Posts filed under ‘Inspiration’
Typography Detective
I went through the Oregon Heritage Rail Museum when it opened. A lot of people attended the opening and took photos. I refrained from taking any photos until I walked through the Pullman cars. Then this warning caught my eye:
Add comment April 26, 2013
The Importance of Typography
I love typography. A LOT. I always have. As strange as it sounds, it’s always been an important part of me, even as a kid. I was the kid drawing logos at age six. There will be more about my type obsession later…
Anyway, a while back, I fed my type obsession and ventured over to McMenamins Kennedy School Theater to attend the Portland premier of Linotype: The Film. It was a fascinating and entertaining documentary about typography and the history of the Linotype machine, invented by Otto Mergenthaler in 1886. For those of you who are thinking “I’ve heard of that word, but I have no idea what the heck it is,” read on.
A Linotype machine
Add comment February 12, 2013
An Idea Leads to A Change
Each morning, before I go to work, I take an hour and ride my spinning bike. I love this early morning exercise time—it is an hour of the day when my mind clears and I have no interruptions or distractions, and creative thoughts flow freely.
The other day I began to think about some work things: how to energize our blog posts, how to utilize our letterpress, how to present new design to our clients, old technology, new technology—sounds random but that’s how my mind sometimes works. Anyway, I came up with an idea that I’m really excited about, and here it is. (more…)
Add comment January 15, 2013
The Power of the Infographic
In my last post, I talked about the idea of C2CB presentation tools. For those who ask “what is C2CB” and don’t want to take the time to do a little hunting, I’ll fill you in.
Client to Client’s Boss communication. Internal selling of ideas to other team members. If you didn’t read it, it’s a good one, check it out. If you did, you know what I’m talking about.
The first project I’d like to share is an infographic that was actually used to convince our client of an idea, which she passed through to her team for buy off.
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1 comment December 18, 2012
Designing Toys
The power of good design takes on many forms and can solve a wide range of challenges. Finding compelling toys for autistic children is one of those challenges. See what two child specialists, an engineer, and an industrial designer at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand have been up to: Meet “Auti,” the Training Toy for Autistic Children.
Add comment July 23, 2012
Homeless Teens Graduate
Today was an extraordinary day for a group of homeless Portland teenagers. They graduated from high school. Over the past few years, they’ve worked hard to change the trajectory of their young lives and reinvent a promising future via hard work and education. Today they arrived on the threshold of a better future sans the love, support, and encouragement of solid parentage.
I volunteer with Outside In, a social service organization that addresses the needs of homeless and other marginalized people in Portland. Without their help, this day may not have happened for these promising individuals. I’ve attended many graduations over the years but none of them has ever felt so joyous. I wanted to congratulate each of these graduates and wish them well on the road ahead.
Check out more about preventing the tragedy of homeless youth.
If you want to get involved with helping area homeless youth check out www.outsidein.org. It takes a whole village and many of us have much to give in terms of our time, expertise, or financial assistance.
Update: Outside In posted photos from the graduation ceremony on their Facebook page.
Add comment June 28, 2012
Something Adorable
It’s happened again—I’ve found an intriguing and pleasant surprise in my lunch. I truly wasn’t looking for this. That would just be too nerdy.
Since that lunch, I’ve had this sitting on my desk. Every single person who sees it has exclaimed over its adorableness. Even guys! That has to mean something. Right?
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Add comment May 11, 2012
Photos of Typography in the Wild
Bob, our resident magician, is also a photographer and has posted an interesting series of shots on his Facebook page.
Here are a few samples of his photos:
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Add comment April 30, 2012
Insightful Experience
Back in November, I had the pleasure of attending the HOW Interactive Conference in San Francisco. It was exciting, inspirational, and educational. This was the first conference I ever attended in my career. It was the first HOW interactive conference ever, so I felt like my attendance there was meant to be.
For the better part of my career, my main focus has been on print work. As my career has progressed, so has the age of digital design. Like many designers, postponing the embrace of digital design was something that could not be ignored. So I was delighted when I sat down in the opening session of HOW Interactive (#HOWidc) to hear the speaker say “We have all come from print and now we must move into digital… stop saying it’s all about technology: design does not mean code.” You could almost hear a sigh of relief from the audience. Excited and a bit nervous, I wondered if I was going to understand what they were saying? Would they be diving into a coding language that I couldn’t translate? Heck no!
The panel of speakers presenting were impressive and dynamic. They spoke the spectrum: user experience, content, information architecture and non-desktop design. And believe it or not, I knew what they were speaking about. It was such a delight.
With a fresh insight on this platform in design, I have found myself following more blogs, participating on Twitter, and sharing the knowledge that I have gained with my studio when I can, in hopes that we can use the knowledge to advance our services. I recommend this conference highly. If you find yourself interested in my review, don’t just take my word; you can view the conference sessions in full on Design TV.
“How can designers help people? They ‘make use’ of information.” David Sherwin
Add comment February 6, 2012
Our 2012 Resolutions
At HB Design we will…
- Use our paper resources wisely
- Be generous with compliments
- Bring treats for office dogs
- Collect donations for a cause
- Strive to be excellent listeners
- Help a friend find a job
- Revamp this blog to be more #%@*& interesting!!!
1 comment January 9, 2012
