4th Day of Thanksgiving: Nacho Love

Yep, over a handful of Doritoes the other day, I started recording my thoughts pen to napkin with cheese dust and all. They inspired me to seize the moment and go low-tech–although I prefer to think of it as grass-roots thought processing.  I was having some homemade “nachos” and thinking about how good they were.

When it comes to what inspires a grateful heart, sometimes we forget about the little things and the simple pleasures they bring.  For a few moments on Monday, squished in between pumping for breast milk, zooming across town to work and the umpteen details flying through my brain, I was very thankful for nacho cheese Doritoes–their yummy crunch and the orange cheese dust they leave on your fingers.  They brought a momentary jolt of “Mmmm” to the morning and a yummy contentment.  It’s amazing the delight a simple lunch can bring when, just for today, you throw food groups to the wind and settle on something you might have chosen as a pre-teen. With no husband or children’s nutritional health to consider, I indulged myself in Doritoes, cheese and bacon bits for 15 minutes of no dietary accountability.  It got me thinking about some of the other “brands” we buy that provide similar simple pleasures–the names that routinely up our level of contentment.  Most aren’t necessities.  But, I appreciate the “extra” they add to my life.  Here’s my “thanks” list:

1.  Doritoes:  My favorite go-to snack is a pan full of the cheese clad triangles with grated sharp cheddar and bacon bits on top.  I broil them for a few seconds, and my taste buds sing with crunchy gratitude.

2.  Huggies:  I know it’s not “green,” and I realize that my family has it’s own personalized plot at the land fill.  Nevertheles, I’m thankful for these life-saver diapers and pull-ups that make the daily “tee tee” and “doo doo” of life a little more bearable.

3.  Apple:  My parents gave me a Mac iBook in April and it’s amazing how much unexpected convenience and fun it’s provided–like this blog, a way to do my day job when kids are home sick, and an organized address book.  Life’s little plus signs.

4.  Hersheys:  Need I say more?

5.  Lipton:  Their family size decaf tea bags gave me my much needed sweet tea fix during pregnancy and now while I’m breastfeeding Baby Girl.  Key word = Decaf.  Three tea bags, four scoops of sugar and one gallon jug of water.  Ahhh!

6.  Vietri:  This company makes the “everyday” china we got when we married–Cucina Fresca in “saffron and sage” and the creamy Fiori de Bosci ”Italian earthenware” patterns.  The combo works well together and I like the variety.  I have almost a full 12 place settings combined.  And, yes, my toddlers use them.  Little Drummer Boy prefers green.

7.  Fisher Price: Thank you for hours of imaginative play and made up story lines with Little People Farm, Little People Noah’s Ark, Little People Airplane, Little People First Thanksgiving, Little People Nativity, Little People Garage, Little People Dump Truck…  Shall I go on?

8.  Hallmark:  In addition to the great musical cards my kids love, the Peanuts valentines and the great holiday ho-ho trims, I am especially excited this year because my entry into the myHoliday Product Red card contest was selected as a top 20 finalist!  I’m thankful for much-needed prize bucks, and the ego boost of seeing my design in print with the Hallmark logo!  Go here to vote for a winner and buy cards.

9.  Sesame Workshop:  I am in awe of the talents of Kevin Clash and his ability to entertain the 39-year-old, 36-year-old, 3 1/2-year-old and 2-year-old in our house with falsetto and a goldfish.  The 2-month-old has even started to get interested.  I’m thankful for all things Elmo (or ‘Mo as Squiggle calls him)!

10.  Crayola:  ”Washable” sums it up for us.  Their easy-to-clean crayons, markers and paint have helped produce some of the masterpieces that grace our walls.  They come off counter-tops and t-shirts.  Even Little Drummer Boy’s favorite red.  An added bonus for Squiggle is that they come in a box he can load and unload repeatedly.

11.  Dreft:  Gentle and unscented for baby’s protection, this stuff packs a punch in the washing machine.  It’s great at cleaning spit-up, throw-up, mud and red marker (see #10).  I’m thankful that it gives me the freedom to say, “it’s ok, we can wash it.”  

12.  Adobe:  Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Freehand–these are tools of my trade.  I’m thankful for “text-flow,” “paste-inside,” “flip horizontal,” and “check links sitewide.”  And, I’m thankful that “undo” daily removes the fear of experimentation and makes mistakes easy to erase.  If only the rest of life carried such a function!

Fa La La Finalist

I decided on whim to enter a design for this online Hallmark Christmas card contest, and now, I’m a finalist.  Wow!  The sale of the cards and the matching donation for the finalist prizes go to benefit the Hallmark (RED) campaign which works to eliminate AIDS and other devastating diseases in Africa.  Thank you to Annie, my friend at SisterWisdom.com for letting me know about the contest.  I got her email at about 10:00pm on Sunday night before the contest deadline on Monday morning.  The boys were in bed and I was awake in my third trimester-my body’s trying to get me ready for 3am feedings mode, so I decided to go for it.  It was one of those serendipitous moments–the idea of hands overlapping to form a Christmas tree reaching for the star came to mind right away and seemed to really reflect the mission of (RED).  The design came together quickly with the message “merry and bright. share love. share light.)  An hour later I uploaded my entry!  I was stunned and grateful that it was chosen as one of the finalists.

Go to the Hallmark contests site and vote for my hands in their mini-contest starting Oct. 13 and in the final contest in mid-November!

A Creativity Treat

Business tips.  IT solutions.  Weekly coupons.  Parenting ideas.  Ways to go green.  Child development.  All things Mac.  Various blog alerts.  New Hallmark goodies.

I get a lot of Ezines–you know those mini magazines and at-a-glance hints that filter through your in box every day or week or month with usually lots of advertising links and sometimes a few good ideas.  But, this one from Jupiter Images is my FAVORITE!  

Yes, it has it’s share of advertisements, but in it’s consistently concise top three “treats,” it never fails to somehow turn over my giggle box or get my creative juices going.  It’s mainly targeted at designers, but who doesn’t need a little creativity boost or shot of fun?

It has introduced me to this crazy way to pass the spare time — making Presidential Candidate Finger Puppets from the website folduscandidate.com, complete with downloadable candidate templates, a countdown to election day, instructional videos and a rockin’ beat (”body movin’ body movin’ a sound so soothin’)!  The things designers do to pass the time!

I also found this cool tool at Add-Art that replaces all the annoying internet advertising boxes on FireFox with great artwork from around the world–in this case Renoir in various states of cropping.  It beats AT&T and IcelandAir any day.

Then, I got to see this exhibit of posters by top graphic designers shown at Florida’s Wolfsonian called “Thoughts on Democracy” and highlighting some modern takes on Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms.  I’m still pondering “Democracy is the Helvetica of Politics.”  Hmmm.  There’s another post in there somewhere.

And, most recently, let me test my typography and pop culture acumen with this quiz from the Chicago Tribune challenging us to identify the magazine logos these letters came from.  It’s multiple choice.

Yep!  Subscribe to this one.  It’s a creativity treat!

Day Job: Designing for Newspaper

Newspapers!  They’re the old stand-by in advertising.  And, although it may seem to be usurped by the plethora of new digital and print media available, newspaper advertising is still a very effective venue for many advertisers.  In my day job, unless clients have a chunk of their advertising budget to devote to weekly or daily ad runs, I usually recommend newspaper as a good option for marketing time specific events or promotions.  Here’s my eHow article about using good newspaper design techniques to get the most bang for your newspaper advertising buck.  Click and comment!

How to Design an Effective Newspaper Ad

In Greenwood It’s BarBEque

Vernacular Signage: Spooneys Bar-Be-Que • Greenwood, Mississippi

Bar-B-Que

Vernacular Signage:  Corner of North Street and Washington Street • Macon, Mississippi

In Mississippi, there are lots of ways to spell “Bar-B-Que”.  I suspect the spellings might reflect some underlying taste qualification, but I don’t know for sure.  I think it’s “Mae’s” but even up close it’s hard to decide.  Luckily, we can call and find out.  I wonder which came first, the “Bar-B-Que” or the light’s wiring.

Vernacular Signage

I’m starting a new blog category today called Vernacular Signage.  It reflects a curiosity I’ve had for a long time, and I have an ongoing random collection of photos to show for it.

The term “vernacular” has most often been used to describe language or architecture.  In those contexts, it represents the idioms, phrasing and built environment that has been produced within a native culture out of necessity, habit, or life experience–regardless, without the help of outside “experts.”  In my years of architecture school, we called it “architecture without architects.”  I like that description.

In my graphic design world, there is a growing interest in “vernacular typography.” I’ve seen the classification defined as “type” that is produced without the contribution of professional designers or those trained in typographic disciplines.

I’ve termed my interest as “signage” because it implies an element of communication.  It is more than the forming of letters, but also the putting together of words to make a statement. The combination of how words are chosen and ordered, and how they are drawn and visually expressed really reflects the creativity of an individual.  Dictionary.com tells me that the word “vernacular” may derive from an Etruscan word “verna” meaning “home-born slave.”  Interesting–as if the creative product is somehow inately bound to its creator, a slave from its conception.  

This creative aspect of vernacular implies a tactile quality.  I’m most interested in signage not applied by a machine, but produced, drawn, written, or painted by hand.  Yet, signage is also functional.  It does not exist strictly as a creative pursuit.  Although what’s produced may be attractive and artistic, it was not conceived as “art.”

The communication may be a hand-written note using a familiar pet name, a flyer announcing an upcoming local event, an impromptu statement of belief, a spontaneous “I was here,” or a hand-painted business sign or notice.  I’m very intrigued by the possibilites.  Stay tuned and add your comments!