Ideo Method Cards Go Digital

Ideo’s now classic Method Cards that were originally released in 2003 as a printed deck of 51 cards to help inspire and spark creative ideas for designers have recently been released as an iphone application. I am so happy about this; we have a set of the cards, but they sit around on our bookshelf and are rarely around when I usually need a creative boost. Having them available on my phone means I can get a quick creative hit whenever I need now.

You can download the app for free and get 8 cards and once you do, you can purchase the dull deck for $4.99.

Staying Indoors Doesn’t Need to Mean Sitting Around Playing Board Games

When I was a kid, my Mom always talked about how my grandfather put up a slide along the side of their stairway and a swing in the hallway of their home for them to play on in the house. This sounded like the most fantastic thing to me and I always thought I would build indoor play gear for my future home.

Fast forward 20 years, and I live in a 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn and have considerably less room than I originally imagined for these projects, but I still swoon every time I see spy these traditional outdoor toys in someone’s home. The one above is so perfectly matched for the design of the loft space (via The Style Files). Here are a few others:

A classic design meets an unexpected and fun at-home interaction

An updated take on the spiral staircase slide. I love how this one looks like it’s been worn down a bit at the end-—that must mean someone actually uses this! (via Daddy Types)

Modern and delightful (via Ohdeedoh)

An at home swing from the creator of Apartment Therapy on the left, and a realistic, out-of-the-box solution for someone who really wants to set up a swing asap. (via Ohdeedoh)

Letterpress Printing at Home

It’s no secret that I love letterpress, so when I came across this little letterpress machine by Lifestyle Crafts while reading Black Eiffel the other day, I was really excited.

It seems to be much like a Gocco, but instead of screen printing, it leaves a bit of an impression on the paper, which I love. Lifestyle Crafts also offers customers custom printing plates, so that budding printers can upload a pdf and have a plate made for their next printing endeavor. While it may not be an altogether quick project–you still need to do a little planning ahead to roll out a new line of thank you notes, it’s definitely a more convenient option than finding a local letterpress studio to rent out for a few hours.

Perfect Snowy Breakfast

I’ll admit it, I’ve been reading more kid related design blogs, as well as eating a fair amount of breakfast carbs these days, so when I saw this breakfast the other day, I couldn’t help but think it was a little awesome.

The Chalk Walk

The Chalk Walk by Katie Sokoler.

I thought it would be fun to add some color to my block. So I went outside and traced my footsteps with chalk down the sidewalk. As I was doing this, a grumpy old man came up to me and yelled at me to stop. I actually thought about stopping until a boy came up to me with a giant smile and said “make more” and I liked his advice better. So I tested out the finished footprints, ran up to my window to wait, and took pictures when people walked by so that it looks like they are leaving trails of colorful footprints! It was really cute to watch kids (and many adults who thought no one was watching) hop along the footsteps like they were playing hopscotch. (via Dennis)

I love neighborhood surprise projects like these and how they can delight someone who may have otherwise been having a grump day. Sort of reminds me the shadow drawings Ellis G.’s work which used to me make me so happy when I would walk home around the Cobble Hill neighborhood.

Outdoor Winter Parties

As someone who has hosted several Faux-Thanksgiving parties over the years in tiny Brooklyn apartments, I am particularly impressed with this party set-up found on flickr (Thanks, Lia!). I think it looks sort of magical. Sort of ghetto. And simply, awesome.

How often I have found myself in a situation with many eager chefs and not enough room for them and their Thanksgiving dishes. But escorting them out to a bubbled tarped tented area is the perfect way to deal with many guests and a small apartment. Plus, it definitely doesn’t feel like dinner at Aunt Kay’s, so Thursday won’t feel like a rerun when you finally get to the real Thanksgiving events.

I applaud these hosts’ creativity and may borrow this idea come next November. See their full set here.

Congratulations, President Obama!

There are few better ways to celebrate than with baked goods and this Obama cupcake mosaic, really, er, sorry, but it, takes the cake.

Check out the artist/baker at work:

Originally via Serious Eats

Posters by Jason Munn

Sometimes I send myself links as a reminder to blog about something I like and then I totally forget: a) where the link originally came from, b) why I wanted to blog about it.

I still don’t remember where this link came from, but as soon as I opened it up I remembered why I liked it. I have always been inspired by poster designs, and that trend continues with, Jason Munn’s work. He creates some amazing posters for clients like Patagonia and Death Cab for Cutie. Here are some of my favorites:

A book that makes me want some apres ski

I’ve always thought snowboard designs are a great source of inspiration as a graphic designer, so when I recently spotted the book The Art of Skiing: Vintage Posters from the Golden Age of Winter Sport, I thought this book would add a different layer of wintery inspiration from the generally modern designs I often find on boards. Not to mention that the book makes you want to curl up with a beer or seven while wearing a bright red parka, sitting in front of a fire in a ski lodge.

Keep calm and carry on throughout the year

I am loving this Keep Calm and Carry On spoof calendar for sale on Etsy. It also happens to be recession friendly. They are selling these calendars as PDFs for $5, so you can print out as many as you like for those coworkers who you know will re-gift someting to you this year.