April 2009

Vincent Connare designed the ubiquitous, bubbly Comic Sans typeface, but he sympathizes with the world-wide movement to ban it.

“If you love it, you don’t know much about typography,” Mr. Connare says. But, he adds, “if you hate it, you really don’t know much about typography, either, and you should get another hobby.”

The proliferation of Comic Sans is something of a fluke. In 1994, Mr. Connare was working on a team at Microsoft creating software that consumers eventually would use on home PCs. His designer’s sensibilities were shocked, he says, when, one afternoon, he opened a test version of a program called Microsoft Bob for children and new computer users. The welcome screen showed a cartoon dog named Rover speaking in a text bubble. The message appeared in the ever-so-sedate Times New Roman font.

Mr. Connare says he pulled out the two comic books he had in his office, “The Dark Knight Returns” and “Watchmen,” and got to work, inspired by the lettering and using his mouse to draw on a computer screen. Within a week, he had designed his legacy.

A product manager recognized the font’s appeal and included it as a standard typeface in the operating system for Microsoft Windows. As home computers became widespread, Comic Sans took on a goofy life of its own.

Read More at The Wall Street Journal.

Graphic Design Heroes by GenPrag

TMI Timmy!

Creating the next big iPhone App? Here are some links to help you on your journey.

After searching around to find a way to communicate my ideas I came across this great template/stencil to help do just that. These work great for sketching out your wireframes or you can even import them into Photoshop/Illustrator and sketch there!

iPhone Stencil Kit

iPhone PSD Interface Template

If you looking to create more professional comps then check out this this PSD template.

iPhone UI for Microsoft VISO

Yahoo! even has a template set for you that is VERY well thought out. There is even a Microsoft Visio shapes file.

Here’s another .VSD  from Brett Eddy .

iPhone Interface Vector Elements

iPhone UI Vector Elements from Mercury Intermedia

There you go. Now you should have no more excuses. Now go create!

This analogy has been around a while but I just had to share it for those who might not have ever heard it.

Understanding Marketing

You see a fabulous girl/guy at a party. You approach them and say, “I’m fantastic in bed.”

That’s Direct Marketing.

You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a fabulous girl/guy. You have one of your friends approach them, point at you and say, “She’s/He’s fantastic in bed.”

That’s Advertising.

You see a fabulous girl/guy at a party. You approach them to get their telephone number. The next day you call and say, “Hi, I’m fantastic in bed.”

That’s Telemarketing.

You’re at a party and see a fabulous girl/guy. You get up, straighten your clothes, walk up and pour them a drink. You open the door, pick up their bag after it drops, offer them a ride, and then say, “By the way, I’m fantastic in bed.”

That’s Public Relations.

You’re at a party and see a fabulous girl/guy. They walk up to you and say, “I hear you’re fantastic in bed.”

That’s Brand Recognition.

Designed for the Red Bull Music Academy 08, Guten Touch is an interactive art installation that involves people into a natural relationship with technology. A two projected displays system plus a 3m x 2m multitouch wall showcase applications designed to engage us into human friendly experiences rather than flashy and jaw-dropping visualizations. Space Invaders hitted by foam balls, pixel paintings created with brushes, and digital objects held by hands try to blur boundaries between real and digital.

This, according to the YouTube description, is the “world’s greatest pitchman” and he thinks your business card sucks. His cards also used to suck but 25 years later he has created the greatest business card ever. Take heed or you too could go without ever knowing how much your business card is ruining your image.

If you still don’t get it then watch the American Psycho: Business Card Scene.

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Image via Wikipedia

Sean Carton writes in his article for ClickZ:

Do we really need advertising agencies anymore? Are we witnessing the great “reboot” of the advertising industry hastened (but not caused) by the current recession?

To understand the tectonic shift we’re in the midst of now, it’s helpful to remember where ad agencies came from. Originally advertising agencies were “agents” for newspapers, placing ads produced by clients in newspapers. In 1877, the J. Walter Thompson Co. figured out it could sell more advertising space if it created the ads instead of relying on clients to create ads. The modern agency was born.

As more people get laid off and can’t find jobs at other agencies (who are also laying people off), more people hanging up their shingle and do whatever it is that they do best, creating an explosion of entrepreneurs and experts who (without the overhead of a big company) can do things cheaper, faster, and more flexibly than their counterparts at big companies.

So what’s the agency of the future going to look like? Probably a lot smaller and focused on strategy, account/project management, creative leadership (but not execution), and media strategy (but not planning and buying). Most agencies will revolve around these hubs if they’re honest with themselves. Agencies will exist to provide high-level strategic guidance that clients need in a media-chaotic environment. Agencies will expand or contract as needed or will explore radical solutions such as crowdsourcing to get work done for less money.

I think he makes a good point.

Read the entire article.