Should You Go To That Meeting?
IMHO work meetings involving more than two or three people are generally a waste of time and conference rooms should really be renamed “Nothing-Productive-Happening-Here” rooms. Most of the people present in any given meeting really don’t care about most of what is discussed most of the time. Meetings are a huge time suck. Luckily for […]
Good-bye to an Old Friend
Back when I started using computers for design, you were either a PageMaker person or you ran QuarkXPress. (Don’t even get me started on those fringe FreeHand fanatics—who did everything and anything in that one program.) I was a diehard QuarkXPress girl starting with version 2 all the way (and 20 some odd years later) […]
Even Caveman Can Do It
There was a girl in my sixth-grade class who loved horses. A lot. And she used to draw them. A lot. Horses running. Horses sitting. Horses jumping. Horses being ridden. Horses. Horses. Horses. I really didn’t care too much about horses, but I envied her horse-drawing capabilities. Maybe I shouldn’t have. It turns out that […]
Wearable Tech
Before the iPhone, the Fitbit, the smart watch, and Google Glass, there was the pocket watch—the world’s first wearable, portable tech. And if now we think of the lowly pocket watch and its close relative, the wrist watch, as decidedly low tech, that wasn’t always the case. In the 19th century, portable time pieces were […]
Before Pantone
Every tool that I relied upon when I first started in graphic design has become pretty much obsolete. Except one. Sure, I pull out my trusty X-acto knife and burnishers on the rare occasion that I need to assemble a comp. I have been known to use my old Design markers from time to time, […]
Paper Prison
More often that not, great design is just so simple, so perfect, so obvious. It is a rare combination that is not easily or often achieved. “Paper Prison” created by Interbrand New York celebrates the life and legacy of Nelson Madela with powerful simplicity. The design received a Gold Design Lions award at the 61st […]
Logos While You Wait
Not all logos are created equal. Some are elegant, brilliant, perfect. Most are just okay. They get the job done, adequately representing a company or service, but not much more. For logos (as with many things in life), great just doesn’t come along that often. And now, so-so logos will be a lot easier to […]
Mac Turns 30
On January 24, 2014, the Macintosh computer turned 30. Wow. The first time I saw a Mac (in person) was sometime during the spring semester of my senior year of college. The business school extended an invitation to the visual communications department to join them for a presentation of the original Mac. Up until then, […]
The C64 Lives On
My first real job was in the publications department of Commodore Business Machines. Consequently, I have a certain nostalgic fondness for the Commodore 64. And so do a lot of other people. (I have been known to impress more than one geek acquaintance with the fact that I used to work at Commodore.) For an […]