Since my desk is placed between Shirlee and Aaron, I have had a good time just experiencing the two of them. And since they have done this silly thing by trusting me to post on the blog, I decided to give you an inside scoop on these two hardworking individuals.

Aaron listens to either some kind of “hippie indie” tunes, or “I am going to stab you with a knife” music. Seriously though, I am at a hookah lounge or a crazy rock concert; it’s always a surprise. His area is extremely neat and he is usually here first, typing away on his computer. One thing I find hilarious is he will randomly laugh to himself a couple times a day. Is he reading an email? Copy a client gave him? Searching weird images? I have no idea; and I think I will just leave it at that. That’s what you get for constantly wanting to haze me as the intern, Aaron!

Shirlee listens to music I would listen to in high school, which is usually punk bands with funny and somewhat edgy lyrics. I enjoy the time travel! Shirlee and Aaron are almost complete opposites, which is really entertaining. Aaron will laugh to himself, while Shirlee will laugh loudly and share what she just came across to everyone. Her desk is full of pictures and random objects, including an old Mac desktop containing a large spider; honestly, just think of anything you probably wouldn’t put on your desk and she most likely has it.

They are usually talking about what files need to be sent to who, making fun of each other, venting, or making jokes about wrapping me in plastic wrap and shipping me away. Fun times.

posted by: melanie hoff  |  category: random thoughts  |  make a comment

No other city in America can take credit for helping our favorite font become a household name. It was in the 1960s that Madison Avenue first put Helvetica on the map—and not only by using it for major brand identities (Crate&Barrel, Knoll, AmericanAirlines, et al.), but also quite literally, when the New York City subway system adopted the Swiss-born typeface. Today, the Big Apple continues to use Helvetica in ways that underscore its ability to communicate clearly as well as its incredible versatility. It’s “the perfume of the city,” according to graphic designer and publisher Lars Müller. “It is just something we don’t notice usually but we would miss very much if it wouldn’t be there.”

posted by: CK Anderson  |  category: staff  |  make a comment

“We rely too much on technology. I am not against it, but a pencil is one with my brain, an extension of my hand.”

Located near the famous Flatiron Building in downtown Manhattan is the headquarters of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), of which I’ve been a proud member since 1990. Inside AIGA’s humble three-story building is a gallery featuring the work of Spanish designer Manual Estrada. I’d never heard of him. An architect turned graphic designer (an admirable decision), Estrada’s beautiful work is accompanied by dozens of amazing sketch books—what he calls “visual diaries”—that reveal his design process and conceptual thinking. The show features his logo, book cover, magazine, and poster designs. It’s no wonder that Estrada is the first non-American to exhibit his work at AIGA NY. I now have a new design hero and a new sketch book.

posted by: CK Anderson  |  category: staff  |  comments(2)

This blog has been active for more than three years now. And I would have bet that, in the 650 posts since we launched back in February 2010, we’d covered pretty much all the grammar issues that matter.

But that was before Shirlee told me that people don’t know the difference between their, they’re, and there. After expressing my disbelief, Melanie—in a show of solidarity with her fellow designer—said, “Have you seen Facebook?”

I’m not one to venture too far into the fetid fever swamps of social media, so I’ll just take her word for it.

So, for the record, here’s how it all shakes out:

Their is a possessive pronoun—like his, her, and our. “She’s their daughter.”

They’re is always a contraction of they are—and nothing more. “They’re her parents.”

There is what you use for everything else. “There goes the neighborhood.”

It’s really quite simple, isn’t it? So there’s really no excuse for mixing these up.

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

Most of you have probably read Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery.” It’s the late author’s most famous short story, and has been assigned reading in public high schools for decades.

I knew next to nothing about Jackson herself, however, until I read this essay by Victoria Best.

It’s long been fashionable to cite “The Lottery” as a warning against the dangers of conformity—dangers that are self-evident to the Baby Boomers who grew up reading Jackson’s work and who, in turn, taught Gen-Xers like me. But as Best points out, the much more frightening possibility is that “the terrifying face of evil [is] part of ordinary people and small town life.” It’s a common theme in all of Jackson’s writing—something she herself referred to as “the uncontrolled, unobserved wickedness of human behaviour.”

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

Good news: I can write proper English under pressure. Can you?

Turns out I can also “do simple maths.”

Don’t fret if you’re not quite as successful. This is the same site, after all, that invites you to play “Dress the Royal Baby!” and “Count the Kittens.”

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

Because she’s a right thoughtful lass, Shirlee arrived at the office this morning with some dark chocolate and sea salt-covered caramels from Chocolate Apothecary. Just how good are they? Um…you’re going to need a cigarette afterward.

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

Need a little perspective? Ever wonder where you fit in the grand scheme of things? Click here, then prepare to be dazzled. (Or depressed. Either way…)

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