Anyway, one member sent in an E.F. Schumacher quote on stewardship from Good Work. I had heard of Schumacher in seminary, but needed to research to find out he was a influential environmental economist in the 20th century. In that research, it was a delight to find his 1970s era book covers. Take a look:

The colors, texture and collage approach is an amazingly fresh look today. These covers could easily look at home on the shelves of anthropologie, or urban outfitters. While they are hardly timeless designs, it’s interesting to see what looks current now has legacy in green and community focused thought of the 1970s.

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I checked out Drupal Design Camp here in Boston yesterday. This wordpress girl has been suddenly thrown into the drupal world as a in-house designer dealing with this site. I wanted to dip my toe in the community and get a feel for what’s happening. Here are some thoughts on my first camp experience:

Location

First off, this camp gets an A+ on the location. The MIT Strata building was an amazing place to be gathered, and easy to get on public transportation. The building kept surprising and delighting me with its way-finding, innovative interior (chalk boards in the hallways!), and of course the show-stopping architecture.

Community
Drupal folks really are a community that loves what they do and talking about what they do. I guess I wasn’t expecting this level of passion. It was fun to step into it, though I’m so grateful for twitter (#d4dboston) or I’d feel really outside of it all as a new comer!

Presentations
The presentations themselves tended to be anti-climatic (or at least the fundamentals track started off too beginner to keep me engaged). Staying with the flock in the auditorium seemed to lead to engaging content and speakers.

Slides
Thankfully many speakers post their slides online after their presentations, or offered to email them. I’m really looking forward to getting Jared Spools intuitive design presentation in my email box – but here is a quick list of others:

• Drupal site planning – letting user experience guide workflow by Dani Nordin of Zen Kitchen
• Accelerated Grid Theming Using Nine Sixty by Todd Nienkerk of Four Kitchens
• I’m quickly becoming a fan of Four Kitchens – I loved their From Photoshop to Drupal Theme slides from the SF Drupalcon.

Overall the emphasis on grids, wireframes, and workflow in general was refreshing and a good reminder to step out of photoshop and try to solve site mapping and UI issues before even opening the program. This is a great take away, and worth the whole experience!

Giving back
I should first mention that the camp itself was free, which is pretty amazing. There is a huge emphasis on open source in this community and sharing resources/knowledge. I find it not only helpful, but very refreshing!

In that theme, this pilot project was mentioned several times on twitter. Two developers are wanting to teach kids drupal in an after-school program in the Dominican Republic, and develop the experience into curriculum to share throughout Latin America. I’m resonating with the idea of bridging the informational divide and equipping these young minds to engage with the online community, bringing their own cultural paradigms to the dialog.

As the online community has been my best co-worker to advance my own work, and not sharing this community with those around the world puts up a new kind of border of those who are plugged in and those who are not. Efforts to bridge that need to be nimble and innovative, and I am excited to see where this one goes. Even some of the vendors like Austin based Volacci jumped in by donating tshirt sales to the effort.

Overall the camp was a great experience. I wish I had more of a clear schedule to take on both days, but I’m very glad I went for what I could! Many thanks to the organizers (all ladies! cool!), volunteers, sponsors and attendees for helping this newbie get plugged in.

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Did anyone in catch the Oval Office recreation in DC’s Union Station?

(ht Apartment Therapy)

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Working with Josh Quintero of Blair Marketing, I got the opportunity to push my web design forward with several comps for a network of physical therapy offices in Lynchburg, VA. RACVA wanted a modern updated site, and a friendly yet polished feel to emphasize the quality and service of their practice.

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Brand Identity and Business System

If you know entrepreneur Dan Portnoy, you know he likes to be out in front of the crowd. This identity and business system captures a sleek and timeliness feel that can straddle the many fields Portnoy Media Group influences: from the forefront of Los Angeles social media scene, to the heart of social justice issues, and the latest in the music industry.

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This clever animated short, Logoramma, is made up exclusively of animated brand identities and just picked up an Oscar. A big wow from the French firm H5.

It is such a powerful short as the instant associations from the brands actually build their story – either in a way that flows seamlessly from current knowledge and experiences of the brand (i.e. Michelin men are cops) or in a playful unexpected way (Ronald McDonald is a Joker style-criminal and Bob’s Big Boy is the school bully). The brands don’t stop appearing in clever ways, that makes me want to watch this again to see what I missed! Enjoy!

(ht to FontFeed)

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70 Million by Hold Your Horses ! from L'Ogre on Vimeo.

I’ve never heard of this band Hold Your Horses before, but I have now. The video is just delightful if you are a fine art fan or have studied art history. So creative! And fun!

(ht to Barry Taylor)

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In addition to channeling quaint dinner typography, I also had fun translating their text into menu-esque copy. My favorite: “Mobile makes for a Better Meal!” Take a look, and click the images to see them larger!

Can you tell what my new font loves are? I’m such a sucker for block type and a good script!

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So what to write about? Thank goodness I have felt this quandary unravel itself the past few days, and I am finally eager to blog. Not only that, but I realized a better way to approach developing content. Simply put – taking my head out of my RSS feed and looking around the world. What I’ve been drawn to lately surprises me, but I think is worth sharing!

Here we go:
The Devil Wears Prada has been my go-to chick flick of choice for awhile, but watching the past few seasons of the reality show Project Runway has really opened my eyes to better understand the creative process and where these clothes come from. If you haven’t seen this show, it follows a crop of designers through rigorous challenges (design an outfit out of newspaper, candy, burlap, an old wedding dress, etc!). One designer is eliminated each week until the top three showcase their work in Bryant Park in New York City’s Fashion Week. I am hooked – and piling up my netflix que with, Valentino: The Last Emperor, Unzipped, Coco avant Chanel, and The September Issue. Yesterday, in the name of muse, I bought Vogue and InStyle and soaked it in. What is happening to me, a fleece loving northern California girl?

Fascination and inspiration:
While the negatives and unhealthy facets of the industry (of which there are plenty) have largely kept my cynical about the fashion world, it also hid what I’m now relishing in the designers and their processes. Discovering the craftsmanship, muse, sweat and tears are like getting to know a family member I didn’t know I had. I am loving this, and can not get enough! And even better, magazines like Vogue have made translating this industry into print an art form.

And specifically:
I adore the interviews with Creative Director Grace Coddington in The September Issue. Her crazy red hair and comfy sandals dash the Devil Wears Prada vision I had of the Vogue office. Her flat is loaded with photography and books. She points to favorites and reveals meaning and relevance behind each image. She brings everything this wall symbolizes (experience, talent, relationships) with her into her work as a stylist, which Editor Anna Wintour calls genius. She is a self-admitted romantic, with ups and downs as her work is cut, then put back into the magazine. Indeed, dealing in personal creativity for a demanding and ever changing client is exhausting. Yet, I find myself with a new design hero who gracefully works through it and shines. Note taken.

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