self-portrait by Jon Raasch I was looking at Yelp just now and I read a random review of Francis, where we're about to go for brunch. I clicked through to the reviewer's page and then on to his site, where I found this copy: Hi, my name's Jon Raasch. I'm an independent web developer in Portland, Oregon. Many freelance web designers pretend that they have studios full of assistants, developers, architects; I went …
Obey Capitalism
This ad for Saks Fifth Avenue is bound to give the more idealistic Shepard Fairey fans reason to pause. Pimping the new Prez is one thing, but Saks is on another level. It's unadulterated consumerism. Eric Wilson of The New York Times, asked Fairey if his work could be "misunderstood as some sinister form of retail indoctrination." "Some people might think it could be making fun of what's going on right now," Mr. …
Indie Design Collectives Way of the Future
Web developer, Brian Warren of Be Good Not Bad, has some seriously positive energy to share, particularly with people like him who freelance, consult or work in small agencies. Don't get me wrong. I'm under no illusions about the state of the world economy. But it's times like these I'm very glad I'm not working at a big company. Consistently I am finding that the smaller the company, the more stable and optimistic …
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Blog Beautiful
Care to see a nice looking blog? Here's one: [via Pat Law] …
Type It Eco-Friendly
So yesterday, when I visited one of my big clients, it turned out that as part of a "green" initiative, they decided to eliminate the sign-in sheets at the front desk to save paper. If you're also looking to save resources any way you can, try Ecofont, the new font with little clear circles inside it so it uses less ink. The Guardian has more: Though rather striking, the typeface is wholly readable (no pun intended) …
User-Centric Design Is Also Ad-Centric Design For ESPN
ESPN.com believes less is more when it comes to digital design (and I'd tend to agree). According to The New York Times, the sports site is about to go a major design overhaul. Currently, sports fans are greeted by "intense coverage of every major sport from the get-go." John Skipper, ESPN's executive vice president for content, says "There can be a thing as too much." Making ESPN.com as appealing to visitors as …
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Man Behind The “O”
Steven Heller of New York Times spoke to Sol Sender, the Chicago designer responsible for the now iconic "O" mark used by Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. We were excited to work on the logo and energized by the prospect of Mr. Obama’s campaign. However, we didn’t pursue or develop the work because we were motivated exclusively by ideology. It was an opportunity to do breakthrough work at the right time in …
Wii Shakes Things Up
This ad offers a little something different when viewed on YouTube. [via Tim Brunelle] …