Good advertising can be beautiful. Just take a look at Sony’s new ad by the McCann agency, photographer Nick Meek, and a British special effects team–it’s a dreamy explosion of color in a Costa Rican village, and it’s captivating. According to creative blog DeMilked, “The creative crew and the inhabitants of the entire village took […]
Read MoreSpring is here, and it’s a sunny Friday to boot! In honor of all the blooming things, here is some beautiful spring-themed design inspiration. Enjoy your weekend!
Read MoreHappy Presidents’ Day! Or rather, Happy Washington’s Birthday (since that’s really what today’s date commemorates). Because it appears on many calendars as “Presidents’ Day,” I’ll go with it. Here’s a fun peek at how the nation is celebrating. Presidential branding Take a look at this fun personal project by Meg Jannott is a collection of […]
Read MoreGiven today is Valentine’s Day, I think it is only appropriate this post be love-filled. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I enjoy clever, witty and smart web tools. Today I bring you a Valentine’s Day Google doodle featuring candy hearts. Six candy hearts are arranged where the logo used to be. There’s “Crush,” “Mr. […]
Read MoreThe Seahawks swooped in for a historic win last night. I could talk about the game, or the ads, or the massive hangover all of Seattle likely has this morning, but there will be plenty of that in the coming days. So, how about a little art and design in honor of the victors… (First, […]
Read MoreWhile it’s not especially new, I was just recently introduced to the concept of the Golden Circle, a philosophy around marketing that recognizes a brand’s purpose, cause, belief, its WHY first, and then moves outward toward selling its WHAT. Many companies will frame their marketing around 1) what they do, 2) how they do it, […]
Read MoreWhoa, December already?! On top of all the holiday craziness, December is an important month for businesses to do a bit of planning and goal-setting for the new year. (If New Year’s resolutions are the last thing your business is thinking about right now, bookmark this post to review once you’ve recovered from the holiday […]
Read MoreThey’re everywhere lately: infographics. There are beautiful examples, and there are terrible examples. But I must say, I love a good infographic. As a designer with a passion for reading and learning, these graphics are the perfect blend of content and design, hard facts and artful interpretation. And when done well, these graphics become a […]
Read MoreLast night I attended a Portland Design Week panel discussion on the future of retail. It wasn’t quite what I expected, as the discussion skewed more towards what retailers could do to increase value for their consumers through services and technology, rather than the more design-oriented aspect of the retail experience (space, visuals, product display, […]
Read MoreA new logo for A.wordsmith When I first started A.wordsmith in early 2009, it was more of an experiment than anything else. I had just fallen victim to the economy and was part of a large round of layoffs. I was also very pregnant and not very marketable when it came to a new job. […]
Read More