Thanksgiving has come and past, and with that, our fourth annual By a Show of Hands competition has drawn to a close. The Rule29 crew was faced with the difficult task of setting down our turkey sandwiches and picking the winning examples from an amazing turnout of 134 hand turkeys. It wasn’t easy. There were some fierce arguments over personal favorites but we came to a peaceful consensus on this year’s winners.

Without further ado…

We’ll start with the kids bracket. Coming in the Runner’s Up spot: Nathan, age 13 with the Martian Turkey. Despite the potential Homeland Security risk, this turkey shows us that you don’t have to be from Earth to celebrate the glorious holiday that is Thanksgiving. Nathan, don’t let this Martian Turkey run away back to Mars with your $15 iTunes gift card.

And the winner of the kid’s bracket is… Bailey Curtis, age 11 with the mysterious and apparently startled Handopus! This creature of the deep was a unique, five-armed interpretation of the Turkey of the Sea (which I can only assume is an octopus). Bailey, we hope you enjoy the $25 iTunes gift card!

On to the grown-ups! The runner up for this year’s competition is Erik Michael Garland Fox with his wonderful watercolor (and slightly neon) interpretation of a hand turkey. How our favorite holiday fowl manages to keep a fedora on under water is beyond us, but we appreciate Erik’s sketchy style and excellent use of color throughout. Erik, congratulations on your $25 iTunes gift card.

Now the moment you’ve all been waiting for – the winner of this year’s overall contest is…

Todd McQueen and his “Protect the Ball” turkey. I think it’s safe to say that fall is probably not the turkey’s favorite season due to… well… us eating them and all. But this turkey is making the best of it by enjoying a little pigskin action. We can only assume that this turkey juked its way out of peril to live and play another day. $50 could buy a lot of football apps on iTunes, Todd!

But that’s not all! This year’s turnout was indeed amazing and we’re incredibly grateful for all of those who submitted their depictions of turkeys both big and small. As a result, we’ve decided to bring in an Honorable Mention winner this year. Another $25 iTunes card goes to Carolyn Watson Dubisch for this snapshot of a real life hand turkey captured in the wild. Thank you Carolyn, for your incredible gaggle of turkeys this year!

And with that, the hand turkey season is closed for the year. You can still see all the entries from this year and last on the site, and keep an eye out after Halloween next year, when the fifth annual contest will surely return. Until then, we hope you enjoy your leftovers!

(Winners, please contact us here at Rule29 so we can help get your prize to you!)

No design project is inherently easy – but if you were to ask designers which audience would be the most difficult to design for, you’d probably get “other designers” as a response more often than not.

Rule29 set out create a unique promotion for O’Neil Printing at this year’s AIGA Pivot conference that would help the in-kind sponsor stand out to the 1600+ designers (and other designerly-types) that passed through the marketplace to snatch up all the freebies.

The idea came about (like most good ideas do) over drinks one evening this past summer. Just For Kicks, a personal project that featured illustrations of my shoe collection (and branching out into my friends’ kicks), had fallen a little flat – losing motivation, I needed to defibrillate the project if it had any hope of surviving. Teaming up with Rule29 and O’Neil was just the thing that Just For Kicks needed. After some brainstorming – the idea was set: create a campaign featuring the concept of creating the perfect pairing of print and design for a successful project.

The deck of cards was the designed to be the centerpiece of the campaign. Featuring all 52 cards, the deck was designed from the beginning to be as usable as possible. The one-eyed jacks are present, as is the one-eyed king. And did you know that all of the spade face cards face to the right while the others face to the left (minus the Jack of Clubs)? Each face card was given a name after a type of person that loves their shoes: “The Athlete,” “The Congressman,” “The Writer,” “The Fashionista,” etc. The remaining 36 cards each featured a different shoe. The entire deck and box were printed using O’Neil’s fantastic HP Indigo digital press. The outer sleeve was printed 4/4 with white printed on top of the Neenah CLASSIC Linen Red Pepper stock. The tray was printed white then 4/0 on Neenah’s Environment “Desert Storm” stock. And finally, the cards were printed 4/4 with a satin aqueous coating on CLASSIC Linen White Pearl to add that final sheen to the set.

To compliment the deck of cards, a full campaign was designed to surround it – including a booth, table-top graphics, coasters, a poster, and even oversized cut-out cards that allowed people to take their own photos as their favorite king or queen.

While quantifying success on these types of projects can be difficult, O’Neil Printing said that they had a great turnout and response to their presence at the conference and they attributed it to the work we did together. It really is true, without a great printer, a good design is just a set of files and without great design, a great printer has nothing to print. It takes the Perfect Pair to make a project really turn out well (See what I did there?).

The James Webb Space Telescope. Are you familiar? Named after the NASA administrator who served from 1961-1968, this telescope is set to replace the aging Hubble as our window into the furthest reaches of the universe. Hubble has allowed us to see further and learn more about our cosmos than any other device that I can recall. The JWST is set to build upon that legacy, and then some, with infrared instruments and a mirror that’s about seven times that of Hubble’s primary mirror.

Development and testing of the JWST is well underway, but the telescope is close to losing its funding entirely. Amid delays and cost overruns, the JWST is on the congressional chopping block. At some point, our leaders stopped dreaming.

Recently, this video from Real Time with Bill Maher was shared with me. Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium, gets fired up when Bill brings up the JWST and puts some of the congressional decisions in perspective (much more eloquently and passionately than I could).

I love the way Dr. Tyson talks so passionately about the dream that we’ve so carelessly let slip away after taking it for granted for so many years. NASA has the tools to tell the stories that will help inspire a new generation of kids that will grow up without a Space Shuttle. For instance, the #NASATweetups for Juno and GRAIL help tell the tale of an ever exploring NASA even without the Shuttle. Even administrator Charles Bolden is often outspoken with his emotions when discussing the Space Shuttle and future SLS programs – it’s a refreshing honesty and story that I wish more people in leadership positions would share. What will it take for the leaders in our government to start dreaming again?

A few months ago, one of our development partners, Floodlight Design, came to us for an update to their identity. The business had grown exponentially since the formation of the original identity and it deserved an update to reflect that. It was an incredible opportunity for us to really push the aesthetic and strategic boundaries of the brand.

We began by evaluating the existing branding elements. We didn’t want to try and reinvent the wheel. Rather, we wanted to showcase the growth and maturation of the business. Many elements stayed – the logo, colors, and notched corners to name a few. We then approached the often difficult task of giving a web development firm a strong physical presence. This was the conceptual foundation of the new identity. We wanted to showcase engrossing, tactile production methods that would complement the purely digital services Floodlight offers. A portion of this was accomplished by clear stamping snippets of Javascript code onto the back of a duplexed business card. This technique allows you to feel the code – a tiny portion of Floodlight’s incredible library – with your hands, not just see it on a screen.

Using the new business card as a base, the remaining identity pieces were completed (admittedly on a slightly lighter stock). Each piece was considered on how it would interact with the pieces around it. The grey back of the letterhead compliments the blue inside of the envelope when placed inside. The registered embosses translate to blind de-bosses on the reverse side which line up with the tagline or URL on each piece. The resulting goal was to create a harmonious system that worked together in a clearly intentional manner. We envisioned this concept lining up with the systematic, and often mathematical, approach to development.

Once the printed identity was established, the website was the next item on the list. This was quite possibly one of the most difficult and fun challenges creatively we’ve worked on recently. The task was to design a site that would not only aesthetically appeal to potential designer partners (a key target audience), but to also feature smart coding techniques that would showcase Floodlight’s superb technical abilities. Easy, right?

Focusing on those goals and infusing the new brand concepts, the resulting site came to be. The idea was that the we’d use the websites that Floodlight has created as the base of the site. Showing them as a foundational element and utilize only key branding elements to ensure no confusion for a viewer as to which site they’re visiting.

In addition to these two substantial pieces, the refreshed brand has been translated into HTML email templates, apparel, thank you cards, proposal templates, Facebook, Twitter, and more to still come. It’s been an incredible challenge to create pieces that are worthy of such a great partner of ours – but ultimately, it’s incredibly rewarding. The branding elements have been received well by Floodlight clientele and were even recognized by Neenah Paper as the Paperworks Central Region’s Gold Winner for Q4 of 2010.

If your looking for a brand partner or want to talk about this project let us know, we are excited about the possibilities. If a coding compadre is what you need, contact Floodlight you will not be disappointed.

It finally happened! As some of you may recall, way back in September I was selected to be a part of NASA’s tweetup for the 39th and final launch of Discovery. Long story short, after 115 days, Discovery finally lifted off on her way to the International Space Station on February 24, 2011. We were fortunate enough to be invited back by NASA and their amazing staff to witness the launch from the press area. It’s about three miles from the launchpad and, from what I’ve been told, just about as close as you can safely be to a launch.

As the countdown clock ticked down, everyone was getting situated in their spots for the launch. The edge of the press site was lined with on-lookers both Tweetup and press related. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many DSLRs in one place before. I was armed only with my iPhone 4 camera and a desire to just soak it all in.

I still cannot quite find the words to describe the launch. It was an incredible experience to witness firsthand. I was lucky enough to share it with over 80 of my newest friends while we all stood cheering as Discovery soared into space. The launch wasn’t without its drama though. During the final minutes of the countdown, a Range Safety computer error threatened to delay the launch. The issue was resolved and Discover was able to launch with only two seconds left in its launch window.

The one thing I know I’ll never forget is the sound. The video I took below somewhat captures the feeling, but it was so powerful. The launch begins eerily silent as you see the SSME plume begin to build, quickly followed by the SRBs firing. Then, in quite possibly the brightest glow I’ve ever seen, the shuttle begins to move. Within seconds it’s cleared the tower and performs its roll maneuver. Then you can feel the sound begin to roll toward you. It’s like a thunderstorm of firecrackers and sparklers all tied together. Then it hits you. It’s loud. The crackly rumble is strong enough to induce a little shaking on my part as I feel my shirt move in the wake of the sound waves. After a little while, it fades slightly as the shuttle continues to climb. The plume continues to grow as the shuttle shrinks in the distance. After two minutes, the SRBs separate to another round of applause and the shuttle begins to appear as though it’s heading downward as it goes beyond the horizon.

And that’s it. Eight and a half minutes later the shuttle has reached orbit and we’re all there left in awe. In awe of the fact that we just saw six men and women go into space. We exchange hugs and already look back on what we just experienced. It’s a mix of elation and reflection. Some people are in tears while others shout – but it’s all in joy. This launch stood for more than just shooting people into space. It stood for the experiences that we, as a tweetup group, have shared together. It stood for the hard work of thousands of people through the course of the year to get her ready to fly. It stood for human ingenuity and resilience. It stood for our desire to reach beyond what we can see to learn more about this universe we’re a part of.

It’s a shame that there are only two more launches remaining. More people need to be excited about our exploration of space. I heard mumblings that an estimated 2 million people were in the area for the launch and that is exciting for me to see. I believe we need another “Apollo” to get Americans excited about space exploration again and I hope that these final launches are enough to fuel some enthusiasm. NASA has been doing a great job sharing the joy, and I truly hope it continues.

Oh, and if you’re interested, the Kennedy Space Center currently is allowing people to register for the opportunity to purchase STS-134 launch viewing tickets. Space that close is limited, so if you’re interested, I say go for it. You won’t be disappointed!

It never fails, every year the graphic design industry becomes increasingly dependent on technology to accomplish pretty much everything. From communication, integration, execution, and even some occasional design, technology is now the glue that holds a good graphic design workflow together. Yet we find ourselves so often left scratching our heads when something goes awry – and trust me, something will.

But there is no reason to be fearful, loyal readers! As Chief Technology Officer at Rule29, I’ve spent the past couple years establishing and refining our technological workflow – especially when it comes to backing up and saving that digital gold. I know what you’re thinking, “But Tim, I don’t even know where to begin!” So in this post we’ll be going over the ins and outs of our workflow process and who knows, maybe there will be something helpful in there for you. And keep in mind, this type of system would work for any business that is dependent on digital file storage (magic).

Let’s begin with the basic overview of our setup here at the office. We operate on a peer-to-peer style network with a Mac Pro running the latest build of OS X Snow Leopard Server. That machine acts as our “server” by being the central home to all of our files and data. At any given time, we theoretically have four copies of any file that is stored on the server – all in different locations.

Here’s a quick glance at our current setup:

So how does this tech stuff work?

Well, it starts with the designer. Whenever we’re working on a job, the designer is working off of files that have been copied off the server onto their desktop (or created them, if it’s a new project). This local workflow maximizes the speed of the computer/applications while ensuring that no one else will also open the files. (Adobe Bridge offers some of this functionality if you’re working within Creative Suite, but with thousands of files that aren’t indexed for it, it wasn’t practical to apply – but if you’re just starting out, it’s worth a look)

Once the design is finished, or the day is done, the designer puts the new files back on the server with an updated version number (we use a system of _01, _02, _03, etc). In addition to copying the file to our main file server, the designer also copies the files to their personal external hard drives. We rely on these drives if the server goes down for any reason. So that is now two copies of the file – one on the server, one on the designer’s external.

This is where the magic begins. We utilize OS X’s own Time Machine app to back-up our entire server to a Drobo connected directly to it. The beauty of Time Machine is its simplicity and its smart only-back-up-what’s-changed methods. SuperDuper is also a great back-up program, but doesn’t quite work well for the way Drobo creates its volumes. (It’s worth noting that the beauty of Drobo is that it keeps a portion of drives (depending on the model) in reserve just in case one fails. This in itself prevents data loss to an extent – all automated by Drobo. When we use Drobo as a Time Machine drive, it’s almost like we have a fifth level of duplication.) So that is file copy number three.

Then, to protect our assets from natural disaster, each Friday a set of drives are brought in to create a clone of our server to be stored in a top secret location off-site. In this instance, we use Super Duper to create an exact clone of our server. There are matching externals for each drive in the main server machine. These drives act as the if-all-else-fails recovery system. If we were to suffer a great flood from all this snow melting and the office was destroyed, we’d be – at worst – out only a week’s worth of work. And that is the fourth and final copy of the file.

So that’s our system of creating file back-ups. It’s not perfect, but it works well for our application. I hope it may lend some insight into possible solutions for your own workflow. Regardless, just make sure you have some sort of back-up of your work! Remember, that’s your entire business in those drives. Don’t lose it because you didn’t want to drop an extra c-note on an extra external.

Ironically, as I was working on this write-up, we had a drive get corrupted and the Drobo stopped working. Thanks to the redundant, borderline-OCD back-up systems we had, we didn’t lose any files. Additionally, I was able to clean out and work on fixing the drives with the assurance that I wouldn’t lose any data.

As with all tech nerds, I’d love to hear what kinds of workflow/back-up systems you’re using. I’m constantly aiming to improve our systems here. So… what are you working with?

As promised in my post recapping the recent #NASATweetup, I wanted to post a few photos that I took with my iPhone while in Florida. This was definitely one of the best experiences of my life—even without witnessing the actual launch—and I’d never pass up the opportunity to geek out and share some of the experience. So, check out the photos from the trip after the break!

I always think it’s interesting to see how a two-dimensional logo can be interpreted into three dimensions in sculpture and signage. This NASA example is from the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

I spent the majority of my first full day in Florida touring the KSC Visitor Complex. This poster was part of an exhibit on the future of the NASA space program. Entitled “Exploration Space“, the exhibit provides a look at space exploration beyond Earth.

The first day of the Tweetup took us to the KSC press site that is adjacent to the Vehicle Assembly Building. At 52 stories tall, this iconic building is overwhelming to say the least. The building has served as the final stop for both the Space Shuttle and the Apollo programs before heading to the launch pad.

During the first day we got to see an up-close demo of Robonaut 2, one of the 2 in existence (the other is currently sitting in Discovery’s payload bay waiting to go to the International Space Station). This joint venture between NASA and General Motors is a marvel of engineering and technology. While the partnership with GM may seem odd, much of the technology that went into this robot will likely see application in the automotive assembly plants in the future.

A group shot of many of the Tweetup attendees shortly before the official group shot in front of the big countdown clock.

The Saturn V Center is, without a doubt, a must-see when visiting KSC. The main attraction, obviously, is this full size, fully-restored Saturn V rocket. It’s so incredible to see in person and almost impossible to fully capture in one photo. We got the chance to visit the center at night so I was able to just sit for a moment and appreciate this marvel of machinery that took men to the moon.

In the Saturn V Center, there is this amazing ‘vault’ of artifacts from the Apollo program. The highlight for me was this capsule. This is no back-up or reproduction. This is the actual capsule from the Apollo 14 mission.

My favorite photos from the trip are all of this beautiful example of a space shuttle. Underneath the Rotating Service Structure lies the orbiter Discovery. It’s kept covered until the night before the launch. You can see the ET and Solid Rocket Boosters however. Unfortunately, since the launch was delayed, I never got to see the orbiter itself sitting on the launch pad. But knowing it was right there, about 500 yards away, was still awe-inspiring.

There were many more great people at the Tweetup taking photos with much more capable cameras. You can check them out on Flickr.

That pretty much sums up my trip to KSC. Every time I look through these photos (and the better ones from my fellow Tweetup attendees), it reminds me of both the experience I had and the great achievements that NASA has made over its years in operation. Their outreach to their followers on Twitter is possibly the best example of a business/organization utilizing the medium as a place to truly offer a new way to connect. It’s put a personal face on an organization mired in political/budget troubles.

Hopefully, more companies will begin to see the work NASA and others have been doing on Twitter and other social networks and begin to utilize them in the same way.

As a graphic designer, I am constantly looking for ways to improve my craft. I feel like the drive to further a career is crucial to any profession, but it’s especially true for one that changes and evolves as quickly as visual communication does. Being almost three years removed from college has left me in the precarious position of having to now go out and be incredibly ambitious with my learning. No longer is my education structured and pre-determined.

Because of this sometimes daunting responsibility, I thoroughly enjoy the various design conferences I’ve had the joy of attending in the past year or so. Granted, they have the dangerous potential of being nothing more than shallow “inspiration,” or rather, a thousand dollar pep-talk. But with the right mindset, design conferences can bring you closer with your peers, show you what is happening in the design world, and – among much more – maybe you’ll learn a thing or two.

All that being said, I had the joy of attending the Brand New Conference a couple weeks ago in New York City. This conference was a bit different than the last two I attended (AIGA in Memphis, and HOW in Denver) in both its structure and its content. As the title (and the website which the name is from) reveal, this conference was all about branding. Not only was this a  fresh contrast to the “big-picture thinking” of other conferences, the topic was one of the least discussed aspects of my education. That’s not to say that I don’t understand branding, but the anecdotes and processes vary so much from designer to designer that it creates an interesting dialog throughout the course of the day.

The morning began with Michael Johnson from Johnson Banks in London and then moved to Michael Lejeune representing the Metro Design Studio (LA’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority). The two Michael’s had different perspectives due to the nature of the work they had done, but you could see the same passion for communication excellence in each. Lejeune covered the process of rejuvenating a tired and oft-forgotten brand over the course of years — an excellent reminder that great brands aren’t built over the course of a few days or weeks. The Metro brand is a living, breathing, evolving creature. He demonstrated the crucial understanding of anticipating where the brand would be going in the future without overlooking the reality of addressing the current design problems facing the organization — a valuable consideration when looking at branding from a 30,000ft perspective.

To complete the Michael filled morning, Michael Bierut joined Paula Scher for a sit down chat with Armin Vit (the event organizer and curator extraordinaire at Brand New/Under Consideration). These two, and the rest of Pentagram, are no strangers to branding. Their insight goes back years and spans about as many industries as possible. I could sit and listen to them tell stories all day, but oddly enough, the one thing that stood out to me the most was that – as designers – they don’t have it any easier than we do when it comes to selling the work they create. I suppose I had it in my head that clients go to Pentagram to have Pentagram create whatever it is they’re going to create. But, unless we’re just hearing the horror stories, they work through the same hurdles and challenges as design firms a fraction of their size.

Contrasting the big NYC personality and style of Pentagram was Christian Helms from the Decoder Ring Design Concern. I found it interesting that Christian was once one of Michael’s interns because I definitely see the disciple and strategic aesthetic that makes Michael so great. It’s just manifested differently. Not sure if this was intentional, but it really spoke to the idea that we can all find “our place” doing the work we are passionate about – even though it may be stylistically different than our peers.

After a quick slice of New York ‘za (which was incredible), we headed back to the auditorium to hear Tom Dorresteijn from Studio Dumbar and then Connie Birdsall from Lippincott. Again we heard the varied perspectives and approaches to branding that were all reflected in different executions but were fundamentally similar. Connie spoke to the reality of the often struggles through big-business branding while Tom painted sweeping mental landscapes of beautiful, conceptual projects.

After that, Armin sat down with Jordan Crane and Karl Heiselman from Wolff Olins. An interesting setup, for sure, considering the recent reactions in regards to the London Olympics and AOL logos. Poised and confident, they provided a lot of insight into their thought process behind the execution of those brands and more. It’s exponentially interesting to see their take on how a brand can be a shifting and ever changing object. It lends itself to being constantly compelling regardless of the application.

Erik Spiekermann finished up the conference in a way that only Erik Spiekermann can. Full of personality and Bravado, Erik led the attendees through his process and the importance of a good typeface within a brand. It was interesting to see that in Spiekermann’s world, a custom typeface can be the brand. It can sometimes represent the company better than a mark ever could.

(It’s worth noting that I tweeted the good memorable bits from the conference to the @rule29 Twitter account. You can also see everyone’s tweets by following the #BNConf hashtag.)

At the end of the day I didn’t leave especially fired up to design more brands. And I was thankful for that. I took away so much insight to both consider and evaluate regarding the way I go about branding that it was almost overwhelming. The conference wasn’t so much a rally-cry as it was a look behind the curtain of some of the world’s best branding firms. I didn’t leave with things to do or try. Rather, I have things to think about. Things to consider.

And now, almost two weeks removed from the event, I am still thinking about those concepts and processes that were discussed, which, I suppose, brings me to my “big idea.” This post is just as much about the importance of attending design conferences, workshops, talks, outings, happy hours, etc… as it is about the specific event I attended. These events only solidify the culture and network that designers are naturally wired to embrace. New friends are made, and old friendships are rejuvenated. Fresh perspectives are shared while tired and trite memes are beaten and buried. Speakers provide an glimpse at perhaps something new or perhaps merely expanding on a common theme. Regardless of it’s nature, you leave with something (hopefully many things) – and you’re a better designer for it. I know I am.

Anyone else head to NYC for the conference, or have been to a different one recently?

(As an aside, I’ll be at my alma matter this Saturday (the 20th) for Seek – a great student organized one-day conference at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. It’s only $35 if you sign up online. And don’t be fooled, just because it’s the capital of corn doesn’t mean there won’t be some great speakers. Among others, Kevin McConkey from Grip Design and our very own Justin Ahrens will be speaking. To wrap it all up, Eddie Opara from Pentagram will be delivering the keynote. Hope to see you there!)

As some of you may know, I was recently selected by NASA to attend the Tweetup surrounding the launch of STS-133. This launch is to be the final flight of the Shuttle Discovery, and one of the last flights before the shuttle program itself is put into retirement. Needless to say, I was a bit excited. The event was put on at the NASA press site, which is just a hair over three miles from the shuttle. We all gathered there to hear from NASA directors, astronauts, and technicians.

So I set out Saturday on my adventure…

To put the Tweetup in perspective, it was riddled with difficulties from the beginning. Technicians found a leak in some of the plumbing for the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) which almost caused a delay, but the repairs were made in time for a Monday (Nov 1) launch. Everything seemed good for launch, then while techs were pressurizing Discovery’s main propulsion and OMS, two leaks were found in the plumbing of the right-side OMS pod. This repair pushed Discovery back to Tuesday. Subsequently, all of the Tweetup events were pushed back one day as well. This actually worked out rather well, since it gave me an extra day to explore the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

The KSC Visitor Complex was an incredible experience. I highly recommend it for everyone out there. And especially to families in hopes of getting their kids excited about space exploration. There were exhibits that covered the gamut of the space program, from early rockets in the Rocket Garden to an exhibit covering the new Orion crew module. You can even check out the inside of a full size shuttle mock-up. Once I had my seven-hour fill of the complex, I hit up the gift store for a mission patch and some gifts then headed out to dinner with a bunch of my fellow Tweetup attendees.

Monday was the big day. We gathered in the tent and got the opportunity to learn so much about the shuttle program, and specifically Discovery’s last journey. A demo of Robonaut 2 was given to the group, as was a demo of the ACES suit the astronauts wear during launch and re-entry (the orange ones). It was great to see all of these people together in one place, collectively paying attention while burying themselves in their laptops and phones – tweeting the day away.

By Monday, we knew the launch had been delayed again, this time to Wednesday. So after a few logistic issues, we set out for an after-hours tour of the facilities. We headed to pad 39A first – Discovery’s home for the past month while it gets ready to fly. We snapped some photos – most all looking the same, but I felt compelled to keep taking photos. Then we headed to the Saturn V Center. By far my favorite experience of the trip. A full-size actual restored Saturn V rocket is on display in the main center. The sheer scale of this piece of engineering mastery had me in awe. I couldn’t even get a photo of the entire rocket.

Tuesday was a work day, then we headed out to the pad again to see the Rotating Service Structure be retracted (the structure covering the orbiter in my photo above). As we all gathered at the press site, it was announced that the shuttle wouldn’t be taking off on Wednesday either, due to an electrical issue that had been sending back abnormal numbers during tests. We still traveled to the launch pad, but it was bittersweet for me to see it for the last time, knowing that I wouldn’t get to see it fly.

While the launch itself may not have been a success for me, I believe it strengthens the fact that this event was about far, far more than Discovery’s final flight. It was about the ability that Twitter, and other ‘social media’ sites have to bring people together. I stayed in a house with 6 people I only knew through their tweets. Yet it was an absolutely amazing experience because we were there for a common purpose. NASA reached out to their followers and gave 150 people the best 3 days (or a week for those still there) that a space nerd could ask for. Without Twitter, none of us would have been there, and NASA itself would likely not be getting as much coverage for the launch. Twitter has provided 150 users with an unprecedented opportunity to connect with each other and the great space organization we know and love. And in turn, share that experience with the thousands of people that couldn’t be there. I realize that this isn’t the only instance of this happening. How has Twitter or other social media outlets helped you connect with others? Any great stories? I’d love to hear them.

Check back next week for the picture post from the trip!

Oh, and please forgive me next time I tweet about NASA. I’m hoping for another go at a launch.

With baseball season winding down (and my precious Cubbies’ season ending months ago), all eyes are on the fall ritual of college football. And as with every season, the rivalry games are not to be missed. Last year, Nike decided to jump on the opportunity to promote their new Pro Combat football gear by creating some unique uniforms for a select few teams to sport during their most heated rivalry games. The concept is simple and genius: Nike gets to promote its new gear to teams that may otherwise not buy into it while flexing its design muscles to make each of these teams feel like the University of Oregon. Even if it’s only for a game or two.

Now, I have to admit, I missed seeing these uniforms on the field last year. But this year, thanks to the wonder that is Twitter, I saw some posts about the latest designs and decided to read up on it.

What really stood out to me is Nike’s method of promoting their new equipment. Instead of simply talking about the benefits of this or that, they’re putting it out there for teams to use on some of the biggest stages of the season. But to make it really valuable to the teams involved, Nike develops designs for the uniforms that are truly unique to each school. For instance, Ohio State (the team you’ll find Justin cheering for on any given Saturday) has a new design that harkens back to the 1942 team that brought the Buckeyes their first national title. It’s not just a uniform anymore. It has heart, it has emotion, it has meaning.

Nike accomplished what I believe is one of the core functions of our profession – creating a connection. With the infused significance and substance to the uniforms, they suddenly mean something. You’re interested in them. You want to tell everyone everything you know about them when you’re watching that game. You may want to purchase one.

In all, 10 teams are getting the “Oregon Treatment” this year for some of their special games. It’ll be great to see some new looks out on the field. Looks that utilize great graphic design to create the perfect execution of technical innovation and relevant inspiration. These few examples are what college uniforms should be about – and they show how graphic design can potentially make a strong impact in an area that may be a bit unexpected.

As a side note: I have to say, the assymetrical look for the Boise State Broncos is probably my favorite. It has a great look, story, and the grey will help them not blend into their blue turf quite so much. What about you? A favorite?