July 7, 2010
Design Tools, General Design, Graphic Design

Here is a great color reference for those creative types that may need a refresher in color theory. This is a beautifully illustrated, cleanly formatted, goldmine of information whether you work in graphic design, illustration, package design or even web design.
June 4, 2010
Design Tools, Product Design, Upcoming Inventions

2 cufflinks, 4 total GB, 8 character engraving upgrade option, 200 dollars. But hey, the shipping is free! It seems a little outrageous, but I think I like them.
April 18, 2010
Design Tools, General Design

Using these six items, you can prepare your cell phone screen to survive any pocket-scratching scenario. Grab a notepad and take a look at this video.
April 15, 2010
Design Tools, General Design, Graphic Design
Looking through the work of Bryan Christine, I can see how a picture can say 1,000 words. Take a look for yourself; these images are incredible! Communicating a message solely through an illustration is not easy, but these are some examples of how it can be done well.


April 8, 2010
Design Tools, Graphic Design, Innovators & Creators, Photography
As good as having a wealthy uncle foot the bill for college, Chase Jarvis has offered to pay for your creative classes – at no cost! Seriously, no catch. Just enroll online and livestream the best the industry has to offer in creative genius.


CreativeLIVE offers free online lessons in creative design and fine arts courses like photography, programming, image editing, design and fine arts. So there is no excuse for not having the means to be more creative; Chase has truly helped to democratize creativity.
November 3, 2009
Design Tools, Product Innovation

Here is a not-so-short, short history of why there are so many variations of the outlet plug around the world. A little history, a little geography and whole a lot of humor. Enjoy.

October 28, 2009
Design Tools, General Design, Graphic Design

This advice for how to better render is a good set of guidelines. I, like others who have read this and posted, do not agree with the last one, though. ”Always cheat” is a bad way of saying reference what is around you. Underlays and references to scale and style are not cheating, so the wording threw me for a loop. But overall, it’s a good article.
July 22, 2009
Design Tools, Designer Profiles, Innovators & Creators, Product Innovation
Scottish-born Robert Gair invented the corrugated box in 1890; that is, pre-cut flat pieces manufactured in bulk that folded into boxes. Gair’s invention, as with so many other great innovations, came about as a result of an accident. Gair was a Brooklyn printer and paper-bag maker during the 1870′s, and one day, while he was printing an order of seed bags, a metal ruler normally used to crease bags shifted in position and cut them. Gair discovered that by cutting and creasing bags in one operation he could make prefabricated paper boxes. Applying this idea to corrugated boxboard was a straightforward development when the material became available. By the start of the 20th century, corrugated boxes began replacing the custom-made wooden crates and boxes previously used for trade.
(Information taken from Wikipedia.com)

Corrugated cardboard is what Lincoln’s famous top hat was made from, along with beaver fur. Everyone has had pizza delivered in a cardboard box. Amazon’s ever-present brown box with smiling logo is corrugated cardboard at its best; shipped worldwide thanks to the lightweight design and structural integrity of this recycled paper wonder. And as you just read, invention can be stumbled upon and its effects can change industry as we know it.