I’ve MOVED!!!

Hello all, if you weren’t already aware, I’ve moved my blog in order to combine it with my portfolio site!

I am still working out the design kinks but things are going great thus far, and I’ve got lots of great design, advertising and fashion posts coming in the near future!

If you’ve been keeping up via the RSS feed, please update your feed to http://danadoesdesign.com!

Grabby ‘n Stabby: Halloween Edition (Subtitle: Candy Apples and Razor Blades)

Greetings ladies and germs, I hope everyone is ready for Halloween! I am almost ready to leave town on Friday for New Orleans — for work, but I am hoping to spend a few hours out Halloween night!!

I’ve got some good grabs and stabs to share, so let’s get to the listing of things.

Grabby:

• First, get schooled on Halloween via Wikipedia.

• Slutty Halloween Girls save a life. (work safe)

• A different sort of costume…for the boudoir (wink!!), from Dollhouse Bettie. (thanks Kelly!)

• Alkaline Trio’s cover of The Misfits Halloween…with a crazy stick man “video”. Perhaps ignore the video and just enjoy the music, mmmkay?

• Boots. I am still thinking about them. A lot.

• Cupcakes. These are really good. Make them and share.

• Russell Brand interviews Dita Von Teese, and it’s just kind of cute. Surprisingly, he actually doesn’t say anything that off color to her.

• New Raveonettes album. Pretty good stuff. Wacky video. Ricky be warned, there are birds — but it’s worth it.

• Sarah Haskins reports why women love vampires.

Stabby:

• The vampire/Twilight obsession extends to adult women stealing life size cut outs of Twilight star Robert Pattinson from Nordstrom, where the cut outs promote a line of Twilight clothing. Yeah…something is sucking the life out of me, and I think it’s all the hype over Twilight.

• Parking tickets.

• My Macbook Pro speakers randomly switching to headphone mode while I am sitting here writing this. Yay.

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Halloween!

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby

Hello Darling, I hope you are having a lovely and fantastic week! Things have been a little slow at work because we’re waiting to hear back on some layouts, but a few days free of the craziness is never a bad thing.  Alright, now on to the Grabbing and Stabbing.

Grabby:

• Photo shoot with the lovely Nikki and Candy for this weekend’s Zombie Prom. David provided music in the form of the piano tribute to Iron Maiden, and I managed to make a good creepy ventriloquist dummy face. It was SUPER FUN. If you aren’t already planning on it, you should go to Zombie Prom and support some great local artists! It’s an excuse to dress like a zombie, so what more can you ask for!

• Drinks with one of my favorite artists!

• Paris Fashion Week!!! It ended today but there was plenty of fun, fantasy and luxury to be seen.

• Photo booth pictures. Check out this gallery!

• Fabulous dyed and screen printed jersey scarves (with squirrels!) from local artists and fashionistas Owl & Mouse!

• Having a fabulous belated birthday evening at R Bar with some of my favorite people. It was a beautiful, brisk Fall night, complete with strangers inquiring about my fantastic looking group of friends, and drunk girls screaming belligerently when offered help.

STABBY:

• Not seeing She Wants Revenge in Lawrence because I planned my dumb party the same night (sorry K and J!). Next time, next time.

• Paying too much to have shoes repaired. Next time I am going back to my old place.

• Getting fillings and needing a lot of Novocaine.

That’s it! I’m hoping I will have some great pictures to post from Zombie Prom this weekend. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Can I get a quote? Ben Franklin

Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended.

-Benjamin Franklin

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby: FINALLY FALL edition

Hello friends, it’s time again for Le Grab ‘n Stab. I had a wonderful birthday with David in San Francisco after I finished my work, and have lots of interesting things going on work-wise, freelance-wise and personally.

But now, on to the listing of things:

GRABBY:

• FALL!! Tuesday was the official beginning of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere. I’m so excited.

• “When Darkness Falls”, a photo shoot for ELLE UK. Pretty, and the models look vaguely pin-up-esque. I love how the fabric folds and flairs around the models. Not to mention the cute tilted type on the opening page. Gotta love white space, err, black space.

• Sorry to any male readers, but Fresh Sugar Rose Tinted lip treatment. Boys will only appreciate this if they get to kiss a girl who uses it. It’s amazing and has sunscreen but doesn’t taste like it. It tastes like sweet heaven. Totally worth the money because it does everything you’d want it to.

• The new House Industries catalog that arrived this week. I was wondering about the stock used for the cover, it has a texture like my first portfolio case out of college. Turns out it’s Riegel’s Jersey Plate, the same paper their very first mailer was printed on 16 years ago. Tactile yumminess. Not to mention the interior pages are a one color job—impressive.  It’s an eye-popping metallic bronze ink.

• Researching WordPress themes for a blog I am building. It’s nerd-fun.

birthday shoes, from Guess.

• BIRTHDAY SHOES. Hell yes. I saw these in San Francisco on my birthday and could not stop thinking about them so now they are mine! Not the best pic, but trust me, there will be more.

• Shopping in San Francisco. And no, I didn’t just buy shoes! We shopped one afternoon and all the salespeople were really helpful and friendly. Oh, and awesome window displays; example below.

Chanel Window

• Seeing Nicki, Greg, Courtney and Raju in California. We had such a great time!!Seeing friends when we got back.

• Getting to collaborate with talented, nice
beautiful ladies!

STABBY:

• LOST LUGGAGE.

• Being woken up at 6 a.m. on Saturday by the fire department because there’s a fire in my building. Everything is fine now, people are dumb sometimes.

• Sick kitties. Hopefully that will be fine soon.

• Friends moving away. It’s bittersweet though, because it’s for love. Awww!

Hope you enjoyed the list and have a great weekend!

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby, Labor Day sale edition

Everyone is having a labor day sale and sending me emails about it. meanwhile I am trying to save my money for my trip to San Francisco. It’s a trip for work, but David is coming with me, and we are staying a few extra days for my birthday! Thus, I am ignoring all sales. Now, on to the grabbing and stabbing.

GRABBY:

• Sephora has released the above video to promote their Fall Film Noir makeup collection. It’s a little long, and I think it’s funny to reference movies that were black and white for the most part to sell makeup…but I appreciate the concept. I love many of the actresses known for their roles in Noir films, so it definitely still appeals to me. I probably need to go to Sephora anyway, damn you, advertising!

• This BCBG email that I received yesterday. I love the pretty, clean layout and typography. So many brands try to communicate too many things at once, which results in me scanning the email and hitting delete. Not to mention that dress is fabulous.

• The prolific Colleen Wainwright has a great post this week on her blog about how doing something you fear is what keeps you alive.

• This song still makes me really happy.

• This letterpress poster from Yee-Haw Industries. It’s by no means their fanciest work, but I support the plight of the robot zombie. They are a dying breed.

• Fawn Gehweiler is having an pop up shop sale, and there’s really cute stuff! I’m eyeing the I heart Paris coin purse.

• For my friend Joi, I present Hendrick’s Gin cucumber crate packaging, via the Lovely Package blog.

STABBY:

• Forgetting my phone at home.

• Swallowing vitamins

• Having designer’s-block

I think that’s it. Everyone have a safe and fabulous Labor Day weekend! You will find me at Greaserama!!! Woohoo!

Triumphant return of Grabby ‘n Stabby Thursday

Hello friends! Hope you are all having a fabulous week. Last few weeks have been very busy for me, having been out of town twice for work. I am just now getting caught up on you know, laundry, bills, all that glorious stuff.

Here’s what has me grinning:

GRABBY:

• Looking for a place to stay in San Francisco! We’re considering here, here and here. It’s only for a few nights and it’s for my birthday (YAY!!), after all. And this time I better find a place that serves my beloved Ace Pear Cider!

• These screen prints on Etsy. Pretty and affordable!

• This pretty 1940’s dress that I’d like to go dancing in!

• A breakdown of how to use SEO to market your website from Freelance Switch.

• Another one for the web people, Paparazzi!, a utility for OS X that takes really nice screen shots of browser windows.

• Greaserama, coming up Labor Day weekend. Woooo!

• Smashing Magazine come through for me when I need them with this article on effective logo design! I just got asked to re-design a logo, so it’s always good to get in the mindset with some tips on what works!

• David coming up with the phrase “bitch missiles” to describe what Anna Wintour’s eyes would shoot at Dave Letterman when he interviewed her. Turned out, the woman has a funny bone!

• And…last but not least, you knew you couldn’t have a G’nS without the mention of a shoe. Zippers, I love them. Red pedicures, love those too.

STABBY

Honestly, not much to report. I’d like more money, more time, more sleep, but who wouldn’t?

Oh wait, I know one thing that made me stabby this week! Grinders and Blanc needs to keep enough Ace Pear Cider on hand so that when I arrive at some point during the weekend I don’t have to hear about how the last keg just blew, or the other bartender drank the last bottle. Seriously. It’s popular. Act accordingly.

Over and out, for now!

Product Lust: DKNY Fall 2009

DKNY is calling this color rhubarb, but in reality it’s bright pink and grey. Whatever you call it, it’s gorgeous, and fun. Bummer for me is that it’s most certainly a wool blend, and I am allergic to wool. It’s the one thing about Fall and Winter that I HATE.

DKNY’s ready-to-wear Fall collection has gotten tons of deserved press, and to see why check out style.com’s slide show of the runway looks.

I can imagine running around the city sidewalks in this suit, a pair of amazing black platform roundtoed heels, fallen leaves swirling around me…ahhh, I love Fall!

Excuse me, that’s MY bag with the Pantone blue tag

Ok, WHAT? Flight 001, I love you even more now because you are making Pantone travel accessories. Including messenger bags, luggage tags and passport holders.

I am bummed that I am so close now to my Toronto trip because I would have totally nerded-out and bought these! I probably still will anyway!

Although…I am really looking for something more in the Pantone 527 PC palette. Who am I kidding, I want one of everything!

A very Don Draper of Mad Men thought for the day…

It’s not what the dream is but what the dream does.
– John Johnson

First blog: Scary Times

It seems appropriate that my first post be about how scary it is to be in advertising right now. Yesterday when I checked the news I found this story from the New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/22/business/media/22adcol.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Advertising&st=cse&oref=slogin

It pretty much says it all. Consumer confidence is down, retail spending is down, ad spending is down, and the price of everything is going up.

For someone like myself who is itching to climb the advertising ranks, the events of the last week are just one more obstacle to overcome. One more reason that I need to be a rock star in my field.

My intention is to blog about what I find exciting and inspiring in the design, advertising and technology industries. Additionally I want to blog about what’s new with me, including projects and freelance I’m working on. We will see where this goes, but I am pretty excited.

Pictoplasma: what a character!

Image courtesy of Pictoplasma and McCarty Photoworks

Last month in NYC the first U.S. Pictoplasma festival took place, and was a great success. It is a festival celebrating the world community of creative character design. I’ve always loved character design, from the time I was making little cat statues out of Fimo, to when I was in fourth grade drawing characters on the back of my grandma’s business cards (inspired by Mary Engelbright, so 80’s), to all the money I spent on various character’s products at the Sanrio store.

While I was late to the party learning about this festival, I did follow all the blogging, articles and twitters on it while it was going on. Uber-talented people and speakers participated, and there is an amazing Pictoplasma Flickr Set and discussion group about the festivals, which take place all over the world.

It’s so inspiring, but I get so lost in looking at everything, it can also be time consuming! Enjoy!

Can Agencies Be Eliminated?

So my dad sent me this blog entry and I finally got around to reading it. It’s from NYT Freakonomics blog. A guy is doing an experiment using YouTube videos to prove that the social media-savvy consumer might produce content with more influence than something an agency could cook up. The guy chose Crest as the first brand for the experiment.

There’s been a lot of talk about the fact that agencies aren’t wielding social-media in a way that actually benefits advertisers. Not to mention the ROI is hard to measure.

Part of me wants to say, it’s an interesting idea even if the brand chosen is so ubiquitous that it seems like the social perception would come into play too much. There’s the fact that Crest is not at all involved in this experiment. And the fact that the $2,000 prize for the “best” YouTube video feels like a fee rather than a prize. I think perhaps had it been a fictitious toothpaste company with some sort of out-of-this world benefits, it would have felt less like fishing for ideas, and more like a controlled experiment.

At what point is it social media and at what point is it spec work, even if it’s not intended that way?

I am all for engaging conversations and creative discovery regarding the possibilities of all these on-line tools. I do think that advertising agencies need to become more adept at using social media to reach consumers. And I think that many are trying to.

If you read the comments after the post, people bring up lots of great points.

What do you think? Awesome idea or kind of fishy?

What, it’s made from corn!

Saturday night D and I saw one of these commercials from the Corn Refiners Association. The goal is to “change the conversation” about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS).

I’d love to find out more about the strategy behind this. I think it would be a difficult campaign.

England has already started to pass laws limiting what can be advertised during children’s shows, so perhaps that is where some of the concern is coming from.

What do you think? Do these ads make you question beliefs you had about HFCS? Or is this even something you think about?

Freelance. Fashion. TV.

via my dad, Doug Hill

So, the weekend was good. I was productive on Saturday, getting things squared away with a freelance project, and getting materials organized for my first Urban Times assignment, small as it may be. It’s for a story on a bar. More on that at a later date.

I’ve had a short list of things I wanted to talk about here, least of which is this coat, which I am expecting in the mail tomorrow. Those who know me know that I am allergic to wool, so this makes winter clothes and coats challenging. It seems like all the styles I am attracted to end up being wool. This Spiewak coat is not wool, but it is warm. Plus it’s got all kinds of features like a removable hood, lots of pockets and drawstrings to ensure the chill stays out. Spiewak makes cool, functional coats for men too. D has a few and is plotting to buy more.

I also got new glasses last week because mine broke in half. I will get a picture taken soon. I am pleased with them considering how picky I am about glasses.

Oh, The Dish is my new favorite show. It’s about complete trash TV just like The Soup, but who knew Topanga from Boy Meets World was so funny?

And lastly, something advertising related. Overstock.com has a new commercial. When D and I saw it, I said “I bet we are supposed to know who these people are”, and I was right. They are a husband and wife duo who haven’t had successful solo musical careers but are about to release an album together, after gaining popularity on a CMT show called “Can You Duet”.

I think the ad concept wasn’t very clear if you didn’t know the people and their relationship. Overstock continues to underwhelm me with their advertising, but they keep making commercials so something about it must be working.

What did we all do before Wikipedia?

More from me later in the week. Happy Monday!

Touché!

I think this is a nice move. What do you think?

Thursday “Grabby ‘n Stabby”

I stole this idea from my sister. It’s sort of like an in/out list, but is more just things that I am happy or excited about, versus things that annoy or infuriate me. So, here we go.

Grabby:

• Freelancing for Urban Times. I only have one story to lay out this issue, but the chance to do some magazine layout has me loving life.

• You Work For Them stock vector art and brushes. This stuff rocks my world.

• KC Ad Club Career Day registration is “booming”, according to the director. It’s been fun being part of getting the event together!

• My new coat. Yes, still! It’s been so cold this week that I got to break it out right away, and I am pleased with my purchase.

• Working out with my friend Nick. His humor distracts me from my pain so I can eek out that last rep.

• My new glasses. Oh, right. I said I’d post a picture of those.

• Cupini’s. Their gnocchi is so delicious.

STABBY:

• Political commercials. Possibly the most useless kind of advertising.

• Rain. I’ve had enough the past few weeks. I keep getting caught in downpours.

• Not hearing back from people.

• Being slow at work.

• Broken washing machines.

All in all, not a bad week. How’s yours shaping up?

woof

Here’s a doggie I have been working on in Illustrator. He’s not finished yet. He’s going to end up on a re-design of some packaging for a medicine for dogs. I am not even sure on the colors yet- I didn’t want to make it too detailed because he’s going to be small. There will be another dog on the version of the medicine for puppies.

You don’t see a lot of illustration used in pet pharmaceuticals, but I think there’s a place for it. You do see color, and I think this is just another option for color use. This is for my portfolio anyway, so it’s not like I am just trying something on the client’s dime.

This has been a fun project for myself so far. I will post the other dog when I get to it.

update…

So last weekend was a wash because of Halloween, a wedding, and Career Day prep.

But Career Day was awesome! We had over 300 register, and I ended up moderating 3 sessions including one on freelance creatives, which ended up being 3 awesome creatives with lots of great advice. Not to mention they all produce amazing work! The other two sessions were on PR, so not my area, but still interesting.

I met lots of cool people and had a great time. I can’t wait until next year!

Tonight there’s another Ad Club event and I am going with Miss Katy, and it should be a blast! I will report back.

C’mon, set me up on an…interview.

It’s true. I am looking for a new job, to ideally start before December 31st, or soon after. My “personal ad” gives a brief overview of what I have to offer and what I am looking for. If you see a graphic design position listed in the Kansas City area, let me know about it!! Or, if you are the one who needs someone, check out my gallery of work samples at www.danadoesdesign.com.

Special Friday Quickie Grabby ‘n Stabby

Hi there, sorry for not updating more regularly…been busy on the networking beat. SO far, with success. Without further ado…

Grabby

• Seeing Chip Kidd speak this week was amazing and inspiring. He was so charming and insightful. You should buy his new book.

• Dinner at Pangea. Total yum. Also note that vinyl bikinis can be had at Deborah’s next door. Ahh, convenience!

• Gmail themes!!! Hey, I love it. I can change my look based on my mood.
Good times.

• More freelance work.

• New business cards! Thanks Soli!

Stabby

• Lack of time in the gym. I think I am going to have to start going in the morning. Blah.

• XM radio changing up the playlists on my favorite stations due to the Sirius merger. But I am going to reserve angry emails for another week to see if things improve.

• People who don’t use turn signals. I’m not a mind reader.

I think that’s it! It’s been a productive week, and now I am looking forward to Happy Hour at the Czar Bar.

Viral marketing with Mad Men

So, with thanks to Agency Spy, I found this terrific viral marketing video for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM). Characters from Mad Men appear, and it’s actually quite funny.

Happy Monday!

The Kotex beaver rules “down under”

Ok, WHAT? This is why I love advertising. Kudos to Kotex Australia for taking the research they gathered on what young women call their “lady parts” and not being afraid to use it to develop the campaign for their U products. The animated beaver has been so well received that Kotex has called upon Brandshop, a Sydney agency, to create the above follow-up commercial. I also want to point out that the content on the U website is really different. They say “damn”.

Apparently there are no plans to export the campaign to the U.S., and that makes me sad. I wish America wasn’t so uptight and sanitized. The idea isn’t that far off, but in my opinion this a lot “cooler” than Always’ “have a happy period”. Maybe it’s just because it’s obvious in the Kotex commercial that the person is an adult, and the Always campaign appears to skew younger. Could be I just spend more time watching Gossip Girl than the average 29 year old, and I am not seeing the commercials meant to sell me lady products.

Side note: the packaging for the U products is WAY different from anything here in the U.S., except for maybe o.b. because I think they have some kind of ’90’s looking neon pop art thing going on. The U packaging looks all ’90’s too actually. It’s really giving me flashbacks to the pages of Sassy magazine. So maybe that’s why I like it. Ah, nostalgia and feminine products. Good times.

2008 Report Card

So, in true “year in review” style, I decided to give myself a report card on what I have done this year. It’s a tad self-serving because I think despite — or perhaps in spite of —  the odds I have made some strides this year.

Improving my skills | A+

I feel like I got serious this year about improving my skill set, the biggest improvement being learning to use Flash and Dreamweaver. I’m not applying for web jobs yet, but it’s an improvement over nothing which is basically where I was before. Not to mention reading more on trends in design and advertising methods.

I’ve also learned a bunch of new stuff in Photoshop, which has been fun AND helpful. I heart Lynda.com tutorials, AND all the other awesome sources of information that I have found on the Web, that I should probably get around to publishing a list of here.

Networking | A (second half of the year, anyway)

So I am not always the best about this, being an introvert, naturally. But I really ramped it up heading into fall, with participating on the Ad Club Career Day committee, and attending Ad Club and AIGA events. I have discovered that I really do know enough people now that changes are I can go alone and find someone to talk to once I get there. And it has actually been fun and informative. I’ve had help from tons of people in trying to meet people who work at places that I am interested in, and that has been awesome. There have been a few happy hours and parties that perhaps I should have gone to, but money or introversion kept me away. I am going to do my best to get out there as much as I can in 2009.

Freelancing | A-

That’s an A- because while I have managed to get some really great clients, I haven’t fully figured out the logistics of having a full time job and still serving them to the best of my abilities. My turn around time isn’t as great as it could be. I am hoping with better equipment I can get work done faster.

I will say, I always dreaded the idea of freelancing. It took my sister finding a client for me to conceed to it. And then it just kind of happened that I kept hearing from people that they could use someone. I still haven’t done a whole lot yet, but it’s going well so far. It’s been a real test for me to improve my time management skills, as well as people skills, which can only be good things. Not to mention, it’s given me a creative outlet when I haven’t had it at my full time job. Now I wish I had done it sooner. It might have made the last two years more tolerable.

Designing things that I like | C

Call me a late bloomer, OK? I don’t feel like I totally know what I want to do yet, but I feel like I am getting there. I am so used to trying to do what other people want that I think I kind of forgot who I am. Now I am getting used to expressing myself again, and it’s fun.

I think that’s about it…for now! Hope your 2008 was productive and here’s to a fabulous 2009! Cheers!

The perfect blazer?

La Rok Weekend Warrior Blazer

OK, So I came across this while doing the web equivalent of window shopping the Tobi.com winter sale. I think it might be the perfect blazer. The details make is casual enough to wear to a more relaxed office, or on the weekend, as the name suggests, to look pulled together but fun. The details include everything I love: zippers, raw edges, stripes and hoods. Plus, it’s not cropped so it’s not going to look ridiculous on a long torso like mine.

The price is enough to make me pause, but this might just be irresistible because I have had such a time finding jackets I love. I don’t even know this brand, but I loved the service I got when I ordered my Spiwak coat a few months back, that I trust Tobi won’t steer me wrong!

2009 goals

the cool kids on Christmas eve

Since I do love lists and I love having a clean slate, here are my 2009 career goals.

• Work outside of my comfort zone. I am finding more successes than failures as I step outside of what I know I can do. I just want to experience whatever I can, because I am sure I am going to meet interesting people and learn more about what I am good at.

• Stay involved in the advertising and design community and find more ways to volunteer and be involved.

• Continue to freelance as much as I can.

• Have fun. I think that’s pretty important since this is my life and whatnot.

I won’t bore you with the gritty details, but those are the important things I want to work on. I am really looking forward to this year, I think a lot of good things are going to happen for me personally and professionally. I feel like I  have a foundation to build on because of everything I learned and experienced in 2008.

In closing, a quote that I feel defined me in 2008:

Your greatness will never be measured by wealth or position, but by what it takes to make you quit.

January First Fortune Cookie

My fortune cookie on January 1, 2009

Shoes, oh my god. Shoes.

So I decided to reward myself for acquiring a new job by purchasing shoes. I didn’t leave the house with that idea, but when the perfect pair found me, I knew it was meant to be. The last time I had gotten a job and bought shoes to celebrate, it turned out to be the best job I ever had. So, here’s what I got, from the lovely Gina at Habitat.

Chie Mihara Sacude Shoes

Yup. That’s them. They’re kind of 80’s, kind of Blade Runner. Here they are on:

They are awesome with dresses and skinny jeans. AND they are actually comfortable. I guess the woman who designs the line used to work for a podiatrist. Whatever it is they are comfortable and easy to walk it. I am in love.

PepsiCo rolls out more redesigns

Tropicana got a bigger budget than previous years for the new campaign.

So, it seems like it’s getting mixed reviews across the design blog-o-sphere, but I am digging the new Tropicana packaging. I need to see more of the ad campaign to make a judgment there, but “Squeeze it’s a natural” seems pretty versatile. Who doesn’t like hugs?

I love packaging where an image wraps. It’s so simple, yet so effective. I know people are bummed about losing the straw in the orange, but I think it was time to shake things up.

Fashion meets politics and plumber meets journalism

So I came across this today, which says that “insiders” are speculating that Anna Wintour, Editor-in-chief of American Vogue, may be offered an ambassador position with the Obama administration. The blurb is a bit fluffy, no actual sources named or quotes from anyone, but it’s a pretty interesting idea.

In other news, the guy who came to be known as “Joe the Plumber” during the presidential campaign has accepted an assignment to cover the continued fighting in Gaza for the website pjtv.com.

I can’t help but think that it’s a stunt to get more traffic to the website, but my first thought was about all the out of work qualified journalists who could have done the job. And granted, the article I linked to above is about newspaper journalists, but there have been layoffs across the board. Just my two cents.

Proudly going against the grain…

The PBS website has a big area devoted to the Helvetica movie right now, and it includes this quiz, to find out what font you are. I’m kind of bummer out by my result though.

Ok, actually I don’t really love Courier as a font, but I like the sentiment there. Now, it’s your turn. Go take the quiz. What font are you?

sofa lust.

avec sofa from CB2

I love a sofa that has a story to tell me.

McQ=McAwesome

Umm, what? Yes, I know, “Where the hell have you BEEN, Dana?”, but we will get to that later.

Right now we need to talk about the fact that Alexander McQueen’s McQ line has a low-end line coming to Target.

I actually have sort of sworn off Target clothes, with the exception of camisoles and maybe workout gear. Partially because I know that clever styling and nice photography of 14 year olds wearing said Target clothes generally makes them appear better than they do in a picked-over jumble on the rack. But primarily because I am trying to live by the “quality not quantity” mindset.

But let’s indulge in the fantasy for a moment, and look at the pieces I think are stand-outs from the upcoming line, which will be in Target stores on March 1st.

These are just my favorites, there’s more to be seen here. What I love is the androgeny, the 80’s inspired/retro shapes, and black. That first dress would go so well with my Habitat shoes too. But also, those shoes in all the pictures. YUM. I’d rock some blue boots from Target, because I am not going to wear them more than a season anyway. I’ll save my hundreds for something with a bit more longevity.

In reality those dresses will be cotton, thus requiring much ironing (boo), and the black of the fabric will look almost green, because it’s cheap fabric. I do like the tunic length ruched t-shirt and slouchy noodie (i.e. hoodie with no hood- or, track jacket), but I can probably get something nicer from Brooklyn Industries.

In any case, I like seeing designers I am interested in at Target because even if I don’t buy anything, it’s gives me inspiration.

Whatcha doin?

So sorry for having been absent. I have discovered my dormant workaholic. It wanted a magazine to design.

I’ve been working like mad on the February issue of Urban Times magazine, which comes out on “First Friday”, which is February 6th.

The issue is going to be very nice, but it has been a hell of a lot of work to do via email. More work than I anticipated.

Speaking of the full time job, it’s going great. Nice office, nice people, and I am needed. It definitely an adjustment being back in publishing, and back in an office with people I have things in common with aside from being human.

I will keep doing freelance gigs that allow me to exercise different areas of my design skills, but I think I found my comfort zone, and it was somewhere back when I had time to eat, sleep, and do laundry. Don’t get me wrong though, I am very thankful to have had this chance and I can’t wait to hear what people think of the magazine.

Happy 25th, Mac!

It’s Mac’s 25th birthday, and though it’s sad that Steve Jobs has had to take a leave of absence because of his health, the Mac is still going strong.

It’s been a love affair for me that started in first grade when I played Oregon Trail on an Apple IIe. It continued up through high school when I had an art teacher who was a freelance graphic designer and had a Mac in her office. She showed me how to use Quark Xpress, and in photography class I used Photoshop.

The first Mac I owned was a lime iMac that my dad bought me in 1999 for college. It was the first iMac with a DVD player. My boyfriend later got a G4 Quicksilver tower, and shortly there after I got a 2 Gen. 10 gig iPod.

Now I have upgrade since then, but I have fond memories of all the macs in the past. Sure the price points can be frustrating, but for someone in the business of making various digital ephemera more aesthetically pleasing, one couldn’t ask for a more beautiful machine for making it happen.

Here are some Mac related links to enjoy!

Apple II ***The computer that taught me how to love.

Low End Mac

Deal Mac

oldcomputers.net ***Check out the old ads!!!

Six Worst Mac Products of All Time ***What, you don’t want a dude in a tux to set up your “luxury computer”?

Mac World’s take on 25 years of love (and hate)

Happy birthday Mac!

Mercury’s in retrograde…

Ok, I can’t say that I totally buy into ALL things astrology-related, but this is too funny to pass up.

From Gala Darling’s post “How to survive Murcury Retrograde”:

“Expect to hear super-loud complaining from your friends who are Gemini or Virgo, since both are ruled by Mercury. Mercury also rules a lot of industries like publishing, writing, editing, advertising, sales, public relations & anything to do with transport, like airlines, the post office & cabs! This means it can be particularly rough for Gemini train conductors & Virgo magazine editors, so be kind to any you know!”

As a Virgo who is art directing a magazine, I’m buying it. It’s not just a lyric from a Bloc Party song, it’s been my reality for the past week.

Sunny and 72 Grabby and Stabby

Grabby:

• Nice weather. It’s perfect outside today.

• My new job. It’s going great thus far.

• Going to New Orleans for said new job. I’ve never been, and I am looking forward to it.

• My new computer bag. Beauty+function-tech nerdiness=AWESOME

• Coffee, it’s the only reason I made it through this week.

• Finishing freelance projects. The new issue comes out 2/6. I just hope people are happy.

• The Superbowl. For the football AND the commercials.

• This.

• Sleep.

Stabby:

• Aforementioned projects, because finishing them about killed me.

• No sleep. I felt like I was in college again. It sucked as much as I remembered.

• Layoffs. I should know. I feel bad for everyone going through it.

• Packing for travel. I hate trying to anticipate what I will feel like wearing.

• Waiting in line for the car wash. Which is why my car is still dirty.

• People who ask if something on a restaurant menu “is good”. They want to know what ABOUT a dish is good. But it sounds like they are implying the restaurant would put something that tastes bad on the menu. Use your words to say what you mean.

Fetish for zippers

Image courtesy ebags.com

Is it black?

Does it have zippers?

Is it huge?

Sign me up.

I am obsessed with black bags with zippers, and if you throw in some asymmetry, it’s over. Diesel usually makes things I want to own anyway, but my search for a new bag is over.

It’s even big enough that I think the laptop will fit in it, if I am too lazy to switch to my new laptop bag.

The Super Bowl ads

I could start doing a run down of all the ads, or I could just send you here, and let the pros tell you.

I would like to say though, that I was kind of impressed that the Budweiser commercials were about the horses, and not about something derogatory toward women. It was cute to the point of almost being sappy!

I thought the first Doritos ad with the snow globe was the funniest because of the shock factor. However, I think the game upstaged the commercials this year, which is really how it should be.

Dropping like flies (well groomed flies)…

Apparently Conde Nast is talking about shuttering Allure. This is a major bummer to me because in my opinion as a magazine consumer, they offer more useful information than other “women’s” titles. It’s definitely the leader in beauty industry info, though Sandow Media’s New Beauty is definitely gaining popularity. It’s a different market though, more interested in which celeb dermatologist you see as opposed to whether skincare from Target compares to skincare from Nordstrom.

Domino was a little less of a surprise to me last week, unfortunately. As much as I want to decorate my home, I am not in a place to be buying antiques from China, and I don’t know anyone under 40 who is.

Losing Allure would definitely sadden me. I think it’s a talented staff, and it will leave a gaping hole in the magazine world that I don’t think the internet can fill.

Font Fridays: Helvetica’s “intrinsic beauty”

Check out this vintage Helvetica ad.

Love, love, love it!!!!

Via Kernsipracy.

The House that Girard built

Alexander Girard is well known for his contributions to textile design in the 50s and 60s, including his designs for Charles and Ray Eames.

Font foundry and purveyors of good taste, House Industries have spent years researching the work of Girard and have finally released a collection of fonts, toys and t-shirts inspired by the work of Girard.

Any self-respecting designer with a love for mid-century modern will be all over this. Get these items while they’re hot (and in stock)! I’m trying not to drool on my keyboard. Design fabulousness, yay!

C’est la vie

via Velvet Idole

Forgetting the fact that Velvet Idole makes gorgeous computer accessories, I just want to live in this picture.

Talk about selling a lifestyle. Ooo la la!

MAC cosmetics Hello Kitty collection video

Hello Kitty is no longer just the cute character who graced my tiny notebooks and pencil cases when I was young. Recently MAC launched a Hello Kitty-inspired line of limited edition cosmetics and accessories, as well as a video to promote the line. Have to say, the video is more “Hello, Sex Kitten”, and I am kind of loving it.

I had no clue that MAC was producing video to promote collections but I think it’s great for there to be a visual story to convey the idea and emotion behind the product.

This piece is part Alice in Wonderland, part Madonna video. It definitely focuses on the festishistic quality that Hello Kitty has taken on for those of us who grew up with her. Not to mention the actual fetish wear worn by the characters. Latex anyone? I thought so.

Orange you glad…

So I guess I was the only one who liked the Tropicana redesign, because  public outcry against it was so great that they are reverting to the old design.

I’m thinking that consumers fear change in a time where so little is in their control.

I’d like if they dropped the price of orange juice to be what it was when the straw in orange image was introduced. Now THERE’S a way to make customers happy.

His Girl Tuesday

Viral video for Oliver Peoples eyewear featuring the adorable Zooey Deschanel, as well as a song from her band, She and Him.

As a girl with glasses, I’m in love with this!!!

March’s First Grabby ‘n Stabby

So, it’s been a while, and I apologize. Things have been busy, but otherwise pretty damn great. Can I say how happy I am that the grabbies out number the stabbies?

N.B.: you can now subscribe to my RSS feed and get my posts delivered to whatever RSS service you use! Look to your right and down for the RSS logo.

Ok, let’s get this thing started!

GRABBY:

• Spending more time talking to fabulous, talented, and funny friends

• Spending a day in Lawrence with my honey for is birthday.

• New sketchbooks.

• March Vogue! Recession be damned.

• Speaking of, fashion week! And all the glorious Fashion Week blog coverage

• Gimlets!

• Upcoming events: The Rumblejetts on 3/14

• Concert tickets

• My new tiny camera. Yay!

• Wearing black (and white, and gray). I just can’t do the Springy pastel thing.
It ain’t me.

• This website, straight out of Nompton.

STABBY:

• Finding out day of upload that we’re using a new printer. With different specs.

• Seeing the magazine I worked on and immediately finding 2 glaring mistakes.

• The McDonald’s commercial for the Fillet o’ Fish. I won’t even link to it, it’s that annoying.

• People trying to upsell me on vodka at the bar. WTF?

• 32 mg memory card in my camera. Why even bother including it? I ordered a 16 gig, so I will have to WORK to fill it.

That’s all for now. Will have some design and advertising news and commentary later in the week. Later!

Coco! Oui, oui!

I’m calling on Katy or Gina to watch this and tell me if it looks good. Or anyone else who speaks French. I only took a semester of French in 7th grade, so I know how to count to 10, and that’s about it. Oh, and some cooking terms because of David.

Even if you, like me, don’t speak French, it’s visually beautiful so watch anyway! Enjoy!

Accepting the revolution

Found this through the Media Bistro email this morning, and it offers an interesting perspective on the newspaper industry’s uneasy history with the internet.

“Most engaging” Ads of 2008

From the Ad Age website, a brief article with slide show of the print advertisements in 2008 that scored the highest on the MRI Starch “engagement” scale.

My observations—a great headline or beautiful crisp photo will take you far. Also, people like things that are shiny!

Be sure to watch the slide show to see all the ads, and read the descriptions, they are really insightful as to what about the ad was successful with readers.

Tampax gets funny. Period.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile you may recall my love of the Kotex beaver commercials in Australia. So freaking funny, and so not for a puritanical American audience.

Tampax is trying to appeal to women using humor that strips away some of the euphemisms commonly used in advertising “feminine hygiene” products. No blue liquid here.

I think the commercials’ Mother Nature character is pretty funny—the actress does a great job. However, I don’t really like the “Outsmart Mother Nature” tag line because I still think it implies that you should want to force your body to do something other than what its meant to.

But that’s a discussion for another day I suppose. Here is a company willing to trust their agency and take a risk by using humor to market a product to women. It breaks the mold for the product, and in this economy, I think risk taking can really pay off when done well.

Brave New Pants

From the Saks Fifth Avenue "Want It" 2009 campaign video

Ok, I can’t find it on You Tube anywhere, so go to the Saks site NOW before it disappears for the awesome video promoting the Saks Spring “Want It” campaign. The campaign, created by Shepard Fairey’s Studio Number One, and obviously inspired by the Russian constructivists. I had seen the print stuff, but I LOVE this video which outlines their Spring trends.

I am partial to the disembodied arms with bracelets, and the jaunty men in polos.

Anyway—go watch it NOW comrades!

Friday quickie

Me, on St. Pat's, photographed by my co-worker Larry

I can’t believe it’s April already. It’s First Friday too, and that means that the new Urban Times is out, so I need to check out how my layouts look, AND we’re actually going out tonight to support a few friends who have shows up. I like going out for FF when I have a destination. I am not so good at the wandering aimlessly around the Crossroads.

There’s a bunch of stuff piling up that I need to blog about, but the past two weeks I have barely had the time to make notes about things, let alone write complete sentences.

This weekend’s agenda:

Friday:

• See some art

• Eat some tasty food

• Drink a cocktail or two

• Hang with friends

Saturday:

• workout

• Some design stuff

• Errands

• Cleaning

• Rumblejetts show at The Record Bar

Sunday:

Workout, then it’s a toss up. Anything I didn’t get done the day before.

Alright, I think there’s going to need to be a disco nap before First Friday. I’ll be blogging again very soon. Ciao!

Never gets old…

Check out this exhibition of Lolita covers. I love seeing so many interpretations of a book in once place.

The new iPhone app is a piece of cardboard

I thought this was a clever little thing, and as the description mentions, would be great for taking pictures of papers that have info we want to remember, but don’t need to keep around, and works better than holding the phone yourself.

I’d use it photographing magazine ads and editorial pages that I want to remember, but not keep. I have a whole collection of CDs I’ve burned of ads scanned from magazines starting in about 1996 to 2004, dubbed “Sexy Ladies Vol. 1-4″.  This cardboard copy stand of sorts would take up way less room than a scanner and capture enough detail to be worth it.

I’m not quite ready to buy an iPhone just yet though.

Oh, and if anyone wants to see MiuMiu or Calvin Klein ads from 1999, I’ve got you covered.

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby, Links galore!

Greetings all,

It’s been a good week, but I am so sleep deprived! Partially my own insomnia and partially having too many fun things planned. Let’s get to it, I have lots to share, this will be a link heavy G’nS.

Grabby

• The Rumblejetts show last Saturday at the Record Bar to celebrate the new Chop Tops location.

Awesome because: 1) Good music by good friends; 2) My honey was with me; 3) Strongbow on tap; 4) Met new friends

• After the Rumblejetts, the late show was Quintron and Miss Pussycat. Puppets+keyboards=awesome.

• Seeing the Courteeners and Morrissey for free on Tuesday. Morrissey opened with “This Charming Man” and it was pretty awesome. I was lusting after the drummer’s kit, it kind of made me wish I still played.

• Bonding over clothing with Gina, and realizing the years lost that we could have been sharing a wardrobe.

• Dresses. And more dresses.

• Discovering that I can make my own color depositing conditioner in lieu of my favorite one that has been discontinued. Damn you, Sexy Hair Concepts!

• Podcasts with Alkaline Trio.

Stabby

• Writing actionscript. Dana does design; Dana does not code well.

• Kansas City Fashion week. I wish I could support this, but I’m going to stick with the maddness and mayhem of the 18th Street Fashion Show, thanks. No offense to the small businesses and designers involved, it’s the event itself the skeeves me out. The Olly Girls? Really? This is my idea of hell.

• Wedding ettiquette. People need to get some.

I think that’s it for now!

Fortune covers

Fortune magazine, 1952

I had no idea, but like many magazines in the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, Fortune used a lot of dynamic illustration on their covers. Take a look at this terrific collection of covers, many by prominent designers at the time.

I think years 1950–’53 are my favorites. I wish that magazines didn’t need to have celebrities on them (or Oprah) to sell now.

Lastly, I find the cover above interesting considering the current financial climate.

Everyone have a lovely weekend, and Easter if you celebrate it.

My design was stollen and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

Well, not me personally.

There’s been lots of debate among designers, and I am sure artists too about Shephard Fairey and the legal mess over his Obama “hope” image. I don’t claim to have a lot of knowledge on copyright law or what’s protected, but wanted to share something that my boyfriend came across recently.

Thing is, while this is a very visible case and Fairey is well known for his influences appearing in his work, it does seem that at least where his t-shirts are concerned, he’s done nothing wrong.

In contrast, other companies like Shiroi Neko, are blatantly stealing work and forcing artists and small businesses to pursue legal action to stand up for their work.

Here’s another example of an Ed Hardy design, and the Shiroi Neko version. No they are not identical, but there are SO MANY similarities, down to the Ed Hardy signature being changed to say Shiroi Neko…but then switched to the other side—like that’s going to make it less obvious.

This company has also been called out on You Thought We Wouldn’t Notice, which is helpful because I think they have a good sized audience.

It seems like most people in the art and design community are aware of these issues and that this goes on, but the average consumer may not be aware that they are buying clothing with stolen imagery. Some may only be interested in the price tag, but to some it may feel like buying a fake Prada purse off Ebay that has Prada tags and a certificate of authenticity. They had every intention of buying the real thing, but were tricked by people attempting to pass off their design as the real deal.

What really worries me is the financial burden put on smaller companies and designers or artists who try to pursue legal action against a company like Shiroi Neko. If you have any thoughts or experience with copyright or having work stolen I’d love to hear it.

Saul and Elaine Bass Solar Energy Film

Saul Bass is best known for his movie title sequences, movie posters and logos. However he (and his wife) were filmmakers in their own right. Their short film about solar energy, made in 1980, is part of the DAS film fest.

Side note, I really like that Saul did work with his wife, which I didn’t know before finding this. And I think it’s appropriate that the DAS filmfest was created by Eames Demetrios, grandson of Charles and Ray Eames, my favorite husband/wife design duo.

Steve Bernstein talks to Brandweek

Good Brandweek interview with Steve Bernstein of Bernstein Rein, discussing how he used his expertise gained from the Wal Mart and McDonalds McCafé accounts to make Beauty Brands a shopper marketing success.

Comic Sans Humor

A really good article on the typographer who created Comic Sans, via the Wall Street Journal. Special thanks to Spencer Cross of Tokyo Farm.

Damn, that android can sing!

Ok, she’s not really an android, but she plays one for the short film/video Many Moons.

Aside from having some pretty fierce personal style, Janelle Monae apparently hails from Kansas City, Kansas. Sounds like she didn’t have the happiest of upbringings, but still, nice to see a local succeeding.

Here’s a live performance that’s pretty cool too.

The New Chanel No. 5 mini movie, feat. Audrey Tatou!!!

I like this so much more than any of the other Chanel mini-movies with real actresses! Maybe it’s because Audrey Tatou is actually French, or maybe it’s because this one seems to have a plot that doesn’t make the girl look crazy. Remember when Nicole Kidman exclaims “I love to dance!” for no particular reason? What the hell was that?

But this one is so much better, plot-wise and visually, in my opinion. That shot of the reflection of the bottle off the walls of the train car — gorgeous! Train travel is so romantic! I’d run out and buy some Chanel No. 5 if I didn’t dislike it so intensely. Sigh.

Camera necklace!

In keeping with my love of tiny things and jewelry, check out this camera necklace!

iwantitiwantitiwantit!!!

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby: Selfridgette City!

all images copyright Selfridges

Image copyright Selfridges

GRABBY:

• The Selfridgettes! Dressed in “iconic Pantone 109 yellow”, these lovely ladies are part of the celebration of the British department store’s 100th anniversary. I really want a job where I can where a cute costume, and it’s totally acceptable. I get asked a lot at work why I am so dressed up, and usually, it’s because it’s a Tuesday, and why the hell not?

My retail dream job is to work for Agent Provocateur, because in the stores, the ladies wear pink or black fitted shirt dresses, unbuttoned to reveal whatever bra they are wearing that day. If they are wearing the pink dress, they care not whether their black lingerie shows through. It’s the perfect way to sell the audacious brand. It’s the stuff dreams are made of.

• New summer slingbacks. Yay!

• Compliments from a client on my work. SUPER YAY!

• Compliments on my new H&M outfit from strangers.

• Running. I still don’t quite believe in the elusive “runner’s high”, but I think thanks to all my spinning classes, I have more endurance than ever. I still I hate it, but I am physically capable of running 3 miles and that’s pretty damn good for me.

• The poster for Soderbergh’s  “The Girlfriend Experience”.

• FPO, the new blog devoted to print design. It’s not dead!

• My friend Kelly, who I had literally not talked to in a year. She’s one of those fabulous, stylish, happy people that reminds me how great life is.

STABBY:

• Children on airplanes. I think there should be a “family class” where they all sit, and the flight attendants would hand out Finding Nemo fruit snacks and Baby Benadryl. This probably makes me a terrible person, but I don’t like kids until they are in double digits—and even then, I’m skeptical.

• Being alone in the office and in-between projects, and then being swamped when everyone else has time to socialize.

• Traffic. As it starts to get warm, people’s brains melt and I swear they drive crazier.

• BROKEN ZIPPERS! I kid you not, I have had 2 skirts and a coat with messed up zippers this Spring, and every one has been a debacle.

That’s it for now. I am back in San Francisco on Saturday for my second work related trip this month. I am looking forward to being able to explore a little more and share some pictures and experiences here!

xoxo!!!

Some fashion for you, Rudy.

So, thanks to a tip from my mom, I found out that Fred Perry has designed shirts for the 30th anniversary of British ska band, The Specials.

I got really into Ska when I was in high school, right as there was a pretty good resurgence in popularity. I liked a lot of the third wave ska bands (e.g., Reel Big Fish, Catch-22, Save Faris, The Aquabats), but I was really into the older 2Tone stuff (e.g., The English Beat, The Selector). I even remember doing a birthday invitation with the iconic dancing Rude Boy and Rude Girl.

So anyway, this made me super happy! I might just have to throw on a Specials album for my drive home today.

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby

Yeah, I have graphics for my reoccurring posts now. Better late than never, right?

My, my how this month has flown by! Hope things are going well for everyone, but now, let’s get to it.

GRABBY:

• Lovely Package. A package design blog full of great design and inspiration. I’ve actually just started sketching for a little pet project that involves some packaging!
• This Dress, which arrived in the mail this week.
  I’m thinking of wearing it to a  certain band’s, show followed by a certain person’s gallery opening next Friday.
• A darling little application that lets me shut down faster.
• Seeing my parents this weekend.
• Planning a vacation in July to see my sister.
• Gala never ceases to amaze and entertain!
• Tea Parties! A friend had a ladies-only tea party as part of her birthday celebration and it was so much fun!
• Naughty Art. We had so much fun with Krysztof and Nikki in Lawrence last Saturday!

STABBY:

• Grit stuck under my eyelid that abraded my cornea. Thankfully I have an eye doctor who is my hero, and I won’t have to become a blind blues musician. This is the kind of crap that only happens to me.
• Traffic. Same ‘ole story.
• Not seeing good friends often enough. You know who you are. Let’s fix this.
• Excel. It makes no sense to me. I’d get to an expense report way faster if I could hand-draw a chart and fill it in. I’ll even draw little pictures of what I am expensing if it helps.

That’s it for now! I love when the stabby list is short! Anyone have big plans for the weekend?

Ad it Up: This one’s for the ladies

Hence forth, this is what I am calling my little posts on advertising news tidbits! I heart puns, as well as references to songs. Yay.

Today I wanted to draw attention to the Ad Age “Women to Watch”. This is a pretty impressive list. Sometimes I forget that there are women in very demanding, high-powered positions in advertising and marketing. And that’s wicked awesome.

Happy Monday!

On creativity…

“The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things: Ancient history, 19th century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, flower arranging and hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later or six months, or six years down the road. But he has faith that it will happen.”
– Carl J. Ally

I keep finding awesome graphic design quotes so I am going to start posting there here on the blog on occasion. Look for more posts from me soon…projects have been keeping me really busy!

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby

Hello darlings! Here’s the Grabby/Stabby lowdown on this week.

GRABBY

• Sundays out with my honey and my friends.
• This shoe from Habitat. Be still my beating heart.
• Sushi!
• Charm School Art and Design, featuring the art of my friend Krysztof!
  Note: May be NSFW depending on your workplace!
• Watching Labyrinth with good friends while a thunderstorm rages outside!
• KXEP Seattle’s fantastic morning show of indie music!
• Donna’s Dress Shop is moving across the street from its current location, and will be twice the size!
• Happy Gillis’s Torta sandwich special.
• Firefly’s bartenders.
• The Lovely Package blog, is blowing my mind this week.
  Design “porn” to quicken the pulse, most definitely.

STABBY

• The weather, no surprise. Who can think when it’s 104 degrees outside?
• Clients who can’t remember to communicate important things, like the fact I am only allowed to use Adobe Garamond in their designs. Seriously?
• People who say bigoted, ignorant things to someone they just met and know nothing about. It certainly told me a lot about them!
• My secret way home is closed AGAIN, which tacks a good 15-20 minutes on my drive home everyday, no other way around it. GRRRRR.
• Our TV playing opossum. It took a dirt nap, but now it’s fine again. I am still thinking we will need to get a new one very soon.

How’s your week been? What are you positively giddy about right now?

Ad It Up: Economic crunch at the Cannes advertising awards

New York Times reports that the big agencies are showing they can be “recessionistas” too.

Product Lust: Oh boy, trompe l’oeil!

This Sonia Rykiel trompe l’oeil sweater is what I would wear to work when I want to feel business-like but don’t want to deny my “I’m a Creative, I can get away with this” right to wear what I want. It’s menswear styling for women…redefined! Ha, ha!

Tobi.com, you always come through for me!

That’s a hell of a quote.

We want consumers to say, ‘That’s a hell of a product’ instead of, ‘That’s a hell of an ad.’” –Leo Burnett

Product Lust: La la Louboutin

Is there anything better than a patent stiletto heel? Perhaps a patent heel with a flash of that Christian Louboutin lipstick-red sole peeking out when the wearer walks away?

What a lovely way to make a good impression!

Thursday Grabby ‘n Stabby: Patriotic Edition

GRABBY:

• This shoe:

Yes, those are tiny rhinestones affixed to the bow, thank you for asking . Betsy Johnson, you are forever a genius. Go here for your own pair!

• Dresses—leopard print and otherwise. I hate wearing shorts, so I wear dresses and skirts.
• Getting really motivated to do new, fun projects and freelance.
• Afternoon iced coffee breaks with friends!
• The date of our Austin trip is getting closer! Eeeeeeeee!
• Manifesto. As trendy, exclusive and poorly lit as it is, the drinks were delicious and the service was impeccable.
• The Agent Provocateur annual sale. Mmm…lingerie…drool…
• The State finally coming out on DVD!!!!

STABBY:

• The raid of the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, TX. The whole thing was handled badly, yet the police are in complete denial about how poorly it was handled. On top of that, one person remains in the hospital fighting for his life. I think Dan Savage’s article on it is good as well.
• Not sleeping well.
• Headaches
• Using tables in Microsoft Word.
• The fact that Beth Ditto’s plus size clothing line is at a store in the UK and not here. What about all the other plus size Arkansas ladies, Ms. Ditto?

That’s all for now! Happy 4th of July everyone! Please be safe and smart!

xoxo

New work online!

hey all, wanted to mention that I have been doing a few updates to my website including adding some new work! There are a few projects from the new job as well as some redesigns I have done.

There’s more to come soon, so stay tuned! In the meantime, check out my portfolio page!

Ad it Up: A new campaign being fought on the nation’s TV screens

A lot of money is being spent to scare or motivate the American people regarding the government’s proposed heath care reform. I’m not really interested in discussing the politics involved with that here, but I do find it interesting that it means millions of dollars spent with ad agencies for that advertising and with the TV networks.

Grabby ‘n Stabby (Special Sunday edition)

Sorry for the delay, work got so busy toward the end of the week that I couldn’t focus on anything else! But hey, it’s awesome to be busy.

GRABBY:

• GOING TO AUSTIN THIS WEEK. My sister is planning all kinds of awesome adventures for us and I CAN’T WAIT.
• Current issue of Nylon magazine with Karen O on the cover. There’s an article on riot grrl style that makes me want to listen to Bikini Kill, put on red lipstick and dance…like, totally.
• Indian buffet with K! And afternoon iced coffee breaks!
• Buying plane tickets to Toronto for work! I’ve never been to Canada. Won’t have a lot of time outside of working, but I am interested and excited just to see what I can!
• The Gossip’s new album. It’s great beginning to end, and I have a feeling there are going to be some wicked awesome remixes.
• iPhone!!!!!!!!! It’s as good as everyone says.
• When Issac Mizrahi’s face goes all Mommy Dearest on The Fashion Show. That man’s facial expressions seem to have no connection to his thoughts.

STABBY:

• NYC Prep. It actually manages to make NYC look boring. I can’t wait for Gossip Girl to come back for Fall! And…I can’t believe I just said that.