Is this what Starbucks thinks of me?

I went to Starbucks this AM to combat the little sleep I got last night with a big 'ole Frappaccino. I ordered my normal Mocha Light Frappaccino; I got a Mocha Light Frappaccino.

However, you know how they write the initials of your drink on the cup? Well this is how mine was labeled:


Ummm.....

Ahhhh... Saks

So today I found myself at Saks; which, quite frankly, is easy to do when you're me. I actually had to go to the Apple Store in Stamford, which is conveniently (or not so conveniently, depending how much money I have in my wallet) located in the Stamford Mall, right by Saks. So, faced with the close proximity, what's a girl to do?

While browsing in Saks (today was a not-so-convenient kind of day), I noticed their visuals (mannequins, store displays, etc.); I do in every store, as that was my first job out of college. But what struck me as particularly awe-inspiring, was the "trend" signage throughout the store: high heels! Capes! Textured cardigans!

But instead of the usual high-fashion photo accompanying those words, the artist had worked clever illustrations into the script font (which is Sloop, I believe). Behold:














I couldn't get enough: not only were they gorgeous--how could you resist buying a cape after seeing this?--but they were so inspiring as well. Before I saw these, I was trying out a similar idea for a logo I'm working on. The idea wasn't really panning out, I just couldn't make it work; but once I saw these I got completely re-inspired. The logo--which I won't show right now, because I'm still in the first phases of design--works well now, so well that as of now it's my favorite out of the small handful I've designed thus far.

Just goes to show you, inspiration strikes when you least expect it!

PS. The flagship Saks in NYC has a great marketing campaign going on for their revamped shoe department: it's own ZIP code.
''Our new shoe floor is so big that it deserves a ZIP code of its own,'' said a Saks spokeswoman. Ummm, seriously: how cool is that?

PPS. If you own a Mighty Mouse, and the ball gets jammed up and won't scroll one way or another, clean it with a damp cloth. That's what I learned at the Apple Store today.

Shameless self promotion

Today the kids were off from school, so we (finally!) got some back to school shopping done. After an exhausting outing, I wanted nothing more to do than to come home and lay down... but first let me check the answering machine, and pick this toy up, and oh, yeah, I need to check the mail... (you know, the usual).

After checking the mail, the need for nap completely left: I had a pretty nice package waiting for me from Graphic Design: USA; the 2007 American Graphic Design Awards came in! Out of all the contests I had entered this year, I probably had the most entries in this one (10). And I'm happy to report, 6 of those entries came out winners!

They are as follows:

Bodd Fitness: website

Imagine Imaging (now Justin Marantz Photography): website redesign

Saturnia: logo

Saturnia: stationery

traciedesigns: website

traciedesigns: 06 holiday card

In addition, let me add that this is the second year in a row Imagine Imaging has won; last year I received an award for website design for their site as well. This year we went bigger and fancier, and it's nice to hear that the judges thought the same.

So thank you, thank you, thank you, to all my clients for trusting my design skills and ability, and for going with me in the first place :) And thank you to all those clients that keep coming back for more, and who refer me out to others. I've said before that I find that a referral from a client is one of the best compliments I can receive.

If only I had the time...

I love the Thursday edition of the NY Times; there's Thursday Styles (a much, much more abbreviated version of Sunday Styles), the Arts section, of course, and Home and Garden.

In last Thursday's Home and Garden section, the cover story was about people who buy/find stuff from Ikea (or, as Mattio affectionately refers to it, i-crap-a), and modify it to how they would use it. Like the guy who took some broken Ikea chairs, attached a surfboard to the top, and called it a table. Inneresting....

Further into the article, it turns out, that yes, there really is a website for everything: witness Ikea Hacker. This blog documents--through reader contributions--the different ideas out there for Ikea furniture. Got some spare sofa legs? Don't discard them, buy some wood and fashion the whole thing into a table! Tired of not having enough storage? Add some hinges to your dalselv bed frame, and voila!

There's a lot of decoupage on the site, but also some pretty cool ideas for some otherwise plain, unstained, DIY, cheap furniture.

Skinny Betty

I admit, I don't watch a ton of TV... and although Ugly Betty gets rave reviews, I've yet to see an episode. But I have, however, seen the star of the show, America Ferrera, enough to know that girlfriend's got some curves. Not in a bad way at all, I think her body is great--I've said before how I wish more actresses would embrace a "normal" looking body rather than the size 0 that seems to be today's standard.

So when I saw this month's cover of Glamour magazine, I thought to myself, "Hmmmm. Something's just not right here..."


Looks like America Ferrera either went on a crazy diet, or Faith Hill's photoshop magician really went to town. Behold, the un-photoshopped version of the actress:


What really gets me going, is the following cover lines:

America Ferrera: Ugly Betty is Hot! (But apparently not hot enough for our cover without digitally taking off a couple of inches)

1st Annual Figure Flattery Issue (huh?)

and my favorite:The Secret Reasons Women Gain Weight (and in really small print below: And How to Stop)

Hey Glamour, the not-so-secret reason that women gain weight is that you place women with "real" bodies on the cover, only you're afraid that their extra 20 pounds won't sell, so you digitally alter their waistline. It's no secret that women's magazines--especially the covers--are heavily photoshopped; unfortunately a lot of women choose to ignore that, buy the magazine, and get depressed reading about girls with unrealistic bodies, like Keira Knightly (someone please feed that poor girl!). And when a woman with actual curves makes it to the cover, she's gets digital liposuction.

Today is Tuesday...

Tonight at dinner, we were discussing one of my little one's books, "Today is Monday." The book, which has a song that goes along with it (or vice versa), goes through all the days of the week, and the foods associated with them. For instance:

"Today is Monday
Monday string beans,
All you hungry children, come and eat it up!"

The discussion involved what food was on Tuesday (spaghetti), to which Mattio replied, "Tuesday isn't spaghetti, Wednesday is spaghetti!" When Ashlee went to correct him, he argued back, "Wednesday is spaghetti--it's Prince Spaghetti day." She had no idea what he was talking about.

But anyone from our generation surely remembers the kid on the bicycle, pedaling home furiously because it was Wednesday, and Wednesday, after all, was Prince spaghetti day. The commercial hasn't been shown in years, but it's pretty amazing that the association of Wednesday and Prince spaghetti still holds up. That's some pretty effective advertising, no?

So of course, I got to thinking about other commercials and catch phrases from my youth: "Where's the beef?" will always be associated with Wendy's; "I can't believe I ate the whole thing," Alka Seltzer (even better: "plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is"); and the famous anti-drug PSA, where the dad confronts the kid about his drugs: "I learned it by watching you!"

I could go on and on... I wonder how many ads that are out today are going to be remembered 20 years from now?

Packaging oxymoron?

While I don't drive a Prius, and my clothes aren't made from recycled organic cotton, I do like to think that I do my part for the environment. I recycle everything (seriously, our bin is overflowing every single week), I bring my own bags to the grocery store (and it absolutely infuriates me if I have a bagger that just doesn't know/care, and fills my bags only halfway and then starts giving me plastic bags. Ummmm... defeat the purpose, much?), and just recently, we started using compact florescent lightbulbs in the house.

I just changed one today... and as I pulled the new compact florescent out of the package, something struck me as odd: the package that my 4 lightbulbs came in--lightbulbs that are supposed to use less energy and last longer, and therefore be better for the environment--the package is plastic. Like the kind of plastic that you have to use scissors, or a knife to open. Like the kind of plastic that something like batteries come packaged in. Does anyone else see where I'm going with this?

I know I will recycle the package once I finish it, but... will everybody? Seriously, the whole marketing behind these lightbulbs is that they are better for the environment, because they use less energy. Don't you think that they'd be that much better if they came packaged in recycled cardboard or something?

Just one of those silly packaging conundrums that doesn't seem very well though out...

I gotta have more cowbell!

Just because the last couple of posts have featured youtube, I thought I'd throw this in as well:



One of my all-time favorites... I don't know what's funnier, the fact that Will Ferrell gets so lost in the character, the fact that Jimmy Fallon can't keep it together (watch him turn away to laugh on numerous occasions), or the fact that famed producer Bruce Dickinson has a fever, "and the only thing that will cure it is more cowbell."

Enjoy.

Clever Ad

I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of the Cingular/AT&T (or whatever company name they're going by today--seriously, could they flip flop back and forth a little more?) dropped call ads. I think the concept is a good one, but man, are they poorly executed. The actors are awful, the circumstances awkward... I'm just not left with the feeling that Cingular/AT&T is the company to go with if I don't want dropped calls. It's more like, I want to smack all those people with dropped calls, especially the doofy fiancé who is talking to his future father in law.

However, I finally saw the entire Roger Clemens commercial:


This is it--this is that great concept, with a great execution. And think of all the other ads that they could do: Karl Rove, calling the President to tell him he's going to retire (cut to Bush jumping up and down, throwing a child-like tantrum); Britney Spears, calling her mom to tell her she's getting married again ("But momma, only with your blessing!"); David Chase, creator of the Sopranos and the man responsible for the disappointing last episode, on the phone with HBO ("I think I'm just going to end the show in a diner")... the possibilities are endless.

Original Design Gangsta

Came across this today, and it might just be the funniest thing I've seen in quite some time:


I love how Pantone 187 runs through his veins.

Word of Mouth

I just received the new issue of How Magazine yesterday, and upon flipping through it, I found a poll: "Do you send out self-promotions around the holidays?" There were supporting quotes for both sides, but the one that really stuck with me was the last no answer. The person pretty much said something along these lines: "I'm embarrassed to admit that in the 12 years I've been doing this, I've never sent out any type of self-promotion. Almost all of my work has come from word of mouth."

And this is embarrassing, how?

Anytime I get business that has come from a past client, friend or colleague, it makes me almost giddy with pride. I feel that my name wouldn't get passed on if I didn't provide a stellar level of service (because I know I wouldn't pass on someone else's name if I didn't feel that way about them), so I must be doing something right--right? Every time I get a phone call, or email from someone who has gotten my name from one of my clients/friends/colleagues, I want to throw that person a party. I certainly am not embarrassed to admit that the majority of my business comes from word of mouth; and I hope that I can continue to boast that.

So thank you, thank you, thank you! to all those who feel that my services are worthy of passing on to someone else! And who knows... maybe one day I will throw a party; with the skills of all my many clients, it will definitely be diverse, if anything (and of course, fun... cause I am known to throw a bitchin' party).

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Ahhh... just got back from a much-needed week off spent up in Cape Cod (contrary to the above photo, the majority of the week was sunny and beautiful. This was one of the few pics I had that didn't have one of my kids in it :). I spent the week relaxing, catching up on some reading, and getting inspired. I have some pretty cool projects that look like they may come my way, so I'm excited to channel some of my vacation-inspired creativity towards them.

Now, if only I could take a vacation every time I needed inspiration...

Bookmark this!

Mattio has this uncanny ability to find the weirdest, and the coolest websites. The other day he found a pro-breastfeeding Cafepress site selling t-shirts that say "Eat at Mom's." Completely random, yet hysterical. But he also came across a "mom" blog--basically an online community for mothers (something I've been thinking about doing for quite some time... if only there was another couple of hours in the day!), and also Mashup, a site who's slogan is "Social Networking News." Eh, not really something I'd check everyday, but...

The reason he pointed it out was because he found this post on it: Web Design Toolbox: 50+ Tools for Web Designs. Basically a list of different websites for developers and designers.

The first part of the list is basically cheap competition for me: DIY websites. Definitely not my cup of tea, as I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for." And if you're looking for a cheap, copycat site with an overused template, then by all means. But I'm a firm believer in individuality.

But the rest of the list, well... it's pretty freakin' cool. The developer side has links to pages that will create automatic rounded corners in CSS, or test your site in different browsers. But what really got me excited was the designer side: sites where you can create custom color palettes (brilliant!), links to sites with free icons and buttons, inspiration sites for web designers (which to me, are priceless). It's a pretty cool list to have stumbled upon.

Oh, and a quick softball update: Last week, my daughter's softball team won the state championship, beating West Hartford 3-2 in 7 innings. I am so proud of this team--it's a great group of girls and I'm glad mine was a part of it.

Digital plastic surgery

Awww... look at Faith Hill on the cover of Redbook Magazine:


She looks great, doesn't she? Of course she does, she has like, a bazillion dollars to hire only the best hair and makeup people, not to mention personal trainers, chefs, and the like.

Apparently Redbook isn't doing too poorly either; they must have beaucoup bucks to hire only the best Photoshop artists, for behold Faith Hill sans retouching:



The sad thing is, she looks kind of, well, her age for one (which a quick search says she'll be 40 this year). But she doesn't look that bad in this picture. Unfortunately, in today's society, crow's feet and flabby arms don't sell magazines--sad, but true.

I've always admired actresses like Kate Winslet, who--besides being my birthday twin--has sworn off any photo retouching when it comes to magazines. Because while we all might enjoy a little digital lipo (oh, come on, it's completely painless!), it's somewhat refreshing to see "real" women on the cover of magazines, flabby arms and all.

Years ago, I used to work for a trade publication, not only laying out the magazine, but coordinating files for the printer as well. I also had to, on occassion, sit with my boss and go over cover shots. Then I would watch as he took his red pen to the poor model:

"Get rid of all blemishes--birthmarks and beauty marks included."

"Whiten teeth and eyes."

"Smooth laugh lines..." and so forth. I always, always felt terrible looking at his remarks--especially since nearly all of the models we worked with were drop-dead gorgeous. Ever since then, I've always looked at magazine covers and model photoshoots with a grain of salt.

Ah, the power of Photoshop.

Time flies

I can't believe it's the middle of July already--where has the summer gone? Anyways, just a quick post to apologize for not keeping up with the posting... it's been a crazy couple of weeks; old projects, lots of exciting new projects (which I will keep you up to date on), and softball.

Yes, that's right softball. My oldest's team just last night won the District 2 chamionship! They have this weekend off, and then it's on to the regionals all next week. So I'm looking at another crazy week filled with old projects, new projects... and lots of softball. And I will enjoy every minute of it.

Go Fairfield!

This guy's my hero

I always have to give major props to a man who understands a woman's foot, and her obssessive quest for the perfect shoe. Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Kenneth Cole... and just today, I've added another name to the list: Michel Tcherevkoff.

Michel Tcherevkoff is a photographer (with a pretty impressive list of clients, if I do say so myself), who was shooting cosmetics one day, and was using flowers as props. He looked down at a leaf and saw a shoe:

“The print was lying upside down on a table,” he recounts, “and I said — although no one was listening to me — ‘Hey, that looks like a shoe!’”

(Seriously, how cool is this guy? I thought I was the only one who say shoes in every day objects!)

Long story short, he started building these shoes out of flowers--and obviously photographing them, tweaking in Photoshop along the way. The photographs are now staring in a book: Shoe-Fleur, out in September. The end result is absolutely amazing: exquisite photography, gorgeous subject matter.


Unfortunately, the book's website isn't up and running yet, but you can read the article--and view a small gallery--here. I definitely plan on checking out the book this fall, if the couple of photos in the gallery are any indication, it just may be love at first sight.

Rat-a-whoo-ey?

Back in 1995, I was a recent college grad with no kids. But when the movie Toy Story came out, a friend and I ran to go see it; we were both intrigued by the animation--which was (and still is, in my opinion) groundbreaking. With my new degree in graphic design, I was completely fascinated with how the animators at Pixar acheived the level of exquisite detail that they did. That, and the story was pretty cool, too.

Fast forward (gulp) 12 years and 2 kids later: today I took the girls to see Ratatouille, the latest Pixar creation. My kids wanted to see it for all the reasons any kid would want to. I, on the other hand, am still drawn to the animation. And yet again, Pixar never ceases to amaze. Truth be told, the story didn't look all that great (it wasn't really that bad, but I've seen better--and worse, for that matter), but the animation--it was incredible. There are times when you could swear you're looking at a photograph; it's just that real looking.

Last year I took my oldest to the Pixar installation at MoMA; again, utterly amazing. To see familiar characters as they started--as simple sketches--and the detail that goes into the development of not only the characters, but the "sets" themselves; it was so cool. The time, effort and energy that goes into creating these movies is evident in the quality of the animation itself, but to see how everything starts out is almost overwhelming.

After walking out of the museum, my daughter turned to me and said, "I want to work for Pixar."

Not a bad career choice, kid. Not bad at all.

Party time, excellent!

So last night Mattio and I trekked on up to Portland, CT, for the 32 Annual Connecticut Art Directors Club Awards Show: Design Ain't Pretty. I mentioned in an earlier post that the stationery I designed for Saturnia had won an award, so off we went to the show last night to collect the goods.

This was the first time for both of us, so we weren't quite sure what to expect. When we arrived, we checked in, mingled and ate. All the award-winning entries were on display, so we checked everything out, including the competition (when all was said and done, there were 6 awards of excellence and 2 silver awards for the stationery category). There was some really awesome--and inspiring--stuff all around.

When it came time for the stationery award, they announced there were 6 awards of excellence, then they ran down the list. It was incredibly nerve-racking. We ended up taking the last excellence award--not bad considering a) what I was up against; and b) it was my first year even entering.

When we left, they handed me my award:


The only thing I bummed about, was that I filled out all these forms to enter, and then more forms when I won, and they still did not get my information correct; for not only the display showcasing the stationery, but the evening's program as well. Somehow my company got mixed up with another, and another art director's name was added to my stationery:


Ah well, after all was said and done, it didn't ruin my night. I was in some pretty good company last night, the competition was fierce, not only for the stationery category, but for everything.

Congratulations to all the winners out there!

Home Improvement

Riding around town I can't help but notice all the home improvement going on: there's a sign on every other lawn advertising painting, driveway sealing, pools, landscaping... the list goes on and on. Obviously now is the time to do it; Connecticut's cold winters and unpredictable springs make it pretty impossible to, say, repave a driveway.

But what I have noticed in recent years is that all these home improvement signs... well, they suck. There's one that I saw just recently that stood out in particular:


Oh, Brothers Pool, how clever you are, using the 'L' in pool as the side and bottom of... a pool. The only thing is, when you're driving down the road at, say, 30 miles an hour, you're only given a window of about a couple of seconds to process what you're seeing. And the first time I saw a sign advertising a Brothers Pool, I did a double take--now, I know deep down the sign was for a pool company; and yes, I will admit to at times having a dirty mind, but that sign looked to me like it could have said Brothers Poo.

I know, I know, the water gives it away; of course it's a pool company, silly! But seriously, now every time I see one of their signs, I have a little Beavis and Butthead moment and think, "heh heh, Brothers Poo."

Now I'm sure that Brothers Pool puts together a fine product, but my first impression of their logo is ingrained in my head as Brothers Poo. And I'm pretty positive that is not what they were going after when they created their logo.

Other signs are not quite as drastic, but still pretty bad nonetheless--I'm all for using some kind of icon with your logo, but perhaps it doesn't need to be so obvious (yeah, I'm talking to you, builder with the 3D logo/house). After all, a lot of these services (pools notwithstanding) are for improving the looks and curb appeal of your home--why not improve your company's curb appeal as well, and create an identity that's easy to read, looks good, and doesn't make potential customers giggle like a bad 90's cartoon?

Muchos Gracias!

I am currently doing some freelance work for a small design firm, who just happen to be interviewing for a full time employee. While I was working in their offices last week, a package came. But not just any package, it was one of those Edible Arrangements. And it wasn't just any old Edible Arrangement, it was chocolate covered fruit. But it was almost mutant fruit--the strawberries were literally the size of small apples.

Sidebar/Edible Arrangements plug: if you are ever looking for a great edible gift, Edible Arrangements is the most delicious! Every time I have been on the receiving end, they never fail; the fruit is always beyond fresh and yummy, and the presentation is fantastic. Well worth the $$$!

But back to the story... so Edible Arrangements had been delivered--so what? Well, the person who sent it was one of the job candidates, who was sending it as a thank you! Holy cow!

My first immediate thought (besides how many strawberries can I get away with eating without looking like a pig), was, huh, I feel cheap. I haven't formally interviewed for a job in a very, very, very long time (with the exception of freelance gigs.. but somehow that feels different), and the last time I did, I can tell you that I did not send any type of food as a thank you.

So the bar has been raised. Or has it? Of course, everyone who worked at this firm joked that this person had just guarenteed themselves the job... but is sending an expensive basket of fruit really the way to seal the deal?

Food for thought... (heh heh heh)