Bill Gates: Data or Passion?
Tweet Last night I watched Bill Gates being interviewed on the Colbert Report. I was initially interested because I never really listened to Bill Gates talk before, at least not in a lengthy interview. While being loosely familiar with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, I was like, “what’s this guy up to these days, [...]
Music, Design, and White Space
Tweet As a designer, I’ve found a lot of times that people are afraid of white space. Like it’s a big scary monster or dragon or something. Why do we run away from it? Maybe its that we don’t understand or appreciate the value of it. White space. I often hear the words, “Can you [...]
Micro Empowerment
Tweet I attended a creative/arts conference last week in Chicago called Story. It was a great time with great speakers, and I walked away feeling creatively refueled. It was here that I learned about World Vision Micro. This is a creative micro loan giving process, where you are able to essentially “fund a loan” in [...]
“It’s a Major Award!”
Tweet Congratulations to Saint Creative for winning his first ever App Design Award! Last year, he worked on an App design for SOS Radio. It was a fun project and foray into the App design world. He found out this May that it was selected as a finalist for the 2012 Radio Ink Digital Awards, [...]
How we lose our creativity
Tweet “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” – Pablo Picasso I love this quote. I think it has larger implications about life then we think. I’m sure you’ve heard many adults say that they have zero artistic ability. That they couldn’t draw a stick [...]
The Irony (of Blogging and Social Media)
Tweet We live in a social media rich culture. Social everything. At times it’s hard to keep up, isn’t it? I was thinking about how most companies are expected to keep on blogging, tweeting, pinging, linking, liking, streaming, updating, and throwing stuff on “the Wall” to see what sticks. There’s more if you are a [...]
The Joys of Owning and Operating a Small Business
Tweet I feel the need to share with you some of the joys and challenges of navigating a small business. When people often ask me “How’s business going?” or “What’s it like being a business owner?”, I often tell them that it’s an adventure. That is, of course, the highly optimistic response. But it’s absolutely [...]
Buying Keeps the Ball Rollin’
Tweet The other day I had to pick up some 8″ reader board letters for a client. You know, the interchangeable letters you see outside on marquee signs, church signs, gas prices, etc. I didn’t need a whole set, but I was missing a few “E’s”, an “R”, an “F.” I needed five letters to [...]
My Favorite Logo
Tweet A lot of times, as designers, we have a favorite designer. Someone to admire, someone who inspires us to work harder. I am a big fan of Neal Ashby, Scott Hansen, Toni Hobbs and Jim Alleman. Or we have a favorite font. I’ve always been fond of Vintage Typewriter. (big shocker there!) And sometimes, [...]
Even Presidents Need to Brand Good.
Tweet Candidates are always debating and pointing out just how different (and better) they are from the next guy. Why then does all of their marketing speak and campaign logos come out looking the same? As a designer, I have always been slightly amused by presidential candidate branding, sloganeering, and logos. Is it just me, [...]
Rock Brand
Tweet Did you know that rock bands are a brand unto themselves? Were you aware that probably every band has a logo? Instantly your mind thinks “Rolling Stones tongue”, right? I love rock band logos. They are perhaps most recognizable and appreciated in the vinyl album format. Vinyl records are the greatest. Back in the [...]
Be Proud of your Brand
Tweet One thing I have noticed over years of image-observing is the semi-neglect or indifferent attitude that business’ sometimes have with their brand. Some do their best to protect and build it up, while others don’t really care all that much. Have you ever seen a logo printed poorly on a business card, or all [...]
Vámonos! 31 seconds of Brilliance
Tweet This commercial is amazing. It perfectly captures the art of advertising at it’s finest. Simple, funny, memorable. With the all-new 2012 Passat TDI Clean Diesel, you can drive almost 800 miles between refueling, so plan your road trips accordingly. “Buy me some chips while you’re in there.” Classic.
Steve Jobs on Death and Conventional Business Wisdom
Tweet I read today that Steve Jobs is being remembered like a “rock star.” His passing has a big ripple effect on many people around the world. We pay attention to what other famous people are saying about Steve Jobs and his life. Like Neil Diamond, who profoundly and simply said, “iSad.” Any creative company [...]
Things I learned at TEDx Detroit.
Tweet I have been going to the TEDx conference in Detroit for the past few years now. TEDx – Technology. Entertainment. Design. Or, condensed down, “Ideas worth spreading.” Attending TEDx is like eating a giant bowl of inspiration. Like being pummeled by inspiration. Inspiration concentrate. Yep, all in all, it’s pretty inspiring stuff. There are [...]
Leo Burnett was a Michigan boy
Tweet I was reading up on the famous ad man Leo Burnett today. You know, Leo Burnett of… Leo Burnett Worldwide – the American advertising company that was started in 1935 by the man himself. Well, Mr. Burnett was born in Michigan to a middle class family. Before he started his own firm in [...]
Passion Does Not Come Standard
Tweet I was at a new client meeting the other day. Introductory meetings are always fun, if not a bit awkward at times. “Hello. How are you? Nice weather today, huh? So, tell me a little more about your organization. How’s business, been keeping busy? Maybe we can help….” Blah, blah, blah, etc. Beyond [...]
Fonts Actually Give Life to our Words
Tweet Typography is powerful. The use of type through fonts, and font selection, is an important process. Fonts convey a message and they evoke emotional responses. And they do it subtlely and quietly. As a designer, I love fonts. One of my favorite things (about fonts) is when you see a font that perfectly matches [...]
Just Baked: A modern day Chocolat story
Tweet There is a local cupcake shop here in Metro Detroit called Just Baked. Once you get past any potential funny name connotations (ahem), then you will discover this place to be an amazing little gem. They just opened about 2 years ago, and they already have 5 locations. Way to be, you awesome cupcake [...]
There’s never a good time
Tweet Most of the time, we talk ourselves out of things. The more we think things over, the more “problematic” our ideas become. It’s that, or we go in the exact opposite direction and just jump into something. Usually, with most things in life, the timing never feels right. Whatever the dream, endeavor or event [...]
Flash Ads? Don’t Blink…
Tweet Ok, you’ve probably heard about the new craze that is “Flash Mobs”. But, have you heard about “Flash Ads”? Looks like BMW tried out a little ad experiment on German movie goers a few weeks ago. A giant Profoto Pro-7B was hidden behind the screen, which is a studio flash unit that pumps out [...]
The Day Old Bin
Tweet I think most people enjoy what is commonly known as the “Day Old Bin.” This is usually the food that did not sell yesterday, but is still ok to eat. Semi-fresh. There is a great Italian bakery near me, and I stop by the Day Old Bin often. They have pizza rolls, loaves of [...]
Follow, Follow, Follow
Tweet I think there is an innate desire inside all of us to follow something. Now, that could be following a dream, a cause, or something as innocuous as following directions. In any case, most of us live our lives fully aware of the notion that following is good and necessary. The thing about following is that [...]
