Quote | Paul Arden

Wacom is wonderful.

I finally took the leap and got a Wacom Intuos4. It's a professional pen tablet and I love it. In the past I tried to adapt and just got frustrated and gave it up. When my wrist started aching recently I decided it was worth trying again. The pen tool is much more natural to use than a mouse (although, as you can see, it comes with a mouse, too) and there are some other super features the tablet offers. It's pretty amazing technology. Definitely worth the second chance. Now I just have to hide the mouse from myself to avoid the temptation to return to my old ways...

Brianna's havin' a baby.

My girlfriends and I organized the most beautiful baby shower brunch I've ever seen. Granted, I haven't been to many. And I might be a little biased. But seriously: owls, pears, driftwood, dahlias, polenta, baby cupcakes, frittatas and mimosas. What more could you ask for? Maybe just the cutest prego girl ever (AKA Brianna Showell). We're all so excited for you, friend! Your baby shower was a blast and we can't meet your little boy in November.

Oh yeah! I forgot to mention our little celebrity baby game. If you want to borrow it, feel free. If you want the original (key included!) just shoot me an email. Although, I have to warn you: there are a couple errors, so the first part of the test will be making the corrections. Regardless, celebrities are crazy about crazy baby names.

Sheila + Jason got hitched.

Congrats to the newlyweds, Sheila and Jason! We're all so excited for you. And, let's be honest: super jealous that you're in Hawaii right now. Escaping the clouds and oncoming rain....the same elements that were looming the day of your "Everybody loves a potluck" Post-Wedding Party. At the very last second the sun broke through and you had the perfect afternoon for such a fun celebration. Whew.

Fun it was. And it flowed well, too - thanks to Sheila's signage insight. She suggested we make some signs to help everyone know where to put the dish or beverage they brought and navigate their way to the bathroom. Good call! We created seven signs and I think they turned out pretty darn cute and cheeky. (Just like the invite.)

If you're intrigued by this couple, you can read more on their blog! And....their gorgeous engagement photos can be found on Green Chair Studio's blog. Wedding photos to come, I'm sure.

Windlab Air Mail

Windlab, the global wind energy development company, has new business cards! Now the West Coast office, the Canada office, the Midwest office, the two Australia offices and the South Africa office all look like they're a part of the same company. Good move. But how were we supposed to get the cards delivered to those offices? I couldn't really jaunt around the world dropping care packages from the plane. Although I wish I could. And it costs an arm and a leg (well, at least the cost of a designer handbag) to send thousands of business cards to Australia. Hmmm.

Then Alisa, the Regional Director for the West Coast had a great idea: One of Windlab's Australian employees, Ranmadhu, was working locally for a couple weeks. What if he could tote the cards home with him? Yes. That could work.

We called the printer and rushed through the approval process to get them done in time for him to grab them and still catch his flight out last night. With Brown Printing's help, the mission was completed. They turned these cards in 2 days flat. 3,750 cards + 5,000 preprints. Awesome. Once again they save the day.

Windlab, I have a great idea for you: Start an air mail service. It just makes sense: wind power + air mail. Right? Especially if it helps you afford a new designer handbag.

Jelly Helm the Storyist.

Shocking. Jelly Helm does not have his own page on Wikipedia. Shocking because he is a creative giant. And shocking because Wikipedia is one of his clients. Yes, one of his clients. He went on a sabbatical from his position as creative director at Wieden+Kennedy in Amsterdam and now has about four clients he's managing on his own. Creativity never rests!

Being on sabbatical has afforded Helm lots of time to think. He says what he shared with all 100 or so of us at The Cleaners, Ace Hotel is the result of 'thinking for a while'. There were lots of fantastic and/or interesting things about what he shared, but I have to say, the format in which he shared them was striking. In what he coins a David Kennedy-ism, Helm rips sheets of paper in quarters and carries them around for note-taking. His presentation this evening was a series of quarter-size sheets he imprinted with information using a typewriter and then scanned to share with us. How beautifully undesigned and unexpected.

Helm considers himself a storyist. Stories are how we make sense of the world. He says a brand is 'a story that expands our self-story'. But here's the catch: This isn't just any brand. In order to be an emergent, story-telling brand, it has to be about purpose, not profit. He vaguely referenced a W+K client as a good example of who this isn't. He says of their brown, carbonated beverage product, "If you drink it, you die. They're selling poison." (Here's a hint: they plaster polar bears all over their cans at Christmastime. Yes, them.) According to Helm, if a company extracts more than it gives, it will never work. Hmm. As he spoke on all of this, you could all but hear the electricity buzzing and rushing into the lightbulb that is Helm's brain.

"What is your story?"

"Where do you create value?"

"Where is your abundance?"

"Where is your joy?"

"Value vs. Profit"

"Abundance vs. Scarcity"

Thank you, AIGA, for hosting another great creative event. Pretty sure Jelly Helm will have a Wikipedia page in a matter of moments....and I hope this quote, my favorite from the evening, makes it in there somewhere: "There's something incredibly joyful about spilling out into the world." Thanks for spilling on us tonight, Jelly Helm.

Quote | Ralph Waldo Emerson