It's a bad habit - I'll pick up a printed piece and turn it back and forth wondering how it was produced. Often, if done in public, this will result in a whack up-side the head from my wife. U.S. Currency has got to be the holy grail of "how the heck did they do that" - and I'm just glad that someone else took interest in the production process so I don't feel alone with my habit.
The number one way we've grown over the last year has been on the word of mouth from delighted customers. This summer, we're taking it up a notch - now all of our fans that are referring our business stand to win a new iPod Nano. Click here to see how.
Seeing a finished project always gives us a good feeling - especially when it involves creative people from all walks of the industry. We put together this self-promo piece as a special greeting to our friends and supporters after our first year of business. Managing this piece was a beast - especially hand trimming and gluing everything together. The props from Trish Witkowski, one of the leaders in making bindery cool again, made it all worthwhile. Check out her video blog here.
In celebration of one of the most fun holidays of the year, What They Think published a spoof newsletter. Favorite article: "Font Choice Dooms Peace Treaty".
Last week, thanks to the awesome brain power of graphic designer buddies Gary Christenson and Steve Tosi, we won two Bronze ADDY Awards for some of our printed collateral material. You can see all of last week's awards winners here.
Check out more of Gary's work at http://www.garyachristenson.com.
Color is complex. There are so many challenges to understanding why color behaves the way that it does. Sappi North America put on a great, hour long, color theory 101 class called "Mind Your Color" - highly recommend for getting your feet wet in the mesmerizing world of color reproduction.
We got involved with the awesome folks at Wanderlust Tours to print their brochure a few months ago. I've always thought their approach to creating two different seasons in one brochure was really innovative as well as a way to cut down waste, so I shared it with a national site focused on smart ideas. Fold Factory picked it up and ran with it - here's their video clip.
Collaboration is cool. That is why I have always loved the idea of flash mob - people anonymously connected to a random point and time to bring joy and smiles to others. I was so lucky to get to see my very first flash mob in person in downtown Bend this weekend. Very cool - I'd love to know who put this all together and give them kudos for putting some joy out there.
Pretty neat examples of how to make bar codes cool. The company highlighted in this article wants you to spend a lot of money on implementation, but you don't have to go all the way to Japan to make - we've got plenty of firepower right here in our backyard.
Connexion's been a fan of New Leaf Paper for a while now - they are one of the green companies that believes in what they sell. They've got a new paper calculator tool online that's pretty sweet, and puts some marketing teeth to environmental action. Kind of fun to play around with.
