The Large Bear - Journal of Design, Culture, Ideas, and Inspiration

I Know, I know...

2010-07-16T11:05:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, I know I have been MIA, and just wanted to say I am sorry. I am taking a small break from the blog and everything. I am in a pretty creative funk/slump right now.

If any of you out there who did read the blog are still checking it, I will be back at some point.

- Josh

It's BACK!

2010-06-25T10:16:00.003-04:00

I didn't remember about this until late last night, so I was sad I didn't post it sooner to remind everyone.

FUTURAMA IS BACK ON COMEDY CENTRAL!

The new season premiered last night with 2 great episodes. I enjoyed the little joke in the beginning about getting cancelled etc. I aso thought the episodes were top notch and that it didn't really miss a beat being gone all of these years.

So if you want to check it out and get Back to the Future with Fry, Leela, Bender and the gang, it is on Comedy Central Thursdays @ 10

* The photo is the Kidrobot Futurama figures that I have on my desk. My collection is getting quite large.

Rain Rain Go Away

2010-06-22T14:25:00.001-04:00

We have been having some pretty crazy storms around here lately. The tornado sirens have went off at least 3 times in the last week and I lost power for 8 hours on Friday (of course right as my family who was staying the weekend walked in the door).

Last night was one of the most intense storms I have seen in awhile. Truly what you would call rolling thunder. It was almost one constant rumbling sound. While that happened lightning streaked across every direction of the sky, constantly, for about an hour. I wish I could have photographed it but my balcony is in a very bad spot for that.

I did enjoy watching it. It was slightly cloudy so sometimes it would just be the entire sky turning white as the clouds diffused the energy, then a streak would come down and touch the ground as another snaked through the sky.

Why does all this matter? One, because lightning is pretty cool and that's not my photograph above, but it is pretty great. Second, because I went to post last night and the storm knocked my internet and cable out, better then the power I guess.

I wanted to throw in a non-photograph lighting piece of art too. As always I am a sucker for letterpress, and the above card from Etsy is pretty great too (check out the rest of their stuff, great patterns, love it!).

[photo from Flickr and card from Etsy ]

Pack it Up, Pack it In, Let me Begin

2010-06-14T23:11:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when you volunteer to be the guy that goes to IKEA and picks up a lot of furniture for the office...

We moved to a bigger studio, so now we have a little more room and needed more storage. We had stuff just stacked up in piles in our old space. Plus, we have added a person who didn't have a desk yet. Since I was already heading to Chicago I said I would stop and get the furniture.

Packed into my car (which seems quite spacious, possibly to a point of deceiving me though) is:

2 HUGE glass desk tops (these were the trouble makers)
2 desk frames
8 desk legs
2 book shelves
4 door inserts for bookshelves
3 file cabinets
shoe cabinet for home
lamp
various small things, hangers, metal basket, etc.

It was pretty much a game of giant heavy Tetris to get it in there. I am guessing I gave my suspension a run for the money too. I know the bookshelves are 90lbs each, and the desks are even heavier. We also had to move the seats up quite a bit. Enough where I wouldn't be able to drive the car, so my wife drove while I crammed into the passenger seat.

As an added extra you get to see my awesome taillights. Too bad they weren't lit up, they just light up as bright red circles. AND yes, it was raining, which made the drive so much fun and taking it all up to my office a pain (it was a one man job to take it all up to the office, thankfully we have an elevator).

Mieces Creating art Pieces

2010-06-07T22:26:00.000-04:00

No, I don't think I am going to post on the new iPhone because most likely you guys have already heard/read about it and don't need my ramblings on it.

Would you hang the above graphic on your wall? Maybe blow it up to nice size and hang it above your couch. When people asked about you could make up an insightful story and how it represents some random thing. Or you could tell them the truth, that you used IOGraph to track your computer mouse's movement for the day.

Yes, that is what it is! The software will track your mouse's movement and create a graphical representation of it. The circle represent the points at where your mouse was at rest.

I am definitely going to try this out because of a few reasons. 1. That is pretty cool. 2. I would like to see what my patterns look like (if you check out their Flickr page you can see someone's photoshop session and what we do over and over again, like go to the layers palette). 3. I am curious at the files it outputs and if it would really be able to blow it up to a giant size (raster vs vector) From the look at a photo on a Flickr Page it looks entirely possible.

[via Unplggd]

Copiers make it easy for Copycats

2010-06-03T13:36:00.000-04:00

By copycats I mean Identity Thieves... yes your copier (or anyone else's) can help steal your identity!

I came across this article the other day from CBS News and it blew my mind. If you used a copier to copy personal info or even a company that has some form of your information used a copier then did not properly wipe it's hard-drive when it was either sold or trashed then you have a chance to have your identity stolen.

Copiers store an image of almost everything that is ran through it and it can be retrieved with free software quite easily. Insurance companies, payroll, police departments, everybody that you might have a connection with could be a victim to this.

With my wife, myself, my parents, my mom again, and many others having their identity stolen (and we take precautions) this is just crazy. It is really sad that nowadays if you ask people who have had at least a portion of their identity stolen there are many more with their hands up now...

Read the full article to have your mind opened and your rage button double clicked.

My Bookshelf

2010-05-26T23:41:00.000-04:00

This is the book I am currently reading. But with these types of books where it is a series of small articles, when I say reading it means more "when I pick it up i'll flip through the pages until an interesting title catches my eye or I find an article the length I would like to read."

I am not that far into it yet so the verdict is still out. We'll see how it goes and i'll have to put an update up later.

The thrill of victory…the agony of defeat. Design Disasters captures the flip side of success, bringing insight, solace, and energy to the act of failure. Not just any failure. Design failure. So public. So humiliating. How do designers who are really, really good (we swear!) turn a disaster into a triumph?

So, are any of you reading any good books? Design or anything else? What should I read next?

Pick it up from Amazon
Review from core77
Review from The Designer's Review of Books

image from core77 because my camera is at the office.

Pac Man is 30!

2010-05-21T20:28:00.001-04:00

Thank you Pac Man for countless hours of wasted time.

Today if you head over to Google you can check out the Google logo done up in honor of Pac Man's 30th Birthday. But then the classic music starts playing, and that's not all...

YES! It is a working version of Pac Man you can play. Thanks Gooogle!

Great gift to lend a helping hand

2010-05-20T23:39:00.000-04:00

There is always the saying the gift that keeps on giving. Do you have someone you know that loves posters? Do they have a nice collection going? Would they love for you to add another to their collection?

Check out the top poster by Ty Mattson. It is just one of many over at Lift Up Nashville and the $10 you spend on it goes towards helping out in Nashville from the recent floods. They have a lot of other posters but that one is my favorite. Go check them out. Get a cool poster and help out. 12x18 and printed on a digital press.

If you have slightly deeper pockets and/or a love for Hatch Show Prints you can pick up their poster. It is $100 (100% goes to flood relief) but it is hand printed in an edition of 250 from woodcuts (no new age digital presses here). That store also has a version of Ty's that is 18x24 if you want to fill your walls a little easier.

Go get 1 or 2 or 5 and help Nashville out

[via Unplggd]

Take it to the House

2010-05-19T23:59:00.000-04:00

Up for today is the always awesome House Industries. If you need a large cast aluminum ampersand, some designer building blog, or the always sexy Eames typeface they've got you covered.

They used to have a really cool mousepad as well but I don't see it for sale anymore.

Check out the rest of their merchandise.

Veer to Veer

2010-05-18T20:43:00.000-04:00

Now that my technical difficulties are over I can get back to business.

If you are in need of a gift for the designer in your life, and quick...Veer is the place to go. Check out their merch here.

They have great apparel, accessories, mugs, portfolios, pins etc. All of them are guaranteed* to put a smile on someone's face.

A few of my favorites are above. The KERN and TYPO GRAPHY sweatshirts and some faux ampersand cufflinks.

I have a hand full of their pins from a HOW conference as well, which were partly an inspiration to a project at school as well. We made a lot of buttons and sold them at our AIGA fundraiser and actually made some good money on them.

*I really can't guarantee this, but I am 98% sure it will!

Technical Difficulties

2010-05-17T23:00:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone, just wanted to let you know I am having a few technical difficulties... For some reason my own comments are not showing up on posts. Luckily yours at least still are.

This started when I realized that anyone with the name "Josh" got a teal colored comment which is for author's comments. Don't know why, but it is kind of a flaw in the system... So I changed my display name, and now it is all screwed up. Hang with me, and I do appreciate your comments.

UPDATE

Everything is good now. I really don't know why the issue came up, but I was able to switch the comment form style to "pop-up" then switch it back and it fixed it. I really don't know why this happened, but at least it is fixed.

Happy as a Labbit

2010-05-17T22:40:00.001-04:00

Today was my Birthday and I'd have to say there isn't much better then an awesome wife that gets you a Happy Labbit. Wait, maybe there is... Add in a scavenger hunt around the apartment to find all of his accessories. YES, that is even better!

So this is my new friend above with his popsicle, piece of grass, gas mask, and hotdog. He will soon go to the office to live with Ribeye, Zapp Branigan and Mom.

The only problem with all of the Kid Robot toys is they are blind assortment so you don't know what you are going to get for accessories (or in the case of dunnys, munnys, smorkin' labbits, the actual figure is a mystery, unless you go to ebay, where you can pick the one you want). The mystery of it though just you want more of them. If you check out the link he has a ton of great little add-ons. Pipes, mustaches, bubbles, drool, all very cool.

I am trying to not get addicted to them and keep the collection small but there are so many cool ones out there. I really want to add to my Futurama collection since they are amazing but there are some specific other ones that are good too. I just don't wan to end up with shelves and shelves of them.

So go check out the Labbit, and right now a lot of them are on sale for "Stop Smorkin'" Month.

In honor of a great gift I think I am going to make this week great gift week. I will show a few of the great things I have found to make every geek, designer, typophile, and eccentric person in your life happy.

My Mind Wanders

2010-05-12T14:40:00.000-04:00

Another day warming up on the tablet before I got to what I needed to be drawing. No idea what the heck this is, I just let the pen do the walking.

Anyone want to write a story line for him/it?

In Search Of...

2010-05-10T23:17:00.000-04:00

I am in search of a new sound system for our office. Any readers have any good suggestions?

Wish list:

good sound
internet radio
pandora
remote
ipod hookup
sexy and svelte
does design for me when I am not in the mood (yeah I know, even if it existed it would cost too much, or it would replace me).

Need a Cool Notebook?

2010-05-06T16:50:00.000-04:00

I am a big fan of the small Moleskine Notebooks, I like gridded page and the Kraft paper cover. I often end up drawing on them or leaving them plain. However, I always thought it would be cool to do some custom ones.

Normally, that would take a lot of work. You would have to buy all the Moleskines (and lets face it, they are not cheap) and then screen print them all.

Wouldn't it be nice if it was easier? BAM Scout Book!

My creative director picked up one of these for me when she went to a printing show in chicago, theirs is to promote AIGA Chicago Design week, and it's pretty snazzy. So I looked up the company on the back.

Scout will print your notebooks with your own graphics on them starting with an order of 50 book (for $195 or $3.90 a book). That pricing can be a bit steep for some, but for a custom printed notebook that really is a steal. You can get the price down to 90 cents a book if you are ordering over 1000 (good for trade show giveaways, or just any promo).

Go check them out. They use 100% recycled papers and soy based inks, so you'll get some green karma along the way.

I'll put them on my list, and maybe some day I could get some cool "The Large Bear" notebooks made up and run a big giveaway. One day...

Doodles for the Day

2010-04-30T16:15:00.000-04:00

I brought in my tablet today to work on a project, so for a little warm up (it's been awhile since I have used the tablet) I decided to doodle for a bit.

I don't know why, but I drew a carrot, and then his little friends. But the carrot looked scared, it could be because you are making soup tonight or the fact that something was coming after him. What is the villain to a carrot? A nice juicy steak, since if you have steak, why would you want anything else.

I like the potato too, he just has a simpleton kind of face going, and I think if a potato really did come to life he would probably be an idiot.

So that is just the random little story I made up as I doodled today.

Maybe not to many...

2010-04-23T09:11:00.002-04:00

The internet never ceases to amaze me. When viewing the post on swissmiss yesterday with the typography flow chart, one of the comments pointed to the poster above. This is another designers response to Julian's poster. Instead of giving you a lot of choices, you are left with only one answer for everything: Helvetica.

Love the colors on this one.

I couldn't find a lot of info on Ron, but here is a link to the Picasa gallery that holds the image.

[via swissmiss comment section ]

So many to choose from

2010-04-22T16:11:00.000-04:00

This is a pretty awesome poster created by Julian Hansen from Denmark. If you don't know what typeface to use you can use this handy flowchart to find what you seek. Click on it to enlarge it or go to Julian's site to see the full version

[via swissmiss ]

A Pop of Yellow

2010-04-21T22:48:00.000-04:00

This is a fantastic image I saw on unplggd today, which was from a different house tour post over on AT.

I don't think my desk could ever look like this (although I did clean mine at work today, score!), but I really wouldn't mind it looking like this. What really drew me to the photo was the print on the right. The simple alphabet, but with the big yellow V in the background it just makes it so much more dynamic.

Someone has a leak...

2010-04-20T16:39:00.000-04:00

Usually when it is getting close to new iPhone time there are leaked photos of the possible new models. These are usually fuzzy photos that you can barely tell that is it a phone. Sometimes they are real and most of the time they are fake.

However, it is pretty hard to fake this. This phone was found in a bar in Redwood City. It was inside a special case to make it look like an iPhone 3GS. They can't get it to boot correctly but they did take it apart and it has Apple hardware inside of it.

Basically somebody is in big trouble for losing this...

check out the rest over at gizmodo. If I had found it, I would hope for a pretty big reward, as well as free apple stuff for life...

UP Up and Away

2010-04-14T22:38:00.001-04:00

So today was pretty much a horrible day... Really all I was in the mood for when I got home was to watch a good movie, and I was in the mood for UP. Downside was it is also kind of a sad movie, not a mood helper.

None the less, I love the graphics for this movie. They have others they used that were more illustrative, but this is my favorite. 1 color (with the gradient) is all you need to convey the feeling of this movie. Also, it is pretty amazing the detail you can achieve with just that one color.

If you haven't seen the movie, check it out, great way to relax.

Obvious "I've Got Wood" Joke Goes Here

2010-04-13T22:57:00.000-04:00

There are a few skins for your laptop out there that I would actually put on a laptop, and this is one of them. The Chocolate Pine skin from Karvt. To me it seems just like an elegant modern kitchen combining dark woods and stainless steel, a great combination in my book. It also looks slightly textured from this photo which might give it a more high end look instead of a kid putting stickers on their trapper keeper (remember those!).

Only parts I am not a fan of? Their logo on the bottom corner, no thanks, and the price is a little steep at $35.

They come in a variety of woods: Bamboo, Pine, Walnut, and Cherry with a very options of "stain" colors.

[via unplggd]

Hello Spring!

2010-04-09T11:18:00.002-04:00

I popped over to etsy today to kill sometime and I was greeted by a page full of yellow. Although it was cool outside today, I can see i'm not the only one loving that spring is here. As well as just loving yellow lately.

If you haven't been to etsy yet, go check it out and find some great handmade presents for your family and friends (and as always you can buy one of my prints there too...)

Mega Who?

2010-04-08T23:15:00.000-04:00

This is an awesome pearler bead project (you remember pearler beads right? the little plastic cylinders you made into pictures then ironed them to melt them together?)

I saw this and it just made me smile. It is an action sequence of Mega Man. The best part, the creator superglued it to a wall in their dorm hallway. Apparently it is still standing, and that is so cool.

The other part I love about this is because they tried to take part of a hideous dorm and spice it up a little bit. Why would anyone peel it down, would they actually want to look at that horrible wall instead? It also makes me think about tv shows and moves how they portray dorms. I know mine looked more like this. It was a cinderblock L shape. Not the extravagent and spacious rooms portrayed in the media.

The entry is for a contest over on The Happy Seamstress, so go check out it, and the other entires and vote for your favorite.

[via sprite stitch to find out about the contest]

Aperture Update

2010-04-07T20:18:00.000-04:00

An Aperture 3 update. If anyone actually picked up Aperture 3 after I posted about it, and then their computer basically ran like crap. I'm sorry. Mine did too. The program was slow, it was hard to do anything. I was about ready to downgrade, which wouldn't have been an easy process.

However, their update 3.0.2 came out and my Aperture is back up and running properly. So if you have it, and it's running bad, go for the update and see if it will cure what ails you.

Now I just gotta get back to take a lot of photos. I have been slacking.

All I Want for Christmas

2010-04-05T23:41:00.001-04:00

This has been in my "to post" list for quite awhile and by the awesome feature of how Safari fills in your address bar and my need to go to Office Depot, I once again came across The Office of the Tooth Fairy.

When I was a kid and we lost a tooth we put it in a film canister, the black with the gray top, and that went under our pillow. When we woke up the money would be in the canister for us and the tooth would be mysteriously gone. I still remember when I had to clean the tooth up after it came out because it came out while eating a Carmellow bar and it was covered in chocolate and caramel. Great memories (although teeth do freak me out a bit in general) and I will always remember that film canister.

Memories like that are great but on the other hand I can't get over the shear beauty of these "official" letterpress Office of the Tooth Fairy certificates. I drooled over them the first time and once again I am. They thought of everything, the bag for the tooth, extremely detailed record keeping, the deposit envelope (although I might make one out of a film canister, heck my kids won't even know what film is...). I know I am sucker for letterpress in general, but these are fantastic. I have always been tempted to order, and now they have extra sheets so you can keep track of multiple children easily. Which was kind of the reason I held back. To buy for multiple children at $16 a set, was a little pricey, especially when I don't have kids yet. Now with the extra sheets, I can pick up one kit, a few extra record sheets and keep them for the future (plus one just to keep for myself).

You can order online or find a store near you. I just saw that there was one sort of nearby, but since the extra sheets are new, i'll probably order online and save the hassle. $16 for the first set, extra sheets are $6 each or they have packages of 5 and 10. Shipping is reasonable too at $1.50. Go get it!

P.S. Could they have picked better colors! Love the brown and blue. I have been trying to get some clients to use this combo forever.

A Fixie that Fixes

2010-04-01T23:16:00.001-04:00

I was listening to the news as I made dinner tonight and there was a really cool story on it. It was about how there was a study going on at The Cleveland Clinic about how biking can actually help Parkinson's Disease. There was a video of a man having trouble controlling his hand, he then was able to get on a bike, rode it around a parking lot, and afterwards had a steady hand. He even said that he could feel the effects weeks later not having a lot of tremors.

That to me is amazing. So amazing. Hopefully the studies go further with it and they find a way to cure/prevent/decrease it.

[bike t-shirt on etsy]

Beer Me

2010-03-30T23:56:00.004-04:00

"I always say 'beer me.' It gets a laugh, like, a quarter of the time."

Today I have beer on the mind. I picked up a nice cold growler at lunch to take up to my sister's this weekend and then I went out for a beer with a coworker after work (plus the bar was doing a free appetizer buffet, score!). I came across this beer tonight and it seemed great for a post. First, because I enjoy the packaging. Second, because I love beer and third because it kind of goes along with the whole Earth Hour this past weekend.

I've talked about beer before but Cascade Green is a pretty interesting beer. Landor in Sydney apparently held the meeting at the zoo to get in the "green" mood which is awesome. Plus, they have made this a "green" beer by changing some of their processes and buying carbon offsets (which is another discussion for another time, since I don't fully agree with the offsets idea). None the less, I do applaud them for trying to make the beer in a more environmentally friendly way.

So, if you are in Australia, check out this beer and see what it is like. I know I will be enjoying my beer this weekend which happens to be my local breweries 100% certified organic beer.

Sidenote: I really hope you know the quote in the beginning of the post...

[pictures from the dieline]

A Little Help Here?

2010-03-29T23:55:00.000-04:00

I wanted to share with you what I was randomly thinking about today. With all kinds of advancements in computers it seems like someday we may be able to control them with our minds. Who knows? I really don't think I would wan to totally control a computer with my mind though. As I was working on a layout today I just kind of wished I could think "pen tool" and BAM I have the pen, or "select arrow" and be on my merry way. I really don't want to have to think the exact spot where I want the mouse to be to then draw a rectangle. Maybe it would be easy, but on the other hand it seems like it would be hard, and take a long time to perfect. However using your mind to select things or activate commands would be cool.

I know that is totally random, but I thought about it for quite awhile today (it might have partially to do that my mouse will not scroll up, and it is driving me crazy).

So, readers? Yay or nay? Control computers with our minds? Partially? Fully? What?

The Eyeballing Game

2010-03-24T16:25:00.000-04:00

This isn't a game that I play all the time, but if you really need to find a way to blow an afternoon, and you are all bejewled out, this will help. The Eyeballing Game. Test your skill at a variety of tests to see if you can really see where the exact middle of a line segment is, of finish the other 2 sides of the parallelogram. You play through 3 times and it takes an average.

Get Your Jewel On

2010-03-23T23:20:00.000-04:00

The next on my list of "time sucks" is the always amazing Bejewled on Facebook. I got my wife hooked on it as well and it is beyond addicting. You can play on your iPod Touch and your iPhone as well. It has your friends listed on the side so you can compete which them as well.

One of the best (or worst) parts is it records all of your scores over 25k points. So you can see how many games you have one over 25k (well over 500 now), 50k, 75k, etc. The bad part abut this, is you can add them all up, and if each game is a minute long, you can figure out how long you have wasted your life on this. I do wish it recorded every game played, since I know I have a lot under 25k, but the last time I checked i had clocked in around 20 solid hours of game time.

Slick Deals

2010-03-22T23:21:00.000-04:00

This week I kind of thought about posting a bit what I do online when I am not reading design blog, working on projects (both design and art) etc. Kind of a look into my life. Usually if I am slow on posting, it is because these other sites have sort of taken my mind over for a bit.

First up is Slick Deals. If you know me, you know I love good deals and great deals. SD is a forum where everyone goes and post about great deals they have found so others can partake in them. This may seem crazy but I save $1000's a year shopping for good deals online. The only problem with SD is you get hooked and end up spending money you don't need to.

However, in the normal realm of things, and things tht may help you in your professional life, I picked up 3 more years of Popular Photography this weekend for $12 (normal one year price is $14) and I also was able to save $1440 off my Sprint bill (over the next 2 years of my contract), and was also able to do the same Sprint deal for my parents, inlaws, and sister. Not too many design related items come up, but when they do I am on them. This goes along with searching for coupon codes online, I have saved almost everywhere I shop, including MoMA.

Just be careful, you can get hooked easy.

Sunny Side Up

2010-03-18T23:57:00.000-04:00

Has it been sunny out for you? I know it has been here, and you can see that it has greatly affected my mood. The weather has been great, tomorrow it is supposed to be 70, and that means drinks on the balcony when I get home from work.

I went to etsy and typed in "sunny" and this is what I found. Want a way to spruce up your portfolio, stand out a bit? You'll stand out anywhere with this bright yellow case. Plus, can't beat a username like JohnTWalrus.

Enjoy your Friday, then it's the weekend!

Bicycle Bicycle

2010-03-17T17:20:00.000-04:00

The weather has been getting warmer here so last night I had the ambition to get the bikes out of the attic. Then I had an even greater ambition to ride my bike to work today. The ride went well except it is still quite brisk in the morning!

Now I just have to ride home, which is a greater feat. Since there is a giant hill between me and home, although much better then the hill on the way to work and therefore being really gross and sweaty.

Get out there an enjoy the weather!

[image is a shirt on threadless]

Blah

2010-03-15T23:59:00.000-04:00

I'm in kind of a blah mood today. Might be because it is Monday, or because it was gray out yet again today, or everything feels like it is stuck in a rut. Something's gotta change (although tomorrow is Tuesday, so that is a change!)

I did get my sand shaper in the mail today, super fast shipping (especially for free!) now I just need a beach to try them out on, I don't think i'll be testing it on snow this year...

You Son of a Beach

2010-03-12T13:18:00.000-05:00

Today I have had the beach on the mind. It was a long chain of events that got it on my mind but then I remembered this awesome post on swissmiss, and about a really cool new tool called the Willysphere. I wanted to post it back then, but it wasn't available anywhere, so you'd get all excited about it (like I did) then have no way to get them.

Well they are finally available in the US!

The Willyshpere is a sand shaping tool invented by a guy from the Netherlands. The creator won second place in a "Best Idea in the Netherlands" contest for the product. Basically you move them in a circular motion on well packed sand or snow, and the slight curve in the tool will create different size spheres. Check out the video to see it in action, and just how insane of a project you can make out of it.

You can get them here, for $14.95 (regular $20) for a set of 4 of them with free shipping. You'll be able to make 20, 30, 40 and 50cm diameter spheres. So not as big as he said in the video, up to 1m, but still a pretty good size and more manageable for the everyday user. I am ordering a set for sure, and can't wait for the warm weather to get here and try them out (I need something else to do when there isn't enough wind for my kite, and plus, these are beyond cool). I am really happy they made it a reasonable price too since it is such a simple product, this way everybody can pick up a set and play on the beach all day. Pick up a set for yourself, friends, family, kids, anyone who would love making shapes in the sand all day.

It's on like Donkey Kong

2010-03-11T23:25:00.002-05:00

So this is something I have been wanting to post about for awhile, but it kept slipping my mind. But, yeah, this is totally on my wishlist. Although my wife is not the biggest fan, so it may take longer then planned.

This is the amazing Donkey Kong wall graphic from Blik. What is Blik you might ask (ironically that is their web address too, whatisblik.com)? They make vinyl wall graphics and are probably the leading company doing this. The graphics are fantastic. They have officially licensed graphics from Nintendo, Eames, Threadless, other artists, and tons of other great ones.

So I have been craving the Kong one. It is made with reStik, which is the kind of vinyl you can take down and put back up. How awesome is that? It is $65 for a set, but if you can reuse it, it's worth it. Unfortunately, the image at the top is most likely made with multiple sets. They recently redid their website, and I miss 2 great features it had. 1. It used to have more photos from people who have bought them, there was a great donkey kong one on a light grey wall wrapped around a corner (they have it as the icon if you search "kong" you'll see it) Found it! 2. It had a little graphic that showed what you could do with one kit, then two, then three, to show you how elaborate you could make it. Essential for this type of kit where you really need to see what you could do with one if you are on a budget, obviously not making the show stopper above.

What is with the Mega Man picture you ask? Yeah that's right, Mega Man coming soon, killer. If I had a perfect world, I would have my own studio, old school Mario in one room, Kong in another, Mega Man in another. I doubt I would get any work done though, since I would just sit there and play my NES on the biggest TV I could while blasting the Double Dragon theme song.

Ok, back to a point. If you have checked them out in the past, go again, because they are adding amazing things. If you haven't been before, go now, and see how you can spice up your place (these are key for rentals since they are removable). I would really like to see how the reStik works, how many times you can reapply it etc. One day, my wall WILL be Donkey Kong, one day. The wall behind me is begging for it right now...

I've been slacking

2010-03-10T11:56:00.001-05:00

So I know I have been slacking with the posts lately. I have been diligently working on a new website for a local business here, and it is taking up a ton of my time at night. Add in we have the Mad Men season 1 dvds from the library right now, so we have been watching that as well. I promise quality posts coming up.

To pass some time, I recommend this old post, and read about some Clients from Hell . Your entire afternoon will just drift away.

'NN'SS

2010-03-08T23:36:00.000-05:00

This is a self promotional package for NNSS. What really drew me to is it the color. The bright cyan (I think it is cyan, the one shot looks a little green...) in combination with the white and then add in some thin lines and thin type. Sold.

Go check out their website too. That bright cyan again with some dark gray and again the thin type, looks fantastic. Unfortunately, most of it is in a language I don't know.

Need a new Background?

2010-03-04T23:07:00.002-05:00

I saw this website the other day, Simple Desktops, and loved it. They feature really simple backgrounds that won't clutter up your screen so it can look great and still function. I picked a few out that I really liked above but they have a ton more.

Now the only thing I need to do is not have a desktop that looks like a bomb went off. I honestly don't use it, except for a dumping ground. I always have something open so I hardly ever see it and it is just completely full of files and folders. Maybe one day it will be night and tidy...

[via How About Orange]

Lunarsaurus

2010-03-01T13:02:00.001-05:00

Things don't always have to make sense, ands that is why the world is awesome.

Lunasaurus by Aesthetic Apparatus. $20

And the Winner is....

2010-02-24T10:52:00.000-05:00

Two nights ago I was able to attend the ADDYs for my company and it turned out to be a fantastic evening. I don't want to toot my own horn too much, but we did amazing. I came home with 7 awards for us including a Judge's Choice and the Best in Show (with a sprinkling of some golds and silvers in there too).

A lot of our clients have been giving a lot of freedom lately and it has really been paying off. Since I work mostly for law firms, most of them are set in their stodgy ways and in the end it shows. However, the few choice clients that who let us go off an do what we love, end off better in the end. The work for the client that won both the gold and the Best in Show is an ad campaign that is far from what you would see for most law firms. Clever copywriting, great photographs, use of white space, these isn't the norm in the industry*.

So in the end, sorry for the goofy shot of me. This was my final seventh time up, and I was running out of little things to say at the mic and I am way overdue for a haircut. Plus, thanks to my wife for taking shots of the event and getting a couple of me not looking like an idiot.

*I try to keep from posting images and stuff from work, since I don't know exactly how that works, but if you want to see some of the winning work or my work in general just drop me a message.

The Great White

2010-02-23T10:59:00.001-05:00

I have been hearing from my friends and family in Michigan (where I am from) about the storm that hit them yesterday, and it has me thinking about snow. I love the stuff. I don't mind driving in it, if no one else is on the road to hit me, and if the city plows the roads (but they never do, do they own a plow? I don't think so). I wouldn't have minded to get some hear instead of the rain that we got.

This is a great poster called First Snow by Power Slide. It encompasses probably a perfect day for me, and while some might say it looks bitter and cold, I feel that it looks refreshing. Amazing what you can do ith just 2 colors, gotta think outside the normal realm of color (since when you screen print, every color means you gotta print the entire run AGAIN).

Collect

2010-02-22T11:20:00.002-05:00

When I saw the Collect bookcase from Normann Copenhagen I was instantly drawn to it. The fantastic color, the woodgrain showing through, how smooth it looked. It just made me want to touch it.

It looks like it could be at home in a cabin, in an office, in a sitting room, kid's room, anywhere. Although I would like to see how it looks like filled with books or whatever else you would put in it. It is such a beautiful object right now, I hope it wouldn't detract from it.

Once again, this is why I need a studio space and/or workshop. I want to run out there grab some plywood (although this is made with green pine) and make one. One day...

It is 55" x 55" and 2,700 Euro ($3700 USD, another reason why I would like to go make one)

[via Design*Sponge]

Free Font Week - Friday

2010-02-19T10:21:00.007-05:00

It's the last day of Free Font Week. Hopefully I've added a couple of typefaces to your arsenal that you might have otherwise been lacking. Typefaces that might only fill a small niche, but when you need them, you have them.

Last up is Lot. Nice and chunky, the "C" looks like Pac-Man and the "Q" and "W" are big and beautiful. Have a great weekend!

Free Font Week - Thursday

2010-02-18T10:16:00.000-05:00

Today I want to show you Learning Curve 2.0. It never hurts to have a handwriting typeface up your sleeve. I've used a couple of them in various projects, sometimes it's just what you're looking for.

Free Font Week - Wednesday

2010-02-17T10:09:00.004-05:00

Next up is Anivers. Great looking typeface, looks really versatile. Fantastic Asterisk. Regular weight is free, but you have to pay for other weights.

Free Font Week - Tuesday

2010-02-16T09:57:00.001-05:00

League Gothic is a revival of the old classic, Alternate Gothic No. 1. It's is part of the Open Source Type Movement (which sounds like a fantastic idea to me, check it out).

Ovalian is a bit different and far from what I normally use. But that is what drew me to it. Obviously, I am not going to set a book in it, but it would be a great addition to a logo or for some really large scale signage. (Free Use)

Free Font Week - Monday

2010-02-15T21:56:00.001-05:00

Free Font Week - Monday

I've posted a few fonts here and there that are available to you out there in the past and I thought it was about time to give you an entire week of it. There are always those projects out there that need a typeface that is slightly different, something out of the norm, but they're not always easy to find. So hopefully these might help you on your journey

P.S. As a personal note, I often feel that the "Q" and the "&" make me fall in love with a font. Doesn't hurt to have a really good looking font poster either.

Above is Quicksand, looks great, can't wait to use it. As with any free font make sure the usage license on it if you plan on using it commercially. You're safe with Quicksand, a note from Andrew "Feel free to use it commercially as it is license free. Cheers!”

Time For an Upgrade

2010-02-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

I know I am a couple days late on this, but I am glad I caught it at all since I was out of town. On Feb 9th apple introduced the newest version of Aperture, Aperture 3 .

I currently use Aperture 2 and I really like it. There are a few things I liked slightly better about iPhoto (and i had v8 not v9 when I switched, I think) but not enough to stick with it. I switched and am very happy. Best thing is a non destructive workflow, make an adjustment here, brighten this, fix that, crop this, and if you hate it all in a few weeks, just turn them off and you are back to ground zero. Unlike photoshop where once you close the file you are done or iphoto where you could only revert back to the original (never used Lightroom, so who knows)

There are a still a fews thing I didn't love so hopefully it will be fixed in a the new version, I'll have to find out for myself. Mostly a few quirks on importing, not making it easy to name a project on import (you have to have it created beforehand with the name, or it gets named Untitled and you can fix it later). Apparently, you are also able to sort your items in any order you want now, which would have been nice, except I adopted a date system that lets me just sort chronologically (so my folders all start like "2010-02-11 Name" but I would have preferred iPhoto's system where I would just put "Name" and it would use the date on the files to sort).

In addition to many upgrade you also get facial recognition, geo tagging, better brushing, better tagging and who knows what else yet. They say they have 200+ new features.

Google + Olympics

2010-02-12T13:15:00.000-05:00

If you go to Google today you'll find a really nice Olympic themed header graphic. I am always a fan of when they put up new ones to correspond to special days of events, but I really like this one. It is a great illustration (instead of the usually cheesy modified Google logo) and has some texture to it as well.

I tried searching for the illustrator (in Google of course...) but only came across info on past times they did this.

Is everyone going to be watching tonight? I don't know if they'll be able to outdo the ceremony from China, that was crazy!

I'm Back

2010-02-11T16:25:00.003-05:00

Hope you all didn't miss me too much. I am back from my ski trip and it feels good to be home. I wouldn't mind being gone a bit longer too, but I get what I can.

Posts resume tomorrow (and I already wrote it, look at me being on top of things!).

Enjoy a couple photos from the trip for now. Sadly not that pictures of the mountain, didn't bring the camera with me when it was sunny and blue skies, just the overcast day...

MIA

2010-02-05T12:32:00.000-05:00

I am going to be MIA for a few days since I am taking a small winter break and doing a bit of snowboarding/skiing.

Posts will resume at the end of next week.

*Unfortunately the photo is NOT where I am going, although that would be heavenly.

Save My Game, Save My Game ♪♫♪

2010-02-04T12:46:00.001-05:00

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A

(Insert joke about unlocking her secret world or her hidden treasures here)

Great dress created by Liz Tan for a Halloween costume. I don't see why it is limited to Halloween though, looks like proper attire for any day.

I really need to get my wife one of these for one I go as Mario. Yes, Peach is a more obvious costume choice, but this is just awesome!

[via Unplggd ]

Grab your Longboard

2010-02-03T09:54:00.000-05:00

I often read a great design blog called AisleOne, written by Antonio Carusone. He is a great designer, blogger, etc, and recently he also has started designing skateboards. His first one was the Hello and the new one is the 39 Longboard.

I love this board! I don't skateboard, I have trouble staying on things that aren't attached to my feet, but I love it. The shape, color, type, wheels, everything is fantastic. Looks like it would fit right in with the color scheme here too.

If you've got some free time, go check out his boards, and go check out his blog. Lots of great info and work being shown over there.

$160 + Shipping for the complete board

Time to get LOST

2010-02-02T16:49:00.000-05:00

No design post today because it a a great day and LOST is starting it's final season. So if you are casually browsing your design blogs tonight, I want you to see this, and go turn your TV on. Wait, you don't watch LOST?

Well, just think, does your life have a hole in it that is just too hard to fill? A certain emptiness? Could it use a TV show that makes you question all kinds of things but never really gives you answers, but only enfuriates you more? If the anser is yes, maybe you should go watch it (although you would be hoplessly lost as to what is going on, so maybe you should go get all the dvd sets, watch them all, build a time machine, come back to tonight, so you can watch it with the rest of us, then give me the time machine, Id like a pet T-Rex).

10 points to anyone who sees the photoshop disaster in the poster!

Feltron

2010-02-01T23:09:00.000-05:00

The always popular and always amazing Feltron Annual Report is back. Nicholas records pretty much every aspect of his life and then at the end of the year produces a visually stunning annual report cataloging the previous year. Each AR is slightly different and always great.

This year is is letterpressed on French Durotone paper, and I bet it looks fantastic in person.

Available for Pre Order right now, and will be limited to 2000 copies.

WA WA WAAAAAA

2010-01-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

Color me unimpressed...

My Wish List

2010-01-26T20:22:00.001-05:00

So there is a big apple going on tomorrow if you haven't heard. A lot of people think apple might unveil a new tablet style computer and others think that the iphone might be released onto other US carriers.

Me? I could care less about those things. What I really would like is something that seems so simple...

How about a way to login into different users on one iPod. My wife and I share an iPod, my other one is at the office permanently and it is honestly dying (the center button barely works, too bad, you need it to select things...). So we share one classic 80gb ipod. Not a problem, but we don't have exactly the same musical tastes and she doesn't like having to scroll through all of my stuff (and the Ipod is actually hers, she is nice enough to share with me).

This just seems like too easy of a fix? My iMac can have multiple users, why can't my iPod. Just make a little login screen, no need for password protection. You could even have it so that could be disabled if you only have one user, just like regular OSX.

And a side thought on that, why can't they make it easier to have multiple people on iTunes? Same problem, it would be cool to separate it, and make a login. Yes, you can do this with multiple libraries, but honestly it is a pain. Come on Apple, you're APPLE! Make it easy.

Obviously NOT Optimus Prime

2010-01-25T09:18:00.000-05:00

As I was randomly shopping deals last night. I came across this great review. Just as it says, he is writing this review about an ottoman, the kind that has storage in it.

So, of course it only gets 2 stars because he wanted a transformer, that makes perfect sense.

I have went on rants to friends on this before. Since I am the kind of guy that researches the crap out of something before I buy it. It pays to look at the actual reviews and not just at the number of stars it got. Because there are always jack***es like this out there screwing the system.

Hand Pulled and Pulled Pork

2010-01-21T23:22:00.001-05:00

Those of you that know me know I like meat, and those of you that know me well, know I love meat.

The weather is cold, and it makes me want to go to my favorite bbq joint here. When the weather warms up, I want bbq, middle of summer, bbq. Even if I tune into the BB King Blues channel on XM, I want bbq (nothing like craving some brisket at 9:30 a.m. on the way to work). See a trend here?

Hatch created these amazing hand pulled letterpress posters for 4505 Meats in the Bay area. Great color and imagery on them. If the price was a bit lower I would have picked some up for myself.

Check out the video of them being made here, and you can purchase them here. $26 each. Go get a hand pulled poster and then maybe a pulled pork.

[via the kitchn]

Still Obsessing

2010-01-20T23:12:00.001-05:00

I am still obsessed with playing the new mario game for the Wii. It's taking up a lot of my time which is why posts may seem a little slow.

So, since these are the scenarios that are playing in my head every night while I sleep, why not decorate your entire room with them...

This room would have been killer as a kid. Oddly enough (as with most kids) I probably would have "outgrew" it at one point, but of course now, I would kill for it again.

Tweet in Green and White

2010-01-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

So, I bet you have noticed, posts have slowed down a bit. This could be partially because I have been really busy with a few things, I am somewhat lazy, and/or I haven't seen anything lately that has been calling out to me (I'm going to go with "all of the above").

When, I saw this book, from Dynamo, it was calling my name. So beautiful, green and white, very well designed, fantastic typography, simple cover. You had me at hello.

However not everything can just be beautifully designed. Well it could, and the world would be amazing, but then I would be out of work... But back to my point, design isn't everything, you also need content. When I first read about what the subject of this book was, I thought, eh, not my thing. I say that because the subject is about tweeting and status updates. Now if you know me personally, I do not tweet and I don't really partake in that. Maybe someday, but not for now. I also spend a minimal amount of time on facebook, I don't need people knowing what I am doing every second, if I tripped on a morning walk, or what I ate for lunch. However, the book is supposed to be about status updates that someone would want to read and that have meaning. I can't say for sure, but they do have my attention.

Last, the book takes from both sides of the Atlantic, and is published in both English and French, and from my understanding you get both for $20. Very tempted.

[via Unplggd]

MLK Day

2010-01-18T14:44:00.000-05:00

So today I spent the day running errands and watching a movie . A lot of people might have had a similar day, those who get Martin Luther King Jr. Day off. So while you're relaxing and enjoying your day (or even if you are at work) take a moment and just think about what he did for us and how he shaped out future. Amazing, isn't it?

Image by Robert Bosch
[via Unplggd]

Leave your Wacom at Home

2010-01-13T16:59:00.000-05:00

What if you could use your macbook's trackpad as a drawing tablet? With the Inklet app for your mac you can! You're not going to get the same pressure sensitivity as a Wacom tablet, but you're also not going to want to take your Wacom with you everywhere. This is kind of a more "on the go" option.

Anyone want to buy me a macbook so I can try this?

Cloudy with a Chance of DOOOOOM

2010-01-12T16:45:00.001-05:00

Loving the simplicity and color of the Doom Flower Mini Print by Aesthetic Apparatus.

Best part is how they list their colors: doom red, doom blue, doom black. I don't know how you mix up a color with extra doom in it, do you?

Edition of 300, you can pick one up for $15

Do you love type or are you IN love with it?

2010-01-11T23:05:00.000-05:00

Today I wanted to share an article from the New York Times on typography for you. For those of you that are typography addicts it won't present that much new information (although a little insight on Hoefler and Frere-Jones, creators of Tungsten above) but I always love a good article on type. Especially those that are showing the world what we do, and that it takes a bit more then buying software to be a designer or typographer.

It discusses on how limited we are with digital type, what might change with it and the mainstreaming of typography with the Obama campaign etc.

The White Stuff

2010-01-08T14:47:00.000-05:00

So this week I have been feeling a bit burnt out. Couple endeavors didn't work out, crazy busy at work. Because of all of that I haven't been out there finding awesome design stuff to post. I will be up to my usual caliber soon though.

So instead I leave you a photo of my dog Rocky, as we played outside in the snow last night. He really isn't that happy to see me, he is concentrating very hard on the frisbee I am holding.

GDUSA Part 2

2010-01-06T23:00:00.000-05:00

To go along with my post yesterday on subscribing to GDUSA, above is a screenshot of their 2009 American Graphic Design Award Winners, and that just happens to be me... This was the first version of the book, basically an overnight job, V2 is a bit better.

You can check out the rest of the winners here , there are a lot.

GD USA

2010-01-05T21:04:00.000-05:00

So if you don't know about GD USA it is time to find out about them. They are a graphic design magazine that is pretty good and best of all it is FREE.

So go check out the website, maybe sign up to get it. The magazine does have a lot of ads, but what can you expect.... it's free. They gotta pay for it somehow.

Brighten Up Your Day

2010-01-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

I saw this image on AT awhile back and thought it would work great for today. It can been crazy cold out and what better then a bright orange room to warm it back up.

I am usually not a fan of orange on the walls and i don't know if it is the wide white base boards, the metal of the lamp, or what, but it all works together.

[via AT]

What should I wear?

2009-12-30T14:22:00.000-05:00

So I lied, I said I would put something up yesterday, but I slacked. Well you can't call it slacking, I was playing Mario. So I had objectives and goals, that's the same as work right?

In celebration of my obsession with Mario, I found this awesome design. Apparently I am a bit late on the game though because apparently it is crazy hot right now and all over the place.

It is by Glenn Brogan and is up for voting over on Split Reason to have it made into a t-shirt. There was also talk of maybe trying to do a print of it. My opinion on that? Awesome! BUT, and this is the big BUT, do not make a giant 18x24 poster of it. How about a smaller art print? That is one reason why I dislike threadless' prints so much, they are all 18x24. Well, that is pretty big, takes up a lot of wall real estate and you can only put up so many large posters before it looks like a dorm room. So I vote small sized art print, 8x10, 11x14 something in that general vicinity. Not a weird size either so that you can easily get a frame for it (but this goes on to my general rambling about this kind of stuff, so I will cut it short.

So, for the short story, awesome illustration, hope it wins, make lots of moolah, and now I shall go back to controlling an italian man and make him do my bidding.

[via Sprite Stitch]

Happy Holidays

2009-12-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

The presents are unwrapped, the pie is gone, the turkey has been destroyed. I hope you all had a great Holiday.

New Post coming later today (trying to not be lazy while I relax at home this week, although the new Mario game has been taking up a lot of my time...)

Free Will Society

2009-12-22T09:08:00.000-05:00

Really loving the feel of these posters. These were designed by Mihail Mihaylov for the lounge / funk / nu-jazz band "Free Will Society".

Great use of color. I am always a fan of grey and a bright color, but then you add in last years Pantone of the Year (yellow) and Teal, this years POTY (ha, just noticed that basically says "potty"), and you've got a winning color combination. Never hurts to throw in a yellow/green another favorite.

There is some other great work on the site too, go check it out.

We have our Winners

2009-12-20T20:59:00.000-05:00

Thanks for entering everybody. The winners were randomly selected Friday night and I have started to contact the winners.

If you haven't gotten an e-mail from me yet, no worries. Each winner gets to choose their prize out of the remaining prizes. So, I have to wait for each previous person to respond and choose their prize... not everyone is so quick on the e-mail, and I will make it through the list as fast as I can.

As an additional rule, if I do not hear from you within 72 hours about your prize, I am going to move to the next person on the list, otherwise it could take weeks or months to get to everyone. If it reaches the point where I haven't heard from you in a week, you forfeit your prize and I will randomly select someone to fill your spot. Not the most fun rule to implement, but I do feel that it is needed.

Thanks everyone for participating

*if you noticed all the comments missing, don't worry. Since I used an external comment system for it, and wasn't a big fan of it, it has been disabled, and I now get to put all of your fantastic comments back in by hand...

Almost Done

2009-12-17T08:40:00.004-05:00

Last Day

to enter the holiday giveaway.

Holiday Giveaway 2009!

2009-12-14T16:30:00.007-05:00

It's the time of the year, and I wanted to make all of your seasons a little more jolly. I've put together a little Holiday Gift Giveaway. So this is my gift to all of you .

Here is how it works

Leave me a comment (comment link is above by the date or below the post!). To make it a little more interesting tell me what your favorite Pantone color is and why (and if you don't know what your favorite is, or what a Pantone color even is, just go with your favorite color and then go research Pantone because it is a good thing to know about)
Make sure you leave your e-mail address with the comments, this is how I will contact you, they won't be shared with anyone. No e-mail No Prize
Winners will be selected by a Random Number Generator. First winner will get their choice of prize, second gets next choice, etc.
I send you out your amazing prizes (magazines will be subscribed to for you)!

Sorry for the weird comment form on this one, it is the only way I can get it to collect your e-mail address so I can actually contact you. I will most likely turn it off since it is making my blog a little less then beautiful.

So good luck, pass the link on to your friends, and have a great holiday season

Contest is Open until Friday December 18th 5:00 PM EST

* One entry per person. Contest is ONLY open in the Continental United States, sorry Hawaii, Alaska & International!

Prize #1
Pantone 388c Coffee Mug

Prize #2
Readymade Magazine 1 Year Subscription (6 Issues)

Prize #3
Wired Magazine 1 Year Subscription (I know this is an old issue, but I like Jenna Fischer, you will get new ones)

Prize #4
A-Frame Blockprint

Prize #5
Yeti Blockprint by Gregory (in Brown/ Terra Cotta NOT Green)

Prize #6
2 French Paper Cat Notebooks (1 Black and 1 Orange Sorry, NO blue)

Prize #7
Moleskine Cahier Kraft Paper Pocket Sized 3 Pack.

Pantone Color of the Year 2010

2009-12-10T15:48:00.000-05:00

So I don't know if I can tell the future or what, but the Pantone Color of the year for 2010 is Turquoise (PS that is the link as well, since my links ARE turquoise)!

If you look around the blog you might see that is a pretty prominent color around here (1 of 2 I use besides white). When I was designing the blog I started with grey and yellow (which I think yellow was the 2009 COTY) because I loved those 2 colors together, but for some reason it wasn't working. So I switched over to turquoise, and now it's the color of the year.

Should I play the lotto tonight?

Holiday Giveaway 2009!

2009-12-08T14:35:00.002-05:00

Holiday Giveaway

Just wanted to give all of you a heads up that next week I am going to start my holiday giveaway. Stay Tuned, it should be up Monday!

Renegade Holiday Craft Fair - Chicago Review

2009-12-07T23:27:00.000-05:00

Well I Braved another Renegade Craft Sale. Sadly, I think my review goes the same way as the Summer/Fall edition: Not enough Parking, Way (WAY!) too many people.

My wife and I headed up to Chicago this past weekend for the sale and then to do other various shopping in the city. This sale was at the Pulaski Park fieldhouse, not too far from the other sale. Once again it is in an area with somewhat non existent parking. It would help to hold it in a location that could account for the huge amount of extra cars. Possibly somewhere near a garage. I know this may take away from the small intimate craft fair vibe, but it doesn't have that feeling at all, it is huge and out of control.

In the building there were so many people you could barely move. I hardly looked at anything because I would have had to shove my way through women and children just to see something. Being a kind of large guy that is often frowned upon. The music was too loud, and just basically too much of everything.

The one booth I did stop by was the Delicious Design League. I was able to chat with them for a few and pick up this great poster I featured before. Other then that I didn't stop much. I hoped something would catch my eye and I would have to check it out, but nothing did.

So, in conclusion, I've tried both editions of the Renegade craft fairs in Chicago, and I don't know if I will be going back. Just too much hassle for hardly any pay off.

P.S. A type to most parents out there (especially hipster parents). I know I am not a parent yet, but when a location is that crowded 1. Do not let your child wander aimlessly 2. Do not bring your giant, ridiculous stroller that probably cost more then 2 months of my rent, please instead bring the little travel strollers and help everyone out.

Even if it's Bold Italic

2009-12-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

As an update to the incredible Neutraface Video. You can head over to their blog Jark and Mason and download the mp3. Yes, I have downloaded it. Yes, I am listening to it right now.

Renegade Holiday Craft Fair - Chicago

2009-12-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

Are you going to be in Chicago this weekend?

If you are, stop by and checkout the Renegade Holiday Sale. This weekend, Dec 5 & 6, from 11-7, at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse.

From what I learned at the summer event. There will probably be NO parking... But they are offering a trolley service around the Wicker Park area to the fieldhouse, although there really isn't any parking in the Wicker Park area... It is also really near the blue line, so you could take that as well.

I will hopefully have a full report on it next week.

Buy Handmade!

N-N-N-Neutraface

2009-12-02T23:06:00.003-05:00

This is beyond amazing.

This video really says a lot about designers:

We have too much time on our hands
We don't just love typography we are IN love with typography
Designers still like beards
Maybe we don't have so much free time, but we would rather do this kind of stuff than sleep.

So watch it and love it.

"Gill Sans the G is whack when it's in lower case. Avant Garde you me me hard, like Helvetica you've been played."

That last part is so true, one of the main reasons I don't like to use Gill Sans

Lada Gaga HD Poker Face video if you somehow have no idea what the reference is here (because you have been on some kind of island with no internet).

Thanks for finding this Tina

[via swissmiss]

H - E - Double Hockey Sticks

2009-12-01T16:59:00.002-05:00

Do you ever have an experience with a client that just leaves you without words. Something they did or said is just beyond comprehension? Something that leaves you thinking "Holy Sh*t I can't believe they just said/did that!"

That is where Clients from Hell comes in. They describe themselves as A collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers." However, I think that translates if you have anything to do with the design world, your schedule just got booked for the afternoon.

I've included a few of my favorites just from the first page, go check it out and read to your heart's content.

Can you move that logo up 1/63 of an inch?

-------------------------------------------

The art director had flown from the UK to Florida to take a shot of a beautiful old Ford Mustang. Back in the UK, the account manager says the client is unhappy with all the palm tree fronds.

Account Manager: “Couldn’t we just photoshop some of them out?”

Art Director: “Well, it’s not quite as easy as that, because if you look at the shot, there are reflections of the palm fronds in the car’s glistening bodywork. They’ll be harder to remove.”

Account Manager: [Slightly bewildered] ”Yes, but if you remove the actual palm fronds, then the reflection of them will disappear too.”

-------------------------------------------

I received a call from a prospective client yesterday. I knew it was going to be a long conversation when the first word out of her mouth were, “I’m not going to lie, I’m bipolar, but I’m taking medication so I should be able to get through this phone call.”

So after reading all of these. the real question is... Do you ever have the opposite experience? That something so incredibly good happens you can't believe it. Sadly, I think it is weighted Pretty heavily in the opposite direction.

Sorry for the Non-Post

2009-11-30T23:59:00.001-05:00

AMAZON

Sorry for the Non-Post here. I got a bit angry at the computer tonight and needed to take a break.

Well not really mad at THE computer, but more mad at Amazon. I am getting tired of them moving their prices up and down. Yes. Sometimes I have benefited for this, but most of the time I do not.

Todays example. I have been watching a present for someone on there. Price is $X usually. So during lunch I took a look at it and it was 1/3 lower. WOO HOO. I shall order tonight I tell myself (because I don't like to order stuff at work). When I get home I go to order it. The price is back to $X. Seriously? What changed? 3 hours. I just feel cheated by this business practice. So I went looking at found it at a different location and shall order it.

I know I will probably shop there in the future, but I am just getting tired of it. I can live with a day to day switch (still though...) but a couple hours is ridiculous.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-25T16:02:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Thanksgiving. I will be MIA for a couple days doing all the traveling, family stuff, etc that comes with this time of the year. I shall be filling myself to the brim with some delecious turkey, mashed potatoes, rolls, and so on. Hope everyone has safe travels.

On a side note, does anyone else find it odd that when we are kids we draw turkeys with colorful tail feathers etc? Has anyone seen a turkey? They are dark brown... quite ugly too.

Decorate the tree in style

2009-11-24T10:00:00.003-05:00

Are you looking for that ornament that has a little extra style? A little tired of Santa holding a Coke, snowmen doing various things, or the Grinch stealing christmas in a miniature scale? Well Look no more. Dress up your tree with some acrylic game controller ornaments . Available in 6 colors in a set of 7 for $25.

I can only think of to things to improve it. I would offer a few more options. Possibly an all wiimote set (they would look like icicles hanging on the tree...) or maybe some single serving options since the NES controller is amazing.

Second, although the acrylic looks good, and had a direct connection to all of the plastics the real controllers are made out of... I want to see it in wood. Maybe out of a nice plywood or bamboo. This would give it kind of a more elegant look and instead of having brightly colored plastic on the tree you could have nice, warm, wood tones. I would be more driven to purchase it in wood and think it would look phenomenal on the tree.

Hi

2009-11-23T23:10:00.000-05:00

I can't say I have been a fan of the Keep Calm and Carry on posters, but that doesn't mean you can't get some other great things from the Keep Calm Gallery. They have a huge amount of great posters. But that's not all. They also have tea towels, mugs, and Christmas Cards.

I saw these cards a few week ago, and they were just too perfect. My love for wood block printing and that handmade look just takes over. Plus, these cards would be somewhat non-denominational. Yes, they do feature an evergreen, and it doesn't matter how many times we tells our clients this, that doesn't mean Christmas. So you can get that wintery vibe along with the simple message of "HI". Pick some of them up today, get em early, and get them sent out before the holiday rush.

Apartment Therapy Holiday Giveaways!

2009-11-20T12:52:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. The Holidays? No, well yes, but that's not that point. Time for the Apartment Therapy Holiday Giveaways !

They have tons of great stuff to giveaway from each of their sites: AT, The Kitchen, Ohdeedoh, Unplgd, and Re-nest. Each giveaway starts on a specific day and is only up for a set amount of time. So get over there each day to check what is going on and enter to win.

Great Resource: Designers Toolbox

2009-11-19T23:59:00.000-05:00

When you are working on a project are you constantly looking for a few things to make your life easier and your designing faster? It could be anything from web safe areas in cross platform browsers in a PSD file, the actual elements to create different web mockups (all in PSD if you would like), document templates, or information on binding styles. If you are, and I am one of them, Designers Toolbox is for you.

I have known about this site for awhile and finally decided to let you in on my little secret. As I was browsing their site, looking for a few things to show as images, I got extremely mad at myself. A little while ago I was designing a CD cover for a friend. They are one of those things, that if I measure an actual one, somehow, the size still is not right. So I wanted a template. I looked ALL over, finally found one, had to change a bunch of crap, etc. I should have just went to my trusty Designers Toolbox. Because they have one, along with other common DVD booklet styles etc. So mad.

So the lesson learned here, is if you have a great resource, like this one, go to it first and use it. It'll save you a lot of time, effort, and frustration.

2009 Word of the Year

2009-11-18T21:00:00.001-05:00

Each year the New Oxford American Dictionary makes a big announcement as the year comes to close, the new WOTY (Word of the Year). So, our 2009 WOTY is

unfriend

"unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook."

I find it pretty amazing that social network is so ingrained as a part of our lives now that not only can a term created in Facebook be added to the dictionary, but it can be their word of the year. Here is a bit they had to say on why they made their choice:

“It has both currency and potential longevity,” notes Christine Lindberg, Senior Lexicographer for Oxford’s US dictionary program. “In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year. Most “un-” prefixed words are adjectives (unacceptable, unpleasant), and there are certainly some familiar “un-” verbs (uncap, unpack), but “unfriend” is different from the norm. It assumes a verb sense of “friend” that is really not used (at least not since maybe the 17th century!). Unfriend has real lex-appeal.”

So here's to you 2009 WOTY, good job at making your way to the top. Hopefully now we don't do something to make you mad and you unfriend us.

[via OUP Blog]

L is for "Learn Your Alphabet"

2009-11-17T13:05:00.008-05:00

I came across this great keyboard from Chris Delorenzo today. Love the illustrations and then concept of using some updated images to teaching the ABC's (we can only learn A is for Apple so many times). Here is a bit of information from their website:

We used to learn our alphabets by reading those classroom banners that associated each letter with an animal or object. These days as kids become increasingly computer dependent at an early age I thought it was about time to adapt an old method to a new medium.

From cultural icons to greek mythology, this keyboard sticker set will advance the alphabetical knowledge of any child, or adult.

So I do have a few problems with this though. I studied a lot of information on child development and reading for my senior thesis, and if this is intended to help kids and not just be fun stickers for your adult keyboard it seems like you would need the letters there as some reinforcement. This wouldn't be as bad with "F is for Fox" since kids know what foxes look like. But when you start running into "B is for Bowie" a kid is not going to know Bowie and may forget that that IS Bowie, and then not able to find the B key.

Also, I know I said I really like these illustrations, but they felt really familiar to me. After staring at it for a few minutes, I realized why. They are in the same style and color palette as the "Things I like" Poster from Richard Perez. Then as I looked closer I noticed V is for Vampire, and that IS Richard's drawing from his poster. I didn't see on the website that they collaborated on this, but I'll send them a message and see what's up.

I got a hold of Chris and some of his inspiration did come from Richard's work. His idea was to take different influences from designers to have it a bit of a multi generational compilation with the ladybug referencing Charlie Harper etc.

Anyone know what Q is? I can't figure that one out.

[via AT]

Alan Peters

2009-11-16T19:11:00.001-05:00

These Logos by Alan Peters recently caught my eye. It could be that they are really great logos, have cool little creatures in them, or maybe it's the ham. Most likely it's all three. Go check out the rest of his portfolio. Really top notch logo and illustration work.

"My Little Getaway" for Sale

2009-11-12T23:38:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone, my new print "My Little Getaway" is now up for sale in my etsy store. Go check our the other photos over there and read a bit about what was in my mind when I made this print.

I really hope you like it, and maybe think about purchasing one, jazz up your walls with some art, or jazz up someone else's, the holiday season will be here in no time.

$12 over at etsy or print society

Dear Adobe:

2009-11-11T19:02:00.000-05:00

This has been around the block a few times, but I recently pulled up the link for a friend of mine.

What would you say to Adobe if you could tell them what you didn't like about their software?

Well you can, you can go to Dear Adobe and type in your gripe. As people view random ones, they can give agree and disagree with the problems you have. The best part is Adobe does actually look at this, and sometimes fixes the problems.

I know I have entered a few, and could probably spend all day putting new ones in.

My Yeti

2009-11-10T23:30:00.000-05:00

I have been meaning to get this posted for awhile, but I have been way too lazy.

This great print of a Yeti might look a little familiar to you. It was sent to me from Gregory who made the great alphabet print from before. We'd been chatting back and forth about print making and a set of 3 of these showed up in my mail. One as a xylene transfer (like the alphabet poster) and 2 block prints. This was his first try at cutting lino and I think it came out really good.

Now I just gotta figure out where to put it. It looks good right there on my desk, but it wouldn't survive there for long.

Check out his etsy store as well, looks like he has been working on his lino more and has some cards up as well.

Thanks Gregory!

Comments

2009-11-09T21:57:00.002-05:00

New way to Comment!

Hey everyone. A bit of slack-daiquiri today. Burnt out in general from upgrading my computer and my actual desk (pics of the new one I made at some point) and being mad at the cable company. There will be a real post tomorrow.

But, I did change a few things in the code on the blog. There is now a link to add comments at the end of each post. Previously there was only the link next to the little text bubble at the top of each post. It looked sleek, but thought maybe a lot of people didn't see it, and maybe didn't know they could comment. So, let me know you're out there every once in awhile. It also says who wrote the post, this is there so that if I ever expand the blog to be collaborative, you know who said what. Little upgrades here and there.

Diana Mini

2009-11-05T16:09:00.001-05:00

Ok, so I don't know how this wasn't on my radar. Especially since I was just looking at lomo camera recently.

Behold, the Diana Mini! It uses 35mm film and can shoot in square of rectangle format. It shoots in a half frame format, so if you have a roll for 24, you get 48, roll of 36, you get 72. It also has the 2 prong flash adapter that Diana's use. ( link to the lomo, but it seems to not be working)

So now for the negative. It does not come with a flash (those are $60 extra). The camera itself costs $60, which is just as much as a full sized version. Plus, here's the real downer, it is not that good. Great review on Four Corners Dark and it made me really not want to pick one one. If I got one for free or super cheap, as eye candy, yes, but paying $60 for something that doesn't work right, no.

Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar

2009-11-04T22:49:00.005-05:00

I got a pleasant e-mail update today in my inbox. The "Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar" 2010 Calendar is now available from Noa Bembibre.

I currently haver the 2009 version hanging to my right, and I am a big fan of it. Each month is features an unusual phrase with the month "hidden" in it. By hidden I mean highlighted in color, but the phrase contains it. So right now I have "I know Ovens Make Barbers" up.

The new one looks just as good, and since it is their 5th anniversary of the calendar there is a special edition size. I put a comparison shot up there, and the normal one is a good size, so the bigger one would be awesome.

Sadly, I have a real problem actually using calendars. The problem being I don't use them. I don't write things down in a planner or anything. My hand suffices for that. So a calendar for me has to be a piece of art as well. Which this one qualifies for sure. I have had the pentagram 365 calendar as well. Back to the point, I am sad I don't really use them. I barely use iCal. Although it would be really cool if you could skin it to look like this. I don't know if I can justify purchasing it again because of my usage problem. I am severly tempted to get one still though, because it is just beautiful in person.

Go get yours today. Spice up your desk/wall/office/cubicle/prison cell/car/ cardboard box. Or spice someone else's up and get it as a gift.