innerspaeth

Get INSPIRED!

This weekend we’re holding the AIGA DC retreat for board members. In a nutshell, this is what the weekend is all about:

“Wired” to the iPad

I wasn’t sure I really cared about the iPad. I mean, how much more technology do I really need (I totally feel like my grandma saying that).

Here’s the thing: technology is changing the way we engage with each other and with content. The iPad is going to enable magazines to thrive again, using multidimensional experiences to re-engage with their audience. This is so cool! Check out this video by Wired on their new iPad App:

Yogurt & the 14-day Activia Challenge

I’m not sure if it was the money back guarantee or the fact that I was sick and tired of an upset belly on a daily basis, I tried the Activia 14 day Challenge. What did I have to lose ya know, especially since a 4-pack was on sale for $1.99 at Wegmans at the time.

As most of you know, I just started writing professionally for Weight Lost Plans and as part of this week’s news assignment I decided to do a little research on probiotics and all their hype. First it’s important to understand that yogurt is made by introducing non-harmful bacteria into milk. All yogurts contain the starter cultures Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. It’s significant to also note that between these two bacterial, there are a number of strains, and studies show that all of these strains are associated with reducing diarrhea, which means yogurt on it’s own is naturally good for your digestive system. Recently though, several manufacturers of yogurt — and other products — are beginning to add extra probiotic strains to their products in the hopes of providing extra health benefits and improved marketability.

According to a Johns Hopkins health Alert, Dannon Activia was the first yogurt to market itself as “probiotic,” meaning that it has added live bacterial cultures. The added bacterial that it contains is called Bifidobacterium animalis DN-173 010, otherwise known as Bifidus Regularis, a proprietary strain trademarked by Dannon. The interesting thing about this strain is that it has been shown to survive the trip through the digestive tract and reach the colon intact.

And so it began for me – almost a month ago I began the challenge. At first I didn’t really notice much, but about 3 days in I realized that I ended the day with no cramps or bloating as I normally have. By the weekend I totally forgot my mid morning yogurt snack and by Sunday my belly was noticeably rumble-ly. HUH! Back to focus on Monday and through the next weekend, I was hooked. This yogurt was really doing the trick and to this day I’m still eating it. Marketing ploy or not, the 14-day Activia Challege worked for me!

What does Julia Child have to do with me?

This was the question that Julie Powell asked herself before she started her ‘deranged’ assignment where she spent the next 365 days cooking her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. That’s 524 recipes and she even writes a blog about her adventure. This is the most darling true story, and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! I loved the cooking, I loved the baking, I loved the story, I loved the blogging, I loved learning about Julia Child’s life. Please, if you have 2 hours watch this film. It’s purely delicious.

Joy Bauer’s Pumpkin Pudding

If you can find canned pumpkin, after the almost disastrous shortage over Thanksgiving, I recommend trying this recipe. A lovely low-fat afternoon delight!

The Man With a Heart Made of Gold.

I’m fairly certain that Michael Osborne has a heart made of pure gold. He has an obsession with design, a true-love for it that keeps him designing round-the-clock for some amazing charitable organizations.

Photo by: Joe Carabeo, Astray Productions

This is a picture of Michael Osborne and I moments after I met him for the first time. It was a unseasonably warm and sunny Sunday evening on November 15, 2009, at a special meet-and-greet gathering held by AIGA DC for the AIGA DC Design Continuum Scholarship Fund Circle donors. Michael was invited to join our social gathering and share some of his work from 1 Heart Press. Among Michael’s many passions is the fine art of letterpress printing. His love for finely set typography and skillful printing required more and more dedication and strict diligence, so in 1991 he decided to open his own letterpress printing shop in San Francisco. Since then he’s been letterpress printing anything from fine books to wedding invitations.

By day Michael is President and Creative Director of the San Francisco-based graphic design firm, MOD/Michael Osborne Design, Inc. Established in 1981, the firm’s work in corporate/brand identity, package design, and print collateral has been recognized by many organizations, and publications and is on display in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, and the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

With Michael there’s always love, or a heart, something he’s become well-known for in his design work. There are many different kinds of hearts in his body of work, but the majority have been created for projects at Joey’s Corner.

In 2004, Michael Osborne created a non-profit 501(c)3 organization called Joey’s Corner, a studio dedicated to providing pro-bono strategic creative services to non-profit groups focusing on healthcare, children’s and social well-being issues. The studio was founded to honor the life of Michael’s deceased son, Joseph Michael Osborne, 1980-2004. Joey’s Corner operates on donations, fund-raising events, and whenever possible, projects may be underwritten by a sponsor or by the non-profit client itself.

Joey’s Corner is the first heart in a series of Michael’s many hearts:

Next he created Valentines Day cards for sale with the proceeds going to Joey’s Corner.

Then Ethel Kessler, Art Director for Stamps, called up Michael and asked him to design Love Stamps for the USPS.

All of a sudden, there were Hearts in San Francisco. Hearts were all over the city, actually and most were designed and constructed by Michael himself.

Then there is Heart to Heart, an orgainzation founded to save babies by teaching doctors abroad the art and science of open-heart surgery for children.

There’s a heart in yoga, The Art of Yoga Project. This organization’s mission is to lead teen girls in the California juvenile justice system toward accountability to self, others and community by providing practical tools to effect behavioral change.

I’ll conclude with one final heart, his work for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Memory Walk.

Michael Osborne came to Washington, DC to give a presentation to the local AIGA Chapter on the work he’s produced at Joey’s Corner. His presentation moved the audience. A dozen plus people came up to me after the presentation to thank me for inviting Michael to our chapter. A few even marked this as one of their top 3 AIGA DC events, ever. I just couldn’t be happier.

Thank you Michael for coming to DC, but mostly for your boundless ability to inspire and delight designers and change organizations so their messages are finally heard.

Throwin’ it Back to Shoulder Pads! (#19)

That’s right you faithful Innerspaeth reader, you. Throwback Friday is BACK with a vengeance. Today I’m throwin’ it back to shoulder pads.

This idea came to me over the weekend when I was helping my mother clean out my grandmother, AKA Busia’s sweater collection. I was about to try on a sweater (that I actually liked) and, low and behold, sewn into the shoulder were shoulder pads! I couldn’t believe it. My mom laughed then told me that they’re back in style. Allow me to repeat that. My MOTHER told ME that shoulder pads were back in style.

“No. They most certainly are not back in style,” I said back to her.

Then I realized… wait, maybe Mom was right and I had better do a little research.

The beginning of the shoulder pad craze first started in the 1930s when fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli included them in her designs of 1931. Shoulder pads were shaped as a semicircle and then stuffed with stiff materials like wool, cotton or sawdust. They were the perfect extension of the shoulder line and fashion designers loved it! Interestingly, they became especially popular after World War II when designs became more militarised. Jackets and coats in particular, were influenced by masculine styles and shoulder pads became even bulkier and were positioned at the top of the shoulder to create a solid look.

Joan Collins was the queen of shoulder pads, in my humble opinion. Seen here during her years on the prime time soap opera Dynasty.

I Googled “shoulder pads” and found a surprising number of images from 2009!

Victoria Beckham, Rihanna and Katy Perry in shoulder pads

Beyonce wears shoulder pads

Gwyneth Paltrow wears shoulder pads

I’m beginning to think Mom is right. So, there you have it. Clean out your closets this weekend ladies, it’s time to dig up your shoulder pads! Sport your favorite jacket or sweater to work on Monday and start the trend back up with the celebs. You’ll thank me later.

Make|Think

On Sunday, I got back from 5 bliss-filled days in Memphis, Tennessee, where I was volunteering at and participating in the AIGA National Design Conference, Make|Think. AIGA, the professional association for design, holds a National Design Conference every two years. I was in Denver for the 2007 conference and in 2005 I was in Boston. Each conference always has it’s own theme, and this year it was Make|Think.

Purposely left open for each attendees’ interpretation, to me this year’s conference theme, Make|Think, is backwards. Shouldn’t it be Think|Make? Then I wonder if maybe that’s the reason for structuring it purposely opposite? Either way, the theme represents the dual roles of designers as makers of beautiful things and as strategic problem thinkers and solvers. Interestingly enough, Joe Duffy’s recent article on Fast Company outlines the same idea of the conference, but reminds us to air on the side of simplicity in all aspects of the design process.

From the “thinking” to the “making, he says, “It begins with collecting as much input as you can regarding a particular subject and understanding the context of the world in which that product or service will exist and compete. It’s about looking for gaps in the marketplaces where others haven’t thought to go. It’s about finding the truth of an organization, where they’ve come from and what they’re capable of. And then it’s about organizing and mixing ideas and visual elements to deliver a succinctly meaningful and artistic perspective.”

It would be impossible to recap the amazingly, awe-inspiring time I had in Memphis amongst 1500 designers from across the country. In fact, much of it was captured by Alissa Walker of Gelatobaby who was the official conference real-time blogger. Make|Think with Gelatobaby is still being updated with articles, tweets using the #makethink hashtag and images on flickr that are tagged “makethink”. Here are a few of my favorites:

By jkali1

By girl*alex

By girl*alex

and

By Calebyte

As Stefan Sagmeister reminded us during his main stage presentation, it’s a good idea to take a sabbatical and experiment. He closes his studio every 7 years for 12 months and spends his time trying out various little design experiments, for which there is never enough time while running a regular practice. You too can take a break from your routine. Join us next year for GAIN, AIGA’s Business and Design conference. Mingle with old friends, search for new ideas and find your inspiration.

See you in NYC!

And it’s August. I was busy.

“Where did the Summer go?” Is something that you’ll start to hear right about now and through the end of August. If you’re anything like me, you’ve been asking yourself (and possibly others) this question since the middle of July. My last post was JUNE for crying out loud. That’s a disgrace.

Before I write the excuse that I HATE hearing the most, let me first apologize. I’m sorry. Really, I’m sorry. The reason I have not updated dear and faithful Innerspaeth is because…

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…….

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I’ve been busy.

Now I know to some, this is an OK excuse, they use it all the time. When is it acceptable to say “you’re busy” and how “busy” are you? Busy is about as relative as beautiful anymore so it really has no meaning without some detail. So, I’m sure your next inevitable question is “Well, what have you been up to then?” Let me save you the asking and I’ll just get to the highlights:

June
1. June was the start of the chaos. I officially became AIGA DC’s Chapter President. In my first official role as president, I attended the National Leadership Retreat in Portland, OR with six other board members in tow. We mingled and brainstormed with other chapter leaders from across the nation, within 64 other AIGA chapters! The main focus of the retreat was the future of the design profession, and how we, AIGA, as the largest professional association for design should adapt, which brings me to the Mandate for 2014.

2. From there, the AIGA DC chapter board members got together for our annual retreat over the last weekend of June. We gathered at FOX Architect’s DC office for two days of interaction, brainstorm and good, old-fashioned fun. We spent a lot of time discussing what AIGA is, how we engage our members, the mandate and programming. We paused for a break on Sunday for some cake decorating fun. Everyone broke up into teams of two to discuss then decorate a cake on the question: What does AIGA mean to it’s members?

Cake by Allison Bucchere & Roy Wilhelm

3. I got an iPhone.

4. I downloaded lots of Apps.

5. Had my first ever dinner at Nora in DC.

July
1. I’ve been in the DC Metro area for five years now and have never seen fireworks in DC! With that, I went down to the mall with some very lovely friends (and Mr. M) and watched them. I also used my Pano App and took this picture of the Washington Monument, seconds before the fireworks started.

The Washington Monument on July 4th

2. I grew out my eyebrows. They were getting way to thin and it had to be done. In case you’re wondering, I’m STILL trying to get them back into shape. Tip: Don’t pluck when you’re stressed or angry.

3. Solidified AIGA DC board positions. You can see all the wonderful people who put their blood, sweat and tears into our chapter here: AIGA DC Board of Directors.

4. Successfully dropped two percentage points of body fat by spinning two more days a week.

5. Really got to rolling on this year’s AIGA DC design competition called AIGA 50. Working with the interactive team at Grafik, we’ve hit the world wide web with the competition. We’re set to launch in September. Stay tuned.

6. Selected the AIGA DC Fellow, David Franek of the Design Channel and begun planning a cocktail hour in his honor. The event was held last week and was quite a success!

7. Hit the pool 2 or 3 times on the weekend.

8. Decided to get a road bike.

9. Started researching road bikes.

10. Went to Pennsylvania to visit my lovely family: Chris, Jenn, Mom and Dad. It was just like old times. Oh, Cipe and Sirloin came too. They hated the carry case though.

Cipe (left) Sirloin (right) having a blast.

And now it’s August. It’s time to ramp up for September, wave buh-bye to the summer and get back to business. I just need to remind myself to stop back and blog again. Did you guys miss me?

Throwin’ it Back to Tom Selleck (#17)

Meeeeowwwza!

This week I’m throwin’ it back to Mr. Tom Selleck, AKA Thomas Magnum (hunk-a hunk-a burnin’ love).



My mother often spoke of Tom Selleck when I was little and I was always a little confused by this. Why was my mother rambling on and on about this guy Tom who looked a lot like my father? I think it was the mustache that threw me off. Regardless, my mother loved Magnum P.I. and who could blame her? Tom Selleck played the main character, Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV. Magnum was a 1967 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and Vietnam veteran, where he served as a Sea-Air-Land Force commando. Magnum lived at the ‘guest house’ of a posh, 200-acre beachfront estate, known as Robin’s Nest, in Hawaiʻi. This of course, often left him shirtless and in a swimsuit on the beach in the show. I’m starting to see why my mother was so fond of Tom.

Besides playing Magnum, Selleck starred in a number of film roles during and after Magnum; among the most notable were as an acrophobic police detective in Runaway, as a stand-in father in Three Men and a Baby, and as an American cowboy in the Australian western Quigley Down Under, a role and film that he considers one of his best.



Most recently, Selleck joined the cast of the hit NBC drama Las Vegas in the season five premiere on September 28, 2007. He played A.J. Cooper, the new owner of the Montecito Casino. This is his first regular role on a drama show since he played Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I. Go Tom! I wonder if my mom watches Las Vegas?

So there you have it. Below are a few more shots of the heart throb in action. Enjoy (I know my mother will)!