By popular demand, "illustrative designer" Von Glitschka will present a one-hour webinar that'll help strengthen and streamline your creative process so you consistently produce great ideas.

6 Steps to Better Creative Concepts
Wednesday, December 17, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT
one hour, $49

Are you looking to develop breakthrough concepts for your design projects? Does your creative process (or lack of one) leave you struggling to come up with fresh ideas?

Join Von  as he shares his 6-step process for developing killer concepts. You’ll learn how a systematic creative process can help you uncover new ideas, refine those ideas and then lock in unique and original design solutions — all before your hand even touches your computer keyboard. Von will share real-world project examples from his extensive portfolio.

You’ll fortify your creative muscle with:
• The essential first step to starting any design project: the creative brief
• Strategies for research to fuel your best ideas
• Advice for doodling, drawing, sketching and scribbling multiple ideas
• Ways to narrow and refine your strongest concepts
• Tips for archiving your unused ideas — they’ll come in handy later

Registration is now open, but hurry, as attendance is limited to just 100 people.
 

For whatever reason, we can't think of any designer more trustworthy and appropriate than Louise Fili to redesign the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. It's so sensible and beautiful and reassuring.

Online Communications Manager
Yale School of Drama/Yale Repertory Theatre

Responsibilities include build a dynamic internet and intranet presence for all aspects of YSD/YRT. Strong communication, strategic thinking and planning skills; excellent skills in graphic design, typography, and image processing. Experience in web-based communications, project management and in presenting and articulating creative and technical concepts. Full University benefits package. Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Posted by Megan

Chen Design Associates recently published a charming handbook to help train kitties to use the toilet instead of the litterbox.

A gift book that combines ironic humor with an utterly practical guide, Kick Litter features Moxie and Cooper, two photogenic cats who their message of recovery from litter addiction to the masses. Conceived and written by Hollywood web designer (and reluctant cat whisperer) Perre DiCarlo and designed, packaged and published by Chen Design Associates/CDA Press, Kick Litter is now available at bookstores everywhere.

Posted by Megan

Pantone continues to license its brand and colors to create smart and covetable Pantone Universe products. (See our earlier post about the new Pantone cufflinks.) Today comes word of a new collection of cups and mugs from London Design firm Whitbread Wilkinson and their line of W2 Products. The full set of 10 mugs would be a great addition to any design firm's kitchen or conference room.

The colors are:
• PANTONE 179 C Paprika 
• PANTONE 292 C Baby Blue
• PANTONE 3025 C Lagoon Blue
• PANTONE 337 C Duck Egg Blue
• PANTONE 363 C Pea Green 
• PANTONE 10 C Cool Gray
• PANTONE 732 C Chocolate
• PANTONE 130 C Mustard 
• PANTONE 520 C Grape
• PANTONE 3272 C Turquoise 

Interaction Designer
Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Crispin Porter + Bogusky – winner of the Cannes Titanium Lion for Interactive Agency of The Year - is looking for talented, innovative Interaction Designers to join the team at our Boulder, CO headquarters. Candidates for this position must have a strong foundation in information architecture, a keen eye for design, and a deep desire to produce groundbreaking experiences for the web.

We seek outside-the-box thinkers who suck down new technologies like Kool-Aid, and live to make the web a more well-designed and interactive place to live and play. After all, you’ll be creating for leading brands, like Volkswagen, Nike, Domino’s, Coke Zero, Burger King, Microsoft, Sprite, and Geek Squad.

This is a unique invitation to collaborate with the creative minds behind simpsonizeme.com, subservientchicken.com, petmoustache.com, comeclean.com, MINI’s roofstudio.com, sublymonal.com, and vw.com.

Posted by Megan

Client Director
Landor Associates

Landor touts the benefits of living in Cincinnati—affordable housing, a big yard, a 10-minute commute, excellent schools, great work-life balance, world-class culture, professional sports (we here at HOW HQ agree with all but the professional sports, which this year are disastrous).

Here's more from the job post:

We are seeking a Client Director who has the experience to help clients achieve business success by building, creating, and revitalizing their brand(s) across all points of touch. In doing so, the Client Director is responsible for building and maintaining long-term client relationships, for earning the role of trusted adviser (both to the client and colleagues), for achieving revenue and profitability targets, and for exhibiting the highest standards of integrity, professionalism, and ethics.

For our U.S. friends, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday this week; for our overseas friends, enjoy the peace and quiet on Thursday and Friday, when your American clients and colleagues won't bother you. The HOW blog will be quiet, too, with the team taking a bit of time off beginning later today. See you next week!

Chalk this up as one of those articles we wish we'd published first (it's so very HOW), but Daniel Schutzsmith has posted a piece outlining all the web-based tools that can help you run your design business. From e-mail to project management, there are a bunch of free or low-cost online programs. Nice.