October 2011
1 post
4 tags
Google, Jet-Skiing, Reading, and the Lackthereof
The other day I did something that I rarely do; I re-read an article. It was from 2008, a piece by Nicolas Carr from The Atlantic entitled ‘Is Google Making Us Stupid?’ and it took a look at some of the effects that the proliferation of content across the Internet are having on our brains.
Of course, the easy answer is no, Google is not making us stupid. The Internet and, in particular, search,...
April 2011
2 posts
A coffee shop owner who uses branded cups is a...
I love Corporate America, I’ve seen all it’s ads. Like most people, I throw money at it with the hope that it will someday make me the epitome of the human species. I’m seduced by it’s brands, I’m smitten by it’s celebrities, I’m infatuated by it’s scandal.
But if you’re not Corporate America - i.e. if you own a coffee shop - and you decide to brand your cups, then you’re a generic hack.
There...
What's worse: comic sans or a sans comic?
COMIC SANS:
SANS COMIC:
COMIC STAN:
March 2011
5 posts
Is anyone else confounded by the Wells Fargo logo?
Since Wells Fargo has taken over all my Wachovia Banks, I feel compelled to blog about them.
Take a look at their logo. Specifically their tagline slash tagline logo combination (aka ‘taglo’).
Isn’t rocking the horse and buggy a bit archaic? Especially the long trip Dubs Fargo wants to take you on…
This is what happened last time I tried that…
Dubs Fargo needs a...
Every company should task its branding to...
A lot of the issues that people are raising about spec work have nothing to do with spec work as a business model, but rather how that business model is being abused by its users.
For example: arguments claiming that spec work is wrong because people are plagiarizing logos, because of the existence of logo mills, or because no thought/effort is put into any of the logos being created are all...
Lady Gaga is Cliche
cliche: lady gaga coming out of an egg
not cliche: lady gaga coming out of a fatter lady gaga
delicious: chicken omlet
If you use swirly graphics or simplicity in your...
Movement is the key these days. Allow me to illustrate how design has evolved over the years by using something I like to call the ‘designers just ripping off Adobe’s CS packaging’ effect:
2005: Adobe Photoshop CS2 introduces designers to feathers for the first time. Every design between 2005 and 2007 incorporated a feather, or bird, or some sort of nature-esq...
Originality is Dead, or at least in hiding out in...
Nowadays, Internet folk tend to filter into one of two categories: Category One: The quasi-tech savy blogger / web developer who spends his or her days trying to make any sort of noticeable splash in the great HTML filled pond of the web. This person is convinced that his/her blog idea/web design is unique, fresh and cool (‘the next Perez Hilton!’ they might ironically say) instead of the...