creative inspiration

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http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11443824&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Oceans from Sol Linero on Vimeo [thanks to designworklife.com for the link].

sports

fifa world cup logos
[image: logoblog.org]
there are some great retrospectives on fifa world cup logos and posters online. fifa world cup logo evolution: 1934-2014, from logoblog.org has some great archives, as does an older post, fifa world cup logo designs, from logodesignlove.com. it’s so cool to see some of the early stuff from the 30s-50s!

typography

open type features
[image: martin plus for ilovetypography.com]
for the type designers out there, an introduction to opentype substitution features will show you how to make all those cool ligatures and custom-set type combos you might want to add to your typeface design.

if you’re in new york [or willing to travel] and want to learn typeface design, H&FJ’s sara soskolne will be teaching turning letters into type july 12-16: learning typeface design.

web design

applying interior design principles to the web from smashingmagazine.com talks about how the same principles of arranging physical objects relates to the placement and use of graphic objects, with a great breakdown of each.

creativity

jazz brain: functional magnetic resonance imaging is a quick report from utne.com about brain behavior during times of innovative creativity. Limb had jazz musicians play memorized music while being monitored by an fMRI machine. He then asked them to start improvising and noticed a shift in neurological activity. Their scans showed less activity in the areas that represent self-censoring and inhibition and more in the area that indicates self-expression. Limb interpreted this shift as a possible sign of “spontaneous creativity.”

going mobile

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beth goldfarb of cause farm creative

in case you were wondering what small business success sometimes looks like, consider the above photo. this hilarious happenstance came about when beth and i decided to go shoe shopping during one of our conference breaks in denver. while i was busy shopping and paying, beth converted a window display into a mobile office so she could go over design revisions and keep her business running remotely while out of town.

here’s how it’s done: if you’re in a city like denver with free public wifi, all you need is your mobile office set up [a laptop and a cell phone]. then, simply move some of the items in the window display aside while you set up your equipment, take your call, get all your business done, and then carefully put everything back where it was and profusely thank the staff. it worked just fine, and we were back to shopping within minutes.

event calendar: june 21 – 27, 2010

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it’s the summer solstice today! happy longest day of the year!

here’s what i’ll be doing

tuesday, june 22, 7:30am LA area chamber referral breakfast checking in with my LA area chamber network. FREE to chamber members or free as a guest of a member.

wednesday, june 23, 7:30-9pm 3×3: the long strange journey of a graphic design career featuring sean adams, tom devine and terry lee stone at art center.

other events for this week

saturday, june 26, 7-10pm deLab’s city listening II: stories about los angeles Join design east of La Brea for an evening of free expression and generous libation in celebration of LA’s design culture at large.

article of the week

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10 reasons why investing in branding makes you money in e-commerce by Stuart Silverstein

while this article is focused on building a brand to improve an e-commerce site, i silverstein is a friend and colleague who sees without a doubt that a smart brand strategy will improve sales for any business. he takes 10 solid points and explains how branding affects each in detail, in a way both partners and clients can understand. for me, this is a great article, because while i already love the power of branding, it’s really helpful to see how it applies to e-commerce.

beyond design

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ok go film a time-lapsed video in echo park at the lake where i go running. it looks like the geese are big fans!

food

porcini tortelli
[image: lacucinaitalinanamagazine.com]
it’s porcini season, which means that in many farmer’s markets, your local mushroom supplier will have fresh porcini for sale if they’re selling within a day’s travel radius from where they’re picked. i’m going to try out this goat cheese, chard and porcini tortelli among other things [maybe a porcini & cheese pizza]. here are some more great recipes for fresh porcini from saveur.com:
porcini and barley soup
seared copper river salmon with fresh porcini mushrooms
straw and hay: porcini fettucini

ever wondered what to do with yucca flowers? emily ho collected some great recipes & suggestions for how to use this desert flower: seasonal spotlight: yucca flowers.

a conversation on lebanese iced tea led me to this list of rose water iced tea recipes from the big apple: lebanese iced tea.

on spring
[image: greenlagirl.com]
there’s a new organic eatery in LA state historic park that has contracted with the park to grow organic vegetables on park land. Many L.A. food spots now use local produce in their dishes, but On Spring’s the only one that’s specifically contracted with the state to make locavoring easy on a state park. Now, Angelenos can go for a stroll in the park — then enjoy fair trade, organic coffee, healthy soups, and fresh salads and sandwiches made with produce grown within a 200-mile radius. exciting!

diy projects

homemade chicken coops
[image: kathy lafleur]
i am fascinated with the growing popularity in keeping backyard urban chickens. until i have a yard, i can only enjoy cambria bold’s collection of homemade coops from afar: pimp my coop: cool cribs for this season’s “it” chickens. i’m loving the green roof on this one, pictured above.

use these tips to propagate plants you already grow or find in your travels, and add to your garden or trade with friends: simple tips: propagate plants for free vegetation.

between eating eggs and making homemade cat food, i have a lot of eggshells. thanks to abby stone for sharing these uses for egg shells, most of which i never would have thought up myself! 8 excellent uses for eggshells.

industrial architecture

flipper bridge

what do you do when you have to bridge 2 countries who drive on opposite sides of the road? the flipper bridge offers a safe exchange and a lovely bridge structure. thanks <a href="kottke for the article.

creative inspiration

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design history

see america vintage u.s. parks posters
[image: travel.nationalgeographic.com]

this collection from the archives of national geographic of vintage US parks posters are stunning and inspirational specimens of illustration and design. don’t forget to take a spin through the vintage national parks photos while you’re there. thanks boingboing for the link!

vintage mens adventure magazines
[image: artofmanliness.com]
refresh your beverage and get comfortable, this collection of vintage mens adventure magazines from art of manliness is entirely too awesome to pass up or rush through. i might have to buy the book.

another one from the history blogs, <a href="smashing magazine presents 100 years of propaganda: the good, the bad, and the ugly

design industry

werner heisenberg by shannon may
[image: shannon may]
i love art and i love science, so when they come together in exciting ways, it makes me super happy. design sponge shared these awesome illustrations by shannon may this week, and i am loving her web site. even her logo has a cute illustrated diagram worked in. fantastic!

how magazine has some great follow-up blog posts now that the how conference is over. and we’re back is a nice first look at what went down. more how conference love has a little more collected from around the web, some speaker presentations and such.

looking into a summer internship? how magazine has a great article on getting the most out of it: advice for prospective interns. for another perspective on interns, design sponge biz ladies column features hiring interns this week.

need resources to save time and be efficient in your workday? freelance switch offers this collection of cool things you might need: top 3 productivity articles from workawesome.

have a facebook page for your business? not sure what you can add easily that will enhance your presence there? my colleagues over at pi design have some suggestions: jazz up your company facebook page.

education

GOOD's guide to education innovation
[image: meg paradise]
run over to GOOD’s guide to education and check out all their amazing programs, illustrated with these playful & fun pieces by meg paradise of parliament of owls. look at all their portfolios while you’re there, they all do amazing work.

sports

if you can’t get enough of the world cup, take a look at what designey things are happening at tinyhaus and their piece for nike!

ford mustang

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ford mustang from motorbooks international

from the motorbooks division of quayside publishing comes ford mustang by brad bowling, a retrospective on every release of the mustang line since its debut in 1964. this book is full of beautiful photography celebrating car design, and for someone like me, who only has superficial knowledge of the history of the mustang, it’s allowed me to pick out many iterations of the car on the road now.

event calendar: june 14 – 20, 2010

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it’s get to work week after all that conference action. happy father’s day to all the dads this sunday!

here’s what i’ll be doing

tuesday, june 15, 7pm the page, an interactive exhibit of artists’ books FREE! Curated by Karin Lanzoni and Rachelle W. Chuang, the artist’s book is a little known creative genre in which an artist presents his or her ideas in the form of a book. For this survey exhibition, thirty-three artists from a broad range of studio art practices were asked to submit one page (as they define it) from one of their own artist’s books to mount on the walls of the gallery.

saturday, june 19, 8:30pm resonance FREE at betalevel featuring ok music, zotalayer, and sublamp.

sunday, june 20, 6-7:30pm you should judge a book by its cover $5 at UCB LA. NYC-based graphic designer and comedian Patrick Borelli presents YOU SHOULD JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER, a one-man multimedia show where he takes thirty of the oddest book covers and tears them a new one. The show also features videos of interviews Patrick conducted with Steven Heller, Chip Kidd and Rodrigo Corral.

other events for this week

tuesday, june 15, 7:30-9pm jeremy mende, mende design at art center. FREE!

wednesday, june 16, 7-9:30pm an evening with si scott at ucla.

thursday, june 17, 6-9pm aiga student portfolio review night at the bistro at the art institute of california, FREE with rsvp!

friday, june 18, 10am–2pm the art institute of california, los angeles, graduate portfolio show at the sheraton delfina, free for employers with an employer luncheon.

a day off in denver

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a robin's egg, arapaho national forest
[all photos: roxanne carter]

i’d planned to stay in denver past the conference to visit with friends and unwind. we talked about hiking, and planned to go to arapaho national forest in evergreen and hike to maxwell falls. this was a lovely drive northwest into the mountains, along roads lined with cabins and creeks. an amusing part of the drive was checking out how each person had arranged their chairs & tables in their favorite creek spot on their property.

maxwell falls, arapaho national forest, colorado

i am not used to hiking at high elevations, but i think i did pretty well. we saw lots of happy dogs along the way, and many lovely wildflowers, until we came to the waterfall itself, a series of cascades among trees and fallen rocks. the water was refreshingly above freezing temperature, so we stuck our feet in for a bit.

red rocks, colorado

on the way back, we decided to take a spin through red rocks. i have seen it in pictures, and we have similar rock formations north of los angeles, but this canyon was breathtaking to see in person. things are in bloom this time of year, so the contrast of dusty to verdant greens with occasional bright poppies against the rust-colored formations was striking. we took a walk on a main trail near the entrance, attempting to charm cottontail rabbits into posing for pics along the way. every so often, you’d catch a breath of this very scented flowering tree, but i don’t know what it is.

flowering tree in red rocks, colorado

on the way back home, a lightning storm blew in, and we watched bolts zap their way to the ground in the distance. this was a nice, refreshing way to decompress from the intensity of the conference. i have never spent time in colorado before, and i was surprised how denver appealed to me as a place with beautiful scenery and ever-present history. we’ll be coming back in winter to visit again.