You know Christmas and Kwanzaa and Boxing Day and Hanukkah. Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, in Japan it’s Omisoka.

But do you recall the most obscure December holidays of all?

There are a lot of ‘em. That’s why we shouldn’t be offended when someone says to us “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. There’s so much to celebrate in December! There’s joy enough for every day and every one!

Here’s a limited guide to what you can observe each day this month. How will you celebrate?

12/1 – Rosa Parks Day

12/2 – National Mutt Day

12/3 – Let’s Hug Day (Make sure you have consent.)

12/4 – Cookie Day

12/5 – Communicate with Your Kids Day (Lets do this every day, shall we?)

12/6 – Microwave Oven Day (Um, sure.)

12/7 – Walt Disney Day (First Monday.)

12/8 – Brownie Day

12/9 – Christmas Card Day

12/10 – Dewey Decimal System Day (Extra points if you can get a Gen Z’er to celebrate with you.)

12/11 – App Day (I like to think this celebrates appetizers.)

12/12 – National Ding-a-Ling Day (A little afraid to google this for more info.)

12/13 – National Horse Day

12/14 – Roast Chestnuts Day

12/15 – Bill of Rights Day (Isn’t this every day?)

12/16 – Boston Tea Party Day

12/17 – Wright Brothers’ First Flight Anniversary

12/18 – Twin Day

12/19 – Oatmeal Muffin Day (Very specific.)

12/20 – National Sangria Day

12/21 – Crossword Puzzle Day

12/22 – National Date Nut Bread Day (What’s a Date Nut Bread?)

12/23 – Festivus

12/24 – National Egg Nog Day

12/25 – Pumpkin Pie Day

12/26 – Whiners Day

12/27 – Cut-out Snowflake Day

12/28 – Card Playing Day

12/29 – Tick Tock Day (Shrug.)

12/30 – Bacon Day

12/31 Make Up Your Mind Day (You can’t make me.)

So when somebody says Happy Holidays, simply respond, “And a very Happy Pretend-to-be-a-Time-Traveler Day to you too!” (That’s December 8^th.)

Happy Holidays from all of us at Screamer.Co! May each day be joyous and full of small delights.

The post December Holidays (The # List) appeared first on Screamer Co..

And we’re not alone. Because our lives have become more home-centric, and whether because of stimulus checks or simply fewer places to frivolously spend our paychecks, many families have taken on home improvement projects that reflect the shifting domestic needs of this new, strange decade. Likely, you’re a part of the trends. Design and architecture pubs across the internet are noticing waves rolling in precise directions. Here are just a few of the trends they’re seeing:

Open floor plans going bye-bye. There’s a need for practicality and functionality as our homes have served as our offices, schools AND our leisurely oases, and many are moving away from open floor plans to more purposeful-use spaces that provide privacy and clear boundaries. Whether it’s erecting physical walls or simply being more strategic with placing bookshelves; nooks, crannies, and alcoves are enjoying a renaissance.

Home cocktail bars. Bottles of wine collected in the corner of the kitchen next to the microwave are seeing brighter days. There’s a renewed interest in entertaining in the home and creating a separate space devoted to, well, booze. For so long we had to forego bars and restaurants, so we’ve created our own.

Bolder colors. Once upon a time, many of us relied on our homes to ease us gently into the day and lull us into submission in the evening with earthy, mossy tones. But now, at home all day, we thirst for décor and colors to energize us and help us overcome that post-lunch coma and plow through that 3pm ennui. Coffee just ain’t enough sometimes. We’ve started turning up the invigorating color.

Outdoor spaces. However large or small, the space beyond our walls became more important in the last two years as we strove to socialize responsibly and “get away” when travel wasn’t feasible. Lush gardens, fully furnished living spaces, TVs! Outside is the new inside. Tell your friends.

Home offices and designated workout spaces. Imagine telling a millennial two years ago that they would, in the near future, covet a home office and home workout space above, say, an infinity pool. They’d think it was the early 90s. Are we folding laundry left strewn over the unused stationary bike in the living room while dialing up the modem in the corner and waiting for dad to come home with a rectangular Little Caesar’s pizza so we can watch Free Willy on VHS rented from Blockbuster? But here we are. Home offices and home workout spaces are back. Time to take that unfolded laundry off the stationary bike.

It’s peculiar, isn’t it, when you can identify a defining moment for humanity at the moment it’s being lived. No 20/20 hindsight needed. You see the change happening right before your eyes, and you ponder how this moment will influence trends in the years, maybe even generations to come. How’s that love song from 1969 go? The one by Spiral Staircase? Oh yes, “I love you more today than yesterday. But not as much as tomorrow.” We can tweak those lyrics to acknowledge the noticeably shifting tides we’re living through now. Sing along with me. “Today is different than yesterday. But not as different as tomorrow.”

And we’re only talking about home design.

The post The Covid Home appeared first on Screamer Co..

I’m a native Austinite. One of those rare unicorns these days. Very little surprises me about the city; I know its nooks and crannies intimately. I remember when you could see the Tower – even the stocky Frank Erwin Center – all the way from Pflugerville. I was there for the inaugural Blues on the Green at the Arboretum (no, it hasn’t always been at Zilker and didn’t start at Central Market, contrary to popular belief). I remember when Guadalupe was pronounced Guadaloop. (If New Yorkers can call it HOW-stun Street and not Houston, then Austinites get a pass on Guadaloop.)

However much our city changes, there’s one thing that always shocks in its unrelenting severity: the summers. How I’ve survived Austin summers for a few decades remains an ongoing mystery. Schlitterbahn and kids’ camp at the dollar theater helped, but I still have no coherent explanation for how I haven’t withered like a raisin in the sun, nor how I might defer my drying up in summers to come. 

How about you? What are your favorite ways to cool off in an Austin summer? A dip in Barton Springs? Spelunking in drafty Inner Space Cavern? A scoop from Amy’s Ice Cream? (whose original location – fun fact – was on Guadaloop in what is now a Brazilian waxing spa…) 

I digress. Let’s talk hot soup. 

This unbearable Texas summer – and those to follow – here’s a new tactic to bring your temperature down: boiling broth.

Counterintuitive as it may sound, there’s science to it: drink hot broth and your temperature receptors stand at attention. Your brain tells your body to chill in order to counteract the heat, your body then regulates its temperature accordingly through sweat, sweat then evaporates to cool you down. Voila! You’re cooler. And you’ve had a delicious meal. 

Don’t believe me? Let’s put science to the test with some of our favorite soup spots in Austin:

Pho Phuong Lu’u: Go all in with the Pho Dac Biet.

Seoulju: Take a friend, get the military hotpot.

Beto’s: Caldo de res, please and thank you.

Ramen Tatsuya: Gotta love the Miso Hot, but if you want a lighter broth go with the Ol’ Skool. Add a yuzu bomb for optimal sweating.

Soup Peddler: Chicken and rice soup just like mom used to make, please. Boy oh boy. 

What are some of your favorite Austin soup spots to chill out?

The post For the Love of Hot Soup: Surviving an Austin Summer, One Spoon at a Time appeared first on Screamer Co..

He’s an Austinite.

He’s a celebrated Artist. 

He has Asperger’s. 

He’s 13 years old. 

Beck realized he wanted to be an artist in 2nd grade, but he wasn’t always interested in art. In fact, he had a deep disdain for crayons and chalk when he was younger. While other children were gripping crayons in their fists, scribbling on construction paper, coloring inside and outside the lines, pensive tongues poking out between pursed lips, Beck shunned the medium. It wasn’t until his mom bought him a package of markers that his interest in drawing exploded.

It started with street signs. Then car logos. And eventually, inspired by Nightmare Before Christmas, Beck found inspiration in the macabre. This is clear in his raw, certainly eerie yet paradoxically amusing series Uncanny Nocturnes:

He’s the youths’ visual variant of Edgar Allen Poe. 

Beck credits being on the spectrum with some of his success as an artist. “I’m mostly inspired,” he says, “and I’m able to concentrate very well, focus real well on what I’m doing.” That makes sense; he’s able to turn out daily art pieces in as little as 30 minutes to an hour. And his pieces are full of small details that you can continue discovering with each meticulous viewing.

Not all of his pieces are grisly, though. He also paints abstracts and expresses his Texas pride through his work.

For even a seasoned veteran artist, Beck’s work has been showcased in an impressive list of local shows. Some of his past exhibits have been in Dia De Los Muertos presented by the Round Rock Arts, East Austin Studio Tour, Uncanny Nocturnes Show at The Gallery at Atelier 1205, Created to Create presented by With Love, The Studio, Samo Lives exhibit presented by the Soma Vida Gallery and Austin Studio Tour (previously East and West Austin Studio Tours).

Say hi to Beck on his Instagram and Facebook, see more of his work and learn more about his process here. And as always, #SupportLocalArtists

The post Featured Artist: Beck Seitsinger appeared first on Screamer Co..

First Incarnation: Creamer Design
San Antonio, Texas — Alamo Heights, 1986

I was interning at DBG&H in San Antonio. And while I had done a little freelancing in college, it was minimal. With the connections I made through working at the agency, freelancing became a consistent side hustle, so I started Creamer Design. It was my first attempt at a kinetic logo design.

Experimenting with kinetic design was exciting because it was a way to buck industry norms and “push the design envelope.” At the time, consistency in how a brand presented itself was paramount in design, especially the logo. Consistency wasn’t a guideline; it was chiseled in stone—same mark, same fonts, same color, same ratios, same formats, etc. The goal was as little variation in the logo as possible, across all mediums. That was until August of 1981 and the launch of MTV when colors, textures, and patterns danced across the face of their architectural capital M logo. Five years later, MTV was a cultural staple, but little to none of its influence had gained traction in corporate branding, especially logo design. A visual language based on a concept more than a static logo felt fresh and a little rebellious.

In those days all you needed to freelance was ideas, talent, art supplies, and a stationery package. Since I was a college kid with little to no coin, I couldn’t afford an expensive stationary print job, with die-cuts or foil stamps. So I decided to go basic and print only black ink to save money, but I splurged on high-quality, bright white cotton paper. Then I added color to the cows’ utters by hand.

Additionally, work created under the Creamer Design brand was generally low budget, which drove more creative executions to create impact.

The work from this time included logos, print ads, billboards, wedding invitations, baby announcements, and collateral for my big client, The San Antonio Symphony. Check out the works samples from this time period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look for the next “History of Screamer.Co” post. It documents the move to Texas A&M University, recruitment marketing, and social marketing (not social media, which wasn’t invented yet).

The post A Brief History of Screamer.Co Time – 1986 appeared first on Screamer Co..

We have our favorite superheroes because we know their origin stories. What are their motivations, how did they come to be, and why should I care about their journey? The articulation of answers to those questions is what determines a Blockbuster or a flop.

Apply this to your brand. Your why’s, how’s and where’s of your origin are just as important as your brand colors, font and logo. They put a human face to your Brand and tell people why they should care.

So often we visit a business’s website or social media pages for more information, and we find product descriptions, benefits of service, reviews, so on. Surely, do not purge your platforms of that valuable information. However, don’t underestimate the importance either of putting your origin story front and center. Beef up that About Us section. Let’s see what you look like. Take us on your journey, we want to see the humans behind the products and services. It matters to us why you took a leap of faith to pursue your particular passion and turn it into a business which in turn provides for your family. These details are the difference between simple awareness and us actually caring about you and what you do, and cheering for your success.

How about you? Have you brought your favorite brands and businesses into the orbit of your world simply because of the product they provide? Or could it also be that you respect the human journey, and appreciate the passion and sacrifice that addressed your specific need. The product’s good, sure, but perhaps the story is better. It certainly is just as important.

To shift metaphors, the great and powerful Wizard of Oz instructed Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion to “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”. But isn’t that precisely where our attention needed to go? Did we not have any real understanding of the importance of our friends’ quest, much less that of the Wizard, until Toto pulled back that silky emerald curtain for us? Didn’t we all learn more about those characters – and ourselves – with that simple reveal?

You get it. Go on. Pull back the curtain.

The post Origin Story appeared first on Screamer Co..

The solution may be finding new ways to cultivate creativity or trying a new creative exercise that helps break through those self-imposed barriers.

Instead of trying to think of how would solve the problem, go to the other extreme, and actually explore the complete opposite. What would you never do or say to solve that particular problem? 

If you’re designing a modern visual palette for an active, modern brand, for example, thinking of all the colors and font types that exude the opposite – so traditional, well-known, and stale. Or if you’re developing a marketing message for a healthcare product, write a message for the individual that is not in the target group, then boil that message down to a paragraph, a sentence, and then just 3 words. Doing this will make you reconsider what you think is important for that particular problem and may lead you down a road to the right solution.  

The state of Nebraska, for example, has turned this creative exercise into a whole tourism campaign. “Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” is the new tourism slogan for the Cornhusker State, which is more of an anti-slogan, actually. Maybe you don’t want to come here. There’s nothing to do there. That’s the headline. It might be unusual to highlight the lack of attractions, but when you’re thinking of relaxing, having nothing to do there is a good selling point. It has a surprise effect that, in this case, is quite effective. It’s a concept that actually helps them stand out and since they launched it their tourism is booming. 

The “What would you never do?” exercise rarely comes up with the final solution, but it mixes up the routine and definitely leads to new ideas and discussions. It helps create interesting concepts and fresh perspectives on the task that will, ultimately, help you find the right solution in the end.

The post What Would You Never Do? A Fun Technique to Break Through a Creative Block appeared first on Screamer Co..

Mama Kong Cambodian has been a player in the underground food scene since 2016. They paused their pop-up kitchen, supper clubs and catering events in early March to pivot themselves into a word-of-mouth Speak Eatsy, serving contactless to-go dishes from an undisclosed location. Book a time through a secret link, an email fills you in on the pickup details. Mama Kong is also hosting online cooking classes, cooking as private chefs, distributing pre-packaged snacks to East Side bar Kitty Cohen’s, and selling unique Cambodian foodstuffs through their site.

Daijoubu, a traveling cocktail pop-up serving “super Asian cocktails” partnered with Last Straw and a plethora of other small vendors to create Daijoubu Mart, serving Asian inspired to-go cocktails, a wide range of Asian treats and provisions. They also teamed up with Olamaie for a Super Asian, Super Southern feast. The two gals in charge are master collaborators and are giving a spotlight to underrepresented cuisines, continually selling out in the process.

Gan bei Gals were quickly gaining a following for their hot pot inspired supper clubs, but halted their operations in early March to reinvent themselves at Daijoubu Mart, serving Taiwanese and Vietnamese dishes from their childhood. They even ran a fried chicken pop-up out of their tiny apartment. Just in time for the holidays, they’re currently compiling fan-contributed recipes for a food-focused holiday zine.

Chef Teddy Simon knows his stuff. He’s worked all over the food map, helping establish popular restaurants like Soto and Tsukehonten, catering large events and assisting menu development across the city. When COVID came he was forced to put the brakes on it all. So he took his operation online with custom sushi platters and special Indonesian dishes for home delivery. DM him on IG for menus and pricing, and also inquire about his in-home catering options. 

Which unconventional food hustle will prevail? Only time and the public will tell. But there’s an exciting rebellion going on in the industry, and a whole new generation of food and beverage hawkers are waving their battle flags and coming to stake their claims. Austin will be better for it, as will our bellies.

The post Austin’s Food Pirates appeared first on Screamer Co..

Enter 2020 and all the disruption and upheaval of a global pandemic, national elections and a racial reckoning. As a result, all of us have been forced to flex our creative muscles in all areas of our lives, from business to learning, socializing to handling everyday tasks. Grocery shopping, setting up family and friend ‘pods,’ remote learning, and voting plans are just the tip of the iceberg of #newnormal tasks that demand creative solutions.

It’s a good thing, then, that one big silver lining to the coronavirus disruption is that it has made the world pause, allowing for more reflection, flexibility, and space for creative expression. A quick search on #quarantinecreativity shows the vast array of new creative hobbies and outlets that have sprung up in reaction to the sheltering-in-place slowdown. It is a great example of how creative expression – with its inherent distraction, positive emotions, and meaning-making – also offers therapeutic benefits to overcoming adversity. 

dIn the business realm, our rapidly changing COVID-era world has also fueled demand for creativity, agility, and innovative thinking. Brands and businesses have leaned into the COVID pivot, adapting and evolving their behaviors and strategies to invent new revenue streams that meet their consumers’ changing needs. Take for example small businesses across Austin that have swiftly altered their product offerings to align with the times – local designers creating face masks; restaurants creating to-go cocktail concoctions; and distillers making their own hand sanitizers. 

Companies have also adapted to new ways of conducting business. Flexible, remote-connected teams, increased use of innovative tech tools, and a more experimental mindset are not only accepted now, but encouraged. The ability to accept and adapt to change has become vital as – like it or not – change will continue to be a big part of the new era of work. 

Now seen as one of the ‘most important skills in the world,’ creativity has become an essential, must-have mindset for the 21st century.

The post Why Creativity is More Important Than Ever appeared first on Screamer Co..

The post Rob Bondgren appeared first on Screamer Co..