Go Spurs Go!

Yeah, the Jazz Truly Blue It.

Last night my San Antonio Spurs clinched the Western Conference Finals by blowing away the Utah Jazz 109-84 in game 5, earning their fourth trip to the NBA Finals!

It's the Curse of the Mailman!

That's Right,

HMK

The Latest: HMK in Logo Lounge 3 & 4!

The new Logo Lounge 3 book is officially out and I'm proud to announce that it features 12 of my logos!

And this just in - I also just found out they've just chosen 6 more for Logo Lounge 4 which will be out early next year!

You can buy Logo Lounge 3 HERE, and no, I'm not making a ding dang dime from the sale of this book, but I do recommend it highly !

Or, when you hire me for a project I'll buy you your very own personal copy and increase the odds of your company's logo being featured in a future Logo Lounge!

Peace and Go Spurs!,

HMK

Nix Realty

Here's the final, approved version of the Nix Realty logo I just finshed.

Can't wait to start on the site!

That's Right,

HMK

Dove Evolution

No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted...

That's Right,

HMK

Kapitaal

Relax and take a nice ambient little stroll through the world of type courtesy of Smack Studios: Kapitaal




The audio totally completes it for me.

That's Right,

HMK

Mitten

More like smitten - I love this! There's nothing like watching a movie on a rainy day! Check out this sweet little 10 minute film: Vareshka/Варежка (Mitten)

Made in 1967 for the Russian film house Soyuzmultfilm by Roman Kachanov.

And if you want more ultra sweetness with a puppy theme you dig this earlier post:
Dog Visit.

Have a great weekend!

That's Right,

HMK


Thanks to Will Kane.

Cult of iPod Book

Wow. I'm both honored and excited to have a double page spread of my HMK iPod Speakers featured in Leander Kahney's award winning best seller The Cult Of iPod Book, now in it's second printing.

Leander's also an editor at Wired Magazine - check out his awesome Cult Of Mac Blog.



There's more pictures and ordering info here: HMK iPod Speakers.

And, if you're into music and all things audio, you just might enjoy my weekly podcast, the HMK Mystery Stream.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks Leander!

New Directions Book Covers

I have to agree with Hollis Duncan and Michael Beirut, the Alvin Lustig archive is truly one of the best on the web.

Do yourself a favor - take a little creative side trip and check out their awesome collection of New Directions book covers.

That's Right,

HMK

Myth Understanding

Myth Understanding

It's essential to work 60 hour weeks, constantly hire employees and add clients, and fix major problems by yourself. True or false?

Most business owners and entrepreneurs are convinced that in order to succeed, they must work extremely long hours. And that may be true, particularly during startup. But at established companies, executives working night and day may be unwise financially and socially, according to a survey released last month by Schwab Institutional, a division of Charles Schwab & Co..

What are some of those myths?

Well, the first is that every business problem can be solved if the owners and employees simply work longer hours. But what the study showed is that increased hours don't necessarily result in increased productivity. This is a problem for small business owners who think they won't succeed if they're not in the office constantly, and for those who evaluate their employees based on hours worked, instead of performance results.

Read about some of the other myths over at BusinessWeek

I could never understand the concept of the 9:00 am "Face Time" simply to fill up the office to create the illusion of a productive, successful and busy environment - just in case anybody's looking or a client might come by.

God forbid that at times, some employees might be off-site researching or fine tuning an important aspect of an account or catching up on some well deserved rest time after working late. Why it's more important to look productive that to actually be productive - I just don't get it. And the "team player" smokescreen does absolutely nothing to help the client other than persuade them to eventually go somewhere else because the deliverables they're receiving are less than stellar and nothing like what was promised during the initial dog and pony show.

Living the lie is boring, exhausting, and a waste of time, I've tried it. Playing the game for a paycheck made me lazy and my work boring and predictable but it was safe (for a while). That is until one day you ask yourself why you do what you do for a living and realize it's simply a half-ass interpretation of your initial aspirations. Living your life and truly being involved with your clients and folks you work with is so much more satisfying and real, not to mention it's a heck of alot more rewarding and fun.

I used to think that the only way I'd be really happy and successful would be by working on big, high profile accounts with lots of exposure and visibility only to find that what really makes me happy is having the luxury to work with people I not only trust, respect and admire, but people that I really like and want to work with and truly enjoy as human beings.

Like the song says - "What's gonna set you free? Look inside and you'll see".

That's Right.

HMK

Do Not Be Frightened Of Design

Here's an insightful interview with Paul Bennett.

He currently leads IDEO’s Consumer Experience Design Practice globally. Clients include Starbucks, Virgin, The Gap, Proctor & Gamble, HP and Pepsi.

What can other companies learn from companies like Starbucks and Apple?

Two things: one, have a very stong conviction about who your consumer really is, and spend as much time as possible out there in the real world engaging with them. I often say to my clients that their world is not the world of their consumer – they live in cublicles and boardrooms and in focus group facilities observing their consumers “behind bars” so to speak, and that is not the way to be inspired or discover new ideas.

When you see an Apple product for example, your first reaction is often “these people really get me.” Secondly, do not be frightened of design – what both Apple and Starbucks share is an innate sense of using design as a tool for really communicating their values at every possible stage of the consumers “journey” through their brand – the stores, the ads, the packaging, the product, are all designed with equal care and attention.

Not to mention the all important and often neglected ambience factor - in terms of sound and smell.

Read it all from the smart folks over at: Design & Emotion

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HMK

form Follows Focus

The super hip Dutch magazine form (one of the first publications to go with an all lowercase masthead) has recently posted their archive of the past 50 years of design!

The best part is that there's an overview of every issue complete with full text search - translation: mucho extensive research opportunities!

Check it out: form

Enjoy!

That's Right,

HMK

Focused?

There are many small design firms out there that use phrases like this in their marketing: “We are focused on branding, print design, advertising, publicity, and interaction design.”

I, too, have fallen into this trap, but I have to stress that a list does not constitute focus. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being an interdisciplinary studio – they have advantages – but if you’re unhappy with how things are going it may be time to examine how focused your firm actually is.

Go read the rest of: Focused?

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to the smart folks over at Ideas On Ideas.