NotComing.com and Saul Bass’ film titles
Not Coming to a Theatre Near You is an editorial review site that takes an interest in films that are not always Hollywood block busters—films that are not playing in theaters currently or films that may have developed into a sort of counter-culture. In their own words, “…a film review website that assumes a bias towards older, often unpopular, and sometimes unknown films that merit a second look.”
While the site rests successfully on it own, the part of the site that I find most compelling is its section on Saul Bass (you know that graphic designer guy who also was known for his film titles?). So, here’s a link to that particular section. It’s a great interactive resource for viewing those titles in sequence (not in video film clip form). Not only can you view many of the Saul Bass titles, but the reviewers have also written short essays on each. Nice deal!
Oh! It’s noteworthy to mention this site as well: The Art of the Title. Here you can read more about recent relevant titles along with some motion clips as well, in great hi-def quality for the web! And then of course, there’s always You Tube!
Great resources for designer: Blue Vertigo
One of the greatest resources for designer! Fonts, photos, brushes… you name it!
Check this out:
Take a stroll down meme-ory lane…
Remember the syntastical excellence of “All Your Base Are Belong to Us”? Or the stirring barritone of Tay Zonday? And how could we forget impassioned fervor of “Leave Britney Alone”? Good times, my friends, good times.
Well, thanks to the wonderful people at Dipity, you can relive these pop culture milestones and every other meme that has traveled through cyberspace with their nifty Internet Meme timeline. The timeline is fully interactive, with the ability to change the scale from 25 years-at-a-glace all the way down to an hour-by-hour view.
Give it a look if only to increase your awareness of the stupidity quirkiness of the Internet age. Former EKGers may even get misty-eyed.
The Obama Brand
I’m not telling you who to vote for, honest. I just can’t seem to get over the Obama brand. Never in my limited history of experience with presidential campaigns have I witnessed such a successful presidential brand campaign. This is such a successful marketing campaign whether or not Obama wins (and some might beg to debate that issue). Even iPhone came out with an Obama ‘08 app to keep supporters connected and in the loop.
It seems almost taboo to bring this up, but I feel if we can put our political opinions aside and take a look at the amazing journey this brand is taking, it’s an astounding example to learn from. Look what we can do as creatives and developers if we stop putting limitations on ourselves in the brainstorming sessions!
I’ve listed a few sites that write a bit about this if you are interested. If we can remove our campaign goggles for a bit (I know that’s difficult to do as the election is just 2 weeks away) and take an objective view of this history-making marketing business, we can probably learn a thing or two. We can take away many things that have gone right here and be of better service to our clients who may look to us to do the same for them someday.
Art Design and Technology for Obama
The Hardest Working Presidential Candidate Logo | Speakup
How to Build a Brand Like Obama | Fast Company
The Evolution of Obama’s Website | The Bivings Report
The Obama vs McCain Website Smackdown | Read Write Web
Web 2.0 Tools Favor Democrats | Read Write Web
Oh Boy Obama: User Generated Campaign Think Tank | Read Write Web
Who Designed Obama’s Website & Logo?
Why the Obama “Brand” Is Working | Newsweek
Design Blogs
Today someone asked me if I could refer them to any blogs that have to do with graphic design. I thought I’d list a few of my favorites here for archival purposes. Maybe you’ll find them interesting. If you know of others, please comment and add to the list!
Design Observer (This one sets the bar IMHO)
Speak Up (This one comes close!)
AIGA Center for Practice Management
Be a Design Group (These guys have a kick-arse podcast too! Check it out on iTunes!)
Emigre (Remember these guys and their ground-breaking magazine?)
Font Shop’s Font Feed
See who will win the World Series… before it happens!
vs. 
Need an inside tip on the Fall Classic before calling your bookie? Pop on over to What If Sports and use their SimMatchup tool to predict a winner (for what it’s worth, after 10,001 simulations, the folks at WIS like the Phils in 7)*.
It’s a lot of fun, especially when you set up historical matchups*. There’s also simulation tools for the NFL, NBA, NHL and college sports.
*Personally, I think the ‘82 Brewers could take either of ‘em…
Little Green e-Book
Here’s a Green e-Book giving 50 tips on how Individuals can make life
greener and help tackle climate change.
Click here for the Little Green e-Book:
http://www.morganstanley.com/about/community/littlegreenebook/
Logo Design Trends 2008
Did you know waves are the new swooshes? Keep up, people!
Logobama
I’m not telling you who to vote for. This is not a campaign post. This is pure marketing interest. As designers, do we ever think when designing a logo for our clients of all the different ways that logo will be used? One can never really predict how far the logo might go.