Absolutely fantastic video that promotes Iceland. We agree with The Cool Hunter: Tourism Offices around the world, take note, this is how you promote a country!
Inspired by Iceland Video from Inspired By Iceland on Vimeo.
Test Pattern Library
This Test Pattern Library made me chuckle. I found it over on Amrit Richmond’s blog, who found it on Unplggd, who found it on ffffound. Now, who can tell me who made this?
This is 2011, we should be able to easily give credit to the original author. Ugh!
Nice To See You
(photo by Jon Tan)
This ‘Nice to see you’ Poster is a one-color screen print inspired by well-known quotes from comedians of the last 30 years. Guaranteed to bring a smile to any Brit’s face.
It’s a limited edition of 500, screen printed by Ink Posters. A collaboration between Joff Casciani, Ollie Wood and Haydn Evans.
(via Jon Tan)
nr1977 by MihaDesign
It does not happen often that a design has me speechless, but this desk-bed-loft construction just did. Naoto Mitsumoto and Naoko Hamana of MihaDesign were asked to renovate an old 770 sq apartment that was constructed in 1957. The designers were asked to propose a solution for the owners – a husband and wife with 4 kids – who desperately needed to come up with a creative use of the limited space. Who would think of putting boxes into this small apartment that not only serves as cozy bed-nucks but also offer a desk space above the beds. The kids can quietly read or study while comfortably dangling their feet above their beds. This is brilliant! Unbelievably brilliant! Read more.
(via spoon and tamago / via bb)
Buy art? Prognosticator
Whenever Kelli Anderson sends me an update on some of her latest projects, I stop and listen. Her talent is humbling and her updates always awe-inspiring.
This Should I Buy This Art? Project made me laugh. It’s meant to be a helpful tool for everyone involved in the currently ongoing art fair season here in NYC. Kelli made this paper-gizmo for Jen Bekman‘s 20×200 to distribute in their “Art Fair Survival” tote bags. Jen had the initial inspiration for a fortune teller and the entire office brainstormed on a theme, ultimately arriving at this question: “Should I buy this art?” Kelli worked that basic idea into a handy-dandy art market prognosticator, which will aid the user in making very expensive decisions about art… responsibly, of course.
I need the same answering the question: “Should I Blog This?”
CreativeMornings Video: Milton Glaser
We just uploaded another CreativeMornings/NewYork video:
Our first speaker this year was design legend Milton Glaser. Needless to say that only 10 minutes after the RSVP-floodgates opened, this 500 people event was full. Milton’s talk was filled with an insatiable passion for design and amazing nuggets of wisdom.
Thanks to wonderful Sy Abudu, you can enjoy the talk now in Vimeo:
(The event was generously hosted at the School of Visual Arts Theatre which was designed by Milton!)
voltitude
Switzerland-based Eric Collobmin created Voltitude, an ultra-light two-wheeler – a sort of bicycle-scooter hybrid – that can be driven on Swiss and EU roads without a licence, plate nor helmet. The simplicity with which it folds is impressive. Its powerful electric motor and latest generation lithium battery allow you to cover over 18 miles on a single charge. Effortlessly.
They called the product Voltitude — a fusion of Volt and Attitude — because, as they say, time has come to change our attitude towards urban mobility and because electric technology is now mature enough to enable us to do it.
Needless to say I’d love a Voltitude for here in Brooklyn.
(Thank you Firas)
♥ / Simple Interiors
A big thank you to Simple Interiors for sponsoring this week’s RSS Feed.
Simple Interiors is an online design firm that believes everyone deserves to be surrounded by great design. Simple Interiors can reinvent your space by delivering high quality design over the Internet.
Whether you want to redesign a room, an entire home or office, or simply freshen up your space, Simple Interiors is able to redesign your project at a price that fits every budget. Located in Switzerland, Simple Interiors has worked with clients all over the globe to transform their home or office into modern, well designed spaces.
Simple Interiors also hosts a design blog, Simple Treats, where each day we have a new theme such as, Designer Monday, Hotel Tuesday and for a good laugh check out Bad Design Friday.
WaterTables
I can’t wait for summer. To the point that I’ve been researching outdoor furniture and summer kids toys like a mad woman. (I know, I am a little over eager, we’re still weeks away) I have been searching for kids water tables and was highly underwhelmed by the plastic monsters that are being sold. But check out the Sanak-ji Water Table. Granted, way more expensive than the plastic ones, but a pleasure to look at.
(Thank you John)
Google before you Tweet
A shame this letterpress print by Joe Newton is sold out.
LetterMpress: A Virtual Letterpress
I just backed this supercool Kickstarter project called LetterMpress, A Virtual Letterpress on Your iPad. I can’t wait to show this to my almost 5 year old!
(via ChrisGlass)
Days are getting shorter
“You do get to a certain point in life where you have to realistically, I think, understand that the days are getting shorter, and you can’t put things off thinking you’ll get to them someday. If you really want to do them, you better do them. There are simply too many people getting sick, and sooner or later you will. So I’m very much a believer in knowing what it is that you love doing so you can do a great deal of it.”
Nora Ephron
Film Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Novelist
(via Design Thought Leader)
What is the one brand you can’t live without (aside from Apple)?
Photos by Emily Gilbert
At last week’s CreativeMornings/NewYork with Debbie Millman we asked the following Icebreakertag question: What is the one brand you can’t live without (aside from Apple)?
See all of the answers in this Flickr Set.
What’s your answer?
PayPal Fee Calculator
This PayPal Fee Calculator is my Google find of the day. It is a free web-based tool that allows people to calculate what their PayPal fees would be to receive a certain amount or to reverse calculate their fees to determine what amount a person would have to send them for them to receive a certain amount after fees. Created by Ryan Olbe, a 28-year-old freelance web developer from central Florida. Thank you, Ryan!
InteracTees
Wear the InteracTee to tell others what you’re looking to hire. Think of it as an ice breaker for conversations at meetups and events. Automate your search for talent.
(Thank you Amrit)
Social Media Folks…
Every day I get at least one email asking me about a Social Media Person recommendation to maintain Twitter/Facebook accounts etc. I tweeted this statement earlier (above) and got A LOT of replies saying “I can help!” Aha! Time to put together a resource for people to connect. If you’re a ‘Social Media Person’ (Community Manager) offering your services, please comment below in the following format:
Name:
Twitter.com/username:
URL:
Location:
Email: (please use http://scr.im/ to protect your email adress from spammers)
From now on, I will direct people asking me for Social Media help directly to this post. Hopefully lots of good connections will come of it.
(If you don’t see your comment right away, be patient, once you add links I need to approve it.)
Vetted
Vetted is a new online shopping mekka for people like me, that share a love for the simple, modern and unique. NYC based designer Antonio Carusone is behind this new gem of a site. Oh, the temptation!
SXSW Video Guide
This SXSW Video Guide made me laugh! (No, I won’t be at SXSW this year!)
(Thank you Dave)
Cash Only
This Cash Only Tattoo by MyORB made me laugh. The backstory:
Once again we are having problems with a client who is ignoring invoices and does not seem to want to compensate us for half a year of work. We’re fed up and changing our policy: Cash Only! To help enforce this policy we will be wearing these temporary tattoos to kick off meetings.
Communication Crisis
I have reached a personal communication crisis. Too many channels. Too many messages. Too much noise. Too much guilt.
My Twitter exchange with Jeffrey Zeldman this morning pushed me over the edge. Jeffrey sent me direct message on Twitter which I tried to reply to for hours on wednesday constantly getting an error message. I eventually sent a public reply and also an email the next morning. Today I find out that nothing reached him. Oh you modern world! (No, I didn’t have his phone number, otherwise I would have also sent him a text or imagine this, called him!)
What’s the problem?
I am inundated with messages! (And I am sure I am not alone, my case might be just a little bit more extreme!)
I get a ton of email. To the point where email has become my primary source of guilt.
The world also sends me tweets, direct messages, texts, chats with me on skype, sends me Facebook emails (!) and actual mail and also calls me. I am just waiting for messenger pigeons to show up on my window sill in my studio. Responding on all these channels is a full time job, extremely distracting and exhausting. I feel constantly behind. And guilty. In fact, GUILT is the word that comes to mind when I think about my state of communication. And I don’t like that. Not one bit. Life is too short too feel guilty.
Beyond just feeling overwhelmed and wanting to change the way I communicate I am also wondering about etiquette. What are the appropriate channels on how to approach someone? I had one of my readers call me yesterday morning at 7am asking me to edit one of his comments. I am sure he sent an email to my ‘submissions’ email address that I didn’t get to yet, so he felt entitled to call me.
While this is a bit extreme, I still wonder when is it ok to call someone? When do you DM someone vs emailing? When is appropriate to send chat messages?
I know that I need to drastically simplify how I communicate. Less channels. More focus. The question is how? Which channels do I cut off? Do we maybe invent an entirely new channel that combines all of the existing? Or do we need to redefine the rules around communicating? (e.g. When inquiry is strictly business, stick to email. When you’re friends with someone, you can DM them. etc)
My question to you: Have you taken drastic measures in the way you communicate? Do you have personal rules in terms of what channels you use for what purpose? Do you have a vision for how we can simplify the way we communicate?
I will try to convince my studiomates to talk about this topic today over lunch. We have quite some visionary spirits in our space and I hope I’ll be coming back with some good ideas. I’ll make sure to follow up this post… But until then, I’d *love* to hear your thoughts on this topic.
UPDATE: The99Percent posted a reaction to this post. Amazingly insightful!
SF/CreativeMornings Video with Laura Brunow Miner
2011/02 Laura Brunow Miner | Why We Work from SanFrancisco/CreativeMornings on Vimeo.
Our speaker at the *first* SanFrancisco/CreativeMornings was Laura Brunow Miner of Pictory. The event took place on February 25, 2011 and was sponsored by Happy Cog and Typekit (who also hosted the event at their amazing new office in the Mission).
A big giant thank you to Chris Whitmore for offering to shoot and edit the video and also to J.T. Trollman for taking photos of the event.
The San Francisco chapter of CreativeMornings is run by Greg Storey.
See who’s upcoming and watch recorded talks over on creativemornings.com.
The Elements of Content Strategy
A Book Apart just announced their latest book, The Elements of Content Strategy, written by our brand new studiomate Erin Kissane, designed by studiomate Jason Santa Maria and edited by studiomate Mandy Brown. Yes, that was studiomate three times in a row. The book will be released March 8th.
Rainbow Keyboard Stickers
If these Rainbow MacBook Keyboard Decor Decal Stickers weren’t sold already, I’d have to buy them for my lovely color-loving studiomate Jessi.
(via svpply.com)
Life / Career
“I don’t think of my life as a career. I do stuff. I respond to stuff. That’s not a career – it’s a life!”
— Steve Jobs
(via quotevadis)