Over the past little while I've noticed some billboards about the Golden Spike with a website address on it. I noticed the billboard because I love trains and was excited that they might be doing something to commemorate the event. So, I put the web address into my phone so I could remember to visit the site. Well, today I remembered and found some time to look it up, and much to my dismay, it was a marketing outdoor test. It was all done to get people to remember the date of when the spike was driven and to prove that outdoor advertising worked.
First of all, I didn't know the exact date before and I probably still couldn't answer it correctly now. I didn't take interest in the billboard because it was just there. I took interest in the billboard because I am interested in the subject they had on the board - trains.
Second, The website wasn't good at all. It's a black background with white text. They could at least have invested time into the site. Speaking of bad design, the billboard wasn't that great either. The test the should do is how a poorly designed campaign would compare to a well designed campaign.
I was very disappointed and frustrated that I invested the time to look it up. They say the test works and I'm sure it does, but for someone seeing the board and hoping it was something more, it failed.

Labels: Bad Design, Billboards, Golden Spike

Once there was a typeface called Helvetica.
It was extremely popular.
Later came a software company called Microsoft.
They "borrowed" Helvetica for their operating system and called it Arial.
This inferior typeface is now on millions of desktops all over the world.
Can you tell the difference between the original and the rip-off in these ten examples?

Labels: Arial, Helvetica, typefaces, typography

It has been sometime since I have written and there are a lot of items going on. Some of the more worthy-to-note ones are the redesign of the TIME Magazine by Pentagram. I think the new layout and design is brilliant. I have given Pentagram a hard time in the past, but they did an amazing job with this.
There is a great read on the Digital Web Magazine site in their "The Working Designer" column. It is an article about the redesigning the ExpressionEngine Site by Jesse Bennett-Chamberlain.

Labels: 31three, Digital Web, Magazine, pentagram, redesign

I recently had the chance to interview some well qualified designers for a in-house design position. While the overall feel of the interviews was good, there were a few things that could've been better. I'm not saying the I know how to do a perfect interview, but some of the items were common sense and others were things that you need to do as a designer.
So, here is a quick list of things to remember when interviewing;

1. Bring a hard copy of your portfolio. There is nothing more frustrating than watching someone try to figure out how to get there cd or flash drive running on a computer. If you are going to do that, make sure you bring your own computer and have it ready to go.
2. When the person interviewing you is trying to finish up, don't interrupt them to show them more of your work -- it's over.
3. If at all possible, answer the questions with work from your portfolio. This is another good reason to have a hard copy.
4. Don't ask questions that are not relevant to the position your are applying for.
5. Don't make yourself seem superior to the one interviewing you. This ties in with not asking irrelevant questions.
6. And finally, send a follow up thank you letter. Whether it is an email or a letter you send in the mail, always send one.

Labels: design, Interviews

Here is a great source for Swiss Design. Everyone loves to learn about Swiss design.

Labels: Flickr, Posters, Swiss Design

Okay, I didn't realize how often the Vox newsletter comes. I'm getting a little bored with posting these, so unless I love them, you wont see as much

Labels: Illustration, Vox

Bokardo - Social Web Design:

"Designers do not create experiences, they create artifacts to experience. This subtle distinction makes all the difference, as it places the designer at the service of the user, and not the other way around. This doesn’t rule out innovation, it doesn’t prevent a designer to leap beyond what is accepted as state-of-the-art. It just means that the experience of a design doesn’t happen simply because the designer says it does, it happens when a user actually reports it."

Labels: Bokardo, Social Web Design, User Experience

I'm sure this will be hitting a lot of blogs but the AIGA redesigned their website. It was designed by Happy Cog. I have to say that the new design is a huge improvement over the last one. I do hope that the bright orange "open" sign will be leaving soon.
There seems to be some confusion on the AIGA redesign, Andy Rutledge dislikes the design and brings up the point that multiple fonts are being use.
Quoted from his website, Design View, he states;

"The markup is certainly a vast improvement over the kludge they had before (even so, I've still not taken a hard look at it), but now they seem to have abandoned any reference to advisable graphic design. For instance, here are a couple of interesting stats regarding the new design (just on the main page):
- Fonts/Faces: 6 (plus italics and bold styles)
- Link Colors: 6
- Link Styles: 2 (decorated and undecorated)"

On the other hand, we have SimpleBits saying "using just two web fonts and a splash of Interstate".

It all goes back to personal opinion and if you want to know how many fonts are being used, you better go count for yourself.

Labels: AIGA, Andy Rutledge, design, SimpleBits

Thank you to Healing Light Reiki Training Center for the kind words.

Tony's business, 325studio, provides visual communications in the form of logo, graphic & web design and small business solutions. We have found he has an excellent eye for color and clarity and great marketing with integrity.

I have had the opportunity to work with Lisa and Bridget on designing the Healing Light Reiki Center website and I'm glad they are pleased with the results.
Lisa came to me wanting a nice simple website that she could send here clients to for information on getting treatments and taking classes. She is continuing to expand her website and in the future she will be offering audio CD's on Chakra treatments for people to purchase. I will also have the opportunity to work with her on the design of the packaging. For anyone interested in learning more, visit Healing Light Reiki Center for more information.

Here is a little information on Lisa.

Lisa Ross-Walker is an international Reiki Master Instructor who has been avidly studying and teaching Reiki for over eight years. She actually started her career as a Massage Therapist over 20 years ago when she founded Well-Being Massage and Wellness Center still located in Orem, UT, and has nearly two decades of experience in teaching massage therapy, meditation classes, wellness workshops, and providing effective healing retreats.

Labels: Clients, Reiki, Websites