creative inspiration

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

branding

miller high-life brand refresh
[image: underconsideration.com]
admittedly, i don’t drink miller high life, so i’m not sure how long before i noticed their packaging redesign. luckily, we have miller high life overhaul from underconsideration.com with copious photos and reviews. i love the cleaner look that doesn’t deviate from the original, and more prominent use of their poster-girl, lucy, which is a lovely illustration featured on the sides of the 6-packs above. nice work!

packaging

cigarette packaging
[image: fastcodesign.com]
a hilarious look at what might happen if packaging could deter smoking merely by being totally annoying! can annoying cigarette packs make smokers quit? from fastcodesign.com. brilliant!

design industry

design never 2010 winner
[image: howdesign.com]
i love the concept of project never, an awards show to showcase great work that never made it to final. thanks to the how design blog for showcasing the 2010 winner, an identity system for chop shop, by ptarmak, inc.. i’m loving this typography they did.

michael beirut takes a look at advertising personalities after the season premiere of mad men for design observer jerry della femina, mad men, and the cult of advertising personality.

i thought this photography post was worth sharing: the showcase of beautiful pinhole photography from smashing magazine. i haven’t taken pinhole photos since my high school photography class!

need some help talking money with clients? don’t let “you” get in the way of price negotiations, from creative freelancer blog has some possibly-familiar suggestions you might see in your own experience on how to improve.

linkswitch 28: choose a domain name, hire a designer, from freelance switch is a pretty awesome list of all kinds of things you might want to do but just don’t know how. take a spin, maybe tackle some if they’re on your list!

beyond design

| heather parlato

los angeles

proposed LA civic park
[image: fastcodesign.com]
as a native of a city notoriously greenspace-poor, the idea of a large civic park in downtown LA is really exciting. exclusive first look at LA’s civic park: will it create a center for the city? from fastcodesign.com shows you some of the models and plans.

if you’re pressed for LA visitor’s ideas of the green variety, being visited by greenie friends, or just want to show some love for your city, my friend emily just published a green city guide to los angeles, for re-nest.com.

food

citrus cured salmon
[image: mattikaarts.com]
i pretty much fell out of my chair when i saw this recipe for citrus-cured copper river salmon, and reading about it confirmed that my instinct reaction was appropriate. my mission is to find the cut of salmon that can live up to this amazing preparation, today!

it’s zucchini season, and thekitchn.com is ready with this curious-sounding baked treat: zucchini and olive breakfast cake, french-style. french or not, i have the zucchini and my interest is piqued by this flavor combination.

it’s also a great time of year for a healthy chicken and pepper salad. roast chicken and yellow pepper salad, from lacucinaitalanamagazine.com is simple and delicious!

finally, if you’re looking for something zinger-fresh for your summer dishes, try lemon and olive oil sauce (Ladolemono), from saveur.com. yes, this is one of those times to whip it.

drinks

coffee splash
[image: lifehacker.com]
For all of its wild popularity, caffeine is one seriously misunderstood substance. It’s not a simple upper, and it works differently on different people with different tolerances—even in different menstrual cycles. But you can make it work better for you. what caffeine actually does to your brain, from lifehacker.com [thanks to @josh_ross for the link!]

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

brand development

brand building
[image: fastcodesign.com]
apparently, the idea that when a client asks for a logo, what they probably really need is a brand strategy is gaining ground. if this is you or someone you know, get familiar with what goes into brand development with six tips for designing a memorable brand from fastcodesign.com.

once you work out the brand strategy, you’ll want to create a style guide so you can keep everyone developing artifacts for your business on point. to get a good idea of what goes into a style guide, check out designing style guidelines for brands and web sites from smashingmagazine.com

logos

indian rupee symbol selected
[image: logodesignlove.com]
more than a logo, a currency denotation is an international symbol that comes to be synonymous with a country and its people’s well being. the indian rupee underwent a redesign [via, of all things, a design contest] and a final has been chosen. i like the shape of it, almost futura-istic. read more here: indian rupee symbol selected, from logodesignlove.com.

typography

interview with rudy vanderlans
[image: fastcodesign.com]
i have been an emigre fan for my entire design career. it was just yesterday that one of many awesome creations of rudy vanderlans [brothers typeface] rescued yet another in a line of countless layouts for me. join alissa walker in her interview with this amazing type design icon and his new showcase for his typefaces, historia: type master: an interview with emigre’s rudy vanderlans, from fastcodesign.com

design industry

recycled vintage couture by koi suwannagate
[image: greenlagirl.com]
i wasn’t able to make it to the pasadena museum of california arts biennial this past saturday, but you can take a spin through the greenest features here: discover green design at pasadena museum of california arts biennial, from greenlagirl.com.

we talked about it last week, we’ll talk about it this week: print cant be dead if people are still starting up new magazines, especially in these new niche markets for printed rag fetishists. steven heller profiles vintage magazine for print here: print ain’t dead yet, continued.

three for the marketing department. first of all, drop the “us vs. them” mentality, marketing and design do their best when they work together: the creative vs. the marketing team: yin and yang, oil and water, from smashingmagazine.com. then, take 2 marketing-smart tips from ilise benun: does your email say “open me?” and keywords made simple, both from marketingmixblog.com.

beyond design

| heather parlato

pure awesome

operation nice: nice notes
[image: operationnice.com]
so there’s this really nice girl, melissa, and she’s celebrating the 2-year anniversary of her blog operation nice by encouraging people to be super nice by writing these nice notes to leave for friends, co-workers, family, strangers—anyone really, so long as you write something nice on them! you download the pdf, print it, write your nice note & leave it for someone to find. to top it off, if you do it today, july 15, and send in a photo, she’ll donate $3 per note to the hunger project. that’s nice!

sustainable solutions

goats clearing angel's flight, downtown los angeles
[image: greenlagirl.com]
i never get tired of hearing about these goats helping clear hillsides in downtown los angeles. greenlagirl.com has this story and a few more good bits on LA here: checklist: new green sights in los angeles.

publications

slake
[image: slakemedia.org]
we have a new quarterly literary arts publication in echo park with a southern california focus: slake. their site has a list of resellers if you’re curious to pick up a copy.

food

chicken skewers
[image: lacucinaitalianamagazine.com]
it’s grilling season, so if you eat chicken, grab some arugula & cucumber from your local farmers market and enjoy the outdoors: chicken skewers with chopped cucumber, arugula and olives.

cucumber noodles
[image: romulo yanes / gourmet]
i’ve tried the zucchini noodles both cooked and raw, but i have to admit, i wrote off cucumber for the same use, figuring it couldn’t stand up to a thin slice. however, thanks to faith durand at thekitchn.com for cucumber noodles, it looks like they do fine after a julienne cut and a quick blanching. sounds like they’d be great hot or cold! another fun thing to try this summer!

wine

i haven’t put anything up on wine in awhile, but i just came across this great list of 90 point wines for under $15. go to town! her list starts at 85 points, but it’s a great collection of wine ratings, especially if you’re tasting something new.

diy

so, i tried this once before and somehow gave up after awhile, but i decided to give it a try again: the no shampoo alternative, wherein you wash your hair with baking soda, and rinse with a mix of lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. i think i’ve found the balance my hair likes after about a week [i tend to need more baking soda, less vinegar]. i’m really happy with the results too, my hair stays cleaner longer, and holds a curl without any product as well. there are so many benefits to doing this, but i can’t decide which one i like best among what i’m eliminating: chemicals from my skin, pollutants from the water supply, packaging from the recycling system & financial dependence on a convenience product i can make myself. i forgot my camera today, but i’ll post some pics soon.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato


levi’s shares a video behind the scenes of letterpress, screen printing and block printing.

speaking of print design, how magazine reprinted part of a study by appleton coated on how print design is still a very valuable selling tool because clients and consumers love interacting with stunning print design pieces. but hey, you already knew that, right? the new ROI.

if you’ve done some of this outstanding print design, check out some upcoming design award deadlines: call for entries: HOW design awards

need one last print design fix? these central park wedding invites featured on design sponge are a great use of a 2-color palette. bonus points for creating a map—who doesn’t love a good, personalized map!?

branding

YMCA rebranding
[image: underconsideration.com / YMCA]
underconsideration.com reviews YMCA rebranding: my name is Y… the Y. the main mark in red & purple is nice, but i love that they are using multiple color iterations of the logo! i also like the sporty new look.

people for bikes
[image: fastcodesign.com
finally, bike branding moves beyond hipster-ghetto takes a look at the people for bikes campaign by colle+mcvoy. simply put, it’s an organization to improve the future of biking through various actions on local & national levels. the branding for these efforts is friendly, accessible and engaging. check out some of the print ads, i love the one of the woman with a gear print on her leg.

posters

know your rights
[image: fastcodesign.com]
if you’ve been looking for ways to use your design skills for positive propaganda, fastcodesign.com offers promoting social justice one poster at a time, showcasing the center for urban pedagogy. their mission statement has all kinds of inspiring language, and is worth reading in its entirety, but if you’re pressed for time, here’s a snip: Our work grows from a belief that the power of imagination is central to the practice of democracy, and that the work of governing must engage the dreams and visions of citizens. CUP believes in the legibility of the world around us.

design industry

brand new announces its first 1-day conference! if you’re a fan of underconsideration.com and you can swing by new york city at the beginning of november, they’ve got a jam-packed 11 hours for you. they’ve also got a bunch of different ways to attend, so if you’d rather watch a live webcast, you can!

what is the last thing you do before you launch a website? from smashing magazine is a really cute, informal quiz you can give yourself about your reactions to presenting final work and a brief analysis about what this says about your personality.

another from smashing magazine, renegotiating the final contract (and other tales of horror). here’s some great advice for how to handle things when you find yourself doing work that’s outgrown its governing agreement.

get involved with the AIGA

| heather parlato

i’m really excited to announce that i’ve taken a position as co-chair of programming & events with AIGA los angeles along with my friend & colleague jason adam of hexanine! while it’s great from a design perspective to be involved with my industry organization after all these years, i’m also interested in working to bring larger LA networks into AIGA, and putting on some really great events!

if you’ve ever been interested in working with AIGA, we’ve got some really cool programming you can join in on, or propose an event of your own! click here for the general volunteer form, or contact me directly if you’re interested in programming!

beyond design

| heather parlato

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=13085676&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

BIG BANG BIG BOOM – the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo. thanks to my friend colin for the link!

food

clams with fennel and tomatoes
[image: lacucinaitalianamagazine.com]
something fresh for the season, a simple italian preparation of clams with fennel & tomato, complete with crusty bread for enjoying every last bit of the sauce.

now that tomatoes are coming into season, try out these baked stuffed tomatoes with other fresh seasonal items from the garden!

diy projects

homemade sunscreen
[image: instructables]
it’s the time of year for sunscreen every day, and with all the news about toxins in commercial sunscreen, why not try your hand at making your own? how to make natural sunscreen from re-nest.com gives a simple recipe you can make with zinc oxide or titanium oxide. curious!

natural aromatherapy
[photo: flickr member miamism]
if you react positively to your favorite fragrances, why not let them grow around you all the time? another great article from re-nest.com favorite fragrant plants lists out many florals and herbals whose fragrances can have a positive effect on your senses.

summer travel

thinking of a different kind of vacation this year? how about this: agritourism: vacation on a working farm or vineyard. if you’re looking to connect to an area or lifestyle, it sounds like a great alternative to a retreat.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

retro styles

fourth of july postcards
[image: from the collection of richard sheaff]
this fantastic collection of fourth of july postcards from designobserver.com includes illustrations of doll-faced children, hand-drawn type, and loads of fireworks!

power styling
[image: US steel, grainedit.com]
i have to say, i liked the look of the future as imagined in the mid-60s. thanks to dave from grainedit.com for sharing spreads from power styling, which seems to be a collection of illustrations proposing re-imagined looks for the infrastructure of electric utility. be sure to look through all the pieces he scanned, they suggest a majesty that is glaringly absent in the power lines i see outside my window today.

logo evolution

evolution of the logo
[image: smashingmagazine.com]
we’ve come to know logos as modern signifiers in the marketplace, but the concept of a brand mark has existed a long time through history. smashing magazine offers the evolution of the logo that traces how graphic marks have been used to denote ownership, authorship and associations with different groups, only leading them to corporate identity as a result of evolution.

identity

girl scouts of america get an identity makeover
[image: fastcodesign.com]
subtle, yet classic & modernized, check out the identity makeover on fastcodesign.com: a fresh identity for the girl scouts of america. i think these new profiles look more contemporary and youthful without losing any recognition of the brand and tradition. great work!

design industry

check out redesigning propublica by mule design. We love good journalism and hate unchecked abuses of power, so we were excited and honored to collaborate with ProPublica on their website redesign. hear, hear!

another from smashing magazine: add music to your workflow to improve results. i’ve always known i liked listening to music while i work, but i didn’t realize why it was helping me work better.