ON A LIGHTER NOTE...SARAH PALIN BABY NAME GENERATOR

Pure genius.

jennifer, if you were born to Sarah Palin, your name would be: Rust Mustang Palin

BAILOUT FOR US ECONOMY

This isn't a design post, but it does affect the industry of design that I support-it affects the health and stability of an economy that I depend on to compensate me for my design services.

We are living in some scary times right now. If you feel as strongly as I do about economy and what the half trillion bailout will mean to the average Americans contact your state reps. My stomach hurts for the feeling of even darker/harder times that are coming our way.

Details of the bill will mean with the exception of government officials and mega-billionaires like Warren Buffet...you,me and the other American tax payers of the world will never see a cent repaid to us. This is different than a tax cut, this is bankrolling a system that will most likely take the money and run, their is no assurance to the tax payers that we will ever see a boost in our incomes, decrease in taxes or be able to fix the escalating list of problems (gas, foreclosure, health care and retirement funding) that we are facing right now.. Pay attention closely to how this bill is worded, there may not be golden parachutes spelled out, but the list does not accurately show what compensation will be given the ceos and executives that screwed things up in the first place. It just lists tax penalties for those who make over $500,000.

If you feel the way I do, contact your local state rep and senators and ask them to vote against this bill, if this bill gets passed we are just pouring money into a black hole that will give safety nets to already financially secure executives and their government supporters/shareholders.

SOCIAL MEDIA INTERFACE DESIGN AND ONLINE SHOPPING

This Sunday I decided I would spend most of the day catching up on my online feeds and read a New York Times. In between blog posts and the NYT style magazine (I'm not a fashionista, I'm more of a voyeour).I checked in on some of my favorite online clothing sites-like Urban Outfitter. I found a bow strap top that is similiar to the style I recently saw in this month's Vogue. As I was about to add it to my cart, I noticed that there is now an option to add what I purchase from UO as a feed on the profiles off all the major social media networks and delicious. I don't find this surprising, and it's probably been around for a while with interface design nowadays. The idea of a feed posting all of one's shopping endeavors is a two-fold marketing gift to online shopping.

One-everyone feels like a trend setter/celebrity when all of their myspace/facebook/social media friends see what they are buying online.

Two-brands/online services get an awareness boost in consumer referrals when all of those sm friends see what you have been buying online and it tweaks their consumer desires and needs.

Amazon has already been doing this with product recommendations showing what people are buying in addition to the same music, books. kitchen utensils, etc you just bought. The use of social media network feeds is the evolutionary next step.

I don't know if this is a completely positive move by allowing retailers to harvest consumer data about their products and their competitors products. In addition several marketing firms will be planning the next big campaign for new product launches based on this data. My hope is that it gets people further away from the celebrity endorsements of commercials and allows people to purchase products that have improved someone's quality of life or just made it easier for someone like myself to find the right article of clothing to complete an outfit.

There are several blogs out there right now that are feasting on the free products that are coming their way from retail brands just so these bloggers can give the product a thumbs up or thumbs down (the idea is that the hand picked bloggers will give it a thumbs up). Then all of their subscribers can view their product reviews before deciding to make a purchase.

If the freebies are taken away, I predict the next level of these blogger tastemakers are going to have the field leveled by everyday purchases feeding into the profiles of sm users. The market for consumer goods/services referral is going to get even more saturated than it already is.

So much is in the air right now with consumer goods and marketing. I'm going to grab the proverbial bowl of popcorn and see how this all plots out.

THANK YOU ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY MAGAZINE

A nation that can laugh at it's self can solve any problem. Ahhh, visual communication at it's best.

THEY'RE HERE

Well looks like good ole stonehenge, I mean CS4 is about to be released on Sept. 23.

I'll need to upgrade my laptop to one of the intel chip laptops soon-cause 64 bit Photoshop is so 2006.

CUTS LIKE A KNIFE

Here is the second draft of the Sybris poster. It's not what I originally intended the design to look like, but the booker keeps adding more sponsorship logos. This should be the final design, otherwise I'm putting my foot down before the this poster starts to look like a NASCAR promotion.

AND HERE'S SOMETHING MORE FOR THE POSTER ENTHUSIAST

Hurricane Gustav was more of an inconvenience than a catastrophe-lets just hope the levees keep holding up and the return home for the Louisiana evacuees is a safe and easy one.

In the mean time how about those poster contests?
If you are interested in another one here's the working family poster contest. It's an interesting strategy-I'm starting to feel as though the Obama campaign is getting a little too poster happy.

Alas, visibility can't hurt anyone's chances at the presidency.

RELIEF FOR GULF COAST DESIGNERS

AIGA is reactivating the web site they created back in 05 for Katrina Relief. Displaceddesigner.com will be the hosting site for Gulf designers that may need assistance in finding support, equipment, work and relocation in the design community. Once they get the help section up and running, check the site periodically to find out how you can help.

Nobody knows how much coastal damage will occur and how much will affect the communities evacuated on the wake of Hurricane Gustav, but it looks like there's going to be some damage/flooding as some of the levees around New Orleans are close to breeching. Let's hope Ike (the next storm on the radar) takes a drastically different course and simmers down to a light (very light) depression.

If you would like to help in another way there are several web sites that are being activated. If you are looking to locate evacuated family and friends, check the Red Cross list.

THAT'S SYBRIS NOT SYBARIS-DRAFT #1

WOXY.COM is promoting this show, chances are it's going to be good. I haven't heard of Sybris before, but they have a $100 fine if you misspell their name on any printed materials. I'm going through the first draft stages. My original idea was a knife and have it reflected so that there will be be two versions cut to size and when placed next to each other there will be a mirror reflection. Now I'm not sure where I'm going with it. Sometimes lightning strikes and sometimes it doesn't, which means I'm not completely happy with this version.

In the meantime, keep your calendars open for Sept. 30 at Birdy's Live. The speed talent of The Coke Dares will also be there, so it promises to be a good night.

I'll post my final draft later this week after I "finesse" the creative process a little more. And I'm still waiting on a hi-res logo from Woxy.

SAVE THE ARTS IN INDIANAPOLIS: AUG. 21st MEETING

Please come and support the Indy Arts Council today at the city county building. The more supporters that show up and voice their opinions, the harder it will be for the city and Mayor Ballard to cut the arts budget.

Thursday, Aug. 21 at 5 p.m.
Location: Room 260 at the City County Building
200 E. Washington Street

If you want to stay on top of the outcome and can't make it to the meeting today-subscribe to the Save Public Funding for the Arts blog.

CROWDSOURCING: DESIGNER KICKS

Another example of community driven design.
Just like Threadless, designers can now design their own sneakers on RYZ. The start up began as a project with two heavy weights from Adidas and Nike.

I had heard about it on WFYI/NPR this during my morning commute downtown to Carmel. The sneakers pictured above were designed specifically for NPR.

Designers Download a template for the shoe dimensions/layout and post the designs on the site. Then the consumer votes on the winning design. For the winning sneakers, Oregon based RYZ is offering a purse of $1000 for the design (plus 1% royalties). Not to mention the retail pricing is good- $90.00 compared to the designer Nike shoe which is around $200.

When companies utilize "crowdsourcing" there's constantly a conversation, or a VOC (voice of the customer or consumer). This is good news for those of us that are tired of being told by "the man" what we should like in our products and services. You design your own high-top sneakers or atleast you get to choose what designs you want to wear.

My only suggestion is that they will open the "high top sneaker design" to other types of shoe designs-I'm a slipper shoe/high-heeled shoe type of gal. It would rock my world if Urban Outfitters took the same model as RYZ.

BLOGGERS BANQUET

This past weekend was exhausting but informative. Blogging has come a long way-beyond the guerrila reporting from remote locations or exposing big business, or just as a means to post your vacation pics. Now blogs are the gateways to making/breaking the latest products/services, allowing the masses immediate access to reviews of food, wine, entertainment, and celebrating the connections of socio-political networking in cultural/lifestyle communities.

Overall it was a really good experience.

Only three downfalls:
1. I was surprised that the panels focused on Google Analytics as the main measuring tool out there. I guess since Google owns the the US internet market, that's the most accessible one. I would have like to learn of others as well.

2. Monetization on blogs. None of the speakers addressed exactly how to strategize partnerships, product sponsorships, or anything other than where to place a banner ad and join my advertising community and you can find out how it works. I think the info emphasised the realistic world of "not everyone will make money on blogs." Which I was already aware of, but I hoped it would go a little farther.

3. My only other downer was how little was put on design for mutliple reader/web/mobile devices-but I'm biased and I only have myself to blame for going to another presentation over the blog visual critique session. I would be too focused on the web appearance and not on function/organization of content. I'd prolly sound like an a-hole anyway.

As for the upside:

My favorite topic/speaker: corporate blogs. The golden rule learned is that corporate blogs to be TRANSPARENT.

Let your commentors have a discussion with you on whatever you have posted on your blog. Don't shy away from negative feedback. Acknowledge when your company has made a major mistake. A great example of this was brought up by Doug Karr's discussion on what makes a great corporate blog. The company blog Karr exemplified was a West Coast server host company that had a major malfunction with it's switching over of several data centers. I'm not a system's administrator or a server/hosting guru, so some of the jargon mentioned is over my head.

Dreamhost's Anatomy of an Ongoing Disaster, explains how DreamHost eff'ed up and what they did to fix it. If you check out the comments you will find there's more positive feedback on the situation for the company being "transparent." The companies I've worked for in the past, would never compare themselves to the exploding Hindenberg or peering into the eye of a hurricane, while announcing that they have lost their clients data.

The rest of the experience was fantastic since I met some kewl bloggers out there. Check out intellagirl, indy theatre habit, moosh in indy , or photrade when you get a chance.

I have a feeling next year the conference will double in participation. It has a great foundation to start with. And if you have a Indiana based blog sign up for the blog Indiana census.

BAND AIDS ARE HAWT

When did accessorizing your wardrobe to your wounds become the "must have" of the fashionistas? I could understand if you actually hurt yourself/like having a mild flesh wound, that the less conspicuous and camouflaging of the bandage the better-but these people don't even have a single papercut.

It's a little weird.

Whats next? Amputee fashion?
But you will have to cut your leg off first-sans cancer or any other physical reason. Only so you could hop around on some SWAROVSKI crystals and use your VERSACE leg kick stand.

THEY SAY THIS CAT SHAFT IS A BAD MOTHER-SHUT YOUR MOUTH

Isaac Hayes died today. First Tim Russert-now one of the beloved sons of Stax. 2008 really bites right now on the bucket list.

I don't care if Hayes was a Scientologist-he lived the biggest gangsta/pimp life, complete with a peacock blue/solid gold trim caddy that you can see at the Rock and Soul Museum which is located at the original site of Stax Records in Memphis. It's a crying shame, so much of soul music that was recorded in the sixties and seventies was nurtured from the great gift that was Isaac Hayes.

Snoop Dog, Lil'jon, Jay-Z, P-Diddy (or whatever your name is now) and Ludicrus-step aside, because one of the real souls of RB/hip hop just took a solid gold private jet into the sky.

I'M REALLY DIGGING BRAINSTORM

These cats have some great ideas and have done their homework on industrial design and consumer messaging. Check out their XM packaging post. I love finding an agency that bring intelligence and innovation to branding. And well, I'm a sucker for beautiful package design.

THIS MAGIC MOMENT

Another poster-and another night of music "magic". Sam's Saloon will be hosting a great night of rock on Aug. 22nd. The likes of Chicago's Detholz, with a mix of out of town and local (Shelby Kelly, The Wisebloods and Scotty Lust--great name) will be rocking the rafters of the saloon on Prospect Street/Fountain Square.

Hopefully I'll see ya round the hood.

OBABMA-VISION

Looks like there's a new political poster contest in the works. You can now enter the Obama poster design contest. Deadline and details are here.

May the best political draw win.

DESIGN A MAGAZINE BACK PAGE...for real.

This is why I love Layers Magazine. They also have their ongoing Design Makeover submissions, taking on the scary of the scary in bad design. Check out the layers web site for more info.

But if the mood strikes you and you wanna get crazy with the photoshop, you should enter the bi-monthly contest-you could win some moola ($300).

I TOOK THE EASY WAY OUT...THE TYPICAL POSTER DIAGRAM

It's amazing how much I depend on the internet. I spent last week in a branding meeting for a global manufacturer, and with limited internet-I about went crazy. My IT department really needs to update their loaner equipment to wireless access latitude laptops. I had to plug into a phone jack to actually get online. This of course was the solution as my laptop died in Carmel, IN (the Dell precision is still no match for my big-ass graphic files) and I was given a "loaner"-which translates to a machine that I can just play solitaire on or write a rough draft of my suicide note before dying from lack of internet and adobe software in Davidson, NC.

Well, I made the best of it.

If you want to check out some local and regional music head out Birdy's on Aug. 16--Detholz, Red Light Drive, Beta Male and Thunders will be "sashaying" all night long.

ARE YOU FEELING LUCKY?

This came out last week...Getty's is now using Flickr as a new means of finding fresh images. So when you post those shots of Grandma's eightieth birthday, the Grand Canyon or cousin Seth's bar mitzvah--you could be contacted to use your photos to populate it's many clients stock libraries.

WARNING: Getty's has to pick you, so more than likely if a rep contacts you, be sure you know what to ask for in rates and read the fine print about the rights of the client and how they will use your photos. Royalty free is great for a client, but if you want to keep a rights managed license (a fee is payed to you for each time-or number of times, the image is utilized in a visual medium or project) you may not want to give up your photos. You'd be wise to check with an intellectual property lawyer to make sure you know what you should be getting for your work.

I'm sure there's a fee that's already in the minds of Yahoo(Yahoo owns Flickr) and Getty but it doesn't hurt to see what negotiating room you have.

On one last note--it looks like someone else has already tried to sell photos from Flickr on istockphoto--ILLEGAL PHOTOS. What a nightmare.