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An image from the daily postings of Christopher David Ryan.

To Give and Recieve Thanks...

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.

It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.
We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.
- Albert Schweitzer

Amy is thankful for...my little pilgrim and my little daredevil.

Kerry is thankful that...the many major changes in my life this year have almost all been positive ones. Change can be both exciting and scary at the same time, but I find myself a much happier person than I was at this time last year, and I am looking forward with curiosity and anticipation to see what 2009 brings my way.

Oh, and I'm also thankful for the turkey tomorrow!!

Jim is thankful for...Mexican food and Tums, in exactly that order. (Note the maximum strength...)

Chelsea is thankful that...our country has a whole day dedicated to spending quality time with friends and loved ones...for pumpkin roll...and also for these crazy people:


To all of our Elements friends and family, please have a restful, thankful and happy Thanksgiving Day with your friends and family.

Art Deco Wallpaper...

Wallpaper designers have been coming up with fresh, modern takes on wallpaper - we've seen plenty of that.

However, Bradbury & Bradbury have recently released their collection of art deco-inspired wallpaper - a nod to beautiful wallpaper designs of the early 20's to the late 30's.

Here are two of my favorites...


Bradbury & Bradbury's collection also include designs inspired by the post-war, atomic, and mod eras.

This brings me to my next point: Elements has been decorating!

We have just recently wallpapered our bathroom with Swedish wallpaper designer, Lisa Bengtsson's The Family paper.


As you can see (in the top middle) Miss Addie is currently being featured on our wall. Soon, it will become an Elements gallery - so if you're in the neighborhood, come check out our gallery. In the bathroom. :-)

Because we have much to be thankful for...

Our loyal readers know that this fall, Elements participated in a food drive to benefit Christian Community Action (CCA).

CCA, a not-for-profit ecumenical social service organization, has been providing turkeys and all the fixings to upwards of 1,500 families for more than thirty years.

Friends and families of Elements banded together to donate many bags of non-perishable goods to CCA, combining our love of food with our passion to give back to our community. On Saturday, some of us joined in and helped stuff shopping bags to include all the fixings for a Thanksgiving meal.

Here's some of the Elements crew in our office with Al May, Director of Development of Christian Community Action, and just a sampling of some of the food we've been collecting displayed on the table before we packed it up and helped deliver it to Casa Community Center in New Haven.

We are thankful to our friends and family who helped us gather all this food to give to the many families in need in our community. Happy Thanksgiving!


Update from Al May of CCA, not more than a few hours after having picked up donations from Elements:

"No sooner did I get back to our office than one of our food pantry staff said “Is there any pasta and tomato sauce in what you just picked up?” A young mother had just arrived unexpectedly, and was desperately looking for these items to make supper for her three children tonight. “Yes, there is,” I said, as I proceeded to pull a box of pasta and a jar of sauce from the items you just gave me. “Oh, gracias, gracias, mil gracias,” the woman said to me.

So as you can see, your donations are already benefiting someone…and it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet."

It feels great to give.

AIGA | CT Event: William Drenttel

Poster design by Winterhouse

On Wednesday night, AIGA | CT hosted their second event, a lecture by William Drenttel, partner of Winterhouse, and co-founder of the blog Design Observer. A networking hour took place before the event starting, featuring hors d'oeuvres and wine from 116 Crown.

Bill discussed many topics, with the main focus of his lecture outlining the progression of his work throughout the years. From large projects with major commercial clients on which he worked as a designer to smaller projects with public clients that enact social change on which he now works as a design visionary, Bill has a wealth of experience to share with designers in all stages of their careers. He also discussed his wife and partner Jessica's new book Scrapbook.

As described by Bill, Winterhouse has made evolutions from design studio to publisher to institute to social entrepreneur, and now is attempting to merge these into one new practice. One lesson to be taken from Bill's lecture: design can take you just about anywhere.

The event was great success and a wonderful time was had by all. Be sure to join AIGA | CT's Facebook group and visit the chapter's website for upcoming event information.

AIGA | CT board members with William Drenttel

Fundraiser tonite to help New Haven shelter

New Haven's Community Service Administrator is hoping to raise both awareness and $25,000 tonight through its “Tent City” fundraiser.

Thirty-one groups have pledged to pitch tents on the New Haven Green from 6 p.m. to midnight tonight to raise money for the Cedar Street overflow shelter. Budget cuts have left the shelter without full funding. Fundraising has been going full force, but as of last week, $23,000 was still needed to fully fund the shelter’s operations, according to city Community Service Administrator Kica Matos.

Tonite's event will be enlivened by live music, hot drinks, and food donated by local restaurants.

Get more info here.

We are obsessed with food...

The Elements team has been taste testing some Connecticut-made products for a special project.


See if you can match each plate with an Elements team member!

What is Graphic Design??

At about 3 minutes in, it starts to get really funny. Check out the guy with the kid and prepare to be hated.

Feeling Fall

A few images to share from a favorite etsy photographer.

Giving thanks...

We here at Elements have much to be thankful for.

For this reason, we are helping Christian Community Action with their Thanksgiving food drive. We developed a flyer and are also helping spread the word.

But most importantly, we are gathering food.

So, friends and family of Elements, if you would like to contribute to the drive c'mon by 20 Grand Avenue in New Haven by next Thursday, November 20 and drop off any of the following...

• Dried beans (red or black)
• Bags of rice
• Stuffing/cornbread mix
• Canned fish & meat
• Dessert items (Jello, pudding mixes)
• Canned fruits & vegetables
• Pasta & sauce
• Potatoes & yams
• Low-sugar cereals
• Low-sodium soups
• Gravy

Monetary donations are also accepted.

Death Valley National Park goes solar

The newly-installed solar plant is expected to produce more than one-third of the total annual electricity needed in the park, and has already generated renewed interest in visits to the park, to the point where a viewing platform has been constructed so the public can get a better look at the panels.

I guess you can now say that a national park that is typically thought of as brown and dry is now a little greener.

Read the full article here.

"Let's Expand Our Worlds ..."

"Let's expand our worlds, not only with speakers, but with networking, job banks, business resources, recognition beyond our state borders ..."

Amy's interview as the newly elected AIGA | CT Vice President is featured on ConnCreatives, a website for the graphic design professionals in Connecticut. Click here to read her full interview.

It's Trash Night in Branford!

As spotted in the wealthy Pawson Park area of Branford last night while driving around with my tired, pajama'ed kiddies in the backseat.

My four year old son asked, "Mommy, why are taking a picture of their trash?"

"Because it's funny, Cole. Really funny. You'll understand - one day."

Greensense...

This weekend, I learned of a new program through Citizens Bank. The program, Green$ense, rewards Citizens customers with a 10-cent deposit into their checking account every time a payment without paper is made such as using a debit card to shop, paying a bill online, or making an automated payment. Up to $120 a year can be earned through this rewards system.

Each customer enrolled in Green$ense also receives a new debit card made from recycled plastic. And, for every $1 earned, customers will have had the following positive impact on the environment:

• Saved emissions equal to more than 87 miles of driving
• Saved almost 4 gallons of gasoline consumed by transporting statements/bills
• Prevented more than 3.5 gallons of wastewater
• Lowered the global warming impact equal to turning off your refrigerator for a week
• Saved more than 7 square feet of forest

Imagine the impact if every Citizens customer signed up for Green$ense!

Quitting Time

Every once and awhile, Jim likes to ride one of his many bikes into the office from his home in Middletown. It saves on fossil fuel, and with all the exercise Jim gets riding his bike, he's able to eat large quantities of Mexican food and potato chips without gaining any weight. Here's Jim zipping-up to get ready to peddle home after work on Friday.

Obamabats!

Not dingbats - Obamabats! Yes, they're free. Yes, you can download them here directly from the artist (Jeff Domke). 24 high quality Obamabats so that you, too, may start creating your own Obama paraphernalia. Thank you to our friend Tracie who tipped us off on FB. Enjoy!

Obama Video

A Jonathan Buiel Original...

Shepard Fairey Pieces - Free!

MoveOn.org - an organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important national issues - is giving away free Obama stickers and posters designed by Shepard Fairey - he's the mind behind the iconic Hope poster.


Fairey, if you haven't heard of him, is an LA street artist, graphic designer and illustrator made famous for his "André the Giant Has a Posse" sticker campaign. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today's best known and most influential street artists. He also co-founded design studio BLK/MRKT Inc, a firm that specializes in guerilla marketing and the development of high-impact marketing campaigns.

To get your free Obama sticker, go to Moveon.org. 5,000 limited edition Fairey poster-sized versions of the sticker will be given away starting at 12:30 pm today. (Note: After ordering, you must confirm your email address by clicking on a link sent in an email from MoveOn.org).

Another Shepard Fairey piece

Polling Place Photo Project...

I lost my wallet the morning of the election and did not bring my camera with me...but I was browsing the NYT site to check out photos from the polling place project and what did I see but a photograph of Hopkinton High School (my alma mater)!

Election Day 2008

These are a few images I toke for the Polling Place Photo Project. I'm voting in Branford, Connecticut at St. Therese's Catholic Church, 4th District. I find it a bit of a contradiction that our voting takes place inside a church.




Casting my ballot for change. Our new ballots are for optical readers and much easier to understand - thanks to improved graphic design (a lesson, thankfully, we learned in 2004. Yes, graphic design can change the world people).



Connecticut's new polling stations. Gone are the old booths with curtains and levers. The new stations are faster but you do lose privacy and - when busy - it can be distracting. See that guy on the right? Yeah, I think that's my neighbor.


Upon exiting there was an Election Day bake sale. My friend's mom, Mrs. Getzinger, is on the right. It was difficult to resist. Those ladies can BAKE!







I think this is my favorite image from my trip to the polls. This was taken outside in the parking lot. Democrats on the left, Republicans, right. Note the body language and facial expressions. Classic.

In Political Spirit...

After reading Wonkette this morning (a DC gossip blog), I came across these great politically-inspired information graphics from HistoryShots.com.

Death and Taxes: a representational poster of the federal discretionary budget

Not all of the graphics are politically related, such as this one, illustrating the country codes of the world:

Or, check out the genealogy of pop/rock music:

You can order prints, or look for your favorite info-graphic on greeting cards, messenger bags, coasters and the like.

Happy learning!

Vote '08

At least in my little area of Connecticut, voting was a breeze. There were longer lines in the last school board budget vote!

As you can see in the image above (or maybe not, the ballot looks pretty small) CT uses the "fill in the blank" cards that we run thru a machine on our way out the door. Easy, peasy.

So, all you Elements blog readers, leave me a comment and let me know that you voted, and how it went...

From the Mouths of Babes...

Good Morning America has been running a segment called "The Kiddie Cabinet" in which children are interviewed about the 2008 Presidential Election. Check out this video for a few good laughs.


In response to the question, "Has this election changed your mind about what you want to be when you grow up?"...

"I used to not mind if I would be president, but now I do. Now I want a simpler job"

"Right now I have 100 things to worry about. As president you have to worry about 1 billion things!"

And on how long it will take for the bailout to effect positive change..."15 years!"