Thoughts from Tim Miles
Monday, October 28, 2013
After learning his son is autistic, award-winning communicator Tim Miles changes his path.
Firewall - An Amazing Interactive Experience
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
A layer of fabric exhibits visuals and sound sensitive to touch.
By Aaron Sherwood and Mike Allison.
Some Good Reads...
Thursday, August 29, 2013
We wanted to share some book we've enjoyed recently (and some not so recently, but they're classics). Enjoy!
On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a last lecture called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” With slides of his CT scans beaming out to the audience, Randy told his audience about the cancer that is devouring his pancreas and that will claim his life in a matter of months. On the stage that day, Randy was youthful, energetic, handsome, often cheerfully, darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But this was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged.
Designers know they're creative, but there are times when they have trouble being creative on demand. This book helps them master twelve exciting techniques that encourage the awareness, confidence and intuition they need to experience more consistent, fulfilling creativity.
Readers will learn how to awaken their creative subconscious by making a Tibetan mandala, achieve mental clarity with yoga or aromatherapy, improve their imaginations with color therapy and much, much more! Examples, statistics, case studies and extensive bibliographies are provided to support the validity of each technique.
Readers will also find dozens of fascinating insights and exercises that will supercharge their brains with creative energy.
To make the journey into the Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. From the very first page of this extraordinary book, we move rapidly into a significantly higher altitude where we breathe a lighter air. We become connected to the indestructible essence of our Being, “The eternal, ever present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death.”
Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart Tolle uses simple language and an easy question and answer format to guide us. A word of mouth phenomenon since its first publication, The Power of Now is one of those rare books with the power to create an experience in readers, one that can radically change their lives for the better.
With a little discipline, anyone can learn to inspire. Start With Why offers an unconventional perspective that explains WHY some people and organizations are more innovative, more profitable, command greater loyalties from customers and employees alike and, most importantly, are able to repeat their success over and over. These are not the one hit wonders. These are the ones who change the course of industries or even society.
Because it's all based on how people think and act, this unique view of the world has application in big business and small business, in politics and non-profit. Though some people have a natural ability to start with WHY, this book offers compelling evidence that, with a little discipline, anyone can learn to do it.
This book has been a top-seller for the simple reason that it ignores trends and pop psychology for proven principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity. Celebrating its fifteenth year of helping people solve personal and professional problems, this special anniversary edition includes a new foreword and afterword written by Covey exploring the question of whether the 7 Habits are still relevant and answering some of the most common questions he has received over the past 15 years.
In 2002, Seth Godin asked a simple question that turned the business world upside down: What do Starbucks and JetBlue and Apple and Dutch Boy and Hard Candy have that other companies don't? How did they confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind formerly tried-and-true brands?
Godin showed that the traditional Ps that marketers had used for decades to get their products noticed-pricing, promotion, publicity, packaging, etc.-weren't working anymore. Marketers were ignoring the most important P of all: the Purple Cow.
Cows, after you've seen one or two or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though... now that would be something. Godin defines a Purple Cow as anything phenomenal, counterintuitive, exciting... remarkable. Every day, consumers ignore a lot of brown cows, but you can bet they won't ignore a Purple Cow.
You can't paint your product or service purple after the fact. You have to be inherently purple or no one will talk about you. Godin urges you to emulate companies that are consistently remarkable in everything they do, which drives explosive word of mouth.
Purple Cow launched a movement to create products and services that are worth marketing in the first place. Now this expanded edition includes dozens of new examples from readers who've taken the message to heart.
Focus is simply about finding sanity in a digital age that has increased the urgency, frequency, intensity and ubiquity of the distractions in our life. It’s about finding focus for whatever you need: focusing on creating, on your inner voice, on finding stillness, on getting things done.
Generating new ideas is easy, it's executing that is hard. Whether it's an everyday problem or a bold new concept, you must transform vision into reality for an idea to have value.
In Making Ideas Happen, Behance founder Scott Belsky chronicles the process behind the legendary teams at Disney, IDEO, and Google — as well as individuals like John Maeda, Seth Godin, and Chris Anderson — to share tried-and-true methods for overcoming the obstacles between vision and reality.
All You Need Is A Good Idea! is filled with insights that are relevant, informal and practical, helping your colleagues learn to create the ideas they need to stand out in the marketplace, build market share, get publicity, appear larger than they really are and make their competition nervous…while actually having fun.
The Go Getter is the story of William Peck.He was a war veteran and amputee who will not be refused what he wants. Peck not only fights to find employment but continually proves himself more than competent at the many difficult test that are throw his way in the course of his early days with the Ricks Lumber Company...
On September 18, 2007, computer science professor Randy Pausch stepped in front of an audience of 400 people at Carnegie Mellon University to deliver a last lecture called “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.” With slides of his CT scans beaming out to the audience, Randy told his audience about the cancer that is devouring his pancreas and that will claim his life in a matter of months. On the stage that day, Randy was youthful, energetic, handsome, often cheerfully, darkly funny. He seemed invincible. But this was a brief moment, as he himself acknowledged.
Randy’s lecture has become a phenomenon, as has the book he wrote based on
the same principles, celebrating the dreams we all strive to make realities.
Sadly, Randy lost his battle to pancreatic cancer on July 25th, 2008, but
his legacy will continue to inspire us all, for generations to come.
Designers know they're creative, but there are times when they have trouble being creative on demand. This book helps them master twelve exciting techniques that encourage the awareness, confidence and intuition they need to experience more consistent, fulfilling creativity.
Readers will learn how to awaken their creative subconscious by making a Tibetan mandala, achieve mental clarity with yoga or aromatherapy, improve their imaginations with color therapy and much, much more! Examples, statistics, case studies and extensive bibliographies are provided to support the validity of each technique.
Readers will also find dozens of fascinating insights and exercises that will supercharge their brains with creative energy.
To make the journey into the Now we will need to leave our analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. From the very first page of this extraordinary book, we move rapidly into a significantly higher altitude where we breathe a lighter air. We become connected to the indestructible essence of our Being, “The eternal, ever present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death.”
Although the journey is challenging, Eckhart Tolle uses simple language and an easy question and answer format to guide us. A word of mouth phenomenon since its first publication, The Power of Now is one of those rare books with the power to create an experience in readers, one that can radically change their lives for the better.
With a little discipline, anyone can learn to inspire. Start With Why offers an unconventional perspective that explains WHY some people and organizations are more innovative, more profitable, command greater loyalties from customers and employees alike and, most importantly, are able to repeat their success over and over. These are not the one hit wonders. These are the ones who change the course of industries or even society.
Because it's all based on how people think and act, this unique view of the world has application in big business and small business, in politics and non-profit. Though some people have a natural ability to start with WHY, this book offers compelling evidence that, with a little discipline, anyone can learn to do it.
This book has been a top-seller for the simple reason that it ignores trends and pop psychology for proven principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity. Celebrating its fifteenth year of helping people solve personal and professional problems, this special anniversary edition includes a new foreword and afterword written by Covey exploring the question of whether the 7 Habits are still relevant and answering some of the most common questions he has received over the past 15 years.
In 2002, Seth Godin asked a simple question that turned the business world upside down: What do Starbucks and JetBlue and Apple and Dutch Boy and Hard Candy have that other companies don't? How did they confound critics and achieve spectacular growth, leaving behind formerly tried-and-true brands?
Godin showed that the traditional Ps that marketers had used for decades to get their products noticed-pricing, promotion, publicity, packaging, etc.-weren't working anymore. Marketers were ignoring the most important P of all: the Purple Cow.
Cows, after you've seen one or two or ten, are boring. A Purple Cow, though... now that would be something. Godin defines a Purple Cow as anything phenomenal, counterintuitive, exciting... remarkable. Every day, consumers ignore a lot of brown cows, but you can bet they won't ignore a Purple Cow.
You can't paint your product or service purple after the fact. You have to be inherently purple or no one will talk about you. Godin urges you to emulate companies that are consistently remarkable in everything they do, which drives explosive word of mouth.
Purple Cow launched a movement to create products and services that are worth marketing in the first place. Now this expanded edition includes dozens of new examples from readers who've taken the message to heart.
Focus is simply about finding sanity in a digital age that has increased the urgency, frequency, intensity and ubiquity of the distractions in our life. It’s about finding focus for whatever you need: focusing on creating, on your inner voice, on finding stillness, on getting things done.
Generating new ideas is easy, it's executing that is hard. Whether it's an everyday problem or a bold new concept, you must transform vision into reality for an idea to have value.
In Making Ideas Happen, Behance founder Scott Belsky chronicles the process behind the legendary teams at Disney, IDEO, and Google — as well as individuals like John Maeda, Seth Godin, and Chris Anderson — to share tried-and-true methods for overcoming the obstacles between vision and reality.
All You Need Is A Good Idea! is filled with insights that are relevant, informal and practical, helping your colleagues learn to create the ideas they need to stand out in the marketplace, build market share, get publicity, appear larger than they really are and make their competition nervous…while actually having fun.
The Go Getter is the story of William Peck.He was a war veteran and amputee who will not be refused what he wants. Peck not only fights to find employment but continually proves himself more than competent at the many difficult test that are throw his way in the course of his early days with the Ricks Lumber Company...
Common Grammar Mistakes
Monday, July 29, 2013
We've all made an occasional grammar faux-pas. Which ones are the most common? Here are a few:
WHO AND WHOM
This one opens a big can of worms. “Who” is a subjective — or nominative — pronoun, along with "he," "she," "it," "we," and "they." It’s used when the pronoun acts as the subject of a clause. “Whom” is an objective pronoun, along with "him," "her," "it", "us," and "them." It’s used when the pronoun acts as the object of a clause. Using “who” or “whom” depends on whether you’re referring to the subject or object of a sentence. When in doubt, substitute “who” with the subjective pronouns “he” or “she,” e.g., Who loves you? cf., He loves me. Similarly, you can also substitute “whom” with the objective pronouns “him” or “her.” e.g., I consulted an attorney whom I met in New York. cf., I consulted him.
WHICH AND THAT
This is one of the most common mistakes out there, and understandably so. “That” is a restrictive pronoun. It’s vital to the noun to which it’s referring. e.g., I don’t trust fruits and vegetables that aren’t organic. Here, I’m referring to all non-organic fruits or vegetables. In other words, I only trust fruits and vegetables that are organic. “Which” introduces a relative clause. It allows qualifiers that may not be essential. e.g., I recommend you eat only organic fruits and vegetables, which are available in area grocery stores. In this case, you don’t have to go to a specific grocery store to obtain organic fruits and vegetables. “Which” qualifies, “that” restricts. “Which” is more ambiguous however, and by virtue of its meaning is flexible enough to be used in many restrictive clauses. e.g., The house, which is burning, is mine. e.g., The house that is burning is mine.
LAY AND LIE
This is the crown jewel of all grammatical errors. “Lay” is a transitive verb. It requires a direct subject and one or more objects. Its present tense is “lay” (e.g., I lay the pencil on the table) and its past tense is “laid” (e.g., Yesterday I laid the pencil on the table). “Lie” is an intransitive verb. It needs no object. Its present tense is “lie” (e.g., The Andes mountains lie between Chile and Argentina) and its past tense is “lay” (e.g., The man lay waiting for an ambulance). The most common mistake occurs when the writer uses the past tense of the transitive “lay” (e.g., I laid on the bed) when he/she actually means the intransitive past tense of “lie" (e.g., I lay on the bed).
ENVY AND JEALOUSY
The word “envy” implies a longing for someone else’s good fortunes. “Jealousy” is far more nefarious. It’s a fear of rivalry, often present in sexual situations. “Envy” is when you covet your friend’s good looks. “Jealousy” is what happens when your significant other swoons over your good-looking friend.
FARTHER AND FURTHER
The word “farther” implies a measurable distance. “Further” should be reserved for abstract lengths you can't always measure. e.g., I threw the ball ten feet farther than Bill. e.g., The financial crisis caused further implications.
DISINTERESTED AND UNINTERESTED
Contrary to popular usage, these words aren’t synonymous. A “disinterested” person is someone who’s impartial. For example, a hedge fund manager might take interest in a headline regarding the performance of a popular stock, even if he's never invested in it. He’s “disinterested,” i.e., he doesn’t seek to gain financially from the transaction he’s witnessed. Judges and referees are supposed to be "disinterested." If the sentence you’re using implies someone who couldn't care less, chances are you’ll want to use “uninterested.”
IRONY AND COINCIDENCE
Too many people claim something is the former when they actually mean the latter. For example, it’s not “ironic” that “Barbara moved from California to New York, where she ended up meeting and falling in love with a fellow Californian.” The fact that they’re both from California is a "coincidence." "Irony" is the incongruity in a series of events between the expected results and the actual results. "Coincidence" is a series of events that appear planned when they’re actually accidental. So, it would be "ironic" if “Barbara moved from California to New York to escape California men, but the first man she ended up meeting and falling in love with was a fellow Californian.”
These are selections from: http://litreactor.com/columns/20-common-grammar-mistakes-that-almost-everyone-gets-wrong
WHO AND WHOM
This one opens a big can of worms. “Who” is a subjective — or nominative — pronoun, along with "he," "she," "it," "we," and "they." It’s used when the pronoun acts as the subject of a clause. “Whom” is an objective pronoun, along with "him," "her," "it", "us," and "them." It’s used when the pronoun acts as the object of a clause. Using “who” or “whom” depends on whether you’re referring to the subject or object of a sentence. When in doubt, substitute “who” with the subjective pronouns “he” or “she,” e.g., Who loves you? cf., He loves me. Similarly, you can also substitute “whom” with the objective pronouns “him” or “her.” e.g., I consulted an attorney whom I met in New York. cf., I consulted him.
WHICH AND THAT
This is one of the most common mistakes out there, and understandably so. “That” is a restrictive pronoun. It’s vital to the noun to which it’s referring. e.g., I don’t trust fruits and vegetables that aren’t organic. Here, I’m referring to all non-organic fruits or vegetables. In other words, I only trust fruits and vegetables that are organic. “Which” introduces a relative clause. It allows qualifiers that may not be essential. e.g., I recommend you eat only organic fruits and vegetables, which are available in area grocery stores. In this case, you don’t have to go to a specific grocery store to obtain organic fruits and vegetables. “Which” qualifies, “that” restricts. “Which” is more ambiguous however, and by virtue of its meaning is flexible enough to be used in many restrictive clauses. e.g., The house, which is burning, is mine. e.g., The house that is burning is mine.
LAY AND LIE
This is the crown jewel of all grammatical errors. “Lay” is a transitive verb. It requires a direct subject and one or more objects. Its present tense is “lay” (e.g., I lay the pencil on the table) and its past tense is “laid” (e.g., Yesterday I laid the pencil on the table). “Lie” is an intransitive verb. It needs no object. Its present tense is “lie” (e.g., The Andes mountains lie between Chile and Argentina) and its past tense is “lay” (e.g., The man lay waiting for an ambulance). The most common mistake occurs when the writer uses the past tense of the transitive “lay” (e.g., I laid on the bed) when he/she actually means the intransitive past tense of “lie" (e.g., I lay on the bed).
ENVY AND JEALOUSY
The word “envy” implies a longing for someone else’s good fortunes. “Jealousy” is far more nefarious. It’s a fear of rivalry, often present in sexual situations. “Envy” is when you covet your friend’s good looks. “Jealousy” is what happens when your significant other swoons over your good-looking friend.
FARTHER AND FURTHER
The word “farther” implies a measurable distance. “Further” should be reserved for abstract lengths you can't always measure. e.g., I threw the ball ten feet farther than Bill. e.g., The financial crisis caused further implications.
DISINTERESTED AND UNINTERESTED
Contrary to popular usage, these words aren’t synonymous. A “disinterested” person is someone who’s impartial. For example, a hedge fund manager might take interest in a headline regarding the performance of a popular stock, even if he's never invested in it. He’s “disinterested,” i.e., he doesn’t seek to gain financially from the transaction he’s witnessed. Judges and referees are supposed to be "disinterested." If the sentence you’re using implies someone who couldn't care less, chances are you’ll want to use “uninterested.”
IRONY AND COINCIDENCE
Too many people claim something is the former when they actually mean the latter. For example, it’s not “ironic” that “Barbara moved from California to New York, where she ended up meeting and falling in love with a fellow Californian.” The fact that they’re both from California is a "coincidence." "Irony" is the incongruity in a series of events between the expected results and the actual results. "Coincidence" is a series of events that appear planned when they’re actually accidental. So, it would be "ironic" if “Barbara moved from California to New York to escape California men, but the first man she ended up meeting and falling in love with was a fellow Californian.”
These are selections from: http://litreactor.com/columns/20-common-grammar-mistakes-that-almost-everyone-gets-wrong
Memorable Campaigns
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Certain word combinations along with a strong visual create campaigns that are just plain sticky, becoming a part of pop culture. Here are a few of these:
With the latest news that the government has been mining Verizon's data of millions
of customers, this campaign has taken on a new meaning.
of customers, this campaign has taken on a new meaning.
'What Happens Here, Stays Here' even has a site devoted to knowing "the code."
Brainstorming Techniques
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Whatever your role is — in life or in business — you’ll always
be chasing the next idea. It could be a problem to be solved, a process
to be tweaked, a new product offering to be created, or something else.
In the business world, you don’t even have to be one of the “creatives”
to either come up with great ideas or be asked to think of one.
But
where do ideas come from? Short of saying everywhere, let’s just
say…everywhere. It’s impossible to put limits on where great ideas come
from and why would you want to? A great idea can come to you in the
shower, on the golf course, listening to a song, doing laundry, walking
your dog, and on and on.
The
tricky part comes when you have to drum up an idea out of nothing or,
even worse, under a tight time frame. Happens all the time at work,
right? Stress, as you know, can be the great inhibiter to idea
generation (though sometimes it can be an ally, as well). And just
putting on your thinking cap doesn’t always work (despite what your
second grade teacher told you). That’s why it helps to have some
techniques to fall back on in order to get your internal idea generator
kick-started again. Here are a few:
Just relax
Everyone
gets stumped now and then and shifting into panic mode does little to
help grease the creaky wheels in your brain. So calm down, breathe,
meditate, whatever. Nothing good comes from circuitry working harder
than it should. If you know a good relaxation technique (get a massage,
bust out that Enya CD, do some Yoga), have at it.
Step away
Get
a change of scenery. We’re not saying ditch the spouse and kids here.
Just walk away from the computer, turn off your phone, and take a
stroll. Get some hot tea. Go to the bookstore or library. People watch.
Stretch. Find some quiet distractions so your thoughts can flow
un-interrupted.
Brainstorm
There’s
a reason why the classics are the classics. Most every business person
has some experience engaging in brainstorming sessions. The reason is
because they work. The first step is to ask for help. Your co-workers
won’t mind, especially if it gets them away from their desks for a
while. Veteran brainstormers know there are some unspoken rules about
conducting an effective brainstorming session: stay open-minded, don’t
evaluate each idea as they’re introduced, and invite anyone who wants to
participate. And while you may not get the perfect idea during the
session, the ideas you collect may trigger something down the road.
When in doubt, SCAMMPERR
Try
the SCAMMPERR Technique. Pioneered by Alex Osborn, a teacher of
creativity, this technique can help anyone unleash great ideas.
Substitute something.
Combine it with something else.
Adapt something to it.
Magnify or add to it.
Modify it.
Put it to some other use.
Eliminate something.
Rearrange it.
Reverse it.
Combine it with something else.
Adapt something to it.
Magnify or add to it.
Modify it.
Put it to some other use.
Eliminate something.
Rearrange it.
Reverse it.
The
most important thing to realize about any of these techniques is that
you want to crank out as many ideas as possible. Understand that
quantity does matter, in this case. You’ll eventually get to the
quality, but first you (and others) need to generate as many
hair-brained, zany, mal-formed, “dumb” ideas as possible. Because soon
enough you’ll realize some of those ideas aren’t so dumb or zany after
all. All it takes is one idea to be spot on.
Thoughts on Inspiration
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
This month we decided to share a blog post from Cherylyn Gnadt, our senior designer and a talented artist and jewelry-maker. In it she shares her inspiration in creating a charm.
charm inspiration and idea generation
In almost every artist statement I've written, I try to answer "where do my ideas come from?" And the answer seems almost a bit trite, something like "from nature, my experiences, my daughter and many talented people in the artist community I'm lucky to know," and even though this sounds a bit broad, it is true. It was evident in my creation of the charm I'm creating for the EMC team charm swap. I thought it would be fun to share with you my inspiration.
I'm the type of creator that gathers, gathers, gathers and then finally it all comes together. So here are some of my random gatherings...
An istockphoto image—a marquee-like image while searching and trying to develop designs for a website:
A stamp by Tim Holtz and a curvy hinge from a scrapbook/altered arts convention I visited last weekend:
Reading a book (that my Mom read to me as a child) to my daughter—The Story of Ping by Majorie Flack:
A brief glimpse of some interesting mixed-media techniques at the Collage Sisthars meeting this weekend and another technique a few months back.
And with all this gathering and the wonderful online resources of the internet, I'm very in tune with the concerns of copying and plagiarism. In fact I was just reading Pikaland's issue #7 of their Good to Know e-zine on plagiarism. You can get your copy here or read it online on issuu.
Ideas are viral and completely unique ideas are hard to come by. So here are a few things I do to try to make sure my work is a bit different and actually mine.
~ when in doubt, give credit
~ I keep a journal (several in fact) and draw, write, doodle in them all the time. There is something with free form doodling that seems to be the subconscious trying to talk to me. I try to find patterns and purpose in my sketches which often don't reveal themselves long after I've made my entry.
~ I take classes from amazing artists, trying to learn their technique. Then I let go for a bit and try again a few days or weeks later. I'll do the technique in different ways trying to incorporate my style with new understanding.~ and I keep on creating, even if it's not turning out.
This reminds me of a quote I've read: "The enemy of the great is often the good."But the actual original quote is "Better is the enemy of good." -Voltaire
Which would suggest you always are looking for more. Most of the time I have to get the "ugly" out of my head, before I even get to the good, let alone the elusive great.
These techniques inspired the charm and here is the end result:
------------
So really, inspiration is everywhere. Keep your eyes open, immerse yourself in the present and enjoy!
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About Me
- Name: Sharon Bending
Sharon is the President/Creative Director of Bending Design, a strategic design firm that partners with associations and financial services companies.
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