The Daily Sponge Blog: A wonderful source of daily DIY inspiration.

http://www.designspongeonline.com/

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Who are Milton Glaser’s role models?

1/Herbert Bayer

2/George Salter

3/Lester Beall

4/Paul Rand

5/Joseph Baum

Glaser talks about his role models here: http://www.printmag.com/Article/Milton-Glaser-talks-about-his-role-models

Thanks to Printmag.com

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Day 2 (Monday) of the HOW Conference was all about Inspiration, primarily because of the sessions I chose to attend. In total contrast, on Day 3 the sessions that I attended were filled with practical advice.

The general session I attended was Visual Storytelling, presented by Nancy Duarte. I saw Nancy last year at HOW and was just as impressed this year! She’s an amazing presenter. She teaches us to use stories and emotion to improve your message, whether it be a sales presentation, speaker presentation, or just to tell a story. She says you need to have a Big Idea, a unique point of view, plus something at stake. Plus a STAR Moment (Something You Won’t Forget) wouldn’t hurt. Be you. Be Honest. Nancy closed her session talking about Martha Graham, and how she had a unique voice. This is a quote from Martha Graham that closed the session perfectly, “I have something in my soul, and I need to say it.”

My 2nd session of the day was Sam Harrison, Selling Your Ideas to Bosses, Clients, and other Decision Makers. This session will filled with common sense information, that we don’t spend the time to think about. The first question Sam asked was “What are you passionate about, and how does it sound when you talk about it?” This is a question we need to ask ourselves every time we talk to a client, or anyone for that matter. He went on to talk about how important it is to get to know you clients, including on a personal level – know what they are doing on  Saturday night.” “Be yourself, but be the best version of yourself.” “Paint pictures for you clients. Help them visualize your ideas as a reality,”  and so much more!!! Thanks Sam!

At lunch time, my buddies, Jeni Herberger, Jeff Fisher, Steve Gorden and Bryn Mooth did a special “live from HOW” TalkStory, sponsored by Neenah paper. You can listen online here, or download it on iTunes. Excellent job guys!

The afternoon session started out with David Sherwin, of Frog Design. Topic: Better Ideas, Faster. David is a super analytical thinker and educator that has a step by step approach to problem solving and brainstorming. He believes that you should be thinking outside the box, but inside the strategy, and starting with the right questions will steer you to the right answers – by design. You can explore more about his challenges and techniques at this link.

The day ended with a repeat performance by my friend Von Glitschka. Von presented a wonderful session called Creating Five Alarm Concepts. He shared several techniques to help you achieve your best creative solution. Since Von is an amazing designer/illustrator I have to say he won, hands-down, for the best visual presentation — it was visually hilarious and informative at the same time! How often does that happen!

The last evening ended with a “White Space Party,” but unfortunately (or not) I chose to sleep instead

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I have to apologize not getting day 2 online earlier — the conference has been a whirlwind!

So here we go ….

Monday, June 7 | Day 2:

The day started out with two sessions by two incredibly strong, creative women.

The first was the general session, Inspiration: You Are What You Keep, Gail Anderson. Gail is an inspirational, not to mention obsessive, designer for the Rolling Stone magazine. She’s a collector, and everything she has acquired over the years has been an influence in her work. These items include salt and pepper shakers, bottle caps and artwork made from type shapes to name a few. She has managed to incorporate her love for these objects in her work, and has created beautifully complex graphics over the past 25 years. I totally loved the session!

Then I moved onto Women on Top, Erin Sarpa. This session discussed the unique challenges facing women in design. Erin talked about the difference between men and women, and the advantages women have, including the ability to recognize details, multitasking and relationship building. Although we have these advantages, it’s important to have specific goals, know our strengths and weaknesses, find a mentor, and don’t be afraid to fail. Again, great session. Erin gave us the tools to achieve success.

Even lunch was a treat, as I hooked up with Jaime Pescia, a navite Detroiter and the design chair of the International Academy of Design and Technology, and Jeff Fisher, owner of Logomotives. Great company and conversation.

The afternoon session I attended was Justin Ahrens (Rule29) session, Life Kerning: Where Life and Creativity Meet. As expected, Justin’s session was a wonderful mix of widsom, insite and perspectives about how to balance your work life so it’s a more meaningful experience. A really good piece of information was the criteria that Rule29 uses to decided whether its a good fit for the company. 1) Will it be profitable? 2) Will it be fun? 3) Will it attract other work? The answer has to be yes to 2 out of the 3 criteria questions for it to be considered as a viable project for Rule29.

Justin also shared videos within his presentation from guest speakers, including one from Von Glitschka that made everyone cry. Afterwards I talked to Von about it, and in his dry humor he thought it would have been a good idea to get shirts made that said, “Von made me cry at HOW.” I agree, that would have been great!

Later in the afternoon I checked out the Designers Showcase where designers brought and sold handmade items. It was smaller this year, but still some nice work!

In the evening I attended an intimate little bash that Neenah Paper hosted. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of cool new people, as well hang with some of my long time HOW buddies. But the best part was I was able to spend more time with one of my new favorite people, Jamie Saunders from Neenah. She’s the sweetest!!!

Check out my HOW 2010 flickr photo album here. ENJOY!

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Yesterday was the first day of the HOW Design Conference in Denver, Colorado! Woo Hoo! This is my 11th year attending and I rely on it as a source of renewal and inspiration annually.

As I always do, I started off with the morning with the pre-conference studio tours. We visited 3 studios, plus a letterpress print shop and they openly shared their work and processes with us. Our tour started with Factory Design Lab, a premium and luxury brand firm – very impressive space and work. Our 2nd stop was a much smaller animation house called SPILLT. They are housed in a super creative live-work building that use to be the Denver taxi building – very cool! The 3rd studio was Ellen Bruss Design, a small 6 person shop that primarily focuses on retail, restaurant and real estate work. Both the space and the work were beautiful. Lastly we visited Foils+Dies, a printer that specializes in letterpress and foil stamping work. Again, very impressive!

The afternoon was all about seeing all my HOWIE friends and visiting with them for a fews hours – they are the best!

Last evening the event was kicked off with the keynote speaker, Andy Stefanovich from PLAY. He asked the questions, “Why do you do what you do?. What’s your center? What’s your source of inspiration?” These are all questions we need to ask ourselves not only throughout the conference, but on a daily basis, to stay on track.

The take away quote: You should have a ‘museum mentality’ every day.” Wake up, see, explore and learn.

The take away thought: The design community needs more swagger!

The day ended with the big opening bash in the resource center and a late dinner with friends

We are now on Day 2, and I have to get going for the day.

I’ll be posting photos throughout the conference on flicker, you can check them out here.

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From Dwell: Of the iconic women designers working in the mid-20th century, the two most often recognized—and adored—are Ray Eames and Lucienne Day (the female halves of two of the best-known creative couples of the era). While Eames won our hearts with her inventive furniture designs, Day brought modernism to the masses via her woven textile designs. On Saturday, May 15, the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, opens a new exhibit featuring the work of Day and two other mid-century British designers—Marian Mahler and Jacqueline Groad—titled Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain. The show is on display through September 12 and here we present a slideshow of 20 textiles from the exhibition.

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I just felt the need to share this one …..

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Arnold Klein Gallery: Book of Hours

The concept of a Book of Hours began in medieval times when the ability to measure an hour was far different from what we are accustomed to.  The books then were handwritten and illuminated and not for common consumption.

Now we pride ourselves on our accuracy and our cleverness but we still don’t understand the mysteries of the passing of time.  It is not under our control.  With this show we are honoring the minutes and hours of our days. ~ Karen and Arnold Klein

May 7, 2010 to June 4, 2010
Opening Reception:
Friday, May 7, 2010,  5 – 8 pm

32782 Woodward Ave. • Royal Oak, MI • 48073
Tel: 248.647.7709
email: info@arnoldkleingallery.com

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Announcing the launch of the new AIGA Detroit website.

http://www.detroit.aiga.org/

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Are you still trying to figure out how to talk your boss into sending you to the HOW Design Conference?

Here’s a link to a comprehensive rational to help convince them: http://www.howconference.com/convinceyourboss

Please take note, March 12th is the Early-Bird deadline. The Early Bird discount extends a $200 savings off the individual full-conference rate. Once March 13th rolls around, that discount is off the table.

Plus, an extra bonus! You can save $50 more by using coupon code KL10.
*code cannot be used with combo, group or student rate. Code can be used with Early Bird rate.

Good luck! and I look forward to seeing you in Denver!

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