Hel-effing-vetica

As I'm sure many designers do, I have a love/hate relationship with Helvetica. It's a gorgeous font--that's completely overused. Every time I think about using it, even if it's the perfect font, I feel a little lazy. It's so easy to use Helvetica, because as I stated above, it's a great font--so like a good pair of diamond studs, it goes great with just about anything. But when I do end up using it, I feel like I could be trying a little harder. What happens is a vicious font circle: I try about 200 other fonts, only to go back to helvetica.

So I came across this article on helvetica over the weekend. It's a pretty breezy read; actually, it's a 10-slide slideshow. A little background on the font, how it's used for logos and marketing (lots of big name companies in there: Target, American Airlines, the NYC Subway...), and some comparisons to Helvetica knock-offs (yes, I'm talking about you, Arial and Verdana). And because I'm the font lover that I am, I thought I'd share.

In related news, Mattio found this (not exactly G-rated) t-shirt a while back. He went to order it for me, but they were sold out. Unfortunately, they've yet to make more, but man, these are my sentiments exactly. Even if my house is G-rated, and I can only wear it to bed, how awesome is this shirt? :)

Our lips are sealed

So I was just flipping through InStyle magazine, when I noticed a trend in some of the advertising: lips. But not just plain lips, these are heavily glossed, sexy lips, biting various objects. "Come hither" lips. Seriously, these are some sexy lips. In the first third of the magazine, there are no fewer than 4 ads featuring... lips.

Max Factor has 2 full page ads ina row depicting said glossed lips biting a gold necklace in one, and a piece of rock candy in the other. Nowhere in the ad does it mention Max Factor, instead, there's a website: areyounaughtyornice.com. The next ad, a good 15 pages away, is again selling make up; this time it's Chanel lip gloss, and the lips in question are biting a pearl on a gold necklace. Revlon has a pair of lips another 15 or so pages in, but this time there's a face that goes along with them, and they're not as heavily glossed. The last pair of lips are located in an ad for Midori on page 163; again, these have a face attached, but they are still heavily glossed, sexy lips nonetheless.

Maybe it's my hormones... who knows? I also noticed a ton of ads of diamonds. Hmmm... lips and diamonds; somewhere out there is a psychologist that would have a field day with that one.

John Mayer's plan to save the world! (Or just clean it up a bit)

I have to admit, I have somewhat of a crush on John Mayer. He's a talented singer-songwriter, and (I think) a pretty engaging blogger. Oh, and he hails from Fairfield--nothing wrong with that! So every once in a while, I'll check up on his blog.

A couple of weeks ago, he started blogging about going what he called "light green:" rather than everyone going out and buying a Prius, and wearing clothes made of hemp, and adding solar panels to their houses, and taking environmentalism to the complete extreme; he suggested baby steps. Essentially, pick one thing about your life that you can change, and start there. He even offered the John Mayer-designed "introduction of products that are cheap, easy alternatives to cut down on plastics." Brilliant--I'm always glad to see a celebrity lend themselves to a great cause.

Well just the other day I checked in with John again; and there he was blogging about his "light green" theory (the term light green, as it turns out, was kind of... used. So he picked a song title instead, Another Kind of Green, from the John Mayer Trio album). What struck me as cool--as a designer--is this guy is already thinking about logos; he's got a couple of pictures of sketches. We even have the same taste, I immediately gravitated towards the one he likes, before reading that he liked it.

I'll be checking in more often to find out what else John has up his sleeve; as I said above, I'm happy to see a celebrity lend his/her name to a great cause; to have this kind of follow through is amazing. In the meantime, I'm going to do my part and take baby steps... we're pretty good about recycling around here, maybe I'll get a little more diligent about bringing my canvas bags to the grocery store, instead of taking the bags they offer. And I really hope that anybody out there reading this can offer to do the same: find one thing about your life that can be changed to help the environment, and stick to it!

Happy Mothers Day!

Just wanted to take a moment to salute all the moms (and moms-to-be) out there celebrating today... May your day be filled with love and happiness... and not too much housework! Happy Mothers Day!

Embrace your inner nerd

I read this on Graphic Design: USA's May newsletter, and it made me giggle:

Avant-Nerdism is gaining steam and will hit the mainstream in 2009. "Avantnerdiwhat?" you say. Zandl Group researchers, the ultimate trendspotters, define the term as "a stylish, cool or social person who engages in nerd culture; especially one who purposely embraces nerdish qualities with full awareness of the irony and/or symbolism of their action." Irma Zandl says this is the new creative class, with a "compact, eco-friendly, quirk and smart" aesthetic. Avant-Nerdism taps into retro style and reflects a more European sensibility. Avant-Nerds are highly social; they merge a participatory DIY mentality with nerdy interests to make art, music and happenings/events. They ironically re-appropriate nerd culture, transforming the formerly nerdy into Avant-Nerdism. The aesthetic is influencing fashion, industrial design and interior design. Instances include the geek band Weezer, The O.C.'s Seth Cohen, and the rise of Spelling Bees and Wii and Cheese parties at hip bars and locales.

But then I started thinking of all the hipsters out there, the ones that are defining music, clothing, and culture in general, and it makes sense. Today's nerds aren't just smart programmers, they're programmers who listen to Arcade Fire while wearing slogan tees and cords, skateboarding to work. They've traded pocket protectors for trucker hats, super-scientific calculators for Wii.

So while I certainly don't recommend trading in your car for a skateboard, try embracing your inner nerd. You never know what cool thing you might discover.

Gotta love that research!

Wow. It's been a while since my last post. My apologies for the long lapse of time... last week I was sick with a nasty head cold/fever, and unfortunately I was stuck in bed for a few days. Then I spent most of the end of the week playing catch up... It's been crazy.

But now I'm feeling much, much better; the sun is out, it's a cool 70 degrees, and (with the exception of last week) spring is treating me well.

As many of you know, I've been working on a site for a clothing boutique down in Greenwich. It's been a lot of fun, especially the research part, as I get to go to all kinds of trendy, upscale sites (Barney's, anyone?). Too add to my joy, just last week I started working on a site for a similar store in Westport. More research--woo hoo! The downside to all this virtual window shopping is that it's just that: window shopping. As much as I'd love to drop over $200 for the perfect pair of jeans... that's just not in the cards right now.

Oh well, when Mattio sees a $300 shirt on my screen, at least I can say it's all in the name of research. Too bad I'm not doing any work for any shoe stores...

Happy Spring!

Just a quick break from the madness of the day to wish everyone a happy spring! Technically, spring begins at the end of March, but here in Southern CT, it doesn't feel much like Spring 'till late April/early May. Anyway, the past few days here have been gorgeous: 70+ degrees, bright sun shining, flowers in bloom... With the exception of my allergies, I love this time of year!

So take a moment out of your busy lives to stop and enjoy your surroundings. Whether you're in Florida or Maine, California or Kansas (Hi Jennie!), Spring only comes once a year. Enjoy!

Bon Appetit?

I am not a big fast food connoissuer--every once in a while it's ok, but for the most part it just sits in my stomach, and I end up regretting it for days on end (not to mention that it's pretty gross to think that most fast food meals are the caloric equivilant of a full day's worth of meals).

Which is why when I stumbled across this, it makes me sooooo glad I don't indulge more often. Talk about false advertising!

I love the disclaimer at the top: "Nothing was tampered with, run over by a car, or anything of the sort." Cause all that Arby's Beef and Cheddar... thing looks like it needs is some cleverly placed photoshop tire tracks, and you'd never know the difference.

Best. Horoscope. Ever.

Alright, I'll admit, I'm not big on the horoscopes. Unless it's really really good. Then I take it word for word. Because, come on, who doesn't want to win the lottery and go shoe shopping on an unlimited budget and have George Clooney wait on you hand and foot and... Oh. Sorry. I got away from myself for a second. But seriously, on the rare occasions that I do read my horoscope, and it's really good, of course I want it to be true.

Which is why when I read this, my first thought is it absolutely must be true. Because who would toy with me like this:

May is a fabulous month for you. Your designs garner hefty praise and you gain respect among your peers. Clients are openly requesting you for their projects. Co-workers are seeking your opinions and asking for your advice. There's even talk about you becoming 'Employee of the Month.' And if all that isn't enough, you also correctly pick the winner of American Idol.

OK, I don't watch American Idol, but I can tell you from this week's press that the winner won't be Sangiya. But come on, hefty praise and gaining respect among my peers? Clients are openly requesting moi?! Employee of the month??! This better be correct!!

Then, I looked at the source: a stock image company. Hmmm... I wonder if all the horoscopes are good, just so you'll feel great and buy some photos. I checked out a couple of others, and some of them are borderline depressing (Leo: your personality needs to be recharged--Ouch).

Oh well, for what it's worth, I'm putting in Employee of the Month effort and hours. I can only hope that all my hard work pays off with this kind of outcome.

Here's the rest of Jupiter Image's Design Horoscope's. But click with caution, especially if you're Leo.

PS. Another reason to take this with a grain of salt: my Lucky Image Number brings up a pretty cheesy stock photo.

Fling a ding ding

My new favorite font, ladies and gentlemen, is Fling:


It's such a pretty font. I've been using it for a while now, but it really stood out to me last year when Martha Stewart's new Blueprint magazine came out. Yep, the logo for the magazine is Fling.

I love the playfulness of each individual character. It's definitely a girlie font, which I think I knew all along, but definitely found out for sure when I tried to apply it to a more masculine logo I'm working on.

I'm looking out my window now, at the daffodils in the sun, the trees in bloom, and spring in the air; and that's what I picture with this font, the perfect Spring day.

Hope you're enjoying your perfect Spring day!

Pantone Ugly Bright Yellow

This afternoon, I was dropping my daughter and her friends off at the movies, when the three girls struck up an interesting conversation. Across the street from the theater, there's a Planet Fitness building. I don't know if you've ever seen one of these gyms, but the whole exterior of the building is--no joke--bright yellow. Really, really bright.

The girls attacked immediately: "That is the ugliest color ever." "Eew. The colors don't even match. Who uses that bright yellow with that color purple?" "Why on earth would you paint your building that color?"

And thus begins our lesson today in branding. While I'm not advocating that color (It's pretty atrocious, but you can't miss it!), Planet Fitness gets an A for effort with the idea of setting themselves apart from the competition. Right down the street from the Fairfield Planet Fitness is a Fitness Edge. Fitness Edge has their standard sign outside, and they're located in a plain brick building. Nothing fancy, nothing to set themselves apart. It's just a way of making themselves stand out as a gym, making themselves more memorable, I explained. You see that color yellow, and you begin to associate it with the gym.

Of course, being preteens, they didn't quite get it. "It's still ugly," they collectively said.

Noone's saying it's pretty, I started... then I realized what I was doing. To me, I was trying to teach them a little lesson about marketing and branding. To them, I was defending what I believe was Pantone Ugly Bright Yellow.

Never mind, girls, never mind.

Cancel or Allow?

A little over a month ago, Mattio bought a new PC. It was time, his old one was pretty old in Computer Years--at least 7 years old. He really debated on buying a new one; a couple of years ago he was at a job where they used Macs, and he pretty much converted. Being a web developer, though, it's always good to have both platforms in the house; and he works on a PC at his current job, so it made sense.

But when he got the computer, it took a while for him to set it up. Being a devout Mac user, I snickered and joked about the current Apple campaign, Mac vs. PC. There was one commercial in particular that seemed to address the whole PC set-up issue. It certainly is nowhere near the plug it in and go functionality of the Mac.

Then came the Cancel or Allow messages--seriously, just like in the commercials. We'll be working side by side at night, and out of the blue he'll turn and say, "Cancel or allow, Tracie... cancel or allow."

And just last night, he came to bed muttering about Bill Gates and Microsoft; I won't repeat what he said, but let's just say it wasn't good. At all. He brought his iBook into bed, and just for fun, we watched a couple of the new Mac vs. PC commercials; the new one with the broken down PCs on the cart is hysterical. And from past experience, probably true.

Doing what I love, and loving what I do

This week has been a crazy week for me... lots of work coming in (trust me, I'm not complaining). And this upcoming week is only going to get even more nuts: with a couple of logos and websites on my plate, it's going to be a design-heavy week.

Truth be told, I was kind of stressing about this workload. But now that I've sat back and thought about it, I'm actually pretty excited: I got into graphic design because I love what I do. But I've learned in the past 2 years that running your own business doesn't always mean you get to do what you love all the time; there's invoices to send, emails to answer, meetings to attend... not to mention always trying to stay ahead of the curve and keep new business coming in (or, as Mattio likes to put it: keep food on the table).

But this upcoming week I've got some pretty cool projects that I'm really excited to be working on. And I get to spend my week doing what I love. That's not a reason to stress, that's a reason to celebrate.

Hmmm... I might just have to squeeze in some quality shoe shopping time :)

Enjoy the weekend!

Ugly Rubber Sandals

I always thought of myself as pretty ad-savvy, I could get how advertisers are aiming younger and younger all the time.

Then my oldest daughter turned 12.

It started out simple enough, shopping at Abercrombie. All the clothes we bought had the moose logo emblazened on it somewhere. As the year progressed, everything became a brand name: her jacket isn't a jacket, or even a fleece, it's her North Face. Her boots are not boots, they're Uggs. Her friends don't have cell phones, they have Razrs. I finally got why advertisers are sprinting toward the tween market: these kids are no joke, they really know their stuff.

However, now my youngest, at three years old, has gotten in on the action. She just got a pair of Crocs for Easter (trust me, she really, really, really wanted them--looks like she picked up my shoe fetish!). The thing is, they're not really Crocs--they're Croc knock-offs (because $30 for a pair of rubber shoes she's just going to grow out of in a couple of months is a little exessive). But she calls them Crocs, and we tell her no different. But Croc is the name brand--what do you call the shoe that isn't a Croc: ugly rubber sandal?

She's even gone so far as to tell me that she doesn't need a radio anymore, she's ready for an ipod.

Did I mention she's three?

The funny thing is, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how brands have an impact on the products they represent. My mother doesn't refer to tissues as tissues, to her they are Kleenex. And I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who have not made photocopies, rather they've Xeroxed something. We no longer record our favorite TV shows, we TiVo them. Q-Tips, Google, Blackberry... the list goes on and on.

I'm guilty of it: Google to me is not just a great search engine, but a noun, verb, sometimes even an adjective. I FedEx packages via UPS and DHL. And yes, I do own a pair of ugly rubber sandals I use for gardening.

well written... revealed!

A while back (OK, February), I had posted about this really cool font I had found, and how I was trying to apply it to the logo I was designing at that time... Well last week I met with Wendy, from well written, and we finalized her logo:


I'm so happy she ended up going with this one--I think it really is my favorite. This, along with quite a few others, was entered into Logo Lounge's contest for their 4th book... I'll keep you posted with the outcome. As an old pal used to say: Fingers firmly crossed.

In other news, I have to apologize quickly for not keeping up with the posting. It's been a pretty crazy time here, and as a result (among other things), I've been pretty run down at the end of the day. I'm going to do my best to post more frequently, and keep it interesting!

Ta ta for now...

Opening Day!

I looooooove me some baseball. I get all warm and fuzzy when March Madness rolls around, only because I know that baseball season is not far off. And finally, it's here.

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to go to Yankee's Opening Day. I am a die-hard Yankee's fan, but I've never actually been to an opening day, so it was a treat. Even more so was that it was an AWESOME game; I had such a good time. I love the energy and excitement of taking the 4 train up to the Bronx; walking down the stairs from the platform, somebody pointed out Mayor Bloomberg was right behind us. The madness of trying to get into the stadium at the same time as about 50,000 other people, the trek aaaallllll the way up to our seats (and the great view--don't knock the nosebleeds 'til you've tried 'em), and the post-game congestion--I'll take it any day. Corey Lidle's wife and son threw out the first pitches--I bawled. A-Rod missed an easy pop-up--I booed. The Giambino steps up to the plate and hits a homerun, giving the Yanks the lead in the first inning--I screamed my little head off. Hearing the first few notes of "Enter Sandman," and seeing that bullpen door open to reveal one of the greatest closers in the history of the game still gives me goosebumps. Especially cool? Seeing the cranes working on the new stadium.

I was about 8 years old when I went to my first Yankee game; back in the days of Don Mattingly, Willie Randolph and Dave Winfield. My grandfather had managed to get seats about 10 rows back from home plate; it was myself, my grandfather and my father. At first, I had no idea what to expect, I sat watching the first couple of innings intently. But by the 4th inning, I was screaming with the best of them. I remember quite a few people turning around, commenting to my father that I really must have been enjoying the game. I think both my father and my grandfather were proud.

Yeah, baby! Baseball is back!!!

Bad Design

I am in the midst of writing a proposal; I won't give too much away, but the client is located in Greenwich, CT. For those of you that don't know, Greenwich is a very, very, VERY upscale community--one of the wealthiest not only in the state of Connecticut, but in the entire country.

In my proposals, I always do a bit of research on the prospective client's local competitors. And to my surprise, this particular business's local competitors had websites that were, well--to put it quite frankly--bad. Really bad. Like 1998 bad.

It really made me think: here you are, with a business in one of the wealthiest areas in the country, and this is how you are marketing yourself? I don't know much about these businesses--for all I know they could be very successful. But if I was looking for this particular type of company, and I had the money to spend, these people had better wow me. And upon viewing their websites, my first impression was "wow," alright; just not that kind of "wow."

I'm not saying that you have to go out and spend tens of thousands of dollars for a hot-looking website with all the bells and whistles, but I am saying be smart about it. My prospective client expressed a desire for a classy, upscale website--as well they should, as that's who the target demographic is.

Look at who you're marketing to, and look at what you're marketing with. If your website looks dated, it might be time for a redesign. Check out your local competitors, see what you're working against.

I highly doubt that the people of Greenwich are shopping at the dollar store; why make them feel like they are?

Update: Ad Rants

As I was driving on 95 North the other day, I noticed that my favorite billboard has been changed! BMW of Bridgeport is proving that their bad ad sense isn't affecting their sales at all by changing their ill-concieved "From up here I can see BMW of Bridgeport," to a much more sales-friendly message: #1 BMW Dealership in Connecticut/New England/Northeast (something like that--I was driving, so I didn't get a good look at the geographical range).

However, the guy is still perched on top of the billboard--AND he now boasts a "We're # 1!" foam finger.

While I still can't appreciate that guy sitting up there, the foam finger did make me giggle. Oh well, baby steps, I suppose.

Advertising Rants

One of my biggest pet peeves is poor advertising. Not poorly designed, necessarily--although that doesn't rank very high on my list--I'm talking about poorly executed. I came across two examples of this today.

Driving north on 95 this afternoon, I came across this billboard:


The message is simple: look at these 3 very different people who share the same surname! Where else but in America would you find that!

The problem is what I take away from it: Homer Simpson, OK, that's fine, I can dig it. But Jessica Simpson is perhaps better known for her bra size--and not being bright enough to figure out the difference between chicken and tuna--than for her marginal singing talent (and believe me, talent is used very loosely here). And OJ... I know, I know, he was once a great football player, he won the Heisman Trophy; but unfortunately, that's not what he's famous for today. He's got that nasty little car chase/murder trial/"If I did do it" book.

So this is what we're bragging about in America?

The campaign somewhat works with other people/places/things: Wall Street, Bourbon Street, Sesame Street; Superman, Superbowl, Super Sized... But the whole Simpson idea was, let's face it, a pretty bad one.

The other poorly executed billboard was not much farther up the road. This one was for BMW of Bridgeport, and, as Mattio will attest, irks me to no end.

When I think of BMW, I think high end. They are a luxury car, and that's how they market themselves--except in this instance. The billboard is simple; it says "From up here, I can see BMW of Bridgeport." Then, sitting on top of the sign, there's a 3D model of a man... looking towards Fairfield.

See, BMW of Bridgeport is located in the heart of, you guessed it, Bridgeport (the name kind of gives it away). But the billboard is on 95 north facing Fairfield. So the model either needs to be turned around, or he's got to have some Exorcism-like neck moves in order to see the dealership. Actually, he's really looking towards Mercedes Benz of Fairfield; perhaps something BMW should have thought about.

So not only is it a completely misleading ad; but it's not doing anything to sell this car. This beautiful, luxurious, expensive car. Instead, to me, it's selling the view of the billboard. I can see where whoever thought this idea up might think that they're selling proximity ("Hey, you're really close to BMW of Bridgeport! Just keep driving in the opposite direction of where our billboard tells you!"), but the whole package just doesn't work.

Boo, boo, boo, all around.

Recommended: The Guy Not Taken

I am a fierce reader. If the book is that good (and there have been many that are), I will stay up all night to finish it. But lately, I have had less and less time to read. With 2 kids, various activities, school meetings, and of course, my own business, spare time is few and far between. And so unfortunately, reading has taken a hit.

But a few weeks ago, in an ongoing effort to keep up with my health, I joined a gym. And being the multi-tasker that I am (that, and the machines get bor-ing after about ten minutes) I've started reading while I work out. Of course, in an ongoing effort to keep up with my finances, I have been going to the library; so it's not like I'm reading just-released best sellers. I have been fairly lucky, however, and have found a couple of books by familiar authors that I ended up really enjoying.

One of them was The Guy Not Taken, by one of my new favorites, Jennifer Weiner. It's a collection of short stories, some old and some new; all well-written and intriguing. But what really got me: at the end of the book, there was a little blurb about each one; when and why she had written each story.

A few years ago, Jennifer Weiner had come to the Fairfield Library on a publicity tour for her then-latest book Goodnight, Nobody. I had read and enjoyed her previous books, so I went. And it turns out, not only is Jennifer a talented writer, but she's a really cool person, and a really engaging speaker. She chatted with the crowd like we were a bunch of girlfriends she was catching up with; telling stories of her grandmother, and the movie that was coming out based on one of her books (In Her Shoes, starring--in her words--her new bff, Cameron Diaz). She wasn't stuck up at all, nor was she a jaded writer just going through the motions; each of her stories was funny and full of zest--I'd definitely recommend seeing her in person if you ever get the chance.

As for The Guy Not Taken, it's not just another chick lit book, as the title may lead you to believe; the stories are at once funny and sad, the characters come alive on the page and make you care about what happens to them. All in all, a great read.