2006: Thanks For Stopping By

Even with a lousy memory, I'll remember 2006 as the year of blogging and social media. I began BarryBlog in August - purely as an experiment – one I now consider worthwhile, and I've enjoyed my foray into a growing new community of contributors. Though the experiment was rather selfish in nature, there may have been things you've enjoyed as a result. If so, please take a moment to comment. Things you liked or disliked. Things you would like me to post about more in 2007. Or anything at all as you consider your experience with BarryBlog. I've met some great friends as a result of this living experiment, and hope that will continue in 2007. Thanks for participating in 2006. I promise more in 2007, yet with several months behind me I realize it's rather impossible to post good things all the time. So a goal of 2007 will be less – but better. Quality over quantity if you will. Again, I look forward to your comments. Take some time to drop me a line. Surely something in BarryBlog was worth commenting on, right?

Photojojo PhotoFashion

Made from stretchy machine washable neoprene and lined with soft fleece, the Electric Pocket by builtNY (the wine tote folks) lets you hook it onto a backpack, a handbag, a beltloop... whatever. Pretty cool, as are other items from .






( via Photojojo newsletter )

International Book Fair: Guadalajara

Thomas Nelson's President and CEO Michael S. Hyatt sounds encouraged and energized by what he saw at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico last month – and as an exhibitor at the show, Hyatt is uniquely qualified to comment. He's done so at his blog.

Here's my cliff notes, with Michael's full article HERE:

• The Book Fair is sponsored by the University of Guadalajara, and is 20 years strong.
  
  
• It's a general market show. Grupo Nelson chose to exhibit. Only Christian publisher to do so.
  
  
• The booths were sophisticated and reminded Hyatt of BEA. Beautiful product, great graphics and great signage.
  
  
• Floor opened 9 to 5:00 p.m. for publishers, booksellers, printers, the media, agents, authors, etc., and 5 to 9:00 p.m. to the public.
  
  
• Over 525,000 attended. Aisles jammed. Hyatt says he's never seen so much excitement about books.
  
  
• Half of the attendees were under the age of 30.
  
  
• Aprox. 17,000 booksellers attended from 39 countries

I find it incredibly refreshing that Michael's comfortable enough and transparent enough to blog in this fashion and from such a unique perspective. As President and CEO of a major publishing house, wisdom and logic will tell you he has a bunch on his plate, so kudos to Michael for sharing his wisdom and insights with the rest of us, from where he sits. I've learned a great deal personally from his posts.

( via From Where I Sit blog ) – and – (Grupos VP/Editors Larry Down's Blog )

In a World...

The Godfather of voice over.













( Check out Don's website )

A Child Is Born!

Dust off the Statues...I Just Won!

Excellent! I just hit Ben's Noisy Decent Graphics blog and discovered he listed me as winner of his Noisy Decent Graphics Christmas Giveaway! Ben was feeling all web 2.0, and he decided to gift a Pro Flickr account to whoever could tell him what the first photograph on Flickr would be if that person won. I promised Ben I would drag my 500+ Statue of Liberties out of cold storage and take some choice snaps. And voila – after some highly scientific judging, he awarded me the Flickr Pro account. Sweet!

So this is gonna sound like a kiss up, but I love his blog. He intentionally only posts articles on having to do with design, and like myself, he updates frequently. Its a great blog, and I recommend it highly. Ben does some rather serious work as a founding partner of Design Conspiracy as well— a leading design consultancy specializing in communication design, branding and digital marketing.

Thanks Ben! I'm honored. I will not disappoint.

Weiden+Kennedy Tokyo Lab Studio

Taking all forms of medium and mashing into an all encompassing hybrid music experience. New music and new video mixed and made as one, under a single label. They are three uber talented people doing the work of an entire agency. (Sound familiar, Al and Dan?) First check out their Apple Pro profile. Then their website (kinda long download).

( via stealing beauty )

Michael Beirut. Pentagram. Sak's New Look.

Come January 2nd, Saks Fifth Avenue dons it's new look. I've posted on Michael Beirut many times before, and here's yet another example of this great design thinker.

The advantage of the program, deployed in black and white like the store’s holiday “snowflake” packaging, is that it creates recognizable consistency without sameness. The logo elements will be used in signage and direct mail and advertising. Most importantly, there are over forty different packages in the program, from jewelry boxes to hat boxes, and four sizes of shopping bags. In the new program, no two of these are alike, yet they all go together. Our hope is that they will all become associated in the minds of shoppers with the style and elan of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Look forward to seeing it in person. An interesting note: the last Saks Fifth Avenue logo was designed by Beirut's former employer Massimo Vignelli.

How Best To Evaluate Creative Work

Paul at Life In The Middle blog has some words to the wise about offering constructive and valuable criticism in a creative review.

( via Russell Davies )

DesignTaxi Interview: Neil Ashby

As you may know, I posted about Neil Ashby in the past. He's a designer whose work I admire. Well I just came across a great interview compliments of the folks at Taxi Design Network. Taxi has recently launched "Design Feature" – which has a ton of great stuff, including interviews of design minded individuals and what they call "Design Leaders." Well worth a visit.

( via designtaxi )

Which comes first, the iPhone or Google Phone?

Neither chicken or egg, as neither exists yet, despite a staggering amount of rumors regarding the iPhone. But according to GigaOM, the new Google Phone may in fact be in the works. The report says Google2 might be working with HTC and mobile/telecom giant Orange to build a Google Mobile Phone, which could possibly have Google software inside the device. According to the article, Google Phone is a reasonable speculation. Google has been aggressive in developing location based services, has amp-ed up its local search and mapping services. In addition, it has also been mobilizing its applications such as GTalk and GMail. YouTube, the video arm of Google, is beginning to embrace the mobile ecosystem. Check out the full article here.

( via GigaOM )

Chronicle Books Spreads Christmas Joy!!

***UPDATE*** LAST DAY FOR 30% DISCOUNT: The Chronicle Books team dropped by this blog and read my post about their great website redesign. While they were here, they kindly decided to spread Christmas Joy! As a consequence of their generosity, all BarryBlog readers have been offered their Friends & Family discount of 30% off any title they sell now through Mon. Dec. 18th! All they ask is that you enter the promo code "FRIENDS" at checkout. If I was smart enough to figure out how, I would wire this bad boy up so I'd get a ginormous commission from all 6 of you who read my blog (oops, with Chronicle Books, that makes 7)! Even better...why not show me some love and buy me some Chronicle books for Christmas, and/or for all the behind the scenes shenanigans that goes into making BarryBlog so warm and fuzzy, satisfying and reliable?

Maybe this one or this one? How 'bout this one or maybe this one. Perhaps this one. And don't forget this one.

Thanks Chronicle Book Team!

More Web 2.0 Realities

What a coincidence. So am I! According to TIME magazine's December 25th issue, we control the Information Age. Well then...Welcome to your world!

Web 2.0 is a massive social experiment, and like any experiment worth trying, it could fail. There's no road map for how an organism that's not a bacterium lives and works together on this planet in numbers in excess of 6 billion. But 2006 gave us some ideas. This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person. It's a chance for people to look at a computer screen and really, genuinely wonder who's out there looking back at them. Go on. Tell us you're not just a little bit curious.
By LEV GROSSMAN

I've been sharing with freelance clients and staffers Adam Richardson's (Frog Design Mind) article called the Recommendation Age. In it Adam describes (I paraphrase) that the promises of the information age now require "recommenders" or "filters" to assist in weeding through the resulting deluge of information we now have access to. And blogs are the perfect answer to that. With so many discussions on the blogosphere pointing to this shift from traditional information structure and delivery to user generated content, co-creation, social connections, open source community, etc., it seems a tad bit ironic that a traditional news source like TIME Magazine's declaring it so is what makes it stick. Guess it's "official." Read the whole article here.

(tipped off by Logic+Emotion )

Resist Today: I Can't Resist

Resist Today is Dave Rau and Josh Bertrand. They're an outlet for independent artists and their friends to sell stuff they've all made by hand...analog, not digital, if you will. Purchases support local and independent artists. And contrary to many sites people blog about, this stuff is surprisingly affordable, and made in tiny limited editions.

These fine gents also have a great design portfolio at their design company Red Labor.

( via Cameron Moll - Authentic Boredom )

My Experience: ChaCha Live Guide Search

I've posted cool tricks and ideas for getting better search results using Google and Pagebull in the past...but check this out. Go to ChaCha and enter your search term. Then click the "Search With Guide" option. Man is this the cat's meow. It's the lazy man's search option. And after all, you're way too busy and hifalutin to do your own web searches, right? Why not have someone else do 'em for ya'?.

I did. And when the session started, I was assigned Jason. I quickly learned he types about 975 words per minute. At first I thought Jason was a bot, but respectfully (Jason), since the results were somewhat, well, "human" - it made me think this was likely a real person. So I questioned him. At first he claimed he was a bot. But his answers were too funny, and too quick considering the specific nature of my requests. Then he let the cat out of the bag. ChaCha Guides are real people! Now that kills me. Hard to believe. And as you'll see from the actual transcript below, not only is he a real guy, but he actually was cool, had a personality, and he gave me solid advice on my blog, which as you'll see was what I had originally asked about. All told this was a bundle of fun. Not sure how necessary ChaCha is or how it will fly with time, but you can bet your bippy I'll be keeping tabs to see if others are chatting ChaCha up. I recommend you try it yourself. What do you have to lose? It's so free even my cheap friend Freddy can afford it. ( Begin my transcript with Jason from ChaCha )

• Status: Looking for a guide ...
  
• Status: Connected to guide: JasonK
• JasonK: Welcome to ChaCha!
• You: What up Jason. Can ya find much about "BarryBlog" or perhaps more than Shannon D did when she searched for it's URL: http://www.studiosmith.blogspot.com"
• JasonK: 'Sup, barry. You want info about the site?
• You: Better would be to see if any of my posts have been linked to
• JasonK: Just a moment.
• JasonK: Hmm
• JasonK: You posting on other sites - does that count? :)
• You: Nada. Hey don't sweat it. I enjoyed this. How does it work? Are you live or a bot?
• JasonK: I'm totally a bot
• You: Coolio. Thanks for your botastic help.
• JasonK: lol
• JasonK: no problem
• You: You're not a bot.
• JasonK: True :)
• You: Cool. Take it easy. Should I blog ChaCha?
• JasonK: Sure, sure
• JasonK: Post your own blog in other forums. My site gets a few dozen links from posting in forums, eventually the word spreads. It's one method anyway. Good luck
• JasonK: Thanks for using chacha
• You: Nice. Keep your eyeballs open, and tell people about my blog even if they don't ask. Sue everyone! :^)
• JasonK: Come back, anytime, and enjoy my bot-ulism
• JasonK: lol
• JasonK: np
• JasonK: good night
• JasonK: :)
• You: Out Thanks
• JasonK: Please RATE ME. Thanks for using ChaCha.
• Status: Session ended.

( via my friend and colleague Beth )

What Makes Someone Creative?

According to David Nottoli...

1. Creativity exists in the execution, not the thought. One scientist points out that a lot of people have ideas, but they don't act on them
2. The creative process isn't something you just turn on
3. The human brain becomes more creative during uninhibited moments, as in when someone is experiencing mild mania
4. People who are able to make more new and original associations are thought to be more creative
5. Creativity is not exclusively a young person's game. A lot of highly creative people in the sciences are in their 70's
6. There seems to be an unconscious knowledge that creative people use
7. Artists are good at conveying significant gestures and the viewers bodies respond to the implied gestures of the artist
8. Creativity is not just being novel. It also needs to be appropriate
9. Despite lots of experimentation, there are no good tests that accurately identify creative kids
10. Creativity appears to be a mystery we may be hundreds of years away from understanding

Agree. Disagree? Got some to add to the list? Love to hear from ya'.

Download the audio podcast.

( via sidewalklife )

Your Parents Help You Hook It Up!

Rad Nintendo...The Legend of Zelda sold separately.

Design: The New Management Consultancy

Or so Ben Terrett suggests in a thoughtful post he writes in his blog, Noisy Decent Graphics.

He first discussed this concept in a three series post called "The Future of Graphic Design." (Part 1, Part 2, Part3). Noisy Decent Graphics is one of my favorite blogs. Kudos Ben.

Chronicle Books: Redesign "Plus"

Not sure if this is still considered "news" or not, but...I've seen Chronicle Books web redesigns before (1, 2), but this one I found as a result of visiting my RSS subscription to Cameron Moll's Premium Linkage where he shows they're offering 40% off all books, ugh... well... until December 10th... (sigh).

Anyway, the Chronicle Books (new?) website couldn't be easier to use, and when you consider the nature of Chronicle product, one might expect visual eye candy. Instead, they've opted for understatement and usability. I especially appreciate their Podcast section, which features exclusive author interviews, man-on-the-street commentary, and tidbits on various topics.

For me, what differentiates Chronicle Books website from other book publisher websites is the fact that there is information and interest beyond pure utilitarian purpose. Like a print catalog that just shows product, more relevance is required if a publisher ever expects the audience to engage in any valuable way beyond "Business as usual." "Business by Design" is a more intentional and engaging enterprise. Just by adding editorial interest (story) in the form of Podcasts, Chronicle has given me a reason to come back. Plus, if I enjoy the editorial bend of the podcasts, it might leave a favorable impression on me. And as everyone knows (right?), Chronicle's brand value is really the sum of what other's believe it to be, not the other way around.

I've always believed in imparting personality into every project I develop on behalf of my employer, as a way to add business value and to build continuity with every effort.

The new Chronicle website does just that. It's makes the sales person happy as a utilitarian sales tool, and it serves a larger goal of leaving a favorable impression on me. Combined, the website has a personaility. A personality that to me just wouldn't be as interesting, appealing and memorable if it were "just a website."

So excuse me, I'm going to go back to their site and listen to another podcast... or buy one of their books.



( via Cameron Moll - Authentic Boredom )

Confidence or Enthusiasm: Pick One

Those who know me well may be surprised to hear me admit that deep down I'm not particularly confident. Admittedly I fake it rather well. But between me, myself, and I (and now you), confidence has never come naturally. To the contrary, and to make up for this deficit, I've spent a career planning, paying attention, and practicing in order to be a strong performer. Therefore I believe it's safe to say that being a good performer isn't necessarily indicative of confidence in oneself.

Having said that, my desire to perform well and serve others and the passion and fitness associated with that, compared to my lack of confidence of late, has really been troubling. Deeply. Having internalized this much of late, I can't tell you how grateful I was to get a new perspective on just what it is that's been digging at me of late. In this article, by a smart person who I admire, and whose blog I subscribe to via his RSS feed, he shares five reasons why enthusiasm is better than confidence. To me, this is a refreshing bit of encouragement—news to my ears if you will, as it helps me to consider how enthusiasm and passion, two things which do come naturally to me, may in fact be related to my desire to do great work and produce value for my employer.

Boiled down to it's essence, confidence is always about yourself. Your position and concerns. Enthusiasm on the other hand, is about the work you’re presenting, the information you want to share, the message you’re trying to get across, etc. Not about your own position, rather the concern for others; your desire to share and learn and teach.And ultimately as an creative leader, to do great work that adds value.

I can't say with certainty this will resonate with you in the way it has for me, but I find Mark McGuinness's perspective innovative, refreshing, and a huge encouragement which couldn't have come at a better time. Read the entire article here.

( via wishfulthinking )