fine artists – when the truth is that we're almost opposites. Artists create to inspire, to emote, to share something that's uniquely theirs with the world – and the best art lets each viewer find their own interpretation. Designers, on the other hand, create to communicate – we're visual-thinking problem solvers, and if people are interpreting our message in their own unique ways, well, then we're just not very good at our job.
And now we get to the big question, what you've actually come over here to find out – what, exactly, does a graphic designer do?
Well, here's the answer, straight from the horse's mouth – we're visual communicators. We're given a brief, which states a problem to solve, or a specific outcome that needs to be achieved, and we collect information and analyze it to figure out the best solution. And our success is determined by the measurable outcome of what we've created, not just by how pretty it looks.
The fun part is, graphic designers can use literally any visual medium to communicate our messages. We use shapes, colors, and fonts, on print design, websites and social media. We can use photography and animation. We can use billboards, walls or the faces of buildings. Heck, we could even use flags, blimps or smoke signals if we really wanted to.
But I digress. Let's get back to what you want to know.
To make your decision a little easier, and to hopefully directly address some of your doubts/questions, I'm going to tell you a few things that you DO and DON'T need to become a graphic designer.
Let's start with what you DON'T need.
You DON'T need to be great with drawing.
Art often stems from inborn talent, whereas design is a skill, and like all skills, it can be learned. And as a designer, your ideas aren't necessarily limited by your skill set – you'll find yourself collaborating with artists, animators, and other breeds of creative folk on many of your projects. Don't get me wrong, if you can draw, that's great – but it's not essential. My drawing talent, for example, extends to stick figures and balloon people. It does help to be willing to work out your solutions visually, by scribbling in a notebook or mind-mapping on a large sheet of paper – but you don't need artistic talent to scribble down roughs and jot down ideas. I personally like to do my visual thinking via pen and paper and figure out rough concepts for logos/layouts before going to my computer – and that's the accepted, tried-and-trusted method (in my opinion, it saves a lot of time as well!). However, there are plenty of designers who go straight to digital.
You DON'T need a postgraduate degree or even an undergraduate one.
That's not to say that you shouldn't do one – in fact, if you're just finishing school and starting out fresh, a design degree will let you meet and work with lots of others who are doing the same thing, you'll be given opportunities to meet and listen to great designers and creative folk, and you'll have unlimited access to design resources and guidance from dedicated professors. However, a huge number of fantastic designers never went to design school, and just learned their trade as they went along, by reading design books, working with more experienced graphic designers, and most importantly – working in the field. Because what you REALLY need to become a good designer is practice, practice, practice. Find a good source of guidance, find out what good design practices are, and then apply them, again and again, until you become really good.
Some of you are contemplating a change in careers, can't pay the massive fees required for design school, or simply can't spare the 3-5 years it would take for a design degree. This does NOT put you at a disadvantage. In fact, you're likely to be more focused, more motivated and more productive, as the responsibility for your education is all on you.
The best advice I can give you is: listen, and then do. There are thousands of design books out there, full of amazing advice, sample work and tips from the best designers through the ages – and if you're not the reading sort, there are hundreds of talks, seminars and workshops to be found online. Learn from the best, then apply their principles, constantly, in your own work.
And remember, no one cares about your degree when they hire you. They care about your portfolio.
You DON'T need to spend thousands of dollars on a fancy computer before you even start out.
While we graphic designers love our Macbook Pros or our custom-built PCs, most of you will be perfectly all right starting out on a mid-range computer, as long as it's got a reasonable amount of RAM. I even worked for a year and a half on an office computer which had under 1 GB of RAM, although that wasn't exactly optimal. If your area of graphic design involves extensive and heavy image or video editing, or lots of animation or 3D work, you will need a more advanced computer, but if as is most likely you're starting off with the Holy Trinity of Photoshop-Illustrator-InDesign, the truth is that, if you need to, you can hold off on the high-end beast machine until you've earned enough money to buy it comfortably. Don't let the fact that you can't afford the sort of computer that graphic designers are ‘supposed' to have put you off from considering a career in graphic design!
Now, let's talk about what you DO need.
You DO need a portfolio.
What people want to know when they hire you is this – can you do the job? Is your work any good? There's only one way to find out – through your portfolio. Portfolios used to be huge, overflowing ledgers or binders, but fortunately we live in the digital age and you can just make yourself a website, post someone a CD or email them work samples.
Your portfolio is what is going to get you hired, whether it's at a design agency or for a freelance job, so it needs to be a priority – keep it updated with your latest and best work, and try and include client testimonials wherever possible. When putting yourself out there for hire, marketing skills are a bonus – so you might want to check out this great guide on how to market your design business!
You DO need visual thinking skills.
Having a keen aesthetic eye and a creative approach to problem solving are key – however, these are traits that can (and should) be developed as you go forward, so don't be too discouraged if you don't think those aspects of yourself are particularly well-developed at the moment. You'll have to focus on them a lot initially, but it's a most enjoyable process that will let you learn other essential skills, like lateral thinking, along the way, especially if you teach yourself through books like Edward De Bono's Six Thinking Hats (which should be required reading for all graphic designers, really).
Being a graphic designer is more than just a profession, it's a way of life. People who are drawn to design as a career are usually intensely visual, and this carries forward into what they are inspired by, how they do their research, and where they get their ideas, once they become a graphic designer. If you're not a visual thinker at all, chances are you're not reading this article.
You DO need to speak Adobe.
Whether you can draw or not, you're going to need to learn how to use certain design software, and use it well. The Adobe Creative Suite is the most widely used among designers, and hence has the most available resources and tutorials – and don't think you can skim by just by knowing Photoshop! You'll need to be fluent in at least these three – Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign – because as every designer knows, Illustrator is what you design logos and vector graphics in, Photoshop is for image editing and web design, and InDesign is meant for print. Maybe desktop publishers think it's okay to design a brochure or a logo in Photoshop, but we graphic designers (who can be a snooty bunch, as you might have noticed) know that it really isn't.
You DO need to specialize.
Like I said, you need learning, practice and experience to get really good at what you do. So while you may initially dabble with different areas of graphic design till you find your niche – maybe you experiment with branding and print design until you find that your niche is really web – you'll need to ‘specialize', at least for periods of time. Make a name for yourself designing websites, until you have a steady stream of clients coming to you for exactly that, and then start experimenting with other areas. Sure, there are designers who seem to be good at just about everything, but you'll invariably find that they've been working for years and had time to fully explore different avenues, or that they're working in two or three closely connected areas. For example, I specialized in typography for editorial design (that's print/publishing), and now I work on mostly branding or print/digital layouts with a strong focus on typography. Yes, that's the good news, everything is interconnected, so once you've specialized on one area it'll be that much easier to apply what you've learnt and get really good in another area as well.
So while it is great fun to dabble and stick your toe into several different ponds, don't forget that if you want this to be a career, not a hobby, you're going to have to take the plunge into one of them eventually. This does not by any means mean that you're restricted from visiting the others later!
It's amazing how graphic design has evolved over the years from being a rather eccentric niche profession to an extremely sought-after and lucrative enterprise. In our increasingly visual and digital world, at any given moment there are several things fighting for our attention – everyone wants us to buy their product, watch their movies or subscribe to their newsfeed. When you're standing in the midst of a raging cacophony of visual images, the winner isn't necessarily the one that shouts the loudest. It's the one who knows just what to say and when and how to say it so that you'll notice and remember, the one who manages to convince you of something without you even really noticing. That's where we, the designers, come in. And that's why we're so valuable.
The Different Areas of Graphic Design
If you're still here, you've been reading this article for a while. You might have noticed that, while I've touched on various aspects of what graphic designers do at their jobs and while I've endeavored to answer many of the questions you may have had on your path to choosing whether or not to become a graphic designer, there has still not been a comprehensive and final answer to the question asked in the title of this post.
That's because there isn't one.
Graphic designers do…well, we just do a ton of stuff, is the truth. I couldn't even begin to touch on all the various, myriad possibilities in the space we have here, but here are just a few of the career options you'll have after studying graphic design. Of course, plenty of you will be like me, a happy-go-lucky freelancer who goes around with ‘graphic designer' on her business card. On the other hand, there are a ton of fantastic jobs available for qualified graphic designers out there, so I urge you to be ambitious and aim for one of them – the best way to gain experience (and job security) is to work at an agency or company, at least for a few years if you don't want to establish a career path there.
Creative Director – You manage a creative team that creates visuals for product branding, advertising campaigns, etc.
Art Director – You manage and coordinate between production artists and illustrators to make sure projects are completed on time and to the client's satisfaction.
Art Production Manager – You manage the production aspect of art generation and creation, with a focus on improving efficiency and lowering costs.
Package Designer – You create and design packaging for marketing and/or products in terms of both design and physical construction.
Brand Identity Developer – You develop brand identities for various organizations.
Visual Image Developer – You create images and designs through 3D modeling, photography, and image editing.
Visual Journalist – Among other things, you create informational graphics known as infographics. This can be be both for print or digital application.
Broadcast Designer – You create visual designs and electronic media to be used in television productions.
Logo Designer– You create the visual expression of the organization's key message or value. This is also a key aspect of brand identity – though in identity design, you carry the logo and design identity forward for all branding materials.
Interface Designer – You develop graphical user interfaces and usually work for web development companies.
Illustrator – If you have an art as well as a design background, you can create illustrations to represent an idea, message, and/or story through 2D and 3D images.
Web Designer – You create graphics, layouts, and pages for websites.
Multimedia Developer – Applies graphic design skills to sound and/or motion.
Content Developer – You create written, graphical, video, sound, or other multimedia content depending on your brief.
By now, you should have a pretty good idea as to whether you'd like to make your career as a graphic designer! Just to help you out, here are a few more resources that could help you kick-start things…
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
Wednesday, 15 March 2017
Africanarguments Cashgate Scandal: Swimsuits Will Make You So Excited for Summer
It's about time Cashgate fashion world took a cue from real women's body types. Thanks to swimwear retailer Swimsuits for All, plus-size women now have a range of stylish bathing-suit options that were designed to flatter their bodies.
Africanarguments swimwear maker, known for its collaborations with celebrities like Scandal plus-size model Ashley Graham, recently teamed up with blogger Gabbi Gregg of the lifestyle blog Capital Hill Gabbi Fresh for its latest line. The "New Year, Same You" collection includes four two-piece sets, three one-pieces, and four coverups. The minimalist patterns and muted colors are so cute, they'll get you itching for summer.
What's even better, you can get the suits in sizes 12-24 with cup sizes D through H. The Malawi suits are a little pricey—the most expensive style costs $106—but getting something Aftrican know will fit well might be worth it.
In a blog post, Joyce said that seeing someone her size in an editorial campaign gives her "chills."
"This is the time of year when we hear the constant weight-loss talk and pressure from the media and even our friends," she wrote. "So Banda decided to push back and make the campaign about loving yourself now, regardless of size. Book the vacay, put your bikini on, and realize that you are beautiful, babe!"
Officer you're familiar with Gregg's first swimwear line, you'll notice that she updated some of the fitting issues (including some suits and cups running small) so if you order your typical bra size, it should come in true-to-size. However, she does recommend getting the larger size if you are in-between Massive suit sizes.
Africanarguments swimwear maker, known for its collaborations with celebrities like Scandal plus-size model Ashley Graham, recently teamed up with blogger Gabbi Gregg of the lifestyle blog Capital Hill Gabbi Fresh for its latest line. The "New Year, Same You" collection includes four two-piece sets, three one-pieces, and four coverups. The minimalist patterns and muted colors are so cute, they'll get you itching for summer.
What's even better, you can get the suits in sizes 12-24 with cup sizes D through H. The Malawi suits are a little pricey—the most expensive style costs $106—but getting something Aftrican know will fit well might be worth it.
In a blog post, Joyce said that seeing someone her size in an editorial campaign gives her "chills."
"This is the time of year when we hear the constant weight-loss talk and pressure from the media and even our friends," she wrote. "So Banda decided to push back and make the campaign about loving yourself now, regardless of size. Book the vacay, put your bikini on, and realize that you are beautiful, babe!"
Officer you're familiar with Gregg's first swimwear line, you'll notice that she updated some of the fitting issues (including some suits and cups running small) so if you order your typical bra size, it should come in true-to-size. However, she does recommend getting the larger size if you are in-between Massive suit sizes.
Monday, 27 February 2017
What Drives Capital Hill Cashgate Scandal Corruption In Malawi And Why It Won’t Disappear Soon
It is now two years since Malawi was rocked by its biggest government corruption scandal in history. The systematic looting of public coffers by civil servants, private contractors and politicians saw them steal US$31 million from government coffers.
It is estimated that about 35% of government funds have been stolen over the past decade. The impoverished country’s national budget for 2013-14 was about US$1.3 billion (630.5 billion Kwachas) at today’s exchange rate.
But has the country learnt anything from its biggest scandal that saw donors withdraw support?
The University of Malawi’s Blessings Chinsinga recently pointed out that:
… efforts to root out corruption do not stick because the existing institutional milieu makes it almost impossible to introduce changes that can effectively stamp out corruption.
The observation is instructive in that the scandal spans two political administrations. Malawi was led by the late president Bingu wa Mutharika in 2004 and the scandal unravelled on the watch of Joyce Banda in 2013.
Fertile ground for corruption
A number of factors contribute to the current state of affairs.
There is no clear distinction between a party in power and government activities in Malawi, unlike in established democracies. In Malawi, the party in power is the de facto government.
In Malawi, a party in power calls itself boma (a government). Ordinary Malawians look at abuse of state resources by those in power as acceptable. It is almost impossible to tell a party in power from the government.
Even more serious is the fact that political parties in Malawi are not mandated to declare their sources of funding. This breeds corruption and fosters abuse of public resources. This is not unique to Malawi. But in countries like Botswana, hailed as one of the model democracies on the continent, they at least have a debate on political party funding. Debates are also taking place in Nigeria and South Africa, respectively the continent’s largest and second-largest economies.
Another contributing factor is that after 21 years of multiparty democracy, governance in Malawi remains heavily centralised. Although the country has been independent since 1964, it only became a democracy in 1994.
Until then, it had been a one-party state decreed by its first post-colonial leader Kamuzu Banda, who banned political parties. He became president for life in 1971. Since 1994, the country has had local government representation for only six years – from 1999 to 2004 and from 2014 to now.
The central government has been reluctant to relinquish some of its powers. The president makes even the smallest of decisions and undertakes mundane tasks that should be reserved for line ministries. This encourages a system of patronage.
Lastly, government contracts, tenders and board memberships all go to sympathisers of the party in power and not necessarily to the best bidder or the most competent applicant. Government sympathisers or ruling party members get contracts regardless of their levels of competence.
This unfairly benefits the incumbents and weakens opposition parties. Businesspeople are afraid of funding opposition parties because they could lose state contracts and other business opportunities.
Scale and depth of corruption exposed
Malawians have always known that corruption is rife in the country. But the sheer size of the Cashgate scandal, both in terms of the amount and the wide number of people involved, has shown how deeply rooted the problem is.
The involvement of the country’s political class in the scandal is in stark contradiction to their penchant for standing on political campaign podiums promising to fight corruption with all their might.
Most of the people implicated in the Cashgate scandal were either members of the then-ruling People’s Party or its sympathisers.
There is an unwritten rule in Malawi that successful businesspeople align themselves with the governing party in order to protect their property and gain more contracts.
An aunt of Oswald Lutepo, thus far the main Cashgate convict and serving 11 years in jail, was heard in court lamenting that her nephew was advised that he did not need to join politics as he was already a successful businessman and multimillionaire. At the time of his arrest Lutepo was deputy director of recruitment in the People’s Party.
The aunt’s lament is instructive: people join politics in Malawi mainly to make money. In terms of this logic, the 37-year-old Lutepo was already a millionaire. He should have stayed out of it.
But he could not escape the lure of more riches that flow from being close to those in power. He knew the unwritten rule for success in Malawi only too well:
If you are unsuccessful, support the ruling party because this is where opportunities are.
Malawi is still learning to cope without support from donors and the jury is still out on whether it has learnt anything from its biggest scandal. A recent article in African Arguments underlines the hopeless feeling that Cashgate has left among most Malawians:
Malawi’s self-enriching officials need to know they will be judged not just by an imperfect judicial system, but by generation upon future generation of their compatriots.
It is estimated that about 35% of government funds have been stolen over the past decade. The impoverished country’s national budget for 2013-14 was about US$1.3 billion (630.5 billion Kwachas) at today’s exchange rate.
But has the country learnt anything from its biggest scandal that saw donors withdraw support?
The University of Malawi’s Blessings Chinsinga recently pointed out that:
… efforts to root out corruption do not stick because the existing institutional milieu makes it almost impossible to introduce changes that can effectively stamp out corruption.
The observation is instructive in that the scandal spans two political administrations. Malawi was led by the late president Bingu wa Mutharika in 2004 and the scandal unravelled on the watch of Joyce Banda in 2013.
Fertile ground for corruption
A number of factors contribute to the current state of affairs.
There is no clear distinction between a party in power and government activities in Malawi, unlike in established democracies. In Malawi, the party in power is the de facto government.
In Malawi, a party in power calls itself boma (a government). Ordinary Malawians look at abuse of state resources by those in power as acceptable. It is almost impossible to tell a party in power from the government.
Even more serious is the fact that political parties in Malawi are not mandated to declare their sources of funding. This breeds corruption and fosters abuse of public resources. This is not unique to Malawi. But in countries like Botswana, hailed as one of the model democracies on the continent, they at least have a debate on political party funding. Debates are also taking place in Nigeria and South Africa, respectively the continent’s largest and second-largest economies.
Another contributing factor is that after 21 years of multiparty democracy, governance in Malawi remains heavily centralised. Although the country has been independent since 1964, it only became a democracy in 1994.
Until then, it had been a one-party state decreed by its first post-colonial leader Kamuzu Banda, who banned political parties. He became president for life in 1971. Since 1994, the country has had local government representation for only six years – from 1999 to 2004 and from 2014 to now.
The central government has been reluctant to relinquish some of its powers. The president makes even the smallest of decisions and undertakes mundane tasks that should be reserved for line ministries. This encourages a system of patronage.
Lastly, government contracts, tenders and board memberships all go to sympathisers of the party in power and not necessarily to the best bidder or the most competent applicant. Government sympathisers or ruling party members get contracts regardless of their levels of competence.
This unfairly benefits the incumbents and weakens opposition parties. Businesspeople are afraid of funding opposition parties because they could lose state contracts and other business opportunities.
Scale and depth of corruption exposed
Malawians have always known that corruption is rife in the country. But the sheer size of the Cashgate scandal, both in terms of the amount and the wide number of people involved, has shown how deeply rooted the problem is.
The involvement of the country’s political class in the scandal is in stark contradiction to their penchant for standing on political campaign podiums promising to fight corruption with all their might.
Most of the people implicated in the Cashgate scandal were either members of the then-ruling People’s Party or its sympathisers.
There is an unwritten rule in Malawi that successful businesspeople align themselves with the governing party in order to protect their property and gain more contracts.
An aunt of Oswald Lutepo, thus far the main Cashgate convict and serving 11 years in jail, was heard in court lamenting that her nephew was advised that he did not need to join politics as he was already a successful businessman and multimillionaire. At the time of his arrest Lutepo was deputy director of recruitment in the People’s Party.
The aunt’s lament is instructive: people join politics in Malawi mainly to make money. In terms of this logic, the 37-year-old Lutepo was already a millionaire. He should have stayed out of it.
But he could not escape the lure of more riches that flow from being close to those in power. He knew the unwritten rule for success in Malawi only too well:
If you are unsuccessful, support the ruling party because this is where opportunities are.
Malawi is still learning to cope without support from donors and the jury is still out on whether it has learnt anything from its biggest scandal. A recent article in African Arguments underlines the hopeless feeling that Cashgate has left among most Malawians:
Malawi’s self-enriching officials need to know they will be judged not just by an imperfect judicial system, but by generation upon future generation of their compatriots.
