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Will you share a tidbit of information with me? I'm working on some new templates and I'm wondering how many are using each version of InDesign...

Thanks in advance for sharing.

Be well, Chuck

Have you seen my InDesign Ideabook?

315 template files in 19 different categories -- Everything from brochures, newsletters, and direct mail to packaging, calendars, and books (one CD works with both Mac and PC). Use two or three files and you'll pay for the entire book and disc...

For Adobe InDesign  Here

For QuarkXPress  Here


REAL information graphics illustrate fairly unremarkable data in a way that makes it remarkable

So much of what is labeled as "information graphics" isn't. To me, most of it is simple charts, graphs, and lists with colorful headlines and pictures.

These two examples from waitbutwhy.com illustrate fairly unremarkable data in a way that makes it remarkable-they reveal ideas and help you see the data in a light you did not anticipate.

Thanks to Clarke Green of scoutmastercg.com for pointing us to it.

Putting time and history in perspective...  Here 

Putting world population in perspective...  Here


A LOGO CONTEST!!!

I received this email September 17th...

__________________________________________

"Hi there!

I wanted to get in touch with somebody I could compliment for this amazing site & blog - I love your demonstrated work, tips, tricks, and professionalism. I think it is absolutely amazing. In the topic of graphic design, I thought you should know that we, [company name], are having a Logo Design contest! This contest is viewed by us as a career-making opportunity for a freelance designer to potentially have their work seen nationally by millions of people on TV and on the Internet, driven by one of the largest advertisers in the country...plus the winner will receive $1,050.

I thought this would be a great opportunity to mention on your blog for your aspiring graphic designers and followers to see. This is such a big opportunity that it can't be missed! It started today, Sept 17th and ends on Sept 23rd.

Instructions are as such:

The logo should communicate that [company description].

Follow [logo contest website] to register for a free account and to post your design. For more information on [company name], please do not hesitate to visit our website (contestants are encouraged to do so, as well).

Best regards,

[Sender's name]
__________________________________________

My response...
__________________________________________

[Sender's name]

Excellent--perhaps [company name] would like to have a contest amongst new accountants to see who can do the best job of filling out its 2013 tax return (with $1050 going to the winner!) or maybe amongst fledgeling manufacturers to see who can come up with the best new product (with $1050 going to the winner).

Better yet, perhaps [company name] could change its business model. You and your competitors each complete a project [they provide an expensive product and service], the customer chooses their favorite, and the winner gets $1050!

"It's not the same thing," you argue?

It is. If you think a brand designer's time, training, equipment, software, office space, and so on, are somehow less expensive or less important than those of any other profession, you are simply mistaken.

Be clear: Such "contests" are not participated in by any designer who respects his or her profession and are not offered by any organization that appreciates and understands the value of excellence.

Sincerely,
Chuck Green

Have a comment? Enter it...  Here
 

Learn virtually any software program...

I recommend Lynda.com... A huge library of top-quality, design-oriented tutorials. Click here for a 7-day free trial.  Here  


More of restaurant chain Chipotle's unique brand of marketing

Here's another out-of-the-ordinary brand-builder from the restaurant chain Chipotle. It is uses a beautifully crafted digital animation piece to tout the release of a game for the iPhone and iPad.

You can look at it as a strike against factory farming or, as Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post so glibly puts it, "This ad is like asking you to eat the cast of 'Toy Story.'"

The new TV-spot...  Here

The Chipotle website...  Here

Haha... build them up and there's alway a snarky someone to tear them down-Alexandra Petri...  Here

A previous post about another groundbreaking Chipotle spot...  Here 


Quick thoughts...

As soon as someone says, "With all due respect," you know they're going to insult you.

My initial reaction to iOS 7 for the iPhone: It feels like the menu for a high-end toaster oven.

"Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats." Howard Aiken


If you use this link to buy your type from MyFonts.com, you won't pay any more but I'll get a commission. And you know what THAT means: My own island! Or, a paddle for the canoe.
Here http://www.myfonts.com/?refby=ib


"The less qualified we are, the more excited we are to take something on."

Moonbot Studios is about trying to do things that we've never done before. In one piece I watched, William Joyce, its co-founder says, "The less qualified we are the more excited we are to take something on."

Moonbot Studios bills itself as a multi-platform storytelling studio specializing in feature-quality animation, traditional publishing and mobile app development.

A quick tour of the Moonbot Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana...  Here 

The Moonbot Studios website...  Here

Fast Company's take on the studio...  Here

About The IMAG�N�O�TRON App...  Here 

About Mr. Morris Lessmore...  Here

BTW, Moonbot Studios produced Chipotle's Scarecrow piece we discussed last time...  Here


Introducing "Television"

Just seventy-some years ago, Television was just being introduced to the public. This wonderful short from RCA is a must see for anyone who doesn't appreciate the science fiction world of 2013.

An RCA Presentation: Television (1939)...  Here


When you need to know what works

Look at history. The Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in Duke's Special Collection Library, "Acquires and preserves printed material and collections of textual and multimedia resources and makes them available to researchers around the world."

Here's an introduction:

Duke Ad Access: An image database of over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.  Here 

They have an extensive collection of the personal papers of a growing number of advertising luminaries. For example...  Here

Ad Views: Thousands of television commercials created or collected by the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) advertising agency, dated 1950s-1980s.  Here

Emergence of Advertising in America: A database of over 9,000 advertising items and publications dated 1850-1920, illustrating the rise of consumer culture, and the birth of a professionalized advertising industry.  Here

Medicine and Madison Avenue: A database of over 600 health-related advertisements printed between 1911 and 1958, as well as 35 selected historical documents relating to health-related advertising.  Here

ROAD: Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions: A database of over 50,000 descriptions of images of outdoor advertising dating from the 1920s through the 1990s, pulled from four outdoor advertising collections including the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA).  Here

Outdoor Advertising Association of America Slide Library, 1891-1994: More than 11,000 images of outdoor advertisements and slide presentations from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, the primary professional organization in the field.  Here 

There's plenty more. For example this Russian Posters Collection: A collection of 20th-century Russian posters spans almost the entire history of the Soviet Union (1917-1991).  Here

The home page of the Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History...  Here 


Need host for your website?

In case you are looking for a top-notch hosting service, Media Temple (the long time host of ideabook.com, jumpola.com, and pageplane.com) is offering a new, super-fast grid service. AND I get some free hosting if you do it through this link...


I believe most will agree that Media Temple is one of the best web hosting services in the world. Their interface and infrastructure is second to none and their prices are very competitive.


About this newsletter

I try to remain as objective as possible about the information I share here. Unless I tell you otherwise, I receive no compensation from the organizations and people mentioned except for occasional product samples. I am an affiliate of Lynda.com and MyFonts.com -- that means, if you purchase something from them, I get a small commission. Comments? Suggestions? Write me at [email protected] -- Chuck Green