TWIMCIA

2011 Chicago Auto Show

  |  Filed under Cars

2011 Chicago Auto Show

It’s that time again! It’s been a yearly tradition to go with my big bro and this was no exception. If I remember correctly, last year GM still had an enormous booth, Hyundai was second largest. This year, things are a little different and everyone has been rearranged. The things I noticed right off the bat:

  • Fiat finally incorporated into Chrysler Group but very separated. This was welcoming for the 500 who had its very own space, but there was nothing amazing about the booth. In my opinion, the Fiat brand is going to be very important for Chrysler Group.
  • German much smaller presence. Literally all the major German brands’ booths were cut in half, to the point that the Mercedes-Benz booth was downright cramped.
  • You could tell we’re in a recession (with some exceptions)
  • I didn’t notice a lot of concept cars and I was especailly hoping to see Mazda’s new KODO design concept
  • And finally, no top shelf brands. No Alfa. No Fisker. No Aston Martin. No Lambo or Lotus, all there last year.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are more specifics and photos after the jump. (more…)

Snomageddonopocolypse 2011 [Update 2]

  |  Filed under chicago Commentary Current Events Work

So much to share with everyone!

Flickr Photos and Video:

My Vimeo Channel includes four videos right now:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/19465885[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/19465861[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/19484554[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/19668190[/vimeo]

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/19668070[/vimeo]

Dibs!

  |  Filed under chicago

When you spend an hour unburying your car from the Snowmageddon, you want to make sure your spot is there. So you do dibs on your space. It’s an unspoken law in Chicago and it’s a subject of some controversy. Here are some I found today. I will call them dibs props.

Apple vs The World

  |  Filed under Mobile Uncategorized

I have a love/hate relationship with Apple as many of you well know. I have been a card-carrying Mac user since I first used a LC II at the Canton Public Library all the way to my 15″ MacBook Pro, arguably the best laptop I have ever used.

But I am really discouraged by the news feeds today. I read about Virgin Atlantic’s decision to remove Flash on their website so that it would work better with the iPhone.

What?

I don’t have an iPhone and it’s not because I don’t like the iPhone. It’s because I don’t like the culture that has been created around it. The fact that a company would alter their entire website to work on a phone that few people access on their mobiles is beyond me. Going so far as to suggest that Flash is “limiting” is beyond Saturn (the planet). Without it, web video sites like YouTube and Vimeo wouldn’t have taken off as much as it has.

On the other hand, moving websites away from Flash makes sense. I am encoraged by a future in which HTML5 sites replaced platform-specific apps to deliver a consistent browser experience across devices and platforms.

And that’s the reason VA should have given: design once and reuse. But let’s do it for the right reasons… Not because you want to pander to one device and manufacturer.

Virgin: Wipe the brown stuff on your nose. Steve obviously stopped too quickly.

Keeping warm, carrying on in Wicker Park

  |  Filed under chicago Commentary Design Typography

I have been seeing adaptations of the “Keep calm and carry on” posters all over the city. According to Wikipedia, these were never produced. Instead their resurgence has been as recent as 10 years ago.

It seems a fitting mantra for me as a Buddhist and for everyone these increasingly unpredictable times. I admire its message but also the timelessness of the design and the typography. A quick search on the Interwebs reveals that P22′s Underground Pro is the closest font. Gorgeous.

If this is all too serious, check out this site instead.

My visit to Critical Mass

  |  Filed under Design

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As part of the AIGA Chicago Small Talk series, I visited Critical Mass last night and boy did I learn a lot. Here are some of the notes I took:

  • They think multi-channel distribution to all creative and they have a department that deals with that.
  • They do a lot of persona research, which is great for us creatives to visualize the audience.
  • One of the folks in the audience asked how to keep up with the latest trends and how they do it. They responded by literally keeping up on latest sites like FWA. Similarly, they suggest that folks new to social media get immersed in it by starting small and working your way up.
  • I asked about selling a challenging proposition to clients. They recommended quick prototying and clickable wireframes to get the point across. Also, you always want to continiously educate clients on what’s out there and what is the next big thing. You don’t want to wait until the presentation to show them.
  • Their distribution on teams: 5-10 creatives per team, additional 5-10 developers. And that was for a small budget. It always depends, of course.

Their space is really neat. I didn’t want to take photos inside because it would freak them out, but suffice it to say it’s very collaborative with waist-high work spaces and a big, open space for gathering (which is where the presentation was held). Be sure to check out their work.

Birthday surprise

  |  Filed under Events

Birthday surprise

We are taking the boys home after a beautiful night of projected, Indian movie and brownie bliss. This is the view of the federal prison from the west side, unlike the eastern view from Peter’s apartment.