Why the Obama “Brand” Is Working:

[Hillary Clinton has] been morphing her Web site specifically to look like [Barack Obama's] all the time, so that seems obvious. McCain, to his credit, looks all the more militaristic and blunt and harsh in a way, so I appreciate him sticking to the authenticity.

The Hardest Working Presidential Candidate Logo (which references Reading Tea Leaves and Campaign Logos):

I hadn’t visited Obama’s web site in a long time, until last night when a nice designer from Nike e-mailed me pointing out the “ridiculously nice” (as he put it) implementation of the logo under the “People” section of the site. And, indeed, they were ridiculously well done. For each segment of people, the logo changes accordingly, tip-toeing a fine line between cliché and clever, and never crossing to the former’s dark side. The iterations are quickly identifiable and feel genuinely concerned with connecting to the people they are talking to, without pandering. The executions are rather flawless and work perfectly on screen with the detailed gradients and subtle background illustrations.

tags: design, politics

Salvation Army is coming to pick up my horrible old desk next week. (In the mean time the metal-monster is blocked both my doorway and the doorway to the third bedroom. A fire hazard for someone less limber than I.) I have replaced it with a really simple table-desk that I purchased on Craigslist from a graduated Georgetown Law student for $30. No more drawers so I will be forced to get rid of stuff I don’t really need, and sort the stuff I do.

Unpacking is going very very slowly, but it’s going. I finally brought my bike back from Ma and Papi’s house. I have ordered a floor pump and a rear rack for it. Now I just need something to put on the rack. A crate? A pannier? I’ll figure it out. For now it will just be a nice place to strap my U-lock onto.

I have been trying to plan out my summer because I find it tremendously calming to have everything scheduled. Things to look forward to. Everything is more manageable in chunks. If all goes well I will be able to fit in class, Chicago, New England and California (three uncles and two friends!). Even if I don’t fit in everything, my expectations for the new few months will probably be exceeded. Time won’t drag on forever. I will learn to relax instead of feeling bored and anxious when I have nothing to do.

Anyway. Next time I post hopefully I’ll have something more interesting (blogworthy?) to say

tags: biking, design, purchase

This week I had no class and nothing due. I’ve mostly been working on my group project for CG116. We are redesigning the course search page for Banner, the new system that Brown has adopted to handle everything (registration, financial aid, admission, grades, etc). I am doing the HTML and CSS. That part has not been so bad, but it has been really frustrating to work out conceptually the best way to arrange things. It has me tickled. I have never worked on a project like this with other people before. It is an interesting experience.

On Tuesday I went to New Haven with Peter to visit two Louis Kahn buildings. One was beautiful (Yale Center for British Art) and one was all right (Yale Art Gallery). We also checked out the Yale Art and Architecture Building designed by Paul Rudolph. It was probably the worst most oppressive building I have ever encountered. We also saw Peter Eisenman, who is apparently famous in the architecture world, sitting in his office which he possibly shares with Neumann, a Brown professor who is visiting Yale.

On Wednesday I went to the beach in Newport, RI with Katie. Yesterday I didn’t do much. Today I went to the Recycling Center with Peter and then a photo walk with Donald. Tonight is another Cobra concert.

tags: design, globetrotting, happy

After spending the better part my philosophical studies this year focused on moral theory and metaethics, I suddenly feel the desire to study aesthetics/art theory. The only class available at Brown on this topic next semester appears to be GRMN1440M: “Studies in Literary Genre: Digital Aesthetics.” My first impression is that it sounds like gobbledy-gook:

We discuss intermediality, multilinearity, interactivity, programming as features of digital literature and art, investigate the relationship between text, image, and performance, and read classical texts on and analyze various examples of digital aesthetics. Keywords: text machines, hyperfiction, kinetic concrete poetry, painting with words, visual writing, text-image-transfer, mapping art, digital performance, digital photography, transgenic art, neo-baroque spectacle. Courses in literary theory or visual art would help. In English.

But, I am fascinated.

Housing lottery tonight and I am kind of anxious because I also have a short paper due for Shaping of Worldviews tomorrow.

tags: class, design

I have to say, I kind of hate Pentagram’s new MICA logo design, although I liked all of the copy they wrote defending explaining it. Substance over style this time? MICA’s website isn’t looking too great either, although that seems to be a trend in art school homepages (see RISD).

tags: design, home

A roller coaster based on graph of US home prices adjusted for inflation over time. (via kottke via magnetbox)

tags: design