Why do they call these things “circulars?” The word makes me think of my mom, clipping coupons from the Sunday paper for the weekly trip to the Shop-N-Bag. Anyway, this one came in the mail from Target. I usually toss these things right into the recycling bin, but I thought it was pretty clever. I…
The big athletic footwear companies have built their marketing campaigns around aspirational themes and creating connections between regular sports hobbyists and elite athletes. If you work hard, if you show character and passion – the message goes – then you are like them. I saw this clip from Nike today, and I think it does…
Have you ever noticed the way American beer commercials emphasize packaging gimmicks? The wide-mouth can. The label that turns blue when it’s cold. The easy-pour vent. The shelf pack that fits better in your fridge. Are there people who peruse the beer aisle thinking, “hmm… you know I really enjoy [favorite microbrew/import], but it pours…
The state of Texas recently held an “e-vote” to choose a new license plate design. There were five designs in the running, and over 450,000 people cast their vote for the worst one. Just my opinion, but Design Observer agrees with me. This always seems to happen when design meets democracy. Letting the masses into…
Came across this fun design exercise via the xblog today. My entry is above. Instructions below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random The first article title on the page is the name of your band. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/ The third picture, no matter what it is,…
Along with the usual flow of annual family newsletters and photographic Christmas cards, featuring matching cable-knit sweaters and first visits to Santa, this year I received a handful of emails with links to online photo albums. Lots and lots of pictures of babies and toddlers – many clearly taken within seconds of each other. Dozens…
From the booking process on the Singapore Airlines web site. I only wish I’d seen this in time for Tracy and I to travel as Earl and Countess or perhaps simply Professors Smith and Cohen.
Yahoo! has made available a “beta” version of a proposed new home page. The main improvement I see is their reorganization of their various web properties (News, Sports, People Search, Personals, etc.) into a simple alphabetical list: Previously, these were grouped into blurry categories like “Connect, Organize, Fun…” Other changes include a general visual design…