What I Do at Work Everyday

Over a year ago I made a transition from graphic design to interaction design. While friends I went to ITP with understand the difference between the two, explaining what interaction design is to my family and non-techy friends is never easy.

Ugleah posted a great video to her blog created by Michael Leis about what she does everyday and it’s really a perfect description of my day at work. I’ll definitely pass this along to my Mom, who still tells people I am a graphic artist (a phrase I haven’t heard since the 80s).

Anyway, if you care to see how I spend my days designing, check out this video which gives a good overview of what wire framing is when done well:

My Favorite Commercials from the 2010 Olympics

I love the Olympics, I’m just a sap like that. I love hearing all the national anthems. I love seeing the athletes cry on the podiums. I love watching sudden death games. And I love the commercials. Here are a few of my favorites from the 2010 Winter games:

P&G’s to their Moms, they’ll always be kids. After watching this video, I suddenly realized why my Mom still makes me call her when I get home after a long drive.

Nike: I’m a sucker for any Nike commercial. Always have been. But this one is awesomely shot and the music “Ali in the Jungle” by The Hours is perfect for the concept.

AT+T’s snowboarding in space to “Perfect Day”. So soothing

Two things I Love: Baked Goods + Supporting Good Causes

Baking for Good is an online bake sale that supports non profits with great causes. This is a terrific idea; if you’re going to indulge, why not do so and not feel guilty about your purchase, because your money is going to folks who could really use a helping hand?

I really love ideas like this that take a traditional concept and put a new and interesting spin on it that gives back to the community. A bake sale for a good cause may sound like an old approach, but how often do you stumble across a bake sale table in daily life? Well now you can stumble upon the virtual bake sale table everyday! What’s additionally nice is that Baking for Good makes it easy for you to also gift their baked goods or gift cards.

Their baked goods look quite delicious too! They even have a gluten-free brownie for your friend with a wheat allergy. The next time you need a gift, why not try Baking for Good?

Originally via Shelterrific.

May the Force be with You, Even in the Bathroom

Check out this amazing Star Wars Tile Mosaic posted on Ohdeedoh. I love, love, love it. Why not have some fun with the tiling in your bathroom? It makes me wonder why we always choose repetitive designs for tile work when there are so many fun ideas to consider.

The bathroom was originally designed by Jagoda’s Architecture. With just a few clicks so far, I am really liking their aesthetic—very bright and clean.

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.