High school dropout

As an undergrad in design school, back when print was king, we were taught that the practical rules of identity development were: Keep it simple enough to be effective on a business card and stationary, and the logo should always be reproducible in one color, vector art with no gradations. Then, as now, a strong creative idea was the key requirement, but today, logos–and the identities that support them–often need to work harder than they did in the pre-digital age. Now, the logo and its extended identity can take on a more dynamic role in brand storytelling by leveraging the familiarity that comes from the frequent and virtual nature of the fast-paced conversation between a brand and its consumers. Google’s ever-changing logo is an obvious and literal example, but even brands as diverse as DC Comics, Brand USA, and JCPenney have recently evolved their identities, building variation and storytelling into the system, not just for variety or complexity but to instill a … [Read more...] about Our MVP Pick For Super Bowl XLVI: The Old-School Branding System

Ever consider playing a cross-section of a tree like a vinyl record? We hadn’t until introduced to the work of Bartholomäus Traubeck, who has figured out a way to translate the rings of wooden disks into music using a computer-rigged record player. “I rather wanted to see the tree as just one of many documents in an archive of natural objects that bear the record of their development in their own structure,” Traubeck tells Co.Design. But in order to mine that data, the artist built an elaborate tech setup. The tonearm is equipped with a modified PlayStation eye camera, which streams a close-up image of the record to a computer. “I examine the image for (obviously) year rings, and if one is detected, it is analyzed for its thickness, darkness, and growth factor,” the German artist writes. Those parameters determine the groove’s rhythm, tone strength and length, and pitch. After being analyzed and reshaped, the signal is mapped onto a piano … [Read more...] about A High-Tech Turntable Converts Tree Rings Into Piano Music

Sugar has a lot in common with tobacco and alcohol: it triggers pleasurable feelings, it can cause health problems when overused, and it’s addictive (though the jury may still be out on that one). Unlike the latter two substances, sugar products don’t come with added taxes or any barrier to obtaining them. Anyone can legally binge on sugar, regardless of age. But maybe this shouldn’t be the case. Maybe we’d all be better off if sugar was treated like a potentially dangerous substance. advertisement advertisement Scientists at UCSF argue in a recent issue of Nature that added sugars, defined as “any sweetener containing the molecule fructose that is added to food in processing,” should be regulated by the government. The researchers, one of whom is well-known for his views on the dangers of sugar, have come up with a convincing list of reasons why we need to take serious measures: Sugar can induce hypertension, insulin resistance, high … [Read more...] about Should The Government Regulate Sugar Like Tobacco?

advertisement advertisement The year 2012 is not only the Year of the Dragon, it also marks 30 years since In Search of Excellence was published. While there have been voices over the years which have been critical of the book’s methodology, its resulting content, and even its writing style, the case can be made that it is the most influential management book not only in these last 30 years but perhaps–just perhaps–ever.  Hyperbole? Consider: It created a new genre of “best seller” business books, works that were not only informative but interesting and highly readable for Everyman. With a few exceptions, such as McGregor, Chandler, Sloan, maybe Drucker, many (most?) prior books on management/leadership were arcane tomes written by academics for academics and practitioners and were rarely found on any popular “best seller” list. Now “business” is considered a book category in itself thanks in no small part to … [Read more...] about The Most Influential Business Book Of The Last 30 Years?

We are definitely trading at a record high from the index point of view, but the majority of the stocks are still trading at multi-year lows. I believe that bottom-up investing, with a portfolio of 15 to 20 high-quality stocks will help, Santosh Kumar Singh, Head of Research, MOAMC, said in an interview with Moneycontrol’s Kshitij Anand.edited excerpts:Q) A big bailout package unveiled by the Cabinet on the real estate sector is something which was the need of the hour. Do you think the amount is enough or the government might have to put in more money to move the needle? Any stocks which are likely to benefit the most from the package?Close A) The bailout package announced by the Centre is definitely the need of the hour as a lot of housing projects are stuck for just last-mile funding. The biggest positive is that this money can be even used for the stressed project which is either NPL or referred to NCLT. related news This smallcap debt-free company has … [Read more...] about Investors should look at bottom-up investing with max 15-20 stocks in portfolio