Quote of the Day
In Pieces
I recently had a chance to see IN PIECES – a multimedia collaboration between LEGO® sculptor Nathan Sawaya and photographer Dean West – that is showing at the Franklin Institute, as part of “The Art of the Brick.”
At first look nothing seems out of the ordinary, until you notice some detail about the picture that is not like the rest, but made out of LEGO®.
The images have been constructed by combining West’s modern photography techniques and Sawaya’s unique sculptures made out of LEGO®. Key to the series narrative and aesthetic Sawaya’s sculptures are much like the construction of a digital photograph. Thousands of bricks are glued together to form recognizable objects much like the assembly of pixels in a digital image. The similarities in technology not only help shape the aesthetic of IN PIECES, they are key to deconstructing each tableau composition.
For more images visit their website In Pieces
Images from inpiecescollection.com
Discoveries
There have been some great discoveries lately – a sequel to Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” which according to the author was written before the classic and thought to have been long lost; two never before seen Cezanne sketches were found during the restoration of his watercolor “Trees” at the Barnes Foundation, and while cleaning out the office of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, his widow and secretary unearthed a box with an unpublished story and sketches called “What Pet Should I Get?.”
This will be the first new Dr. Seuss book in 25 years and great news, as kids across America are celebrating his Birthday today with the annual Read Across America. The new book features Seuss’ trademark rhymes, as well as the brother and sister from “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish” due to be publish this July.
Image via Amazon
25 Years Photoshop
Last week Photoshop, Adobe’s photo editing software, celebrated the 25th anniversary of the release of it’s first version. The program is a standard in the design industry and “Photoshop” has come to be synonymous with image manipulation. (Photoshop, the verb, was added to the Oxford English Dictionary back in 2006.)
To celebrate the tool that has helped shape creativity, artists from all over the world contributed their most amazing dreams—and their working files with layers for the following video Adobe put together:
Creativity & Boredom
We all had that moment in the shower, when something we had pondered finally clicks. It’s the wandering of the mind that let’s our brain take a different look at a problem. But as many have noticed lately, in the age of connectivity, we hardly have time any more to be bored.
The Atlantic’s Dr. James Hamblin explores the link between creativity and boredom in another installment of his off-beat perspectives on health topics in the IF OUR BODIES COULD TALK series.
No More
A chilling public service announcement was released ahead of Sunday’s Superbowl, which was reportedly inspired by a real 911 call, in which a woman used a fake pizza order to call for help.
A 30 second version of the ad is scheduled to air during the first quarter of the game.
The ad is part of the No More campaign – “a movement to raise public awareness and engage bystanders around ending domestic violence and sexual assault launched in 2013” and an initiative against domestic violence from the NFL that arose out of domestic violence and abuse cases involving some of it’s players.
Current and former NFL players previously appeared in a series of PSA’s titled “Speechless” denouncing domestic violence and sexual assault as part of the movement.
Pantone Color of the Year – Marsala
“This hearty, yet stylish tone is universally appealing and translates easily to fashion, beauty, industrial design, home furnishings and interiors.”
– Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute®
Pantone’s color of the year – Marsala (PANTONE 18-1438) – named for the red wine with it’s sophisticated, natural earthiness, is one color I can whole heartedly embrace. Unlike last year’s pick, Radiant Orchid, a fuchsia-pink-purple (PANTONE 18-3224) or 2013’s Emerald Green (PANTONE 17-5641), this year’s color has been part of my personal color scheme for years. This beautiful, rich color is extremely versatile, while radiating warmth.
Image vs. Perception
The way you think of your business and the way your customers perceive your business may be fundamentally different, which is why it is essential for every business to develop a strategic marketing plan and stick to it.
1. Start with your mission.
What is the purpose of your company? What benefits, such as products or services do you offer customers?
2. Be honest with yourself.
Reflecting on your strength and weaknesses will help you define the core of your business. Outlining opportunities and threats will explore external influences on your business.
3. Outline stages for success.
Set objectives you want to achieve in the near future, keep goals in mind for the long-term.
4. Define your target audience.
Who are you trying to reach? Having a clear understanding of who your target market is may effect your business strategy.
5. Make a plan.
How do you want to approach your audience? Outline how you plan to reach your customers. Make it diverse.
6. Stick to it (for the most part).
Once you have a plan, try to adhere to it. Work on achieving the goals you set and do not rethink your strategies constantly. If you took an honest look at your company’s needs and goals you should be heading in the right direction.
Of course that doesn’t mean you should develop tunnel vision, revisit the goals you set periodically. Sometimes reaching your goals requires a few detours, but in general the course should be set. Let Design6˚ help you achieve your goals in 2015.
Addiction
I have a confession to make. Over the holidays I overindulged. Not just in the obvious, like candy and eggnog (not really the later), but in game time. On my phone.
The reason: Trivia Crack by Etermax. The name pretty much says it all.
The trivia game, which is very well done and highly addictive, pitches people (friends & family or random strangers) against each other, trying to answer questions from six categories – Art, Entertainment, Science, History, Geography and Sport.
The questions range from simple to who-could-have-known. (Answer: My dad, who is kicking my butt.)
Along the way to victory there are timed challenges, a few obscure questions and lots of “What is the capital of…?”
From a design point the game is done extremely well and the fact that it has claimed the top FREE Game spots in Android’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store for the last few weeks only underlines it’s widespread addicting capabilities.
The characters that one needs to acquire are extremely cute in appearance – think back to “Dumb Ways to Die”.
Oh and did I mention the game can be played in multiple languages? So you can play against friends and family overseas or just have a guessing match with your brother-in-law in Catalan – if you are so inclined…
Have some time left to waste and want to (im)prove your common knowledge? Give Trivia Crack a try. But don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Image via Trivia Crack by Etermax.