I’ve got to hand it to Melanie Hoff: she knows how to pursue an internship. I’m just not sure if she should be our design intern or whether she should just go ahead and take over our new business development efforts. Either way, welcome aboard, Melanie!

And let this be a lesson to all you young, aspiring designers. Some of us are still a little old-fashioned. We like seeing students show up for an interview in appropriate dress; we appreciate the occasional hand-made thank-you card; we welcome a brief follow-up phone call; and yes, we enjoy creative—albeit somewhat excessive—self-promotion.

In other words, a little perseverance can go a long way.

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

Nikolai Cherny is not only an expert researcher (his handiwork is behind the success of our SPOMa exhibit); he’s also a swell guy. Mr. Cherny, on a recent trip to New York, was obliged to pay his respects at Martinez Cigars—thanks in part to this blog post from last September. When he returned with a gift for yours truly, well…it nearly brought a tear to my eye. After all, “a woman is only a woman, but a good Cigar is a Smoke.” Thanks Nikolai!

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

I’ve long suspected that pretty much every person I know has a mental disorder. Now I have proof.

Seriously, though, “excessive caffeine intake” is “two to three cups of brewed coffee”? Most days, I’ve downed five before 9 a.m.—and followed that up with a cup of tea in the afternoon. And yes, if I try to go without, I get hammered with debilitating headaches. That’s sort of what happens when you’ve been taking the same drug every day for more than 20 years. Which is why I don’t stop.

But…mental illness? Really?!?

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

Do you ever wonder whether there’s a finite amount of good ideas, and we’ve simply run out of them?

No?

This might cause you to think otherwise.

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

On a Saturday afternoon hike in the Deep Creek area of Riverside State Park, my daughter Emma managed to convince this little guy to pose for a portrait on a large chunk of basalt.

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

So the missus and I were waiting for the parade to start last Saturday when we discovered Monkeyboy Books, a little shop in the Atrium Building on South Wall, just a couple of blocks from Domini’s. (And yes, that’s pretty much a recipe for the perfect evening: a good book, a salami on sourdough, and marching bands.)

Anyway, for a little over $20, I made it out of there with a nice little 1977 copy of William Forsell Kirby’s 1907 translation of The Kalevala (for me) and a barely used paperback of Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections (for her).

Monkeyboy Books is the sort of shop that seems more at home on Berkeley’s Telegraph Avenue circa 1966 than tucked away off the beaten path in downtown Spokane. The selection is large, the prices are right, and the atmosphere is perfect. Here’s hoping it lasts longer than the Kindle.

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

Earlier today, my brother-in-law sent me a tantalizing email: What If? meets The Big Lebowski.

Here’s a teaser—as if you needed one: “And now…whenever I look at the Moon, I’ll notice the Sea of Tranquility, the Sea of Serenity, and the Sea of Crisis, and I’ll think: Finger holes.”

(Thanks, Mike!)

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

When it comes to advertising to Hispanics, the conventional wisdom is that we need to do more than just translate existing materials into Spanish. And that’s what the headline for this piece over at Adweek is clearly suggesting. Yet the data in the article that follows doesn’t seem to support the claim.

Looking at all the pretty charts and graphs, it’s clear to me that second-generation Hispanics don’t care nearly as much about their ethnicity as their first-generation peers. It stands to reason that third- and fourth-generation Hispanics will care even less. We used to call that “assimilation,” but I think “acculturation” is the more generally accepted term these days. In other words, the longer you’re here, the more American you become. (And no, that’s not a bad thing.)

So should we care about targeted messaging when marketing to Hispanics—or any other ethnicity? I’m not so sure. In fact, I’d venture to say that focusing on ethnicity might actually slow down the assimilation process by treating individuals as nothing more than part of a monolithic cultural block. Something doesn’t seem quite right about that.

posted by: Aaron Bragg  |  category: random thoughts  |  comments(2)