Design Week Portland 2014 was great fun, and I felt lucky to attend the sold-out talk by Stefan Sagmeister on Design & Happiness. The Austrian-born designer has been a design “rockstar” for decades, but when he’s not working for clients of Sagmeister & Walsh, he’s studying how we attain happiness. His ultimate goal is a […]
Read MoreDo you have any big site redesign plans? As 2015 approaches, many organizations are refreshing their look and functionality. Web design trends are constantly evolving, and web functionality changes are near-impossible to keep up with. The website design for limo drivers and the website design for an engineering firm differ, for instance. But that doesn’t […]
Read MoreAre you ready for Design Week Portland? It’s coming, and it has something to offer everyone, designer or not. From October 4-11, a series of events, open houses, installations, talks, and parties will take over spaces throughout Portland, all in celebration of design. As the website states, “Design Week Portland is a weeklong series of […]
Read MoreHave you seen all the beautiful new murals around Portland? During the week of August 18-23, the not-for-profit public mural project Forest for the Trees brought together 20 international artists to make their mark on our fair city. According to their site, “The mural project promotes public visual expression; collaboration; and community engagement with contemporary […]
Read MoreIf I may, with another preparedness post (as you can tell, we’re planners here at A. Wordsmith)… While most Californians have long been familiar with big earthquake risks and emergency preparedness plans, some Oregonians have been slow to acknowledge our state’s potential to experience “the big one.” There has been an increased effort […]
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This week’s Fast Company Leadership quote comes from Joseph McCormack, author of Brief: Making a Bigger Statement by Saying Less. Despite the irony that this man wrote an entire book on brevity, its a message I find valuable today. Today was the day I broke my iPhone and have reverted back to a non-smart phone. I […]
Read MoreWe all know the BIC pen—it’s the classic, no-fuss ballpoint pen most of us have grown up using, on everything from school essays to forms at the doctor’s office. (Did you know it is even part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art?) Well, this tried-and-true brand is branching out, and calling […]
Read MoreHave you written a letter, lately? Do you take meeting notes on paper, or have you switched to typing ideas into your tablet? Most of us grew up required to learn handwriting and cursive—skills that were practiced each and every year—and many of us still prefer taking notes by hand rather than digitally. If you […]
Read MoreFood for thought: had lunch at Chipotle, lately? Apparently you’ve got some reading material to digest along with your chips and salsa. The fast food chain has introduced the Chipotle Cultivating Thought series, a project that, as Chipotle states, aims to present “the words and whimsy of thought-leaders, authors and comedians through unique, you’ll-only-find-them-here essays, each […]
Read MoreLook into creative business card designs What does your business card look like? Is it memorable? Interactive? I’m sad to say that even as a designer, my business card is pretty boring compared to these creative examples. DeMilked pulled together “30 of the Most Creative Business Card Designs” (full post here) and they’re a mix of […]
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