The comma. It’s not as definitive as its brother the period or as emphatic as cousin exclamation. Many times the comma is neglected and unemployed; used where it is not needed and left out where it is. I admit I play pretty fast and loose with the comma, but that’s just how I roll. All told, I figure I use more commas then most people and therefore I am helping keep the little grammar tadpole alive.

This video by the Brazilian Press Association is brilliant. It ticks all my boxes: It is clever, it promotes free speech and it’s well designed. Let’s hear it for the comma!

That title is best said in a Futurama voice.

For all of you designers/creative types/futurologists/non-lactose intolerant people, Agency YCN has a challenge for you. Create the future of milk. I would divulge my entry, but I want to make sure I win a cool £1,000. Rest assured it involves cutting edge design, space age materials and an anti-matter drive.

I’ll be following the contest as I think it is a good challenge. Milk is a common product with little to differentiate one from another, but it ends up in many grocery baskets. As such, it is ideal for a challenge to create a unique product that will stand out from the competitors.

I’m particularly interested to see what new packaging designs are presented. The requirements are challenging: the packaging needs to be cheap with a size and shape that allows it to be easily stored in refrigerators. The material and design need to be able to be produced inexpensively and be sanitary and opaque. Since milk is such a consumable, a design that takes into account the waste generated is necessary as well. Put your thinking caps on and have a glass of milk!

It figures. After bragging about getting random headers to work, I find that it doesn’t work quite as well as I thought. I use Firefox for a web browser as I think it’s by far the best option. The random header script worked like a champ, until I checked it on Explorer on a PC at work and saw the menu buttons placed smack dab in the middle of the image.

I’ve been playing around more and have it set up very well in Firefox. In Explorer the menu is now above the image, which looks crappy, but is better than it was. Safari has the setup looking correct, but the images aren’t showing at all now. Grr. I’ll have to play around with the CSS more and see if I can get it fixed. I’m honestly perplexed at the moment as to why Safari doesn’t show the images so if anyone has a good tip or insight with that, please feel free to let me know. Now I’m back to the CSS to see if I can figure it out.

In the meantime I recommend you all use Firefox.

I’ve been wanting to create a random header script to make b!c! a little less static. I thought I had figured out the PHP code pretty well, but just wasn’t able to get it to work. Now with some jiggering about with the bits and bobs under the hood, it finally works. Every time b!c! is refreshed the script ought to work its magic and hopefully a new image will appear. Of course it is random, so repeats will occur as well.

At the moment I have 14 images to randomly appear in the header. That number will most likely change now that I know I can get it to work. Some are good, some are works in progress and some are just ideas that should probably be binned. I have other images and ideas to add as well so ultimately they will all be weeded down to a handful that I think are strong.

While I would love to take all the credit for this, I got some help from Rob who has a nice script and offered suggestions via email. All of which were helpful and greatly appreciated.
blogging random design

Wow. Just wow. This has to be, far and away, one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a while.

This is the work of a crew known by Lichtfaktor that do ‘graffiti’ with time-lapse photography, LED lights, torches, glow sticks and even fireworks. The result is ethereal and striking.

I love graffiti. I love finding something new and unexpected. I love the medium, the method of communication and the transformation of something to serve a new purpose.

Sadly, a lot of graffiti fails miserably as it is of the “somebody was here” or “for a good time call…” variety. But then there are the pieces that really capture your attention, that make you think and that is what redeems it. I really like how something as common as a brick wall can be turned into something else. Unfortunately, that generally involves creating art on somebody else’s property and most of the time, they aren’t that pleased about it.

This is brilliant. Graffiti has never been a lasting art form because today’s masterpiece is painted over tomorrow. This negates the necessity to remove the art because it doesn’t leave a lasting mark to be removed. These are pieces that take London streets and landmarks and turn them into a glimpse of something that might exist. It is a glimpse of London in an alternate universe and I am completely enamored with it.

They have a great slideshow on Flickr that you can find here.

graffiti art London

Photoshop is a great program. I use it almost daily and can’t imagine what life would be like without it. I know I’m not alone: Millions of designers, photographers and ham and egger hobbyists use it. Silicon User has an interesting story about where it all came from.

I didn’t attend the One Club awards show, and I imagine that there are many others out there in the same boat. Fortunately you can see the winners here. If this doesn’t get the creative juices flowing, or cause twinges of envy, then nothing will.

After the Olympic logo, it’s time for some good design. There was a great article in El Mundo about a campaign that the government of Barcelona has undertaken to reduce litter on their beaches. An agency in Barcelona has created a series of “beach heroes and heroines” posters to promote disposing of rubbish in bins rather than littering the beach. The agency is called Smäll which they say is Swedish for slap.

These ads are great. They all feature a comic book style hero fighting litter saying phrases like “Filthy rubbish! That yellow container will be your tomb!”. The artwork and the copy is great. This is a very good and very striking design. These ads make me feel like a kid again, and they are perfectly suited for display on the beach this summer.

Go to El Mundo to see all four ads in a larger size.

So the new logo for the 2012 Olympics has been unveiled. It was designed by the Wolff Olins agency and is a rather jaggedy and bright creation. It has a pretty strong resemblance to graffiti and definitely breaks with tradition.

I understand that they are trying to create an energetic logo that will hold up for 5 years but this seems to be almost a throwback to late 80s album covers. “Dynamic, modern and flexible” are good, I just don’t think this logo actually captured that. Upon the unveiling Tony Blair proclaimed:

We want London 2012 not just to be about elite sporting success. When people see the new brand, we want them to be inspired to make a positive change in their life.

Right. That’s the message I’m getting from it. While the old logo was a bit staid, it had a nice feel to it. The multi-coloured ribbons resembled the Thames as well as worldwide participation.

It’s the Olympics, not a flyer for a Gossip concert. I really don’t see this being successfully integrated or seeming dynamic, modern and flexible five years from now.

Logos can be a tricky business to design well. They need to be simple, clear and able to convey something about what they stand for in a glance. My logo for B!C! was based on the ubiquitous underground signs here in London. I wanted to say London without being too literal and turned it into the exclamation point in keeping with the blog name. I’m not sure how successful I was. La Mujer told me that she liked the logo but didn’t see the underground sign connection.

Oh well, at least it’s not too phallic. For a good laugh, check out these logo designs on David Airey’s blog.