briar waterman

Really great site re-design for the City of Philadelphia by happy cog. Amazing detail, even in the drop-down items. Take a look now and you can compare it side by side to the existing design.

“By practicing slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, the strenuous student forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance.”

Interesting article that works to debunk the concept of “genius” in the Op-Ed section of the NYTimes. Ends up pointing out that practice, especially a form of micro-practice, concentrating on the small elements that make a whole are the thing that may be a better indicator of the potential for success.

I love finding agencies, interactive, design, or ad, that take time to post or blog, it is great little insight into what is going on. Then there are a few that take it to the next step, where the posts are very styled and thoughtful…sapient has a section like this, thoughtful insights, wrapped with great visuals. It goes well with their opening premise, that they are thinking all the time.

The animation for #11, Boxless is great, but the Forester research on #12 is definitely worth downloading and reading, if for nothing more than the summary at the beginning that gives a frank assessment of how interactive firms are reacting and be effected by the recession.

Nice little video interview with Kyle Blue from Dwell magazine.

There is a nice insight in the  beginning when he talks about their use of space and how they share one common table for all of the designers vs. walling themselves off in cubicles.

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Been awhile. Trying to find some habit that I can get into with this thing.

Found some interesting things to share:

I received the new DWR catalog. I am not sure that I will ever buy anything there, but it is good to look through. Their summer catalog has a wonderful red bird illustration on the cover. Inside there was a pre-fab pool house that you could buy. Inside of it they had staged a surfboard with a great black and white drawing. Did a little research and discovered it is a James Victore piece. Figures that I would notice and like it; I have been drawn to his stuff since he contributed to Critique magazine.

Couple of Victore links:

His website Also found that he now has things for sale, including posters

Here is a great video profile of him by hillman curtis. I used to watch that once a month after it came out, especially the part about the scissors. So brash. Seems like a good guy.

Other stuff from above:

Letters are from this video of job wouters and his nephew drawing letters. Cool to see how the kids letters seem to have more energy as he gets toward the end. Maybe from loosening up, maybe from getting tired and bored.

Bart image is from Jillian Tamaki’s blog Great insight into her work. Amazing to see how rough and raw her sketches are, especially compared to her final artwork, which is so tight.

Ok, more sooner than later.

 Some things worth checking out:

• Rural Studio is a great project started by the late Sam Mockbee. He build sustainable and affordable housing for one of the poorest areas of the country. Tapping into his students at the university, he creating a summer program that let them live and work there with the people, creating beautiful, affordable homes
• Studio M is an off-shoot that was started after Sam died and gives designers a chance to give back to the world.
•  425,  buyameter.org site lets you help people in Hale county out by raising funds to buy water meters.

Another Southern I had not looked at in a while,  Byrdhouse.

•  Got looking at it today because I was referencing this great white on white business card he created.
•  More about Sam Mockbee from his point of view. 

Couple of quick recipes:

•  This is a great cake. Simple ingredients, rich carmel that is not too sweet. I am not sure if I like it better fresh or the day after, when the caramel and the cake are a bit crusty and dried out on the outside, moist on the inside. Make sure to use cream not just milk or it is too dry. 
• Quick weeknight dinner, Chicken Udon. Gobbled up by everyone.