Curse of Detroits' Red Dwarf

Halloween is a "holiday" of ghosts and goblins, and a recent piece on WDET reminded me of a curse that is supposedly on the Detroit region dating back from it's founding by Cadillac in the early 1700's.

We apparently earned the curse, because instead of entertaining and showing respect to the dwarf as the natives had, Cadillac attempted to fight him (I've been reading lots of recounts of how Antoine De Lat Mothe Cadillac, let's just say, had an ego).

Rick Sperling had a fascinating piece about the Nain Rouge - and apparently, how the little, furry, bad-toothed dwarf has always been living here, even in the time of the Ottawa.

According to common folklore, the little monster would show up at all the worst events in Detroit history - the 1805 fire, the 1967 riot/rebellion, and more.

Part of this curse is a general negative feeling - and what Rick was talking about was how the young people he works with don't cite the traditional reasons such as job losses or other technical reasons that they have such a burning desire to leave for good.

The reason - is that we, as a region, are really negative. And, talking with some associates, I'd have to agree. We are the worst critics of our region, and for some reason find every way that we can't do something.

There is no reason for this malaise - no logical reason at all. Negative thoughts is a nasty spiral that builds on itself, over and over again. We can't think to our success, but without a positive attitude nothing will happen.

Since there is no explicable reason, I think Nain Rouge must of done it. And as for me, I'm not letting a little red dwarf tell me how to think about this city and this region.

p.s. If you're reading this, Mr. Rouge, I have all name-brand candy bars at my house. They're good. I've tested them.

Editors' Note: Thanks for entertaining the break from the seriousness of digital media.

Weekend Fluff: What if comments online were made at work?

So, have you ever thought about the idea that if all the bad comments that were made online on forums, blogs, and various other web "outlets" were made at work? Well, here's the version of what would happen if this happened in a meeting - NSFW, by the way.



Thanks to 43folders - and they just went through a redesign that is appropriate and beautiful.

Ten Mistakes For Logos/Brand Imagery

These are based off of real-life experience... I've protected the names of the innocent (for the most part), because they do not know the crimes they have committed against all of humanities' eyes. What's sad is that brand imagery can actually cost you a lot of money, as first impression counts.

10. When you sell something to 40-year old men, the logo theme should not be decided by the bosses' 13-year old daughter.

9. Do not use the word art feature in Microsoft Office - see example of large corporation that violates this rule.

8. The "Eurostyle" font and other of the 1995-98 ilk should of been allowed to die a peaceful death. It's not a good technology font (for good examples, see Verdana, VAG, Helvetica, Helvetica Neue, ITC Bauhaus (great Eurostyle alternative), and Neo Sans). In short, if you're an engineer boss, let the graphic design and marketing people do their job.

7. Which leads me to my next point - don't choose the brand imagery for your tastes, choose it for your customers'. What kind of colors/items/fonts do they associate with your line of work? Are your customers looking for strong and conservative? Young and fun? Your job is to please customers and get them to buy from you.

6. Be readable. Can you read it a good distance away, driving past it at 40 miles an hour? Choosing fonts and imagery that is too detailed or the letters blend together can make your logo useless.

5. It's okay to be cute - as long as it makes sense. If you find you need to explain the logo over and over, go back to the drawing board.

4. Old English fonts are for gangstas and hoodlums, not businesses. If you're a gangsta, hoodlum, or sell to them, fine. Exception: Your organization has been around since before 1920, and it's your original, custom art font/masthead (Detroit Tigers, New York Times, etc). In which case, you probably don't have a reason to be reading this save for entertainment.

3. Comic Sans = Amateur. Don't even think about it. Ever. Under any circumstances. Even for what it was designed for, there are better fonts.

2. Don't rip off your competition. You'll be a knock-off from the start, and people do pick up these things in the back of their mind. Inspiration from your competitors and others, however, is a good thing, and is the way great art is created.

1. Be mindful of the other ways your logo could be taken... you may think innocently, but others may not. This obviously someone in a dentist's chair when you think about it - but it's also obviously not the first thing that comes to mind.

I hope these tips help... questions or comments, leave'em, and I'll do my best to answer'em.

Hilarious Design Gangsta Video

My PMS 187 runs deep - much like my "ban comic sans" post, this is a bit of an inside joke for design and ad pros... enjoy!

Life Instructions

A fun - yet important thing to keep in mind for the weekend, from a guerilla art project by Chris Glass.



Special hat tip to 43Folders and Stefan Sagmeister.

Ban Comic Sans

Great idea, posted up the poster in the office right away... www.bancomicsans.com