Capitalism knows only one color: green

For those of you wanting a slightly more in-depth look at color theory, here's a good overview:

http://www.inspiredm.com/9-interesting-infographics-about-color/

My Vote For Least Effective Commercial Ever

And no, it's not just because my name is Doug and I hate seeing it impugned.

Tell A Story

There's a new social media platform called Broadcastr. It lets you tell, and listen to, stories tagged to specific locations. I'm a total sucker for those plaques at various spots on the highway, and monuments at various spots in cities. This is the high-tech version. Very cool idea.

Another Handy Phrase

Jiggery-pokery

Definition: dishonest or suspicious activity; nonsense Example: "[Greece] flouted European Union rules on the limits to budget deficits; its national accounts were a moussaka of minced statistics, topped with a cheesy sauce of jiggery-pokery." – Jeff Randall, The Telegraph, May 20, 2010 About the word: Jiggery-pokery is an alteration of joukery-pawkery. Both joukery and pawkery are English regionalisms for "trickery." [with thanks to Merriam-Webster]

Giant ladybugs crawling up a building in Milwaukee

Kristi Strode (Strode Communications) and I were in Milwaukee yesterday. We're pitching a client on a marketing campaign based on Simon Sinek's Start With Why model. From his book: "All organizations and careers function on 3 levels. What you do, How you do it and Why you do it. The problem is, most don’t even know that Why exists."

Call if you're interested in learning more!

Brilliant Design

If you have an iPhone4, you need this. The Piolo. An elegantly simple stand that fits on your keyring when not in use. It holds your phone on an airplane tray, vertically or horizontally.

http://thepiolo.com/

привет Spring!

Siberian irises greeting the sun.

Get foolish!

Bumf

This really is the perfect word.
(And thanks to Anu Garg's A Word A Day)

bumf

PRONUNCIATION:

(bumf)

MEANING:

noun: Unwanted or uninteresting printed matter such as governmental forms, legal documents, junk mail, promotional pamphlets, etc.

ETYMOLOGY:

Short for bum fodder, slang for toilet paper. Earliest documented use: 1889.

USAGE:

"A mortgage loan can generate 200 pages of bumf, most of it so boring and repetitious that no one has the energy or the time to read it all."
John Gilmour; Lenders Use The Hoover Principle; The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Jan 20, 2001.

beacon of light

The original idea for this blog was to point out great design that served as an ongoing inspiration. This '63 coupe has always seemed the epitome of classic elegance.

The uncontrollable twos!

The end of a photoshoot tonight and my two year old granddaughter felt the need for speed.

A good word to have

tar·a·did·dle

noun \ˌta-rə-ˈdi-d^əl, ˈta-rə-ˌ\

Definition of TARADIDDLE

pretentious nonsense

origin unknown

First Known Use: circa 1796

Face Off

This shape is the underside of a screenprinting frame. The two images are actually the innards of two, two-colored kiwi fruits.

Speaking of Calvin & Hobbes

Happy Pi Day!

Now for something a little more erudite . . .

There's a fascinating story on CNN about a couple who record 200K hours of their child in the process of learning language. Which in and of itself is very interesting. But out of it grew their new company Bluefin Labs. From their website:

Bluefin empowers brands, agencies, and media companies with unprecedented insights about how audiences are responding to TV ads and the shows they run on. Using deep machine learning born from MIT research, Bluefin technology aligns social media comments to their televised source—in real time and at scale.

The best use of social media I've seen thus far.

http://www.bluefinlabs.com/

Drunk Octopus Wants To Fight You

Seeing things differently.

Calvin: You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.

Hobbes: What mood is that?

Calvin: Last-minute panic.


[— Calvin & Hobbes]

iPad Perspective

Funny stuff — particularly the third video of 10:00 Live with Charlie Brooker.

http://bit.ly/dSr7MS

One of the best parts about design is contrast and contradiction. The less expected, the better. That's why I keep a gigantic olive and tiny grill around.

If you like cats. If you like Brit humour. You'll like this advert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6CcxJQq1x8

Calligraphic Mark

For reasons I can't explain very well, I am drawn to this logo. It's very elegant in its simplicity. Or maybe it's because I love balsamic vinegar.

Mood Plates

I wonder if this is a nickname or a descriptor?

Snow Way

Late season snow contradiction