Catching up

It's Friday! Yay! As it's the end of the week, and I haven't had a meaningful post in a while, I thought I'd catch you all up on the happenings here at traciedesigns headquarters (that is a snazzy word for my house, isn't it? I quite like that, actually!):

--Earlier this week I worked on some biz cards for my pal Jill over at Glow (I know she reads this--and I'm totally not saying this because she does--but man, her cookies rock! They're gluten free, and in the name of research, I've eaten my fair share of gluten free cookies. Her cookies totally blow the others out of the water. And if my kids like them (which they do), they have to be good!). Coming soon: Glow cookie packaging, which I am so psyched to share!

--Also worked on some logos: one for a firm I'm doing some freelance for, the other for Justin and Mary Marantz, who have to be, by far and away, the most patient people I know.

--Finished up and presented some web designs to family friend, family babysitter, author, and petsitter Sharon Martins. Her first book was recently published, about a cat named Murray, and the trouble he gets into. Check out the book here.

--Laid out a pdf brochure for Hospital for Special Surgery. Interesting fact: according to their graphic guidelines, the word "the" does not belong in front of Hospital for Special Surgery. It's not "the Hospital..." it's just "Hospital."

--Scanned and worked on some imagemaps for Marcy.

--Made some updates to the bodd website.

--Got some new work! Yay! The talented Christy Murray has hired me to redesign her logo. And since I'm loving the logo design lately, I am psyched!

Also, I have to mention: 2 weeks ago, Mattio was away for the week. He was due home father's day weekend, and seeing how he was going to be travel groggy upon his return, and it was father's day and all, I had someone come and mow the lawn. But not just any lawn service; I called up my new pal Dan Delventhal (interesting fact: he also works as an extra in movies shooting here in CT) who runs mowgreen.us. Dan came by and cut our grass--with a push mower. Yep, the only thing powering his lawnmower was his sweat. I have to give Dan a little link love, because the yard looked great--Mattio was relieved it was one less thing to do--and I love the cause. Thanks again, Dan!

Whew! Rereading this post, I didn't realize just how jammed packed my week was! I think this weekend I'm going to have to treat myself to a pedicure...

I kind of like this weekly wrap up feature... Let me know if you do, too; and maybe I'll keep it going. Enjoy the weekend, folks!

Baseball logos

The Toronto Blue Jays have piqued my interest.

There. I said it. Being a diehard Yankee fan, that's probably the one and only time I'll ever say anything like that.

But alas, this post isn't about baseball, it's about logos. Baseball team logos, if you will (seeing as how the Yankees have had the same logo since the 30s--how's that for some branding staying power??!--I couldn't really write about them).

The Toronto Blue Jays have actually gone through quite a few logo reincarnations as of late (4 in the last 8 years alone--that's some serious branding issues right there), and I thought it was interesting to look at. Check out the Blue Jays' website to see the whole timeline.



Also, a quick Google search led me to this site, where you can actually check out the logo timeline of almost any sport's team. That's some crazy free time, right there!

Friday fill ins

It's been a crazy week, and I haven't had a ton of time to post (although I have quite a few ideas in my head); so I took the easy way out with a Friday Fill in. Happy weekend!

1. A smile is worth a million bucks--especially from my kids!.

2. Monopoly is my favorite board or card game.

3. I would love to have more down time with my family in my life and less work related stress (although, wouldn't we all??).

4. When I think of the Summer Solstice, I think of flip flops (natch), the beach, Cape Cod, and a cold beer on a hot day. Ahhhhh...

5. I just remembered I need to check and see if I've made the kids doctor's appointments. Yep, I have!

6. One of my favorite song lyrics goes like this: off the top of my head, "Please, please, please; let me, let me, let me; let me get what I want, this time" from the song of the same title, by the Smiths.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to reading more of my book (it's express from the library, which means I have until Tuesday to finish it), tomorrow my plans include the beach, if the weather cooperates! and Sunday, I want to relax, but I know I'll end up working!

The branding iron

So, I've spoken of the black hole that I tend to fall into once I stray online... today was one of those days. I have no idea what I was looking for in the first place, as all sense of time, space and direction were lost once I found the "Brand Timeline Portrait."

The brand timeline portrait is a timeline of all the brands you use throughout the day. I actually found the link through a similar type-project, "33 logos in 33 minutes." What the hey, I figured, I could do this.

Ummmm, yeah. I never realized just how many brands I use throughout the day. So my brand timeline portrait is from when I get up in the AM (usually about 6:45, depending on my daughter, the alarm clock) to when I leave the house at 8:30 AM. So basically, in an hour and 45 minutes, I use slightly less than 50 brands. And that's not even double dipping--for instance, I use Tom's of Maine toothpaste, and deodorant; however Tom's of Maine is only on there once. And forget about Trader Joe's--so much of what I buy is Trader Joe's brand!

I had the best of intentions and started out in the order of how I use the brands (Get up. Turn Fisher Price monitor off. Look at RCA alarm clock. Go get baby and change her Pampers diaper and use Huggies wipes; etc). However, that quickly became overwhelming, so at some point, it's just a list of all the brands I used this morning.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Tracie's brand morning portrait:
UPDATE: I broke the image up into 3s, because unless you had a microscope, it was impossible to see these because the picture had shrunk so much.





I can't even imagine how large this image would be if I kept track my entire day! It's pretty amazing the logos and branding we come across in our daily lives, and don't even think about it.

Sigh, spam

I came across this funny article on Spam today (the "food," not the unwanted email). There are a number of astonishing things:

--Residents of Hawaii eat an average of four cans of Spam per year. That's just insane. Four... really? There are 4 people in the entire state of Hawaii that actually eat this stuff?

--More than 60 million people in the U.S. eat Spam. Seriously? This stuff was a joke when I was growing up. People really eat this stuff? Really??

--The photo accompanying the article. First of all, the price: three bucks for a can of meat? Look a little closer: do you see Spam light (really? Spam light??), and, just when I though bacon was the most vile thing on the planet, I see that Spam makes bacon.

Mmmmmm, bacon, my husband would say (although I'm pretty positive he wouldn't be talking about the Spam variety).

Friday night oversharing

From Marcy, this meme was inspired by one of her friend's reactions to the NY Times Mag cover story a couple of weeks ago, pretty much about a girl who just. wouldn't. shut. up. Seriously, if you haven't read the article, here's a quick summary: Girl blogs about every detail of her life. Boyfriends get mad over her tendency to "overshare." Girl password-protects (now ex) boyfriend-related blog posts, then writes a cover story for the NY Times magazine telling all this and more.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the oversharing meme:

1. Name the singer/band/performer you are most embarrassed to admit you actually paid good money to see in concert.
I went to so many concerts in my high school/college years, and there's got to be an embarrassment in there somewhere... I just have yet to remember it.

2. Which reality TV show have you watched more than once (come on. I don't believe you if you say "none," unless you don't own a TV)?
I will watch What Not to Wear from time to time; and as the seasons progress, I've been more and more into Project Runway. When I first started working from home 3 years ago, I used to watch TLC at lunch, which was A Baby Story, A Wedding Story, A Makeover Story... I've since graduated to lunchtime reruns of Melrose Place (Hey, I'm oversharing, OK?).

3. Which complete trash novelist have you not only read but enjoyed enough to read more than one book of his/hers?
Growing up, my mother was all about Danielle Steele, so I'm sure that I've read a couple of her books. Blech, I felt dirty just typing that.

4. What sappy musical could you watch over and over and over again?
The Sound of Music, and I have happily passed this gene down to my girls.

5. Who was your first celebrity crush?
[sigh] Corey Haim. Not to be confused with "the Coreys," cause I really didn't see the attraction with the other one (Feldman?). But it didn't last long (I'm glad to say, as now he is washed up and kind of gross looking)... sidenote: there is a great song by the Thrills, that I love love love, called Whatever Happened to Corey Haim?

6. Who is the most embarrassing celebrity on whom you have a slight crush today?
I would totally agree with Marcy and say Rob Lowe (ever since St. Elmo's Fire, he will always have a special place in my heart).

7. What movie that everyone else and his cousin and even his dog has seen have you never seen?
The Crying Game. I remember all kinds of hype surrounding the movie (there was some big secret--the guy was really a girl, or the girl was really a guy?), and it was one of those movies I just never got around to seeing.

8. What were you drinking the first time you ever got drunk?
Well... I was drunk, so the memory is a little fuzzy... it was probably some frilly mixed drink.

9. Which old re-run will you still pause to watch if you’re flicking through the channels and see that it’s on?
When Madeline was an infant, Nick at Night reran all kinds of sitcoms from my youth: Cosby, Family Ties, Cheers... Midnight feedings were based not on what time it was, but by which show was on. I will watch almost any sitcom from the early 80s (Square Pegs, anyone?). And I will always, ALWAYS stop and watch Mary Tyler Moore if/when it's on, no matter what I'm doing. "Oh, Mr. Grant!"

10. What book/movie/t.v. show that only a fifteen-year-old would think is funny makes you laugh?
This one is tough. I always enjoy The Wedding Singer whenever I watch it--but that takes place in the 80s and I think a lot of the references would be lost on a fifteen year old. I laughed my butt off watching Superbad, but if you've seen it, you know it's completely inappropriate for fifteen year olds (or so the parent in me thinks... but I'm sure plenty of fifteen year olds have seen it).

"...But can you make my logo BIGGER?"

Back in my agency days, I had quite a few clients who became backseat art directors; driving me batty with requests such as:

"There's not a lot going on here, it feels empty. Is there something we can add that will eat up all this white space?"

"I know my logo is light green, but just this once, can't we make it red?"

"What if we moved this over here, and added something else over there. Why don't you try that?"

I swallowed my pride (and kept my job) by fulfilling their requests, only so they could see that I don't have a kajillion dollars in art school student loans for no good reason.

So when my pal Troy passed this along today, I identified all too well. It's a little long, but anyone who's ever had a request to "make my logo bigger" will certainly appreciate it.



You can also check out the website here.

Designing Google

Whenever I come across something interesting that I think might be a good blog topic, I tuck it away in the back of my mind, for those "slow news days." A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Google Artist Themes, which I thought would make a decent future blog post.

Good thing I saved it; this Sunday's Times Magazine had a blurb by Virginia Heffernan about how you too, can unleash your inner graphic designer and use Artist Themes to customize your Google home page (among other things--my mind began to wander once I got to the part where she painstakingly color coordinated an online user group page).

Just as I was hanging it up as an aspiring stereo expert, I perceived a new skill set taking shape, one that eclipsed my old sound geekery. Graphic design! Sure, I can’t write any actual code or even do much with HTML, but the finish work on my technology now consumes days. I customize everything with colors and fonts and photos and choices of backgrounds, wallpaper, screen savers. It’s like decorating my 10th-grade notebook with stickers of Rossignol and Vuarnet logos, as well as cryptic verse from Edie Brickell — all meant to suggest both a rich interior life and an intimacy with high-end brands.

So last month, when Google unveiled in Manhattan its new “artist themes” — colors and patterns created by a range of celebrities, with which to decorate an iGoogle homepage — I earnestly browsed as I have never done at MoMA.

I was just as excited when I clicked on the Artist Themes link, and was taken to a page of "artists and innovators". Of course, my inner Carrie Bradshaw immediately gravitated towards Diane von Furstenberg and Dolce and Gabbana, but then Tory Burch caught my eye and I knew the search for the perfect background was over: I'm a sucker for Tory Burch. I love the bold graphic design of her patterns and colors. I find it incredibly refreshing, that in a fashion world where something is always "the new black," Tory has separated herself from the crowd by designing with so much color (well, that and her T pattern rocks my socks. And the Reva Ballerina Flats, can't forget those).

But back to Google... there's something for everyone; heck, even the Wiggles have their own theme (something that tells me that falls under the category of "innovators"). Truth be told, I barely use iGoogle; but the few times a month I do end up there, I smile to myself every time a different Tory Burch pattern comes up on my screen--as if my computer wasn't designer enough.

Your logo cost you HOW much??!

I swear, I ought to go work in Britain; they pay a ridiculous amount of money for logos over there. First, the London Olympics logo (cost: £400,000). And, by the way, it's a bad logo.

Today, in doing some research for another logo I'm working on, I came across this article on the Southampton University logo controversy. Not only have they paid upwards of £360,000 (about $705,132 American dollars--apparently this figure includes replacing signage, stationery, etc. But still!), but now the university is talking about cutting jobs to get itself out of debt. Ummmm... is this not making sense to anyone else out there?

The logos, as seen below (the top is the new logo, by the way), aren't even anything to write home about. I mean, the dolphin one looks dated, but the new one... well, it certainly doesn't look like a logo worth over a half million bucks. And in the face of layoffs? That's just silly. I'm sure there are plenty of other logo designers out there that could have delivered something just as good--if not better--for far less of a price tag. Um, me, for starters!

stationery show!

So last week I went to the stationery show in NYC. I know, I should have posted this sooner, but it's been a pretty hectic week, capped off by the long weekend, and, well... Ah, I know, excuses, excuses.

Anyway, here I am, back to blog about my stationery show experience. If you're just tuning in, I'm trying my hand at branching out into custom event invitations. I'd love to specialize in letterpress. So a few months ago I figured I'd get my feet wet and go to the stationery show and see what's out there, and maybe meet some vendors.

First, the show itself was so cool--IF you're a stationery buyer. Which I am not. And it said so on the nifty little name tag they gave me, that got me in the show. So people immediately looked at it, saw I wasn't someone who was going to make them money, and stopped being interested. Really.

There was so much beautiful design. Stuff I would love to have the time to think up and do (originally, the plan was to launch my own stationery line, but that seemed like a big jump into who knows what. Custom invitations seemed more like baby steps). Of course, with the good comes the bad (hello, 80's mirror display? 1985 called and wants you back). But there was a lot of small independent little card companies with some pretty gorgeous stuff.

Then, at 1:00, the doors to the vendor side of things opened. I figured this would go much better for me, since that's what I was looking for. I figured wrong.

Don't get me wrong, the 10 vendors that were there were very helpful. It's just there weren't many of them, and none of them did letterpress printing. But they all knew someone who did.

All in all, it was nice to take some time off (sort of, I was tethered to my Palm all day long) and devote it to growing my business--something I don't get to do often. Would I go back? Probably not next year, but maybe in the future, depending on how custom invitations do...

In the meantime, once I get my stuff together, be on the lookout for tracieinvites!

Next!

My goodness, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that folks, I've been trying to finalize a couple if different projects, and everything has come to a head all at once. But I've finished up some stuff, and now it's onto some new projects.

One of the sites I just finished was Home and Hearth Interiors--a home staging company in Westport. Kellie is super nice, and talented at staging homes! Try guessing how many kids she has when you walk into her home (I'll give you a hint: yes, she does have kids. Funny, when you walk into my home, the reaction is more, "You only have three? There must be more, it certainly looks like it!").

The other site I launched today is Lush Floral Designs. Zoe is so cool, and her arrangements are breathtakingly beautiful. Zoe is actually a client I have only spoken to on the phone and via email. We have a date to meet in person next week, and I can't wait!

Those are just 2 web clients; I've actually just finished up some print work for the Hospital for Special Surgery, and I'm working on finishing up a psychiatrist's site this week as well. Oh, and there's that little project I have designing the packaging for a cookie company (I know I've said this before, but yes, it is just as fun--and delicious--as it sounds. No wonder I can't get these 5 pounds off!)

So now that I've had 5 whole minutes to breathe, it's off to the current/next round of projects. Oh, and tomorrow, I'm super excited because I'm actually taking the day and spending it at the stationery show in the city (what, most people don't get excited over paper??!). It's all research for the next phase of traciedesigns: custom invitations. More info soon...

Yay Mac!

This story rocks my socks:

Laptop (which happens to be a mac) gets stolen. Owner uses remote login technology to not only log into stolen computer, but take a photo of the thief as well, using built-in camera.

Read the whole account here (although there's not much more to it, other than details, and mugshots).

Bloody brilliant. Just brilliant.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just a quick shout out to all the moms out there who read this... Happy mother's day! I hope you all end every day as I did tonight: a smile, a hug, and "I love you, mom."

The best present out there.

I am a supah-stah!

So I've blogged a couple of times about my involvement with Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration (it's tomorrow! yay!); I was fortunate enough to work with the chairman, Larry Kaley, and design the program that's going to be handed out; and on the side--you know, in my spare time--I've done some PR for the event.

Now this was my first foray into public relations, so I made some phone calls, googled some media, and started writing and sending press releases. I had 2 versions--print and radio--that I would send out. Of course, I had all my local bases covered, so naturally WICC--out of Bridgeport--got a press release once a week when I sent them out.

As it happens, one of my press releasea fell into the hands of David Smith, afternoon host of the Exchange. He called me last week: would I come on the air for a few minutes to talk about Earth Day?

Er... no. But my Earth Day colleagues will!

Long story short, it was going to be myself, one of the vendors, and Larry. I didn't really want to be on the radio, I just thought the experience was cool, and wanted to be there for it.

Well, it was a crazy rainy day here at 1:45 when I ran into the WICC offices, and unfortunately, the weather was holding Larry up. We needed a pinch hitter, and I was there.

So guess who was on the radio this afternoon, plugging Earth Day?

Oh. My. God. I was so nervous!!! I felt like Molly Shannon, in the classic SNL sketch, "Schweaty Balls" (also one of my all time favorites). I would lean into the microphone every time I was asked a question. It was only 6 or 7 minutes--tops--but it was crazy. There was so much going on, and throughout the whole thing, David Smith (who, by the way, has such a voice for radio) played it cool--you could tell he was a pro. Me, on the other hand, I was like a baby, distracted by every flashing light and sound (and there were tons of them). I tried to play it cool, but I was totally blindsided by the fact that my voice was being broadcast throughout the Bridgeport region.

I definitely got my experience, that's for sure. For a brief 6 minutes, I was on the radio. So my 15 minutes isn't up yet... I still have 9 more. I'll just direct you to my agent for those.

PS. Talk about 6 degrees of fame... the vendor who came on with me was Dan Delventhal, of mowgreen.us (a "reel" mowing service--reel as in sweat, not gas powered). Dan also does work as an extra in area films--he will be appearing in the upcoming flick Confessions of a Shopaholic. But more importantly, he was telling me that he was working just yesterday on the new Sam Mendes film (tentatively titled Farlanders), and he had to react to an actor swearing in the scene he was in. The actor? Office hottie John Krasinski!

PPS. I've said it before, I'll say it again: Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration is tomorrow, at Fairfield Warde High School, from 9:30 to 3:30. It's going to be an amazing event, so come on down, if you can! (I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't mention it one last time :)

Ecojustice 08

My pals Becky and Marcy both pointed me in the direction of this blog, Ecojustice 08. Since I have joined Fairfield's Earth Day Committee (event plug: it's happening this Saturday, May 10th), I have learned so much, and wanted to do so much. This challenge seemed a great way to springboard into action.

I have chosen 2 items from the list to start, #2 (one blackout night per week--going to be difficult, but I'm willing to give it a go), and #5 (read a book about the environment). Unfortunately, some of the items on the list were not exactly conducive to our lifestyle (I know, I know, it's a challenge, it's not supposed to be easy, but with three kids we are constantly on the go. I will, like Marcy, try and adapt some of the tips to our lifestyle).

That said, I've also asked for a composter and a clothesline for mother's day (and a zoom lens for the Nikon, but I digress...). I've also taken an active role in Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration (event plug again: please come down this Saturday, it's going to be not only informative, but fun!). To learn more about the Earth Day fair, you can go to fairfieldearthday.org, or tune into WICC (AM660 in fabulous Bridgeport, CT) on Friday, at 1:45 to listen to perhaps myself (I'm not quite sure if I'll actually be on the air--I've been invited to be, but in this case I think I prefer to be behind the scenes) and others talk to David Smith on his "Exchange" show.

In any event, I strongly encourage you all to at least visit Ecojustice, if not take part. There's all kinds of great tips and tricks to "green" your life, even if it's just a lighter shade of green.

PS. Oh, and did I mention Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration?

Kismet

OK, I have to confess: you know that stupid saying? About the shoemaker's kids having the worst shoes? Well, that applies to me sometimes (OK, bad analogy, I know. Cause I totally don't have the worst shoes).

I mean that I don't always have the time to make my own stuff pretty, because I'm too busy doing it for other people (but I'm not complaining!). So for the past few years, I've had business cards--nice, pretty business cards--but they weren't fancy schmancy professionally printed cards, they were digitally output and, quite frankly, the less than stellar printing quality showed (to the trained eye, at least).

So a few weeks ago, I was at Baker Graphics in Westport, picking up some invitations I designed, when the owner approached me. Long story short, we got to talking, and I gave her one of my cards, which just happened to say, "because her favorite color isn't orange, it's Pantone 167."

Well. It just so happened that they were printing business cards the next week, with Pantone 166. On top of that, the cards were the same off-size that mine were. Would I be interested in ganging up and getting some cards printed?

Does the shoemaker's kid have bad shoes?

So yesterday, I picked up my brand new, fancy schmancy, professionally printed cards. And let me tell you, it was like Christmas. I walked out of the printer's, and wanted to hand my card out to every person I came across.

Oh, and my new favorite color is Pantone 166--which is still orange, just a shade darker.

So. Sad.

I might have mentioned that one of the projects I'm working on right now is packaging for cookies. As a result, I am a sweets magnet (OK, like I really needed this type of project to admit that). I am fascinated by all kinds of packaging--obviously the well-designed only need apply--but because this is a "dessert" type item, I am drawn to sweets.

One of the brands that I've come across in my travels is Blisscotti. First of all? Brilliant. Biscotti ice cream sandwiches?! Sign me up! But on top of the fact that this product might just be the most delish thing ever, their logo has been featured in quite a few design periodicals, winning awards left and right.



Pretty, right? Well, their packing--which, come to find out, is also racking up the awards--is just as nice.




So here we have this yummy product, coupled with premium-looking packaging that has won awards and been featured in respected design publications such as How and Comm Arts. This sounds like a no brainer, right?

Well, then I went to their website. And I saw this:



and this:



Huh? What happened to the pretty packaging? Why is this wonderful product (which somewhere along the line has acquired a chocolate coating. Excuse me while I wipe the drool from the keyboard) committing packaging suicide? I mean, clearly, this fits in Stop and Shop's freezer section now, blending right in with all the other frozen desserts screaming, Buy me! Buy me!, but part of the appeal--to me, anyway--was that before the vomit inducing redesign (Ugh, I never thought I would use the word vomit and biscotti ice cream sandwich in the same sentence) the packaging stood out, because of the tasteful (award-winning, hello?) design!

Why would you do this, Blisscotti? Why?

Oh, and PS: Not like I'd buy this now, what with it's ugly packaging and all (OK, I totally would, but only because of the product itself); but even if I would, I couldn't, because they don't even sell it in CT. It's a west coast thing, New York being the only east coast state to get it. Sigh.

In my spare time...

I have been trying to take a half hour to myself before I go to bed these days, just to unwind and relax. I've been catching up on reading, but every once in a while, Mattio and I will have a date in front of the Wii (I know you can hardly contain yourself with excitement for us! Don't worry, I tell myself, once the baby gets a little older, we'll be going out on dates that don't involve one of us--usually me--saying, "What is wrong with this controller? I don't understand why I can't throw a strike! And now look, you're winning.")

Last night was one of those nights, as we played a couple of games of bowling. But as I finished up work, Mattio played a game of baseball against the machine. As I was closing up shop, he'd give me updates on the game. My night was peppered with phrases like, "C'mon... Mima is killing me!" "Ohhh, Santa just hit a home run!" "Nice! Teacher just hit a double!"

To the casual observer, it sounds like my husband is slowly going insane. But to anyone who has played our Wii, you'll meet some pretty interesting people Ashlee has created. Sure, we all have Miis (that's Wii terminology for the virtual people you can create. This is something Ashlee and her friends do in abundance when they're bored--read on); Eleanor--at 6 months old--even has one (it's really short). However, once Ashlee went beyond her grandparents (that's where Mima comes in) and her friends, she got bored and created Santa (yes, he has a white beard and wears red), Mrs. Clause, Thing One and Thing Two, and Teacher (a school-marm type).

I lined up all the Miis to check them out, then proceeded to laugh so hard at her creativity that I cried.

Happy Earth Day!

Tomorrow, as many of you know, is Earth Day. Rather than get all preachy-preachy about what you can do to offset your carbon footprint (now that saving the environment is in vogue, I'm pretty positive you'll come across the words "compact flourescent," "organic cotton," and" biodiesel" oh, about a hundred times each on Tuesday), I'll just send along my well wishes for an earth-friendly day (and hope that--as I explained to Ashlee earlier--you don't limit yourself to the day).

Oh yeah, there's another plug I want to get in here. A few months ago, I was fortunate enough to interview my RTM rep, Larry Kaley, for an article I was writing in Fairfield Magazine. The article was about an Earth Day festival he was chairing, and, during our conversation, he mentioned (not knowing I was a graphic designer) that they also handed out a program at this fair. "Hold the phone," I said, "Sign me up."

Thus began my work with Fairfield's Earth Day Celebration, 2008. I offered my services and ideas to layout the guidebook, and really make it something that people would hold onto and use as a resource for all things green. It not only includes all of the exhibiting vendors at the Earth Day festivities, but many other green tips and tricks, as well as articles and recipes. I don't get a chance to do much pro bono work, so to work on something that I am passionate about really makes me feel great.

I hope that you all get a chance to come over to Fairfield Warde High School on Saturday, May 10, from 9:30 – 3:00 (it's not held on the traditional Earth Day, as a lot of the vendors and speakers are booked for that day) and check out this year's fair. I know there will be not only a ton of information, but there's also going to be plenty of giveaways (I'm going to enter quite a few times to win that Vespa!); as well as family entertainment, and stuff for the kiddies. I am truly thrilled to be a part of this, it's very exciting to see how it all comes together.

Also, this week is the "green" issue of the NY Times magazine. I'm only 1/3 of the way through it, but so far, it's a very interesting read. Rather that a couple of longer articles on the state of the environment (bad), and what we can do about it (lots), there's page after page of 1-2 paragraph snippets of information. I likey.

Oh yeah, and don't forget to change your lightbulbs! (just kidding... but not really :)

Huh?

So this morning, as I do every Saturday, I was flipping through the Sunday fliers (odd that we get them on a Saturday, no?) over breakfast. I got to the coupons, and came across an ad for a drug called Provigil.

"Struggling to fight off the fog?" the ad asked me (right below a dopey picture of a guy who looks vaguely like Kevin from the Office, obviously half awake). I don't know why I continued to give it a second glance, but I'm glad I did as the ad has been an endless source of amusement for me all morning long.

Provigil is used--are you ready?--to fight EXCESSIVE SLEEPINESS. They even go so far as to make being tired sound like a medical condition, giving it the acronym ES. The fine print starts with this clever phrase: "Provigil is a prescription medicine used to improve wakefulness in adults who experience excessive sleepiness (ES)..."

Wait, what?? "Improve wakefulness?" "Excessive sleepiness??" This has to be a joke. This drug seems to me like a legal form of speed (some of the possible side effects--which get more and more ludicrous as each new drug comes out--include depression, anxiety, hallucinations and mania; all side effects of speed).

I'm not quite sure when being tired became such an issue that we need a prescription drug to wake us up. Having just had a baby, I completely get how much worse off you are the less sleep you get (thank goodness she's a good sleeper and has been sleeping through the night for quite some time now); however, the day I need a prescription drug to keep me awake... well, that's a pretty bad day. Besides, I thought that's what Red Bull was for.

Shhhh!

OK, don't tell anyone, but today, I got my membership card and handbook to the Very Secret Order of Creatives Understanding. What is this secret order, you ask? Well, if I told you, it wouldn't be much of a secret, now would it. However, I will point you in the direction of their website (but don't tell them it was me who sent you!).

Actually, it's just a clever promotion from Veer. But it's hysterical: How can you identify other members? By these secret code phrases:

Phrase: "Hi."
Response: "Resolution?"

Phrase: "There's a brainstorm coming, Pa!"
Response: "Get the horses in the barn!"

There's Rules of conduct, as well:

Rule 3: Treat swatch books like pets. You'd never walk off with someone else's hedgehog."

Rule 10: "Avoid saying "no" during brainstorming, unless you are brainstorming a bank heist."

I wish I had the time to come up with something so great. At the end of the day, it's junk mail (I have purchased fonts and stock imagery through Veer in the past, which is probably how I got on their mailing list in the first place); but if everybody made junk mail this intriguing, we'd probably be calling it something other than "junk."

Extremely Random Meme

Well, I was going to save this for a rainy day... but seeing as it's been a while since my last post, and I've got far too much on my plate to get creative here--well, let's just call it a rainy day. Thanks again, Marce!

The Extremely Random Meme

What is your occupation?
President/Principal/CEO of traciedesigns. I am also the creative director, art director, senior + junior designer, as well as copywriter, administrative assistant (to myself) and all around great gal. Oh, and shopaholic (that was actually the title on the business card of my last full time job--no joke)

What color are your socks right now?
No socks--like Marcy, I loathe socks and only wear them if I absolutely have to. And even then, I have to really think about it.

What are you listening to right now?
Yankees v. Red Sox.

What is the last thing you ate?
Ice cream popsicle, yum yum.

Can you drive stick shift?
No

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
I always answer maize or periwinkle--I think more for the names than the colors. As a child I was partial to mint green and peach. Now, I like raspberry. Of course, my heart will always belong to Pantone 166. (I think this was answered like a true creative type, no? :)

Last person you spoke to on the phone?
My friend's aunt.

What’s your favorite yoga pose?
I don't know the name of it (it has been far too long since my last yoga class), but I love the one where you lie on your back and lift your legs and rear into the air (above your head) and hold onto your lower back, so basically your head, upper back, and elbow support you (rereading that makes me sound like some kind of contortionist. Alas, I am not--whatsoever).

How old are you today?
32 years, 6 months, 8 days

Favorite drinks?
Sparkling water, Beer, Kettle One vodka

What is your favorite sport to watch?
Baseball. I prefer the Yankees, but I will watch anybody (except the Red Sox--when they're not playing the Yanks, obviously)

Have you ever dyed your hair?
Yes. I had some lovely pink hair at one time or another. Now I am sporting some pretty cool highlights, that desperately need to be refreshed.

Pets?
As I tell my children: No pets until the house gets bigger!

Favorite cake?
Yellow cake with strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream frosting. It was my wedding cake, and to this day is my favorite. But I don't discriminate, I'll eat just about any kind of cake.

Last movie you saw?
It's been so long, that I couldn't even tell you. It may have been Alvin and the Chipmunks. But just last night I was watching the Departed, on HBO--does that count?

Favorite day of the year?
I don't necessarily have one specific favorite day. I think any day that I get to spend having fun with my family is a pretty good day.

How do you vent anger?
I am trying desperately to count to 10 before I blow my lid. I know I get loud, but I'm a pretty loud person in general, so I don't know if that counts.

What was your favorite toy as a child?
Hmmm... I had a Barbie townhouse with a working elevator that at the time, I thought was the cat's meow.

Autumn or spring?
Autumn: my birthday, our anniversary... I like spring, but it usually comes with a healthy dose of allergies.

Hugs or kisses?
Ummm... both!

Cherry or blueberry?
Blueberry

Do you want your friends to respond?
Yes, but... (see below)

Who is most likely to respond?
I'm afraid everyone already did.

Living arrangements?
1 bathroom house in Fairfield with a husband and 3 girls (1 of which is a teenager. Impressive, no?)

Last time you cried?
I can honestly say, I don't remember.

What is on the floor of your closet?
A shoe's store worth of shoes, Madeline's sleeping bag.

Who is the friend you’ve had the longest?
While I still keep in touch with acquaintances from elementary school, I am going to say Tiffany. We've been best pals since senior year in high school.

Favorite smell?
Fresh lilacs, Antonia's Flowers perfume (smells a lot like freesia, but better)

Who or what inspires you?
I am an arteest. I am constantly inspired by everything. I was inspired by a box of cookies today (full disclosure: I am working on a cookie package design now, so I am especially aware and/or inspired by anything relating to a cookie).

What are you afraid of?
Small spaces. When I was pregnant, I was desperately afraid that my feet would grow, and I would have to get all new shoes. I would have nightmares about it.

Hamburgers?
Blech, no!

Favorite car?
It changes on a daily basis. Right now I'm longing for a Volvo wagon--which is such a mom car, I know. But when in Rome... (especially with 3 kids)

Number of keys on your key ring?
4. The sad thing is, I have way more Stop and Shop-type cards on my key ring than actual keys.

How many years at your current job?
almost 3 years.

Favorite day of the week?
Saturday.

How many countries have you lived in?
Just 1.

Dream job
See sidebar, about professional shoe shopper. Seriously, that is my dream job.

Just the fax, ma'am

Last week, my pal Becky started a new job (in the city, which gave her reason to buy a hot new Coach bag, but that's a different post altogether); and on one of the first days of the new job, she learned where the fax machines are. Which lead to this cute little musing on who actually uses fax machines anyway (seriously, I'd love to hear from those that do, if you're out there).

That said, I just finished reading Through the Children's Gate, by Adam Gopnick (a great collection of stories about his family's first few years living in NYC after a stint in Paris). In one of the last chapters, he talks about new technology (specifically, IMing), and oddly enough, who still faxes as a way of communication:

"A curtain falls around the age of forty, and whatever the medium of electronic communication that was in place then remains the medium that you use. If you were forty when the fax machine was in flower, you still send faxes, for all their snaky, mid-eighties kind of flimsiness [ed. note: Ahhh, I get it--old people use fax machines!]... Though I lived on email and caffeine—just got on that subway as the doors were closing—I had never sent or received an instant message."

His sentiment makes sense: my mother just--just!--upgraded from dial up to DSL, while we've got our cable modem before we got furniture (no joke, we seriously had internet access before we had a place to sit. If you have met my husband this will make perfect sense). However, I am just catching on to text messaging--I still don't get all the abbreviations Ashlee uses (cue the drawn out, mooo-oooooooooommmmmmmmm). But my goodness, this does not bode well for my future. I am wary to think of what kind of technology will be in vogue when Madeline and--gasp!--Eleanor get older; I don't want to be the mom that confuses LOL for lots of love, instead of laugh out loud (like Gopnick did. Very funny story that I will not do justice to by trying to retell it here).

Whoo boy, I do not want to get old.

Celebrity photoshopping strikes again!

There are many things that peeve me, but one of the biggest is celebrity photoshopping. I won't get on my soap box too much (OK, I will), but I find that celebrity magazine photoshoots are giving women next-to-impossible standards to live up to (having a teenager in the house, we have had our fair share of body image conversations).

Case A: A few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of People Magazine at the nail salon; the one with JLo--oh, sorry, Jennifer Lopez--on the cover. Now, let's recap why she was on the cover: oh, right she just gave birth to twins. Which explains why every inch of her post-partum body was photoshopped and styled to the extreme. I gave birth to one baby 5 months ago, and my body--on a good day--doesn't look like hers did 5 weeks after giving birth to two babies. The whole photo spread reeked of celebrity narcism, with pictures of Jennifer in ridiculous designer gowns prancing around with her babies like they were props. But sorry, unless you have 10 babies (and even then, whoa!), 50 pounds of baby weight does not just melt away like that. Seriously, there was not one inch of that woman that was not photoshopped.

Case B: The following cover of Britney Spears:



Now, I feel for the poor girl, I really do. She's going through a rough time right now, in the public eye. However, the only miracle diet she's been on has been, according to this article on the Huffington Post, is time travel (quite a miracle, indeed). The styled, posed, photoshopped Britney was actually a photo from Glamour Magazine, circa 2003, seen here:



Now, I realize that on a good day, OK Magazine is just another trashy, gossip-y read (People Mag only a hair more respectable), but come on!

Christophuh!

My pal Koleen forwarded me this email she got from Toad's Place:



I could be wrong, but this could--quite possibly--be the ugliest form of email marketing, ever. First of all, this poor guy's publicist was obviously not involved whatsoever; otherwise they probably would have had a much better photo to work with, rather than the current scanned-in-off-the-DVD-case one they have now.

Second, read the copy (if you can--the bright blue background is just a tad distracting):

Michael played the part of "Christopher", one of Tony's 'capos'. The name of his band is "La Dolce Vita", The Sweet life. He also played in many other movies including 'Good Fellas'.

I could be wrong, but it sounds as though one of my kids wrote it (the assignment being sum up Michael Imperioli's life in just 3 sentences). And what on earth does he do in this band? As my friend said, "do we just go to Toads and he sits on the stage and we all just stare at him for an hour? Makes no sense..."

It's definitely leaning towards the bizarre...

Opening day, take 2

Opening day, take 2 was AWESOME. Not only did the weather hold out (I was comfortable in my sweatshirt, sans jacket); but the game was great and the Yanks won. Oh, it also didn't hurt that this year, unlike last, I was not pregnant, and could enjoy a $10 beer along with the game (the enjoyment, of course, came from drinking it--certainly not paying for it!).

I only wish that I had a better camera other than my phone (the Nikon was far too large to bring). Derek Jeter was stretching with his cute little behind up in the air, and unfortunately--except for the white dot on the field--my phone could not capture it.



Sigh. Rough life, eh?

It's raining, it's pouring...

So opening day... was not so much. My father in law and I boarded the 10:39 to Manhattan this AM, got off in Harlem, subwayed it back up to the Bronx, and then proceeded to wait for about 2.5-3 hours for the rain to stop.

And it didn't.

So the game was postponed... and we'll try take 2 tomorrow night. In the meantime, here's the view of the new stadium from our seats. I can't believe it's the last opening day in the old stadium!

Spring cleaning

Last night I decided to forego the gym (yeah, THAT was a tough decision), and instead, I was going to update the blog a bit (this has been on my to do list for quite some time, and was one of those things that was just going to sit there until I actually made time for it). I had no idea the path that this blog was going to take when I started it last year, but it seems that it's become my "online personality"--in that people who read it have told me that it is so me (one of my pals has even told me that she can imagine me saying each post).

So I refreshed the sidebar with a little more relevant (I think) info, and finally (finally!) updated the header to match my site. As time goes on, I'll probably refresh things here and there, depending on what's working and what's not (and I'm still trying to make that effort of posting more often); but never fear, the theme is still thoughts, musings, oddities and the like.

Enjoy!

There are no heroes in this house

So I might've mentioned that we now have a Wii. This is the first video game console we've ever owned (aside from handheld's, like GameBoy) so it's especially exciting--the novelty has not worn off yet, for any of us.

Specifically, the novelty of Guitar Hero ("Totally worth it," Mattio says, defending the cost to his brother) has not worn off--for Ashlee and Mattio. While they have both mastered the easy level and are on to the more challenging Medium level--Mattio might even be on Hard--I can't get past the first song. Actually, no, I think I played the easiest of the easy songs (Slow Ride, by Foghat--which, by the way, 4 year old Madeline walks around the house singing. Thank you, Guitar Hero) through to completion--on like, the 7th or 8th try. Unlike Ash and Mattio, I have perfected the art of getting booed off the stage.

So when I read about Michelle Slatella's Rock Band woes in yesterday's Times, I could identify all too well. Seriously, I think the only reason Ashlee invites me to play is to have a good laugh.

Ah well, at least I know I'm not alone.

I heart Al Gore

So this morning, I had a meeting with my pal Debbie Fay of Bespeak Presentations; we actually met in her dining room, because she said her office resembled Al Gore's.

Huh?

Then she told me that last year, the Times ran a photo of Al Gore in his office, and it was a mess. And she said, if Al Gore's office looks like that--and look at what he's accomplished in his life!--then I don't feel so bad about mine.

Nor do I, Deb; nor do I.



PS. View larger pic here. Oh, and hey Al Gore, sweet monitor setup!

Best. Customer. Service. Ever.

I love Starbucks.

I don't even like coffee. But I love Starbucks. In the winter, I am a tall skim chai (yum, yum). And all summer long I am a tall mocha frapp--no whip, thankyouverymuch. Every once in a while I splurge and get a grande (medium, as Mattio would say :), but very, very very rarely do I go whole hog (literally!) and get the venti (large).

So today, I decided, was a tall skim chai kind of day. I had a couple of free drink coupons--thanks to my pal Sara--and I had to drop Madeline off at her friend's, so I offered to pick up coffee for the friend's mom, as well. So I go in and order my drink and a tall coffee for friend's mom; and go to pay with my coupons, and do you know what the cashier said to me?

He said (not snotty, but completely serious), "If you're drinks are going to be free, why not splurge, and make them venti?"

I looked at him, smiled, and said, "Why not?"

That, my friends, is customer service.

Hell effing vetica (emphasis on the "effing")

So Friday was--as I was referring to it--Helvetica Friday. I was dragging the kids to MoMA, to see the Helvetica, the exhibit; and as a bribe to get them there, we finished off the day at the Museum of Natural History. Then I was going to go home and watch Helvetica, the movie.

So Helvetica, the exhibit, basically sucked. It was, by far, one of the bigger disappointments in my life. Tucked into a corner of the third floor--literally, a corner no bigger than my bedroom--were some posters done in helvetica, as well as subway signage (saw plenty of that for free, thankyouverymuch). In a glass display there was the helvetica alphabet in printing plates, and on a flat screen on the wall they were playing bits of Helvetica, the movie.

That's it.

I was completely bummed. Of course, we were already there, so we walked around a bit. Ashlee got to see Starry Night, again (it's one of her favorites). We also saw the "big blue OOF" (as the kids referred to Edward Ruscha's painting), Warhol's Cambell's Soup Cans, and their all time favorite, the "wall of cows."





To add to the disappointment of the day, I couldn't find Helvetica, the movie, anywhere in the gift shop (Hello? There's a terrible excuse for an exhibit--I thought for sure they would have the movie!!). So needless to say, Helvetica Friday didn't quite pan out the way I had expected (although the kids had a great time at the Museum of Natural History--and even more fun in the gift shop).

Let's hope that in my next foray into the city I fare a bit better: next Monday I am (yet again!) going to the Yankees home opener. I got to go last year, and it was so. Much. Fun. It's bound to be even more fun this year, as it's the last home opener in the old stadium.

If I were a brand...

So I came across this interesting article today, in doing some research for a logo/packaging project I'm working on. It was an article on brandchannel, and it asked, "If you were to describe yourself as being a brand, what brand would you be? Why?"

Hmmm.... Incidentally, people answered the usual suspects: Nike, Coke, etc. However, they got a large response of people citing themselves as the brand they'd want to be ("I think everyone creates their own unique personal brand.")

Oh please. I'm all for being unique and different, but answer the question already.

Me, if I had to choose a brand--besides myself (although the end of the piece makes a good argument as too much of a good thing, a la Britney Spears--the term "good thing" being used loosely in that case)--I would want to be Apple.

Why? Apple is adored--no, worshipped--by its fans. People will spend money on Apple products. Like, lots of money. Apple is constantly ahead of the curve, and their products are not only cool-functioning, but cool-looking as well. And the while the majority of computer users are still using PCs (why is that?), once people switch over to Macs, it's like they get it. Plus, all the cool kids use Macs. ipod, itunes, iphone... need I say more?

By the way, I know you are shocked--shocked!--that I didn't choose a shoe brand. And believe me, I thought about it... nothing lays luxury and beauty like say, Manolo Blahnik; however, in the end, I thought that Apple was the better brand (it appeals across the masses--and isn't that the point?). Although kate spade is running a close second...

So... if you could be a brand, what would it be and why?

Hell effing vetica (and the kids!)

Every Monday, (ideally--I do have three kids I have to get out of the house in the morning) I like to do the New York Times crossword (I do it through Wednesday--Thursday's is way too hard, and Friday, well, just forget it. Besides, it usually takes me until the following Monday to get close to completion on Wednesday's puzzle). I usually skim it at breakfast, filling in the extra-easy clues, and then leave it around the house; so say, while I'm making lunch, I can get a few clues in. But today was a promising day: I had finished the puzzle by 9:30 AM. Wow, I thought, I have can actually read the Arts section! And it was there I came across this clever ad, from MoMA, thanking Target. The word Helvetica caught my eye, so of course I read it (It was a quarter page ad):

Thank you.

This is a message from MoMA to thank Target for their generous support of Target Free Friday Nights and to commemorate the arrival of our millionth free visitor this past Friday evening. It is set in 15-point Helvetica Roman, widely considered the official typeface of the twentieth century. Helvetica conveys an undeniably modern aesthetic clarity and is in fact the subject of an exhibition at MoMA. Just thinking about Helvetica totally makes us want to get down and party. Maybe its the triple Chococcino talking here, but suddenly we feel like screaming, ‘Thanks a million Target!” while mingling outside in the Sculpture Garden. Okay folks, here’s what we do: Meet us up on the third floor and check out the finest collection of modern art in the world. We’re going to rock out to Philip Glass all night long and gab to somebody we just met about how much Expressionism inspires us. Then,if the mood is right and all our planets are aligned, we’ll show our new friend what Expressionism really means. It happens every Friday from 4 - 8 p.m.

(By the way, I totally did not type this in. I have to give Bloghound the credit for that.)

And then came the big DUH from me... There's a Helvetica exhibit at MoMA! The trouble is, it's only until March 31. Uh, folks, that's 2 weeks from today. How on earth, with my schedule and workload, not to mention three kids--oh yeah, and Easter is this weekend!--am I going to get down to the city to see this exhibit by the 31st?

Easy, peasy: make it a culture day and bring the kids. See, when Ashlee was younger, we decided that our proximity to NYC was not to be wasted. So we started bringing her in a 2-3 times a year and going to places like the Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim, MoMA, etc. Nothing was planned, the whole day was up for grabs, we just started at a museum and let her lead the way. Unfortunately, with the pregnancy and resulting baby, we haven't made it down in quite some time.

So lucky for me, Mattio has Friday off, so Ashlee, Madeline, and myself are going down to see Helvetica: the exhibit. If I'm lucky we can spend some time at MoMA (Madeline is only 4 and a half, so we'll see how that goes), and then we'll cross the park and hit the "dinosaurs." I'm sure the day will be plenty exhausting for all, but I plan on ending it with a viewing of Helvetica: the Movie (which I told Mattio I'd rent, but seriously, who am I kidding? It's a movie about a font; of course I'm going to buy it!).

Thanks Marcy!

Ugh. It has been a week since my last post; and a stressful, busy week at that. And it's now past 11 on a Friday night, and I just want to do something completely mindless, but then I realize that it's been almost a week since my last post, and I really should write something, if only to keep the few people that do visit coming back.

But as I mentioned above, it's been a crazy week and I have not had a moment to myself, nevermind to find interesting blog topics online (the most online I went this week was testing a website I'm working on. I know, the fun ceases to end). so I figured, I would procrastinate a bit, and see what my blogging pals are up to.

And lo and behold, my pal Marcy tags me with this 5 things list. So special thanks to her, for giving me something to blog about! Here goes...

Here are the rules:
1. List five kind things you do for yourself.
2.List five kind things you do for your closest friend, partner or child.
3.List five kind things you have done for a stranger.
4. Have fun!
5. Tag five people.

1. Five things I do for myself
- Buy shoes (this should be all 5, really. I mean, if you're a regular reader, and you don't know that...)
- Go to the gym
- Get pedicures all summer long
- Go for super long walks when the weather permits
- Every so often, get together with the girls and have a girls night out

2. Five things I do for my closest friend, partner or child.
- Buy them all clothes, and keep them in clean clothes
- Bake all of their favorite cookies (and then some) at Christmas time
- Drive them everywhere, and let them listen to "their" music, even if it is Lo-Ridah (Flo-Ridah?), or whatever that horrible song is, without complaint (If you have a teenager, you'll appreciate this)
- Hug them all the time
- Put their needs above sleep

--I'm also going to add: don't spend all the household money on shoes. This is particularly kind of me.

3. Five things I have done for a stranger.
- Let them cut in front of me at the checkout, when they have fewer items
- Picked up something they dropped
- Let them out of the parking lot, when traffic's terrible and nobody else cares
- Give directions
- Paid for coffee

Tagging: Tiffany, Sara, Mattio, Koleen and Barb

Learning to read... the designer's way

I have written in the past about our 4 year old, Madeline, and how she is an advertiser's dream ("Mom, you should buy OxyClean to clean the bathroom!")

(Sidenote: She said just about the funniest thing ever today. She wanted nothing more than to play--as 4 year olds are wont to do--and so she asked me if I would play with her. Then, sensing that there was a laundry list of things I had to do to come, she quickly turned to Mattio and said, "and dad, you have to do everything around the house today, including clean the bathroom!" Sidenote to my sidenote: Mattio is very helpful around the house, but the one thing he does not do is clean the bathroom. Wishing I had that Oxyclean right about now...)

Anyway, last week we got a notice home from school requesting that we send in logos that our preschoolers recognize (Cheerios, the GAP, Stop and Shop, etc.). In school, they were going to put together a book of logos, for each child, and start them on their path to reading. Wait, what? My kid is going to learn how to read... by reading a GAP logo?

But yes. Reading is about recognizing words, and what better way for someone so young to recognize a word than in a logo that's familiar to them. On her own, Madeline will not recognize that the word target says just that. But put it in red and add that bullseye, and she knows. As a parent, I thought this was pretty cool. As a designer, I thought it was brilliant.

Just goes to show how far branding your business goes... all the way down to a preschool level.

Logo design, 101

This should be required reading for all logo design clientele out there. Summed up, it basically says that your logo doesn't have to literally interpret what your company does. For example, Apple Computers (well, now just Apple): there is nary a computer-related item in this logo. Yet everybody knows they make computers.

The article is best summed up in this sentence: "... what you include in the design of a logo can be just as important as what you leave out."

Amen.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

This morning, I had the unforgettable experience of standing on line to buy a Wii (I seriously had no idea they were still that hard to come by, until I got laughed out of the store the other day). I was going to live blog the experience--what else was I to do for 2 hours?--but I was having problems with my mobile blogger account.

I arrived at Circuit City a little before 8 AM--at the suggestion of the store's employees. There were a couple of cars in the parking lot: mostly employees, but a few other nuts like me. At 8:30 the line outside the store formed. The car said it was 28 degrees outside. Hey, at least it wasn't snowing.

I took my place in line, about 5 from the front, 5 from the back. Everybody was making idle chit chat about how crazy we all were. I silently cursed the guy who decided it was time to get out of the car, thus forcing everyone to line up. This would have been much easier in the summer.

9:00 AM: a flood of cars turned into the parking lot--you could see the drivers counting the line. Rumor was that the store only had 10 systems. No, someone said, the circular says 15 per store. People would drive up and then drive away, not brave enough to face the cold. Others took the risk and waited on line. At this point, there was a little more than 15 people waiting. I silently thanked Eleanor--world's best alarm clock--for waking me up at 6:30. I was so glad I was 5th in line.

We all started to become friendly as time passed. The woman in front of me was discussing college options with her son. We had a Kansas connection, so I joined the conversation, as did the man in front of them. Talking made me momentarily forget just how cold it was outside (my body was suprising comfortable, temperature-wise--between my wool socks and sweater, knit gloves, down coat, and crocheted scarf, my denim-clad legs were really the only cold part of me. Should have worn long johns).

A little before 10, I got nervous with anticipation. Some children--young ones--joined their dad in line. I silently thanked them for being there--nobody stampedes little kids, right?

10:00AM: Doors finally opened. We all moved along, cattle like, into the store, and right up to the counter. There was plenty of consoles to go around (thank goodness). I actually got cheered by the end of the line as I walk out of the store, obvious purchase in hand. I wished them all luck, and prayed that I never had to see Circuit City that early again. Unfortunately, with 2 much younger kids to go, I have a feeling the fates are against me. Ah well, for the look on her face, it was all worth it.

I haven't yet had the pleasure of playing with our newest toy (I'm actually working today!), however, I'm sure what little free time I have left will soon be spent honing my musical talents on Guitar Hero.

Update: The children have beaten Mattio in boxing. It took Ashlee, 13, no time. It took Madeline, 4, three rounds. Oh Wii, thank you for introducing boxing into our little girls' lives.

Happy Birthday

My oldest daughter--who, all you moms out there will get, is still my baby--turned 13 today.

13.

That makes her a teenager. And it makes me feel old.

Happy Birthday, my baby. You're one of my favorite designs.

If You Give a Shoe Addict Some Shoes...

I bought flip flops today--2 pairs (oh my gosh, I am giddy just typing that! One was your basic rubber model, but the other was the prettiest pair of Coach leather flip flops, with a fun rainbow pattern on the sole. Oh, I know, like you care... but it was very fun and exciting for me)! And as I tried them on, I looked down at my toes, and boy, do I need a pedicure. I wanted to go get one, so badly--but common sense got the better of me (I had no time to spare, never mind an hour + to sit and relax... but oh, a girl can dream. Never mind the fact that it's still February--OK, almost March, and noone is going to see my toesies for at least another couple of months).

Thinking of my flip flops and almost pedicure made me think of warm, sunny weather.

Oh summer, where art thou?

Thoughts, musings, oddities, and the like

Thank goodness my computer is about 5 feet from my bed--I was playing catch up on emails late into the night tonight, and it's a short walk to bed, sweet bed.

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Is it possible to leave Target and not spend $150+? If so, can someone explain this strange and fascinating phenomenon? I don't think it will happen to me in my lifetime...

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Is it me, or is there a "leap year" overkill in advertising? I just read an article in the Times, about how everybody is jumping on the leap year bandwagon. But if everybody is advertising, "leap into savings!" then how are companies differentiating themselves--and, more importantly, standing out?

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Designing cookie logos has to be one of the best projects out there. The research, of which the crumbs are on my kitchen table, was deish. Now, if only Starbucks needed a Frappacino freelancer :)

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The gym I belong to serves pizza on Monday nights, and bagels on Tuesday mornings. I can't decide if this is brilliant or not. On the one hand, by serving fatty foods, you are keeping clients coming. On the other, aren't gyms supposed to promote health?

It's winter (finally!)

Yesterday Mother Nature called southwestern Connecticut and said, "Hello! Here's a friendly reminder that it's a) February, and b) you live in New England!"

Yes, it snowed for the better part of the day; so to celebrate the first storm of the year, I put down my mouse and tried my hand at environmental design--snow fort-building, to be exact.

When I was a child, we grew up on a side street that you only drove down if you lived on it. So when it snowed (which was all winter long), we would build snow forts in the drifts that the plows made next to the driveway, and have snowball fights across the street. Unfortunately, we don't live on that kind of street now, so the girls and I took to the backyard, building fortresses out of the wet, packable snow. It was Ashlee and her friend versus Madeline and myself (really just me, as she was much more interested in eating the snow, falling down in the snow, and teasing Ashlee and her friend that our fort was better, as 4 year olds are wont to do).

We had a grand old time, until the girls got tired (and here I was doing most the work!). We retired our wet outerwear to the mudroom and came inside and had some hot cocoa--the perfect end to the perfect winter day.

Print Geek

I love the internet--who doesn't?--but at the end of the day, I am a print geek. Which explains why, when I get a magazine, brochure, catalog, etc. I open right to the middle, hold it up to my nose, and inhale. Ahhhhhh, I love that freshly printed smell (OK, that doesn't make me a print geek so much as it makes me weird. But roll with me).

And I love love love going on press. When I first started out in graphic design, I worked for a trade magazine. Aside from the deeply discounted designer sunglasses, one of the perks was the possibility of going to the press to see the magazine get printed. Alas, it never happened, but I got my wish a couple years later when I got my first job that required me to approve pages at the printer--as they were coming off the press!!!

Today was another awesome trip to the printer to oversee a catalog I designed for One Kid. It never gets old. The wait is terrible--today it was taking an hour between runs, and there were 3 runs, which meant at a minimum I was there for 3 hours. But once I walk back to the actual press, I get giddy with excitement like a child on Christmas morning. I know what's waiting for me, but for me, the cool factor just doesn't go away.

A couple of years ago, Mattio worked at the Times. Along the halls inside one of the buildings, they had framed some of the printing plates (obviously, not the ones from, say, last Thursday, but more newsworthy front pages). He asked about them, and actually brought one home for me (of course, mine is completely random as well, but that doesn't take anything away from it).

Perhaps cubism is next

Took the kids to Hands On Pottery this morning--it's one of those "paint your own pottery" places here in town. Ash had been there numerous times, but it was Madeline's first time. And the whole time she was painting (she choose Ariel), she was saying, "Mommy, I'm an artist. Look at me, I'm a real artist!"

Then she proceeded to paint Ariel's face and arms blue (after first painting them flesh-tone). And I thought to myself, "Baby, you're Picasso!"

I am Jack's inspiration

The internet is, at times, both a blessing and a curse. Like right now, I am supposed to be working. Oh, I have pah-lenty of work to do, don't you worry. But here I am, writing a blog post. Allow me to explain how I got here:

I am working on a couple of different logo projects. One, in particular, doesn't necessarily have me in a stump, but it's more challenging than I had anticipated (it's still way fun--don't get me wrong--it's just requiring a lot more creativity than I had expected.). I can't even tell you how I got there, but somehow, I ended up on design*sponge (which is a pretty awesome site, btw. I loooove the design of the page, not to mention all the pretty items they feature). On the side, they have a list of links. Since I'm online, looking to get inspired, I click on several of these links. All of the sudden, I've got 30 different tabs open, in hopes that one of them contains some kind of awesome idea to spark my imagination.

I came across several interior design sites. Hmmm... nope, no inspiration there. Then one of my clicks leads me to a graphic designer's site (I love her bio, btw: she ends it with, "I like design. I like helping people. I like making people happy when the design I create accomplishes what they’d hoped." Amen, sister--truer words have never been spoken). Inneresting, but not quite my cup o' tea. A couple more blogs, some more links on the side... 30 more tabs open. Oh, it's a vicious circle.

But then, I come across this gem, and I realized that this is why the internet is just plain awesome: Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle (political disclaimer: I voted for Hillary. I was very, very very unsure when it came down to her vs. Barack; but in the end, I thought she was the better candidate. I still go back and forth).

So anywho... Barack Obama is Your New Bicycle is awesome. I don't know who made up this site, but I like the idea that Barack Obama made up my bed. Refresh. Oh! He mailed me a valentine! Refresh. Barack Obama baked me a pie--awesome. Refresh. Now he has a balloon for me. Keep refreshing. It's so stupid, it's great.

I am still uninspired. But now I am uninspired 2 hours later, and laughing about it. Thank you, internet.

Old School

When I went to art school, it was the dawn of the age of the Mac. I remember the first version of Photoshop I ever learned was 3.0 (I think there were all of 8 tools, and the History Palette was quite a ways away, at that point).

However, I went to Old School Art School, and before we got on the computer, we had to learn layout the "old fashioned" way: using rubber cement, waxers, stat cameras, rubylith, etc. We used relics such as french curves, non-photo blue pens, and Pro-white. Looking back, I have no idea why we were forced to take such a dated class--the computer was obviously the way graphic design was headed--perhaps our teachers wanted us to appreciate the how easy we had it. Lord knows if graphic design still involved paste-ups today, I think I would have gone into an entirely different profession altogether.

But I did get a major chuckle out of this: The Museum of Forgotten Art Supplies.






It brought me right back to college--I can still smell the stink of marker from my advertising class. I'm sure somewhere--perhaps in my basement, maybe in my parent's attic--there is a shoebox full of forgotten supplies, such as rubber cement, rubber cement remover, charcoal blenders and Rapidograph pens. I know I definitely still have my Letraset book--an encyclopedia of fonts (if there was more than 100, that was a lot). My, how the times have changed!

Best. Font. Ever.

I am so excited... I'm working on a pretty cool logo design project. I won't say what it's for, but it's got fun written all over it. And let me tell you, "fun" should be written in this font:



Meet Burgues Script, by Alejandro Paul. Isn't she purty? No offense, Mattio, but I think I'm in love...

Office Space is on!

And even on Comedy Central it's too freakin' funny!

"Looks like somebody's got a case of the Mondays"

Getting it right

Yesterday I got a haircut--something like 6 inches chopped off (it was long overdue). I also got some new highlights (oooh la la!) so I was feeling pretty good. But what made me feel that much better was not only the superb service I got at the salon, but how my new hairdresser got me. I went in with a picture in my mind of what I wanted--of course, the smart thing to do would have been to actually bring in the photo; but I found it on the internet, and I was afraid it would be too small/the color too bad to print out. Instead, Nicole, my new favorite hairdresser, got my bumbled "Do you watch Project Runway? I like Nina Garcia's color. Remember when Jennifer Aniston cut off all her hair? That's the haircut I want" explanation. Not only did she get what I was saying, but she walked me through the entire color process, and brought swatches out and held them against my head, so I could see how the highlights would blend with my natural color. Being in a business where I sometimes have to visualize what people are trying to say, I appreciated her that much more.

This was only the second time I have ever been to this particular salon (Kate and Company, in Fairfield--it's actually fairly new). Nicole cut my hair last time, and even though it was just a trim she did a fantastic job. Plus, I'm a sucker for the small business. Not only that, but it's right at the end of our road (convenient) in a real up and coming part of town. So naturally, I went back. And I am so glad I did.

AND, their phenomenal customer service rocks--while my color was setting, I got a fantastic Aveda hand scrub massage that left my hands feeling brand new (who needs People magazine when you get that!). When I left, they even gave me a parting gift, a sample size of the yummy smelling hand massage lotion (in a bag with their business card--smart). I love it!