Graphic nature

An early November sunset paints a classic California graphic pattern.

A momentous passing

Streetside memorial in front of Apple Store, Palo Alto, California.

In memoriam as in design life; simple and elegant. Apple Homepage announcing Steve Jobs’ passing.

Insert story here…

I am a compulsive photographer. I cannot see something interesting without photographing it. I spent two weeks in South Korea and Singapore recently, and I took so many pictures that it has literally paralyzed me from writing a blog post. So many patterns, stories, interesting differences. I could probably blog from that trip for the next 3 months.

To unstick myself, I’m just going to post a few standouts, and leave it at that. More to come later, I’m sure…

Shout it out loud

The will to self-expression is strong in us.

In a state park restroom, people leverage the only space where they can easily leave a permanent mark.

And what is the story here? Is this a personal message? Or perhaps a self-reflexive apology to Banksy for ripping off Banksy’s style in order to apologize to Banksy for ripping off his style?

Down the street, my neighbors have been “flocked.” This is an elaborate way to raise money for their daughter’s church youth group. One of their friends has donated money to the group and thus caused the deployment of this flock of plastic flamingoes. Beats a tote bag–take note, NPR.

Physical Traces

Paper towel in club bathroom, Los Angeles, CA

Curbside trash, Palo Alto, CA

Window dressing

Ever-shifting standards of beauty: botoxed mannequins in a Palo Alto storefront.

Advertising everywhere

No longer is my toilet paper a private space…

Advertising is everywhere. What’s next?

Banded Bird © 2008 Dan Soltzberg

The Best Thing

This was absolutely the best thing that happened this weekend.

Angry Birdsky: Angry Birds + Banksy by @bortwein [ via laughingsquid.com & @chris23 ]

Sparks

Today is going to be visual inspiration day. Enjoy…

An amazing piece of art/technology/horology — This clock by design group humans since 1982 is witty and elegant [ via likecool ]

Sketching! — Mike Rohde has put together a lovely compendium of sketching-related thoughts and resources [ via a list apart ]

I stumbled across a blog this morning with so much good stuff on it that, even though it might be slightly lame to repost several pieces from the same source, I wanted to share a few of my favorites. Definitely check out the whole blog. [ all of the following via shortbus.tumblr.com i.e. @femmmefatal ]

All you sketchers out there will like this body painting piece —

Here’s a virtual tour of the world’s art museums — The amazing Google Art Project

And finally, more proof that, with a good eye and great soundtrack, everything is interesting — A hi-def video sketch by Tom Guilmette

How NOT to talk to your customers

The following heartfelt missive landed in my inbox recently:

Bank “X” would like to thank you for the phone call that you, or someone in your household, made on 02/22/2011. The voice of the customer is very important to Bank X as it continually monitors and improves its customer service.
You can provide your feedback on Bank X’s customer service performance by completing a brief 5 minute survey. To participate in the survey, click on the Web address below. http://customersurvey.______________

C’mon, folks–this kind of impersonal, help-us-help-ourselves tone is a turnoff.

It’s not out of reach to do this kind of thing well–please, companies, apply a little human-centered design to your outbound communications. Take the necessary steps to remind yourselves that your customers are people, with all of the concomitant motivations and emotional responses. Talk to them that way.