You Just Can't Make This Shit Up

Fake Science sadly gets it right.

Stick it to the Man

While on the topic of invoices this week, let me call attention to Jessica Hische's perfect antedote to annoying clients – the Day-Ruining Invoice. Available here as a 2 color letterpressed notepad in tear-off sheets. $25/pad.

Fair Use

Permission is granted.

Marge Goes Euro

This wonderful example of Cartozoology (the detection of living creatures in maps) is from Mickey Hulse and first posted over at Strange Maps. You can see his original map over at Google Maps and zoom in to see that Marge's eye is actually Paris, the Pyrenees are actually her distinctive red baubles around her neck, and her mouth is the Loire River.

Color Demystified

360° Color: A Peek Inside Pantone from Base on Vimeo.

Duet For Two Pens

Designer and illustrator, Jeanne Verdoux of Brooklyn NY, arrived at this stunning illustration for a review of the book, "Why Translation Matters" in the NYT Book Review recently. The words are knitted from a yarn ball of French text into a cloth of English. This is a great example of text used as a typographical analogy.

Got Game?

One of the most trying tasks as a young designer is to develop a look and name for your own design services. Do you use your own name or make up an identity? Do you spell it in all caps or lower case or some composite of each? Or do you just use a glyph like Prince or whatever-his-name-is-now? Then you have to consider; is the domain name available? That done – what about a trademark search? Who knew this would be so much work? And this is before you even sit down to do any design work.

This is your singular moment to express your design skills in just one simple business card. Not to put too sharp a point on it, but it IS the DNA of your entire design career. It speaks volumes about you and your work. If you cannot simply express what it is you do well, why would anyone else trust you can do it for their business? The key is learning to edit your own work. With experience comes more confidence to discard those ideas that aren't working. So you have to learn to discern the difference between the good and the great. Learn to abandon your better ideas in order to arrive at the very best solution. Design is work and requires perseverance and determination. And those that learn how to reject and revise early on, will likely excel. In the words of Don Draper on Mad Men, "I want you to show me more work I can reject!".