A really old ad that I love

I pulled these Toni Gard ads from a magazine somewhere betwixt 1996 and 2004... The spreads are front to back so they work together.

It made it's home on my wall of good stuff at the first agency I worked at, then at Target and then for the next two jobs it lived in drawers of inspiration...

It's seen better days so I thought I'd extend it's life on the web.

Love it because the images are so great but the story the copy tells is fantastic. Simple. Beautiful.

It's only a piece of fabric. But it has the power of speech.
It says: tonight you're mine. And tomorrow I will return you in one piece.

It's only a piece of fabric. But it has the power of speech.
It says: hello. I've come to pick up your daughter. Forever.

Do You Like Your Phone?

Do You Like Your Phone? People ask the question all the time especially since I went from nine months of a flip phone to the iPhone 5.

But when my son asked me that same question on Friday while I was checking email it hit be like a ton of bricks. And my answer was "it's just a phone, you know what I like? You."

But I still felt like shit.

I don't think the question was as simple as it sounded. I think he was basically saying: you're ignoring me for your phone. Do you like it better than me?

Attack of the News Apps

I was looking for a better news app when a friend tweeted about the new Circa app. I bit and immediately downloaded...And soon after deleted.

I've been struggling for a news source that works for me on my phone...And I've learned a little about the way I take in information...

I can read fiction in print or on an e-reader (Nook Simple Touch). I can only read non-fiction in print (not sure why). I read short articles or the beginning of longer ones on the web. I can't read long articles on the web (too easy to stray). I find myself printing web articles I want to concentrate one (I feel like my mom five years ago).

I like newspapers but would never subscribe because by the time I get the newspaper I've read the news (make them smaller and more in-depth or editorial and I'd bite). I can't remember the last magazine I bought but I used to love them (I miss them).

And with all that I've been trying to find a good source for me to consume the news in small format.

Connect Now And Tweet Later iPhone Wallpaper

It started with a project in which my agency was sponsoring a happy hour at an interactive conference. We wanted to create some posters and drink tickets that fit the environment.

Our concept was to use the Keep Calm And Carry On poster and make it relevant for the audience. One of my favorites was Connect Now And Tweet Later.

I felt that it spoke to the audience well. We were all connected but were going to be in a space, a happy hour, in which personal communication was so important. But having been to those events before I know the reality is people staring at their screens sometimes having digital conversations with someone else in the room.

The time I was without a smartphone for eight months was actually refreshing and so I thought the message would be good for my lock screen.

Now I pause a little before I unlock my screen and question if it's the right time to be tweeting or such.

You can grab the wallpapers below (clikity click then copy the image). I'll throw an iPad version up soon.

iPhone 5

iPhone 4

Concept: Traffic Light For The Colorblind

I suppose the title of this post is wrong as really it would be a light for everyone however it would be colorblind friendly.

I got the idea because right now my son is semi-obsessed with traffic lights. He loves the colors asks when it will turn red or green and when it's green he'll ask why there's no arrow (on the regular lights).

And the other day we were riding home and he'd say, "green arrow, red circle, green circle, green arrows" and so on and so on.

But I was thinking what he'd see if he was colorblind. If it was bad colorblindness he'd only see grey/brownish circles or arrows (I think that's a good representation of the colors folks see).

So that got me thinking how to better design traffic lights for colorblind folk, since at night you can't tell if the top, middle or lower light is glowing but you can see the color.

Here's my concept. I'm sure that DOTs have looked into changing lights but I don't know why they haven't.

I chose to use the iconic colors of course but went with easily distinguishable shapes that have a behavior attached to them. Red X for stop, Yellow triangle for yield and Green circle for there's a turtle below you so drive away fast.

Dig Dug iPhone5 Wallpaper

A few weeks back I saw a nice wooden bookshelf wallpaper for the iPhone. I loved the idea of it but it wasn't really my style.

So I decided to build a Dig Dug inspired wallpaper.

It has four large dugouts (is that what they're called?) that I use to place some of my more used apps since i find my eyes are drawn a bit more to those black frames.

Here's a link if you'd like to use it yourself.

I'm sure there are more of these to come as I get time.

In action

The reality is I don't use that fifth row of icons, I like the space but I designe it and am showing it for how most people probably use their phones.

In inaction

A Little Cynicism Can Quell A #FailingAgenda

Every time I'm working on a project I try to figure out how it can be hacked. I'm not sure why maybe it's because I look at things differently and see the funny where some don't. I'm a sarcastic and I'm a cynic and while it sometimes gets me in trouble it often keeps me away from it.

For example I'll probably never work on a campaign that has "it is" in the name. Because when I see a URL with those words together "itis" I feel like it's a disease.

I guess not everyone looks at things like that.

When I woke up today and saw that #failingagenda was a promoted hashtag I had to check the chatter, and I was glad I did because promoted hashtags are fast becoming a game for people on twitter.

#failingagenda was bought by Americans for Prosperity to promote their anti-Obama agenda, but it backfired... Badly.

#FailingAgenda

One tweet, aside from their's, supported their cause when I did a screengrab of the 12 latest tweets this morning.