Though I have not been posting as often as I should be, I have been keeping very busy with projects in design, illustration and photography. The following two photos are from two recent photo adventures, one near my neighborhood and one true adventure to tornado ravaged Joplin, Missouri.
More photos and updates to come soon.
This week for Visual Thinking School at XPLANE we went on a found type photo walk where we took pictures of lettering near XPLANE’s office. The following are a few of what I came up with, and I’m realizing how much I’d love to do something like this every day. Let me know if you’re interested in joining me!
I’ve been working on some new projects that involve some lettering, marketing strategy, and business strategy which has been really exciting. More updates coming along in a little bit.
http://bit.ly/g3Ekz9
Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire Action
Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers — and as a counterpoint Tivo, which (until a recent court victory that tripled its stock price) appeared to be struggling.
http://bit.ly/grT2yP
An Infographic on Infographics
It seemed like only a matter of time before this one came out… (infographic)
http://bit.ly/gupHq2
The Most Awesomest Thing Ever
Every curious what’s more awesome: Godzilla or a Convention Oven? This is an incredibly fun site where you get to compare two things completely at random, and eventually decide which one thing is the most awesomest thing ever. The top ten most awesomest things ever of all time are (in order): Teleportation, Internet, Life, Time Travel, Oxygen, Music, Pizza, The Universe, Earth, and Cleavage. How do you feel about the order of that list? Anything you might want to add or take away?
http://bit.ly/e8s5mh
Where Did Your Tax Dollars Go?
It seems like this year more than ever there are a ton of infographics out there visually describing where our tax dollars are spent – many of them are interactive and many more seem to try too hard to be creative while missing the simple answer. This simple bar chart shows you how much money is spent on a variety of issues and also lets you know how big your share of the federal debt is. (infographic)
http://bit.ly/ftuKsy
Housing in the Born Refurbishment
This link on Arch Daily truly makes a 366 square foot apartment feel like a palace be re-imagining how to set up the living space. Looks like a great idea for increased space until you realize how absolutely terrifying it would be to sleep on that bed!
With the new job, I’m starting to realize Brown Bag Lunches might become a bi-monthly affair – with weekly posts during slower times. It’s getting a bit difficult to be able to search through enough links and really have a great opportunity to siphon out the great from the good – and give valid explanations as to why certain sites, videos and links were chosen. Also, have you noticed the new Brown Bag Lunch photos? I’ll try to actually make a delicious lunch once every few weeks & photograph it for this intro; if it’s delicious and beautiful enough maybe I’ll start a recipe section of the blog too! Would you be into that?
Anyway, after a short hiatus, here are this weeks links:
http://bit.ly/dQbQ18
Trillions
This is a short film (a fast paced preview of a larger effort) by MAYA Design created to put some perspective on the invisible but fast approaching challenges and opportunities in the pervasive computing age. This video asks us, how big is a trillion? (3:00 minutes)
http://bit.ly/fnT4Ea
IDEO Global Chain Reaction
Probably the world’s largest Rube Goldberg machine – not only in that it travels from New York to Munich to Chicago to San Francisco to Shanghai to Boston and more, but also because it takes longer than 14 minutes to complete. (14:31 minutes)
http://bit.ly/ep4Ael
NPR, Android and You
NPR’s Android application is opensource, allowing all developers and people to contribute to its awesomeness. This low-fi/whiteboard video is a testament to how “easily” it can be edited and changed with your ideas. (1:33 minutes)
http://bit.ly/ed4mns
Venice Backstage
An informational, beautiful, video about Venice’s history and how it is able to function. (18:15 minutes)
http://bit.ly/e9E733
Comic Sans Criminal
You’ve probably heard about how much graphic designers despise Comic Sans. If you don’t know or understand why we generally dislike it, check out this website & sign the petition to reconsider when attempting to use Comic Sans. (website)
http://bit.ly/hPt8TB
Neutra Face: An Ode to a Typeface
Here’s an oldie but a goodie, a typographic parody to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” that pays homage to the typeface “Neutra.” It features such outstanding lyrics as:
Thought about Futura but the em space was to wide
not even when condensed,believe me I’ve already tried
Gill sans the “g” is wack when it’s in lowercase
Avante Garde you make me hard but like Helvetica you’ve been played (4:05 minutes)
Sometimes when I have a few minutes of spare time I find materials around my apartment and quickly doodle or paint a gift for a friend or family member – this one’s a surprise and still in progress…
http://bit.ly/gynva1
Pixels
Imagine if pixelated retro Nintendo games took over Manhattan (and eventually the world) – causing everything to go square-shaped. (2:35 minutes)
http://bit.ly/g96BWK
Art On Vintage Globes
Really beautiful decoupaged vintage globes – awesome concepts and typography, really beautiful and fun typography. And, hey! It’s not a video so you can just glance quickly! (I’m realizing that I’ve posted too many videos during Brown Bag Lunches recently.)
http://bit.ly/hRclZn
Aimee Mullins: The Opportunity of Adversity
After last weeks post on Aimee Mullins and her 12 pairs of legs I decided to research her a bit more. She helps people realize that we can empower people who might otherwise be limited by the words and names we call them. While she would hate to have me call her inspiring, I can’t think of a better word for how she gives hope to people who might otherwise be ignored by society; how by not judging these people, rather, realizing everybody’s possibility and potential gives everybody hope through how they are rare and unique.
Implicit in this phrase of “overcoming adversity” is the idea that success or happiness is about emerging on the other side of a challenging experience unscathed or unmarked by the experience. …But in fact we are changed, we are marked – of course – by a challenge. Weather physically or emotionally or both, and I’m going to suggest that this is a good thing. Adversity isn’t an obstacle we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It’s part of our life. …The question isn’t whether or not you’re going to meet adversity, but how we’re going too meet it. (21:58 minutes)
http://bit.ly/fe6Vkv
Teaching Kids Design Thinking
Maybe we’re approaching the American education system’s mediocre test scores wrong – maybe we shouldn’t be competing with the rest of the world the get the answer right, rather they need to better understand the way designers think. They need to understand collaboration, teamwork and how to solve really complex, non-linear problems; our children must master systems-thinking to envision multiple methods for addressing complex challenges like renewable energy, world hunger, climate change, and ultimately, the design of a better world. (Article)
http://bit.ly/h7P2G1
The Science of Kissing
Really fun video by GOOD Magazine about the Science of Kissing, inspired by Sheril Kirshenbaum’s book, The Science of Kissing. (1:52 minutes)
http://bit.ly/dKia2v
A Brief History of Title Design
Quick video from South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive 2011 captures the history of movie title design – beautiful and inspiring work by tons of famous movies, both recent and in the past. (2:07 minutes)
http://bit.ly/fNy5j2
Parts & Labor
I ran into this video on the front page of Vimeo and totally flipped out when I realized the star was one of my close friends from elementary school who I’ve totally lost touch with until recently on Facebook. Congrats Tipper Newton! (9:46 minutes)
I’ve been working quickly on an informational flyer for Operation Food Search’s trivia night, coming up in April. If you’re in St. Louis and would like to grab a table with some friends, let me know! It’s such a great cause!
Wow! It’s been a while.
A whole lot has happened since my last brown bag lunch links from mid-February. I’ve started a new job, doing communications and marketing for a local St. Louis non-profit organization. It’s an interesting change of pace from Kendeo – significantly more writing than design, and following strict brand standards rather than making them up as I go. It’s going to be an incredible learning experience in everything from Press Releases and Policy to the difference between 501C(3) and 501C(4) organizations, I’m excited to get challenge myself in new fields.
I absolutely intend to keep Brown Bag lunches going as well as a steady stream of freelance design & strategy work to keep my typographic obsessions and passion for doodling going strong. Let me know if you need anything designed or hear of any other opportunities!
Enjoy this week’s links:
http://bit.ly/eakjdw
Live the Language
A series of really beautiful videos that capture the essence of Paris, London, Barcelona and Beijing through typography. (Four videos that are each around 2:00 minutes)
http://bit.ly/gYzVlE
About by House Industries
This is really a sales video for House Industries (a type foundry), but its absolutely beautiful and helps you appreciate the work that (might) go into making the typefaces you use on a daily basis. (House Industries is the genius behind the font Neutraface, amongst others. If you haven’t seen this Lady Gaga Pokerface parody for Neutraface, it’s a must see: http://bit.ly/hPt8TB) (3:53 minutes)
http://bit.ly/eZysqE
Tobias Frere-Jones for Design Indaba
Anybody who knows me knows that I have an enormous crush on both Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, if for nothing other than Archer (What is Archer?). Here Tobias showcases some of his experimental type design – things we might not otherwise be able to see. (3 parts – watch part 1, then 3, then 2 – 4 & 5 are repeats: 5:42, 10:19, 8:42)
http://bit.ly/efPJeY
Aimee Mullins and her 12 Pairs of Legs
Anything that combines TED with Alexander McQueen is absolutely going to make my day. Aimee is a double amputee who takes the idea of being disabled and turns it on it’s head – she proves that disabilities can truly make people superhuman. (10:02 minutes)
http://bit.ly/gkqgaz
JR’s Ted Prize Wish
A follow up post to the video I posted on February 8th about photographer J.R. winning the TED prize. He accepted his prize at TED just a few days ago and encourages us all to use art to turn the world inside out. You can start to change the world, yourself, by uploading photos to www.insideoutproject.net and posting your own posters, just like JR. (24:09 minutes)
http://bit.ly/gp2Edd
@Jack (Jack Dorsey): The Power of Curiosity & Inspiration
Jack Dorsey talks about his love and passion for data visualization, disinterest in podcasts, and the birth of Twitter. (60:14 minutes, audio only)
http://bit.ly/gMyfez
The Engagement
It feels a bit bizarre to be posting a Fancy Feast commercial onto this blog, but every time this ad comes up on Hulu I love it more and more. Maybe I’m just a helpless romantic, or maybe tiny white kittens are just too adorably cute when they roll on their back and reach out to say hi, either way, it’s only a minute and hopefully you’ll love it too. (1:00 minute) UPDATE! I found the 2:42 minute extended version that I originally fell in love with: Click here to watch
http://gaw.kr/eWxvY6
The World’s First Goateed Robot is Unbelievably Creepy
Robot link of the week! Amen to the title, and also, how crazy is it that robots can be so very much like real-life creepy people. Of course robot inventors mimic the creepy people before the less-creepy! (0:55 minutes)
So sorry about being so flaky about updating this blog – will get an in-depth update soon! Enjoy this doodle of Emma Watson from Italian Vogue in the mean time. Brown bag lunches will resume next week, get excited!
Sometimes when I have a few minutes of spare time I find materials around my apartment and quickly doodle or paint a gift for a friend or family member – more often than not, it’s for one of my nieces. Get excited to be getting this little wooden block in the mail soon, Sarah, Tim, Jenna & Samantha!
Seven more links for seven more days:
http://bit.ly/fLIWqK
The Mac’s Inventor’s Deathbed Gift: An Immortal Lesson in Design for His Son
An article on design, language, and aging that gives an intimately human glance into the life of the man who invented click-and-drag. (Article)
http://bit.ly/gtDDIU
2011 TED Prize Winner: JR
Last year the TED Prize went to Jamie Oliver for his attempt to change the face of school food throughout the UK & America, this year it’s photographer JR. In conflict driven countries, he photographs everyday people playing their own caricatures of how they are viewed from Paris. He then prints them larger than life on the walls of Paris, Israel, Brazil, and other locations. People are no longer simply what the media portrays them as – they are real people from these conflict driven lands. (4:58 minutes)
http://bit.ly/i8BAGz
The Doodle Revolution at Duarte Design
Sunni Brown, co-author of Gamestorming, gives her TEDX presentation to the staff at Duarte Design. Science behind why we need visuals in our note-taking and why doodling should be accepted – and promoted – through education & business. (30:23 minutes)
http://bit.ly/gsm2vl
World Builder
A strange man uses holographic tools to rebuild a memory for the woman he loves. (9:16 minutes)
http://bit.ly/eqkV3v
Balloon Rescue
Dude on a bike, with a helmet cam running, does something amazing, sweet, and awesome. Thanks @Keaggy! (0:36 minutes)
http://bit.ly/fqDPuB
Uplifting Robot Story
Story of a boy who is able to use modern technology to attend classes for the first time. Thanks @nickmain! (2:22 minutes)
http://bit.ly/ihce9pz
Puppy Bowl Highlights
To anybody who missed it Sunday or has (somehow) not yet heard about the Puppy Bowl, check out this incredibly adorable playlist of puppy bowl highlights.
…I was doing my best to understand and visualize the IT contracting process of a large healthcare system. It’s still very much a work in progress, but some pieces are coming together more quickly than others. The following is a tiny fraction of a large (24″x36″) poster. It’s an exciting project to finally have coming together!
I’ll try to keep y’all up to date with ongoing projects that I can share. I have some really exciting stuff coming up that I can’t wait for you to see!
Seven links to help you get through the next seven days:
http://bit.ly/eDqamB
RSA Animate – Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts (RSA) has been developing a lot of videos of folks drawing on a whiteboard as a speech is being delivered, there are a slew of them on youtube, and they’re all incredible not only for the video style and whiteboard illustration but for the intellectual content. This particular link is a clip from a speech Daniel Pink (NY Times bestseller) gave promoting his newest book entitled “Drive: The Surprising Truth about what Motivates Us.” It’s a pleasure to watch and truly makes you reexamine corporate reward structures while also motivating you to get up and draw.
http://bit.ly/gpyPGf
What if Walt Disney produced “UP” in the 1960s?
A fake trailer to what UP might have been in the era of “The Love Bug,” “The Absent-Minded Professor” and “The Monkey’s Uncle.” As quoted in the film’s info: Starring Spencer Tracy and Kirk Douglas, “Up!” followed the oddball escapades of the elderly widower, Carl Fredricksen, and his earnest band of misfits as they traveled through the wilds of South America.
http://huff.to/ii15My
Who Gives the Best Info? A Short History of Information Design by Paula Scher
It seems there’s been a surge of interest in information design in the past few years, and companies like Fast Company even offer an “infographic of the day.” Is this new interest just some hot new trend? No, information design has always been around, you probably even create information graphics at your job every day but might not realize it! Read and learn about some interesting historical information graphics.
http://bit.ly/fnVq5F
Today Show January 1994…What is the Internet?
It’s amazing how much can change in 15 years. Bryant Gumbel & Katie Couric try to figure out what the internet is, how to say an e-mail address, and whether the “at” symbol means “at,” “about,” or “around.”
http://bit.ly/ib3rrO
Thomas Thwaites: How I Built a Toaster – From Scratch
Robot-ish link of the week… It takes an entire civilization to build a toaster. Designer Thomas Thwaites found out the hard way, by attempting to build one from scratch: mining ore for steel, deriving plastic from oil … it’s frankly amazing he got as far as he got. A parable of our interconnected society, for designers and consumers alike.
http://kck.st/fdUWOd
The Shape of Design by Frank Chimero
Help designer & speaker Frank Chimero fund his new book idea, “The Shape of Design,” on Kickstarter. As Frank says: …this book aims to look at the mindset and worldview that designing develops in order to answer one big, important question: How can we make things that help all of us live better? Also, the promotional video is kind of pretty. (Check out his lecture on “The Shape of Design” here: http://bit.ly/eY3nsH)
http://bit.ly/i9ADOp
Crow & Kitten are Friends
A surprising and adorable story of a mother crow who adopts an orphaned baby kitten. “…’Cause if a crow can take care of a kitten, it shows us that two strangers meetin’ can get along with each other…” Thanks to Nick Main for finding this one!
A few years ago when I worked at XPLANE, we used to spend every Tuesday together at noon in front of a projector watching inspirational videos, clips, and presentations that we had found throughout the week. We called this our “Brown Bag” lunch, and I’ve been missing it ever since. I’ve decided to bring it back here.
Every Tuesday I will bring together a list of links that I found interesting throughout the week and I think you might like. Most weeks, as tradition would have it, will include something about robots end with an adorable animal video – or better yet, animals of different species coming together in friendship.
Here we go!
http://bit.ly/eh8BoM
Visualizing MLK’s “I Have A Dream…” Speech by Duarte Design
Nancy Duarte takes Dr. King’s most famous speech and visualizes how his thoughts crisscross between the present state and the vision state. On a more molecular level, she uses color to characterize the variety of phrases he uses throughout the speech.
http://bit.ly/ghjERS
NYC Mindrelic Timelapse
Beautiful Timeplapse photography of New York City. It’s interesting how you almost never see somebody pan during timelapse, and how different the effect is.
http://bit.ly/f3qgUn
Gamestorming by XPLANE
XPLANE uses low technology to create a gorgeous video to explain how the future of business is changing from physical to digital, from bricks to clicks, and from man power to mind power. I also like this video because I’m in it!
http://bit.ly/idEF3L
Miagranov by Ominim Records
Visually stunning music video that incorporates typography with education about planets, cloud types, and more.
http://bit.ly/dOLs7a
Grandma’s Superhero Therapy by Sacha Goldberger
The best gift a professional creative director/photographer could give his 91-year old depressed grandmother, cheer her up by shooting a series of photographs where she is shown off as the extreme superhero she is.
http://bit.ly/eEY4EN
Festo – Bionic Learning Network 2009
Robot link of the week. Bionic projects in technical automation – also known as awesome flying robot penguins.
http://bit.ly/eqltdf
Labrador & Dolphin swim together
As promised, interspecies animal friendship!
Some of my old coworkers at XPLANE have put together a book about how the future of work is about low-tech, human centered design being used to create new business models and innovation. Their video to sell the book is: http://vimeo.com/18880751 (I think you might recognize a familiar face throughout the video!)
It’s a great concept and displays an incredibly innovative way of thinking and working that’s used on a daily basis for companies like XPLANE and Kendeo. Just yesterday, for example, I used these low-tech tools to help Ascension Health Information Services better understand their own IT Contracting process. When we walked into the office we had a high level view of what the process was from a previous meeting & we were able to use a framework, post it notes, and sharpies to go far in depth to better understand the complexities of the process.
If you’re interested in learning more about Gamestorming, please join XPLANE’s founder, Dave Gray, for a free webinar on Wednesday, January 26 at noon EST. Follow this link to register & get the meeting number: http://bit.ly/eaZkBu
Randy Nelson on Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age
The former Dean of Pixar University explains what schools must do to prepare students (and themselves) for new models in the workplace. The following is a transcript beginning at 5 minutes & 30 seconds – there’s a link to the video at the bottom of this post.
“Communication involves translation. If you are a technician and you’re trying to speak to an artist, if you just emit ‘tech,’ well, we all know what happens. You know, there’s a lot of eye rolling and then we’ll try to figure out later – get somebody to come in and translate that. If you know enough art as a technician to be able to do the translation at the sending end so it doesn’t have to be translated at the receiving end, you may actually be communicating.
“Communication isn’t something that the emitter can measure. I can’t say, I’m communicating well. They turned the mic on, they can hear me. But you can say, I understand. So nobody can declare themselves as being articulate, but a listener can say, I think I got that. I understand what you mean.
“So people who are interested are much more willing to work on the communication, as a destination, not as a source. And breadth, a broad range of experience in the world is a thing that fuels that. If I’ve studied art even though I’m primarily a programmer, I’ve got an edge. I’m much more readily going to be able to talk to the artist and understand what their issues are. And out of that naturally comes a rekindling of my interests in the things that they’re passionate about.
“Depth, breadth, communication.”
