How magazine - Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Do you find it difficult to stay away from the internet for more than a few days (or a few hours)? Have you stayed online longer than you intended often or very often? Have you ever attempted to conceal your internet usage from family, friends or employers? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you may be suffering from internet addication according to a recent Stanford University study.

Really? I have trouble believing that using the internet too much rises to the level of a serious compulsion or addiction. Of course, I can't bear to be disconnected for more than a few hours a day. Hmm . . .

Thought Provoking

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 3:46:25 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Creative Business Structures

Posted by Tricia

Since there's a bit of buzz going on about the December issue cover, I thought you might like to read a bit about the process.

When we started talking about the firms profiled in this issue, phrases like "breaking the mold" kept popping up. My thumbnails were of a logo made out of concrete and a wrecking ball swinging at it. I was dying to cast the cover in concrete, but Megan wisely noted that the concept was DEstructive, not CONtstructive.

So I moved on to more positive ideas working off the phrase "creative buisness structures." That's when the idea of a building with the logo for the windows came in. I made a trip to a model train store and looked for round windows. That would be the factor that would determine the scale. The scale is HN and the cover image is larger than actual size. Once I that was settled, I worked with photograher Hal Barkan to build and photograph this idea.

HOW Magazine

Wednesday, October 18, 2006 1:39:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Monster Bags

Posted by Megan

via BoingBoing

Keep your laptop safe and warm this winter with these adorable monster laptop sleeves from Barry's Farm.

Gifts and Goodies

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 8:25:55 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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The Science of Sleep

Posted by Megan

I saw "The Science of Sleep" on Saturday and I can't stop thinking about how it's really a perfect movie for designers. It's a love story of sorts, but it's really more about the power of creativity and what the world looks like when you have an overactive imagination. The movie's website captures the feel of the film perfectly and provides a nice interactive gem—a Flash-based interface that lets you make your own "stop-motion" animation using images from the movie.

Just for Fun

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 6:24:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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37signals Blog

Posted by Carmen

With our December issue starting to hit subscribers' mailboxes, people are already starting to talk. It's our Business Annual, and 37signals is one of the five firms profiled in it. They have a nice shout-out to the piece on their blog that you ought to check out for a sneak peek!

HOW Magazine

Tuesday, October 17, 2006 5:20:58 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Monday, October 16, 2006

Advertising for Change

Posted by Megan

Can a marketing campaign for a beauty product also mount an effort to improve women's self-esteem around the world? It's easy to be cynical, but Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty seems to be doing just that. The Flash video showing a model being transformed from ordinary to stunning (through the magic of makeup and Photoshop) really drives home the point that the perfect models we see in magazines and on billboards are much more ordinary than they seem.

Thought Provoking

Monday, October 16, 2006 8:27:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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OFFICE Space

Posted by Bryn

In the design competition, we saw some cool identity materials from Office, a retro-hip office-supply store in Portland, OR. (I shouldn't say this, but yeah, they won a spot in the annual. Sssshhhh.) Turns out, the creative team behind the shop has some serious design chops: marketing director Kelly Coller daylights at Twenty Four • Seven (which has scored more than one HOW design award), and creative director Tony Secolo used to be at Getty Images. No wonder we liked their stuff.

Designers

Monday, October 16, 2006 6:54:05 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Seriously Viral

Posted by Megan

Lots of people forward viral marketing efforts to me. My friends and my husband are very internet saavy and always seem to know about the latest thing. So I was totally shocked when I got an email from my Grandpa Jack this morning with a link to the Snapalope Hunting Association of America, a seriously funny website promoting Slim Jim. And I was only one of the 25 people on Grandpa's email list. Marketers take note, Gen Y teenagers aren't the only ones who pass your viral videos on to their friends. Better start paying more attention to hip octogenarians.

Just for Fun

Monday, October 16, 2006 4:07:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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We Were Sorry to See 'Em Go

Posted by Bryn

Is it possible that a week of competition judging was actually ... fun? When you're spending time with this year's crew of judges, it is possible. By the time Justin, Terry and Amy left on Friday, we were all trading bathroom jokes and quoting inane movie lines like old friends. Oh, and they picked some killer design work, too—an interesting collection of projects that seems to define easy aesthetic categorization (i.e., it doesn't all look the same). Keep an eye out for the big HOW design annual in March to see what they selected. This was the best team of judges we've had (with all due respect to previous jurors) ... wish we could invite them back.

HOW Magazine

Monday, October 16, 2006 3:48:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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Thursday, October 12, 2006

a competitive week

Posted by Tricia

In addition to our own International Competition this week, the AIGA/Omaha chapter's design competition held it's judging this weekend. I was honored to be asked to judge along with Brian Edlefson from Target and Debbie Millman of Sterling Brands.The fine designers of Omaha knew they had some typophiles for judges so they booked us in a hotel with this for a view.

Between the steaks and the practical jokes, we did manage to have some interesting converstions about design and see a lot of great work. Debbie and I did podcasts for Be A Design Group. When that gets posted, I'll post a link. You can catch Brian's Be A Design cast here. Also, each of the judges gave a short talk at the judges reception. Brian spoke about his process and showed some fascinating images from sketch to final. I'm looking forward to hearing his longer talk at the HOW conference in Atlanta next summer. Debbie, too, made some thought provoking points as she talked about things she's learned by making mistakes. One of my favorites: Have a personal design philosopy.

Hello and thanks to all the Omaha designers. I had a great time getting to know you all.

Thursday, October 12, 2006 3:43:27 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

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