Air cooled People

I ran across these ads from 1963 while touring the Antique Trove. This place is one of my favorites when it comes to finding antiques and collectables. You really have to love Volkswagen.

It's Not Just The Alphabet

Have you ever really taken the time to look at a word? To see it as art? Just think of the impact that is portrayed by the way a letter is curved, stretched, shrunk, and made bigger. It gets a certain point across just by the way it looks. In the book Typography Workbook by Timothy Samara there are endless demonstrations of how to communicate with type. It shows the mechanics, form and function of a letter as well as how type and image can be integrated.

Visual Thinking

If you asked a classroom of elementary school-aged children for a show of hands as to who among them is an artist, you can bet that nearly every hand is raised. As children we love to draw and have not yet developed a fear of our art being critiqued. Somewhere around the time when drawing is no longer part of our daily learning - and instead becomes an "elective" - many people become uncomfortable drawing, especially in front of others. The book "The Back of the Napkin" offers a bit of pen-to-paper therapy for people who have internalized the statement, "I can't draw." The author writes from the perspective that any problem can be made clearer with a picture and that the use of computer-generated graphics (aka clip art) causes us to limit our visualization of creative solutions.

10 really useful iPhone tips

I've noticed lately that, while the iPhone has a very broad appeal, it seems to have been adopted particularly quickly by marketing and advertising professionals.  The iPhone has so many different uses, and if you have one, you know what I mean.  I have quite a few apps on my multiple home screens, so sometimes the 'phone' part of this little device becomes obscured by its other functions.  Part of this is because the phone is controlled almost entirely by 'virtual' buttons - so the tactile feel real buttons has been lost.  Here's a tip to get the tactile feel back to the main function of your iPhone: in Settings > General > Home Button, you can set a preference to make a double-click on your Home Button take you to your Favorites list.  The nice thing about this is that you can this without looking, scrolling, and tapping - like when you're driving :).  For more really useful tips, visit the Taptaptap blog here.

New York Holiday Spirit

If you are looking for one of many spectacular sites to see during the holiday season there is no place like New York. This photo taken by Gerald Brimacombe shows the illumination one will see when they visit Rockefeller Center. There is also a huge ice rink for all to come and skate away on while enjoying classical holiday music. Make sure to add a visit to Radio City Music Hall for a show of a lifetime!

Visual Presentation of Information

In his book “Beautiful Evidence,” Edward Tufte discusses how ready-made PowerPoint templates have the unintended consequence of weakening verbal and spatial thinking by replacing a thoughtful exchange of ideas with the reading of bullet points. Tufte aptly states, “PowerPoint allows speakers to pretend that they are giving a real talk, and audiences to pretend that they are listening.” A company’s marketing department does a great disservice to the organization when it becomes preoccupied with adhering to prepared format rather than evaluating the best method for delivering content.

Starts with a sketch

"Progress depends on how fast we can let go of the past"

This picture and quote above came from one of my most favorite brands John Deere and the book "Genuine Value" the John Deere Journey.

In the 1900's, most of the great ideas at John Deere would have been sketched with chalk on the shop floor and then tried in steel or wood. The factories at John Deere had rows of drafting tables where engineers hand-figured calculations before making scale layouts and drawings of their latest ideas.

Today I'm reminded once again of how important that sketch paper really is...

Jack of all Arts

Evgueni Naverniouk is a name that is probably unfamiliar to most, and that is truly a shame. He was born in Moscow then his family immigrated to Vancouver to make a better life for themselves. Evgueni is an extremely talented web designer, writer, graphic artist, and musician/composer. Pop over to his site and see for yourself. I would especially recommend the music section on his site where he tends to blend a little Paul Simon with Tangerine Dream to make a delightfully refreshing sound.

Santa's Come In All Mediums

Here is a beautiful example of someone who has the gift of wood carving. This Santa mask was carved from basswood, painted with oils and then sealed with an antique wash for that aged look. Very unique! Check out HGTV share my craft for more visions of creativity by Nay and others.

These Cards Are Anything But Wooden

If you are looking for a holiday card that will be displayed front and center on grandma's credenza, check out Night Owl Paper Goods. Their clever combination of retro imagery, colors and textures seem to create what I can only describe as the print design equivalence to holiday comfort food.