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 Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Design Your Own Kelly Bag
Just download the PDF from the Hermes site and cut, fold and glue your own iconic Kelly bag. There's even a white version so you can add your own graphics. This would make the perfect container for a gift card or other small present.  via How About OrangePosted by Megan
Just for Fun
5/13/2008 10:12:15 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Optical Illustion
Just for Fun
5/13/2008 9:00:26 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, May 09, 2008
A Way with Words
Being first and foremost a word person and secondarily a visual person, I find these Newspaper Blackout Poems by Austin, TX, writer/illustrator/designer Austin Kleon to be quite remarkable.  Heard on NPR on my way in this morning.
Just for Fun
5/9/2008 9:09:51 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, May 02, 2008
Design Humor
I'm pretty sure this makes me a big nerd, but I adore this Charles and Ray Eames Powers of 10 joke.  (Thanks HOW Books editor Amy Schell for forwarding this site to me.) Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
5/2/2008 2:41:18 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, April 21, 2008
Design and Music
The HOW staff always plays music during competition judging. Design and tunes just seem to go together. Over on Design Observer, they're conducting an informal poll about what designers like to listen to while they work. The selections are all over the map, but you may discover some good new music. We discovered an interesting CD that was entered in the competition. The design didn't make it into the winners pile, but we did throw the disc on because we were intrigued by the title: Songs For Ice Cream Trucks. The music did indeed evoke a certain ice cream truck quality. We especially like the track "Where Do Ice Cream Trucks Go in the Winter?"  Posted by Megan
HOW Magazine | Just for Fun
4/21/2008 10:47:06 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
The Very Secret Order
Veer is known for its well-designed promotions, but the latest one (called The Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding) is interactive and fun. If you haven't received a handbook in the mail, you can download one here. Inside are seven riddles to solve. The answers can be used as coupon codes on future purchases to nab free merch like cool T-shirts.  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
4/10/2008 8:31:06 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Overheard On The Forum: New Starbucks Logo
Do you love it or hate it? Take the poll in the forum.   OLD NEW (It turns out this is the original logo. The new one has longer hair that covers her nipples. Plus, according to the Wall Street Journal, the retro logo is only being used as a promotion.)  Don't miss the Antiques Roadshow parody by the Vonster. Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
4/9/2008 9:26:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, April 07, 2008
DIY Temporary Tattoo
Now you can design and print your very own temporary tattoos with a special two-part paper. This would be an awesome way to try out a self-created tattoo and find the perfect spot for it.  via SwissmissPosted by Megan
Just for Fun
4/7/2008 12:31:10 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, April 04, 2008
Eggs-Cellent
Hatch Design got 147 entries in its egg-design contest and the winner is stunning. Of course, I love it because it's a tiny replica chair!  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
4/4/2008 1:51:13 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Your Logo Here
Another cool thing we spotted in today's Trendwatching report: A Dutch fashion company called Wickd makes Ts and other apparel marked with a logo that's unique to you. (Think of it as a cooler-looking version of a barcode.) You can link the logo to, say, your Facebook page or to a profile you create on the Wickd site. Wear the shirt around, and someone can use a cellphone to snap a pic of your logo, and they're instantly linked to the site of your choice. 
Just for Fun
4/2/2008 10:56:07 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, March 28, 2008
You're Not My Type
Here's some Friday fun, courtesy of our friend Steve Gordon: Extensis has a little Flash-based dating game called Typecaster that lets you pair up two typefaces on a date to see if they're compatible. Warning: Mistral is a real jerk, so steer clear, ladies. 
Just for Fun | Typography
3/28/2008 1:20:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008
A Bit of Friendly Competition
Over on the HOW Forum, we've started a little contest called Show Us Your Desktop, where designers can post screenshots of their Mac desktops and vote on the best ones. The designer whose desktop gets the most votes wins a free one-year HOW subscription. You can only post one image, but you can vote as much as you want; the contest ends April 18. Wanna play? Post your desktop and vote.
Just for Fun
3/26/2008 9:45:25 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, March 24, 2008
Auto Advertising Done Right
Having spent much of the weekend glued to NCAA basketball games, I spotted this way-cool ad for the Pontiac G8 several times, and my jaw hit the floor with every replay. It's a riff on the old computer game "Spy Hunter" -- and all the gamers are proclaiming how true to the original the ad is.
Just for Fun
3/24/2008 4:28:41 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thirty-Thirty
Still going on through the end of this month: 30 Days–30 Pieces, an online gallery where 20 designers and artists are posting a new work each day from March 1 through March 31. Amid a nifty Flash interface, you'll find daily artworks in media ranging from photography to illustration to collage. via the HOW Forum
Industry News | Just for Fun
3/24/2008 8:33:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Peeps Nightmare
Love them or hate them, Peeps are a sure sign of spring and also of creativity. For the second year in a row, The Washington Post sponsored a Peeps diorama contest. One of the five semifinalists is graphic designer Peter Byer whose entry is titled " Nightmare in Pink." The bedposts are crayons, and the slippers and vases are made of
Sculpey. The dresser and wall mountings (including a portrait of a Peep
labeled "Mom") were drawn in ink on white paper, then scanned into a
computer and reversed into white lines on a black background. As
evidenced by the precision, Byer is, in fact, a graphic designer. But
he deals mostly in print and has never worked with models or dioramas.
Might we suggest a side career?
 Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
3/24/2008 8:31:15 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
We [Heart] the Suits
This is good clean fun: From 1961, an Executive Coloring Book, with illustrations you can color (INSIDE the lines, of course) and clever captions. Like, This is my secretary. I hate her. She is mean.
This is my sales chart. When the line goes up, I feel good. When the line goes down, I get gas.
 via the HOW ForumPosted by Bryn
Just for Fun
3/18/2008 9:44:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, March 13, 2008
More Pop Culture Fun
Just for Fun
3/13/2008 4:57:48 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Sorry, Your Photoshop User License Has Been Revoked
Perhaps we shouldn't admit this, but there are times when we'll view a design project that's come into HOW HQ and think, "Hm. This person really shouldn't be using Photoshop. Like, really, really, REALLY shouldn't be using Photoshop." You've all seen them: the scary photo retouching, the weird tangets between combined elements, the godawful compositions. Now there's a place to share and celebrate these testaments to the adage, "Just because you can doesn't mean you should:" Photoshop Disasters.
It's sort of like The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotations, which we writers find similarly amusing-slash-horrifying. via Core77.com
Just for Fun
3/13/2008 11:13:03 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A Drug for TV Junkies
VeryShortList.com sent us word today about a new site (currently in Beta) for TV fanatics called, appropriately enough, Fancast.com. Watch free episodes (we're weighing what to watch during our lunch hour today: "Major Dad," "24" ... nope, "WKRP in Cincinnati" it is), and see what's on the real thing tonight. Plus, the interface is surprisingly clean and helpful, given the obviously commercial nature of the site. 
Just for Fun
3/11/2008 11:51:44 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Logo-Matic
There's no magic button to push to generate a new logo (despite what your clients may think), but Mohawk has developed a tongue-in-cheek widget guaranteed to create the most bland, weird or otherwise unsuitable logos out there. Just click on the edge of the yellow box to launch the Logo-Matic Machine. (And while you're there, be sure to check out Pentagram New York's new redesign of the Mohawk site.)   Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
3/5/2008 11:44:44 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, February 28, 2008
Overheard In The Office
Just for Fun
2/28/2008 2:33:08 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, February 20, 2008
From the Almanac
Just so you know ... there's a total lunar eclipse happening tonight, with the peak at around 10:30 eastern time. 
Just for Fun
2/20/2008 11:24:22 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, February 14, 2008
But If You're Not In The Mood . . .
you could send someone this ambivilent e-valentine created by calligrapher Maybelle Imasa-Stukulls for Kate Spade's Behind the Curtain site. (Click on "B Mine" for the entire selection of sentiments.)  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun | Typography
2/14/2008 1:24:25 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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We're in the Mood for Love
via VeryShortListChris Vincze's short film about a couple finding each other in a bass-ackwards world is sweet, but not sugary, like a nice Valentine's Day treat.
Just for Fun
2/14/2008 1:06:10 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, February 13, 2008
More Amusement from the Forum
On Drawger.com, The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies. Those of us of a certain age recall doing paste-up with Best Test rubber cement, cropping photos (you know, the on-paper kind) with a Proper Cropper and getting wacky on Design marker fumes. Really, we didn't inhale. 
Just for Fun
2/13/2008 1:28:20 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Overheard On The Forum
What if Comic Sans was a dude, who would he date? Find out with the Extensis Typecaster. (Turns out Comic Sans and Papyrus are a match made in heaven.) You can also discover which font you should hook up with. (Mistral? I don't think so.)  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun | Typography
2/13/2008 9:50:36 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, January 28, 2008
Office Space
A little inspiration for a Monday morning: a peek into the corporate headquarters of Urban Outfitters from Metropolis Magazine. (Download the PDF for the full story with lots of juicy images.)  via FlyPosted by Megan
Just for Fun
1/28/2008 11:51:28 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Design Police On Duty
My best friend just forwarded me this website, www.design-police.org, where you can download different templates that notify people of any and all design crimes they've committed, whether it's "Microsoft Word is not a design tool" or "Helvetica was an unimaginative choice" or "Turn off the CAPS LOCK." And in bright pink, how can you resist poking fun and brightening up an otherwise boring project?  
Just for Fun
1/17/2008 2:42:03 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, January 10, 2008
Dog In Space
The new Zune Arts Film "Laika" was released last night. Created by 72andSunny and Curious Pictures, the film imagines what might have happened to Laika, the dog launched into space by the Russians fifty years ago. The charming tale incorporates 2D and 3D still photography and textures to create a planet that might as well be doggy heaven.
Designers | Just for Fun
1/10/2008 8:37:32 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, December 20, 2007
That's SO Over!
Today's New York Times Thursday Styles section has an article about which of the year's interior design trends have passed from Hot to Not. Among the "outs": deer motifs (sorry, Carmen) and cowhide rugs (ewww).  Posted by Bryn
Just for Fun
12/20/2007 11:51:37 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Huh? Cool!
When I first read this release from P22, I was a bit confused. But then I tried it. So cool! P22 announces the P22 Music Text Composition Generator, a free online music utility that allows any text to be converted into a musical composition. This composition is displayed in musical notation and simultaneously generates a midi music file that is played back on your computer. The P22 MTCG was programmed by designer Colin Kahn from an idea conceived by P22 creative director Richard Kegler.
 Posted by Megan
Just for Fun | Typography
12/20/2007 10:54:56 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Quirky Christmas Cards of Yore
I just got word of a really interesting find: Designer Mollie Siu-Chong's friend found some amazing homemade Christmas cards tucked away in her grandmother's house. "They were made by
Ted Sears, Disney animator from 1931-58,
and feature Sears, his wife Vee, and
their daughter, Marcia. His IMDB bio
states: 'To amuse himself, Ted
still drew for his friends and made
props for the plays his daughter
appeared in - he also produced his
family's Christmas cards which employed
his old love for trick photography an
special effects - these holiday cards
took months to prepare and were awaited
with great anticipation by over three
hundred recipients. (he lettered the
envelopes individually, turning each
name into calligraphy.)'"    Mollie's curious whether anyone knows where Marcia, Ted's daughter
who was featured prominently in many of the found cards, is now?
Creativity | Just for Fun
12/12/2007 10:29:17 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Just In Time For Your Office Holiday Party
Just for Fun
12/11/2007 10:31:36 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Go Elf Yourself
Building on the success of last year's holiday campaign, Toy New York and EVB, are bringing back the online phenomenon, ElfYourself.com, for OfficeMax's holiday effort. Last year, the site generated more than 11 million elves and kept users glued to the site for the equivalent of over 600 years. I visited the site to turn myself into an Elf, which was both fun and a bit disturbing. The dance moves are great, though.  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
11/29/2007 11:24:29 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, November 19, 2007
Yeah, it's Quiet Around Here, Too ...
Just for Fun
11/19/2007 2:30:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, November 15, 2007
Typeflakes
We just looked out the window and it's totally snowing! Sure, it won't last, but suddenly we're in a winter-time mood. If you want to generate your own flakes, check out TYPEflake from Firstborn Multimedia. Just type in a phrase, choose a font and watch your words get turned into a beautiful snowflake. You can even email your creation to a friend.  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun | Typography
11/15/2007 9:42:01 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Last Minute Costume
If you still don't know what to dress up as this Halloween, designer Stefan Bucher has come to the rescue with his adorably silly monster mask. Just download the PDF, print it out and find a way to keep it on your face. The mask is inspired by the creatures at his Daily Monster blog. Get your fill of creepy creatures this Halloween!  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
10/31/2007 12:54:29 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, October 19, 2007
Friday Treats
HOW Books | Just for Fun
10/19/2007 11:22:14 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Music Of Design
If you're looking for some new tune to work to, check out The Designers Mixtape. It features play lists from designers around the world. Just plug in your headphones and click on a name.  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
10/17/2007 11:15:36 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, October 16, 2007
"Funny"
HOW Books art director Grace Ring just sent me a link to The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks, which collects and posts pictures of signage sporting this all-too-common mistake. There are also lots of examples of vernacular typography. (Grace said the site reminded her of a chapter in Milk Eggs Vodka about the grocer's apostrophe.)  Posted by Megan
Just for Fun | Typography
10/16/2007 12:49:31 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
You Know You're A Designer When . . .
"You can’t go to a restaurant without secretly critiquing the menu design." Add your own design witticisms in the HOW Forum. Update: How to tell if you or someone you love is a typoholic. Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
10/2/2007 3:59:47 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Science Is Beautiful
Just for Fun
10/2/2007 1:54:17 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Monday, October 01, 2007
Michael B. Unzips
... his portfolio, that is. During our Monday morning web surfing, we cruised over to DesignObserver and were once again reminded how much we admire Michael Bierut. He recently discovered, dusted off and, yes, unzipped his portfolio, circa 1978, and bared its contents. We won't spoil it by linking an image; you have to see for yourself.
Just for Fun
10/1/2007 11:50:36 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, September 28, 2007
Overheard On The Forum
Just for Fun
9/28/2007 2:11:03 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, August 30, 2007
Designing A Better Baby Bag
An all-star team of experts with world-renowned environmental and baby
product design credentials have joined forces for the “Wee
Generation ” project to develop an
environmentally safe, impeccably designed baby bag certain to be the “It ”
bag among green celebrities, the eco-chic and the health-conscious. To
influence the design process, current and future parents are encouraged
to weigh in at www.weegeneration.com
and share their own stories and insights of baby bag usage. 
Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
8/30/2007 1:08:04 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, August 29, 2007
We (heart) eBay
Just for Fun
8/29/2007 2:35:45 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Faceball?
HOW Conference-planning diva Heather Griffin just sent around a newsletter from Jeremy Guetsche, one of our keynote speakers for 2008 and in it was a link to a video about Faceball. Apparently, Faceball is a game developed in the Flickr offices as a way to blow off steam, but we think it could be adapted to any cubicle environment. The main thing you need to play is a lot of balls. 
Posted by Megan
Just for Fun
8/29/2007 10:53:33 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Vintage Wishes
Hop into the Wayback Machine and see what your holiday wishlist might have looked like, were you longingly perusing the 1970 J.C. Penney Christmas catalog. Two catalog devotees have compiled an online archive of old holiday "wishbooks," as they were called. We're diggin' those long dresses.     Thanks, Coudal.
Just for Fun
8/28/2007 4:19:34 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, August 24, 2007
Gone to Hell
That's what happens when our Chief Bloggess, Megan, takes a vacation: it all goes to hell. Actually, Megan's gone to Hell, and sent a postcard. Trust us, it's MUCH hotter here. 
Just for Fun
8/24/2007 8:29:47 AM (Easte | |