[via]

I've been working on a moodboard all day, and while doing some research I found these collages by Lilliana Pereira that left me completely inspired to try something different. She has tons of stuff on her flickr.

"you’re in a car with a beautiful boy, and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him, and you’re trying to choke down the feeling, and you’re trembling, but he reaches over and he touches you, and you feel your heart taking root in your body, like you’ve discovered something you don’t even have a name for."

it's complicated

"Only the young and stupid are confident about sex and romance. Do you think any of us know what we’re doing? Do you think there’s any way humans can love each other without complication? You should see how it happens in Bali, darling. All these Western men come here after they’ve made a mass of their lives back home, and they decide they’ve had it with Western women, and they go marry some tiny, sweet, obedient little Balinese teenage girl. I know what they’re thinking. They think this pretty little girl will make them happy, make their lives easy. But whenever I see it happen, I always want to say the same thing. Good luck. Because you still have a woman in front of you, my friend. And you are still a man. It’s still two human beings trying to get along, so it’s going to become complicated. And love is complicated. But still humans must try to love each other, darling. We must get our hearts broken sometimes. This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something."

[via this is my heart. it is a good heart.]

happy people

"As an African-American, unapologetically I say that if I weren't strapped down to this desk, I'd get out and lead us in a Electric Slide right here in the studio."

- Tavis Smiley, on NBC News [via]



(I couldn't help myself. I had to post this video by the other king of Chicago, Mr. R. Kelly. If you really know Chicago, you know what I mean.)

press for change

[link]

indiana

I can now say I lived 7 great years of my life in a blue state.

Congratulation, Indiana. You have done me proud.

gabi

This is a post I found on Facebook by Gabrelle German, my best friend's sister. She's a 21 year-old girl, born in Gary, IN, who clearly understands the huge symbolic impact that having Obama as a president is going to have in America. Gabi, I'm proud to know you and your sister. Love you both.

"My President is a competent, qualified, intelligent BLACK MAN, and now not only is he "MY" President of choice, he is the official President of the United States of America.

Why is it so relevant to me and everyone else in the Black Community that our President is Black? Why does race matter? It matters because this means that our ancestors, and our relatives came all the way from being seen as property in this country, to running this country. It matters because it means that those of us who died for us to have a fair chance in this country have not died in vain. It shows incredible progress in this country and I am proud of you America!

It means so much to us because the media has chosen for so many years to make the Black Male the "scapegoat" for all the things wrong with this country. Majority of the time you see a black man in the media its negative. Now we have the most positive media coverage possible. One of our own has been chosen, not just by Black America, but by America as a whole to lead this country.

It matters because people still clinch their purses when Black Men walk pass, they still lock their doors when they pass their cars, it matters because I still get followed in stores because I'm expected to steal something. So this moment is a moment of great hope that these things will soon be a thing of the past, and it is a moment of great pride that one of our own has made it so far.

The Obama Family is another WONDERFUL aspect of the pride we feel. The first family gives black families everywhere a model to look up to. The relationship between Barack and his wife is AMAZING, and their relationship with their children is as well. They are not displaying a broken family, an absent father, a male bashing mother, and we need to see something other than those things.

So this note is way too long I'll just close with this statement: I've always known that Black Men were just as capable as any other person to lead this country and do great things, but now those Black men that doubted it have proof that they can and a reason to work toward it. They have a role model in Barack Obama and Black families have a role model in the Obama family and that is AMAZING!"

the first day of the rest of our lives

virgil o. stamps

It is such a pleasure for me to post about this. Not only the idea is incredibly awesome, the person behind the idea is just as cool (not to mention she's pretty much my hero).


Virgil O. Stamps is a letterpress laboratory that uses his Brooklyn neighborhood and surrounding boroughs as a source of inspiration and income, by recycling products that would usually be thrown away. All of his cards are backed by recycled chipboard from the nearby comic book store. Virgil can, of course, print on anything you like. Even regular paper. Or nice thick cotton paper. Sometimes you need to be normal—Virgil understands that and promises not to judge you.

Gunned: Shot up targets donated from a New York City gun range.

National Geographic: Pages torn from old National Geographic
magazines and backed by recycled chipboard.

++++++++++

Virgil O. is officially awesome: it's been featured on kottke.org and on NotCot.org.



++++++++++

Yay for Minus - the woman who gives me hope that any 33-year old kid can wear patriotic pajama pants for three days straight, and sometimes forget to wear socks when they go outside, and eat nothing but Cheetos and ham and cheese sandwiches, and like stained t-shirts and painted on pants, and not be friends with morning or alarm clocks, and wear mohawk hats and go to city hospitals for their sheer entertainment value, and still manage to make a living and sometimes pay rent and super-size (or “make it a large”) their value meals at McDonald’s!

sound design

His name: Daito Manabe. Weird and genius.

Redefining the existent media and technologies from unique angles, I have been active in the various fields, such as art, design, and even research and development. I produce the output of sounds, images, and light through analyzing and transforming the numerical values gained from a various sensors and input devices.

[via]

cultural literacy and the "i'm a PC" campaign

Here are some excerpts of a brilliant post by one of my favorites, Grant McCracken, on the Mac vs. PC phenomenon.



Our culture has long been predicated in a simple distinction between the mainstream and the avant garde. This construction helped us understand the bourgeoisie as a group of people committed to convention and la doxa. They are, so the stereotype tells us, nervous nellies who are most reluctant ever to depart from their slavish conformity. Thank God, says the stereotype, for the avant-garde. These are risk takers who care nothing for convention or materialism, who bravely throw their personal comfort and safety to the winds in pursuit of artistic truth and social justice. (...)

Sometime in the 1990s, something happened. Our two-part system exploded. Now in the place of an inside mainstream and an outside avant garde, there was a great fragmentation. The mainstream lost its ability to police the tastes and believes and behavior of most people. The avant-garde lost its ability to control the restless, experimental margin. Both hegemonies lost their coercive power. (...) In the place of our founding duality, there were many groups who deferred neither to the center or the margin They simply went their own way. Yes, of course, they could hear the impatient scolding that came from center and edge, but, no, they weren't much interested. They were now prepared to go their own way. Respectable? Who cared? Hip? Who cared? The distinction was dead. (...)

What I did not see was that there was a cultural opportunity. I did not see it, at least, until Crispin Porter + Bogusky rolled out there "I am a PC" spot. But of course. Why didn't I think of that! There was a third position, created by the great cultural flowering of the 1990s. If Apple was avant garde, the path was clear for Windows to be the new alternative to the alternative. It could step out of the old contest that left it a clueless and bumbling mainstream play. It could embrace the great cultural efflorescence that emerged of the1990s and make itself a brand too concerned with real difference to care about merely hip difference. It could embrace real diversity instead of the single, predictable difference that comes from being cool. It could embrace authenticity instead of a pose. (...)

This is what cultural literacy is good for.

he was a ventriloquist's dummy for halloween

That's what being a cool kid with cool parents living in Brooklyn will get you.

[via]

coffee drinkers, engage thyselves!

You may have seen this before, but if you haven't you should take a look. Starbucks has a site called "My Starbucks Idea" where it gives users/consumers the chance to contribute with ideas in order to improve the company's services, products and brand. Starbucks has put together a team called "Idea Partners", a group of employees from different areas of the company, to dedicate themselves to reviewing what's submitted to the website. Brad Stevens, marketing VP, is also part of the team.


The project includes the "Ideas in Action" blog, where users can keep up with the status of the suggestions given. It is divided in four main categories: Under Review, Reviewed, Coming Soon, and Launched. The "Idea Partners" talk about the suggestions, if an idea is feasible, how it would be feasible and when they will be available.



Here are some suggestions I found particularly interesting:

"Cup Discount - I'm psyched that Starbucks has started using more environmentally friendly, partially recycled cups -- but isn't using travel mugs the best way to reduce waste? Encourage customers to reduce & reuse by reimbursing them for the money they save by using their starbucks travel mugs."

"Free wifi - do it."

"Personalized Ordering - Since most people order their coffee the same particular way every time, I think it would be a good idea to create a database of customers and how they like their coffee. This way when they order they would only have to say their name and the sticker would print out how they like their coffee. It would save time for Starbucks to ask what the customer wants, when most times the customer orders the same item the same way; and it will save the customer from the repetition of repeating their favorite drink every time they visit the store. If the customer wanted something different than they normally get, they would just order normally instead of giving their name."

"Starbucks iPhone app - Apple sold over 1m iPhone 3G in 2 days. It would be great to have a Starbucks' ordering app - for free - so we all can order our favorite bevs without having to stand in line. I'd like to be able to have a favorite, use the GPS - or a list of my favorite locations - and just order it. Funds can be subtracted from my Starbucks card. A win for all as I'd use Starbucks a lot more if I could order this way vs. standing in line."

"Tip jars - please remove the tip jar from the counter. seriously, i just paid almost 3 dollars for a cup of coffee in a recession. the last thing i should see is a tip jar."

social technology

The project “Massa do Bem” (literally translated as “Good Dough”) is the first “social technology” developed and implemented by the 3M Institute of Social Innovation in Brazil. It was developed by a team at a local college, Faculdade Metrocamp, who created small “containers” made out of bread dough – the Emsopão – used to serve soup to homeless people. The edible container not only feeds those in need, by also eliminates environmental and hygiene problems caused by disposable material made out of foam, foil or plastic.

The 3M Institute believed in the idea and hired the Food Technology Institute of Campinas to enrich the dough used to make the bread. Their research improved the amount of carbohydrates, proteins, fibbers and other nutrients that should be part one’s daily intake in order to have a healthy diet.

The project lasted almost two years between research and implementation. The expression “Sustainable Technologies” can be considered new, and it encloses methodologies, techniques, tools or processes that are economically accessible. They must be easily reproduced, should minimize the negative effects to the environment and improve quality of life.

The methodologies of social transformation, developed with the help of local residents and applied to their daily routine, are simple solutions to social inclusion. The goal of 3M Institute is to discover and implement social innovations that promote social development of communities where 3M of Brazil is involved, encouraging the spread of knowledge through social networks of students, journalists and the company’s employees.

++++++++

O projeto "Massa do Bem", primeira tecnologia social descoberta e aplicada pelo Instituto 3M de Inovação Social, foi desenvolvido por uma equipe da Faculdade Metrocamp. O grupo desenvolveu pequenas cumbucas de massa de pão – o Emsopão – utilizadas para servir sopa aos moradores de rua. Além de alimentar, a massa elimina problemas ambientais e de higiene causados por embalagens descartáveis de isopor, alumínio ou plástico.

O Instituto 3M apostou nessa idéia e contratou o Instituto de Tecnologia de Alimentos de Campinas, para enriquecer a massa utilizada no pão. Os estudos aprimoraram a quantidade de carboidratos, proteínas, fibras e outros nutrientes que devem ser ingeridos diariamente para que haja uma alimentação completa.

O projeto rendeu quase dois anos de estudos entre desenvolvimento e implantação. A expressão “Tecnologias Sustentáveis” pode ser considerada nova e compreende metodologias, técnicas, equipamentos ou processos economicamente acessíveis. Devem possuir fácil reprodução e minimizar os impactos negativos no meio ambiente e na qualidade de vida das pessoas.

Essas metodologias de transformação social, desenvolvidas com a participação da população e aplicadas ao seu cotidiano, gera soluções simples para a inclusão social. O objetivo do Instituto 3M é descobrir e aplicar inovações sociais que promovam o desenvolvimento social das comunidades onde a 3M do Brasil atua, gerando conhecimento por meio da formação de redes de relacionamento entre estudantes, jornalistas e funcionários da empresa.

[via]

some things you should believe in without being able to see

(click on the image to see it bigger)

(I put this together primarily to put an end to the question: "so what is it exactly that you do? What kind of designer are you? Oh, so you create logos, right?")

(Eu fiz esse gráfico à princípio para acabar com aquela pergunta: "o que exatamente você faz? Que tipo de design? Ah, então você cria logos, né?")

Based on a diagram developed by Luciano Deos, from GAD'.

a lesson on cultivating a creative culture

Approximately 18 kazillion awesome things happen around us every-day, each with the potential to inspire and spark creativity in us, but more often than not we choose to flip through yet another graphic design annual or web design gallery, look at the same handful of magazines that every-one else in our field is flipping through, and skim RSS feeds instead of trying to dig into research and study. We employ the tired, misused excuse of there being "nothing new under the sun" to justify our latest poorly-executed pop culture parody. At some point, we stop cultivating and start copying. Artists and designers walk in a strange tension between derivative inspiration and flat-out plagiarism. The former is natural and healthy, driven by curiosity and a desire to learn and experiment. The latter is a deadly combination of ignorance, laziness, and lack of skill.

...

[Your local library] is a free education in exchange for time and effort. I've spent the last six years trying to make up for not studying art or design in college and I've done it all for "a dollar fifty in late charges," as Will Hunting would say. Don't make the mistake of thinking there is a short-cut to learning the basics of your field or that shortcuts are unnecessary. We can't build a strong creative culture on top of a foundation full of holes, so take the time to build on solid ground.

...

It's not just about art and design; we need to begin looking outside our field(s) for inspiration. "The thing about architecture is that everybody reads too many [architecture] books. Architects look at architecture, but they don't open their eyes and look beyond that," says architect Mark Dytham. You're probably not an architect, but you can replace "architecture" with your field of choice and it still rings true. Whatever your daily role, chances are you spend your time reading, thinking, dreaming, and planning similarly to many of your peers. Too little of that and you're inept. But too much inward focus, and you lack objectivity or the chance for original thought. Then it's easy to slide into creative cruise control where it becomes tempting to copy and not think.

As fashion designer Paul Smith challenges, "If you can't find inspiration in the things around you, you're not looking hard enough." Magazine spreads from Smith's Small Paul campaign make frequent appearances in my office, so do articles about new takes on craft; photography, architecture, and interior design books; live performance calendars; places to visit; and a laptop full of links relating to installation art, new music, furniture, comfortable shoes, and how to grow tomatoes for a few weeks longer than my neighbor. In fact, after building that initial foundation, I find the less graphic design I look at these days, the less my graphic design looks like everything else. I started collecting magazine grid layouts for inspiration to use in web design user interfaces. Hand-drawn lettering has helped to shake up my Swiss typography sensibilities. Gardening gets me out of the office and into nature. Morning walks give me time to let my mind wander, free from action items and pixel pushing. You can't cultivate anything new from already exhausted raw materials. Get outside, literally and metaphorically, and watch the work you do branch out and improve.

...

"Our challenge isn't to strive for originality above all else; originality can quickly become a pressure-laden, unattainable goal and an idol to bow down before. Originality may likely be a byproduct of hard work, but it can't be the goal if we haven't already been diligently working toward competence in our pursuits."

[read the entire article here]

where media and church converge

I found a website that has completely grabbed my attention all day today. It's called Collide, a magazine for church leaders who use media and technology to communicate their message. They have articles who are interesting enough to keep anyone interested, whether you're a church goer or not. I'm not. If you have any interest in technology and how it relates to human behavior, social habits, design, and so forth, you will like it.

The website is carefully designed, the interface is very user-friendly and contemporary, it made me rethink the idea of what a church-related brand and deliverables could look like. It's a whole new approach to the subject, a perspective that is very refreshing. Collide is also on Twitter, Myspace and Facebook.

I got the chance to research some of the church websites mentioned by the magazine for having successfully developed a strong visual identity and brand presence, and I plan on posting something about that soon (I feel weird talking about "brand" when referring to a church, but really that's what it is). There's some really interesting stuff out there.

For now, I'll point you to this article about services available via podcast: