Badass Ideas

You can still press return to size up the situation , but dying of cholera is much less likely. One of your players may stay behind in Vegas with a cocktail waitress named Starla but no one is going to come down with a case of the measles. Covered wagon? Try a hybrid sedan with a Thule luggage rack. Want to hunt for a bear? Ford the river or take a ferry? No way… how about you enter a snowboarding competition outside of Boulder Colorado.

The Oregon Trail is now the Thule Trail, an online computer game designed by Periscopic to support TDA’s Thule Road Trip advertising campaign. If you are not familiar with Thule they make car racks for anything from kayaks to snowboards. So the challenge here is… make someone want to take a road trip and do outdoorsy stuff… while they are sitting at home hovering over their computer.

The Oregon Trail was popular computer game in the mid to late 80s and rereleased in the early 90s. Asking around almost everyone in my age range (20s) has nearly shrieked with jubilation over the near mention of the game. This demographic would also be those who play extreme sports and have the cash to add a new bicycle rack on top of their SUV. Sprinkle in some post-college humor and relatable road trip scenarios and you have kick-ass rainy Sunday morning entertainment.

From Periscopic’s website:

Developed entirely in Flash, the game makes use of a set of sophisticated XML files to dynamically create a gaming experience that is new each time. Filled with numerous smaller games within the game, players travel over 2000 miles across the USA in search of wacky people, sketchy food and unexpected adventure.

Think you and four friends could spend seven days in a car together? You might want to give this a try first.

I love the idea. A strong concept and humor really carries this design.

I have played the game now 4 times, and damnit… I can’t make it past Vegas. I will probably play it another 3 or 4 times. I am now blogging about it, I will probably e-mail about 5 friends with it.. oh and hell… I will add it to my delicious. BUT where will I compare scores with other competitors… where will I talk back? Wouldn’t it be cool if you could contribute your own personal random scenarios to the game?

This is where some would go on a “web 2.0 is a conversation” rant and ponder the sustainability of this 1.0 interactive marketing tactic on the social web. But I am not. Not because I don’t think it is relevant… its just that my time is better spent right now trying to figure out how to keep Keri from “sticking a small fruit candy up her nostril” around Des Moines and Jim from “rolling around wild flowers and wierding everyone out”. Excuse me I need to make it to the freaking Music Festival on the Thule Trail with a hybrid car-load of modern day slackers.

Want to share Scores? Funny random events from your trip? Feel free to take a screenshot and discuss this game here in the comments. I would love to get this going.

http://www.thuleroadtrip.com/thule_trail/thuleTrail.html

Thanks to Eric for passing this along.

Meet Missy: my parent’s 13 year old miniature schnauzer who hates to swim, must have her hind quarters touching another living being at all times, and has an alarmingly pitiful bark. Missy struggles with a very embarrassing personal hygiene issue which makes her ridiculously stinky. If you have a miniature schnauzer you probably know the issue I am talking about, if you don’t… I will spare you the gross details. Regardless… she smells like Butt.

One summer break back in college I spent a few months at my parents house to work on a giant fish for the City of Richmond and brought a whole load of my art and design supplies back with me to work on some projects. In school my focus was on print design, and one of my favorite exercises was printing on sheets of velum and then gluing them together with Super 77 to achieve a rad layered effect. According to 3Ms product site, Super 77 “forms strong bonds with everything from paper, cardboard, fabric and cushion foam to plastic, metal, wood and much more.” If you have ever used Super 77 you are well aware that if you get that stuff stuck on your hands, everything is sticking to your hands for the next few days.

My parents have a utility room where they keep all their odds and ends, canned goods, and fix-it tools… this is the dank area to which they banned all of my art supplies. Once I moved off to college my mother turned my room into her Floral Arrangement-Making studio, and I never again had a real place to keep any of my personal belongings. There… in the Utility room, on a shelf below a light switch sat my 24 oz can of aerosol spray adhesive… right next to a 24 oz can of aerosol doggie deodorant destined for Missy.

What happened next was inevitable… all I heard was screams from the backyard. I ran outside to find a small dog so scared and so sticky, she stood as still as a statue.

So here is the money question: How do you get Super 77 off of a 12 pound salt-and-pepper Schnauzer?

The other questions that followed included … how do you keep herself from licking it and poisoning herself? How do you keep the flys from not sticking to it as she plays outside? how do you stop the blades of grass from attaching themselves to her coat?

So I rang up 3M. The call went like this:

Me: Hi sir, I am having a problem with your product that was mistakenly used in a way not recommended by your company, do you think you could give me some tips on what to do?

3M Guy: Sure, how was this product accidentally used? did you spray your hands? your hair? clothing?

Me: A schnauzer

3M Guy: (Silence)

Me: It was an accident.

3M Guy: A dog?

Me: A small dog, that does not shed. THINGS are sticking to her.

3M guy: (Silence) (more silence) Please hold.

——Cheesy hold music——

3M Guy: Ma’m, we are working on this for you, (roaring background laughter) please hold just a little while longer….

In the end 3M held it together long enough to let me know that they recommended bathing the dog in vegetable oil. The idea of having an oily dog versus a sticky dog wasn’t that much more appealing so we just shaved her.*

The Moral of this story :
Design supplies can be dangerous stuff &
3M super 77 is some Bad Ass Sh*t.

*No animals were harmed in the making of this blog post

Diana+
I don’t have a Diana Camera but it would kick-butt if I got one for Christmas (oops… is that another subtle hint?). I really dig this site for not only its great history of the camera and gallery of shots taken with it, but for it’s design. The overall look and feel of this site mimics the fantastic nostalgic feel of a Diana photograph. I love it.

Well Done
An annual report for a food company that has to be baked to be read. Some pages have plates wear food appears after being placed in the oven. What a clever idea!?

Color Palette Generator
Type in the path to any image on the web and get a color palette automatically generated for you. This is great for matching colors to a dominant image on a site.

Typetester
An online tool for comparing web fonts on your screen. Awesome idea.

for Web designers
A helpful index of great links to sites ranging from fonts and free photos to AJAX and CSS. I personally think they should ad a blog category.

Hillman Curtis Talks to Paula Sher about the History of Pentagram
I really enjoyed watching the little info graphic as Paula Sher told Pentagram’s story.
(found via swissmiss)

Faces in Places
Does your imagination ever draw a a face in an image that isn’t a face at all? This blog has a very creative way of looking at the world and it makes me feel happy inside.

Communication Arts is Out of Touch
This article by Andy Rutledge echoes my feelings on this magazine. There is more to “Interactive design” than Flash, but if you looked at the Commarts Interactive annual you wouldn’t know that.

Martin Ringlein of n’clud recently wrote a post called
“Should Web Designers Know How to Code?”:

All designers must know the medium and canvas in which they design for. How can a sculptor sculpt without knowing the difference in stones? How can a painter paint without knowing the difference in brushes, paint or canvas? How can a print designer create without knowing about the printing process, types of paper stock or difference between CMYK and RGB? And how can a web designer design without knowing how to code, or at least how the code works? The important aspect to mention is that a web designer must know how to code, but doesn’t need to or have to actually code.

I started to write a comment and realized I really had a blog post…

I find myself smack in the middle of this debate all too often and I can’t agree with Martin more. I especially disagree with the argument “that designers who code will let that knowledge limit their design “. Thats a load of crap and a poor excuse. Since I have learned CSS and HTML it has allowed me to see the big picture, understanding the limitations puts me in the position to think of new ways to push the boundaries. Some important advantages of knowing HTMLand CSS as a designer (in addition to the ones that Martin has listed) are:

Being able to estimate budgets and timelines more effectively. A designer who understands how much work it will take a developer to execute their design can more effectively design within budget constraints.

Cutting corners on load time. The first time I shaved several seconds off of a site for replacing image based navigation with one that utilized system fonts felt great. The satisfaction of knowing the user was not going to have to wait a few seconds longer was a release on that anal retentive print mentality that it had to be that very specific font.

Appreciation for Bad Asses. Its one thing to be a killer designer but its another to be a bad ass. My biggest “AHA! moment” came when I experienced the site of a developer who was just as innovative in his use of javascript as he was in his use of beautiful swiss typography. There is a creativity in development that you can not understand until you learn it and it will change the way you look at the web. Don’t miss out.

Remember designers; a Photoshop document is not your canvas. A PSD file will do nothing on the internet but take a really long time to download.

Disagree? I would love to hear opposing opinions… I know they are out there.

(There is a follow up post to this, with more recent gifts available for designers, check it out!)

The Helvetica Film DVD ($20)
An essential addition to any Designer’s movie collection.

Swiss Army Knife with Thumb Drive 1GB ($78)
In case you have to save a file in a pinch or widdle a wooden figurine. I got this one for Christmas a few years ago and I use it constantly.

Pitter Patter Umbrella ($49)
Be inspired even when its not so nice outside.

Book Journal ($13)
Everyone has a Moleskine these days… so why not be different. These journals are made from recycled books and include original pages. Some even have vintage notes written in them… making each truly unique.

Old School Mac Icon Note Cards ($2.99)
Susan Kare Icons on All sorts of apparel (price varies)
Susan Kare designed the old school Mac icon set in the early 80s (um, an original BadAss), at this price these notecards make a great little stocking stuffer.

USB Sushi ($65-$249)
Confuse your coworkers.

Photoshop Tools T-shirt ($17)
We all use them… why not wear them?

Molded Cork Laptop Case ($95)
Cork Pouch ($10-15)
I saw someone at SXSW last year with this case and had to ask where to get one.

Designers Complete Index Box Set ($37.79)
Design books are a great gift, but this set is a little more fancy than your average manual. It comes in this slick little case with a handle.

Lomography Pop 9 Camera ($40)
This little camera is a great way to take a break from the perfection of digital and have some fun. It looks hot too.

Pantone “Pouchette” Hand Bag ($35.50)
Pantone Back Pack($60)
These clever bags from Pantone are stylish. I just wish they had more colors to choose from. The handbag is on my wish list (hint).

Brushed Aluminum Portfolio Book ($57.80)
I think these books are slick for showing work. Not too big, not too small and very stylish. I found it here at a great price.