Brilliant Beirut On The Dieline

Check out what Jonathan Ford, Creative Partner of Pearlfisher, one of the most reputed branding agencies in the world, has to say about Beirut.

"In my third piece about the foreign creative influences that all designers should be aware of when looking for a fresh perspective, I'm going to talk about THE place that has left THE biggest impression on me recently: Beirut, Lebanon - a city with more texture than diamond-studded sandpaper".

Read the rest of the article here.

[via]

Fortune: Steve Jobs, CEO Of The Decade

Read the article here. Hat tip for Jobs!

2012 Olympics Pictograms Launched

Interesting article at Creative Review.

In defense of being over-critical...

Ok, so I'm often told that I can be over critical when it comes to design.
I just bumped into this article written by John Siracusa, entitled "Hypercritical". He mainly talks about the over-critical mind and Steve Jobs' amazing use of it. So in defense of over-criticism, here's the articles conclusion:

"The point is, ladies and gentleman, that criticism, for lack of a better word, is good. Criticism is right. Criticism works. Criticism clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit…

Okay, let me try that again. Actually, I'm on the same page as Gordon Gekko in one important respect. Like greed, criticism gets a bad rap, especially when it's presented in large doses. It's impolite. It's unnecessarily obsessive. It's just a bummer. But the truth is, precious little in life gets fixed in the absence of a good understanding of what's wrong with it to begin with.

This character flaw, this curse, this seemingly most useless of skills is actually the yin to the more widely recognized yang of creative talent. Is a preternatural ability to find fault enough on its own to make something great? Probably not, but it can help amplify mundane competencies and produce results well beyond what you could have achieved with your creative skills alone."

via undrln

Ten Things I Have Learned by Milton Glaser

A MUST READ.
Milton Glaser is one of my absolute favorites and this article he wrote for AIGA in 2001 is quite amazing. Very insightful.

Here are the 10 things he highlights:

1 You can only work for people that you like.
2 If you have a choice never have a job.
3 Some people are toxic, avoid them.
4 Professionalism is not enough or The good is the enemy of the great.
5 Less is not necessarily more.
6 Style is not to be trusted.
7 How ou live changes you brain.
8 Doubt is better than certainty.
9 On aging.
10 Tell the truth.

and here's the whole article. Again, a must read.

Usability Analysis of Apple.com: Why is it so Good?

As designers, we all have been influenced in some way by Apple, whether it be their brilliant OS, stunning industrial innovation, or the trends they have started in web/application design. Apple focuses a lot on usability. This can be seen in their products, and Apple.com. It is important for Apple.com to be a usable site, because it leaves a good impression on users, and they will therefore be more likely...read more

via spoonfeddesign.com