articles

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4249739&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0

Hi-Fi from bante on Vimeo.

branding

secca animated logo
[image: pentagram]
this brand & identity for secca by pentagram is not only stunning, it moves! read up on it here: pentagram’s luke hayman on how multimedia is transforming branding, from fastcodesign.com.

print design

lan su visitor guide
[image: sockeye creative]
this lovely print specimen by sockeye creative for the lan su chinese garden in portland is rich in details that make the experience of interacting with it really rewarding. a custom die-cut window over a stylized illustration invites you in, then the unique binding of a gate fold over stepped pages detailing the vistas makes you want to flip through and study each one. fantastic work! see more here: lan su visitor guide, from underconsideration.com.

web design

a series i found on uxbooth.com included some useful articles i wanted to share for web designers. a complete beginner’s guide to design research, overcoming the obstacles of usability testing and the complete beginner’s guide to web analytics and measurement.

creativity

bottle rainbows by johnny miller
[image: johnny miller]
amazing rainbows and color gradients created with colored glass and light, by johnny miller. thanks, oh joy for the link!

since creativity is about how you think, here are 2 articles i found interesting from around the tubes this week. seth godin talks about how we analyze our inner monologue to help define intuitive marketing: monitoring your internal monologue, and succcess.org explores the einstein quote “imagination is more important than knowledge” here: be smart, know smarts ain’t the answer.

design industry

ravi sawhney talks about his new book predictable magic here:forget praying to the muse, create design magic on demand, from fastcodesign.com

tim lapetino of hexanine talks about how to get the most out of your kickoff meeting: the art of interviewing your client, from logodesignlove.com.

a post chock-full of inspiring resources: 25 useful videos and presentations for designers, from smashingmagazine.com.

small business owners & sole-proprietors, take note: biz ladies: free online resources for business owners, from designsponge.com

article of the week

| heather parlato

the secret to success. this is it, for reals! by danielle laporte

this article is short and sweet, so i won’t ruin it. but i will say i agree 100%!

beyond design

| heather parlato


words by everynone

speaking of words, if you’re really tired of hearing buzzwords or jargon of the day that are making your day suck, you can now unsuck them at muledesign’s unsuckit.com

food

i can’t tell if it’s the grilling aspect, or the hot weather going with spicy food thing, but these 2 from saveur caught my eye: grilled thai chicken with lemongrass and coconut milk and tandoori salmon.

on the sweeter side of things, i didn’t know either of these desserts were possible, but they’ve both got me curious, and i have both of the main ingredients in the house… rose geranium ice cream with pistachios, from thekitchn.com and sweet lemon and black oliver wafers, from seriouseats.com. yes, you read that right, a cookies with oil-cured olives in them.

drinks

my friend emily does it again with some delicious twists on iced tea: beyond mint & lemon: 5 ways to punch up iced tea, from thekitchn.com.

read up on the health benefits of tea & coffee: reduce risk of heart disease with tea & coffee by wellness writer, alisa bonsignore, one of a great collection on health & fitness at her blog whatwouldbettydo.com.

housewares

soft map quilt
[image: re-nest.com]
i don’t write about housewares much, but this quilt compelled me to. if i had a million extra hours in my own life, i think few things would make me more happy than creating a quilt of los angeles, but since that’s likely not going to happen, go appreciate haptic labs for doing what they do: softmap quilts from haptic labs, from re-nest.com.

los angeles

it’s the very LA reading list for august 2010 from los angeles magazine: the reading list: LA authors. LA topics. august ’10 books.

remember those devastating fires we had last year in angeles crest forest? you know how there’s that fantastic place, treepeople, that helps spread trees of all kinds all over los angeles? you know imogen heap? she’s donating the proceeds from a specially-created song to fund replanting of the national forest to the north, and i think it’s really cool: donate $1 to treepeople for a unique improv track from imogen heap, from greenlagirl.com.

the grind

i liked this piece by penelope trunk on how she’s pushed through difficult situations by continuing to write and put herself out into the world: when you’re feeling lost, don’t hide.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato


meg mateo ilasco and joy deangdeelert cho promote their new book, creative, inc.: the ultimate guide to running a successful freelance business, with this cute stop-motion video. thanks design sponge for the link.

branding

abu dhabi logo
[image: brand.abudhabi.ae]
the capital of the united arab emirates has decided to brand itself, with the help of m&c saatchi. i think this logo is really lovely, and i like how they’re using the mark alone to sign-off on all kinds of beautiful photos of the area. check out the full post for applications and the custom typeface they created: the abu dhabi brand rich, from underconsideration.com

identity

isle of skye business cards
[image: isle of skye]
a stunning alternative to commercially printing your business cards, illustrator skye jeffries has cut hers from illustrations and overprint her black plate with a hand stamp, for an original creation in each one. thanks to designworklife.com for the link.

photography

barker at the state fair
[image: library of congress]
this collection of color photographs from the 30s and 40s has been circulating around the internet, so if you haven’t seen them yet, take a look: captured: america in color from 1939-1943. from denverpost.com: These images, by photographers of the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information, are some of the only color photographs taken of the effects of the Depression on America’s rural and small town populations. The photographs are the property of the Library of Congress and were included in a 2006 exhibit Bound for Glory: America in Color.

design industry

excellent advice for clients new to hiring designers: tips on buying design, from muledesign.com

here are some great thoughts on how we limit ourselves from being creative as we age further from our childhood sensibilities & wonders: the problem with creativity, from logodesignlove.com

biznik article of the week

| heather parlato

metaphysics of business part 9: what is a healthy economy? by Elke Siller Macartney

this is an interesting look at the idea of how we define a healthy economy by growth and consumption, and how it’s a lot more like cancer than the definition of health of any other species we find on this planet. rather than using growing and consuming as indicators of economic health, maybe it would be more helpful to look at how we promote well-being in other ways, and consider the balance of those to indicate a healthy economy. nice read!

beyond design

| heather parlato


kitties! & puppies! eating melon fruit pops!

los angeles

looking for a good beach day or 5 before the summer is over? let los angeles magazine help you, they love that stuff: a day at the beach.

another feature i hadn’t noticed before, los angeles magazine has a monthly run-down on area-specific reading. i’m a sucker for books about my city, this is definitely something to consult when i need my LA fix: LA reading list: LA authors. LA topics. august ’10 list

food

roasted red pepper gazpacho
[image: luna cafe]
as someone who loves both roasted peppers and gazpacho, i wanted to share this recipe from cafe luna roasted red pepper gazpacho linked from saveur. check the links in the article, she describes some other pretty outstanding gazpacho ideas!

i’ve seen eggplants popping up here & there at the farmer’s market, which means we’re ready for fantastic eggplant recipes. caponata with capers, from la cucina italiana sounds amazing!

it never occurred to me to throw tomato leaves into my tomato dishes for more intense flavor, but the kitchn links to some articles that say the chemical in the leaves enhance the tomato flavor, and they’re safe to eat: fresh tip: use tomato leaves to boost flavor.

i liked to a great recipe for fennel liqueur awhile back, and i’ve been seeing the blooming flowers all over LA lately. here’s some more encouragement from the kitchn to go out and harvest some of your own: summer foraging: fennel pollen.

michelle obama is still working hard to get her child nutrition bill past, i’m glad she’s been relentless about this! & thanks to serious eats for the link: michelle obama urges congress to pass child nutrition bill.

drinks

herbal sun teas
[image: design sponge]
this is such an awesome idea from design sponge: small measures with ashley: herbal sun teas & simple syrups! if you’re growing herbs outside or pick them up periodically for cooking, consider making some of these unique teas.

creative inspiration

| heather parlato

identity

stitch identity
[image: stitch design co.]
stitch design co. worked up a lovely identity system for themselves in 3-colors and letterpress printing. i am really loving the orange edge printing on the cards!

history

propaganda & graphic design
[image: fastcodesign.com]
how america waged war with food and graphic design, from fastcodesign.com is a great first look at cory bernat’s collection of posters from 1900 to 1950 from the national agricultural library, showing how government urged citizens to modify their behavior for the greater good using graphic design.

design industry

publishing in the age of the internet, from design observer is a fascinating article about how the perception of design has changed due to the abundant archive on the web, and the reaction of the author to launch a unit editions dedicated to producing books on design and visual culture, as well as a series of low-cost research papers covering a range of topics in graphic design. sounds fantastic!

how i get positive feedback from my clients, from marketing mentor is a nice piece by guest blogger, kara smith, on her follow up strategy for rounding out projects, giving thanks and asking for feedback. good ideas!

top 10 web sites for designers, from HOW. another great round-up for august of resources for design professionals.

want to win an eco-trip for 2? neenah paper is celebrating it’s environment line with a contest! enter for a chance to win an eco-trip to costa rica for 2!

photographs of signs

signs of san francisco
[image: print magazine]
kicking off a new series, print magazine’s blog imprint showed a selection of photos of signs of san francisco. these are all so beautiful, i’m glad to read they want to make it a series, asking readers to submit photos of their local area sign relics that they’ll post up and feature. excellent!

article of the week

| heather parlato

Befriend the intern to fire up your career by Penelope Trunk

interning has always played an important role as a career stepping stone, and in recent years it’s been booming due to the economy. don’t be so quick to write off interns as simply young and less-experienced, though they may be, they are also driven, career-minded individuals with a fresh perspective who have been tasked with vital roles in their companies. trunk’s article about ways to befriend the interns you meet is a good list of reminders that great people are everywhere—and they won’t be interns forever!

beyond design

| heather parlato

neighborhood

4th street bike plan
[image: greenlagirl.com]
if you’ve ever taken 4th street as a cross-town alternative to busier streets, you know it’s a great thoroughfare for traveling east to west by bike. there’s been an ongoing campaign to convert it to more of a bikeway, and greenlagirl has an update on the progress: turn 4th street into a bicycle boulevard: moving beyond sharrows.

food

zucchini season keeps going strong, here’s a great idea i’ve never tried before: sicilian sun-dried zucchini! salt it, season it and dry or roast it. what a fantastic snack!

melons of all kinds are everywhere right now too, and the idea of sweet and tangy makes me want to try this one: perfect picnic recipes: watermelon & feta salad.

if you’re starting to get an abundance of tomatoes and can’t get to all of them in time, whip up & chill some of them in this delicious gazpacho: chilled gazpacho andaluz.

while it’s not as hot as usual here in LA this summer, you can still get your ice cream on, now in some really unique flavors: carrot orange ice cream with caramelized ginger and maple syrup [links to a pdf at the bottom of the article]? or maybe avocado & jackfruit ice cream? or hey, how about this twist: roasted lemon sorbet!

diy projects

homemade toothpaste
[image: instructables.com]
once you’re done with all that ice cream, you might want some options for tooth brushing. i’ve been curious about this and it turns out it’s pretty easy to make. check out homemade toothpaste, from instructables.com for a basic recipe and flavoring ideas.