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 Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Sketchbook From Hell
Yes, I'm a geek and I can't wait to see Hellboy II, but I was even more excited that the movie site offers a sneak peek inside director Guillermo del Toro's sketchbook. You can see the genesis of several characters and locations.   Posted by Megan
Creativity
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 6:33:32 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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A Familiar Package Redesigned
Interesting story on NYTimes.com this morning about a redesign for the familiar plastic milk jug. The new package, which is rectangular, with a handle and a not-quite spout, apparently takes some getting used to (customers say it doesn't pour well). But the benefits are impressive: The dairy that developed the package says it has cut labor by half; and the bottle is more efficient for shipping (jugs can be stacked on top of one another, instead of shipped in those ubiquitous plastic milk crates). Sam's Club, which is selling the newly packaged milk, can store 224 gallons in its coolers, instead of 80. That efficiency means that milk is 10 to 20 cents per gallon cheaper to consumers. Now, if Horizon Organic would start using the new jugs, we at HOW would be happy.  Posted by Bryn
Thought Provoking
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 1:41:03 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, June 30, 2008
MYOB Love
Choosing my favorite among HOW's four design conference is sort of like choosing a favorite among your four children: I love them all in different ways. But if I had HAD to pick a very favorite, I'd pick our Mind Your Own Business Conference, the business event just for design-firm principals. Why? Partly because it's intimate and less overwhelming than the big HOW Conference. But mostly because IT WORKS. It makes a difference. Like for the firm we profiled in the magazine that saw a huge growth in profitability and a huge decline in the number of hours the principals worked—specifically after they implemented what they'd learned at MYOB. We've just launched the site for this year's MYOB Conference, September 27-29 in one of my favorite cities: Austin. ( Seriously, check out this sweet resort.) This year's program includes a bunch of new stuff, like sessions targeted for large or small firms, peer-to-peer learning sessions and an optional working day on Sunday where principals can work on their own, team up with a speaker or get hands-on training on time-management and billing tools. Learn about what's new, and sign up early to score a discount. Posted by Bryn
Events | HOW Magazine
Monday, June 30, 2008 8:31:44 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Frenemies At Work
Some people are so competitive on the job that they’ll do just about
anything to get ahead. And few things can wreak havoc at work like a
colleague who seems friendly but secretly tries to make you look bad.
What do you do when you find you have a frenemy at the gate? Following
are some tips:
Call their bluff. A frenemy’s behavior can often catch
you off guard. For example, say you find out a new designer you’ve
trained and taken out to lunch took full credit for a project in which
you did half the work. Your best course of action in such a
circumstance is to have a private, straightforward conversation with
him or her. Tell the person exactly how you feel and listen to the
response. Is the designer genuinely apologetic or defensive? Even
though confronting the coworker may not change his or her way of
operating, it will let your frenemy know you’re not an easy target.
Remain professional. If you’ve been burned by
someone, it may be tempting to give the person a taste of his or her
own medicine. But try to behave in a professional, tactful manner while
also keeping your guard up. As with gossip or office politics, it’s
better to remain above the fray as much as possible. If you get
involved in a tit-for-tat game, you can damage your credibility. Read more. Posted by Megan
HOW Magazine
Monday, June 30, 2008 2:08:30 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, June 27, 2008
Sweet Pics
Dang! I knew you could print short messages and even logos on M&Ms but now you can print photos. O rly?! Ya rly!  via PhotojojoPosted by Megan
Just for Fun
Friday, June 27, 2008 1:53:28 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Type In The NYT
The New York Times recently published a story in its technology section about designing your own fonts. It offers a couple of resources that could be helpful to both professionals and amateurs. What's interesting is that it's ranked the number 1 story in the technology section this morning. Before the personal computer, most people were oblivious to fonts. Some may have recognized Courier and Elite on the I.B.M.
Selectric typewriter ball. Then word processing programs offered a
hundred or more fonts, from Arial to Wingdings. More were offered in
software packages and on the Internet. Now, many people can recognize
fonts by name. Indeed, a documentary about typography and one of the
most familiar typefaces, “Helvetica,” played to sellout crowds at film
festivals.
Posted by Megan
Typography
Friday, June 27, 2008 1:28:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Thursday, June 26, 2008
Local Love
After the city guide on HOW's hometown went up on design*sponge this week, another d*s reader named Drew had posted his own on his designcincinnati blog. Following a rabbit trail of links from Drew's blog, I found Handmade in Ohio, which then led me to Wire & Twine. I really dig the low-tech look of the site's navigation (and also their cool T-shirt designs):  Not that I spend all my time chasing web links, mind you. No, not at all. Posted by Bryn
Gifts and Goodies
Thursday, June 26, 2008 8:48:52 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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2008 In-HOWse Designer Conference
The website for the 3rd annual In-HOWse Designer Conference just went live. I have to admit that it made my heart skip a beat because I'll be co-hosting the event with HOW's art director Bridgid McCarren. I guess I shouldn't worry too much because the last two years have been awesome. This year's speakers include Moira Cullen, design director for Coca-Cola and management guru Peter Philips. Check out the whole line-up here.  Posted by Megan
Events
Thursday, June 26, 2008 2:25:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
48 Hour Film Project
My husband Ben, who is a designer, recently participated in The 48 Hour Film Project, where local creatives challenge themselves to make a short film in only 48 hours. The rules include drawing a random genre for the film and incorporating required elements like a specific character, prop and/or
line of dialogue. The team Ben was on made a movie called OMG Force about millennial detectives that give their boss a headache with all their texting and web surfing. He just emailed me that the movie won a people's choice award at its recent screening and is moving on to the city-wide finals. The winner of each city final will then go on to the international finals.  Posted by Megan
Creativity | Just for Fun
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 5:54:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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The Nati Rules
Design*Sponge just posted a wonderful City Guide for Cincinnati, HOW's hometown. I'm super impressed because there are even a few places on it that I hadn't heard of. The only thing I would add is the secret used book store in Clifton. I don't know the address, but I always manage to find it.  Union Terminal is one of my fave buildings in the city. It used to be a train station but now houses Cincinnati's Museum Center. Posted by Megan
Design Resources | Just for Fun
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 5:34:22 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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