When we complete one of our environmental graphic design projects, we often arrange for them to be photographed. And over the years, one or both of my two daughters would play the role of visitor—pretending they were interested in the subject matter while providing much-needed photographic scale. It helped that they were available, worked cheap, and would listen to most of my instructions. They even learned to always wear the proper camera-friendly clothing. I’d still be using them for scale if they lived nearby.

Having worked with lots of talent over the years, I definitely have my two favorites. So in honor of one of those two, I’m sending birthday wishes to my youngest, who turns 22 years old today. Happy birthday, Hannah! Now, if you could just move to your left slightly…no, no, your other left…

posted by: CK Anderson  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment

Last week I got everyone to take an interactive version of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory—a test developed in 1979 “for the measurement of narcissism as a personality trait in social psychological research.”

For this particular version of the test, a maximum of 40 points are possible; the higher the score, the more narcissistic the individual. The average U.S. college undergraduate scores 15.6; U.S. adult, 15.3; U.S. celebrity, 17.8.

Going in, I had a pretty good idea how my esteemed coworkers would do. But there were some surprises. Let’s see how you do. Match the following people…

CK
Linda
Shirlee
Aaron
Courtney

…with the following scores:

1
7
12
13
16

Submit your guesses, along with your own scores (if you dare), in the comments field below. The first to answer correctly will win…something, I’m sure.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  comments(3)

“After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own. Music always seems to me to produce that effect. It creates for one a past of which one has been ignorant, and fills one with a sense of sorrows that had been hidden from one’s tears. I can fancy a man who had led a perfectly commonplace life, hearing by chance some curious piece of music, and suddenly discovering that his soul, without his being conscious of it, had passed through terrible experiences, and known fearful joys, or wild romantic loves, or great renunciations.” – Oscar Wilde

(Now listen to Prélude in D Flat Major (“Raindrop”), from last year’s The Chopin Project, then read the above quote again.)

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

This email came over the helveticka transom on Monday. Apparently, we’re to believe that the IRS now has an earthlink.net email address, that its representatives have difficulty with spelling, that a PTIN is a thing, that the tax-filing “season” now comprises two years, and that the irs.gov domain is apparently so crowded that they have to rent space at asiadesignworks.com to accommodate all their “instruction.” C’mon, guys. You need to elevate your game a bit if you’re going to fool someone as sharp as Linda. Besides, she already gave her account information to that Nigerian prince.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment

I thrive on routine. Lack of structure does not look good on this lady, which is why I do little things throughout my day to keep on track and focused. One thing I find crucial – not to mention soothing – is design research. Every morning I brew a cup of coffee, sit down at my desk, crack my knuckles (CK hates it but Aaron does it too so at least I’m not alone in this terrible habit), launch Chrome, and start opening tabs. I scour the same basic websites for design news, trends, tutorials, articles, and awesomeness. Time permitting, I dive into new sites, and naturally with time this list evolves. This does three things for me: It wakes me up and gets my mind right for designing, it allows me to stay up to date and current on news and trends, and it keeps me excited about the field of design.

This is my list of my ever-growing, go-to morning websites:

The Skimm – “We read. You Skimm.” This is my daily dose of current news and events, boiled down to quick and direct paragraphs that are fun and informative. These ladies know how to do it.

Muzli – This is my creative dashboard. Muzli has a Chrome extension that makes every new tab I open a link-chalked checkerboard of design. You can also choose which sites that Muzli will source from, tailoring your experience.

Swiss-Miss – Swiss-Miss is a blog I have been following for years. Based out of NYC, this designer gives her daily post of interesting whether it be art, quotes, podcasts, products, or websites. She also runs Tattly, CreativeMornings, and TeuxDeux. Yep. She’s a badass.

Designer News – Designer news is not as fun as the previous three, but allows me to stay on the up-and-up with the industry. You can filter between top stories, most recent, and also dive into discussions.

Medium – At some point in time, Medium became one of my favorite websites, yet I have NO idea when that happened. It crept into my daily routine and now I would be devastated if something happened to it. They pride themselves on being “a community of readers and writers offering unique perspectives on ideas large and small.” Trust me, they deliver.

Pocket – When I have a pressing deadline and my morning routine of internetting is cut short, this baby comes in handy. Pocket is an app that allows you to save articles for safekeeping, effectively bypassing the clunky/dated bookmark. Just add the small icon to your browser window (much like you would do with Pinterest), and any time you find something you would love to read but don’t have a moment, click the icon and pocket it for later.

Throughout the day there are distractions, whether good or bad. These are a few sites that get me back on track feeling design-centered and productive:

From Up North – This website has a killer and endless supply of inspiration to explore. Expand your design mind with galleries of illustrations, motion graphics, typography, packaging design, logos, and web design. This website make me want to create cool and inspired work while helping to banish any lackadaisical mood that could be lurking behind 3 p.m.

Pinterest – Pinterest gets a bad wrap for being a “chick website” (a term that I loathe) when really it is littered with fantastic examples of design and inspiration. In the last year, I have revamped my boards and created a design-centric page that showcases my design affinities. Our sister company HelveticaHaus also has a Pinterest dedicated to all things helvetica and design.

posted by: Courtney Sowards  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment

posted by: CK Anderson  |  category: the design life  |  comments(1)

Depending on how often you Internet (new verb coined by yours truly; it means to scour the Internet with no real direction or time restraint) and what your Internetting (Aaron will love that) brings you to, you will have either heard about the Alaska Airlines re-brand or not. If you have, tell me your thoughts. If not, then please, continue reading, make your own assessment, and then let me know your thoughts. Enjoy…

ALASKA AIRLINES! I love Alaska Airlines. Being from Alaska, I naturally have an affinity toward things that make me nostalgic and the state I hold so near and dear. Growing up in Alaska you vacation…a lot. Every winter you fly somewhere, and by you I mean everyone. My girlfriend from Alaska moved to Spokane and the first time she came to visit me she asked, “So where are you guys going this winter?” My boyfriend was shocked that this was not an Alaskan tall tale ploy to trick him to go to Hawaii with me.

So anyway, you take your yearly oil dividend and you fly far, far away from the frigid darkness of February – and because there is no other airline crazy enough to operate out of Fairbanks, you fly Alaska Airlines. I think most people who fly Alaska can agree (after seeing the redesign) that the brand was due for a refresh. The navy blue looked very dated and stale compared to Southwest’s pallet and their adorable heart (I mean, who doesn’t want a heart-shaped swizzle stick in their drink?). So the talented people at Hornall Anderson set forth to create a new brand that could freshen up the image without stripping it of everything people have come to love about it over the last 80 years.

A new, bright palette is going to help it stand out from competing airlines while also adding some much-needed energy to the stuffy airport check-in stations. I am extremely happy that they chose not to scratch the famous Eskimo on the tail of the planes, in part because the editing and softening of his face makes him more approachable and friendly—though, to be honest, I’m going to miss the proud look he used to carry, as it felt very Alaskan. (Maybe they could have pumped the brakes just a touch, because now he feels a little less noble and a bit more jolly.) The new letterforms are clean and legible. I honestly hadn’t noticed the oddities in the old logotype, such as the K overlapping the A or the harshness of the S, and now that they’re gone, I find myself missing them. There was a streamlined and individual feel about the old logo, and though it was dated, I think it held up very well. I would have liked to see a bit more stylization carried over from the old letter forms, but I understand why they made the choices they did.

Maybe I’m just being sentimental, but I’m torn. My education and experience and personality and expertise tell me I should love it (as does CK). But I’m just not there yet.

Be sure to check out Alaska’s brand-launching website to see more.

posted by: Courtney Sowards  |  category: the design life  |  make a comment