Aprés storm

During the day this past Saturday, and into the night, our little corner of the world experienced quite a storm: torrential rains, screaming winds--it was madness. We ended up losing power for a few hours Saturday night--but we were lucky; many had lost it right through Sunday evening.

Sunday I drove around in the mist documenting some of the fallen trees--it was insane the amount of roads that were blocked. Every road I turned down there was a detour of some sort. Here's some of what I found:


A tangle of police tape, branches and wires.






I love the texture on this fallen tree trunk.






Brookside Drive, Fairfield.






A tangle of fallen wire.



The owner of this house--to add insult to injury--was having his basement pumped as I shot this one. "The lesser of the two problems," he said to me.






In all the destruction, a sign of spring.

Letterpress Love

Yesterday a friend posted this link on my Facebook wall, and then--completely unrelated--I caught Mattio watching the short movie last night (and um, he tweeted that he was completely fascinated by the letterpress machine. Sorry to get all mushy on you guys, but I just fell in love all over again! That's like me saying to him that I was fascinated by NHibernate--and even if I knew what that is, I can guarantee that I will not be fascinated by it [sorry dear]).

Colosseo: Reimagining the Roman Coliseum with type (Canon 7D) from Cameron Moll on Vimeo.

You guys, I have to have this poster. The passion that went into not only designing it, but printing it? It's priceless.

...the artwork was handcrafted character by character, totaling roughly 250 hours of work from start to finish. Characters from the Goudy Trajan and Bembo Pro typefaces form the Coliseum (or Colosseum), also known as today as Colosseo (Italian) and originally known as Amphitheatrum Flavium (Latin).

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Let's get happy

After a week of stress, computer problems, and stressful computer problems, I needed a pick me up. Although this video came out last week (old news!) it still makes me smile--as do most of OK Go's videos.

How could this not make you just a little bit happier?



The Rube Goldberg Machine (or, as we refer to it, big game of Mousetrap) was built by Syyn Labs:

When the rock band OK Go, famous for their viral videos including the spectacular and award winning "treadmills video", wanted to feature a 4-minute long Rube Goldberg Machine in an upcoming video, they tapped Syyn Labs to build it. The requirements were that it had to be interesting, not "overbuilt" or too technology-heavy, and easy to follow. The machine also had to be built on a shoestring budget, synchronize with beats and lyrics in the music and end on time over a 3.5 minute song, play a part of the song, and be filmed in one shot. To make things more challenging still, the space chosen was divided into two floors and the machine would use both.

We had our work cut out for us; every facet of Syyn Labs' expertise was required to meet this tremendous challenge. See the results of this remarkable effort in the video embedded above.

Want more OK Go happiness? Check out the original video for This Too Shall Pass, featuring the Notre Dame marching band... and, oh yeah, filmed live.

Or, watch the video that started it all: Here it Goes Again.

Please stand by...

So you'll notice that last week there was no weekly wrap up. It you're really keen and paying attention, you'll notice there was no nothing on Friday.

After weeks of my computer acting all wonky and buggy, I finally called Mike the Mac Doc and had him come diagnose all the wonkiness and bugginess. Turns out, it was a hard drive issue; as in, I needed a new one.

24 hours and a trip to the Apple Store later, my computer came back, definitely less wonky and buggy, but still not 100% right. Reinstalling, reconfiguring, redoing... Wonky computers take up a lot of time; but once-wonky-now-fixed computers take up even more.

So, here I am, digging out from the mess of a messed up computer. Sorry for the lack of post, and hoping that my machine is finally on the mend...

Day of awesomeness, twitter and fame

Yesterday, I was famous.

Twice.

I know, right? I'm still buzzing about it.

So here's the thing: a few weeks back, I made a new Twitter friend (yep, this is another Twitter post. Sorry, haters. Well, no. Not really). Meg Robustelli, of Fairfield County Child, started following me on Twitter, and liked what I had to say enough that she asked me to be her MomCrush of the month. What's a MomCrush, you ask?

I meet so many cool, inspirational moms here in Fairfield County. Every time I meet a woman who dreams big and puts words into action, I admit it, I develop a little girlcrush. I want to know everything about her and what lead to her success. So I decided to feature one mom a month (my Momcrush) on FCC so that I can spread the word about the cool things she's doing. She might be an entrepreneur, an athlete, an inventor or someone who donates ther valuable time to the less fortunate.

My answer was along the lines of, HELL YEAH! So yesterday my MomCrush post went live on Fairfield County Child, and now I'm sort of famous.

But wait. There's more.

Yesterday I also stumbled upon this super awesome mini film from Oliver Peoples eyewear. It was so adorable, I had to share. So I blogged about it, and then came up with some clever little tweet with a link back to my blog.

You guys, OLIVER PEOPLES RETWEETED MY BLOG LINK.

So, just to recap how totally AWESOME twitter is (and, let's face it, my day yesterday):

Woman with a thriving blog devoted to Fairfield County parents sees my tweets and features me on said blog--not only that but hello? She's got a crush on me.

AND Oliver Peoples exposed my blog to 1500 people that may or may not have ever seen it, because I liked their film enough to tweet the link to my blog, where I wrote about it.

Awe. Some. Ness.

Update: Oh, right. This wouldn't be a proper Twitter post without mentioning everyone's handles: Follow Fairfield County Child, Oliver Peoples, or yours truly.

The children are bored on Sundays

My second or third "design" job out of college was laying out a trade magazine for eyewear. Like any other job, it had it's ups: high fashion photo shoots (that made me feel oh-so-important), MAJOR discounts on glasses; and it's downs: a LOT of grunt work, especially on said photo shoots. But I got some great experience, got to meet and work with some really cool people, and above all, got to see just how much the world of eyewear had to offer.

One of the more fun brands I was exposed to was Oliver Peoples. Recently, Oliver Peoples signed on Elijah Wood and Shirley Manson (of Garbage fame) as the faces of OP. Even more recently, I stumbled upon this 2 1/2 minute OP promo movie starring the two: Les Enfants S'ennuient le Dimanche (The children are bored on Sundays). Filmed by Autumn De Wilde, and set to Just You and Me, by Zee Avi, the movie is quirky, fun and adorable--a great burst of inspiration which immediately brought me right back to my days at the magazine.

Which, in turn, made me feel younger (Thank you, Oliver Peoples).

Weekly wrap up

Whew--this week was a blur. Between the rotten weather (cold rain and snow took over the latter half of the week), and deadlines, deadlines, deadlines, this week flew by. Let's get to it.



This week I worked on some logo revisions. The client is looking to keep things simple without the use of an icon; however, I came up with the above icon in our first round--which the client liked but decided against. I, on the other hand, fall in love with it a little more every time I see it--and now I need to use it SOMEWHERE. Hmmm, I'm going to keep thinking about that one...

I also did a lot of image/artist research for a web site I'm working on. I'm so excited--it's a little on the girly side, and let's face it; I am a girly girl. Perfect fit.

Tuesday night my pal Ed Kuyluk (of Right Mind Marketing and Hey Fairfield fame) and my new friend Amy DeLardi (of Infinite Web Design fame) threw an awesome tweet up, called Infinite Mind Share. Those who know me know that I love my social media--especially Twitter. It was so much fun to go out and meet--face to face--friends that I've been chatting with for months via social media. Some really great connections were made; I can't wait for the next one! (March 30th, at the Smart Car Dealership in Fairfield, in case you're wondering. You should stop by and say hi!)



Here I am with Twitter friend Marcy Michaud, and new friend (and artist) Dave Pressler.

I was supposed to have a meeting this AM with a client regarding naming their business, but unfortunately mother nature had other plans. Rescheduled for Monday. I have a bunch of ideas that I'm really excited about to present, so it should be fun.

This weekend I'm going to take advantage of the new snow and go skiing; I'll probably end up doing a little bit of work as well. Monday is my oldest's birthday--she'll be (GASP!) 15. She's a great kid--and I'm not just saying that because I know she reads this (Hi Ash. And Molly)--but I just can't digest that she is 15. She is a middle teenager. I don't even want to know what that makes me.

Next week is the big naming presentation, website design, logo revisions, and the beginning of a logo design project for my friend, and long-time blog reader, Sara with no H. Sara, I am going to rockstar the heck out of your logo.

Happy weekend all!

Photoshop v. Patrick Star

One of my Christmas presents this year was this awesome set of Adobe Creative Suite Coasters (Should you care to own a set of your own, you can order them here). However, in an extra twist of creativity, our 6 year old has renamed them. So Ps doesn't stand for Photoshop, it stands for Patrick Star (from Spongebob).

The entire set, as follows:

PS (Photoshop): Patrick Star

AI (Adobe Illustrator): Ashlee Igloo (Ashlee--our oldest--will be 15 next week. I think the "igloo" part of the name was born from her younger sister just plain trying to annoy her)

ID (InDesign): Ay Dios Mio (Have I mentioned that our 6 year old came up with these?)

DW (Dreamweaver): Daddy Wow

AE (After Effects): Ashlee Elizabeth (which is our oldest's actual name)

Fairfield Ludlowe (Flash): Where Ashlee Igloo (or Elizabeth) goes to school

The coasters are no longer referred to as AI, or PS; but as Ashlee Igloo, and Patrick Star--by the entire family. Actually, when I open up something in Illustrator, I giggle to myself as I think of Ashlee Igloo.

Something tells me that the 6 year old could have a future using these icons as their native applications.

Blogiversary!

3 years ago, on February 19th, the traciedesigns blog came to life (alright, I'm a few days late in celebrating, but let's not get all technical here).

In celebrating my 3 year blogiversary, I thought it would be interesting to see what the traditional 3 year anniversary gift is.

You guys, it's leather (or crystal, or glass. But roll with me here, guys--I can always use a new handbag or shoes. Glass? Notsomuch).





So, if my blog could pick out it's own leather gift, I'm pretty sure it would love these shoes, and this handbag. However, since my blog can't actually wear either of these, I'd happily oblige. Just sayin'.

Bacon: an awesome customer service story

For those not in the know, I am not a fan of bacon. Actually, I'm probably the anti-fan. It's gross. It smells. It's pig fat, people.

Unfortunately, my husband loves the stuff. He's one of bacon's BIGGEST fans.

We've managed to make our biggest difference work--he cooks it when I'm not home; then promptly burns every candle we have while keeping all the windows open. Yes, even in the dead of winter--that stuff smells!

In turn, I buy him bacon, and bacon related products every once in a while. Case in point: his birthday was a few weeks ago, and that called for some bacon. From a site called Bac'n.

Actually, the one thing I did NOT buy from Bac'n was actual bacon. There was some fun novelty stuff (bacon bandages, toothpicks, and a Baconista t-shirt), but no bacon. Until I got a call the day after I placed the order.

You guys, Bac'n called me.

Long story short, something happened to damage my original package, and something in the original order was out of stock and would hold up the order for a few days. As a result, Bac'n was offering me a gift. "Pick something out," they said, "free of charge."

Awesome. If you like bacon. Also awesome if the gift recipient isn't standing 2 feet away. Neither of which applied to me.

The poor guy on the other line. I said, "Why don't you just surprise me?"

To which he replied, "How about some bacon?" (of course)

"Sure," I said.

Then, he asked what kind. Hold the phone--bacon comes in FLAVORS??!

Oh this poor guy--all he wanted to know was what flavor of bacon he could give me, and between my utter ignorance, and the fact that Mattio's ears have completely perked, I could give him nothing. He threw a flavor out there, and I quickly agreed.

So the Bac'n came today. And Mattio was thrilled.



To the Bac'n guy I talked to? I'm so sorry I'm a total bacon flake. Your generosity is much appreciated--especially by my better half, bacon's (and now Bac'n's) biggest fan.

Wednesday Wrap up

Wait--wha? What happened to weekly?

Sorry for the curveball, folks--it's been a while since my last post, and I never properly wrapped up last week. Plus, this Friday I'm sneaking off to the slopes--Shhhh. Don't tell.

Last week was actually pretty uneventful; I worked on a website that I thought was going to go live, but I still have a few eensie changes to make to it. If not the end of this week, then I'm really hoping for next week. It's been a while in the making, and I love the client to death and want her to have a proper website, not just a placeholder. Plus, you know, I kind of like it.

This week: Monday was a great day, because I got stuff done like nobody's business. It was actually a bunch of little things, but they were taking up way too much room on my Teux Deux list. Monday night I went to the inaugural New Media Haven event--it was... interesting. I actually met my friend Koleen there, as well as my pals from Elements. The event was billed as:

...the first ever New Media Haven at Black Bear Saloon! The event is the first of its kind in the New Haven area and will bring all techies, creative’s, entrepreneurs and anyone who is interested in the digital space together, someplace other than Twitter!

It was really a networking event (good) with the 2 guys who put it together doing short presentations on their companies (not so good). I had a good time with my friends, got a few new business cards (and handed mine out as well), connected with some other social media friends, and ended the night enjoying some hummus (not the bacon variety) with Koleen at Claire's Corner Copia.

Yesterday I had a good first round logo presentation for a home accessories curator/interior designer. I got some good, solid feedback and am currently working on round two refinements. I also... got a new client!

Which leads me to today: today I was all city-chic, meeting said new client in the West Village (where I have never felt more suburban in my life!). The project is a website/blog design... and it has to do with... are you ready? FOOD. AND. SHOES. Seriously. I'm not too sure there's a more perfect match up out there.

Tomorrow brings more networking in the AM, then some website refinements before I close up shop for a bit of a long weekend. Tomorrow is also my version of Friday. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Don't go breakin' my heart

So, truth be told, I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. It's just another day, in my book. However, there are millions of people that choose to spend obscene amounts of money keeping the greeting card/chocolate/flower industries in business celebrate their love for one another; so my friends, this post is for you.

First up: If I'm going to send an e-greeting, it's definitely going to be one of these adorable ones courtesy of kate spade.



Next: Normally, I'm not about posting Republican rantings on the blog, but this made me giggle: GOP e-Valentines (which I will not be sending). They're so lame, they're laughable. Example: "You won't see this Valentine's Day card on C-SPAN." Oooooh, way to insult.

Also? Nice font, Republicans.

Finally: Bryony Gomez-Palacio and Armin Vit of Under Consideration/Brand New fame, have been given the task of redesigning Valentine's Day. Now see? This is a Valentine's Day project I can get behind. New icon, less cheese, and we get to keep the chocolate. I'm all about keeping the chocolate.



I hope that your Valentine's Day, should you celebrate it, is full of beautiful design, love and chocolate.

And if you could, save some chocolate for me.

Not so Super at Mario Brothers

Yesterday was a snow day--for the children. Unfortunately, when your office doubles as your home, you can't exactly say you're not going to risk life and limb on snowy roads to come into work--people just don't buy that.

The problem with yesterday being a snow day for the children is that our house is roughly half the size it used to be, due to our impending construction. So there wasn't a lot of places they could go. Which would be fine if there wasn't 2 adults trying to work. Once our 2 year old got up from her nap, I just gave up--she clearly had other plans and they involved her mother not working.

Her latest fixation? Watching someone play the Wii. Her latest Wii fixation? Super Mario Brothers.

So yesterday afternoon, I got to play "Mario Brothers"--as she refers to it. And she sat on one side of me, and our 6 year old sat on the other side, and they were in their glory:

2 year old: "Watch out for those guys, mommy!"

6 year old: "Mom, I can't believe you died again. Maybe you should go to an easier level. Or just skip this one.

2 year old: "Watch out for those guys, mommy!"

6 year old: "Mom, there's got to be an easier way for you to get to the castle. You should try the easier way."

And so it went, for a little while anyway. I have to admit, as frustrating as the game is--and if you couldn't tell, I'm not that good--it's a good way to release stress.

Especially since my desk--piled with all the work I wasn't doing--was 3 feet away.

Smorgasboard

Stuff I found floating around the internets today...

"Refreshed" MTV logo: "Music Television" tagline was dropped.



Apparently, after years of non-music programming, their logo has finally caught up to the station itself. Also? Now they can customize it with Jersey Shore cast members.



In other things of note: if I had a barcode, I would definitely want this one:



Vanity barcodes? Yeah, they rock.

And finally, I. NEED. This. Chair:



Seen at anthropologie. Soon to be seen somewhere at traciedesigns HQ.

(MTV logo news via HOWblog. Vanity Barcodes via SwissMiss)

Oh, right. This.

There are 2 things that I love about the Super Bowl: every SB Sunday we go skiing. Everyone else is home, watching 20 hours of pregame, making wings, or doing whatever it is that one does to prepare for such a monumental game. So it's great because there are virtually no lift lines, and the mountain is pretty empty. Thank you, football.

The second great thing? The ads.

The standouts (in my opinion):



While I don't necessarily think that a Snickers bar is the way to go if you're looking for energy, the commercial is great. Plus, really: Betty White and Abe Vigoda? Awesome.




Nobody really needs an ad to tell us what Google does; however, the execution of this one was great. The only other way I think they could have done it was to say, "We help you find stuff online. Duh."




I have a special place in my heart for VW; their advertising has always been a little quirky, and I like that. While I did like the Das Auto ads, I think I'm going to enjoy the Punch Dub campaign just as much. Also? We still play the punchbuggy game in my car. It's pretty much a rule.


I actually didn't see all the ads--I grew pretty bored with all that football stuff in between commercials--but from what I saw, those were definitely my faves.

My least favorites? Well, I think a very special BOO! goes out to Sketchers (really, Sketchers? You spent all that money, and that's the best that you can do?) and GoDaddy (Yes, GoDaddy, sex sells. We get it. Perhaps next time, though, you don't have to be so sleazy about it).

Wanna see more SB ads? Check out YouTube's AdBlitz.

Weekly wrap up

Not much to wrap up this week, I'm afraid. Spent a lot of time working on a food logo (my favorite), a little bit of time working on a brochure, and a decent amount of time being a Wordpress superstar (let's just say we're using the term "superstar" very loosely here).

Construction updates are being discontinued until there's actual construction to be updated on. Unfortunately--and I knew this would happen--builders aren't very partial to working in the snow and rain. So Mother Nature--and I can't believe I'm quoting Dr. Evil here--can you throw me a frickin' bone?

This weekend will be spent catching up on some little nagging things, and skiing on Sunday.

Happy weekend, all!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Government Printing Office

Yesterday was budget day (!); the day when the President Obama releases his proposed spending plan to Congress. Quite frankly, I can't imagine that it is an interesting read... (oh come on, it's numbers. And a lot of them) but I do find it interesting how the budget came together. No, not how Obama put the budget together... how the *printer* put the budget together (hint: it's not done at Kinkos).

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the Robert Tapella, the "public printer of the United States" (um, cool job title? check). In these 4 short videos, Robert explains how the Government Printing Office (motto: Keeping America Informed) works, how the budget is put together, how sometimes there actually is a need to go to Kinkos, and how nobody gets their mitts on the budget before it's released.

Huh, I wonder if the government ever does any spot varnishing?

Weekly wrap up

Wow. This week was dizzying.

Construction update: We have lumber. That's something, right? Right??!

Work update: Lots going on: 2 brochures; 1 which is going to print first thing next week. Lots of website updates (not mine. Insert whining here). Fantastic logo approval--yay! Round 2 logo designs + meeting for a completely separate logo. Oh, and a new business meeting at--are you ready for this?--a BROWNIE factory.

It was pretty much what I envisioned heaven to be like.

To do: This weekend, it is not only Mattio's birthday (Whee!), but it's also both my parents' as well. So there's going to be lots of cake (insert lots of happiness here). Tonight we are dining with zoesmom and friends, tomorrow night is birthday madness, and Sunday could be ski day, if it's not too, too cold.

Enjoy your weekend!

Want.

365 Typefaces, from 180 designers and foundries, in 30 countries, for 2010.

Yes, I need to order the Typodarium font calendar before it gets any later in the year.

New work!

Late last year, I was referred to a local real estate team who were looking for a logo. We met, they threw a bunch of adjectives at me--the most consistent being "Barney's. We want to look like Barney's." and I left that meeting with a new project.

Challenge accepted.

First rounds:


Normally I'm not a big helvetica fan in logos, but here it just worked. Plus I was showing them like, 6 other logos that weren't helvetica.



It wasn't easy coming up with variations on their initials with out it reading MD, as in doctor. But I think this mark worked.



The ladies are Westport-based, so I thought I would try adding something Westport-y: the Saugatuck bridge railings.



When I first got this project, I was all kinds of excited about the endless ampersand possibilities. I quickly became overwhelmed by said endless ampersand possibilities.



A door-type icon, that, well, opened up so many doors...



Fancy-pants ampersand incorporation #1...



...and #2.


Each woman liked different logos, for different reasons. the one they agreed on? Version 1. A little tweaking and color, and voila! A logo is born:



It's kind of hard to see online, but the last m in Miriam and the d in Dee are a shade darker than the rest of the letters; which lends itself nicely to the icon:



As I said earlier, while I love, love, love helvetica, I don't always love it in logo form; but here, it works. I think this gives them the fresh, modern yet timeless--and most important--overall Barney's look that they were going for.

Next up: working on incorporating the new logo into their website and print materials, as well as developing a fun, fresh color palette.

I love projects like this!

Weekly wrap up

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that this week (well, Wednesday, anyway) stuff. Got. Done. Let's get to it:

Construction update: None. Sigh.

Work update: THISclose to finalizing a math website I'm working on. Yeah, that's right. I said math. Look, I'm not doing the actual math, just designing the site for those who choose to do it. Don't go all freaking out.

Also: had a great first round critique of some logos I worked on for a sandwich-type place. Got some great feedback, and I'm really excited to get going on some revisions so they are client-ready. I built a website, which should be going live next week (actually, if all goes as planned, I'm hoping to have 3--that's right, three--websites go live next week). I'm also juggling 2 brochures for Hospital for Special Surgery. I expect any moment to get my honorary degree in either hips or knees.

This weekend, I'll actually be working most of tomorrow. But don't worry, I'll be playing slope-side all day Sunday to make up for it. In the meantime, this week has taken it's toll on me; I'm very much looking forward to spinning away my stresses tonight, followed by dinner and drinks with Mattio and friends. He needs it just as much as I do.

Looks Good to Me, Too

I happened upon a new blog this week: Looks Good to Me (tagline: Things that look good, sound good, feel good & taste good). I really like it--it's very fashion-focused, but not in a severe-Vogue kind of way.



But I think the thing I like best about it are the quirky watercolors that adorn each post. It's one thing to have a fashion-y blog, it's quite another to really personalize it with these adorable paintings.

Bonus points: Blog author Caroline actually sells her prints. I'm thinking about getting one, because they're so darn cute. Bet you can't guess which one I've got my eye on?

I heart Crayola

Have I ever told you that I love crayons? Ok, well, technically, I'm a crayon snob because really? I only love Crayolas (the original Binney & Smith, thankyouverymuch). Down to the smell (A Yale University study found that the smell of Crayola crayons is one of the most recognizable scents for adults, ranking at number 18, trailing coffee and peanut butter that were number one and two respectively, but beating out cheese and bleach which placed at 19 and 20." Thank you, Wikipedia), there is nothing I don't love about a Crayola crayon.

So since this was all over Twitter the other day, and since I'm a sucker for Crayola crayons and all, I had to share:



The number of Crayola colors doubles every 28 years.

Bonus: in the original Weathersealed post, the author talks about feeling like a dinosaur. Which made for a nice segue from yesterday, don't you think?

Guess what? You're old.

Today a colleague called me old.

Allow me to explain: We were talking about the word fresh. Fresh as in, "These vegetables are really fresh." However, growing up, I remember my mother and grandmother using the word fresh to describe a smart mouth. As in, "Don't you get fresh with me." This colleague very nicely tried to explain that fresh meaning naughty was an older term, and kids today (which should have been my first clue) might not get it. When he couldn't come up with the right words, he finally looked at me and said, "we're old."

Then, this afternoon, I came across this: Timeline Twins, Music and Movies. The teaser really grabbed me:

If Back to the Future were made today, Marty would have travelled back in time to 1980.

Boy, talk about making a girl feel old.

Listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller today is equivalent to listening to Elvis Presley's first album (1956) at the time of Thriller's release in 1982.

Say what??!

I'm not going to go spilling my age (there's just no need for that), but let's just say I'm old enough to remember listening to Thriller when it came out.

I'm not sure of the point of this post, except that misery loves company. Read the rest of Timeline Twins, and feel a little older with me.

Weekly wrap up

This week began and ended with illness; with some illness thrown in the middle for good measure. A nasty little stomach bug took 3 out of 5 of us down this week, in addition to one annoying head cold. But, fair readers, illness could try and stop us, but it can't keep us down. Here's the traciedesigns weekly wrap up:

Construction update: Sadly, none. Builder stopped by earlier this week (hopefully avoiding all the germs) and said perhaps next Monday, weather permitting, of course. So you can be absolutely sure that it is going to snow like a mother out there 1 week from Monday. You heard it here first. Also? Sorry 'bout that.

Work update: Logo for CFO approved! Yay! Onto business cards. Also worked on a dental logo, saw a fair amount of crappy dental sites (dentists: call me), did some research for another food logo--my favorite--and worked on some hospital materials.

Cool work update: Guys, brace yourselves: I'm a little more famous than I was before. I am a published woman! I found out that 2 of my logos were published in Basic Logos. I found this out via email, letting me know that because my logos are in the book, I got a free copy.

But I had to pay for shipping.

Which was 20 Euros.

But totally worth it. The 2 logos?


Saturnia (Which sadly, I found out recently, is no longer in business)


and Mari the Studio (Which is still very much in business. And if you are looking for a rockin' cut and color, you'd best see her)

So that is definitely reason to celebrate. But unfortunately, we won't be celebrating tonight, as this stomach bug insists on hanging around.

Next week on the to do list: Food logos--and lots of 'em (oh, and celebrating my fame. Duh). Happy weekend!

Stuff I love

I love this new graphic print from Coach. Not sure how I feel about it on the purse (your welcome, Mattio), but the print itself makes my day.

Remember this?

With the much-anticipated Apple Tablet unveiling at the end of the month, there's been much hoopla over what exactly the tablet is going to be. Is it going to be like a mini-MacBook? Or a large iPhone?

Then I read an interesting article that points out that Apple does not take what they already have and improvs on it; they reinvent it. Revolutionize it.

Buried in the comments was a link to the unveiling of the iPod, 9 years ago. It's pretty amazing to see how far we've come in just 9 short years.



"The biggest thing about the iPod is that it holds a THOUSAND songs." Remember when that was a lot? :)

Carbon Copies

I am loving Cardon Copy. The premise is simple:

Designer "hijacks" ugly homemade fliers posted around neighborhoods.

Redesigns them.

And hangs them back up.

Awesome.

(via Twitter/mtlb)

Al Gore and the inconvenient... number 1?

Last night I had a chuckle reading this account on how Al Gore requested that the number 1 be changed in the font for his new book. Can you even imagine?

Last summer, I received a phone call from Michael, a designer from mgmtdesign in Brooklyn, New York. After the initial how-do-you-do’s, he explained that they were designing a new book for Al Gore, Our Choice, the sequel to An Inconvenient Truth.

“Great project”, I said.

And it got even better. They had chosen Brioni, one of our typefaces, for the body text.

“And this is why I am calling now”, said Michael, his voice dropping a level. “You see, Al is really involved with the project and we spend a lot of time working together in the publisher’s office. When he was reviewing the proofs, he had a comment about the typeface.”

I took a deep breath and asked what the comment was.

“Basically, he wants you to change the numeral one.”

It turns out the numeral 1 looked more like a Roman numeral (I), which caused some confusion when paired with capitals, so the font designer touched up the number 1 so it looked more traditional.

Fun story; I can't imagine very many times where an ex-Vice President (and Noble Prize winner) calls regarding a font, nevermind "I like your font so much that I'm going to use it, but the number 1 really isn't working for me."

(via Design Observer)

Trader Joe's does good

OK, if you guys are regular readers, than you know I have a special place in my heart for Trader Joe's. The food is awesome, the employees are the BOMB, and the general atmosphere of the store rocks.



So the other night, I found myself in need of shopping bags--preferably with handles (we were packing up some books to donate to the library, and boxes are starting to be rationed here). I figured I would just go to Trader Joe's, pick some stuff up, and ask if I could have a couple extra bags. No problem, right?

No problem at all, it turns out. I explained my need for extra bags to the cashier, and he immediately called to the back of the store to see if they had any boxes to give me (I didn't even ASK for boxes!). Unfortunately, they had just crushed them, but still. So instead, he told me to take as many bags as I needed. Like, the whole stack.

Let me back up here for a second, lest you think I am wasteful, and say that we use Trader Joe's brown paper bags a decent amount--especially for the newspaper recycling. I do try and bring my own bags to the grocery store, but when we're running low on bags for recycling, I am all about the TJ's brown bag.

So the cashier gave me an entire STACK of bags, which really came in handy packing up some of our belongings--due to our lack of boxes. And then those bags will in turn be recycled once we are done with them. And Trader Joe's, my friends, is the hero.

Mr. Contractor, tear down this wall!

Neither Mattio nor I have never lived in New York City. We've never had the pleasure (or discomfort, some may say) of loft living, complete with exposed brick and beams.

Well, all of the changed the other day, as THE WALL came down. The wall that I speak of is the one that used to separate the front room in our house (the dining room) from the back room (our bedroom). The removal of THE WALL was the first step in a long series, as we try to make our teeny tiny cape a bit more roomy.

So here's THE WALL before it came down:

And here, my friends, is where THE WALL used to be:

We're trying to keep some sort of "bedroom barrier" with my desk and the armoire there, but that won't last long as we've just been informed that the demolition of the upstairs could start as soon as this week. Which means that traciedesigns HQ will be temporarily relocating during construction (cause the house is cold now, I can't imagine what it's going to be like sans roof!)

Here's our exposed beam:

And our exposed brick:

Of course, the exposed beam will eventually be covered with sheetrock and crown molding; and the brick--that is, the chimney--will definitely get covered up.

But there you have it, folks; Mattio and I are living with all the amenities (and I use that term very, very loosely) of a swanky NYC loft. Of course, it might not feel real until we start storing my shoes in the oven...

The end & the beginning

And so, friends, another year comes to an end. I'm not big on reflecting on the past year (if you've ever met me then you know my brain can only hold so much. So pretty much the first 3/4 of the year have already been wiped clear).

I would like to share my 2010 "to do" list with you. I'm hesitant to call it resolutions, because I feel like it's really easy to break resolutions, whereas I'm always happy to cross stuff off my to do list. So, here goes:

1. Blog more. I think I say this about every 3 months, or whenever I get really busy and can't keep up with things. The problem is, I need to practice what I preach; I'm always telling my clients if they want a blog, or to be on Facebook, they have to be consistent. I need a dose of my own medicine.

This year I am going to make a conscious effort to blog on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. If I make it a part of my routine on those days, then I feel like I'll be more likely to do it. And readers? Don't hesitate to call me on it. If I skip a day, send me a note, write me a comment, do something to make me feel bad for letting you down.

2. Update my website. This is a long time overdue. I actually came up with a redesign in July (July, people!), and have yet to find the time to implement it. That has to change.

I actually came up with a really great idea a few weeks back, and I was really hoping to implement it January 1, but unfortunately (or fortunately, if you're my husband and you like checks coming in) I ended up getting a wave of business the past few weeks and again, have been unable to find the time to get my own stuff done.

This January, I want to make better use of late nights and get my own stuff going. I don't want to let these great ideas go to waste.

3. In non-design related news, I'd like to lose about 10 pounds. I did over the summer, and then ate my way through the fall, only to have gained most of it back. I'm fairly active, it's really all about the food. I actually started this on December 26th, and so far, it's going pretty well.

4. In more health-not-design-related news, I'd also like to be more consistent in a running routine. Again, I started over the summer, and kind of fell off in the fall. I try and get on the treadmill for 45 minutes at least once a week, but sometimes that doesn't even happen. If I could incorporate some kind of 2x per week running routine into my schedule, I think that would be good for me, and completely doable.

5. Work more efficiently. This is a biggie. Because it's just me, and because the children need to be picked up, dropped off, and everything in between, my work day gets pretty spread out. I'm usually good until about 2:30, and that's when it slowly unravels. I jump back on once the little ones are in bed, and that seems to work out fine... but I don't want to spend my nights--and, let's face it, weekends--working.

I've had a taste of time off these past few weeks and it's nice. I'd like that to happen a little (a little, guys, not a lot) more often. I love what I do, but I also love my family. To make that happen I have to start working more efficiently to maximize the time I do have working sans children, so I can spend more time with them when I don't have to be working.

6. Keep my sanity. That's more of a wish than an actual item to be crossed off of a list.

We're adding a second floor onto our house, and I'm sure that during the construction, tensions will be high (we'll all be living on the first floor--all 800 square feet of it). I'm just hoping that I can remain relatively sane throughout the entire process. My big saying regarding the construction is "big picture." As in, we have to look at the big picture, here. The finished product is going to be great. We just have to concentrate on that end result to get through the not-so-glamourous part.

I think that's it for now. I'm sure goals will come up throughout the year, but those are the biggies.

Thank you all so much for continuing to read the blog, for continuing to come back (especially when I don't always have fresh content) and for your support. I wish you all nothing but a safe, happy and healthy 2010!

Cheers!

Merry Merry

Have I mentioned that I love forced time off?

It's been a long Autumn; work has kept me insanely busy, so much so that I found myself working many, many more nights and weekends than I would have liked. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, so work for me really isn't work--but at the same time, a day off from the computer every once in a while is nice. Three days off is vacation!

Christmas here was great; the Snuggie--of all things--was a big hit. The kids seem pretty happy with what Santa gave them, as was I. Santa was nice enough to bring me some cool Pantone mugs, Adobe coasters, really awesome woodcut type (!!!), and a season ski pass to a mountain we like up in Massachusetts. Good Santa.

Christmas also brought a trip to the Apple Store; not for anything fun and good mind you, but some routine computer maintenance. Unfortunately, the Genius I got wasn't so smart, as he was unable to fix any of my problems (to be fair, most were, as he put it, "third-party applications," and he told me about 17 times that he was not licensed in those "third-party applications." However, he was licensed to fix my Mac problems, which he couldn't even do). But the trip did give me a chance to play with the new Magic Mouse--hello, awesome!--however the store had none in stock--hello, letdown!--so I guess I have to order it online.

This short week brings lots more work, but also lots more cleaning. We are about to embark on major home renovations (so major that traciedesigns HQ has to move for a few months--more on that to come)--they're actually starting to take walls down this week. I'll be blogging about the whole process, so you too, can experience all the fun and excitement (and tears). When all is said and done, our new space will be fantastic. Living through it all, I am convinced, will not be.

I hope all of you had a Merry Merry as well, and wish you nothing but health and happiness in 2010 (Whoa. I just typed that out and it sounds like I won't be blogging again until after the new year--which certainly isn't the case).

A Festivus for the restofus

Today, my friends, is Festivus. My grievances have been aired here, here and here (there was even a Festivus miracle!). Our Festivus dinner will be take out (yahoo!), and the Feats of Strength will be celebrated by a trip to the grocery store tonight. Yeah, I'ma definitely need some Feats of Strength for that trip.

No aluminum pole, but the tree is up, and if I haven't mentioned it yet, I think it's my favorite tree thus far--ironic, due to the fact that we bought it when we were grocery shopping (we're normally cut-your-own folk), and we'll be taking it down within days after Christmas, due to major home renovations (more on that to come).

We both might take a much needed break tonight, and since there are no Festivus movies (why is that?), we might just watch Elf.

Happy Festivus!

Holiday cheer

I love this time of year--I love buying and giving gifts, love sending out cards, love baking cookies. I love the lights on our tree--actually, I really, really love our tree this year. I love the fact that it's completely and totally eclectic--I think the old school lights really do it for me.

I think my most favorite thing over the holiday season is giving gifts, though. I love shopping for other people, and I love the really good feeling I get when I make someone else happy.

Which is why, when this arrived in my inbox this morning, courtesy of the always awesome Debbie Fay, I couldn't ignore it. I love stories like this:

A Victim Treats His Mugger Right
(listen to Diaz tell his story here)

Morning Edition, March 28, 2008 · Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.

The teen couldn't answer Diaz - or he didn't want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."

Diaz says he asked for something in return - the teen's knife - "and he gave it to me."

Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

Produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo.

Designers Gift Guide

So, I know what you're thinking: what on earth does traciedesigns want for Christmas (other than shoes--c'mon, that was WAY too easy)? Well, I'm glad you asked, because I've scoured the internet (OK, not really) and I came up with what I think are some pretty cool gift ideas for the designer in your life. Here we go:



Remember Carrie Bradshaw's "Carrie" necklace? Well, Survival of the Hippest has taken the name necklace to this decade. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the Social St@tus collection. Twitter handles, hashtags... if it's on Twitter, it can be around your neck.





Because the Apple logo is cool, but let's face it: all alone, on the back of that laptop? That thing can be bo-ring! Why not incorporate it into some sort of design; say, space invaders, or Snow White. C'mon people, let's get creative here!





So they don't have 167, so 716 will just have to do: Pantone Flash Drives. Geek, meet art.






Photoshop Magnet Kit. Now, when I go to the fridge, it'll be like I never left my screen! Seriously, if there is one thing I want from this list, this is it.






Or maybe it's this: The Ampersandwich tshirt. I just finished up a logo using an ampersand, which I though would be the most awesomest logo project ever, until I realized the multitude of awesome ampersands out there. This shirt wouldn't have made my decision any easier, but it would definitely make me giggle.

Oh and by the way? The client ended up going with a custom made (by yours truly) ampersand. Holla!






Type soap. Now I completely understand all those stupid little soaps my mother had in the bathroom when I was a kid, that we weren't allowed to use. "But why not?" "Because they're just decoration!" "Why is soap a decoration??!" Ahhh, now I get it.

So there's your 2009 designer/geek gift guide. Use it wisely, you know, for your favorite designer/blogger/all around fun gal named Tracie... or anyone else creative in your life. Be merry!