I'm a huge fan of Austin, so I'm super psyched that HOW's Mind Your Own Business conference is heading there this fall. If you run a design firm, you should make the trip, too (and sign up this week, as our $100-off discount registration offer ends Friday!).



In addition to the amazing resort location for this year's MYOB, we've boosted the program with special sessions targeting large and small firms, and also focused breakout sessions led by veteran design-firm principals with advice to share. We're also encouraging principals to stay through Sunday (after the formal program ends Saturday night) to take advantage of optional working time, software user groups and more.

On this lovely, sunny Monday morning, a few bits of design-industry news for you:

• Strathmore announced the Q2 winners of its quartly Letterhead Contest. Zync Communications picked up a gold for its Bretenic Limited identity (printing by Springfield Graphics); MasonBaronet captured a silver for its Goranson Bain system (printing by Millet the Printer); and Silver Lining Design scored the bronze award for its stationery for Trisha Leavitt (printing by ArtCraft Co.). All winners were produced on Strathmore Writing Wove. Strathmore is accepting entries for the third quarter through September 30.

• Workamajig announced the forthcoming upgrade to its project-management software for ad agencies and design studios; the late-August release will include improved support for Mac OSX Leopard and will allow users to create and manage project timelines by dragging and dropping tasks in graphical Gantt Charts.

• Quark has established a Virtual Knowledge Base to provide 24/7 self-service tech support to users of its page-layout software. The program includes two tools: an online knowledge base with FAQs and commonly encountered problems and a self-service portal, an online customer-service function.

• Wacom has opened the Pen Collective, where designers and artists can share their work and their love of the digital drawing tool.

• A new promo for Wausau Paper's Royal lines gives a fictional company a "wardrobe makeover" to show different design approaches to corporate identity. The "Redefining Identity" demonstrates how perception of a business changes based on the colors and textures of its collateral.

• Canon announced two additions to its Pixma line of all-in-one printers, which combine scanning, copying and photo-quality printing, and three new products in its Canoscan line of desktop color scanners.

Posted by Bryn
Industry News