Great poster

This is a great poster.  Love the use of typography.

Loss of an Icon

"Form follows function" is a design cliche that everyone associated with the widening field has heard over and over again. No big brand supports this ethos more than Apple, and with the passing of founder Steve Jobs, we can wholly appreciate this refreshing approach to technology.

An architect of storytelling, Jobs created a lineage of products, from the initial Apple 1 personal computer to the latest iPhone we covet. He crafted a tale of simplicity, restriction, and intuitive use that has affected every consumer product made today. He didn't just change technology, he changed our way of thinking about design systems. If every piece of design is to work with anything that came before it—and anything to come after it—the system for that design has to be cohesive. This is bigger than a logo or brand language. It means designing so that loyal consumers will relate to a new object the same way they related to the old one, and that new consumers will find the learning process easy, too. Any interaction we have with Apple products is a direct result of incredible systems-design thinking, and that continuity and execution was a hallmark of Jobs' career. 

No company has made more complex and baffling pieces of hardware than Apple. The way anyone learns about creating products for people to use now—and not only use but enjoy—is informed by Jobs. An avid believer in correcting design flaws from product to product, and a consummate perfectionist, he has instilled key rules for design, such as streamlined interaction, like the click-wheel for the original iPod, a single interaction point that could execute an array of controls. Or there's his love for well-executed typography, which showed through across the entire brand—not just marketing and ads, but the words appearing on the screen of any Apple device. In design, rarely are these major rules broken, but if anyone could do it well, it was Jobs. And the moments when he broke the rules were the ones when he was most transcendent. It doesn't seem so revolutionary now, but look at the 1998 iMac, with its futuristic all-in-one body, and put it up against any other personal computer on the market at that time. He looked at all the precedents set by personal computers, and obliterated each one, leaving us with a glimpse of the future. 

The comparisons of Jobs to other monumental technical inventors will continue to roll in, but the thing that set him apart was his steadfast belief in design, whether in creating consumer products or living his own life. The oft-quoted passage about his views on death from his famous Stanford commencement speech was so remarkable because it was so practical. "Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there," he said. "And yet death is the destination we all share." For Jobs, even in death, form follows function.

(Good Design)

Barn Door

I love this barn door and how it can completely change the aesthetic of a space.  The contrast against the white and modern decor is amazing.

Fable Wines

I love this Wine Collection.  Each bottle is inspired by a different South African story and the story accompanies the artwork.  I also love the torn edge to the label which gives the bottles a unique feel.

A Better World

Its great to see that some companies are really trying to stand for something.  Chipotle created this video about going back to sustainable farming.  It is very cool and also has a great message.  If you have been to their stores recently you might have noticed they talk a lot about using local ingredients.

enjoy!

Amazing... and you never knew it existed

A glass beach.... yup.

During the early 20th century residents of Fort Bragg, California chose to dispose of their waste by hurling it off the cliffs above a beach. No object was too toxic or too large as household appliances, automobiles, and all matter of trash were tossed into the crashing waves below, eventually earning it the name The Dumps. In 1967 the North Coast Water Quality Board closed the area completely and initiated a series of cleanups to slowly reverse decades of pollution and environmental damage. But there was one thing too costly (or perhaps impossible) to tackle: the millions of tiny glass shards churning in the surf. Over time the unrelenting ocean waves have, in a sense, cleansed the beach, turning the sand into a sparkling, multicolored bed of smooth glass stones now known as Glass Beach. The beach is now an unofficial tourist attraction and the California State Park System has gone so far as purchasing the property and incorporating it into surrounding MacKerricher State Park. (images courtesy digggs, matthew high, meganpru, lee rentz and linked to sources. viakuriositas)

Honey

Who wouldn't want to buy this honey.... great packaging!

Foggy Golf

We attempted to Golf Saturday morning, the fog was unbelievable! It did make for a few cool pictures though.

John in the Fog

New Love

Welcome to the world baby Deklin!  What a big beautiful boy. Congratulations Annemarie and Kevin, he's a keeper!

Deklin Patrick

The Last Month

Just a few images from the last month I thought I would share.

Early morning round of golf

Vineyard in Upstate NY

Reds Game in July

Smiling Bentley with her new Zebra friend

Bridges

There is something about bridges that I find fascinating.  Here are just a few of the images I shot recently.

Roeblin Bridge: Cincinnati OH to Covington KY

The Frederick Douglas - Susan B. Anthony Bridge: Rochester NY

Historic Covered Bridge: Harpersfield PA (Discovered as we made a wrong turn!)

Trip to Singapore and China

I had the chance to visit Guangzhou, Singapore and Shanghai.  It was a blast! Here are just a few images to capture my trip.

Guangzhou

Th Sands Hotel, rooftop - Singapore

The Sands Hotel, rooftop at night - Singapore

Bridge - Singapore

Chocolate Chili Gelato, Orchard Street - what a treat! - Singapore

Tiking Lane - Shanghai

Shopping on Taiking Lane - Shanghai

Old Town - Shanghai

Old Town Street Market - Shanghai

The Tea House, Yu Gardens - Shanghai

Panda at Yu Gardens - Shanghai

Yu Gardens - Shanghai

Famous Dumplings, Yu Gardens - Shanghai

Panda at The Bund - Shanghai

Rooftop view, The Bund - Shanghai

Getting a drink, rooftop, The Bund - Shanghai

Meghan's Wedding Invite

My most current creation.  I worked diligently with Meghan to create her vision for the perfect invites.  I used a Back Pocket invitation style.  The pocket was black with a metallic finish.  The 3 enclosure cards cascaded within the pocket to show the titles.  The background paper for the invitation was a gunmetal metallic paper, which played beautifully with the rhinestone embellishments on the front of the invite.  Each rhinestone was hand-applied.  Invitations were mailed in White envelopes with a white inner envelope with a black lining.

Quantity = 200

Baby Shower Invite

Invitations for a baby shower for Annemarie.  I added in a Chinese Lantern since Annemarie is currently living in Shanghai.  I created a 5 x 7 invite along with a custom return address label.

Annemarie is expecting a baby Boy in August.

Don't you love when it is supposed to rain and its sunny!

Picture a Day

I was inspired by artist Jonathan Harris to start taking one picture a day.  I am hoping to begin posting a picture each day, however here are my first four days.  I find that it encourages me to find a little beauty in each day, to try and look at everything.  I also think it will be interesting to look back and see the snapshots that have made up my week, month, year.

April 14th - Thursday

Spring is Here... Bentley looking into the Sun

April 15th - Friday

Dinner with Friends... Wine was a great was a great way to end the week!

April 16th - Saturday

Invites! Working all day on these beautiful invites, I liked this image

April 17th - Sunday

Football season... Flag football that is.  

Puppy Love

I just have to share this picture, as it is just too cute.  My sister and her fiance got a puppy [Lucy] over Christmas and this was the first time Lucy met our dog Bentley.

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The Growing Trend of Purple and Green

Obviously you can see from my blog colors that I am a big fan of purple and green.  I also used these colors for my wedding!  They seem to be a growing trend as well.  Here is a recent invitation I designed using this theme.  I used hydrangeas as background inspiration and gave them an artistic and soft effect to contrast the crisp edge of the containing shape for the Invitation language.

Wedding Season

It seems like winter is finally starting to wind down... and with that Wedding Season is on the Horizon.  I am in the middle of several great Invitation Projects.

I am exploring Monograms at the present moment... a nice way to use your initials to tie everything together!