Animator vs Animation

Check out the action packed flash of Alan Becker's Animator vs Animation.

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HMK

El Planeta Misterioso

Who says Tequila and Xacto knives don't mix well?

I'm really digging this set of 1950's Sci-Fi Novel covers, just one the cool sets of ephemeral goodness from El Estratografico.

And you just gotta click the above cover image and check out the detail of not only the gnarly off-registration, but the wicked hacked-up paste-up kerning job on the El Planeta Misterioso type! I love it!

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HMK

Big gracias to the freaks over at Link Dump.

Logos & Math

Behold the mathematics of logo design.

Funny stuff!

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HMK

Thanks to Michael Bierut and all the smart folks at The Design Observer.

The Four Day Work Week

This is an awesome piece from Professor Goose, one of the smart folks over at The Oil Drum, a site dedicated to discussions about energy and our future.

The notion of our standard work week here in America has remained largely the same since 1938. That was the year the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed, standardizing the eight hour work day and the 40 hour work week. Each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday workers all over the country wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast and go to work.

But the notion that the majority of the workforce should keep these hours is based on nothing more than an idea put forth but the Federal government almost 70 years ago.

To be sure it was an improvement in the lives of many Americans who were at the time forced to work 10+ hours a day, sometimes 6 days of the week. So a 40 hour work week was seen as an upgrade in the lives of many of U.S. citizens. 8 is a nice round number; one third of each 24 hour day. In theory it leaves 8 hours for sleep and 8 hours for other activities like eating, bathing, raising children and enjoying life.

But the notion that we should work for 5 of these days in a row before taking 2 for ourselves is, as best I can tell, rather arbitrary.

The idea of a shorter work week is not a new one to anyone old enough to have lived through the energy shocks of the 1970's. It should be fairly obvious to anyone interested in conserving oil that reducing the number of daily commutes per week would reduce the overall demand for oil.

There are about 133 million workers in America. Around 80% of them get to work by driving alone in a car. The average commute covers about 16 miles each way.

So let's stop and do some math...and I'll try to argue for 16 reasons why a four day work week is a good idea.

The math, as I see it, goes as thus (I welcome a discussion of these numbers, by the way...): 133,000,000 workers X 80% who drive alone = 106,400,000 single driver commuter cars each day.

106,400,000 X 32 miles round trip = 3,404,800,000 miles driven to work each day

3,404,800,000 / 21 mpg (average fuel efficiency) = 162,133,333 gallons of gasoline each day

Each barrel of crude oil produces, on average, 19.5 gallons of gas. (It is important to note that other products like kerosene and asphalt are produced from that same barrel.)

162,133,333 / 19.5 = 8,314,530 barrels of oil each day.

What this shows is Reason #1; the impact a 4 day work week could have on crude oil imports. I'm talking about perhaps a 40% reduction in the amount of oil we need Monday through Friday simply by rearranging our work week. No wonder this idea was utilized in the 70's.

But the clear fact that a 4 day work week would save such a precious non-renewable resource is just the first of 16 reasons why I think it's time to revive the idea of reducing the numbers of days we work each week.

Think about it.

Read all 16 Reasons:
The Four Day Work Week: Sixteen Reasons Why This Might Be an Idea Whose Time Has Come.

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HMK

Thanks to Fanny B for the 4 shot.

What Every Good Marketer Knows:

Once again, here's some genius 101 advice and things to ponder from Mr. Seth Godin and his mucho smart blog.

What Every Good Marketer Knows:

Anticipated, personal and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk.

Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.


Your best customers are worth far more than your average customers.

Share of wallet is easier, more profitable and ultimately more effective a measure than share of market.

Marketing begins before the product is created.

Advertising is just a symptom, a tactic. Marketing is about far more than that.

Low price is a great way to sell a commodity. That’s not marketing, though, that’s efficiency.

Conversations among the members of your marketplace happen whether you like it or not.

Good marketing encourages the right sort of conversations.

Products that are remarkable get talked about.

Marketing is the way your people answer the phone, the typesetting on your bills and your returns policy.

You can’t fool all the people, not even most of the time. And people, once unfooled, talk about the experience.

If you are marketing from a fairly static annual budget, you’re viewing marketing as an expense. Good marketers realize that it is an investment.

People don’t buy what they need. They buy what they want.

You’re not in charge. And your prospects don’t care about you.

What people want is the extra, the emotional bonus they get when they buy something they love.

Business to business marketing is just marketing to consumers who happen to have a corporation to pay for what they buy.

Traditional ways of interrupting consumers (TV ads, trade show booths, junk mail) are losing their cost-effectiveness. At the same time, new ways of spreading ideas (blogs, permission-based RSS information, consumer fan clubs) are quickly proving how well they work.

People all over the world, and of every income level, respond to marketing that promises and delivers basic human wants.

Good marketers tell a story.

People are selfish, lazy, uninformed and impatient. Start with that and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Marketing that works is marketing that people choose to notice.

Effective stories match the worldview of the people you are telling the story to.

Choose your customers. Fire the ones that hurt your ability to deliver the right story to the others.

A product for everyone rarely reaches much of anyone.

Living and breathing an authentic story is the best way to survive in an conversation-rich world.

Marketers are responsible for the side effects their products cause.

Reminding the consumer of a story they know and trust is a powerful shortcut.

Good marketers measure.

Marketing is not an emergency. It’s a planned, thoughtful exercise that started a long time ago and doesn’t end until you’re done.

One disappointed customer is worth ten delighted ones.

In the googleworld, the best in the world wins more often, and wins more.

Most marketers create good enough and then quit. Greatest beats good enough every time.

There are more rich people than ever before, and they demand to be treated differently.

Organizations that manage to deal directly with their end users have an asset for the future.

You can game the social media in the short run, but not for long.

You market when you hire and when you fire. You market when you call tech support and you market every time you send a memo.

Blogging makes you a better marketer because it teaches you humility in your writing.

Obviously, knowing what to do is very, very different than actually doing it.

That's Right

HMK

Thanks again Seth! Seth's Blog.

Nice Web Typography

I Love Typography recently posted their second-quarter roundup of sites that focus on the use of type as a primary design element.

All the sites might not be to your taste, but the idea, like all good ideas, is that something—even a detail somewhere—will inspire you.

Invariably, these kinds of lists are always subjective, so if you disagree, then feel free to use the power of the blog and share your comments.

Enjoy! I Love Typography: Round Two.

And just in case you missed it, here's I Love Typography: Round One.

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HMK

Because Anybody Can Talk It

The Talk:

The Walk:

Yeah, we've all been there at least once. All the sugar coated pre-gig hype - the awesome vacation time, amazing health insurance, the nurturing work environment, the value of knowledge sharing and team work,and let's not forget the incredible bonuses and raises... Yeah right.

I guess it because of the above that I find this site to be the perfect gallery of visual analogies for all things corporate and Ad Agency related...

After all is said and done there's always so much more said than done: Pundo3000.

Cheers and a Big Gracias to everyone that truly walks it - you know who you are and you Rock!

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HMK

Yes! The Answer is No!

No is the Answer! And Yes! Thank God, is all I have to say!

The Question: Do I have cancer?

As of about 20 minutes ago - No! But it sure has been an interestingly surreal and iffy 6 months...

I quietly celebrated my first official year of working from home after being canned from my first (and last!) advertising agency gig last Valentine's Day.

I covered my self-employment tax nut, mortgage and overhead and even managed to get away for my birthday in October and spend an awesome 10 days in Vancouver with my wife and a few dear and very close friends.

I've got a pile of awesomely interesting and fun projects on my plate - not to mention a couple of incredible job opportunities.

In a nutshell, I am, as I have been for 46 years so far, quite Blessed.

The only major hurdle in our lives to date has been the futile attempt at obtaining heath insurance. Due to a misdiagnosis 4 years ago - one which has been corrected in writing by the very same doctor but for some reason is still a delaying factor - I've been waiting since January 2008 to get coverage.

Meanwhile, starting right after Christmas I began noticing small traces of blood in my urine.

While waiting and inquiring for approval and as the blood thing got progressively and visually more evident, I proceeded to get some independent bloodwork done in an effort to expedite things and have results in hand as soon as I did get covered.

(I walked into Health Check USA, the nation’s leading direct-to-consumer medical testing service started right here in San Antonio in 1987 and got both a blood and urine test, fasted for 12 hours and went back for another blood test. 48 hours and $130 later I had my results via the secured site and in hand via snail mail. I sent PDFs of all the results to my buddy Reagan who's dad is a urologist in Austin. He assured me I wasn't dying, but I should see a doctor asap.)

Fast forward to March. Still waiting in vain for coverage and now I've got clots of blood mixed with my already bloody urine. Now I'm really beginning to worry.

At this time I had the bills and my income tax covered, I'd already prepaid the broker that's suppose to be getting my underwriting resolved and I'm waiting for checks in the mail for completed work, but our bank account was getting dangerously close to nada.

Then comes last Wednesday night. I go to pee and it's basically all blood.

Oh My God.

I'm floating above myself in disbelief and realize that although I'm not in any pain, I'm in real trouble. I need help right freaking now and I can't afford to go to the emergency room. Welcome to America!

Ok. Stop. Breath. Think.

I immediately call another buddy, Brent, one whom I should have called months earlier but for some reason I promised myself I wouldn't bother him and call in a favor unless it was absolutely necessary. Duh. (I know, I'm an idiot for waiting, I blame it on the lack of blood to my brain...)

So, within an hour of me calling Brent and having my blood work PDFs forwarded to his brother Brian, now Dr. Given and his colleague, a urologist, Dr. Ralph, I had an appointment for Friday morning along with the assurance, based on the PDFs, that I would indeed be ok for another 24 hours and I'd make it until then.

PDFs Rule!

Next challenge: Money. I decided I needed to spend Thursday morning doing everything I could to expedite some billing and get some cash in the bank.

It didn't take long. I can't tell you how truly lucky I am to be able to pick up the phone and with minimal explanation the first and only 2 clients I called dropped off checks to my home. No charity - all for work completed or in progress. Thank you. Thanks you. Thank you. Chrissy, Brette, Bill, Dalton, Tina, Tish, Bryan, Liz, Matt, Conrad, Garrett, Buddy, Richard, David, Alan, Jacky, Mitch, Amelia, Jackie, Warren, Carol, Hillary, Greg, Emily, Reagan, Brent, Brian, Ralph, John, Jacquie, (I could really go on and on for a while!), thanks to every one for simply just being there.

Long story short, and without insurance or the gnarly details being wide awake and having my penis probed while my wife Chrissy held my hand during the initial examination on Friday morning, Dr. Ralph explained that I in fact had a tumor in my bladder.

I went in Monday for the surgery to have the mass removed and, although I'm still a little sore and on some meds for another day, I just heard from Dr. Ralph that I am AOK and cancer free!

Yes! That's Right - My Guardian Angel rocks!

Sure, I've got follow-up probes every three months for the next year or so to simply monitor the situation but the great news is that I've got the second chance I've (we've!) been praying for.

Yes! Thank You.

Now, I'm not really an astrology reading kind of guy, my wife and I usually like reading ours after the fact and just for grins, but after hearing from Dr. Ralph I just had to look at what mine says for today. According to Linda Black, here's my Libra scope for today, the first day of the rest of my life, May 15th 2008:

"You're back in control. You can assess the situation easily and figure out what to say or do to get whatever you want. Once you decide what that is, make your move."

That's Right!

Thanks for everything y'all.

HMK

Now That's Something...

This looks pretty cool.

The SomethingStore is a fun new website that operates simply: They will send you something, an item selected randomly among many things from their inventory, all-in, including shipping for 10 BUX US.

According to the site:

Your Something May Be Anything

It maybe something you need, something you want or something you desire.

Yours may be a cool gadget, rare book, table game, handmade necklace, reverse clock, box of gourmet chocolates, set of shiny shower curtains, popular video game, big-box retailer gift card, the latest version of a software, a set of kitchen knives, a pair of designer jeans, garden tool, kitchen appliance, unique home decor item, electronic equipment, magazine subscription, office supply item, or ...

Your something will most likely be brand new, though it may also be refurbished or antique.

This reminds me of the awesome $25 Grab Bags my buddy Reagan and I have ordered from Surplus Shed. Surplus Shed buys, sells, and trades government and other surplus and used optical and electronic items.

The 3 Grab Bags I've ordered in the past were well worth the $25. Each came with an enticingly geeky mix of lenses, mirrors, prisms, along with few strange optical things. Awesome! Plus, no two Grab Bags are the same.

And dig this, if you're not happy with what comes in your mystery box they'll give you your money back, no questions asked!

So, what are you waiting for - surely there's somebody on your list worthy of Something Special of the Mystery Kind!

The SomethingStore
Surplus Shed Grab Bags

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HMK

Paint vs Patina

Ponder This...

From time to time during conference Q&A sessions I’m asked “How did you create the culture at 37 Signals?” or “What do you recommend we do to set up an open, sharing company culture like yours?”

My answer: You don’t create a culture. Culture happens. It’s the by-product of consistent behavior. If you encourage people to share, and you give them the freedom to share, then sharing will be built into your culture. If you reward trust then trust will be built into your culture.

Artificial
Artificial cultures are instant. They’re big bangs made of mission statements, declarations, and rules. They are obvious, ugly, and plastic. Artificial culture is paint.

Real
Real cultures are built over time. They’re the result of action, reaction, and truth. They are nuanced, beautiful, and authentic. Real culture is patina.

Don’t think about how to create a culture, just do the right things for you, your customers, and your team and it’ll happen.

That's Right

HMK

Thanks to Jason over at Signals vs. Noise.

Living Color!

"Do you freak out if someone asks you to match print colors to Web colors? Or, maybe you just can’t decide whether the orange would work better with the blue or the green. Either way, many designers may not realize how easy it is to choose a palette for that new Web design. Additionally, many designers might be surprised to learn that they can stay on top of color trends with a few visits to fashion design Web sites.

"All those tips and more are listed below in this list of 101 color resources for Web designers. The categories are listed alphabetically as are all the links contained within each category. Although the sites are numbered, this does not mean that one site is better than others. Visit them all and bookmark the ones that will help you become the most color-savvy Web designer around."

Thanks to the brains, time and generosity of Jimmy Atkinson, we can all engulf and book mark the whole dang thang over at WHDB 101 Color Resources for Web Designers.

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HMK

Big Gracias to Jennifer Apple at PhotoshopSupport.com for the hook up and also to painter and photo enthusiast Tim McFarlane for the great floor shot of the Color Chart Exhibit at the MoMA.

From Selling to Creating Products

Agencies go from selling to creating products. Pouring money into development, some may even start brands.

As they try to diversify beyond the 30-second spot, agencies, in addition to getting digital, are vying to be the next place to source hot products.

Ownership is the watchword on Mad Ave, with agencies wanting stakes in everything from intellectual property to marketers themselves.

There are now many shops that take it one step further by creating products themselves out of thin air. These agencies are pouring more and more time and money into product development that has nothing to do with client brands. Some even sell entire lines of merchandise and create viable businesses such as stores and eateries.

Indie agency Mother is, well, the mother of adland's product-making set, hatching numerous kitschy projects including books, shopping bags, candies and comics. But there are soon to be more; several agencies have told Ad Age they're in talks to launch their own brands.

But while agencies are well-qualified -- after all, their lifeblood is coming up with ideas -- no shop has yet come up with a mass-market hit. And a lot of this stuff exists at the level of novelty -- a diversion and way for agency hands to try something new.

Check out the rest of Rupal Parekh's Ad Week piece: Agencies Go From Selling to Creating Products.

And for more info on my limited edition HMK Perpetually Dayzed Calendars pictured above, go Here.

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HMK

Different By Design

A new breed of consultant is using the tools of design to solve business problems creatively.

Surgeon Daniel Palestrant was laid up for several months with a back injury when he realized that it often took years before new techniques developed by pioneering doctors filtered out to the rest of the medical world. Why not bring physicians together online and, even better, charge businesses for access to content from their conversations? But the idea alone wasn't enough to get his social network off the ground. He needed to package that idea in such a way that investors would buy it.

Instead of bringing in a conventional consultant to help him, Palestrant visited a loft in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. In a series of meetings there, Palestrant rattled off his ideas--an outpouring he likened to "intellectual bulimia"--while Elizabeth Pastor and Garry VanPatter, the team behind the firm Humantific, furiously drew and took notes. "He was really deep in the trees," Pastor says. The pair made sense of Palestrant's fuzzy ideas and turned them into huge, glossy posters with icons representing how the parts of his business fit together. Diagrams in hand, Palestrant went to venture-capital funds and returned with $40 million in start-up money.

That kind of response is generating more and more heat in the emerging field of transformation design--a hybrid of business consulting and industrial design. Firms like Humantific, whose founders are designers, apply the same process used in designing sleek MP3 players and ergonomic teakettles to unwieldy intangibles like cell-phone promotions and hospital organization, transforming their effectiveness. Along the way, the field is creating some unusual teamwork between designers and business people.

Continue reading Chad Robert Springer's piece fore Time: Different By Design.

In short, the smart folks at Humantific are using design problem solving techniques to make complicated business ideas understandable to everyone.

Bravo!

The sooner the business community recognize and embrace the fact that impassioned, educated and professional communication designers are capable of bringing a lot more to the table (and the bottomline!) than just fluff, wrapping paper or "making it look cool", the better off we'll all be.

Right On Humantific!

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HMK

Brand Tag Clouds

What is the first thing that pops into your head when you think of Starbucks?

Introducing: Brand Tags. The basic idea of Brand Tags is that a brand exists entirely in people's heads. Therefore, whatever it is they say a brand is, is what it is. So, if you ask a bunch of people what a brand is and make a tag cloud, you should have a pretty accurate look at what the brand represents.

Nice.

Dig it: Brand Tags.

Oh, and don't forget to check out Celeb Tags...



So, what's the first thing that pops into your head when you think of Dolly Parton...

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HMK

Happy Belated 10th iMac!

The iMac turned 10 years yesterday -the original press release says it all:

"We designed iMac to deliver the things consumers care about most - the excitement of the Internet and the simplicity of the Mac," said Steve Jobs, Apple's Interim CEO. "iMac is next year's computer for $1299; not last year's computer for $999."

Mucho mas from the smart folks over at: ARS Technica.


That's Right,

HMK

Herman Miller: Discovering Design

Discovering Design is a destination for individuals to learn about the evolution and history of mid-century American modernism—the people, products, places and ideas that formed an important design era. The target audience is broad and ranges from the architecture and design communities to students and potential customers of Herman Miller furniture.

Dig it: Herman Miller.


That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at Communication Arts.

ReThinking

Here's a smart and affordable Mother's Day gift. These reusable bags from Flip & Tumble are perfect - designed for those who only seem to remember our reusable bags the moment we need them. A stretchy pouch makes it a cinch to go from a full size bag to small ball in seconds flat.

Get more info and dig the video demo over at Flip & Tumble.

And I'm totally digging this chair from Carlos Motta made of reclaimed wood available from 1stDibs.


That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at Design Milk.

The MObi Project

Kevin Fitzsimons, founder of Fitzsimons Design + Build has just launched the MObi project.

The MObi Project is the restoration and modernization of a 1978 Sovereign 31’ Airstream Land Yacht. "Designed for today’s wealthy traveler, MObi will encompass the latest in available smart technology, be completely green and loaded with creature comforts."

Keep Reading: The MObi Project.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at MocoLoco.

Introducing FontStruct

Build, share and download custom fonts using FontStruct's simple editor.

This looks like a pretty fun and interesting tool for anyone that's every thought about diving into the details of creating their own custom font. Oh yeah, did I mention it's free?

I'll let you know as soon as my first FontStruct font is underway!

Check out FontStruct from the smart folks at FontShop.

That's Right,

HMK

Inflatable Lounger

I'm thinking this might be kinda nice for our next Big Bend trip. For GBP 20; about $40 you can score this groovy and portable Inflatable Lounger. The genius part is the two built-in i-Pod speakers.

I wonder if it floats...

Check it out over at the: Gadget Shop.

That's Right,

HMK

Gracias to Swiss Miss.

The Real Thing

Alice Rawsthorn waxes on intelligent, elegant and appropriate examples of design that make you feel better just by being there.

There was a time when Coca-Cola's packaging was as irritatingly fussy and over-complicated as its competitors'. No more. Coke unveiled the engagingly simple new Coca-Cola Classic can last summer, after junking the neurotic illustrations on the old cans in favor of the beautifully scripted "signature" that's been its corporate logo since the 1880s.



Really appreciate the clean, subtle and "classic" use of Gotham.

Read the whole thing over at the International Herald Tribune: Alice Rawsthorn on Quietly Good Design.

That's Right,

HMK

Try Drawer 61...

I'm not sure if it's the numbers as pulls or all the possible storage options, but this is pretty sweet. Check out the Toolbox, a modular system designed by Pietro Arosio for Emmebi Design.

So, where do you keep your magnets? Try Drawer 61...

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to the smart folks at: Design Milk.

My Favorite Ringtone

The closest Dirk No-Win-Ski will ever get to touching an NBA Championship ring is if he reads my blog on his iPhone...

Nice Pre-Game 4 Chatter

SA Town: Boring is just another excuse for fans whose teams can't beat our Spurs.

yndo71: You can't spell boring without ring.

HMK: Genius!

Read it all at ESPN: Counting Out Spurs Becomes A Yearly Tradition.


Go Spurs!

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HMK

Set To Stun

Thanks, in part to Bruce Bowen's incredible containment of Steve Nash, our World Champion San Antonio Spurs rolled to a 115-99 last night taking a commanding 3-0 series lead.

That's Right,

Go Spurs!

HMK

Keep'em Coming Back for More

Here's a nice handfull of 14 Website Usability Guidelines designed to bring them back for more...

"Sites that are designed to sell products and/or services must go the extra mile to enhance the visitor's engagement with the website. Shopping cart abandonment (shoppers abandoning their carts before deciding to pay for the "items" they've added to their cart) can result in a significant loss in potential sales. But much of that can be reduced when the shopping process is streamlined and geared for shopper satisfaction.

The selling process--from initial interest to the very last checkout page--must be able to grab shopper's attention and proceed to drive them through to the finalization of the sale. But even after the sell, you must deal with customer service issues in order to keep the sale finalized. Good customer service will bring your purchasers back for another and another and another.

Here's the first of fourteen general usability guidelines that will enhance shoppers overall experience on your site.

Images vs. Content

Images and content must work together to provide the user with a satisfactory experience. Relying too heavily on images and other media can be distracting, especially to those that really need to read more about what you're selling before they are comfortable making a purchase. On the other hand, too much content on the wrong pages can also turn some shoppers away. A proper balance must be struck.

Check out the the other 13 via Stoney Degeyter's article over HERE.

That's Right,

Go Spurs!

HMK

Awesome image by: M. Moormann.