Hello everybody! It's seems like it's been so long since I've posted here. Does anybody still read our posts?

SIC 2011 just wrapped up yesterday, and I spent the day going to talks by speakers from the worlds of UX, SEO, marketing, and branding. Like any convention, there were a lot of great talks going on simultaneously--it was hard to choose which ones to go to!

I've summarized some of what was talked about below, spanning mobile, design, SEO, and networking. Hopefully you get something out of it!

Okay, so Mike has on some wickedly awesome boots on this morning and it inspired me to post up these bad boys—just in time for the cold. 

Last week Dan Gneiding released his full typeface version of Ribbon, from Lost Type, and I was lucky enough to design a spread in the accompanying type specimen book. It's included in your order if you pay $30 or more for the font–sweet.

It looks like the bastard child of a 1978 Vancouver Canucks jersey and a pack of Newport cigarettes. So it's no surprise that in the few weeks since it was "leaked", the new logo of the Miami Marlins (previously known as the Florida Marlins) has already taken a ruthless online drubbing. Admittedly, it's easy to hate. 

Behold the latest version of the iconic sports car, the 911.

One of the curses of being a copywriter is the inability to walk by any sign - any words on any surface, really - without dissecting the word choice, the tone and the effectiveness of the message.

One brand that has made some serious leaps and bounds of late is J. Crew. 

We have recently had the joy of working with an innovative new company that is revolutionizing wealth management as the world knows it. NUKU is building an extremely deep but simple to use product that enables users to pursue their financial investment goals through a series of interactive tools backed by human expertise. NUKU, the investment engine will be unveiling later this year to revolutionize the way people invest in their futures.

Design, when done right, influences culture through an experience that is largely sub-conscious. Beyond core utilitarian content and functionality that is consciously consumed, there are a myriad of psychological factors that help connect an audience to any given design experience. These factors are primarily emotional, and lie beyond the layman's ability to dissect fully, and for good reason – good design should quietly curate an experience, provide appropriate atmospheric conditions and be a conduit for functional communication.