A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet Josh Smith, one half of the creative duo behind the blog, idsgn.

idsgn is a fantastic blog that focuses on design, branding and marketing.  I think what makes them unique among all the design blogs out there, is that they have a strong point of view about the content they feature.  As a result, a dialogue is created between their readers and it makes for a more interesting and inspiring read.  Spend sometime on their site and get involved in the conversation.

I am really digging the new redesign of the infamous Chiquita Banana.

DJ Neff created a campaign that included these fantastic sticker illustrations, Facebook integration and a microsite with viral videos, a sticker generator and a 3D flash game.

Design:Related recently interviewed him about the design process, the beauty of a client that says “make bananas cool” and the importance of brand equity.  Check out the interview here.

Client: Chiquita Banana
Campaign Name: Eatachiquita
Creative Direction: DJ Neff, Mark Krajan
Art Direction: DJ Neff
Designers: Hillary Coe, Luis Gonzalez
Contributing Designers: Dyanna Csaposs, Nick Perata, Roscoe Ferguson
Developers: Neil Katz, Chris Isom, Isaac Dettman
CG Developers: Kyle Figgins, Ryan Kaplan, Steve Han, Gene Arvan
Production Company: The Famous Group

On a recent flight From Seattle to NYC, Tyler Thompson, the creative director at Squarespace, decided to tackle the boarding pass — an object used by many, yet often overlooked and rarely reconsidered.

After some sketches in his Moleskine, Tyler came up with these:

Tyler’s efforts sparked a conversation and others jumped into the ring.  What is important about the designs that follow is that they take into account design limitations, such as the fact that boarding passes are printed with thermal printers and international flights require longer bar codes.  I think too often people redesign products that end up being sexier but don’t really consider the critical elements or the importance of function and usability.  I like that the design community brought these facts to Tyler’s attention and more importantly, I applaud Tyler for opening it up for discussion.  It’s these sorts of conversations that make life interesting.

This is JJ at Graphicology take:

And Timoni Grone‘s version:

And one of my personal favorites from Yoni De Beule:

See more designs and read more of the discussion here

Pentagram created this beautiful, interactive piece that asks four simple questions about your personality. Your answers determine what font or type face represents you.  I’m Architype Van Doesburg.  What are you?  Use “character” as the password.

I love that one of the simplest words in our language, “and” can be expressed in so many different and beautiful ways. This new blog celebrates the ampersand 365 days a year.

Some of you may remember this post I did a while back with the amazing photos that The Selby took as part of the advertising campaign for Cole, Rodd and Haan. Well folks, he has gone and done it again.  This time, The Selby takes us on a beautiful tour of one of my all time favorite chocolate houses, Mast Brothers Chocolate.  Rick and Michael Mast are the handsome duo behind these delicious chocolates that are handmade in Brooklyn .   These boys are true artisans and are one of the few “bean-to-bar” chocolatiers, which means they own the entire process of making their chocolate from sourcing the cocoa beans from Venezuela, Ecuador and Madagascar to roasting, grinding, molding and eventually packaging it all up.  The Selby does a wonderful job of illustrating the whole process from start to finish, so please check out the whole series here.

Not only is this some seriously delicious chocolate (my favorite is the Dark Chocolate with Almonds and Sea Salt), but every bar comes beautifully packaged in Italian wrapping paper; it’s like unwrapping a gift each time.

You can find their chocolate at any of these amazing little shops:

A Little of What You Fancy 19 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, NY 11937
Bedford Cheese Shop 229 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Bierkraft 191 Fifth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Branford Green Grocer 1036 Main Street, Branford, CT 06405
Brooklyn Larder 228 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217
Dean & Deluca 560 Broadway, Manhattan, NY 10012
France 44 4351 France Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55410
Grab 438 7th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Marlow & Sons 81 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Miette Confiserie 449 Octavia Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94102
Murray’s Cheese 254 Bleecker Street, Manhattan, NY 10014
Park Slope Food Coop 782 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Provisions 150 Beekman Street, Manhattan, NY 10038
Rubiner’s Cheesemongers    264 Main Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230
Spuyten Duyvil Grocery 218 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Stinky Bklyn 261 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Stone Barns 630 Bedford Road, Pocantico Hills, NY 10591
Urban Rustic 236 North 12th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Seriously, Leica?   Does it get anymore gorgeous than this?   This classic M7 35mm gets the special treatment with a silver chrome finish and thanks to Hermes, a choice of either orange or tan calfskin leather.   Orange please!  This beauty can be delivered to your doorstep in a linen-covered, silk-lined box for a mere £8,550 (about $14,250).

*via engadget

I didn’t plan to go to Sephora yesterday.  I certainly didn’t plan to spend $50 on shampoo and conditioner.  But after learning about Living proof, I was so inspired that it happened in a spontaneous, must have sort of way.*

You see, yesterday the good folks over at Wolff Olins hosted a breakfast.  The theme?

How do you build a brand from the ground up in a down economy? How do you launch a product that solves a real problem in consumers’ lives? How do you create big impact in a high-investment category with a small marketing budget? How do you stay relentlessly focused on your vision no matter what?

They invited their client, Rob Robillard, CEO at Living proof, a company whose mission is to solve the toughest beauty challenges through the use of cutting edge science AND then provide extraordinary customer experiences.  So despite the products high price point in this economy, they are thriving.  Thriving as in they sold 40,000 units in less than 30 minutes.  It is an amazing feat on many levels.  The reason as I see it?  Yes, they have a great product; a product that is revolutionary.  (They use PolyfluoroEster, the first new anti-frizz technology in over 30 years.  Other brands use silicone, which weighs down hair.) But what makes their brand really champion others is they have focused on their consumer.

They have a corporate policy to answer every phone call and email.  They send out free samples.  They listen.  They have invested in the research, the design, the packaging and the product and therefore, they got results.  They value their customers on every level, which is ground breaking for a CPG company.  It is definitely a new and refreshing way to enter the beauty segment and I hope others in the industry follow Living proof’s lead and success.

*Perhaps I was a bit too enthusiastic. I failed to look inside the goodie bag they gave on our way out, which had a travel size shampoo and conditioner and a full size styling cream. Hey, it will actually be perfect for my trip to LA next week. Right?