Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre

Absolutely brilliant.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre.

Bravo Mr Wilhelm Staehle! Bravo!

That's Right,

HMK

You rock Designer Observer, thanks again.

Milton Glaser: Ten Things I Have Learned

This is part of an AIGA series called Talk In London from one of my personal design heros Mr. Milton Glaser from back in November 22, 2001.

#3 SOME PEOPLE ARE TOXIC AVOID THEM.

This is a subtext of number one. There was in the sixties a man named Fritz Perls who was a gestalt therapist. Gestalt therapy derives from art history, it proposes you must understand the ‘whole’ before you can understand the details. What you have to look at is the entire culture, the entire family and community and so on. Perls proposed that in all relationships people could be either toxic or nourishing towards one another. It is not necessarily true that the same person will be toxic or nourishing in every relationship, but the combination of any two people in a relationship produces toxic or nourishing consequences. And the important thing that I can tell you is that there is a test to determine whether someone is toxic or nourishing in your relationship with them.

Here is the test: You have spent some time with this person, either you have a drink or go for dinner or you go to a ball game. It doesn’t matter very much but at the end of that time you observe whether you are more energised or less energised. Whether you are tired or whether you are exhilarated. If you are more tired then you have been poisoned. If you have more energy you have been nourished.

The test is almost infallible and I suggest that you use it for the rest of your life.

Done. Love it. Awesome words of wisdom - my other favorites are 1, 2 and 9 - go get inspired by all ten over at: Ten Things I Have Learned

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HMK

Thought For The Week

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HMK

Hamilton Wood Type Printing Museum

The Hamilton Manufacturing Co. traces its roots back to the very first wood types made in the United States. Darius Wells produced the first American wood type in 1828; his business was reorganized into Wells & Webb, then acquired by William Page, later passing back to the Wells family, and finally sold to Hamilton sometime before 1880. The product of this consolidation was a type specimen book issued in 1900, Hamilton’s Catalogue No. 14, which offers a good survey of American display typography of the nineteenth century.



Open to the public is the Hamilton Wood Type Printing Museum in Two Rivers, Wisconsin, a collection of 1.5 million pieces of wood type maintained by volunteers of the Two Rivers Historical Society. For at-home viewing, the calendar printer Unicorn Graphics has just launched their Web Museum of Wood Types and Ornaments, which offers a sundry collection of scans and photographs of American wood types — including every page of the great Catalogue No. 14.

Wow, you can almost smell the ink!

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HMK

Thanks to Hoefler & Frere-Jones

Smart Pizza Box

I like the thinking behind this!

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HMK

Op zoek naar Maria

Dans in het Centraal Station van Antwerpen!


Awesome.

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HMK

Yo Adrian!

That's Right! My Spurs clinched their first Southwest Division championship since 2005-06 after Wednesday's overtime victory vs New Orleans!

Go Spurs!

And hey, do y'all remember those Lakers Suck t-shirts I did way back in 2002, the original black and silver ones? (and by original I mean first), well check out the under-shirt of true blue Spurs fan Adrian, a waiter at the Oak Hills Country Club during the recent Recycled Style Show event.

And speaking of those Lakers Suck t-shirts, although I no longer sell the originals (my first batch of 144 sold out in 3 days!) there seems to be no shortage of lazy, lame knock offs available out there - I wish I could find a few versions that are closer to the version I did with the spur - I'd totally buy one!:

Here, here, here, and here!

I love it and I feel like Cheech when I say "Aw man, somebody stole that thing I ripped off!" All I did was borrow the spur graphic and a local chant, added some sparkle to the silver ink (that sparkle ink confirms you've got an original by the way) and there you have it!

It's gonna be a battle for us to make the finals this year, but after Finley's last two games and the fact we're talking about our Spurs with Pop at the helm, so dude... yeah - anything is possible!

Go Spurs!

That's Right,

HMK

I Am So Ready For This!

Yes! High-Speed Rail - Bring it on!

More from the Wallstreet Journal: U.S. Commits $13 Billion to Aid High-Speed Rail and here's the a local Texas take from our San Antonio Express News: Obama Plan Boosts S.A.-Austin Commuter Rail.

Did I mention that I am so ready for this - finally!

That's Right,

HMK

Fake Authenticity

True Blood propaganda from Agency: DraftFCB, Auckland, New Zealand.

This campaign does not suck. Very nice.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks Freddy.

The Importance of Creativity

I love living in Monte Vista!

Last night after a nice early dinner my wife Chrissy and I along with our friends Amelia and Jackie walked a block and a half over to Laurie Auditorium and checked out celebrated British comic genius John Cleese as he discussed “The Importance of Creativity”.

Laced with small doses of the same dry and sardonic wit that Mr. Cleese brought to both Monty Python and Fawlty Towers, the funny, smart and insightful talk honed in on one of my favorite subjects - the all important aspects of unleashing the creative power of the subconscious.

Sighting the two psychology books he's co-authored, Families and How to Survive Them and Life and How to Survive It, it's clear that Mr. Cleese truly understands and cares deeply about not only the art of creativity, but more importantly how letting the internal and subconscious process "do it's thing" is vital to the evolution of any great idea, script or joke.

Bottom line: Play more. Work hard and play hard. It's not only OK to play and have fun, it's truly one of the best ways to simply and effortlessly let your mind work the way it was designed to work by making coherent lighting fast connections using all you collective knowledge retained within to resolve whatever it is you're working on. Intently ingest, sleep on it and the answers will come!

I've always referred to this as Thinkubation. Once I plant the seeds of an idea, project or personal challenge, study it, live it, learn it and understand it as much as my mind will allow, sometimes to the point of exhaustion, I put it away for a day or so, try to forget it and let my subconscious do it's thing - Thinkubate.

It's almost magic how effortless the process becomes when the idea or task at hand is revisited! After a good night's sleep, a cup or two of coffee (along with the proper time and workspace to focus ) the ideas seem to come from nowhere, lots of them flowing out quelling any anxiety I may have had and thus making it less of a chore and yes, fun!

It's amazingly comforting to know, trust and understand that once I take the first step and invest the time reading-studying-understanding something, I can then go about my daily routine while my subconscious works hard behind the scenes churning and connecting thoughts and ideas to assist me in not only doing my job to the best of my ability but also enabling me lead a more fulfilling, happy and anxiety free existence!

Awesome. Thank you John Cleese!

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HMK

Thanks to Trinity University and John Cleese. The Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by an endowment gift from Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Brown of San Antonio.

Side Rant: I realize this may sound like a luxury (and it is!) to those stuck in the corporate world working under the thumb of veteran, know it all hacks where face time, deadlines and forced brainstorming sessions rife with egos, deceit and hidden agendas always seem to override true innovation, freshness and real creativity. So, for those of us that are blessed and lucky enough to understand, appreciate and embrace the stimulation and thrill of authentic research, true collaboration, trial & error, a methodical approach, stream of conciousness thought processing, and discovery  -  rejoice and leave the anxiety, misery and ulcers to the drones of posers,  self centered higher-ups, the shallow and greedy status seeking wannabees with their fancy bullshit job titles, cliché mindset, pompous airs and meaningless accolades - I'll take happy, content and real over miserable, rich and fake every time!

Stick With What You Love

These are our awesome pups. They make me smile. Ringo's chilling out and Dazy is ready to go for another long walk...

Meanwhile... this also made me smile - check out these simple keys to surviving this thing we call life:

Stick With What You Love
Think Big and Noble
Be Expressive
Practice What You Preach
Keep an Open Door
Offer a Guiding Hand
Be Consistent
Stay Positive

Learn more about the 8 Ways to Inspire Others.

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HMK

Thanks to Another Company

Tiny Green Monster

This is wicked cool.

Live scores, batter's count and more with no monthly fees - nice!

My Live Board gives you real time baseball game stats in a 100% solid ash frame complete with Wireless Bluetooth® Technology enabling cycling through the league when your not following your favorite team.

But 200US for a web enabled LED Scoreboard, is a bit pricey considering the same info is available totally por nada online and via my iPhone.

That said, I really dig the retro design and yeah, I'd probably grab one if it came down to the $50 ballpark.

That's Right,

HMK

Graphkin

Genius.

Graphkin: 2ply recycled graph paper napkins.

Some of the world's greatest designs, famous buildings and innovative ideas have all started out as sketches on paper napkins. Now with Graphkin you can skribble with precision accuracy!

From the mind of Colin O'Dowd.

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HMK

Info-Treppe

I totally love this!

Throughout 2009, a number of events have been planned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall.

Check out the Info-Trepp, brain child of Katharina Bardens. The Info-Trepp is a mobile info-pavilion incorporating a traveling exhibition, viewing platform and café is designed to become the meeting point for guided tours of sites throughout the city best showing the development of Berlin since the fall of the wall, i.e. Potsdamer Platz, Hauptbahnhof, etc.

The pavilion can be entered from three sides enabling it to adjust to the specific urban situation and the individual elements of the walls can be taken apart and loaded onto a trailer for easy transport.

Imagine this concept as a Texas Ice House with the stairs doing double duty as bleachers to simply relax and enjoy the view or perhaps as a riser to check out a live band, performance or art installation... Hmmmm....

More info: A Changing Berlin.

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HMK

Texas Lake House

Man, I really dig this awesome Lago Vista Lake House - the whole back of the house is wrapped in glass from floor to ceiling.

Commissioned by a highly creative family including a painter, writer and set-designer, the lago vista residence is a vacation home which doubles as an artists' retreat.

The house is a simple shed structure with a large cantilevering roof covering an expansive exterior patio. Cantilevered structure is further expressed in the foundation in order to convey a sense of levitation.

The entry side of the house is expressed as a wood box containing the functional aspects of the program. Having passed through the utilitarian core, the house opens on all sides toward the patio and creek beyond.

Very nice work from Bercy Chen Studio LP.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to Design Milk.

Waveform Bracelet

Really digging this very cool idea from The Sound Advice Project.

Although the sound waveform bracelet is intended as a way for parents to record an inspirational message, which is then custom-made into a piece of jewellery as a gift to a teenage child, I find that a bit too limited.

I can see these being created as personal gifts being made from someone's name, a tag line or company name, favorite band, place of birth or even simply using favorite single words or a short phrase like: That's Right.

Dig the simple packaging as well!

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to Swiss Miss.

SXSW 2009 Rocked!

Dude...

Man, it's Wednesday and I'm finally feeling relatively focused and getting back up to speed after seven exhilaratingly exhausting fun filled days up in Austin for this year's SXSW.

I drove up from San Antonio with my buddy James Lewis from Rackspace on Monday afternoon March 16th for the Rackspace Cloud Lounge Party intending to stay for a only few hours with plans to come back up on to Austin Thursday to check out the music.

Long story short, thanks to my friends Todd Morey and Shane Whitefield for hooking me up with primo nice places to crash, I ended up staying an entire week serving as the interim band manager for Manhattan Love Suicides, one of my new favorite bands all the way from Leeds, UK!

More on that later though...

The timing could not have been more perfect. My main work machine crapped out just hours after meeting a small mountain of deadlines enabling me to take a well deserved, guilt free break!

Above and beyond all the live music, film and interactive activities at SXSW there are also some amazing things to check out during the day including my Top 3 Free Must See List - The Austin City Wide Garage Sale, The Texas Guitar & Record Show and the API (American Poster Institute) sponsored Flatstock 20 Rock Poster Show.

I scored the above prints, The Boxer, The Bowler and The Mountie at Flatstock from artist and super cool dude Micha Smith.

And don't be bummed if you missed out on SXSW this year - you can still check out the Austin Record Convention's Spring Show, right around the corner on April 3rd, 4th and 5th!

Ok, back to reality for now, mas SXSW goodness to come!

That's Right,

HMK

Think It. Ink It.

Creative thinkers such as Stefan Sagmeister, Paula Scher and Milton Glaser teach classes at the School of Visual Arts.

This campaign from KNARF NY reflects that tradition by encouraging people everywhere to “Think” while also giving them a place to write down their thoughts.

That's Write!

HMK

Thanks again Freddie.

Redbone Guitar Boutique SXSW Gretsch Guitar Giveaway

This is another new interactive piece, one of the tactile kind I just finished for one of my favorite clients, Redbone Guitar Boutique.

The red pick is a real Redbone pick on the color side of this Gretsch Giveway card designed for the Texas Guitar Show at the Austin Convention Center on Saturday March 21st and Sunday, March 27th.

Viva SXSW and Redbone Guitar Boutique!

That's Right,

HMK

Rackspace Cloud Lounge Party + App!

Sweet - it's live on iTunes!

I am so super stoked to announce and share my first iPhone/iTouch App - a collaboration with the wicked smart and cool folks at 2 Pixels for the SXSW Rackspace Cloud Lounge Party up in Austin on March 16th, 2009.

The above is the invite and poster and below is a screenshot of one of the seven characters you can become using the App:


The Rackspace Cloud Lounge Party application is based on one of my favorite Apps, a previous 2 Pixles App - OldBooth - and is just a sneak preview of some of what we're working on for a few future Apps so stay tuned!

The SXSW Rackspace Cloud Lounge Party App is free but it'll only be available for download during SXSW, so go grab it now from iTunes using this link: Rackspace Lounge Party App!



Here's one of the t-shirts and the real deal invite that comes complete with "interactive" stickers, one of which gets you rock star VIP treatment bumping you to the front of the Lougne Party line.

Have fun with the SXSW Rackspace Cloud Lounge Party App and as always, let me know what you think by sharing your comments below.

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to Piotr and Arek at 2 Pixels for the all their hard work and fine App programing, my go-to tech genius buds Todd and James at Mosso and all the smart folks at the Rackspace Cloud!

Big News!

What are you waiting for? Go to Apple!

That's Right!

HMK

Creating A Global Status Symbol

It has billionaires and big ambitions. Now India wants something that no global economic powerhouse should be without: an international symbol for its currency.

The hope is that the Rupee sign will become as ubiquitous as the US dollar ($), or that instant emblem of the digital age, the @ symbol.

But how easy is it to launch a symbol on the international stage and land a coveted place on keyboards the world over?
It doesn't happen very often.

Nowadays, designing new symbols involves rigorous testing, says Jasmine Montgomery of design consultancy FutureBrand, London.

"The Indian Government will have to consider very carefully how the symbol would be used in all its technical applications - how does it look on the web, blown up on posters, on mobile phones." India would not want a symbol that looked bad when it was turned upside down, she says - "like someone's bottom," for example.

One of the most recent symbols to make the leap, the € for euro, had a long and difficult birth. Before that, in 1971, the @ symbol was assigned an important international role, as the critical connector in e-mail addresses. A 30-year-old computer programmer named Ray Tomlinson, looking for coding to send the first ever e-mail, surveyed the keyboard on his Model-33 Teletype and chose @ - which is apparently centuries old and has served various different functions - because it was unlikely to appear in a person's name."

Read the entire Kathryn Westcott article for the BBC News: India Seeks Rupee Status Symbol

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HMK

More on The History Of The Euro.

Thanks to Mark Fletcher for the original money shot.

My Paper Bag

Totally digging this sweet leather bag designed to look like a brown paper bag.

Nice.

My Paper Bag is available from Good For All.

That's Right!

HMK

Once again, thanks again to Design Milk.

Today Is The Day

03.06.09
Watchmen

Oh bon sang indeed!

That's Right!

HMK

This Just In... Bad Idea!

Nice! Nothing like a hearty laugh to start the day off!

But wait, there's more! Wired Magazine's Top 10 Funniest News Reporter Bloopers

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HMK