Older Posts
March 2012
> Mid-Century Awesome – Mad Men Making Modern: 03/07/12 - The Mid-century “modern” design used on Mad Men is a big part of the fun of watching the show. This 1958 film by the Jam Handy Organization is both a design inspiration and wonderfully optimistic time capsule.
> SIRI Walks Into Bar and Meets HAL 9000 – Concept Check Please…: 03/05/12 - Design and animation software continues to grow in complexity, but is it helping us to better leverage our creative skills or simply making unoriginal and uninspired work look more professional?
January 2012
> Collaboration vs. Groupthink – A Creative’s Opinion: 01/23/12 - In an opinion column (“Rise Of The New Groupthink,” Sunday Review - New York Times, January 15, 2012), Susan Cain argues that creative people can only innovate in solitude. Really? A few thoughts from someone who has worked with “creative people” for 20 years.
November 2011
> Design For My Future Self – Part 2: 11/22/11 - Designing a website to promote a new book on “aging in place” or design for later life has me thinking again about this specific area of design focus – design for aging boomers.
> Closed For The Season: 11/20/11 - Visiting a lost-in-time Maine beach town in the off-season – photos of motels, inns and vintage signage.
October 2011
> Media Branding’s Digital Conundrum Is So Today… Ready For Future Challenges?: 10/02/11 - Developing and implementing creative strategy for media brands – planning with an eye for what’s next.
September 2011
> Gimme Shelter: 9/24/11 - Photographing fanciful shelters built by children in a Maine forest – contemplating how the structures reflect the real world.
August 2011
> Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 7: 8/14/11 - Observations on instructional drawings – a vintage illustration depicting hand-to-hand combat is the inspiration for this brief story on trust – trust in information presented in visual guides.
> Wild Temperature Swings – Loving the Hots, Warms and Cools: 8/7/11 - The importance of experiencing colors in order to truly understand them – keeping a personal digital color reference library instead of relying on the internet for color research.
July 2011
> Bringing Soulful Back, A Tactile Approach To Design: 7/4/11 - Incorporating found textures and patterns into motion graphic projects – adding instant depth and personality in the process.
May 2011
> Mind All Your Ps And Qs While You Still Can: 5/16/11 - The art of cursive, like shorthand, may soon be a quaint relic of yesteryear.
April 2011
> Designing For An Alternate Reality – All Aboard The Transmedia Train: 4/28/11 - Looking for design’s place in an emerging entertainment format – and finding it everywhere.
> How A Gazillion Readers Made Me A Better Designer: 4/21/11 - Using viewer feedback and insight gathered from blog to better inform your design process and presentations
> Remember The Future?: 4/18/11 - contemplating new uses for old design concepts and drawings – digitally archiving film slides before they deteriorate and the work is lost forever
> Six Covers In Search Of A Book : 04/14/11 – Using narrative imagery to design book covers – for books that haven’t been written.
March 2011
> Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 6 : 03/30/11 – Souvenirs and keepsakes from a collection take on new meaning over time – an “installation” of sketches and notes becomes the subject of this sixth part in a series.
> Naoki Terada – Freshly Cut : 03/15/11 – As a follow-up to the previous post on creating story boards without using software, a post on the cut paper scale models of Japanese designer Naoki Terada – inspiration for animation
> Now Ready for Boarding – Please Turn Off All Electronic Devices : 03/14/11 – Creating motion design story boards without the help of software – pen, marker, photography and modeling examples
> Black & White and Blues – Three Takes, Two Colors : 03/06/11 – Winter blahs expressed in black and white – inspiration from photography, film and illustration.
February 2011
> Six Tips for Hitting a Design Brainstorm Bull’s-Eye : 02/28/11 – Suggestions for improving quality and quantity of useful and innovative ideas in design and creative brainstorms.
> A Design “Education” With Fries and a Large Soda : 02/12/11 – The false promise of a 3-month design “education” – why learning to be a designer isn’t the same as learning to use software
> Truth In Advertising …And Production …And Design : 02/06/11 – A little inside humor – videos from the web
> Hurry Up And Wait – How To Patiently Register A Trademark For Under $300 : 02/04/11 – Easy steps necessary for applying, links to helpful information, overview of process – no lawyer necessary – DO IT YOURSELF
January 2011
> Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 5 : 01/29/11 – Renaissance still life painting used as inspiration for a film shoot – fifth in a series
> Has Anyone Seen the Remote? Allowing Creative Employees to Work Via the Web is Smart, Efficient and Easily Manageable: 01/23/11 – Utilizing web-based collaboration and screen sharing tools
> The Skinny on Briefs – How to Write Creative Direction for Designers: 01/09/11 – Constructing thorough and insightful creative briefs for design projects
December 2010
> Good-Bye to All That – Pining for The New Year: 12/30/10 – New Year’s Eve in NYC – photos of holidays past.
> Lost in China, a Follow-Up: 12/26/10 – a follow-up to Matt Gross’ letter to Chongqing, China – New York Times travel
> Two or Three On A Match: 12/24/10 – two and three color printed matchbox covers from mid-century Belgium
> In Search of Color: 12/22/10 – finding inspiration in the light and colors of the Maine island of Monhegan
>The Customer Is Always Right-Wing – What To Do?: 12/06/10 - Presenting fresh or cutting edge designs and concepts to clients with conservative taste – how to make sure they resonate
October 2010
>Employee vs. Independent Contractor – The Classification Saga Continues : 10/28/10 - Proposed laws and fines to stop employer misclassification of employees – further notes from the business owner’s perspective
>Drawing From Experience: 10/10/10 - Keeping a sketchbook while on vacation – drawing, painting and retaining travel memories – give the camera a break
>Contemplating Patterns Over Vinho Verde : 10/04/10 - Portuguese tiles provide endless variations of color and pattern on houses, storefronts, churches and public buildings in Portugal – a posting of 25 photographs from a recent trip to Lisbon and the country’s southern coast
August 2010
>Good, Old-Fashioned & Computer Animated : 8/29/10 - My Dog Tulip – a film that was drawn by hand with the help of computer software – will hopefully bring more idiosyncratic stories, by a wider range of animators, to the screen
>10 More Lessons Learned From Running a Creative Business : 8/23/10 - more lessons, tips and advice on running a creative business
>10 Lessons Learned From Running a Creative Business : 8/15/10 - lessons, tips and advice gleaned from running a creative business for 11 years – to be continued…
July 2010
>No Glamour In The Slammer : 7/22/10 - images from the Ohio State Reformatory (OSR) in Mansfield, Ohio
>MAD MMX and Visible Humans : 7/14/10 - cadavers, medical research and motion graphic design
>Obsessed and Diffused : 7/5/10 - the rituals of preparation for new projects
>Chaos and Order, or What Big Bambu Taught Me : 7/1/10 - a visit to the Met, a site-specific bamboo installation by Mike and Doug Starn and a Sol LeWitt sculpture inspire a little thinking about systems, structure, order and perception
June 2010
>Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 4 : 6/6/10 - a set of vintage Spanish postcards – written, but never sent – is a mystery and an anonymous story
May 2010
>What Would William Morris Have To Say Now ? : 5/31/10 - wondering what Morris would think about computers as design tools – samples of textile, china and furniture
> Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 3: 5/5/10 - stories told with randomly grouped travel photos – third in a series
April 2010
> Freelancing 101.2 – Employee vs. Contractor: 4/5/10 - classifying freelance designers and animators as either employees or independent contractors – from the I.R.S., employer and freelancer perspectives
> Bahrani’s Plastic Bag: 4/1/10 - Ramin Bahrani’s short film “Plastic Bag” – recycled from “American Beauty” but compelling and impactful
March 2010
> Feasts For The Eyes – Part 2: 3/22/10 - tips for photographing food
February 2010
> Freelancing 101.1 – Do’s and Dont’s: 2/28/10 - pointers for freelance designers and animators
> Feasts For The Eyes: 2/13/10 – art, design and the culinary world
> Designing For My Future Self – A Prologue: 2/11/10 – looking at design from a more mature perspective and thinking ahead about the type of design I’d like to see and have available to me in the future
> Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 2: 2/11/10 – story told with photos – second in a series
> Curious Anonymous Stories – Part 1: 2/7/10 – stories told with randomly grouped photos
January 2010
> Michael Jackson, Louis Vuitton and Branding in the Wild, Wild East: 1/20/10 – Chinese business, design and branding without copyright protection, knockoff businesses in Shanghai and Beijing, logo look-alikes
> Renovations and Resolutions: 1/15/10 – taking a look back at a past house renovation and planning future projects
> Selling China Short: 1/11/10 – censorship in media and the future of Chinese business
> Art, Architecture and Enchiladas: 1/3/10 – Fort Worth, Texas, museums and restaurants
December 2009
> Trivial Pursuit With Chairman Mao: 12/19/09 – China business, the cult of Mao
> Lessons From The Commune: 12/11/09 – China travel, modern architecture near great wall
> Outmaneuvering Super Girl and the Great Firewall: 12/4/09 – China travel, addressing media promotion and censorship, CCTV
November 2009
> I’ll Take That To Go: 11/23/09 – China travel, dog meat and street food in Wuhan
> Over the Yangtze River and Through the Woods: 11/16/09 – China travel, a trip to the ancient village of AnYi
> Everybody Nanchang Tonight: 11/13/09 – China travel, working in the city of Nanchang
> Brainstorming in Technicolor: 11/4/09 – China travel, creativity and brainstorming
> Offal – Mostly Awful: 11/2/09 – China travel, Sichuan style Chinese food, eating adventurously
October 2009
> Walking, Standing and Other Risky Behaviors: 10/26/09 – China travel, commuting in Shanghai, traffic and congestion
> Wuzhen, The Village of Wu: 10/24/09 – China Travel, a day spent in a small Chinese village
> A Land of Lost Girls: 10/23/09 – China travel, Chinese university students and creativity in education
> Minnie, Kitty and Puzzling Chinese Names: 10/22/09 – China travel, use of western names by Chinese
> A Glimmer of Good Things To Come: 10/21/09 – China travel, Shanghai food
> Breakfast of Champions: 10/20/09 – China travel, 3Kou Branding, hotel in Shanghai
> And Just Like That… China: 10/19/09 – China travel related, the start of an extended business trip
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