the mehallo blog. beta.

   
Before and after

Another company’s gone and done it.

Desperate times call for  . . .  logo changes. If a company’s not doing well, they have to do something. Forget the pressure of product marketing, pricing, supply and demand – all too tough to deal with. Instead: Let’s change the logo.

K-Mart has done it a few times.

Not quite getting to the root of things. But changing a logo to solve a major problem is like saying, I have cancer, so – I’m going to go get my hair done.

When exactly did this become the rule of the day? Is a logo change what it takes to shore up a failing brand? Gap seems to think so and if that’s how they’re managing things right now, they probably should fail. [Read more →]

Tags: design, design history, fashion, thoughts by steve
7 comments  . . .   

‘Made by Austin filmmakers Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen, Before the Music Dies tells the story of how the music industry has abandoned both artists and fans in its single-minded pursuit of corporate profits.’

Creativity doesn’t follow a formula.

It’s pure, anti-establishment and doesn’t fit in little boxes. And the more corporations and conservative elements of the community decide to dictate and choose for us – the less interesting things will become.

Snag the DVD here.

Found via meiko

Tags: cool finds, music, thoughts by steve
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‘How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags. Igor Savitsky  . . .  pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist’s works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB.’

Trailer for The Desert of Forbidden Art (above). More info about the film here.

my take
In my design history class, it’s always a shock when I show how strongly the Nazis reacted to modern art. Just the concept that ‘art can be dangerous’ – so dangerous that the artists must be killed – seems so distant. Yet in the news today, book burnings have become a common topic. Just like the Nazis. Again.

Art and ideas are often dangerous to individuals who have the intense need to control other people. What they say and do. Who they associate with, what they read, how they think, or love.

As someone who champions free speech – I find the concept of book (or art) banning (or burning) thoroughly disgusting.

Not looking forward to election day this year.

Trailer found via Ai Buenafe

Tags: art, cool finds, design history, thoughts by steve
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‘The geography of prejudice’

Digital illustrations by designer Yanko Tsvetkov of how various – groups – classify Europe. Above, ‘Europe according to the USA.’

Below, Europe as seen by Britian, Germany, Italy, France. Click for larger view/jump.

More here. Prints are also available.

Tags: cool finds, design, education, thoughts by steve
5 comments  . . .   

‘Even in the early days, Trader Joe’s appeal was its narrow but zany selection and loyal customers’

Fortune takes a look at the Secret World of Trader Joe’s. How it works and how they’re trying to stay small.

The formula doesn’t always work. Back in the 1990s, TJ founder Joe Coulombe purchased one of my favorite food places: the Bay Area Petrini’s grocery chain, only to make changes that confused customers. Since the store was a full size supermarket, the odd ‘less is more,’ Trader Joe’s approach – which resulted in less merchandise and a drastic change in shopping experience – alienated regulars. Petrini’s changed hands one more time and was gone by 1999.

Photo of a reusable TJ shopping tote by mehallo

Tags: culinary, thoughts by steve
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‘The news is what we say it is’ -(allegedly) Dave, FOX News

Video, above, from the documentary The Corporation. Watch the complete film – in segments – on YouTube.

The evil robots we were expecting haven’t taken over the world – something more psychopathic has. And these psychopaths have all the constitutional rights any other ‘person’ in the United States is afforded.

I also saw The Green Zone this weekend. So I’m already in a mood.

Tags: education, thoughts by steve
1 comment  . . .   

‘The All-Salt process harvests two popular commodities, sea salt and recycled pharmaceuticals from water treatment plants’

The town of Alviso is located at the bottom of San Francisco Bay. It’s home to a funky old restaurant called Vahl’s, the headquarters for TiVo and salt flats contaminated by pharmaceuticals that manage to survive treatment at the local sewage facility.

In theory, Alviso-harvested All-Salt should cure just about everything, since it contains ‘valuable drug compounds  . . .  from antibiotics to antidepressants,’ the building blocks of all the wonderful prescriptions we see advertised on tee vee each and every night.

Details here. Informational video below:

And
Should point out, other salts harvested in the South Bay – such as those sourced by Cargill – contain pretty much the same post-pharmaceutical ingredients as All-Salt.

Found via Boing Boing

Tags: cool finds, thoughts by steve
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Thursday evening I saw a Tweet come in. It said there was an airplane crash in San Bruno.

I grew up across from the San Francisco Airport and my dad used to always joke that an airplane – someday – would come crashing thru the front window. And now I’m – allegedly – reading about it on Twitter. [Read more →]

Tags: thoughts by steve
6 comments  . . .   

‘I’m a Sexy Font’ poster, created by Obtenebratio

Back in the early 1990s, the Carol Twombly-drawn Adobe Caslon was one of the first font packages I ever purchased.

I’ve been in love with it ever since. I use it on just about everything – including this blog’s title, my own logotype. I’m a font designer myself, but still don’t consider my own letterforms to even come close to what was accomplished with this particular interpretation of Caslon. [Read more →]

Tags: design, design history, fonts, thoughts, typography by steve
4 comments  . . .   

‘The things your teachers tell you in class are not gospel. You will get conflicting information. It means that both are wrong. Or both are true. This never stops. Most decisions are gray, and everything lives on a spectrum of correctness and suitability.’

‘Think of every project as an opportunity to learn, but also an opportunity to teach.’

A few pieces of good advice for design students from the Office of Frank Chimero.

Read all of his advice here.

Found via Saawan Ebe

Tags: cool finds, education, thoughts by steve
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So I’m pretty much out the door right now – driving down to TypeCon.

And this Thursday morning I’ll be speaking as an ‘icebreaker’ in the Type & Design Education Forum. I’ll be going over a bunch of things I’ve learned while teaching; things that I’ve discovered work very well in a creative classroom. [Read more →]

Tags: design, education, thoughts by steve
2 comments  . . .