No one on the Forum seems particularly impressed with the new Xerox logo. I prefer the logos from 1948 and 1949 that the New York Times shows on a timeline of the logo's transformation over the years. (The new logo looks oddly similar to the green Xbox 360 logo.)

Posted by Megan

"I'm charmed by all of the cute, creepy creatures he has created."

Posted by Megan

Posted by Megan

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.

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"I look forward to working with the incredibly inspiring and creative community of RISD to realize the possibilities for the world’s first truly 21st century university of art and design.”

For some artists, our expectations of ourselves and our work form a subconscious barrier to full, free creativity. In my work with creative pros, I've uncovered three main sources of potentially unhealthy expectations.

Unhealthy Expectation No. 1: Our heroes
Many of us began making art because we were inspired by others to do so. If we're not careful, however, our "hero worship" can become a creative noose. We can easily begin to think that our work is sub-par because it doesn't seem to measure up to the invisible standard we've unknowingly set.

In his incredible book "Free Play," Stephen Nachmanovich writes, "It's great to sit on the shoulders of giants, but don't let the giants sit on YOUR shoulders! There's no room for their legs to dangle."

In other words, we can carry the weight of our heroes on our shoulders and feel the burden to carry their work forward. When we do this, we're denying our own creative skills and passions and trying to live up to someone else's standard. We're also discounting the failures, doubts and missteps that our heroes made on the way to creative success. It's great to strive for brilliance, but it's also important to be patient with our own growth process.

Read more.

Posted by Megan

New York City has a population of approximately 9 million people in all five boroughs, plus the visitor influx. The average per capita annual use of agricultural produce is approximately 711 pounds (12). The combined per capita consumption of the entire population of New York City is nearly 3 million tons, which translates into 266,000 acres of cropland needed solely for growing produce for New York City. The total ecological footprint of food consumption alone for New York City, as a whole, is over 28.8 million acres. This is 1.2% of the total U.S. land area.

Some people are a little uncomfortable talking about money and payment before any work has been done. I know I would rather get the details of the job and get busy on it needing nothing more than an agreement on total payment, but this is not a smart way to do business… especially with clients you do not know. I get over it by knowing that once the money part is settled the client will get 100% effort on my part on the actual job. Still I want things to be very clear with no room for misinterpretation between myself and the client when it comes to all aspects of the job, including payment. Agree on how long after you invoice them you can expect payment, whether they have an internal contract or purchase order they need in addition to your invoice, etc.

Posted by Megan

A few gems from For Boys Only:

“I say, doctor, just what is the fun what the older fellows are always beating their gums about—petting, or necking, or boodling? Is it the same as what the older people used to call spooning? How can a fellow who’s as good an athlete and all-around outdoor man as Bill, stand it to stay hanging around with some girl who isn’t interested in a single thing a boy enjoys doing? I just don’t get it.”

Question: Doesn’t a shot of liquor increase a fellow’s ability to be—er,—manly?
Answer: Not in the slightest. What it does do is simply to make him think he’s more of a man than he actually is! Even a little drink makes a fellow’s opinion of himself go up, while it strengthens his desires. At the same time it blunts the good sense and self-restraint that might otherwise have kept him from doing harm to a girl he’s supposed to be reliable enough to be with. And its avoidance might well prevent him form getting a disease, or from becoming a father of an illegitimate child. You can imagine what a tragedy either of these must be!

This internal secretion put out by the testicles changes you in some mysterious way that no one really understands, so that you begin to feel the way a man feels and have some of the thoughts and wishes that a man has and that a younger boy doesn’t have. For example, you begin to have courage and backbone and guts, that are not expected of a small boy but are taken for granted in a man. You get more and more interested in girls, where before as a little fellow you thought they were just a nuisance to be teased and then pushed aside. You look forward to having more to do with them—first with any girl, later with one particular one.

A few gems from For Girls Only:

“I wonder why she never married,” added Jane. “You know she’s old. She’s twenty-four! I’m sure she must have had several love affairs. I bet she was engaged to be married, and he was killed in the war. I certainly expect to get married before I’m that old! I’m going to have eight children, and live in a great big house.”

“And what do you call ‘fun’? Having a boy hold your hand and kiss you? My mother said it was wicked to allow a boy even to touch you. She told me about Edna who had to leave school because she let a boy touch her.”
    “What about Edna? I knew she had to leave school; but what was it all about?”
    “Why, didn’t you know she was going to have a baby?”
    In utter amazement both girls almost shrieked, “NO!”
    “Tell us about it. I didn’t know you could have a baby if you weren’t married,” said Jane. “What an awful thing! I knew that everything was ‘hush, hush’ about Edna; but I never dreamed such a thing could happen at high school. Rosemary ran off and got married. But Edna! she seemed so nice! I can’t believe it; and I can’t understand it, either.”

“Now let me tell you something, Helen. I, too, hope the boys will think you are pretty. I hope you will always want to be well dressed, and never look like a sloppy Joe when you are at a formal reception; that is a most important thing in a girl’s life. But when you’re older and get married, if you still keep on thinking that your dress and the shade of lipstick are the biggest things in your life, that to have a baby might spoil your figure, then you have not grown up emotionally. We could all name some women who are just like that; and I’m afraid they don’t make their husbands very happy.

Posted by Megan

Posted by Megan

Posted by Megan

Posted by Megan

Designers are constantly facing the challenges of recreating, revamping or re-energizing existing business or organization identities. The process can be much more intense than creating a new business image from scratch. When taking on such a redesign effort, I always suggest that designers consider the historical aspects of the existing logo; give thought to the emotional attachment of owners, employees and the customer base; and determine if existing design elements are appropriate to include in the new identity as part of a seemingly natural design evolution. The first thing I usually say to a designer about such projects is “Never tell your client their logo sucks.” If you make that statement you can be assured that the logo was created by the client, their spouse, their child, or the kid next door—and your potential business relationship with that client is already damaged.

Posted by Megan

Posted by Megan