Hygenie

It's absolutely silly, but this happy avatar for tooth care cracked me up.

Communication

Hitting a wall. Firewall. Brick Wall. The visual metaphor for getting nowhere bizarrely appeared in the office soon after I spent a day sans internet and on the phone with the other service provider. Coincidence?

Square Sans

New York team spirit didn't help the Jets against the Stillers (I'm using a Pittsburgher's phonetic pronunciation), but it wasn't for want of hoopla, promos, and even soda-pack typography. Did every NY store get a diagram showing how to create the word "Jets"? Did the self-same national brands do the same kind of promo with the Steelers in Pittsburgh? (that'salotta packaging).Stay tuned. . . .

Practical Advice: design contracts

I hear from a lot of my students about crazy contract negotiations they get involved in with clients (where the client writes the contract and the student wonders if they should sign it).

Worse yet, I know that many of my students do design work without a contract and a letter of agreement. Don't do it, not even for friends...not even for a drawing for a tattoo! Always take the time out to write a contract, even just a simple one. Contracts let your clients know you are serious about your business, and can help lead them through the steps of the design process and to understand the design fees and related expenses. They protect both the designer and the client.

I always go to the Graphic Artists Guild website to read up on contracts (and I wouldn't be anywhere without my Pricing and Ethical Guidelines Handbook that I got free for joining (you must be a freelancer to join; they also offer benefits like group health insurance and job boards).

Don't neglect to click on the Letter of Agreement tab, too! Extremely helpful!

Clever packaging

I was going to take my empty bag of Indian rice (from a jaunt to the richly colorful stores in Jackson Heights) and turn it into a tote of some sort, but Phaidon cleverly took the bag of rice concept further and used it as a jacket-equivalent for a book on India's cooking.

Zippy Three Kings Day

We three kings of orient are
Seek a manger . . . ? . . . looks like a car!
It's Alessi, trendily bless-y,
Shot with phone from afar . . . .

"Hush"-ering in the New Year

NJ Transit is now reserving the first and last cars of trains into Penn Station during peak hours as "Quiet Cars." Sshhh! They even come with their own logo, playing on the tail of the Q and putting the mute in commute.