Ubuntu Restaurant

Not that I'll be heading to Napa any time soon, but I've been following the incredible work of San Francisco architects Michael Baushke and Stuart Hills, founding partners of Apparatus, since 2005 after discovering them via an article in Custom Home magazine.

Their work, inside and out, is absolutely stunning.

Their latest gem is a new restaurant in downtown Napa, occupying a two-story volume in a 19th century stone structure. The space was transformed using sustainable and recycled materials to accentuate the inherent beauty of the existing building. There is no “theme”, only the natural textures and colors of essential materials, the activity of the open kitchen, and of course, wine.

Do yourself a favor and escape for a few moments: Apparatus Architecture.

The awesome photos are by Jen Siska.

That's Right,

HMK

Association for Alzheimers in Guatemala: Lost

“If they could help themselves, we wouldn’t ask you.”

Wow. Powerful stuff from agency Wurmser Ogilvy & Mather, Guatemala.

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HMK

Thanks to I Believe In Advertising.

Elektro & Sparko

Two of my favorite things - Robots and Dogs!

Lots more over at these flickr pools: ROBOT and Vintage Robots.

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HMK

Design Management App

These go out to my friends, colleagues and anyone else lucky to have a job but sadly stuck in the throws of the advertising agency world...

Chicago art director Tobias Lunchbreath has been creating some super wicked insightful and dead-on funny weekly infotoons for the smart folks over at Core 77.


Don't forget to fill out your time sheet!

Enjoy! More Lunchbreath.

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HMK

Ruben V CD Release Party! This Saturday August 29!

Hot off the presses! I just finished the new logo and cd packaging for my buddy and blues guitar rocker Ruben V and his latest release: Come To Me.

Check him out LIVE at the CD Release Party: Josephine Theatre this Saturday night, August 29th!

More info: Ruben V at the Josephine Theatre.

Rock On Ruben!

Migwell

Typedia

I just registered and activated my Typedia account, a brand-new community website with a nice Wikipedia-meets-IMDb approach that both classifies and tells you just about all you need to know about typefaces.

I'm really looking forward to diving into this site!

Typedia

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HMK

Thanks to Swiss Miss

VW 4Motion

Great concept and super nice Escheresque illustrations by Brian Harrison on these ads for VW via DDB, New Zealand.

There's a few more in the campaign over at Sir Fredericks. And speaking of Escheresque...

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HMK

Ponder This

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

Charles Darwin

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HMK

Illustrations by Emma Kelly

I'm really digging the fresh and energetic style of London illustrator Emma Kelly, I think you will too: I Like To Draw Things.

Really nice work.

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HMK

Paris 3D

This looks really sweet. Soon to be released pending Apple approval.

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HMK

Redbone Guitar Boutique: Fly On The Wall

Redbone Guitar Boutique.

Original photo of Mick, John and Paul during a Revolver mixing session at Abby Road, Studio 3, from May 26th, 1966 by Robert Freeman.

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HMK

Design Pricing Formula

Considering the wide range of variables, pricing is a task a lot of designers struggle with. I prefer to work on a project basis vs. an hourly rate after the scope and timeline of the project is clearly defined.

The truth is that nobody can really tell you what you should be charging as a designer and this design pricing formula from David Airey helps explain why.

David Airey shares his thoughts and some pricing articles that are definitely worth a look: Design Pricing Formula.

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HMK

Good Comedy

These are awesome. Check out the rest of Marc Johns' ever growing Post-it Note Drawings.

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HMK

All Hail The Cheese & Burger Society!

Ladies and Gentlemen - this is how you sell cheese!

Humorous voiceovers, mouthwatering photography and engaging navigation add to the overall interactive experience on this unique and memorable site as it pays tribute to the 30 greatest cheeseburgers of all time—made with Wisconsin cheese.

Dig the awesome Cheese & Burger Society site built by the amazingly talented folks at Shine.

Hungry yet?

Do yourself a favor, cut to the chase and bookmark the San Antonio Burger Blog. While they don't have my favorite local burger listed yet, the Black Angus burger from Boudros on the our fabulous Riverwalk, it's a great resource for anyone in quest of the perfect burger and I'm sure they'll get to my favorite eventually!

And just so you know, Boudro's only serves this burger at lunch and it's not on the menu - just ask and they'll hook you up.

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HMK

Thanks to: Communication Arts.

A Digital Archive of Vintage Television Commercials

Sweet! Just in time for the premier of Mad Men season 3 next Sunday!

Check out AdViews, a digital archive of thousands of vintage television commercials dating from the 1950s to the 1980s.

These commercials were created or collected by the quintessential "Mad Men" ad agency, Benton & Bowles or its successor, D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B). Founded in 1929, Benton & Bowles was a New York advertising agency that merged with D'Arcy Masius McManus in 1985 to form DMB&B. Major clients included are Procter & Gamble, Kraft, Schick, Vicks, and Post, among others. Commercials will be added in phased batches over several months in 2009.

The commercials are a part of the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives found at the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in Duke University's Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.

And I really digs the fact that you can either view these via the Duke University AdViews website or stream, download and subscribe in iTunes!

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HMK

Gracias to Design Observer.

The Flight Chair

The Flight Chair design concept by Matthew Weatherly would look perfect in my house or just about any chiropractor's office.

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HMK

Thanks to Design Milk

How Do You Spend Your Day?

This is how most people over age 15 spent their time in 2008.

Using data compiled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this New York Times Infographic: The American Time Use Survey asks thousands of American residents to recall every minute of a day.

I think I might need to add a bit more orange to my day...

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HMK

The Price of Entry

This is an excerpt from an awesome interview/discussion between smashLAB's Eric Karjaluoto and Blair Enns, founder of Win Without Pitching.

Eric: Every industry has its clichés. Tell me about the blunders that most creative companies unwittingly make that limit them.

Blair: Thinking that they can fake deep expertise across an impractically wide area. Thinking that they are in the service business. Thinking that they cannot let an opportunity pass them by. Thinking that they can win business by compromising their principles then somehow fixing it later. Thinking that their firm is somehow exempt from the laws of supply and demand economics. Thinking that they’re not really in it for the money.

Eric: Are there any marketing catch-phrases and terms used by designers that you’d like to see bombed to Oblivion?

Blair: I hate the word ‘branding’ as a claim of expertise. An expert is someone who has a deeper knowledge of the subject than others trading in the area. I wonder if there’s even such thing as a branding expert. There are just too many people in it and very, very few that have meaningful knowledge that others do not. A designer claiming expertise in branding is like a fish claiming expertise in swimming. It’s not expertise; it’s the price of entry.

Exactly. Some really nice insight and wisdom in this piece - continue reading here if you agree and want to learn more or here if you already know it all...

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HMK

Thanks to Blair Enns, founder of the Win Without Pitching movement and a business development adviser to marketing communication agencies and Eric Karjaluoto from smashLab.

The F-Word

Focus Groups: It's Like Saying the F-Word to Creatives.

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HMK

Today In Beatles History

This is bad ass and should be an app: Today In Beatles History.

August 1st, 1962 Performance at the Cavern, with Gerry and the Pacemakers, and the Mersey Beats.

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HMK

100 Years of Design Manifestos

Woodcut by Frans Masereel

Since the days of radical printer-pamphleteers, design and designers have a long history of fighting for what’s right and working to transform society. The rise of the literary form of the manifesto also parallels the rise of modernity and the spread of letterpress printing.

Here are a few excerpts:

"We stand on the last promontory of the centuries!... Why should we look back, when what we want is to break down the mysterious doors of the Impossible? Time and Space died yesterday. We already live in the absolute, because we have created eternal, omnipresent speed."
1909 The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism, F.T. Marinetti

"Architects, painters, sculptors, we must all return to crafts! For there is no such thing as "professional art". There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. The artist is an exalted craftsman. By the grace of Heaven and in rare moments of inspiration which transcend the will, art may unconsciously blossom from the labour of his hand, but a base in handicrafts is essential to every artist. It is there that the original source of creativity lies."
1919 Bauhaus Manifesto, Walter Gropius

"I believe that typefaces are valuable, powerful, and beautiful cultural tools, worthy of legal protection and deserving of the price they bring in the Western marketplace. Moreover, a gift of typography makes good on a unique body of skill, knowledge, and passion."
2006 Free Font Manifesto, Ellen Lupton

Dig: 100 Years of Design Manifestos!

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HMK

Gracias to the smart folks at: Back Space.

Sound Branding

An effective brand identity is commonly perceived as a good brand name and logo, trendy package design – dimensions which mainly concern visual senses. However, this common perception of branding is incomplete.

Human beings have five senses, so why would brand strategists leave four of them aside? Over the past few years, senses other than sight have been explored by brand experts and marketers. Although the senses of taste and touch are more difficult for brands to reach, some brands like Singapore Airlines and Rolls Royce have already used scent to build brand identity, also known as olfactive branding.

A new area of focus is now sound branding, explored in this article from Brand Infection.

When you really think about it, this idea and focus is actually not all that new - I mean, if you're not familiar with the NBC Chimes, or the audio tag for Intel, you're either deaf of live someplace like Easter Island.

I've always loved audio tags and jingles and believe they can be just as vital to any branding campaign as any logo and/or tag line. If you've ever listened to my HMK Mystery Streams you're probably already familiar with some of my little audio tags: If: Irregular Frequency created in the summer of 2007 and Totally Bitchin', my first attempt from back in 1987 using samples from Frank and Moon Unit Zappa's Valley Girl (1982) and The Surf Punks Teenage Girls (1980).

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HMK

Marco Brambilla: Civilization

The Standard Hotel in New York, recently declared to be the Municipal Art Society's Best New Building of 2009, has an incredibly stunning HD video installation located in, of all places, their elevators!

Civilization, a chronological video sequence using over 500 looping clips to simulate the “journey” from hell to heaven plays on high-definition monitors which are seen through a viewing port in each of the elevators at the hotel and move according to the direction of the elevator.

It's awesome and I can't wait to check it out in person later on this year!

Do yourself a favor and check out Civilization by Marco Brambilla and Crush, Toronto.

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HMK

Brazilian Chair

OK, getting back down to Earth after what turned into Space Week here at That's Right...

Dude, I really want this chair designed by Brazilian designer Sergio Rodrigues via Silvia Nayla!

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HMK

Gracias: Design Milk!

Splashdown!

Safe at home!

In college, a friend asked Armstrong if he wanted to be the first man on the moon - "No," he answered, "I want to be the first man to come back from the moon"... Genius!

At 12:15 p.m. EDT July 24 the Apollo 11's command module Columbia splashed down in the mid-Pacific, about 24 kilometers from the recovery ship U.S.S. Hornet. Following decontamination procedures at the point of splashdown, the astronauts were carried by helicopter to the Hornet where they entered a mobile quarantine facility to begin a period of observation under strict quarantine conditions. The CM was recovered and removed to the quarantine facility. Sample containers and film were flown to Houston.

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HMK