Author Archives:
Laser-cut Honey Labels
2011 was the year I learned to keep bees. I got stung about a dozen times. I began the season with two hives and ended with one (moment of silence). I accidentally smashed more of the little ladies than I care to count. I was made to feel even worse about my failings by this [...]
The Very Breast Packaging Design
We went out and did a quick survey of our local Quality Food Center to see what products looked pretty in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month(BCAM). Pink is my favorite color, so I love October at the grocery store. I really thought there would be more products rockin the pink, but we still found [...]
Steve Jobs, Typography, Death, and Dots
An excerpt from the Stanford Commencement address delivered by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, on June 12, 2005. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and [...]
OSXI: Is Apple’s OS strategy inspired by This is Spinal Tap?
I really hope that the sole reason behind Apple’s operating system names is this eventual Spinal Tap joke. It’s too perfect. OSX + iOS = OSXI.
Me Link Pretty One Day
No web page has ever been “here”. Google uses the textual content of links to determine the subject of the linked page. There are some simple practices that can make the links you create more valuable. Bad: The Bob Loblaw Law Blog is here. The link doesn’t contain any words that are relevant to the [...]
The Space Needle View in 1962
Vintage Seattle is cool blog that looks at Seattle’s history with hi-res vintage photos and illustrations. Photo shows a view south toward downtown Seattle from the Space Needle. The tracks for the Monorail run toward downtown. The edge of the observation platform is visible at the bottom of the photo. 1962. Image courtesy Washington State [...]
PBS Off Book: Typography
The second episode of Off Book, a new web series from PBS that explores the elements and boundaries of the arts. Follow the Off Book Tumblr to stay up to date.
The Center for PostNatural History
The CPNH is an interesting organization dedicated to cataloging and sharing knowledge about human-altered plants and animals. I would love to do some exhibit design for this place, it is such a fascinating subject. The current PostNatural Organism of the Month is the Sterile Male Screwworm (hopefully that doesn’t remind you of anyone). During the [...]
No Respect
When you treat your product with contempt soon your customers will too. Our first example is the experience of buying a brand new windows PC by Mike Elgan. Via Marco. I started looking at the out-of-box experience of buying a Windows PC with a new contempt. The crapware. The stickers. The anti-virus software problem where [...]
Why is my orange juice unzipping its pants at me?
This Tropicana orange juice packaging has been making me uncomfortable since day one. Why would orange juice even have a zipper? Especially a zipper that is holding back glistening orange balls. Maybe they’re trying to say that Tropicana is more than fresh, it’s indecent.