Acorn Creative

The Ten Commandments

October 17th, 2008 by Pixel Pixie

While surfing the internet today I came across Dieter Rams, pretty cool name, that’s what I thought too. From what I’ve read he is an influential industrial designer of the 20th century, but I’m not going to sit here and give you a biography. What intrigued me most was his “ten commandments” of good design and how this short list of elements could be applied to not only other forms of design, but to most other businesses.

Here’s the list:

Innovative
Useful
Aesthetic
Self-explanatory
Unobtrusive
Honest
Durable
Thorough
Environmentally-friendly
As little design as possible

I could talk for hours about how this list applies directly and indirectly to my field, but as for you … I ask you to take a look at it and determine how these items can benefit you and your business.

Resources:
http://www.vitsoe.com/
http://blog.kimvallee.com/

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David Meerman Scott … and Yoda

October 14th, 2008 by Binary Nut

I’m sitting in the audience at The New Marketing Summit! Eating my own dog food … Tweeting … Blogging … iPhone pics … Google searches … etc. Having a blast, meeting people, learning loads!
David Meerman Scott gave the first keynote and gave some insight into the ideas coming out in his new book “A World Wide Rave” (David later assured me it’s hitting Amazon in March). During his talk he gave us his SIX key concepts from the book. They are:

NOBODY cares about your products
NO coercion required
LOSE control
PUT DOWN roots
CREATE triggers that encourage people to share
POINT the world to your (virtual) doorstep

Big ideas, for sure, but it’s David’s insight into each that’s going to land this new book firmly on my “must read” list. Can’t wait until March!

Just for fun, David used one of my favorite quotes in his slide deck…

“You mush unlearn what you’ve learned.” — Yoda

Thanks for even more great stuff David! (P.S. LOVE the rooster graphics)

Pictures Of Sofia Viagra

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A few things we can learn from – Andy Warhol

October 10th, 2008 by Pixel Pixie

I am compelled to write a blog after visiting the Currier Art Museum in Manchester, with it’s new first-time exhibit “Pop Politics” by Andy Warhol. Simply Amazing. It really got me thinking. Unfortunately most of what people know about Warhol is “Oh he’s the Campbell soup guy”. Well, yes that is true, but Warhol is so much more than that, I think as a professional designers, we can learn a lot from him. Let’s dig in.

My favorite piece at this show was “Red Lenin” – I found not only the subject but also the execution compelling. As designers what can we take away from this particular piece? Some questions to get your little brain going:
Scale: This piece is 39.4 x 29.5 in – Would it have this much impact at another size? What if it was smaller?
Placement/ Cropping: Just the bust of Lenin is present, he is pretty much dead center, and staring straight ahead. – What if he was looking away, what if this was a full length view? What if he only took up a 2in. section in the corner?
Color: This canvas is saturated in bright red, the skin in yellow. – What if it was saturated in bright green? What if his skin was peach colored? Would it conjure up the same emotions?
Medium: This is a silk screen. – What if it was a charcoal drawing? A watercolor?
Message: Art means different things to different people, that goes without saying. I am not sure what Warhol’s intentions were in creating this piece, but I have definite opinions about what this piece says to me, and I’ve formulated these opinions based on the above key components. If those components were in any way different, they most certainly would have changed Warhol’s message.

All of these items are something to think of not only when analyzing fine art, but when creating a commercial piece of work. Each of Warhol’s choices bring up a certain emotion, I am sure they were meticulously and specifically chosen. Are you that specific when creating design work? Warhol wanted to create a definitive emotion with his choices, just as you (or I) want to create a specific emotion in commercial design pieces. Are you as calculated as Warhol?

What else can we learn from Warhol?

A point that speaks to me is that he started out as a graphic (or commercial) designer (I have something in common with Andy Warhol, YES!). But unlike me I guess most of his purpose and pop art in general was to blur that line between – commercial art – and fine art. Basically to show us that commercial art could be fine art. His artwork was mass produced, by this he tried to show us that these two disciplines are truly interchangeable. I can say that I strive to translate my knowledge and abilities of fine art and art history into my commercial work. As I mentioned above the basics of symmetry, color theory, layout and a thousand other principals can be broadly applied from a fine art education to my current career as a graphic designer and vice versa.

No matter what medium or discipline we choose, we speak to people visually and that is what I think art is all about. If you’re in the NH area any time soon, I recommend that you swing by the Currier and see what you can take personally from this exhibit, and apply to your own life and work.

This piece is part of a group writing project created by www.Designer-Daily.com

Resources:
The wonderful Art History Department at Plymouth State University
http://www.currier.org/nowonview.aspx
http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425755825/424912690/andy-warhol-red-lenin.html
http://anarddesign.blogspot.com/2007/04/andy-warhol-1928-1987-bio.html

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The Getty Center - Pure Inspiration

October 3rd, 2008 by Pixel Pixie

I am writing to pass on this little jewel of art and culture that I would have never known about had it not been for some friends giving me some great advice as to where to visit while in Southern California. If you ever find yourself near L.A. you HAVE to visit the Getty Center. I had no idea what I was in for, I thought it would be just another fine art museum, I was so wrong! I knew I was in for something special when I realized that the way up to the center which is located on the top of a small mountain was by a little train.

This is easily the most amazing place I have been in this country. Talk about inspirational the beautiful, colorful gardens, a panoramic view of L.A. combined with art from the last 500 years or so, gave me about a thousand ideas that I can’t wait to incorporate into my own art and design. For a creative professional it doesn’t get much better than the opportunity to visit such a unique place. Heck, I don’t even think you need to be in the area, I think it’s worth a special trip.

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Take a vacation from design? No, Thanks

September 22nd, 2008 by Pixel Pixie

Late last night as I flew back to NH from San Diego, I got to thinking: What can I blog about from my vacation?
Throughout the trip I found myself examining business cards, commenting on font selections, identifying process v. digital printing, hoarding paper bags and napkins with interesting illustrations or copywriting – all while my friends looked on with confusion. One encounter sticks in my mind, while attending a craft fair imagine the utter shock and disbelief I met when I overheard an artist say he did not have business cards – I had to turn and leave in order to stop myself from keeling over. Overall I accrued a nice little collection of business cards, brochures, and about a million other little items, perfect for my inspiration folder.

I think I speak not only for myself but most other designers out there, you may be on vacation but in the end you’re still a designer. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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The News Keeps Getting Worse

September 17th, 2008 by Chief Nut

ClickZ Network’s Kate Kaye reports some pretty dismal data about the woes of traditional newspaper media. Interestingly, a quote from the article:

“Additionally, nearly one-third of their Web clients are local real estate companies and automobile dealerships, two categories of retailers that are cutting back their overall advertising outlays.”

… showing a reliance of the media on two OTHER industries that are being hit heavily by Internet technologies and the slow economy.

Really, the gist of the report is that pure online advertising plays (e.g. Google, AOL, Yahoo) will consistantly have a leg up, unless newspapers can effectively detach their online operations from their traditional brick and mortar operations … a complete paradigm shift.

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Inspiration for Designers

September 12th, 2008 by Design Diva

Today marks the day of my first blog post. I have many excuses why I haven’t started blogging yet – but today is different because I don’t have an excuse to not write one. Instead my excuse is just the opposite… you know how it goes, everyone has been there… You get into the office, turn on your computer and you’re just not “feeling it”. Well, that’s what happened to me on this Friday morning. And that is why I have dedicated my first blog post to my sources of inspiration. People think that designers always have ideas coming out the wazoo, but that’s not always true. “Designers-block” can get the best of us at times. So where do we so-called “creative people” go, when we are feeling, well, er… not so creative.

One of my favorite places to go is Smashing Magazine. It is a great resource for developers and designers. Daily posts include featured photographs, contests, freebies, design showcases, latest trends, and tutorials.

Done – Daily Design Workout is the personal blog of Jonas Buntenbruch. Each day his blog features a new workout – don’t start sweating yet – this is not the kind of workout that you might expect. His daily work out is “mini-design” that is created in 30 to 60 minutes as a challenge as a test to his design skills. This is by far one of my favorite places to visit, plus anyone can rise to the challenge of this workout – all you need is a fountain soda and deep bowl of buttery popcorn and your computer in order to participate.

Another web site that is a recent discovery of mine is Just Creative Design, which is a personal blog site written by Australian designer Jacob Cass.

Twitter is one of the latest trends in online communication – you can communicate and connect with people through the exchange of short messages. I like to check out web links that are posted by the people I am following. Inspiration comes in all forms.

Sometimes visiting blogs or web sites that have nothing to do with graphic design are helpful way to get new ideas, so long as they are visually interesting, that is. Two that I enjoy in particular are: Hostess with the Mostess and Design Sponge Online.

Of course there are millions and millions of sources for inspiration. This is a just a small sampling of sites that are old stand-bys for me. Good luck and get inspired!

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A radio station I choose the songs for? What!

September 12th, 2008 by Pixel Pixie

Maybe this is admitting to being painfully out of style or behind the times but I’ve just found out about Pandora.com and feel the unmistakable need to pass it on in to everyone I’ve ever met! Here’s what Pandora is in a nutshell - you create “radio stations” based on one specific song or band you love, and Pandora takes that choice and plays similar songs and bands it thinks you may like. You then rate the songs (thumbs up or down) and it gradually refines the station to play only songs you love. If you want to read it for yourself, here ya go: http://pandora.com/corporate . You’ll never go back to the regular radio.

P.S. there’s an application for iphones so you can listen wherever you have an Internet connection. Rock on!

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10 websites that spark creativity in designers but may or may not have anything to do with Graphic Design

September 4th, 2008 by Pixel Pixie

1. Mornings with NPR: A daily illustration for an NPR news story

http://morningswithnpr.blogspot.com/

2. Found Magazine: A daily dose of weirdness. A different “found” note, photograph, or letter usually quite bizarre but equally as funny.

http://www.foundmagazine.com/

3. Cassette from my Ex: Postings from regular people describing old mixtapes and the stories behind them. A nice step out of reality and back to 7th grade.

http://www.cassettefrommyex.com

4. Hostess with the Mostess Blog: Frequent updates and always some interesting, cute, or just kitschy idea for your home or for entertaining.

http://www.hostessblog.com/

5. Design Sponge: Most of you have probably seen this frequently updated blog, but it continues to provide quirky, smart design ideas.

http://www.designspongeonline.com/

6. Sketch Swap: A nice creative break during the day, submit your drawing to receive another artist’s while they receive yours.

http://www.sketchswap.com/

7. Shop Modi: Funky pieces for the home that just make you smile.

http://www.shopmodi.com/

8. Jonathan Adler: Another great online shop, seeing pieces others have created, makes you want to jump right in and make something just as cool.

http://www.jonathanadler.com/shop/index.php

9. Graphic Design Blog: Shares information about all things graphic design.

http://www.graphicdesignblog.co.uk/

10. Twitter: Goes without saying, I always find someone tweeting about an interesting link or thought I can steal, plus I post my own, so they can steal http://www.Twitter.com/karina723.

http://www.Twitter.com

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How Does Your Favorite Mag Do It?

September 4th, 2008 by Chief Nut

I’ve been writing a lot about the woes of several industries, caused by the impact of the Internet and, specifically, social media. What I haven’t talked about (yet) is how these ailing business models might realize real change or any actual examples of new ways of thinking.

Here’s one …

Joe Falls, Director of Social Media at Doe Anderson posts a review of I Am Modern magazine. The mag takes a completely different approach from traditional magazine production. Specifically, the content is pulled from an online social network dedicated to Washington D.C./Northern Virginia Moms. This out-of-the-box approach will likely result in a broader, more relevant (hyper-local) content base than if the word-smithing were done by a small staff of professional writers. “But what about quality?”, you may ask. Good point. I would guess they’re not doing away with the editorial staff.

Think about your favorite traditional magazine. What would it look like if it were cheaper, fresher, more niche (targeted) and covered a much broader range of ideas, opinions and topics? Even if the quality of writing was slightly diminished, would it be better? I vote “yes.”

Kudos to Hulya Aksu for finding a new paradigm and trying it on for size. Hey Wired, or Fast Company, I want to write for YOU!

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