unsolicited opinions on random things
This gorgeous linen scarf is by my pal Avril Loreti. I get compliments every time I wear it, including earlier today. She makes the most wonderful things (remember these pillows?). Would you believe we went to high school together?
PS- I know I’ve been away for a while. But I’m back to blogging now!
Adobe recently asked a bunch of creative types “to express what Adobe means to them through their work. We asked them to play, experiment, hack, make, socialize, datafy, dimensionalize, illustrate, and mashup our logo any way they see fit as part of the Adobe logo remix.”
They called it the AdobeRemix Project, and posted the results on Behance (which is an Adobe product, of course).
That’s all fine and good, but the interesting part is how design agency Sagmeister & Walsh participated. Instead of submitting artwork, they decided to turn the challenge into a game – literally. Sagmeister and Walsh face off against each other on a gameshow, complete with cheesy host, judges, and ridiculous contraints. You can watch it all online.
I love these two and how they bring elements of play and fun to their work. Don’t they seem like they’re having the best time?
PS – Did you follow along with Jessica Walsh’s 40 Days of Dating project (with Timothy Goodman)? I was totally engrossed. It’s being made into a book. And a movie.
Here’s some weekend reading for you… Frank Chimero’s book, The Shape of Design, is available as a free download in a variety of eReader formats. His interview last week in The Great Discontent was soooooo good.
[photo of Frank Chimero by Julia Robbs]
I saw Jessica Hische give a presentation called “Upping Your Type Game” at An Event Apart in San Diego two weeks ago. It was fantastic – entertaining and full of helpful tips for choosing typefaces for your website project. She’s turned the talk into a blog post, and shared it on her website. Bookmarked.
[illustration by Jessica Hische]
Don’t you just love it when someone you admire and respect thinks that you are cool too? That happened to me about a month ago, when I received a lovely email from Alanna Cavanagh, the illustrator and printmaker. She told me that she loved the website I designed and built for The Soft Mechanic (aka my super amazing RMT Michelle Yee). I was tickled pink to hear that someone I think is so great in turn thought that my work was great. *blush!*
Alanna and I have something in common in our love for Michelle – she really is THE BEST. Alanna recently wrote more about how awesome Michelle is on her blog (and mentioned me in a small way too). What a lovely lovely post. Mutual admiration society, indeed.
[ps – according to this post on Alanna’s blog, her wildly popular holiday tea towels at the Bay have spawned a “capsule collection” at the Bay, available in April. I’m not exactly sure what a capsule collection is, but if she’s behind it, you know it’s going to be rad.]
[image of Alanna Cavanagh’s A Room of One’s Own print, hanging in the treatment room at Michelle’s home studio, c/o Alanna’s blog]
What could be better than returning home from a great mini holiday? Returning home from a great mini holiday to find some prezzies in the mail! My designer pal Luke sent me some of his “Don’t Stop Believing” Christmas cards (remember when I mentioned them a couple weeks ago?), and also included a very special “Last Christmas” record EP card. Luke, how did you know that’s one of my favourite Christmas tunes? The video is epic. (And ridiculous. Look at George Michael’s hair.)
Remember that time a few years ago when I took a one-day letterpress workshop, and totally sucked at it? Since then, I’ve had HUGE respect for those that do their own printing well. Add Luke Despatie to that group. And, he was recently featured on the cover of Design Edge Canada as one of “Ten Young Designers To Watch”. Buy Luke’s letterpress prints online on his Etsy shop.
I sat with a cup of coffee this morning, watching this video of Jason Santa Maria’s recent Creative Mornings talk all about “saying no”. Jason Santa Maria is a big deal in the web design world, and rightly so. His work is amazing, and he’s a talented writer and speaker.
I’ve read/seen other creative people talk about the power of saying no to projects/clients/things, but this talk is a little different. Jason Santa Maria is wonderfully honest about the fear of saying no (even at his level of expertise and acclaim), and realistic about real-world issues (“do I need the money”). He charts the path he took to where he is now, and admits to making many mistakes.
I particularly enjoy the last few minutes, where he outlines his process for identifying potential projects/clients/things that he should say “no” to. This video is a must-watch for any creative professional.
Wow, and I thought I was a bit of a coffee snob. There’s a whole world of fancy coffee out there just waiting for me! Check out this Compendious Coffee Chart print by Pop Chart Lab – wouldn’t this be a great gift for a coffee lover? Tip – if you view it on the website, you can zoom in on each section.
Check out Pop Chart’s other awesome prints, including Culinary Tools, Beer, Baseball, and even Hollywood Haircuts!
I love these graphic posters that explain complex philosophical concepts with simple shapes, all by British graphic designer Genis Carreras.
[via Smashing Magazine’s email newsletter]
The fabulous Mike Monteiro has written a book called Design Is A Job through the List Apart/Book Apart series. I’m ordering a copy – seems like a must-read for independent designers and creatives. And if you haven’t seen it (and even if you have, it’s so worth a revisit), check out Monteiro’s San Fran Creative Mornings presentation F*ck You. Pay Me.
PS – have you seen the World’s Longest Invoice?